A friend who usually blogs about daily life recently wrote this:
"My husband and I are firm believers in Healing. I can count on one hand the times we have gotten any kind of sickness in the past five years. We don't push this belief on anyone, we just simply do not allow sickness into our lives. While I attribute the majority of our health to the fact that we broke that stronghold off awhile back, I also give credit to the foods we eat."
I want to address these comments with a piece from Marco Gonzalez at ReformationTheology.com
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When I first became a Christian, I was influenced heavily. Much of my doctrinal and theological stances were formed and shaped by the gospel of prosperity (or as many have labeled it “The prosperity Gospel.”) The prominent speakers: T.D Jakes, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, and Kenneth Hagin all participated in creating my understanding of the gospel. The success of these individuals is well-known Even without the major influence of their broadcasts on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), many of the dominant speakers have gross revenues reaching a billion dollars a year. TBN is primarily the telecommunication used to project these individuals toward Christians. I’ve personally listened to well-over a thousand hours of broadcasting.
This is including when I was cultivated by the network and after I broke free from it. Whether we wish to admit it or not, TBN has influenced billions of Christians. From my own personal experience and close friends, I have witnessed the devastating effects of the prosperity gospel.Living in Southern California, I am aware of two individuals who have fought seriously against the prosperity gospel: John MacArthur, Hank Hannagraph. Whenever TBN or individuals from TBN have been criticized, the founder of TBN, Paul Crouch, has replied back to the criticism. When Hanagraph and MacArthur were exposing much of the deception of TBN, Crouch responded. Paul Crouch said both Hanagraph and MacArthur were “heresy hunters” and looking to pick fights. Crouch went as far as to say (and this is a direct quote), “If God doesn’t shoot them, I will.” I mention this because TBN is built upon billions and billions of dollars. Crouch realizes whenever his speakers are criticized, it results in a net-loss and is a liability to his corporation.
In fact, both Hannagraph and Macarthur immediately received death threats following their sermons and discussions about TBN. This does not mean that TBN sent them death threats directly, but what it does mean is that TBN posses many loyal followers who are willing to defend their leaders. It is note-worthy to mention that I have personally never heard Macarthur or Hannagraph say their death threats were directly from TBN.
Before we can address the prosperity gospel, we need to understand the enormous impact it has and continues to have on Christians. While to many Christians what TBN and their speakers say may appear to be rank heresy, Christians need to understand the innumerable amounts of people who believe in the prosperity gospel. With over six-teen satellites world-wide, TBN reaches trillions of people groups from every, tongue, tribe, and nation. Just walk inside your favorite Christian bookstore and look at the new releases and you will find the top-selling authors of Christian publishing to be prosperity preachers. Or start talking with normal everyday Christians and you will find their theology embedded with the prosperity gospel.
I will not deny that I once was held in bondage to this. Breaking out of this mentality can only come from the spirit awaking and humbling our souls to the word of God. The belief that financial restoration is the primacy of the gospel makes it so it is not hard to attract numerous followers. Followers who are so deeply entrenched in this ideology will fight every logical and coherent biblical argument that those who proclaim the gospel’s preeminence is faith and repentance can give.
I have seen the heartbreak and witnessed the unanswered prayers and uncertain hope in God because of a lack of healing or prosperity. There are countless people who are poor or are currently afflicted by a medical condition; the prosperity gospel provides false hope for these people as a mandated guarantee God will provide provision. Take a moment and understand a mother whose child is terminally-ill and all her options have been exhausted. Or a couple who is bankrupt and lives on the street and has no other choice. It changes our perspective when we realize these are not just ignorant people, but people who are in extreme hardship and the prosperity gospel gives false hope to them.
I need to make this clear because many are under the assumption that the followers of TBN are obtuse. I am not making excuses for the lack of discernment these individuals have, but we need to understand the roots of their fellowship with the prosperity gospel. The first part of this essay was never intended to examine the prosperity gospel’s theology, rather it was planned to give a perspective of TBN as a network and their followers as a whole.
Obviously, prosperity is attractive; there is no human being who objects to God as a giver of healing and financial restoration. These people provide a false fabrication of God and then subject millions to it. The prosperity gospel is by far the worst manufactured gospel of our generation. It differs from Roman Catholism, because Catholism twists the essence of the gospel in a way which looks, from a distance, like truth. On the other hand, the prosperity gospel is blatantly false with the ideology that God’s provision toward your wealth and health is available if you tap into the spiritual realm correctly.
The prosperity gospel will continue to do damage to Christians and evangelicalism. It is imperative we equip ourselves with the understanding of its doctrinal and biblical stances toward interpreting scripture. Most of all though, we need to pray; we need to pray that our motives are gentle and pure. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on the eternality of God’s judgment and remember this is not merely an aim to correct doctrine. Before I address the theological issues, we need to look at our hearts and make sure they are pure. Don’t let correcting someone’s doctrine become the primacy of this endeavor but become distressed that God’s grace will be concluded with the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that now is the time of salvation.
Let the word of God dwell deeply in you to create an overwhelming passion for people to be set free; people who are in bondage to the roaring doctrines of false teachers and preachers. Do not let your heart grow cold toward those who refuse to walk in the truth, but fervently pray to God to awaken their soul. If we want to be truly effective in our apologetics and defense of the gospel, we need examine our hearts. Most of all we need to depend on the Holy Spirit to break down the anarchy of people’s hearts and minds.
Since the birth of 1st Century Christianity, the church, collectively, has been beleaguered with false preachers. Many of the written epistles to churches were written with the intention of warning believers of the impending crisis surrounding the gospel. Paul, who possessed an abundance of fellow ministers that preached along with him, was ultimately left alone in his endeavor as some of his closet companions fell away for the “pleasures of the world.” It comes as no surprise then, that in the 21st century, false preachers and teachers are widespread; TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) has proven to us the prevalence of this.
It is a difficult thing to look at the prosperity gospel’s theology and create a systematic overview of it. This is mainly because there is no doctrinal statement or systematic theology. For example, Benny Hinn and T.D Jake’s theology is plagued with prosperity. However, Hinn is clearly more extreme on particular issues then Jakes. That being said, the main premises of prosperity theology are identical (That is, how they view the gospel in terms of prosperity.)
Typically, Prosperity theology is set up in a formula. If you correctly follow these steps, then the reward is God’s provision. You don’t have to watch for very long to understand that prosperity preachers always have a disclaimer: If you didn’t receive your blessing then you had a lack of faith or you didn’t tap into God’s spiritual realm correctly. The premise, I believe, of comprehending prosperity theology is their theology of faith. It is faith that connects us to this “spiritual realm of God’s riches.” Prosperity preachers view faith as a force. They believe faith is the force which has the ability to restore and change your life. This Faith is the substance of things hoped- which for the prosperity gospel becomes physical and financial. Faith connects us to God, and therefore, God as the giver of all things requires his people to have faith in the substance of his provision.
The “prosperity gospel” sees Jesus interaction with individuals in the gospels as passages requiring “faith” for healing. The woman who touched Christ’s garment is a perfect example of prosperity preacher’s claim to name-it-and-claim-it. Let’s Remember this woman had been terminally-ill and had exhausted all her resources on every type of medical treatment available. The woman’s first reaction to seeing Christ was to immediately grab hold of his garment for healing. The woman, built up with faith, touched Christ’s garment and was at once healed. This woman, who is an example of this so called force of faith, exemplifies for us that the amount of faith she had gave her the power to receive healing.
Notice that her healing and restoration were not caused merely by faith, but the amount of faith she had. I have witnessed too many cases of unhealed people who fallen victim to this ideology of faith. These people have been told they lacked the right amount of faith in God; consequently, this is why God refused to heal their bodies and restore them. As a result, faith is no longer about connecting us to the merit of Christ. God’s commitment to uphold his glory is emphasized throughout prosperity theology. God has made the promise through the atonement healing to those who believe. A word of caution must be inserted here. I do believe God requires faith in certain circumstances, however, those conditions are based upon his promises.
God has not - in any part of the NT- guaranteed divine healing on the basis of faith. There is only one promise guaranteed in the NT and that promise is “Emmanuel” God will be with us throughout all of our economical and biological deficits. Therefore, prosperity preachers begin with faith. This faith is based upon a promise and the victory to overcome financial or physical problems is guaranteed through the atonement of Christ; this is all done on the basis of God’s promise of divine healing and restoration.
In general, many in charismatic circles believe the atonement of Christ also purchased physical healing. The scripture reference used is
Isaiah 53:5-6 (KJV) 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
This is part of Isaiah’s climatic hope of restoration to Israel. The reference used is “For he bruised for our iniquities and crushed for our sorrows.” While this is a clear case of isogesis, it still remains as precedence for prosperity theology’s claim to the promise of healing. You can immediately see the consequences of such hermeneutics; every passage will be read with the assumption that it’s referring to the present conditions of our lives. When scripture say “according to the riches of God’s mercy” you can instantly see how the meaning will be truncated.
The Christian life immediately becomes the measure of our faith and ignores the main purpose of faith: to connect us to the merit of Christ. A few months ago I was watching TBN and Juanita Bynum was preaching. If you don’t know who she is just make a trip over to Wal-mart and you will see her popularity. At this time TBN was doing their fundraising campaign. Bynum was on the air and promised the first 7,000 callers who gave 1,000 dollars each would receive a blessing. You don’t have to understanding much arithmetic know how much of a net gain that is; it’s $7,000,000. Immediately Bynum met her goal in only forty-five minutes.
Bynum, who believers herself to be a modern day prophet and one who discerns the will of God, wholeheartedly believes her message. Her message was no different then T.D Jakes, Benny Hinn, Keneith Hagin, Joel Osteen (who I wouldn’t label a prosperity preacher, but his message is plagued with it from his father), Jesse Duplantis and every single prosperity preacher that affirms the same message.
According to them: God sent Christ, born of a virgin, incarnated into the form of man to provide reconciliation and restoration for our physical and financial problems. To tap into this power, the amount of faith that we have connects us to all the physical blessings of God. My brothers and sisters, we need to pray fervently that God would awaken these false teachers’ eyes.
We need more faithful pastors and teachers who will alert the church of these subduing doctrines of hell. As John Macarthur has said “TBN has done more harm then Jerry Springer.” That may sound humorous at first glance, but it’s a true statement. The Trojan horse of Christianity is a just a click, channel, and remote away for billions of Christians. Let us stand and defend the faith that was handed down to us from the generations before.
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I HATE the word-faith, properity, name-it claim-it movement. It is a false gospel that places emphasis on man not God. It is a heresy that reduces the cross to a means towards material blessing rather than the way to eternal joy.
2 Corinthians 11:4
For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it!
Galatians 1: 6
I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
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