This is a follow-up to my last article on “False Teachers Should be named”
Lisa Robinson over at the Parchment and Pen Blog has written some good articles on the Word of Faith Movement and her own experience as part of a Word-Faith Church (with word of faith teacher Fred Price). (more on him later)
In the com boxes, someone was complaining that those of us who criticize the Word of Faith theology don’t give positive teachings of what the Bible says about money and wealth and prosperity.
Does Prosperity Teaching Deny the Gospel?
Shai Linne and Judging False Teachers
My Biggest Gripe with Word-Faith Theology
A commenter that goes by “Minimus” made this comment: (at the first article by Lisa Robinson above)
Why have I never seen any kind of “proper teaching” on finances from those who denounce the “prosperity gospel”?
THAT is my real question.
My Answer: (with additions and improvements)
Minimus: Any good Orthodox(meaning correct doctrine, not Greek Orthodox)/Doctrinal/Evangelical pastor and Bible teachers who are NOT word of faith teach the principles of money and finance from the Bible when it comes up.
Basically:
1. We are to earn money by working hard, not by naming or claiming or “believing hard”, etc. (Genesis 1-3 (chapter 2 – “work the garden”; chapter 3 – “by the sweat of your brow”. see also Romans 8:20-23 – creation is still corrupted and there is death, decay, rust, thorns, problems, corruption);
2 Thessalonians 3:10 – “If anyone is unwilling to work; he has no right to eat either.”
2. We are to trust God in trials and fianancial hardship – understanding that God never promises financial success.
James 1:2-5
1 Peter 1:6-7
The book of Job
Ecclesiastes 7:14
3. The Book of Job should be taught properly. God deliberately put him through trials to test him and his faith precisely because he was a God-fearing and godly believer, not because of any “fear” in him or because he let the devil attack him, etc. God sent the trials and God allowed Satan to attack his finances – Job chapters 1-2.
Job had the proper attitude at first: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21)
3. Principle of Contentment – Philippians 4:9-13 – stop lusting after everything that others have. Stop trying to live the American dream by claiming and “faking it till you make it” (Creflo Dollar)
4. Live within your means – make a budget – and follow it; don’t use credit cards, unless you can pay it off every month.
5. Praying for a job or God’s provision is not wrong, but prayer is worship and trust and submission to God’s Soverieignty – “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10) – “if we ask according to his will” – 1 John 5:14; see also Luke 22:42
6. Pray with pure motives, not the evil, greedy, selfish motives that these false teachers teach – like Creflo, Copeland, Marilyn Hickey ( “speak to your wallet – you big fat wallet you full of money” etc.) – what garbage!!
7. Give generously to one’s local church first. 2 Corinthians 9:7 – “as each one has purposed in his heart” – free will – but give something.
8. Don’t use Malachi 3:10 in order to manipulate people – that was Israel’s tax system – 3 tithes – 23% – 2 of 10% and one every three years of 10%, which is 23.333 % per year. If someone wants to claim that as NT…
9. Put aside some money for savings and for the future.
Go to http://www.gty.org – John McArthur’s site and put Biblical principles on handling money or finances and you will get lots of good material there.
Dave Ramsey’s book, The Complete Money Make-Over is good also.
So there; those are the basic principles .
That is a sound Biblical rebuke to folks like Leroy Thompson, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, John Avanzini, and Marilyn Hickey and others like them.
See the disturbing Greed of the way Leroy Thompson manipulates the crowd here: (and Creflo Dollar comes up and gets in on that action of dancing on the money, thinking that they can actually physically rub off some kind of “anointing” from themselves [I don’t think any of these false teachers are anointed at all by the Holy Spirit] onto the money. The goofy-est, saddest, weird, pathetic, and most manipulative thing I have ever seen.
I wrote an article on that sometime back at another blog which I contribute to from time to time.
Apologetics and Agape 