It's One Or The Other: Gospel of Grace vs. Prosperity Gospel

We spent the final Sundays of August in Paul's closing to the Book of Philippians - verses 10-19.  It was no surprise that we had good interaction in the Q &A that followed those services on the "Prosperity Gospel" (PG)  In light of that, I thought I'd share some interesting recent resources from TheGospelCoalition.org website.

As I said in both sermons, the PG perspective is like the water a fish swims in: it's all around us and can have an unnoticed influence on us all.  Believers do well to cultivate a discerning heart and mind with regard to it, because "PG" is just a modern expression of what Paul would call a Different Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6) which is really no gospel at all!

You can begin to sense you are in "PG" territory whenever you begin thinking of "Faith" as if it were a tool that you use to get what you decide for yourself you want - even if what you want has a Scriptural proof-text.  Often, it boils down to an "if/then" statement like: If I say/do/believe "this" enough, then God is obligated to respond with "that" for me.

You are deeper in to the territory when you feel like you are not receiving what you should from God because of a lack in your faith and so need to exercise more of whatever it is that you are lacking.  As this goes on, if you continue to "not receive because of your lack" you get depressed, and - perhaps even worse - if you should receive that it is that you are "believing God for," there begins to be a self-righteous pride that creeps in.  Bad stuff either way.

And very different from Paul who is able to face any circumstance -  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 (Philippians 4:12-13) - because has placed his trust in the finished work of Jesus, and not in himself and the strength of his own faith.  Paul lives as he does - with contentment and generosity - not because he has "enough faith" to get what he wants out of God, but because he is content to receive whatever Jesus has for him in this moment.

The interesting thread that runs through these three resources is a pastor named Costi Hinn.  His uncle, Benny Hinn, is a high profile figure in Prosperity Gospel circles and Costi actually worked with him for years.  Then Costi came to understand the Gospel of God's Grace  and eventually left the "family business."  He now leads Redeemer Bible Church in Gilbert, Arizona

How Benny Hinn’s Nephew Rejected the Prosperity Gospel - CLICK HERE

This a review of Costi Hinn's book  God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies

Costi Hinn Exposes the Most Abusive Kind of False Teaching Today - CLICK HERE

If you like to listen, this is a 40 minute interview podcast with Costi and Gospel Coalition editor Collin Hansen.  Much of the conversation revolves around Costi's book, as well as further resources from other writers

God, Thank You I’m Not Like Those Prosperity Preachers - CLICK HERE

This is a helpful post by Costi himself that is helpful on responding to friends and family - ane ourselves - who are influenced by Prosperity Gospel thinking.

Praying As Bullets Fly

Like many people, I find myself struggling to cope with the sadness and horror of what now seems commonplace: mass shootings in the United States.  Our son was a student at Virginia Tech and on campus though not involved during the shooting there in 2007, so the pace and regularity of these events strikes us close to home.

I feel the same press to "Do Something, ANYTHING!" and  "do more than pray!" so I do have a number of legal and cultural steps I would like to see implemented.  But I do continue to know that prayer by God's people is an important part of the turn-around need to "fix" our national sickness.  Here are some prayer resources that have helped me:

Grieving The Tragedies in El Paso and Dayton - Click Here

From Heavenward - the Daily Prayer Post of Scotty Smith on Sunday, August 4
As Providence would have it, Mary Lynn and I were driving through Dayton, OH on our way home less than 18 hours after the shooting there.  There was an eerie sense of normalcy as we drove the sign directing people to the "Oregon District" - typically a local, social hotspot, but on that day a crime scene.

I’m a Shooting Survivor. If You’re Going to Pray for Us, Here’s How. - CLICK HERE

Posted August 4 on the Christianity Today site immediately following the El Paso and Dayton shootings. Talk about timely!  Author Taylor Schumann is a writer, shooting survivor, and contributor to the forthcoming book If I Don’t Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings. She lives with her husband and son in Charleston, South Carolina.

Emanuel - The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting

This is a critically important documentary that was developed in part with NBA star Stephen Curry’s initiative.  The film was publicly available for two days on the anniversary of the shooting this summer.  Mary Lynn and I saw it and were deeply, deeply moved as well as informed.  CLICK HERE for website.  At this point, the DVD is waiting to be released - CLICK HERE for pre-order - but I can whet your appetite with the trailer:

Emanuel – The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - Resources

This Sunday, I referred to "Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism" and would like to make a number of resources easily available.  As I said at that time, I am increasingly convinced that MTD is the "Spirit of the Age."  I encourage people to prayerfully and thoughtfully cultivate the discernment to identify MTD's impact in their own life and in their circle of relationships.  No church advertises themselves as an "MTD Church," but all of us face it, many are unaware of its influence on them and some have - whether knowingly or not - let MTD replace the Gospel of Grace in their ministry.

Click Here for a previous blog entry of my own Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

A Painful National Anniversary

It's been an interesting summer for anniversaries:  Fifty years ago some 400.000 people found their way to the Yasgur Farm in Woodstock, NY, the Beatles' Abbey Road album was released and Charles Manson began his murder sprees.

But go back four hundred years and you find the sad beginning of "man-stealing" in America.  Thomas Kidd, a history professor at Baylor University writes: In late August 1619, a shipment of “20 and odd Negroes” arrived on a ship to Virginia. They were not the first Africans in Virginia, but this human cargo is widely viewed as the beginning of slavery in the English colonies.  I am familiar with Kidd's work, and this article is well worth reading.  CLICK HERE  He goes on to say that recent archival discoveries indicate that these African prisoners may well have been familiar with the Christian faith through Jesuit missionaries in their land of origin.  Could it really be that slavery in America began through the kidnapping of fellow Christians?!?  

As we began our Summer Sermon Series in the book of Philippians, I pointed out that the form of race-based, chattel slavery practiced in the United States, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, was not to be connected with the slavery referred to in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.  To put it directly: What was called "slavery" in the history of the United States, is called "man-stealing" in the Bible. This is the KJV wording, and It really stuns our modern ears.  "Man-stealing" is rarely referred to in Scripture, because it such a vile and reprehensible practice.  In Israel, those who did it were to be executed (Exodus 21:16).  In I Timothy 1:10, Paul includes "man-stealing" (the NIV translates the word "slave traders") in a list of behaviors that are "contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel."  

However we choose to translate the Greek word "doulos" - whether "slave" or "servant" - it is clear that Paul did not have in mind, and could not have even conceived of, the race-based slavery that began here in the United States four centuries ago.  And don't forget that Paul refers to he and Timothy as "doulos/slaves/servants" of Christ in Philippians 1:1.  In Philippians 2:7 he goes on to say that in the incarnation, God Himself took on "the very nature of a doulos/slave/servant."  Because of this, following Christ is no sort of dehumanizing oppression.  Instead, it is about a redeeming love that sets us free to lay aside the demands of our own self-interests and then freely act in the loving-best-interest of others, just as Jesus Himself did for us.

If you would like to dig deeper into both the Bible and American history on the issue of slavery in light of the Gospel of God's Grace,  I can recommend these four blog posts from the Gospel Coalition as a good place to start:

• Does the Bible Support Slavery?  CLICK HERE
• How and Why Did Some Christians Defend Slavery?  CLICK HERE
• A British Baptist on the Civil War and Slavery  CLICK HERE
• Why It’s Wrong to Say the Bible Is Pro-Slavery CLICK HERE