Is the Gospel for the Poor?
Copyright © 2007 Good News Publications
Today I want to show you a misconception that I believe dominates the Christian Church and has distorted our view of the truth of prosperity. In the Gospel of Luke, Christ said,
Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"
Now, having heard this, what picture comes to mind? Most people say, "Look, it says it right there. The Gospel is to be preached to the poor. Doesn't this sound familiar? Almost everyone has bought into it, but I say that it's wrong. Look where it takes your thinking: - We preach the Gospel to the poor - They are the ones who need God's Word - The rich don't need God - The rich don't want God - That's why I never want to be wealthy and get to the place I don't need God - That's why money is bad.
All this thinking is wrong and the reason is, we don't understand the word "poor". People think it is talking about money, but the word "poor" simply refers to lack or meager supply. Have you ever heard the term "poor health"? Does that mean that his or her health has no money? Have you ever heard a farmer say the land was "poor"? Does that mean the land had no money? In both cases it is lack-lack of health and lack of nutrients in the soil.
In verse 18 of Luke 4 it says that he was sent to heal the broken hearted-they were lacking a whole heart and thus poor. He preached deliverance to the captives-they were not free and thus poor. He helped others recover their sight both spiritually and physically-they were blind and thus poor.
It is religion that has taught us that prosperity and wealth are wrong.
Psalm 35:27: Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
As wonderful as this verse is, it takes on even more meaning when you realize that the word for "prosperity" is the word "Shalom" which means "peace". It is a beautiful translation. When you are at peace, you are content, you don't have any needs or lack and that is the perfect picture of prosperity.
Abundance without God is folly: you are spiritually poor so you are not prosperous. But most Christians don't think they have the right to be wealthy or prosper. Prospering is part of being whole; if you don't have it, you aren't whole and that is not how God planned it. You are not whole until you are financially whole and in order to receive that wholeness you must believe that this is at least part of what God wants for your life.
How often have you heard, "You're being spiritual so, you don't need money or abundance-that will just distract you." Distract you? Some of the most distracted people I know are the ones who can't pay their bills. When my checking account is overflowing, I'm not distracted by bills at all-in fact I have more time to spend with God because I am no longer concerned about money. The fact is the only time you don't need money is before you came into this world and when you leave it-but while you are here you will need material things and God wants you to have them in abundance.
Now, I am going to teach you something that will really open your eyes and you had better be careful about sharing it, because you could make some people very mad.
Psalm 112:1-3: Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
Here is a man whose heart is with God and God has blessed him abundantly.
Psalm 112:9: He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
In verse 9 it says that this man has given to the "poor" and here is where you might get upset. E.W. Bullinger says in his Companion Bible that the word "poor" means "working for a living; poor, not in extreme want, but simply having only what one earns, having nothing superfluous, living sparingly".
How many Christians use their meager living on bare necessities as a badge of their Christian faith, when God says plainly that they are poor? Don't get mad at me; I didn't write the book. So does living meagerly represent God? Not according to this section of scripture.
Now please understand that if you are just getting by, God's Word says you are poor because there is lack. And if you have a billion dollars, but lack health or don't know God-you are also poor because of your lack. So to go back to our original question, "Is the gospel for the poor?" Yes it is, but just make sure you understand what poor means.
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Duke Clarke is a writer/teacher/coach/lecturer and minister. He has started a new website http://www.TheThinkingChristianInstitute.com to get people to think about their lives and walk with God. He is nondenominational in background and invites anyone to visit and take a look.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
Introduction to Prosperity - Be Faithful With Money
Introduction to Prosperity - Be Faithful With Money by Rob Marshall
It's not a new problem, and it probably started almost immediately. How did Peter, the struggling fisherman, feel about Matthew the wealthy tax collector? Did the disciples have debates about money on top of their usual arguments about who would be the greatest?
Probably since before the beginning of the Christian church, there have been discussions about prosperity. The questions of whether or not a person can be rich and spiritual have probably been raging for millennia, maybe even since the beginning of man's existence. And the idea that wealth was the sign of God's favor on a person's life was prevalent even in Jesus' day.
The September 18, 2006 edition of Time Magazine had a cover picture that was the front of a Rolls Royce with a cross as a hood ornament. The title of the cover article was: "Does God Want You To Be Rich?"
All in all, the article was pretty much what I would expect from a magazine like Time. The bias was somewhat toward that idea that the current resurgence of "Prosperity Theology" is not a good thing, and that it's just a handful of American mega-churches that are preaching it, while more "mainstream" pastors find the whole idea ridiculous, if not downright evil. I found it a bit disappointing that the writer felt the need to comment on one "prosperity" preacher's expensive shoes.
No matter where it got started, the idea that truly spiritual people are the ones who have forsaken worldly riches and pleasures is definitely firmly entrenched in the minds of many people. And for those involved with the prosperity teachings, the idea is that God does want His people to have all the worldly goods and heaven too.
Whether they are believers, or scoffers, isn't so much the issue. The real question is: What does the Bible teach us about being wealthy? Does the Bible really teach us that it's wrong to be rich? Or does it really say that poverty is sin and everyone should be rich? And, if we are supposed to be rich, what does that really mean?
In this short introduction to prosperity, we will take a look the general idea that it's not so much a matter of being rich, in terms of our possessions, but that prosperity really has to do with being faithful with what we have been given. And because it has to do with being faithful, it applies not only in American mega-churches, but also all over the world.
In Luke 16:10-12 Jesus says, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?"
There are a couple of points in this particular statement that we need to highlight. The first is that Jesus is saying our faithfulness with "what is least" affects how faithful we will be with much, or more. He then goes on to point out a couple of "least" things: "Unrighteous mammon" and "what is another man's".
When I read these verses, I hear Jesus telling us that our faithfulness with money affects every other area of our lives. And if we have not been faithful with money, and the things that don't belong to us, we will never enjoy true riches or have real responsibility (things that are our own).
And, when it comes to what belongs to another man, we should always remember that nothing really belongs to us, it all belongs to God.
Many people will say that money isn't that important, but Jesus is telling us something very different. When we look at what Jesus says here, we see that our attitudes towards, and use of, money are extremely important. Jesus tells us that our faithfulness with money will control the degree to which we are entrusted with the true riches.
The same faith that helped David defeat Goliath is in everyone of us. In "Taking On Goliath - How To Unleash The David In All Of Us," author Rob Marshall shows you how to unleash your faith, overcome any obstacle, and live your dreams. Get two free chapters of "Taking On Goliath" when you sign up for the Faith-Full Life newsletter, just visit:
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
It's not a new problem, and it probably started almost immediately. How did Peter, the struggling fisherman, feel about Matthew the wealthy tax collector? Did the disciples have debates about money on top of their usual arguments about who would be the greatest?
Probably since before the beginning of the Christian church, there have been discussions about prosperity. The questions of whether or not a person can be rich and spiritual have probably been raging for millennia, maybe even since the beginning of man's existence. And the idea that wealth was the sign of God's favor on a person's life was prevalent even in Jesus' day.
The September 18, 2006 edition of Time Magazine had a cover picture that was the front of a Rolls Royce with a cross as a hood ornament. The title of the cover article was: "Does God Want You To Be Rich?"
All in all, the article was pretty much what I would expect from a magazine like Time. The bias was somewhat toward that idea that the current resurgence of "Prosperity Theology" is not a good thing, and that it's just a handful of American mega-churches that are preaching it, while more "mainstream" pastors find the whole idea ridiculous, if not downright evil. I found it a bit disappointing that the writer felt the need to comment on one "prosperity" preacher's expensive shoes.
No matter where it got started, the idea that truly spiritual people are the ones who have forsaken worldly riches and pleasures is definitely firmly entrenched in the minds of many people. And for those involved with the prosperity teachings, the idea is that God does want His people to have all the worldly goods and heaven too.
Whether they are believers, or scoffers, isn't so much the issue. The real question is: What does the Bible teach us about being wealthy? Does the Bible really teach us that it's wrong to be rich? Or does it really say that poverty is sin and everyone should be rich? And, if we are supposed to be rich, what does that really mean?
In this short introduction to prosperity, we will take a look the general idea that it's not so much a matter of being rich, in terms of our possessions, but that prosperity really has to do with being faithful with what we have been given. And because it has to do with being faithful, it applies not only in American mega-churches, but also all over the world.
In Luke 16:10-12 Jesus says, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?"
There are a couple of points in this particular statement that we need to highlight. The first is that Jesus is saying our faithfulness with "what is least" affects how faithful we will be with much, or more. He then goes on to point out a couple of "least" things: "Unrighteous mammon" and "what is another man's".
When I read these verses, I hear Jesus telling us that our faithfulness with money affects every other area of our lives. And if we have not been faithful with money, and the things that don't belong to us, we will never enjoy true riches or have real responsibility (things that are our own).
And, when it comes to what belongs to another man, we should always remember that nothing really belongs to us, it all belongs to God.
Many people will say that money isn't that important, but Jesus is telling us something very different. When we look at what Jesus says here, we see that our attitudes towards, and use of, money are extremely important. Jesus tells us that our faithfulness with money will control the degree to which we are entrusted with the true riches.
The same faith that helped David defeat Goliath is in everyone of us. In "Taking On Goliath - How To Unleash The David In All Of Us," author Rob Marshall shows you how to unleash your faith, overcome any obstacle, and live your dreams. Get two free chapters of "Taking On Goliath" when you sign up for the Faith-Full Life newsletter, just visit:
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
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