A prayer was prayed over me a couple of summers ago that God would root religion out of my heart. I was apparently a very religious person and believed in some form of works-based salvation. This is largely what the Catholic Church believes – that faith and good works are necessary for salvation. This is not true for a reason I won’t explain in depth here. I will simply say that salvation is by faith in Jesus alone. If a person is truly saved, good works should be a byproduct of faith as we are taught by the apostle James. James 2:14-16. I got this straight.
God doubled the blessing and delivered me from the sin-permitting gospel as well. I pretty much lived under this heresy doctrine practically all of my life. It’s also known as the gospel of grace which essentially amounts to a license to sin. This too, is wholly wrong. God is not mocked. God does not tolerate willful sin, especially where there is knowledge of the truth. Saint Luke and Apostle John spoke on this: Luke 6:46; 1 John 3:6.
Of course there are other iterations of the gospel out in the world which amount to nothing other than false gospels. But the one I’m currently grappling with is the prosperity gospel. I’m not in need of deliverance from any particular church leader. However, I’m in need of increased discernment on this issue.
I will first say that it is incredibly difficult to find a good church where the leader truly fears the Lord, teaches the truth and purposes to do His will. I’ve been attending a church where the Pastor refuses to teach a Jesus that will make/keep people poor. His rationale is that people will not want to be saved or serve God. I wholeheartedly believe in the power of God and His faithfulness relative to the basic principles of sowing and reaping. I give and personally experience God’s blessings. I believe that God desires for His people to live in abundance, but I have trouble with how this is presented to the congregation.
For instance, once Haggai 1 was presented as a case for tithing without respect for the New Testament principle Jesus taught that the poor will always be in the earth. Matthew 26:11. Everyone will not be rich. Shouldn’t the more specific teaching control – and be explained to the people so that they are not holding out false hope to be rich and/or for blessings God never promised? It’s true that when the blessing doesn’t come, people charge it to God. It’s a fine line to walk, but to me, this is feeling real prosperity gospel-ish.
Further, at the outset it shouldn’t be about a God people can just get from, but rather about what God has already done through Jesus. He’s not some sugar daddy in the sky. Whether rich or poor in this life, we are rich because of Jesus and people should know that. Perhaps people should be taught the unadulterated truth about Jesus’ finished work on the cross and of the reality of heaven and hell. A decision to come to salvation should be based here – and nowhere else.
I don’t want to be nitpicky and also I understand that no church is perfect. I’m praying for discernment on the issue. Aside from this one thing, I really do like the church.