I'd read that the prosperity gospel was
going rampant in Africa and now have found this as truth in Madagascar. In thinking about how the prosperity gospel
fits with Malagasy customs as well as human nature in general, I can see how
this false gospel is so easily accepted.
The Malagasy live for today. Each
day is a new day to find $2, buy your needs, and survive. When the prosperity gospel describes an
opportunity to make today better, of course its attractive. However, works-based salvation instead of
Christ-based salvation leaves people in a worry and panic that they will never
be good enough to have a relationship with God, and teaching of prosperity on
this earth leaves people angry and confused when God doesn't provide on a
promise He never made.
Last week I was sitting in a Bible study
with 15 young men at the English Center and they began to ask questions about what
the Bible says about certain topics. One
boy had a story of a pastor who told him to put money in the offering basket at
church so that he will receive an answer to his prayer request. In talking about this we asked, "Who are
we to test God?" This led to
further discussion about what God's plan is for our life. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for
those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are
called according to his purpose." The
prosperity gospel says that "good" is defined by humans (i.e. money,
girlfriend, nice concrete home, health), however the Bible clarifies the
"good" in verse 28 when it is described in verse 29. Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom
he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his
Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." So the "good" in verse 28 is
"to be conformed to the image of his Son" in verse 29. God's good for us is that he is making us
like Jesus.
We got finished discussing this and
minutes later a young man answered another's question with this phrase,
"If you believe in your heart about Jesus and say it with your mouth you
will be blessed." I felt like
nothing I had explained earlier was even comprehended after this comment, but
then I realized the opportunity that God had just given me to contextualize the
point. I asked the young man what he
thought the "blessing" was.
Then we looked at a similar statement in scripture: Romans 10:9 "because,
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Again I asked them what the "blessing"
was. The greatest blessing we receive
from God is salvation through Jesus Christ.
The young man was right, if we believe and confess we will be
blessed! Blessed with eternal life with
God almighty! However, I know he had
heard this statement used in a different way to prove a point that sounds
right, but promises the earthly treasure that our Lord Jesus spoke
against.
If you don't think that the
prosperity gospel is satanic then you should compare the lies of it to the lies
of Satan in the garden of Eden and to Jesus in the wilderness. Temptation takes our focus away from God and
puts it on ourselves.
The prosperity gospel is a constant attack
on the church and if we want to fight it then we must learn to value God's
"good" more than anything else.
When we celebrate our sanctification in Jesus and define it as good we
will not be tricked into storing treasures up on earth.
