THE FALSE TEACHING OF THE WORD AND FAITH MOVEMENT, Part 1
THE FALSE TEACHING OF THE WORD AND FAITH MOVEMENT, Part 1
By: Jack Guyler
The Word of Faith false teaching is running like poison through the Body of Christ. It is propagated by some of the richest and most famous teachers in America such as Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn. There are many others as well. Many are found regularly on the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN). They all teach a version of this very destructive false teaching that many people both inside and outside of the church look to as their source of Christian teaching. Some even call this faith teaching heresy or a “different gospel.”
We aren’t here to judge these men and women as to the type of persons they are, but we do need to alert you to their teachings so you can distinguish between false and true Christian teaching. So what are these teachings and what is the truth according to the New Testament?
FALSE TEACHING #1
GOD IS REQUIRED TO OBEY YOUR WORDS
They will take a verse such as Mark 11:24 that says, “I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you have received it and it will be yours.” They take these words literally and out of context. They teach words have power. And we know that words do have power. We know our words can greatly affect other people for good or bad. We know the power that words have over children from parents for example. But they take it a step further and mix the contractual covenant of the Old Covenant between God and Israel into their teaching and say that God is contractually obligated to obey your words if you are living in alignment with God’s laws. And while it is true we always benefit from living by God’s laws, He is not under any obligation to hear our words and then act accordingly. Remember, this is God – the one who created you and the universe! We don’t get to say “frog” and then God says, “how high do you want me to jump?”
DANGER IN THIS TEACHING
1. Our faith is built on faulty misconceptions. If we follow this line of thinking, we end up thinking we can control God through our words. This really puts us in the position of “god” rather than God in our thinking and faith. We can pray using words and ask God to meet our wants and needs, but we need to remember He is God and He knows what is best for us. Prayer should not be a way to strong-arm God or manipulate Him
2. It sets us up for disappointment. If we think we can always pray or say away anything bad coming our way, we aren’t living in the real world. People every day die from the coronavirus, cancer, accidents, murder and other things. People get sick…people get hurt…people get divorced…people lose their jobs… Jesus prayed in the Garden to have the cup of suffering pass from Him, but it didn’t. Paul prayed that his thorn would be removed three times, but it wasn’t. What is true according to Jesus and the New Testament is that we should pray, but we should also know we live in a broken world and we will experience pain and disappointment. But the even greater truth is that a compassionate God will experience it with us and one day provide a new heaven and a new earth for us to enjoy together for eternity
FALSE TEACHING #2
HEALTH & WEALTH IS SIGN OF GOD’S FAVOR
There is a reason why the Word of Faith Movement is also known as the “Prosperity Gospel” or the “Health and Wealth Gospel.” It is because they teach that if you are following God’s laws, then you will have favor with God and one of the signs of His favor is health and wealth. Much of what they teach is about giving to God – what this usually translates into is you with little money giving generous donations to their lavish ministries. Is it any wonder that many of the high profile teachers in this movement live in million dollar homes, own private jets and vacation in extravagant locations?
DANGER IN THIS TEACHING
1. It leads to the pursuit of money and power. People who are living as if this teaching were true, pursue wealth and a self-absorbed life. While they are believing wealth is a sign of God’s favor, they are missing such passages as Matthew 6:19-21 and 1 Timothy 6:9-11 that talk about how deadly the pursuit of money can be for one’s soul
2. It keeps people from living out of grace. Because you have to pursue the image of wealth to portray God’s favor in your life, you are unable to live out the gift of salvation that God has graciously given you. You spend your whole life working and pursuing an image that you are favored by God rather than resting in the real thing
3. It causes people who follow this teaching as truth to look down on those who are poor or sick. Again, they forget that Jesus didn’t have much in terms of earthly possessions. They forget that Paul forsook earthly power, titles and riches to follow Christ. They forget that the disciples suffered much for the sake of Christ
4. And maybe worst of all, when this teaching gets into you it becomes toxic because you end up wanting what God gives you more than wanting God. This is the height of idolatry!
