The Prosperity Gospel Is a False Teaching

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

A modern teaching that we never see in the New Testament is referred to as the prosperity gospel, or word of faith, or positive confession, or name it and claim it. Those terms all tend to be used synonymously, and they're all false teachings based on wrongly applying a number of Bible passages (whether knowingly or unknowingly).

To start with, notice that Paul and other apostles told us to imitate them and to imitate Jesus:

"Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." (1 Corinthians 4:16-17)

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)

"Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children" (Ephesians 5:1)

"Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do." (Philippians 3:17)

"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:9)

"You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." (1 Thessalonians 1:5-7)

"For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate." (2 Thessalonians 3:7-9)

"We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." (Hebrews 6:12)

"To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." (1 Peter 2:21)

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2:6)

In the above passages we're specifically told to imitate Jesus, and to imitate the apostles who were imitating Jesus. Therefore, it's important to determine how they lived their lives so that we know how to imitate them. In the passages below, ask yourself "Where's the accumulation of wealth?" Ask yourself "Where's the positive confession or name it and claim it for financial prosperity?" Notice what Jesus' life and the apostles' lives were like, and what they said about how we should live our lives as Christians:

[Jesus is speaking:] "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:31-34)

"Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."" (Matthew 8:19-20)

"Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."" (Matthew 20:25-28)

""The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same." Even tax collectors came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your pay."" (Luke 3:9-14)

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."" (Luke 14:25-33)
["forsake all: The essence of discipleship is to place all things in God's hands. Jesus wants the crowds to understand this. Following Jesus is not a trivial matter. It is not how little you can give to God, but how much God deserves. cannot be My disciple: One is not really being a disciple if one is not fully devoted to God" (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary, Luke 14:33).
"says good-bye to all his property, "all his own belongings" (neuter plural participle used as substantive) as named in Luk 14:26. This verse gives the principle in the two parables of the rash builder and of the rash king. The minor details do not matter. The spirit of self-sacrifice is the point" (Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament, Luke 14:33).
"Forsaketh...Bids good-by to. Rev., renounceth. See on Luk 9:61. "In that forsaketh lies the key to the whole passage" (Trench). Christian discipleship is founded in self-renunciation." (Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, Luke 14:33).]

"After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."" (John 13:5-17)

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." (Acts 20:24)

"I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"" (Acts 20:33-35)

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship." (Romans 12:1)

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."" (Romans 15:1-3)

"For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world - right up to this moment. I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me." (1 Corinthians 4:9-16)

"For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don't you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:9-18)

""I have the right to do anything," you say - but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything" - but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)

"Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God - even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." (1 Corinthians 10:32-33)

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2 Corinthians 5:15)

"And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you - see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: "The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little."" (2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

"Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so." (2 Corinthians 11:7-9)

"Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches." (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

"or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

"How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?" (2 Corinthians 12:13-15)

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14)

"Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need." (Ephesians 4:28)

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:3-8)

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8)

"I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:10-19)

"You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

"and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

"Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-14)

"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good." (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13)

"they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." (1 Timothy 6:4-11)

"Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives." (Titus 3:14)

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."" (Hebrews 13:5)

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

[Jesus is speaking:] "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown." (Revelation 2:8-10)

Remember, we're specifically told to imitate Jesus and to imitate the apostles who were imitating Jesus. Therefore, it's important to determine how they lived their lives so that we know how to imitate them. In the dozens of passages above, where's the accumulation of wealth? Where's the positive confession or name it and claim it for financial prosperity? In the above passages, notice that Jesus' life and the apostles' lives and what they said about Christians' lives all describe the opposite of a prosperity gospel or name it and claim it for financial wealth. The above passages are examples of the numerous places in the New Testament where we're given the following information:

Instead of being told that God will make us wealthy, we're told that God will meet our needs. We're repeatedly told not to worry about having our needs met and not to be concerned about having more than we need. Throughout the New Testament we're never told to expect to become wealthy through positive confession or name it and claim it. Not even once.
Jesus didn't live in a mansion on earth or have a wealthy life. Instead, He said that He had no place to lay His head and that He had come to be a servant. We're told that even though Jesus was rich, for our sake He became poor so that through His poverty we might become rich. Jesus said that we must be servants, so if we become wealthy it's for the purpose of serving and helping others who are in need and helping spread the Gospel message. But throughout the New Testament we're never told to expect to become wealthy through positive confession or name it and claim it. Not even once.
We're told to be content with our pay. The apostle Paul said that he worked hard with his hands, and he told other people to do the same. He said that he had learned to be content no matter how little or how much he had, and he told us to do the same. We're specifically told to keep our lives free from the love of money and to be content with what we have. Paul also specifically said that people with corrupted minds think that godliness is a means to financial gain. Instead, Paul said, godliness with contentment is great gain. Throughout the New Testament we're never told to expect to become wealthy through positive confession or name it and claim it. Not even once.
Paul said that he didn't seek his own good but the good of others, and that our goal should be to help and please others instead of ourselves. He showed by his example that we must not covet anyone's silver or gold, and that by hard work we must help the weak because giving to those in need is more blessed than receiving for ourselves. Notice that we're told to help people in financial need by sharing our own blessings. Throughout the New Testament we're never told to teach them to become wealthy through positive confession or name it and claim it. Not even once.
Jesus said "those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." Paul showed by his example that we should consider our lives as nothing to us and that we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. He said that whatever were gains to him he now considered as loss, and considered everything as loss and as garbage compared to knowing Christ. Paul and Jesus never said, implied, or even hinted that they wanted to or were trying to become wealthy through positive confession, or name it and claim it, or any other methods. Not even once.
Paul asked the Corinthian church to help supply the needs of other churches so that the Corinthian church's plenty would supply what the other churches needed, and in turn the other churches' plenty would some day supply what the Corinthian church needs. Paul specifically said that the goal is equality by sharing resources. Throughout the New Testament we're never told to expect to become wealthy through positive confession or name it and claim it. Not even once.
When Jesus and Paul knew of people who were experiencing extreme poverty, it's very instructive that Jesus and Paul never told them to name it and claim it to get out of poverty and be prospered. Not even once.

So there are numerous passages throughout the New Testament that describe what Jesus' life was like, and what the apostles' lives were like, and what other Christians' lives were like. What we see is that in the vast majority of examples they lived in humble circumstances, sometimes in extreme poverty and need. What we never see is anyone naming it and claiming it (or being told to name it and claim it) to become wealthy.

Then why do people teach the prosperity gospel, or name it and claim it, or positive confession for becoming wealthy?

In the New Testament we're told to speak to things for miracles to happen (for example, notice what Jesus said and modeled for us in Matthew 17:18, 19-20, 21:19-22, Luke 4:38-39, 8:22-25, 17:5-6, and John 11:43-44), and we're told that "whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (e.g., Matthew 18:19-20, 21:21-22, Mark 11:22-24, John 14:10-14, 16:22-27, James 4:2-3, 1 John 3:21-22, 5:14-15), and we're told that our confessions of faith are very important (Matthew 10:32-33, John 9:22, 12:42, Romans 10:9-10, 2 Corinthians 9:13, Philippians 2:10-11, 1 Timothy 6:12, Hebrews 3:1, 4:14, 10:23, 1 John 4:2-3, 15, 2 John 1:7). On the surface, these things appear to support the name it and claim it, word of faith, positive confession teachings.

The passages in the previous paragraph about our confession of faith are examined in my article called How to Receive Salvation, and the other passages in the previous paragraph are examined in my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today. If you read my explanations of those passages to see the full picture, you'll find that none of them support or say anything about name it and claim it or positive confession for Christians to become financially wealthy. Not a single one of them.

When you read what's taught by prosperity gospel teachers, you'll find that they use many, many passages that were given to the Jews under the Old Covenant. What these teachers don't seem to understand is that the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were fulfilled and completely canceled at the cross (see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three). Christians are under the New Covenant, so we need to be cautious about applying Old Covenant passages to Christians. This is a very important issue that the name it and claim it teachers don't properly understand.

When prosperity gospel teachers use passages in the New Testament, you'll find that many of those passages talk about our needs being met by God. He absolutely will meet our needs, and even sometimes give us more than we need, but this does not imply that He'll make all Christians wealthy (no matter how much we claim it and believe for it).

In a number of passages that prosperity gospel teachers use, we're told that God can do more than we ask or think or imagine, but this does not imply that He'll make all Christians wealthy (no matter how much we claim it and believe for it). There are many, many things that God can and will do for us that have nothing to do with financial prosperity.

We're told in several passages that God will give us a full, abundant life, but this does not imply that He'll make all Christians wealthy (no matter how much we claim it and believe for it). In the New Testament, a full, rich, abundant life is never about accumulating wealth.

Some passages say that the more seed we sow, the more of a harvest we'll receive. This is a New Testament truth, but we need to keep in mind that 1) A harvest can come in different forms, it doesn't automatically mean becoming wealthy. 2) If we become wealthy, we're allowed to enjoy it but we've seen that it's primarily for the purpose of serving and helping others who are in need, and we must place it all in God's hands because Jesus said that "those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." 3) God often makes us wait a very, very, very long time for our harvest to come in, and while we're waiting He'll walk us through seasons of suffering and hardship (see my article called Why Do Christians Experience Hard Times and Suffering?).

So compared with what we've seen, the prosperity gospel teachers are using a small number of New Testament passages (which say nothing about accumulating wealth) and taking them out of context to create a false doctrine of positive confession and name it and claim it for financial prosperity.

Remember, Jesus told us what our attitude toward money should be:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19)

"Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."" (Luke 12:13-15)

"And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21)

"Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you - you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:24-34)

"In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." (Luke 14:33)

""No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight."" (Luke 16:13-15)

The apostle Paul made it clear that when God blesses us with abundance or wealth, it's so that we can then bless others who are in need and for God to get the glory from our generosity:

"There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we - not to say anything about you - would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." (2 Corinthians 9:1-13)

God is not against His people being wealthy, but in a number of passages (as in the examples throughout this section) we're told that our abundance is meant to be used for God's purposes, which include serving and helping others who are in need and helping spread the Gospel message. We're supposed to place it all in God's hands, allowing Him to use our abundance as He sees fit.

When Christians continually accumulate wealth, and hoard their wealth or display their wealth by buying mansions, yachts, fancy cars, private jets, etc., this is absolutely disgusting. It's utterly shameful. If you become wealthy, enjoy it humbly and reasonably but use it primarily for helping others who are in need and in any other ways that the Lord tells you to (see my article called How to Discern God's Guidance).