"I marvel that you are so soon turning away from Him who called you in the merciful kindness of the Anointed One, to a different gospel, though there is not another; but there are some who stir up strife among you and want to distort the good news of the Anointed One. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let his twisted teaching and corrupting influence be removed from you. 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."
Gal. 1:6-9 [JCP]
There are a number of other “gospels” being preached in the world today and they are very deceptive because most of them preach the fundamentals of what Jesus preached, i.e., love, repentance, forgiveness etc., but woven in are other of His teachings “which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” One of the most effective lies of the enemy is a truth twisted to serve oneself. It has the air of righteousness, but none of its holiness.
In fact, there are three very powerful examples of this self-serving, self-focused scriptural interpretation tactic used against Jesus in the story of His temptation in the wilderness, which I will be discuss in greater detail in a future article. This strategy of the enemy has proven very effective. Though it isn’t spelled out, I’m certain it was the lie used to deceive a third of heaven. It was definitely the same lie used on Eve in garden, and it is the same lie being used in the world today against God’s people. In fact, it is the same deception behind all the “other gospels.” The one I want to focus on specifically in this article is the prosperity “gospel,” also known as the “name it and claim it” or “word of faith” teaching, which is based on some rather dangerous fallacies.
Fallacy 1: The “Name It And Claim It” Methodology
"For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"
2 Timothy 3:2-5
The whole bible is predicated upon God’s desire to have a relationship with His creation. So any time someone boils down scripture to a method to be performed to get a certain result rather than a means to have an intimate relationship with God, it’s a red flag. This first fallacy is so dangerous because it encourages Christians to brandish the promises of God like some mystic talisman and tells them if they “claim” the right promise in scripture, and pray, they will move God to grant them their preferred outcome. This blasphemous theology is really witchcraft thinly disguised as Christianity, essentially using the bible as a spell book and putting God in the position of working for us, like a familiar spirit or demonic servant and it’s as heretical as consulting mediums, ouija boards, and tarot readings.
The Spirit of God is not your personal genie! You don’t summon Him with ritualistic behaviors, or attempt to entrap Him with His own words so He will grant your wishes, for love, wealth, or power. As if God could be manipulated or coerced! This certainly has the feel of the accuser, the original self-appointed prosecuting attorney. This warped thinking, in the guise of partnering or agreeing with God, is rooted in other scripture whose interpretation is twisted by a self-serving desire.
Fallacy 2: Ask for Whatever You Want
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! In light of this, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Torah and the Prophets."
Matthew 7:7-12
Here in Matthew 7, notice first the things the son is asking for. Bread and fish. A basic need, not luxuries. Next take note that these needs are referred to as “good gifts” and Jesus correlates them to God giving these gifts to those who ask Him. He is not referring to wealth. Then He uses that example of God’s lovingkindness to illustrate how we are to treat our fellow man, which He sums up with the law of “love your neighbor as yourself” and reinforces its importance in verse 12 by stating that this understanding is the very heart of the Torah and the teachings of the prophets.
Love is the motive behind ask, seek, knock, and love does not seek it’s own way. Love is the reason you will receive what you ask for, because love is the reason you’re asking. Love is the reason you will find what you’re searching for because love is the reason you’re searching. Likewise, since love is why you’re knocking, God’s love will be why the door is opened to you. If you take love out of this verse, then you take the entire verse out of its context.
When Jesus says in Matthew chapter 15, “Ask what you will in My name and it will be given you,” He doesn’t mean ask for whatever self-centered desire you have, and it will be granted. He means if His words live in you, if they are written upon your heart, if His Torah, His heart lives within your heart then yes, whatever you desire will be given you because you’re asking Him for what God already desires to give you. As James says, “Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
One of the biggest reasons we don’t receive what we ask for in prayer is not a lack of faith, but an improper motive. As it instructs in Philippians chapter 2, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” This echoes quite clearly the principle Jesus is illustrating above in Matthew 7. With this understanding it’s apparent He is not promoting a “name it and claim it” methodology with which to approach God. That’s not to say He hasn’t promised to take care of you, but provision and financial prosperity are not the same.
Fallacy 3: God’s Promised Provision Equals Financial Prosperity [Matthew 6:19-34]
God has made a covenantal promise to supply all your needs in Christ Jesus. Don’t worry about food, clothes, shelter, but rather seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these will be provided for you. This is provision. Provision for our physical and spiritual needs is a fundamental, universally applicable promise to those who call on the name of the Lord in faith. Jesus modeled this understanding of provision when He sent out the 12 and then the 72. The Lord sent out his disciples without wealth, that is, without money, food, or even extra clothes, and yet, as they went they were provided for by their Heavenly Father.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus, clearly advises not to focus on building worldly wealth but rather heavenly treasure. And again in Mark, Jesus paints a rather extreme picture when He says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.“ It’s clear in the examples above that God’s provision does not equal financial prosperity, nor does it necessarily preclude it, but it isn’t meant to be our focus or our motive. Paul says in 1 Timothy that wealth is the root of all kinds of evil and although wealth isn’t evil in and of itself, it is very dangerous. Our hearts tend to get tangled up in the things we value and when we value the wrong things and they’re stolen or destroyed, our hearts go with them. Also, wealth tends to breed reliance upon what you have, not on the God who owns it all.
The sin of pride is being self-reliant and not God-reliant, and pride is the sin at the root of every other evil. It is why the devil fell, and how he deceived himself, and a third of heaven, and how he corrupted creation. This is why it’s my firm belief that very few are meant to experience abundance of wealth in this life because few are able to withstand corruption from its subtle yet enticing influence. For this reason God distributes the stewardship of His kingdom amongst His people in proportion to our abilities.
Fallacy 4: The Faithful Steward Parable Is Only About Money [Matthew 25:14-30]
Most of us have read or heard the parable about the talents, how a certain owner was leaving on a journey but before he left he left three servants in charge of his property. He gave one five talents, another two, and the last he gave one. Jesus uses money here in this parable as an example, but it represents more than mere finances. True wealth goes beyond silver and gold, and God’s property with which He has entrusted us includes material things but also our faith, our time, our capabilities, and even our relationships. All these are gifts provided by the Father, entrusted into our care.
Now, not every servant was given the same amount of talents, but rather each according to his ability. God does reward the faithful with more to manage and grow, but even so, we all haven’t been given the same things or the same quantities. Similarly we don’t all serve the same function in the body of Christ. There are visionaries, financiers, investors, architects, salesman, suppliers, transporters, logistics specialists, record keepers, foremen, craftsman of various kinds, and more. While some of us may serve in multiple capacities, and even some the same as others in the body, we can’t all serve the same function. Just like an army can’t be made up solely of generals, we can’t all be millionaires, but we can all steward our wealth well. And as we prove faithful in little, God is faithful to grant more to our care.
"Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."
Acts 4:32-35
There is another pitfall of wealth that we fall into and that is we tend to think of what we have as our own, and not the Lord’s who owns everything. We work hard to earn money, and pay bills, and care for our families, and we forget that we work for the Lord. That He is our provider and it’s His wealth that we manage. So when we steward well what we have and God rewards us with more we begin to think more highly of ourselves than we ought and think our increase is our due, and not a gracious gift. We forget what we have is to benefit the kingdom, not simply to take care of ourselves, but also our neighbor.
In summary…
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
2 Timothy 4:3-4
I know these things aren’t easy to hear. They don’t satisfy the fleshly cravings for ease and comfort but the truth is the Father did not send Jesus to die to make our lives here on earth more comfortable. When He says in Proverbs, “He will make your paths straight,” He doesn’t mean easy, problem free, smooth, and devoid of obstacles. He means that however the wind blows, however disorienting the driving rain and debris, no matter the tempting landscape along alternate routes, no matter the pitfalls in your path prepared by the enemy, He will sustain and guide you along His straight path, following His way, the only way that leads to life.
"You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 16:11
When He says you will lack no good thing, He’s talking about eternal things, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He’s talking about eternal communion with our Heavenly Father. He’s talking about things that aren’t dependent upon favorable and temporary circumstances like wealth. Always bear in mind, God is your inheritance, the ultimate prize and reward.
"Do not weary yourself to gain wealth;
Stop dwelling on it.
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens."
Proverbs 23:4-5
FORGED 
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