What Is Prosperity In The Bible

Bible Verses About Wealth And Prosperity

Do you want to understand the biblical perspectives about your financial wellbeing and prosperity? Then, you need to pay close attention to what Ill be sharing about bible verses on wealth.

Over the years there has been a lot of misconceptions between Christians about What the bible says about Wealth, Finance, Money, and Prosperity. This has lead to a lot of erroneous impressions on whether it is Gods will for believers to be Wealthy and Prosperous, one of the causes of this is the wrong interpretation given to scriptures about wealth and money.

As a result, Christians slack in their quest to building wealth and work in financial prosperity because they lack knowledge.

While some people believe they need to take responsibility for their financial wellbeing, others uphold the belief that their financial future is in Gods hands and they dont have to do anything to be successful, wealthy, and prosperous other than to trust in God alone.

But, what are the right biblical perspectives to uphold about Wealth and Prosperity?

So, in this post, Im going to be taking you on a journey over understanding what does the bible says about wealth and money?

Reviews And Fact About Bible Verses On Wealth And Prosperity

1Timothy 6:10 says: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Dan Lok, popularly known as the Asian Dragon once said Money is like a tool, which can be used for good and evil.

When you begin to seek after money to the extent that it began to take your mind away from God whereby you go to any length not minding whether its evil just to make money.

Proverbs 10:22 It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And adds no sorrow to it.

The foundation for wealth and prosperity is Gods blessings thats why in Abraham was very rich in livestock and silver because Gods blessing was upon him and he excels in all he does.

You might say but, unbelievers are also rich, there is always an inner peace that accompanies financial blessings that comes from God.

If you check men that excel in wealth and prosperity all through scriptures they all worked in the blessings, examples are Solomon, Job, David, Jacob, Joseph the list can go on.

In essence, money is not evil but the love of it, and also its Gods blessings that guarantee long-lasting wealth and prosperity.

Before I wrap every up, It important you know what Private Banking And Wealth Management is All About.

Error #: Jesus Atonement Extends To The Sin Of Material Poverty

Prosperity gospel advocates also misunderstand what happened on the cross. Theologian Ken Sarles wrote that the prosperity gospel claims that both physical healing and financial prosperity have been provided for in the Atonement. This seems to be an accurate observation in light of teacher Kenneth Copelands comment that the basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, grief, and poverty on Jesus at Calvary. This misunderstanding of the scope of the Atonement stems from two errors that proponents of the prosperity gospel make.

First, many who hold to prosperity theology fundamentally misunderstand the life of Christ. For example, teacher John Avanzini proclaimed, Jesus had a nice house, a big house,Jesus was handling big money and He even wore designer clothes. It is easy to see how such a warped view of the life of Christ could lead to an equally warped misconception of the death of Christ.

Second, many prosperity gospel teachers misinterpret 2 Corinthians 8:9, which reads,

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

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As You Grow In Your Understanding Of Biblical Finances Here Are Five Truths And Scriptures On Which To Meditate:

You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich . What that prosperity looks like will differ from family to family, but be assured that Gods will is prosperity. You are not outside the will of God when you ask for financial provision and blessings.

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever . Resources are never meant to be hoarded in the kingdom of God. Instead, God desires that they be freely shared to accomplish His will. Ask yourself: Do I allow myself to be a conduit of Gods blessing, or do I see myself as a stopping point? If your answer is the latter, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a vision for blessing others.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus . No matter the need, God loves it when His children pray with joyful expectation in their hearts , eagerly looking for how He will provide for them.

The Prosperity Gospel Preys Upon Christians In A Selfish Culture

We live in scary times, and as we approach the End Times, were desperate to hear something good. The prosperity gospel absorbs our modern culture and makes it sound palatable to Christians.

We live in a culture that promotes vanity, selfishness, and gain. The prosperity gospel takes these three temptations and adds Scripture to them, so both Christians and the culture accept the message.

We have to keep in mind the Bible runs counter to every culture, including ours. There will be verses in Scripture our culture will take an aversion to.

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Who In America Is Attracted To The Prosperity Gospel

In 2015, YouGov surveyed 1,000 American adults who describe themselves as either born again or as an evangelical Christian, and asked their views about particular preachers and whether wealth is a sign of Gods favor.

On the question, Do you believe that prayer can make you wealthier? 15 percent of whites, 42 percent of blacks, and 25 percent of Hispanics answered yes.

On the question, Is wealth a sign of Gods favor? 9 percent of white, 34 percent of blacks, and 24 percent of Hispanics said definitely or probably.

When it comes to black prosperity gospel preachers, black evangelicals were much more likely than either Hispanic or white evangelicals to have a very favorable or somewhat favorableopinion. Seventy percent of blacks had a favorable opinion of T. D. Jakes compared to 10 percent for whites and 24 percent for Hispanics.

The results were much lower for Creflo Dollar: 28 percent of black evangelicals held a favorable view, compared to 3 percent for whites and 8 percent for Hispanics.

However, black evangelicals also held more favorable opinions of prosperity preachers who were not black. They were more likely to have a very or somewhat favorable view of: Joel Osteen , Pat Robertson , Benny Hinn , and Kenneth Copeland .

Additionally, one in four black and Hispanic evangelicals believe it is acceptable for religious leaders to become wealthy through their religious work compared to one in seven white evangelicals.

Does The Prosperity Gospel Seek God Or Money

• Hope BolingerSEO Editor
• 202030 Jun

As Christians, we may have stumbled across a sermon or a quote in a Christian Living book that went somewhere along the lines of:

God wants you to live for now. If you pray to Him and ask for His blessings, He will cause you to prosper in your business, health, and family.

If you give to this ministry, God will bless you.

Speak into existence your peace, your destiny, your potentiality, and your goals. Leave yesterday behind and focus on now.

Granted, the prosperity gospel tends to mince words a little more subtly than that, so the message sounds inspirational, and has just enough of a taste of some Bible verse to sound Christian enough.

Lets dive into what is the prosperity gospel, problems with the methodology, and what the Bible has to say about the prosperity gospel.

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Todays Prosperity Gospel Was Also Shaped By Pro

A second strand in the development of the American prosperity gospel was the valorization of the Protestant work ethic.

Written in 1905, Max Webers The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism traced what he saw as the specifically Protestant approach to labor as integral to the development of capitalism and industrialization.

In Webers historical analysis, Protestant Calvinists who generally believe in the idea of predestination, or that God has chosen some people to be saved and others damned felt the need to justify their own sense of themselves as the saved. They looked both for outward signs of Gods favor and for ways to express inward virtue . While the accuracy of Webers analysis is still debated by scholars, it nevertheless tells us a lot about cultural attitudes at the time Weber wrote it.

By 1905, at least, the idea that working hard and receiving material, financial reward for that work was integral to a certain strand of Protestant Christianity had entered the public consciousness. According to a recent Dutch study, that point of view still holds true today: Protestants and citizens of predominately Protestant countries tend to conflate labor with personal satisfaction more than those of other religious traditions.

Why Its Important To Understand

Though prosperity theology is in itself unbiblical, it is still important to understand so that you will be able to call it out when you see it. God does not want us to live a life where we automatically dismiss anything that is not of Him, but instead to bring it to light so that everyone may see who He truly is.

We must be aware of prosperity theology, so that we may also understand why it is unbiblical and be able to properly explain it to someone else who believes in it.

Prosperity theology is incredibly popular not only in the U.S but also in several different places within Africa.

If we just go up to someone and tell them that everything they believe is wrong without biblical evidence they are less likely to turn away from their current beliefs and follow scripture.

Gods Word is solid evidence and should be the basis for all of our theology, so when we use to show that scripture does not support a certain belief we are able to open others eyes to who our God really is.

If you are reading this and currently practice/ believe in prosperity theology please know that this does not make you a not saved. Once you confess with your mouth that Jesus is your savior, accept him into your heart, and repent for your sins you are saved.

However, since Jesus is your savior you must live out His word and follow his teachings.

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The Prosperity Gospel Has Its Roots In An American Occult Tradition Called New Thought

The prosperity gospel is an umbrella term for a group of ideas popular among charismatic preachers in the evangelical tradition that equate Christian faith with material, and particularly financial, success. It has a long history in American culture, with figures like Osteen and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, glamorous, flashily-dressed televangelists whose Disneyland-meets-Bethlehem Christian theme park, Heritage USA, was once the third-most-visited site in America.

A 2006 Times poll found that 17 percent of American Christians identify explicitly with the movement, while 31 percent espouse the idea that if you give your money to God God will bless you with more money. A full 61 percent agree with the more general idea that God wants people to be prosperous.

The upshot of New Thought, though, was the quintessentially American idea that the individual was responsible for his or her own happiness, health, and situation in life, and that applying mental energy in the appropriate direction was sufficient to cure any ills.

Thus, New Thought thinker Ralph Waldo Trine could exhort his readers to See yourself in a prosperous condition. Affirm that you will before long be in a prosperous condition.

What Is Private Banking And Wealth Management

Private banking is an envelope solution for high-net-worth individuals wherein a public or private financial institution employs staff members to offer high-net-worth clients personalized care and management of their finances.

Wealth management is a broader category that involves dealing with the optimization of a clients portfolio, taking into account their aversion to, or comfort with, risk, and investing financial assets according to their plans and goals.

Wealth management can be practiced on a portfolio of any size, though, as the name implies, it is geared toward the well-off.

Finally, before I close the cotton Ill like to address few questions that mostly come to the mind of people when it comes to biblical verses about Wealth and Prosperity.

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What Are The Scriptures For Wealth And Prosperity

Here are few bible verses about wealth and prosperity

Genesis 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Deuteronomy 28:11 And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him the power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor this is the gift of God.

Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his childrens children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

Proverbs 10:22. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labor shall increase.

1 Kings 10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.Proverbs 19:4 Wealth maketh many friends, but the poor is separated from his neighbor.

Zechariah 1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

Error #: Christians Give In Order To Gain Material Compensation From God

One of the most striking characteristics of the prosperity theologians is their seeming fixation with the act of giving. Students of the prosperity gospel are urged to give generously and are confronted with such pious statements as, True prosperity is the ability to use Gods power to meet the needs of mankind in any realm of life, and, We have been called to finance the gospel to the world.

While these statements appear to be praiseworthy, a closer examination of the theology behind them reveals that this emphasis on giving is built on anything but philanthropic motives. The driving force behind this teaching on giving is what teacher Robert Tilton referred to as the Law of Compensation. According to this law, which is purportedly based on Mark 10:30, Christians need to give generously to others because when they do, God gives back more in return. This, in turn, leads to a cycle of ever-increasing prosperity.

As Gloria Copeland put it, Give $10 and receive $1,000 give $1,000 and receive $100,000 in short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal. The prosperity gospels doctrine of giving is built upon faulty motives. Whereas Jesus taught His disciples to give, hoping for nothing in return , prosperity theologians teach their disciples to give because they will receive a great return.

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Word Of Faith Movement

The Word of Faith movement is the belief that God desires for us to thrive in every aspect of our life and since we are created in his image we are little gods. The belief that we are little gods causes them to believe that we in ourselves have the power to change our circumstances and gain all that we desire.

This belief is often referred to as name it to claim it. Name it to claim it is the idea that since we have this power within us we can speak what we desire and receive it.

Often times we can make requests to God and state what we desire, but when we vocally declare something ourselves and expect it to occur then we are practicing Word of Faith.

Word of Faith also believes that if you are facing trials and struggling financially then you are not fully trusting God, nor are you living out your faith actively.

Error : Taken Out Of Context

One of the first slogans you learn in seminary is Context is king. It is impossible to grasp the true meaning of a statement without knowing the context. Without the literary context, there is no meaning at all all we have are possible meanings. This is fertile soil for false teachers because it allows them to put forth whatever message they think their audience wants to hear. The worst enemy to false interpretation is context. Andy Naselli rightly asserts about context, Keeping the multiple layers of the literary context in mind will help you interpret responsibly. Otherwise, you could be guilty of laughable eisegesis.10 Eisegesis, reading into the text, is the corrupting gift all prosperity preachers share. Here are a few common examples.

You do not have because you do not ask . Prosperity preachers use this verse to teach their followers to name it and claim it. When you read this verse properly in context, you realize that James is not primarily instructing us how to pray but condemning our covetousness .

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap . Prosperity preachers use this verse to promise their followers greater rewards if they give greater amounts of money to the preacher. The next verses in context explain that the sowing is doing good and what we reap for doing good is eternal life . The verse has nothing to do with money.

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