Sign of Christ’s Disciples—Worldly Prosperity or Godly Charity? [Part 1]

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One of the propaganda tales of prosperity preachers goes like this—prosperity is the sign of God’s blessing upon His children. It is our right to become wealthy. We have the right to claim our right to get the riches of the world. And what’s more, when the world sees this prosperity as God’s favor upon His people, it gets impressed and desires our faith.

Let us examine the above fallible notion in light of God’s infallible word.

At the outset, let me make it clear that, in a sense, earthly blessings could be a sign of God’s hand upon His children. For instance, when Isaac materially prospered in the valley of Gerar, whom the Lord blessed according to His promise given to Abraham, Abimelech said, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you” (Gen. 26:28).

So, I don’t deny the fact that God may prosper His chosen people and in this way manifest His presence with them. However, to say that earthly prosperity is always the sign of God’s favor upon all His people is not in accordance with the sound teaching of the Holy Scripture.

Prosperous and Poor

In the Holy Bible, there were men “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (Heb. 12:33-34).

And there were also men who “faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground” (Heb. 12:36-38).

The above description evidently testifies that in the Holy Bible there were God’s people who were prosperous as well as those who were poor, some who stayed on the mountain top and some who walked through the valley. God’s word, however, doesn’t endorse the doctrine that worldly prosperity is always the sign of God’s blessing for all His children. Indeed, even the wicked could prosper because of which the Psalmist complained, “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Ps. 73:3).

But what is the greatest evidence of being God’s children? How does the world obviously know that we are Christ’s disciples?

Charity and Unity

Considering the way prosperity is emphasized by its proponents, a phrase can be coined something like this, “By this, all men will know that you are Christ’s disciples, if you prosper in this world.” In contrast to such notion, heed what Christ said to His disciples, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn. 13:34-35).

How does the world know that we are the true disciples of Christ?

Although God prospered certain people, nowhere in the Scripture does it claim that prosperity is the evidence of recognition by the world as being Christ’s disciples. The old English word for love is “charity”. And Christ said that it is through charity, through love for one another, that the whole world will know that we are His disciples.

The greatest tragedy in Christianity today is not lack of prosperity but lack of charity.

The greatest curse upon this world is not poverty of money but poverty of love.

The world has to witness how we Christians love each other, how we encourage each other, how we forgive each other, how we help each other, how we honor each other, how we pray for each other and how we live together for the glory of our Lord.

The greatest thing that the world has to witness is Christ’s love in us for each other.

In His high priestly prayer, Christ Jesus prayed, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Jn. 17:23).

How does the world know that Christ was sent by the Father to love His people? When we are brought to complete unity!

Are we desiring and striving for unity to fulfill this prayer of Jesus? Is not the world seeing disunity and indifference among Christians, thereby mocking at us?

The saddest thing in Christianity today is not lack of prosperity but lack of unity.

If the prosperity preachers are really concerned about the world recognizing us as Christ’s disciples, let them motivate charity and unity, as Christ exhorted and prayed, not wealth and prosperity which produces greed, pride and selfish ambition. [Click here to go to Part 2 of this article...] |  1 of 2

Sign of Christ’s Disciples—Worldly Prosperity or Godly Charity? [Part 2]

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Good and Generous Life

The Lord Jesus said to His people, “You are the light of world” (Matt. 5:14). Christ desired us to be the light of the world and the world, which is living in darkness, has to see the light in us. It has to see that we are different and unique from it. It has to witness that our lives are set apart for God. It has to be influenced by us.

But what is the light that the world has to see in us? Is it prosperity? Is it wealth and riches?

Listen carefully to what Christ said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Christ didn’t say, “Let them see your great wealth and praise your Father in heaven.” He said, “Let them see your good deeds [generous life] and praise your Father in heaven.”

What Christ’s disciples have to manifest and what the world has to see is not prosperity but generosity, whether living in plenty or in little. It is our good deeds which brings glory to God, not our great wealth. It is our generous life which testifies about our allegiance to Christ, not our prosperous lifestyle. It is our kind acts which we do in the name of Jesus which speaks about us being His disciples, not our earthly comforts. 

Just think, when there are millions of needy people struggling to pass every day of their living, what are the affluent or affluent-seeking Christians trying to tell the world by their massive bank balances, luxurious houses and magnificent possessions? Does the world get impressed by looking at the prosperity of Christians or does it wonder at the greedy lifestyle of those who claim being the followers of the One who gave His life for the welfare of others?

O, we are living in an era where there is more emphasis on getting rather than giving, prosperity than generosity, possessing than losing, storing than sharing, success than sacrifice, blessings rather than being a blessing! Has not today's Christianity turned much like the world rather than being the light of the world?

John Piper said it right, “The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ's sake and count it gain.” Yes, the world has to see how we Christians are completely sold out to God that nothing in this world can buy us to sell our good and generous life.

Final Words

There are so many Christians who are being entrapped by the cult of prosperity teaching. Prosperity preachers are fooling them by making appealing statements and by distorting the sacred Scriptures. They are using God’s word to feed their belly, not to advance the Kingdom of God.

So, here is a word of caution: This giving away or generosity ought to be shown not to those who are already prosperous, who are alluring people to sow in their ministry to make themselves more prosperous. This should be shown to those who are in need. But let us not fatten the people who are already fattened.

When it comes to supporting ministries, let us support such that are Christ-centered, kingdom-minded and faithful stewards of God’s resources. And when it comes to offering aid to people, let us give to the needy, help the helpless, bless the poor, uphold the destitute and look after the orphans and widows.

May God’s people carefully search the Scriptures and discern the false propaganda of today’s prosperity teachers. May we Christians be models of charity and generosity so that all people would know that we are the disciples of Christ and glorify our Father in heaven.     

“Think it more satisfaction to live richly than die rich” - Thomas Brown
 

[Click here to go to Part 1 of this article] | 2 of 2

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Related Articles:
Did Christ Become Poor to Make Us Wealthy Christians on Earth?
Prince of the Poor vs Preachers of Prosperity
How to Become Rich Forever?

_______________________________

Enquiries: 

cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) stephen@tents-india.org

Did Christ Become Poor to Make Us Wealthy Christians on Earth? [Part 2]

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Macedonian Churches
Second, if we go to the preceding verses of 2 Cor. 8:9, Paul challenges the Corinthian church about generous giving by pointing out to the generosity of Macedonian churches. He writes, “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Cor. 8:1-2). Mark these words, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”

Observe carefully, it doesn’t just say “poverty” but “extreme poverty.” It is also worth noting—the same Greek word “πτωχεία" [ptōcheia] is used when mentioning the poverty of Macedonian churches in verse 2 and the poverty of Christ in verse 9.

Now here is my question—if Jesus had become poor to make His people wealthy, why did the Macedonians churches have to give out of extreme poverty? They should have been wealthy, giving out of their riches of goods. But their greatness stands out, not because they gave out of abundance, but out of their inadequacy. Their poverty did not rob them of generosity.

Don’t you suppose, to claim 2 Cor. 8:9 as speaking about worldly prosperity is to simply distort the context of the Scripture which actually speaks about the poverty of Macedonian churches? Indeed, 2 Cor. 8 doesn’t prove the doctrine of prosperity but refutes it.

Needy Saints of Jerusalem
Third, it is important to understand the reason why Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Knowing its background would help us to stand against the misinterpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9, which is widely propagated by prosperity preachers.

Paul was on a mission to raise funds to financially help the saints in Jerusalem. He writes in Romans 15:25-26, “Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” I think, according to prosperity preachers, there shouldn’t be poor saints, but how come there were poor saints in Jerusalem for whom Paul was raising help from the churches?

He also writes in his first epistle to Corinthians, “Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem” (16:1-3). You see, Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church to set aside some money weekly as a collection for God’s people, so that it would be sent as a financial gift to the needy saints in Jerusalem. 

And then in 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds the Corinthians of their desire to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. He writes, “And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means” (8:10-11). The Macedonian churches shared their contribution to the saints (8:1-4) and Paul writes, “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” (2 Cor. 9:1-2)

Observe carefully, Paul was not writing these words to raise money for his ministry, thereby living a prosperous life based on the contributions given to him. He was writing to raise money to help the needy believers of Christ, the very thing he was eager to do (Gal. 2:10). The fact that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7) and “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6) were written in the context of helping the needy people of God.

But don’t you see all these Scripture are used by prosperity preachers to motivate people to sow money in their ministry rather than giving much to help the needy people? 

Well, here is my question—why was Paul striving to raise funds from various churches to help the needy saints at Jerusalem when these needy saints should have been rich and wealthy, according to the prosperity gospel interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9?

Even if the prosperity preachers use these Scriptures to motivate people towards generous giving, why are they unlike Paul who wrote these inspiring words to help the needy saints of Christ? This is the clear difference I see between Paul and today's preachers of health and wealth gospel—Paul was passionate for the poor and needy saints, and the latter are zealous for prosperity.

Concluding Words
The appropriate consideration of the context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, and the rest of the Scriptures in connection to them, helps us to come to this plain interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9—Though Jesus was gloriously rich in heaven, for our sakes, He became physically poor on earth, taking the form of a servant, so that through His poverty we might become spiritually rich.

And the reason Paul writes this is to motivate the Corinthians to imitate their Lord who gave Himself to benefit others so that they too would excel in the grace of giving (compare verse 9 with verse 7). Paul penned these words, not to propagate the doctrine of prosperity, but to spread out our hands out of generosity in order to help God's people in adversity.

Similarly, Paul explains about the deity and the servanthood of Christ in Philippians 2:6-11, so that the Philippians too would possess the attitude as that of Christ Jesus, which is to look not only to one’s own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phi. 2:3-4).

O, how the prosperity preachers twist the Scriptures, manipulating people to give contributions to their own ministries while ignoring the poor and needy people of God! They are giving false hope of prosperity to people while they themselves are prospering on the money given to them. The Living God is going to judge them for their selfish ambitions, if they do not repent of their sin of self-indulgence and for misleading multitudes of naïve people by distorting the Holy Scripture of God.

May the Lord’s people be awakened to flee from the disease of prosperity teaching and cling to the sound teachings of God’s word! [go to first page] | 2 of 2
---------------
Related Articles:
Prince of the Poor vs Preachers of Prosperity
How to Become Rich Forever?

_______________________________

Enquiries: 

cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) stephen@tents-india.org

Did Christ Become Poor to Make Us Wealthy Christians on Earth? [Part 1]

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“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)

I think, today’s Christianity is confronting more heretical teachings than any in church history. Out of many false teachings that are abounding in Christianity, one such which is commonly widespread is prosperity gospel. Not only in the Western countries, it is also spreading like a wildfire in the urban cities of my nation, India. Many gullible folks are becoming victims of this dangerous teaching. Hence, I decided to address this issue in my blog. 

There are many Scriptures which prosperity preachers use, perhaps it is proper to say abuse, to prove their doctrine that God wants all Christians to become wealthy. And 2 Corinthians 8:9 is one of the key foundational Scriptures for the champions of prosperity teaching. They claim that this Scripture speaks about Jesus giving up His riches to make us wealthy Christians on earth. So, for the time being, I would like to address this particular Scripture. 

Was Jesus Rich or Poor?

First, to say that Jesus became physically poor to make us materially rich goes right against their own teaching. What prosperity preachers actually argue is that Jesus was a wealthy person and had surplus goods. Listen to what one of the prominent proponents of this view asserts:

"The Bible says that He [Jesus] had a treasurer-a treasury (they called it "the bag"); that they had one man who was the treasurer, named Judas Iscariot; and the rascal was stealing out of the bag for three-and-a-half years and nobody knew that he was stealing. You know why? Because there was so much in it, He couldn't tell. Nobody could tell that anything was missing..., if Jesus didn't have anything, what do you need a treasury for? A treasury is for surplus. It's not for that which you're spending. It's only for surplus-to hold it until you need to spend it. Therefore, He must have had a whole lot that needed to be held in advance that He wasn't spending. So He must have had more than He was living on." [Fredrick K.C. Price, "Ever Increasing Faith" program on TBN [23 November 1990] <www.letusreason.org/wf15.htm>

If Jesus was wealthy, according to the prosperity preachers, how can they claim that He gave up His riches, becoming poor, to make us wealthy people, as per their interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9? To the one who is sane in his mind, doesn’t this prove to be a sheer contradiction?

Now to justify their stance, certain prosperity preachers subtly twist 2 Cor. 8:9 to claim Jesus was rich before the cross and the only time He became poor was when He was taken to the cross. However, this doesn’t stand the test of biblical reason. The text doesn’t tell us that Jesus became poor when He was taken to the cross. It simply says, “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.”

This seems to speak about Christ’s incarnation, in which He left His heavenly glorious privileges and became poor, having being laid in a manger, taking up finite and weak body and walking around Palestine as an ordinary man but doing extraordinary things.

Is not because Jesus was born in a simple family that His mother Mary had to offer a sacrifice consisting of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, which only those who cannot afford were supposed to offer such sacrifices? (Lu. 2:22-24; cf. Lev. 12:2-8) Did not Jesus say to one of the wishful followers, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head"? (Matt. 8:19-20) Of course, He had His earthly parents’ house, but he was constantly traveling from one place to another with no permanent home to lay his head.

Moreover, in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, did not Jesus have to borrow the colt from another man, sat on it and entered Jerusalem? (Mark 11:1-11) Even when Jesus died, He had no tomb of His own. A rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, asked for Jesus’ body and placed it in his own new tomb (Matt. 27:57-60). Finally, someone rightly points out that if Jesus was so rich, having Judas Iscariot as His treasurer, why should he betray Him for just thirty silver coins, which comes to about $15 or about INR800? (Matt. 27:3) <http://www.letusreason.org/wf15.htm>

What Paul says in 2 Cor. 8:9, wherein Christ became poor in His incarnation, goes in line with Philippians 2:6-7, “Who [Christ], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

How clearly we are revealed to the fact that though Christ, being in very nature God, He left His heavenly riches and made Himself nothing, ordinary, poor, by taking the very nature of a servant! Although He was the King of Kings, He became a meek servant. (Matt. 20:25-28)

We have no clear evidence from the Holy Scripture that Jesus was rich before He went to the cross. Nevertheless, to justify their kingly lifestyle and to accumulate more wealth, prosperity preachers twist the Scriptures to make Jesus appear wealthy while He walked on earth, when in fact the Scripture plainly reveals that He became a humble servant and lived a simply life on earth. [continued next page...] |  1 of 2

Radical

Last month, a wonderful brother in the Lord gifted me a book Radical by David Platt. It is one of the few books in my life that I read in its entirety with great earnestness, even planning to read again. 

As I read through the pages, I was deeply convicted and challenged to live a different life as a disciple of Christ Jesus. O, how I wished in my heart to buy as many copies of this book and give to as many Christians as possible, so that they would read and learn to live a crucified Christian life in this self-indulgent world!

Well, when we look at the contemporary Christianity, don’t you suppose many of us who claim to be disciples of Christ seem to live a self-elevated rather than self-denial life, comfort zone rather than crucified life, earthly-minded rather than heavenly-focused life, world-like rather than Christ-like life and religious rather than radical Christian life?

The aim of many who claim to believe in Christ appears to be this—earn a nice educational degree, find a great job or business, get married, have children and settle on earth with family by acquiring material things and possessions and dream to live with all the comforts of life. And to help us fulfill our ambitions, we seek God as if He exists to serve us as our guardian.

Besides, because of what Christ had done on the cross and the eternal life He earned for us, we think of doing little favors to God by going to church once in a week, give little time for prayer and study of God’s word, donate small amount of money to church and occasionally worship Him for the blessings He has bestowed upon us.

Is this what Christian life is all about?

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, makes it quite obvious—“And He [Christ] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” [2Cor. 5:15].

Honestly, do you suppose many of us are living for Christ? Are we studying, working and living our life on earth for Christ and for His kingdom? If we think we are, then, are we passionate to know Christ more and more? Do we hunger and thirst for His holiness and love? Do we long for Christ’s second coming? Are we living our brief earthly life in light of eternity?

Further, are we burdened to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus? Are we compassionate towards poor and needy? Are we concerned for God's revival in the churches? Do we possess the consuming desire to spread the glory of God among all nations? Are we living a sacrificial life, giving up our comforts in order to bless others? Are our prayers marked with this cry, “Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?

I am afraid we lack the above qualities, not in iota but in tons. O, how much joy we miss in living a life for ourselves rather than for Christ and for the glory of God! Therefore, shall we ask God, believingly and persistently, to bring revival in our lives, so that we would live a Christ-centered and kingdom-minded life on earth and impact the lives around us for God's glory?

Let me leave you with this following excerpt from the last paragraph of the book Radical:

You and I have an average of about seventy or eighty years on this earth. During these years we are bombarded with the temporary. Make money. Get stuff. Be comfortable. Live well. Have fun. In the middle of it all, we get blinded to the eternal. But it’s there. You and I stand on the porch of eternity. Both of us will soon stand before God to give an account for our stewardship of the time, the resources, the gifts, and ultimately the gospel he has entrusted to us. When that day comes, we are convinced we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to living the American Dream. We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship.

Are you ready to live for that dream? Let’s not waver any longer.

Click here to order Radical from Flipkart [India].

Click here to order Radical from Amazon [International].

_______________________________

ENQUIRIES:

Feel free to write your comments below (or) write to

 cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) stephen@tents-india.org

Prince of the Poor vs Preachers of Prosperity

One of the fascinating and thriving teachings in the contemporary Christendom, towards which multitudes are drawn, is “prosperity.” Never before in the history of the church has there been a greater emphasis on this topic as it is in the present age. There are many prosperity preachers emerging in our time, most of them found on television. Regretfully, many are excitingly receiving this teaching without careful examination.

Preachers of Prosperity
Basically, there are two piteous elements found in prosperity teaching:

a) One of the famous clichés of prosperity is this – sow a seed (money). Prosperity teachers motivate people to sow a seed (money), thereby reaping a great harvest (material blessings) from the Lord. Even if someone doesn’t have sufficient money or living in debts, they can still sow a seed of faith (whatever little money they have) and reap abundant financial prosperity. Obviously, there is an immense emphasis on giving in their teachings.

Of course, the Holy Bible too teaches a lot about generous giving. But what do the promoters of prosperity teach about where to give money? The focus is on giving to them. When they teach on sowing your offering, the prime focus is to draw your attention toward themselves. They generally link financial prosperity to giving to their ministries. The multiplication of finances is dependent upon your pledge to bless them with your offerings. And to convince people, they widely quote the Holy Scriptures, often distorting its intended meaning.

Now, I am not trying to say that it is wrong to present ministry needs with a genuine heart and let people to think and pray about giving cheerfully. However, to pressurize people through constant fund-raising appeals, giving utmost focus in messages on financial giving by people (in order to receive generously), and to teach people’s prosperity being dependent on their financial pledge to "our" ministries—this is something which reflects self-centered ministry, not God-centered service.

b) Another element of prosperity teaching is promising earthly riches. Its proponents claim that God wants every believer to become rich (but this is connected to your giving to them). According to them, whosoever is not living a wealthy life is out of God’s intended will for them. They assert in their teachings that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the “sowing of seeds” through the loyal payments of tithes and offerings.

Prince of the Poor
Well, let us compare the teachings of prosperity preachers with what our Price of the poor, Lord Jesus Christ, taught and emphasized:

a) If there is any topic that Jesus Christ discussed a lot in the gospels – it is on money. It is said that it was his second most addressed topic, second only to the Kingdom of God/heaven. But when it came to giving, where did He emphasize to give? When the rich young man confidently said he had been obeying the commandments of God from his boyhood, what did Jesus tell him? Did He not say to him, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor…then come and follow me?” (Mk. 10:21) Did He exhort, “Go, sell what you have and give that money to me; sow in my ministry.”

Furthermore, when teaching about storing eternal riches, He told His disciples, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (Lu. 12:33). What about the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lu. 10:25-37), not to mention the division of the Sheep and Goats (Matt. 25:31-46)? In these parables, did not Jesus teach about the necessity to help the needy?

Unlike the preachers of prosperity, Jesus Christ was the Prince of poor. Although He taught on generous giving, the focus of giving was directed towards helping the needy. He did not live a prosperous and luxurious life by extracting money from people in the name of 'sow and reap'. He did not attempt to thrive on the offerings of His followers. He lived for the best of others, offering Himself as a servant of all. O, how I wish today’s prosperity teachers to reflect on this aspect of Christ-likeness!

b) Secondly, Jesus did teach on gaining treasure, but He promised heavenly treasure for all who are generous. To the rich young man, Jesus said, “"Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mr. 10:21). Again, He said to the disciples, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (Lu. 12:33). Jesus guaranteed eternal treasure, not earthly prosperity for all. He did not teach “sow and reap” as a means for gaining more and more material prosperity on earth.

True, I believe, without any doubt, God abundantly prospers certain people materially in order to be a blessing to others. There is no denying of the fact that the Lord will provide all of our needs (not wants) according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. I admit fully that we are required to pray to our Heavenly Father for our daily bread (essential needs of life). I even declare strongly that God desires everyone to prosper spiritually so that we would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. But when it is said that material prosperity is God's will and purpose for everyone and that financial prosperity is dependent on giving to these prosperity teachers, I assert that it violates the sacred teachings of the Holy Scripture.

As we are living in these last days, we are warned from the Scriptures that there will be enormous teachings that are false and unsound (2Tim. 4:3-4; 1Tim.4:1-2). We are strongly exhorted to test everything (1Thes.5:21) and should not be quick to believe anything (Pro. 14:15).

Therefore, I encourage the believers to carefully examine the teachings of today’s preachers with a discerning heart, just like the Bereans who “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). If the teachings of Paul were examined and the Bereans were commended for doing so, how much wise we need to be and scrutinize the teachings of numerous modern day preachers and teachers, who are unlike the Prince of poor!

________________________________

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How to Become Rich Forever?

“Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours” - C.S. Lewis

Recently, I read in the newspaper that with a net of worth of $29 billion (more than Rs. 1,32,000 crore), industrialist Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian. He is the world’s fourth richest, according to Forbes. But, is he the fourth richest or the fourth poorest person in the sight of the Living God?

People generally think those who possess abundant wealth and gain everything that is in the world are really the blessed ones. This may be true in a sense. However, God judges things quite different from people. The rich and poor on earth are not viewed by God in the same way as we do. In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus said, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

Take a note here - those who store up things for themselves are not rich toward God. They are not the blessed ones in His sight. They are, in actual fact, impoverished and destitute. Conversely, those who give and share are considered rich before God, however poor they may be in the sight of the world. Did not Jesus say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive?” (Acts 20:35) It is not receiving which is the best test of blessing and reward but giving.

Store Eternal Treasures in Heaven

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

Paul exhorted the rich to "lay up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed" (1 Timothy 6:19).

The Holy Scripture teaches us that our central focus should be on God and eternity, storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Randy Alcorn dialogues, “Consider what Jesus is saying: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” Why not? Because earthly treasures are bad? No. Because they won’t last.”[1] It is written, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle” (Pro. 23:5).

So, how can we become rich forever? How do we store up for ourselves great treasures in heaven?

Well, it is obviously by giving. Jesus said, "Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven!" (Luke 12:33, NLT). The eternally rich in the Kingdom of God are those who are generous on earth. God taught that the eternal things are more valuable than the temporal and the way we store great treasure in eternity is by generously giving up temporal things.

Coming to practical lives, how people of God consistently labor to amass great wealth and material things on earth! But at the hour of death do they take anything with them? Thrice it is emphasized in the Holy Scriptures that we came naked and go naked, for we brought nothing into the world and we certainly take nothing out of it. All our laborious earning will be left behind when we face the reality of death (Job 1:21; Ecclesiastes 5:15; 1 Timothy 6:7).

Now this is not to say that it is wrong to attain and save money and material things. But if we do not add generous giving to our laborious gaining and saving, everything is going to be in vain. Such people will be paupers in the Kingdom of God, for they have abundantly gained and stored without abundant giving.

Rich Forever

Here is a true story of a man who has become radically rich forever:

C T Studd was the greatest cricketer of his day. While he was in Cambridge in 1882, the Australian Cricket team was shattered because Studd scored 101 runs and took eight wickets. His father was wealthy. So he had everything a young man want - wealth, fame, name and education. But one day he accepted the claims of Christ in his life and he became a believer and later became a missionary for Christ. While Studd was engaged in missionary work, his father died and left him more than 25,000 pounds. It was a great worth in his day.

But when he read in the Bible the words of Jesus to a rich young man: "Go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven" (Mark 10:21 KJV), Studd sat down and made out some cheques – 5,000 pounds to Moody, 5,000 pounds to General Booth of Salvation Army, 5,000 pounds to George Mueller, 5,000 pounds to White chapel Mission and another 5 cheques each of 1,000 pounds. When the Estate was finally settled he discovered he still possessed 3,400 pounds. He offered this money to his wife. She refused to accept it. He wrote to General Booth, "I am instructing our bankers to sell our last earthly inheritance and to give them to you; hence forth our bank is in heaven. Now we can thank God that we are in the proud position of being able to say, 'Silver and gold have I none'."[2]

People might have called C T Studd a fool for such an act of liberal giving. Yet in heaven's sight he was wiser and rich in God. He is like a person about whom Jim Elliot (1927-56), a missionary and martyr to Acua Indians, said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose."[3] We may not be as liberal as C T Studd but are we seeking to live a life of generosity in this age crazy for prosperity? When we all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, all of us have to stand before Him utterly stripped of money and material things. We take nothing with us and stand naked before our God to give an account for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

I suppose, many would mourn on that day for neglecting to use their earthy things according to God's Word and leaving back everything in vain. Oh, in heaven, no person will be greatly rewarded for what he received but for what he gave. We may loose by saving, but by giving we will not loose anything but store eternal riches in heaven. In the Kingdom of God, the looser over here will be a gainer and the possessor over here will be a looser.

Lord, make us wealthy in your Kingdom by making us generous on earth!

Cautions

1) Generous giving doesn’t earn salvation. Good works in itself cannot save anyone. We are saved solely by the finished work of Christ on the Cross. But great will be the reward of those in heaven who did abundant good works in Christ.

2) The Sermon on the Mount teaches bad intentions nullify good deeds. In the practice of generous giving, we must guard ourselves from falling into hypocrisy, giving in order to be noticed by men and to gain honor from them than with a purpose to glorify the Father in Heaven.

3) Generous giving ought to be practiced wisely. We need to examine and give where the genuine need is and bless the truly needy people. And when it comes to the support of missions and leaders, make sure they are truly laborers in the field, not sluggish and time wasters in the name of full-time ministry.

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Notes:

[1] Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001), 12
[2] Adapted from Herald of His Coming (Indian Edition), July 2003, 10
[3] Cited by Elisabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor (ILL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981), 3

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