‘For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.’ (2 Timothy 4:3)
The trial of the leaders of a prominent church will commence soon, undoubtedly it will bring spotlight to the teachings and practices of the ‘Wealth and Health’ gospel. It is very sad indeed to see that many of the contemporary churches strive to be market- driven or seeker-driven in order to attract people. Church can degenerate into a place where one gets ‘feeling good’ effects from the charismatic preachers, stage performances etc. It looks that pastors are ‘worshipped’ than God.
Every bible verse can be quoted out of context to support erroneous teachings. The Wealth and Health gospel is just one of the many. Its doctrines mainly centers on three aspects: Giving, Positive Confession and Faith. Giving is positively correlated to material blessings one receives from God. That provides the motive for donations to the church. Positive confession implies that when one confesses ‘positive’ things, he will get positive things in life. Lastly, the definition of faith it promotes is you must have faith in your ‘own faith’. So if you pray for healing and not healed, it is because you lack in faith, blame yourself.
Where is the message of love, suffering, truth, holiness, humility etc? We know that in real life our Christian experiences said otherwise. Adversities, disappointments, struggles etc are part and parcel of life. May be devout Christians encountered more of these things. Those ‘mountain-top’ experiences are rare and far between, and are incapable of sustain one’s faith in the long run. Christianity is not a one-off conversion, but a process which involves the transformation of one’s intellectual, moral and relational dimensions. The challenge is not just believe mentally but how to translate the biblical truths into wisdom for everyday living.
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