PROSPERITY EVANGELISM
By: Derrick P. Rodgers

Let’s examine one of the premises of today’s evangelism.

Have you heard the statement “learn to prosper and become wealthy, and then the world will be interested in your God?” The very premise of introducing people to God on the basis of obtaining wealth and prosperity is totally erroneous and quite reprehensible. We are not called to woo people to Christ with the illusion and promises of becoming financially wealthy. This pattern of ministry is totally anti-Christ and creates an egregious service to this generation and surely future generations if this doctrine will continue to be espoused and un-confronted.

Now, will God bless and care for His people? Yes; that is a by-product of being a child of God, but accepting Jesus and becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of God should never be based on forging faith contracts on becoming prosperous and wealthy.

Regrettably, far too many in the body of Christ permit this whitewashed pattern of ministry to become an acceptable form of evangelism. This is primarily allowed because “embedded false prophets” are saturated with the prosperity movement and continue to craft the minds of believers to adhere to such demonized teaching.

Scripture is very clear about how God should be introduced to non-believers. [Acts 3:19]

Therefore dangling a plethora of carrots over the heads of non-believers, which includes but is not limited to, receiving money, husbands, wives, a happy life all the time, perfect children, and a good job, is only a complete distortion of the word of God.

We must terminate this false pattern of ministry, which systematizes multitudes of false converts who ultimately misrepresent the church and generationally replicate themselves.

Not only are participating nonbelievers deceived and forgo true conversion when they come to God on the basis of a prosperity contract, but they aggressively indulge in and promote self-centered mentalities that create a company of religious people who function with an “entitlement attitude” that commits idolatry by insisting on worshipping a “utility god.”

There is only one individual in scripture who offers wealth, prosperity, and the glory of this world for exchange for your soul and that is Satan. [Matthew 4: 8, 9] Therefore, the whole premise of luring people to God on the basis of receiving prosperity and riches is precisely a doctrine of demons.

Non-believers are to be made aware and understand that repentance from sin is required and the recognition of their soul needs to be saved from eternal destruction and Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life with God. To introduce salvation on the receipt of financial prosperity is not only irresponsible but will, nonetheless, produce false converts who are susceptible to accept, participate in and promote a variety of false doctrines to obtain wealth, riches and the pleasures of this world by any means necessary.

Unfavorably, this is why many who are in the church today engage in false doctrine with ease because many of them have been introduced to God on a flawed premise from the very beginning. This can also explain why so many are obsessively in hot pursuit of gaining success all while jeopardizing their soul.

Let us return to evangelizing upon the tenets of sound biblical doctrine.

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Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46-47)

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)