In recent decades, academics and misiologists have seen a huge and continuous change in world Christianity. Lamin Sanneh, the late professor of world history and Christianity at Yale University, used the phrase “awesome” to describe the new situation in his 2008 book, Disciples of All Nations.
“Of the many impressive developments of World War II and the colonial eras that followed, few are more impressive than the resurgence of world Christianity. With unwavering inertia, Christianity has become, or is becoming, the main religion of the peoples of the world Primitive societies, which were previously far outside the main orbit of faith, have become important centers of Christian impact, while Europe and North America, once considered the heart of religion , are in a remarkable recession. important cultural changes and realignments whose implications are only just beginning to clear up. (xix)
- Europe and America are no longer the center of gravity of world Christianity.
- The center moves south and east.
- Churches in Latin America.
- Africa and Asia are growing enormously and become the great missionary churches.
The new terminology that has been introduced in our vocabulary is the term Global South, a reference to the surprising growth of the Christian Church in Africa, Latin America and Asia, as the former dominant centers of Christian influence in Europe weaken. For example:
In the words of historian Mark Noll (written in 2013): “The Christian Church has experienced greater geographical redistribution in the last fifty years than in any comparable period in its history, with the exception of the early years of Church history. “( The new form of world Christianity, 21).
However, as many have acknowledged, there is great ambiguity in the current and magnificent expansion of Christianity: are not all forms of this faith based on what the Apostle Paul calls?(Titus 1: 9; 2. 1). Michael Horton makes this disturbing observation:
“The celebration of the long-awaited expansion of Christianity in two-thirds of the world (particularly in recent years, such as Philip Jenkins’ Next Christianity) should be at least ‘moderate’. With the fact that the gospel of prosperity is the most explosive version of this phenomenon (Christianity without Christ, 45).
The gospel of prosperity is a teaching that emphasizes God’s goal of making believers healthy and rich in this life, while neglecting or minimizing the dangers of wealth, the biblical call of a “times of war” mentality, and the need and purpose of suffering.
The prosperity gospel would be represented by one of the leading prosperity preachers in Africa, quoted in an article by Isaac Phiri and Joe Maxwell, who said: “Many are ignorant of the fact that God has already enriched his children here in the world. earth. I say rich, I mean very, very rich . . . Free yourself! Isn’t it a sin to want to be rich? (“Gospel Riches,” p. 23).
I am deeply concerned when a preacher encourages a crowd to donate $ 200 to? Open to blessing? In a culture where a teacher makes $ 150 a month. However, more than 300 people show up to receive the preacher’s oil and within minutes. Does the church raise $ 60,000 tax-free? (2. 3).
The scope of education in Africa is remarkable. In a 2006 survey, Pew asked respondents whether God would “grant material prosperity to all believers who have sufficient faith. “Approximately 85% of Kenyan Pentecostals, 90% of South African Pentecostals and 95% of Nigerian Pentecostals said yes (24).
“Perhaps the worst sign of teaching African prosperity is, unsurprisingly, an American export,” Phiri and Maxwell write (24). Television has become a religious teaching room for many in Africa. “People turn on television and assume that TBN is American Christianity and that Americans know everything, why not listen to it?(25) And, of course, the teaching of prosperity is not unique to America and Africa, has its Latin and Asian forms and can be found throughout the global South, from Seoul to Sao Paulo.
What about the gospel of prosperity? The first thing we have to say is that rich Westerners are probably as responsible for their excesses as the poor of the South, the difference is that the poor have no wealth and want it, while the rich have it, they hope to keep it. and they are angry if God takes it. Both have a heart for prosperity. This is only more subtle in the West, because prosperity can be seen as a guarantee. That is why, as a pastor, I spent more time calling our Church to live differently than calling the countries of the South to think differently. I’m more responsible for sins at home.
But how we think about money and property is deeply important to the way we conduct missions and how we make disciples, so I would like to give a biblical response to the gospel of prosperity. As I point out some of his weaknesses, I propose: consider my own sins, and I hope to remember that this is not a monolithic movement and that prosperity is a relative term.
Prosperity in one part of the world would mean a roof over his head, with food on the table several times a day and drinking water. “Currently, about 315 million sub-Saharan Africans live on less than a dollar a day?(? Gospel Riches ?, 27). And what we would call a modest lifestyle in the United States (with a house, a car, electricity, cooling, sewage, drinking water, central heating, a computer, a phone, several change of clothing and unprecedented grocery options) would be a great ostentation in most of the world. This is one of the reasons why criticism of preachers of prosperity must be subtle and cautious.
Another caveat for critics is that there are different ways of thinking about how Christianity brings prosperity; few would disagree with the fact that a movement of honesty, hard work, patience, generosity, perseverance and love for excellence, led by the Gospel, would end Time creates a culture of dysfunctional corruption and offers more stable and prosperous times. If that were what the preachers of prosperity said, there would be little controversy.
But because of the luxurious way in which prosperity preachers tend to live, even by Western standards, fly in personal jets, live in luxurious houses with eight bathrooms, and spend the night in $5,000 suites, and considering how they dress the eternal gospel of Christ in the garments of worldlyness, it seems wise to give a planned biblical response , I will put it in the form of ten calls, I do not want to defame, but to buy back and transform.
Jesus said, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!His followers were surprised, as many should have been in the prosperity movement. For this reason, Jesus further increased astonishment by saying, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man enters the kingdom of God. “They answered in disbelief, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus said, “It is impossible for men; However, not for God, because for God anything is possible. (Mk 10:23-27).
Jesus’ response shows that the astonishment of the disciples was justified, a camel cannot pass through the hole of a needle, it is not a metaphor for something that requires great effort or humble sacrifice, that cannot be done. We know this because Jesus said, Impossible! It’s his word, not ours. “For man, this is impossible. The fact is that the necessary change of heart is something that man cannot do for himself. God must do that.
We cannot, alone, stop loving money more than Christ, but God can. That’s good news. And that must be part of the message that prosperity preachers send before attracting people to become more like camels. Why would a preacher preach a gospel that encourages a desire to be rich and thus convince people of their natural inability to access the kingdom of God?
The Apostle Paul warned against the desire to be rich and, by implication, warned against preachers who awaken the desire to be rich rather than help people get rid of them.
But those who want to enrich themselves fall into temptation, trap and many foolish and pernicious lusts, which plunge men into ruin and doom. For love of money is the root of all evils; and some, in their greed, have strayed from the faith and tormented themselves with great pain. ?(1 Timothy 6: 9-10).
These are very serious words, but they do not seem to resonate in preaching the gospel of prosperity, it is not wrong for the poor to want, to some extent, prosperity to have what they need and to be able to be generous and to devote time and energy to tasks that exalt Christ, in addition to fighting for survival. It is not wrong to ask for Christ’s help in this quest. He cares about our needs (Mt 6:33).
But we are all poor and rich, we are constantly in danger of putting our affections (1 John 2:15-16) and our hope (1 Timothy 6. 17) in wealth rather than Christ. This desire to be rich is so strong and suicidal that Paul uses very strong language to alert us. My call is for the preachers of prosperity to do the same.
Jesus warns against trying to accumulate treasures on earth; that is, it tells us to be donors, not guardians. Do not accumulate other treasures for you on earth, where moths and rust corrode and thieves dig and steal; but gathers other treasures in the sky, where it oxidizes or corrodes, and where thieves do not dig or steal; (Mt 6. 19-20).
Yes, we all keep something. Jesus assumes that, he does not expect, except in extreme cases, that our donations mean that we will no longer be able to make donations, there may be a time when we will give our lives for someone and therefore we will not be able to. But normally, Jesus expects us to live in such a way that there is a continuous pattern of work and profit, of simple living and of continuous surrender.
But, given the internal tendency to greed in each of us, Jesus considers it necessary to warn us against the accumulation of treasures on earth. It sounds like a gain, but it only leads to losses (“Moth and rust corrode and thieves dig and steal?) My prayer is that Jesus’ warning resonates strongly in the mouths of the preachers of prosperity.
Getting rich is not the goal of the job. In Ephesians, Paul says that we should not fly, but work hard with our own hands; However, the main goal is not simply to accumulate or even have, the goal is to have to give.
Whoever has flown no longer flies; Instead, work, do what is good with your own hands, so that you may have to help those in need (Ephesians 4. 28). This is not a justification for being rich to give more, it is a decision to earn more and stay less to be able to give more. There is no reason for a person who feeds more and more from their business to increase indefinitely the luxury of their business. Lifestyle. Paulo says: “Limit your expenses a lot and give the rest. “
I can’t determine your limit. But in all the texts we examined in this article, there is an impetus for simplicity and broad generosity, not in relation to luxurious goods Why would preachers encourage people to think they must have the wealth to be a generous donor?Encourage them to simplify their lives and be an even more generous donor?Wouldn’t that add to your generosity a strong testimony that Christ, not his possessions, is his treasure?
Jesus warns that the word of God, the Gospel, which is supposed to give us life, can be suffocated to death by wealth. He says it is like a seed that grows among the thorns: “These are the ones who have heard and, on the day, have been suffocated by the worries, riches and pleasures of life, their fruits do not mature (Lk 8:14).
Prosperity preachers should warn their listeners that there is a kind of financial prosperity that can suffocate them to death. Why would we encourage people to follow exactly what Jesus warns can make them sterile?
What makes Christians the salt of the earth and the light of the world? It is not wealth. The desire for wealth and the pursuit of wealth have the flavor of the world and resemble the world, wanting to be rich makes us love the world and not be different, at the same time that we have to demonstrate the different, we have the same greed than the world. In this case, we offer the world nothing more than what it already believes.
The great tragedy of preaching prosperity is that a person does not need to be spiritually awake to embrace it; you just have to be greedy, enrich yourself in the name of Jesus is not the salt of the earth or the light of the world, in this the world simply sees a reflection of itself, and if you convert to that, they did not really convert, but simply gave a new name to an earlier life.
The context of Jesus’ parable shows us what salt and light are; they are the joyful disposition of suffering for Christ; here’s what Jesus said:
Blessed art thou when for my sake they insult you, persecute you, and, lying, say all evil against you. Rejoice and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven; because that’s how they persecuted the prophets who lived before you. You are the salt of the earth; Are you the light of the world?(Mt 5. 11-14).
What will make the world taste salt and see the light of Christ in us is not to love riches in the same way that they, on the contrary, will be the will and capacity of Christians to love one another through suffering, brightening everyone. time because his reward is in heaven with Jesus. “Rejoice and rejoice [in difficulties] . . . Are you the salt of the earth?. Salinity is the taste of joy in difficulties.
This life is inexplicable in human terms. It’s supernatural. But attracting people with promises of prosperity is purely natural. This is not the message of Jesús. No that’s why he died.
Most preachings about prosperity ignore the fact that the New Testament places much more emphasis on the need to suffer than on the notion of material prosperity.
Jesus said, Remember the word I have said unto you: the servant is no greater than his master; If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they’ve kept my word, so will yours. 15, 20), he also said, “If the owner of the house were to be called Belzebuth, let’s not mention his house?”(Mt 10. 25).
Paul reminded the new believers in his missionary journeys: “Despite many tribulations, it is important for us to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14. 22). And he told the believers in Rome that their sufferings were a necessary part of the way of eternal inheritance.
“The Spirit Himself bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God; However, if we are children, we are also heirs, heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ; if we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him. . Because for me I am sure that the sufferings of present time cannot be compared to the glory that is revealed in us. ? (Rom. 8. 16-18)
Prosperity preachers should include meaningful teachings in their messages about what Jesus and the apostles said about the need to suffer. Tribulations will come, says Paul (Acts 14:22), and we have done the young disciples a disservice by not telling them this. Jesus even said this before conversion so that would-be believers would consider the cost: “Then any of you who does not renounce everything you have cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14. 33).
A fundamental change has occurred with the coming of Christ to the world. Until then, God had concentrated his redemptive work in Israel with occasional works among the nations. Paul said: “In past generations, [God] has allowed all peoples to walk in their own way; (To2: 16 pm; 5:30 pm). Now the attention has shifted from Israel to the nations. Jesus said : “Therefore, I tell you [Israel] that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and a people [followers of Christ] who will bring them the respective fruits. ? (Mt 21. 43). ?? Did hardening come in part to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles came in? (Rom 11. 25).
One of the main differences between these two times is that, in the Old Testament, God has greatly glorified Himself by blessing Israel so that nations can see and know that the Lord is God. that he [the Lord] may do justice to his servant and his people Israel, as he demands every day, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and there is no other. ?(1R 8, 59-60). Israel had not yet been sent to a great commission to unite nations; rather, he was glorified so that nations could see his greatness and approach him.
Therefore, when Solomon built the temple of the Lord, it was spectacularly and luxuriously covered in gold, and when he furnished it, the gold was again equally abundant (1 Kings 6:20-22; 7. 48-50). Solomon took seven years to build the house of the Lord; then thirteen years to build his own house (1 Kings 6,38,7,7. 1). This was also luxurious with gold and expensive stones.
Then, when everything was built, the climax of this opulence is seen in 1 Kings 10, when the Queen of Sheba, representing the pagan nations, comes to see the glory of the house of God and Solomon. Go crazy? (1Rs 10. 5). She said, “Blessed be the Lord, your God, who wanted to put you on the throne of Israel. Is it because the Lord loves Israel forever, that He made you king?”(1R 10. 9).
In other words, the Old Testament model is a “come and see” religion. There is a geographical center for God’s people. There is a physical temple, an earthly king, a political regime, an ethnic identity, an army to fight in the land of God. battles and a band of priests to make animal sacrifices for sins.
With the coming of Christ, all that has changed. There is no geographical center for Christianity (Jn 4:20-24); Jesus replaced the temple, priests, and sacrifices (John 2. 19; Heb 9. 25-26); there is no Christian political regime because the kingdom of Christ is not of this world (Jn 18:36); and we do not wage ground battles with chariots and horses or bombs and bullets, but spiritual battles with the Word and spirit (Ephesians 6:12-18; 2 Cor 10:3-5).
All of this supports the big change in the mission. The New Testament has no religion of “go and see,” but of “go and say” religion. “Jesus, approaching them, spoke to them, saying, “Every authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to keep everything I told them to do. And behold, am I with you every day until the end of the century. ?(Mt 28. 18-20).
The implications of this situation are enormous for the way we live and the way we think about money and lifestyle. One of the main implications is that we are pilgrims and foreigners?(1Pe 2. 11) on earth. We don’t use this world as if it were our main home. “Is our citizenship in heaven and we are waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ?(Flp 3. 20).
This leads us to a way of life in times of war. This means that we do not accumulate riches to show the world how rich our God can make us. We work hard and seek austerity in times of war to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. We maximize the gift of war effort, without increasing comfort in the home. We raise our children to help them cope with the pain they will have to complete the mission.
So if a preacher of prosperity asks me about all the promises of wealth for the faithful in the Old Testament, I would say, “Read your New Testament carefully and see if you see the same emphasis. You won’t find him. And the reason is that things have changed radically.
“Because we have not brought anything into the world, and we cannot get anything out of it. Do we have sustenance and what to wear, let’s be happy? (1Tm 6,7-8). Why? Why is the call to Christ a call a Participate in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus? (2Tm 2. 3) The accent of the New Testament is not wealth to attract us to sin, but sacrifice to distance us from it.
The Apostle Paul gave us an example of the vigilance with which he refrained from giving the impression of being in the ministry of money: he said that the ministers of the world have the right to earn a living through ministry (1C 9:9 -10) But then, to show us the danger of this, he refuses to make full use of this right.
“If we sow you with spiritual things, is it too much to collect material goods from you?If others share that right with you, don’t we have it to a greater extent?However, we do not use that right; on the contrary, we endure everything, so as not to create any obstacles to the gospel of Christ. ?(1C 9. 11-12)
In other words, he renounced a legitimate right not to give anyone the impression that money was his department’s motivation. He didn’t want money from his converts: “The truth is that we never use flattering language, as you know, or greedy intentions God of this is a witness?(1Q 2. 5).
He preferred to work with his hands rather than give the impression that he was selling the gospel: “I wanted no money, no gold, no clothes from anyone; you know yourself that these hands served what was necessary for me and those who were with him. I have shown you in everything that, in doing so, it is necessary to help those in need and remember the words of the Lord Jesus himself: Blessed is it to give to receive !?(TO 20: 33-35) .
He knew that there were street vendors of the Word of God who thought that “godliness is a source of profit” (1Tm 6,5-6). But he refused to do anything that would put him in this category: “Because we do not exchange, like so many others, the word of God, but it is in Christ that we speak in the presence of God, with sincerity and with God himself. (2Co 2. 17 ).
Many preachers of prosperity not only give the impression of selling the word of God and making piety a means of gain, but also develop a false theology to justify their extravagant demonstrations of wealth. Paul did the exact opposite.
My greatest concern with the prosperity movement is that it diminishes Christ, making him less central and less satisfying than his gifts. Christ is no longer glorified for giving riches. He is more glorified in satisfying the souls of those who sacrifice to love others in the ministry of the gospel.
When we glorify Christ as the one who enriches us, we glorify riches, and does Christ become a means to attain the end of what we really want?Namely health, wealth and prosperity. But when do we glorify Christ as the one who satisfies our souls forever?Even in the absence of health, wealth, and prosperity, Christ is glorified as more precious than all these gifts.
We see this in Philippians 1:20-21, where Paul says, “According to my burning expectation and hope,” Christ will be magnified in my body, whether for life or death, because for me, Christ is to live and die. is a gain (Fp 1. 23).
This is the missing note in the preaching of prosperity. The New Testament points to the glory of Christ, not to the glory of his gifts. To make this clear, place the whole Christian life under the banner of a joyful renunciation of oneself. “come after me, deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me (Mk 8:34) Am I crucified with Christ?(Gal 2,20).
But while self-denial is the difficult way of life (Mt 7:14), it is the happiest of all paths. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man, having found, has hidden. And, brimming with joy, come, sell everything you have and buy this field (Mt 13:44). Jesus says that finding Christ as our treasure makes all other goods easily consumable. “Overflowing with joy, come, sell everything you have and buy this field.
I do not want the preachers of prosperity to stop calling people to maximum joy, on the contrary, I ask them to stop encouraging people to seek their joy in material things, the joy that Christ offers is so great and so lasting that it allows us to lose prosperity and joy again. ?? Have you gladly accepted the loot of your property, knowing that you yourself have a superior and lasting legacy?(Heb 10:34). The grace of being joyful for the loss of prosperity?It is the miracle that the preachers of prosperity must seek. It would be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This would exalt Christ as extremely precious.
God is sovereign over the world and mission of His Church; every authority belongs to him in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18). The new configuration of world Christianity is his work. He built his church (Mt 16:18). His blessings and deformities are under his sovereign reign. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached as a testimony to all the dishonest peoples of the world (Mt 24:14). the mies will ensure that the workers are sent and that the being is made (Mt 9:38). The good shepherd has other sheep out of the fold, and he must bring them too. They will hear your voice, and there will be a flock and shepherd (Jn 10:16).
The price to be paid to complete this mission will be many sacrifices and many lives (Cl 1:24; Revelation 6,11). The fuel of this sacrifice will not be the love of money or the passion for prosperity; will be love for Christ and passion for his glory. May the Lord cleanse his church. May it refine as gold the growing faith of the countries of the South, that it remembers mercy and gives Europe and America a great awakening to the glory of its name and the joy of nations.