1 Corinthians 1:18… For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are beingsaved it is the power of God. (NKJV)
Friends, the prosperity gospel has a growing number of people (many calling themselves Christians) believing this false doctrine that God wants all of us to be prosperous…and we can be !! Preachers that only preach this “feel good” doctrine, and never preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, are deceiving those that fall for this false, non-biblical type of preaching…
I write about this prosperity gospel preaching today, because I know several Christian friends who might not be aware of the dangers to this false doctrine of health, wealth, and prosperity preaching…
I was listening to a video of one famous prosperity gospel preacher, who said he doesn’t preach the gospel of Christ because people don’t want to hear about the doom and gloom of hell… They come to hear him preach only positive motivational sermons… If he wasn’t a pastor of a large church, and he was only a motivational speaker, it wouldn’t be as bad… Of course they don’t want to hear that hell is real !! Who wants to be told that they have to be accountable to God (Hebrews) 4:13) for living a lifestyle that is filled with all the pleasurable sinful lusts that the world has to offer ??
The apostle Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy, warning him about this “feel good” preaching, in…2 Timothy 4:2-4… Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will notenduresounddoctrine, butaccording to their owndesires, because they have itching ears, they will heapup for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turntheirearsawayfrom the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (NKJV)
Here is a link to a video done by John Piper, titled… “Why I abominate the prosperity gospel”; where John Piper backs up his reasoning with scripture from the Bible… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLRue4nwJaA
“the message of the cross”that the apostle Paul is speaking about in the opening scripture, is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…which is the only gospel (“good news”) message that Jesus and His disciples preached for forgiveness of sins by God… Anyone who believes that they can get into heaven because of all the self-righteous works they have done in the name of the Lord, are deceiving themselves… No one can earn their way into heaven by going to church every week…by giving large amounts of money to their church or other charitable causes…or by any other good deeds they have done… Jesus Himself warns us of this false “works based” doctrine for getting into heaven, which is being taught in many churches today, when He preached this, in…
Matthew 7:21-23… “Noteveryone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Yourname, cast out demons in Yourname, and done many wonders in Yourname?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knewyou; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (NKJV)
Jesus goes on later, and tells His disciples this, at “The Last Supper”, in… John 14:6… Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noone comes to the FatherexceptthroughMe.” (NKJV)
The “way” is through understanding and obedience to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, after being drawn in first by God…John 6:44… (See link at the bottom for more on God’s grace) The “truth”is found in the Word of God, and it will set the sinner free from Satan’s chains of bondage to sin…John 8:32… “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (NKJV) And the “life”that Jesus speaks about, is eternal life in heaven with His Father…
The apostle Paul makes understanding and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ absolutely necessary for getting into heaven, when he pens this, in… 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9… in flamingfire taking vengeance on those who donot know God, and on those who do not obey the gospelof our LordJesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished witheverlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (NKJV)
So don’t be misled by churches preaching the prosperity gospel, or any other false doctrine that doesn’t regularly include the truth from God’s Word… If the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not regularly preached at your church…I can only suggest thinking about finding another church that teaches and preaches the gospel of Christ, and other doctrine that is exclusively found in God’s inerrant Word, the Bible… In my humble opinion, any church preaching man-made doctrine, or doctrine that is not found in the Bible, should be avoided…
For more on finding “The Right Church” (1/05/2013)…with the right church doctrine (1/08/2013)…and then how and why we as Christians should “Get Plugged in” to their church (1/19/2013)…go to www.Godsmanforever.com and type these dates as shown into the search window…
Heavenly Father, I pray that Your living and powerful Word (Hebrews 4:12-13) would drawn those that You don’t yet know as Your redeemed child to Yourself…John 6:44… I pray Father that Your Word would cut right to the very core of the souls of those who have never heard the “good news” gospel of Your Son Jesus Christ… I pray Father, that You would not give these unbelievers rest until they seek and find someone who can sit with them and explain the gospel of Christ in a simple, straightforward manner… I pray that You would grant these sinners who believe and receive Your Son Jesus Christ in saving faith alone into their hearts and lives…the grace and the mercy that only You can provide…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
P.S. Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, after first being drawn in by God…John 6:44… https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/gods-group-thoughts-for-7112013-the-truth-about-sin/
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