Distortion of the Gospel Message

Greed And Corruption Of Mind

"Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."



There is a movement in the midst of Christendom that deeply disturbs me, not just because I believe that it is based on a couple of false premises,but because it seems that so many people are slipping into its clutches.

 

 I have seen a number of once passionate Christians fall prey to this false teaching, though it would seem that any believer with the slightest bit of discernment would see right through it.

It has been called the 'word-faith' movement, the 'prosperity' movement, the 'name it-claim it' or 'blab it and grab it' doctrine, and more.

 

 It certainly appeals to the flesh, but it will be of no interest to a believer who truly desires to follow Christ, unless and until that believer begins to lose his or her passion for the Savior. Jesus said, in Matthew 16:24, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

This flies right in the face of perpetrators of the word-faith teaching. They will tell you that it is your right as a Christian to always be healthy and to prosper financially.

 

 I heard a preacher friend of my brother-in-law tell him, "I'm making more money now without trying, than I ever did before, no matter how hard I tried. I've got a nice new car, and I never plan on being sick."

 

 He went on for a while, but not one word in that long conversation came out of that man's mouth about sin, heaven, hell, or the precious blood of Christ.

 

 So much for denying one's self and taking up his cross, and FOLLOWING Him...but as deceiving and damnable as this teaching is, it doesn't end there. 

 

They also teach that faith is a force, and that your words are vehicles of that force. I actually heard a well known preacher say, "you'll think twice before saying, 'that scares me half to death'!" 

 

Ridiculous!

 I was a short-term recipient of a form of this perverted teaching many years ago.
Some of the people in the church I attended would warn me, "Watch what you confess! The devil can hear you, and you don't want to bring bad things on yourself by confessing negative things!"

 

 I wasn't a victim of that mentality for very long.

 

 As I studied the bible, I'd read, among other things, about David's pleadings with the Lord in the psalms, about our Savior prayer to the Father in the garden, and I realized then that I was free to 'let loose' with the Lord.

 

 That I could tell Him when I was afraid, when I was lonely, sad, or whatever, and not only would He NOT rebuke me for being 'negative', but He would actually welcome and comfort me in whatever I was dealing with at that particular time!

 

 Believer, God knows everything about you- the good, the bad, and the ugly, and there's nothing that you can't verbally share with Him- joy, sadness, frustration, spontaneous praise, it doesn't matter! 

 

There's nothing that He doesn't want you to be open with Him about. He wants an intimate love relationship with you and He wants you to trust Him with your deepest thoughts and concerns...

Do you now see how the enemy of your soul attempts to sneak in and steal your joy, to keep you from being open and honest before the Lord?

 

 Do you see how he will pervert the gospel and try to entice you to believe lies, and then to pass it off as the gospel? And doesn't that make you mad?....

As for the purveyors of this damnable heresy, shame on you!

 

 Return to the Lover of your souls and and repent now.

 

 Christ died to save you from your sins,and rose again from the dead to give you eternal life. Take up your cross and follow Him...

 

 Now, to those believers who want Christ more than anything, be 'wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16)'. 

 

God bless and be with you-
En Agape,

pastor Jim Ewing