Today's Prosperity Gospel versus Jesus Christ's Prosperity Gospel

My years as a researcher have taken me through the school of hard knocks. Nevertheless, the journey has been intriguing in that it is laden with significant lessons of life. Of the lessons I have learnt, there is but one lesson which towers above the rest.

I wish I could plainly state the lesson but I think it comes out well through an illustration: the story is told about a man who woke up one morning with a terrible toothache. For some time, the tooth had caused him untold suffering and this morning he was determined to have it extracted. The man stormed the dentist's practice to realize three discouraging queues. He felt that he had no time to wait or follow protocol. He had to get attention in the shortest possible time. The man spotted the smallest queue which attracted him. He slipped in quietly and sat on the sofa which formed the shortest queue. Finally, his turn came and the dentist wasted no time. The dentist mounted his vice-like device on the tooth and just as he tried to pull it out, the man let out a loud and piercing scream. Everyone's attention was drawn as the screaming man fell of the dentist chair writhing in agony. The dentist stood shocked that a patient would encounter such pain since it's assumed that patients would have been sedated (drugged against pain). Only later was it realized that the hasty man had skipped protocol and therefore queued with patients who had already been sedated much to the tragedy that befell him.

This man brought injury and agony upon himself because he had disregarded background and protocol. A person is dangerous who acts or speaks without background or understanding context. Such a man is to be feared because he brings injury upon himself and misdirects others.

This lesson of the importance of context has stuck with me more than any other in my writing life. No writer can capture wholesome truth if they ignore background or context. Context helps eliminate distortions. In the absence of context, anything can be justified. Even the undressed pole-dancers mushrooming here have had the temerity to quote Scripture to support their 'God-given talent.' When context is taken away, understanding is also taken away. When context is considered, then an issue is also understood in its full bearings. I have often heard people say that Jesus never preached about prosperity. I beg to differ. If anything, the Man preached prosperity more than anything else. Like I highlighted, it is important to understand background in order to grasp what constitutes prosperity.

Everything started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Gen 3; 6). The effect of their disobedience resulted in death, sickness, earthquakes and disease. Man lost God's favor. Man had been designed to live forever but because of sin, man became subject to death. Man had been created spiritually rich in that he was under God's protection and foremost was immortal. The very moment he ate of the forbidden fruit he lost all the spiritual richness bestowed upon him. He lost God's grace and death came into the world.

Death was and remains the ultimate price paid by humanity for disobeying God. Obedience to God is therefore the mark of spiritual richness. Adam became spiritually poor when he sinned. By disobeying God, Adam gave all humanity (his offspring) to the devil. We were all destined for everlasting death. Then God sought to restore man to his original state and thus sent His Son. As a result, Jesus came and died a cruel death. His reason for dying is crucial to understanding prosperity. This is where millions have been tricked. This is where context has been mutilated. This is where the tragedy lies. I presume that the Lord watches in anger as today's preachers continue to misrepresent the truth about Christ's death. Brothers and sisters, it's a lie that Christ died on the cross so that we may own ounces of gold and acres of diamonds of this world.

Christ did not die so that we may drive trendy cars. He did not endure the torture on Calvary so that we may own mansions in leafy suburbs. Christ's dying was not a gateway to wear designer garments. Christ never died to give us immunity to suffering. My dear sister, He did not die so that you could get married as they have told you. The reason for his death is clearly stated; Christ died so that, "…whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" That's why John 3; 16 is a revolutionary verse to every true Christian because it aptly captures how man was given back his riches according to the Kingdom of God. He died so that sinners who had been sold to the devil (by Adam) could be saved back.
When the Bible says of Jesus, "…though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…" (2 Corinthians 8; 9), it is not referring to earthly riches which Jesus always spoke against. It is a reference to the eternality and pre-existence of Christ. Christ is as rich as God in that He owns everything, and possesses all power and authority. The Bible is speaking of the undeserved death that befell Him in order that man should not perish (Isa 9:6; Col 1:15-18). That's why the last part of the verse clearly states, "…that through His poverty we might become rich."

Jesus was not deserving of death. Humanity, on the contrary, had disobeyed God and deserved death. Man had lost his riches according to God's Kingdom and awaited everlasting death.
Jesus Himself became poor in that He took our form and died on the cross and through the process restored us to everlasting life (spiritual richness). He took our place. This is the incontrovertible truth of the matter. Honestly, if there is anything that the Bible teaches, it is the fact that Christians have no abiding city in this world and the need to prepare for the Second Coming. The return of Christ is the topmost message in Paul's letters and Revelations. The apostles welcomed death in the hope of the Second Coming. Even the very last two verses of the Bible are a reminder for humanity to keep watch because Jesus returns quickly (Rev 22; 20, 21).The Bible is awash with the message that this world is not our home and it is irresponsible for a supposed minister to misdirect thousands and wantonly reject Biblical counsel. Peter even puts it plainly, "…we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwell."(2 Peter 3:13)

Jesus taught prosperity. His prosperity gospel had everything to do with God's Kingdom. It is about restoring man to the ways of God. Jesus meant spiritual prosperity when He said, "Of all men born of a woman, none is greater than John the Baptist." (Matt 11; 11).John was a poor man who lived in the desert eating locusts yet Christ described him as the greatest man because he was rich towards the things of God. Christ preached real prosperity when he said the following words about the rich fool who was about to die, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God" (Luke 12:21). Christ preached genuine prosperity in Luke 16 when he gave the example of poor Lazarus (rich towards God) and the rich man (rich towards earthly things).Again, Christ taught true prosperity when He told his disciples that, despite His status (Son of God), He had nowhere to lay His head (Matt 8:20). Again Jesus preached heavenly prosperity to the rich young man who was a slave to his wealth (Matt 19:22).

Indeed Jesus preached the gospel of prosperity but His was the stark opposite of what we hear today. Christ died that we may have abundant life according to the kingdom of God. According to God, it does not matter whether or not we live comfortably in this world. Paul would even say, "For to me…to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). A person who dies in Christ is rich in the truest sense of the word.

Prosperity as preached by Christ and prosperity as preached today are as opposite as the North Pole is to the South Pole. Surely, if prosperity had meant material gain as they would have us believe, we should have been told of the increase in properties and livestock that accrued to the disciples soon after Jesus left.

Surely, if prosperity had been silver and gold, then Peter and John (close friends of Jesus) wouldn't have told the beggar at the gate that, "Silver and gold we do not have… (Acts 3; 6)." Indeed, if prosperity meant money without work (miracle money), then Paul wouldn't have needed to make a living by repairing tents as he did (Acts 18; 3).

Surely, if earthly riches did not belong to Satan, then he wouldn't have offered them to Christ (Matt 4:9). If Christ's death was meant to bring Christians the good-life, then Stephen would not have endured a cruel death only a few days after Christ left (Acts 7; 58).

Surely, if prosperity meant affluence, the disciples left by Christ would not have been described as, "…common men of no education"(Acts 4:13) Really, if prosperity meant immunity from disease, surely John the Revelator would not have died a lonely, blind and wounded man on the Island of Patmos(Rev 1;9). Honestly, if prosperity meant living large in this world, there would have been no point absolutely for Christ's return.

You are valuable to the Kingdom of God if you live in a shack but are rich towards God and indeed you are valuable to the Kingdom of Darkness if you drive a Ferrari but are poor towards the things of God. Prosperity is not prosperity if it has nothing to do with salvation of the soul.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain this world and yet, lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36). Tragically, today's minister has led millions into rebellion against these clear words of Christ.

It's not surprising that followers and especially beneficiaries of the prosperity gospel will draw out their swords against this message. However, the truth is self-evident and the very life of Christ testifies of true prosperity which has everything to do with salvation and nothing to do with worldly riches.

This is the last hour. Take heed that no-one deceives you.

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