False Teaching On Wealth Series

False Teaching on Wealth

The very basis of the Word-Faith doctrine on money is that it is a God-given guarantee. It

is supposedly guaranteed because of God’s covenant with Abraham. It is argued that we

are under that same covenant. All we need to do is look at the covenant God made with

Abraham and we will see that wealth and health is not even mentioned. God made a two-

fold covenant. Look at these passages:

Genesis 15:

18 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your

descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the

River Euphrates --

Genesis 17:

2 "And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you

exceedingly."

3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:

4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of

many nations.

5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham;

for I have made you a father of many nations.

6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings

shall come from you.

7 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants

after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and

your descendants after you.

8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a

stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their

God."

Even the casual reader can see the promises of this covenant: your descendents will

inherit the land and I will make you a great nation. God renamed him from Abram, which

means ’exalted father’ to Abraham, which means ’father of a multitude’. When God

called Abraham at the beginning, God did give him a command and promised that

obedience would produce blessing. However, we can’t mistake the covenant as being

God’s promise of blessing because of obedience. God’s word is filled with promises of

blessing to those who obey. God’s blessings are not obtained by claiming it with words

alone. Every blessing has a command and every command is a blessing. God deals with

individuals. Because God promised to make Abraham’s name great and produce a great

nation does not mean that each of us will have that same promise.

The bread and butter of the Word-Faith movement is the message of wealth. It is out of

desire for gain and the promise of wealth that millions flock to Word-Faith ’revivals’ and

send in their money. Word-Faith teachers use the allure of money to convince money-

seekers to send in their donations. As Faith teachers flood the airways with petitions for

’seeds of faith’, the world sits by mocking. Christianity has been turned into a marketing

scam instead of a lifestyle focused on Christ. He is an example:

Tonight I want to speak that hundredfold increase. If you will call right now and

you will say to your counselor, I want to be involved in the hundredfold. I want

the hundredfold prayer prayed over my giving tonight. I will at the time God leads

me to do it, lay my hands on everyone of those cards and will speak the

hundredfold increase into your life. The phrase to say is ’the hundredfold’.

Look at Luke 6:

34 "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is

that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.

35 "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and

your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind

to the unthankful and evil.

If you lend hoping to receive back, the Bible says that this is not credit to you. God

blesses those who give out of a desire to love, not out of a desire to gain. Of course the

true church understands that Christianity is not a quest for money, but in the world’s

eyes, the Word-Faith movement is the same as Biblical Christianity. Word-Faith teachers

claim to be mainstream and the church does not challenge their doctrines, therefore no

distinction can be identified. If anything, we are seeing mainstream Christianity shifting

toward the Word-Faith movement instead of calling people out this movement and into a

relationship with Christ. Before we examine some of the key doctrines of the Word-Faith

movement on money, let’s take a moment to consider the purpose of money.

Is Money Evil?

Money is not good nor is it evil. Money is completely neutral. It becomes good or evil