What follows is a brief quote from Dr. John MacArthur’s book Strange Fire. It is a very informative book that I plan to make the subject of my first book review very soon; but today I just want to quote what he says about seed faith, which is the chief scam of the prosperity preachers. [all emboldening is mine] [ Dr. John MacArthur has been preaching for over 50 years and any student of the Bible would describe him as a sound Biblical preacher.]
“Silver-tongued televangelists boldly promise unending health and wealth to all who have enough faith–and more important, to all who send in their money. On program after program, people are urged to “plant a seed” with the promise God will miraculously make them rich in return. It’s known as the seed-faith plan, so named by Oral Roberts, the key pioneer in using television to spread charismatic doctrine. Most charismatic televangelists and faith healers use Roberts’s seed-faith plan or something similar to manipulate viewers to donate more than they can really afford.
Paul Crouch, founder and chairman of Trinity Broadcasting Network, is one of the doctrine’s stanchest defenders. “Plant a significant seed,” Crouch wrote in a 2011 TBN fund-raising letter. “Give it fully expecting the glorious return that Jesus promised. One final note: name your seed–‘out of debt,’ ‘job,’ ‘home,’ ‘husband,’ ‘wife’–or whatever you desire from God!” Another letter ended with these words: “I know prices for gas and most everything else is up, but remember Jesus’ words: ‘Give and it shall be given [unto you].'”
Most of Crouch’s statements above, about God, are viewing God as a genie in a bottle, granting any wish one has. That is a blasphemous view of God, wherein He is our servant, not we His.
Moreover, the Charismatic seed-faith idea suggests that if you plant your little “seed” of faith, that God will grant you a “little” harvest of money and if your “large” seed of faith, that God will grant you a “large” harvest of money (or, job, home, husband, wife…). That idea grossly distorts the Biblical doctrine of faith. The Charismatics are suggesting that you can make your faith a bigger faith by giving them more money. The Bible makes it clear that God gives faith and He grows faith via tribulation. [Two very short videos below define Biblical faith and Christian giving.]
The Biblical example of faith that is spoken of so frequently in the New Testament is that of the father of the faithful, Abraham: Gen 15:6 And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith, see Genesis 12 — 22.
Notice what the apostle Paul says about Abraham: (remember, this is about Biblical faith): Gal 3:6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” Gal 3:7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. Gal 3:8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when He said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” Gal 3:9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith…Gal 3:11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Rom 4:16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. Rom 4:22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. Rom 4:23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded Rom 4:24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
So, faith enables a person to partake of the promises that God has made regarding salvation from His wrath against sin. And those who have faith like Abraham, are his children, the true believers in Christ, and in the Biblical covenant promises. Also note, that in Paul’s examples, faith is a WAY of believing that is compared to another WAY, that of strict obedience to the law, or following e.g., the 10 commandments to earn your own righteousness so you can enter into the promised land.
Below is a 2 minute 30 second video that defines Biblical faith, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson is defining repentance / faith during a Ligonier Bible class (see Ligonier.org for classes; $90 a year for as many classes as you can take). Note that the faith he defines is nothing like that described by Crouch or any of the prosperity preachers. The last 2 minutes of the video are very easy to understand, the initial 30 seconds, not so. (For a fuller definition of repentance and faith…see, categories, Doctrine / Theology, the post on Decisionism vs Doctrine of Repentance.)
Faith is given by God and enables one to repent and move towards Christ (see categories, Christian Study Helps post).
So, if you do not have faith that is given by God, then you cannot believe the promises God has made about His covenants in the Bible, and you will not be able to escape His wrath against sin. You will die in your sins….
There is nothing in all of the Bible verses about faith that speaks of becoming wealthy, or of receiving any temporal rewards from God for your faith [if He has given it to you]. All of God’s promises and rewards are of a spiritual nature concerning the afterlife; not of fortune in this life.
Yes, Osteen’s famous book, that indicates you can have your best life now requires that one focus his energies on prosperity in his physical life; Dr. MacArthur summarized that well when he said that Osteen’s book is for those who are not going to heaven, but to hell; for that is the only way that this can be your best life. The point is that if your focus is on earthly wealth, then you are focused on the wrong realm, which is blinding you to the peril that awaits you when your earthly existence ends, that could be today.
For professed believers in Christ who want to get rich like the prosperity preachers, God raises up false preachers like Osteen and Hinn; God states in 2 Thessalonians, He raises up false preachers / prophets for those who will not love His truth (see categories, Mission Statement post).
The prosperity preachers can only scam you if you do not read / study your Bible.
The 6 minute video below contains sound teaching about Christian giving: Todd Friel, stated that tithing is an Old Testament practice and clarifies New Testament giving; he also stated that someone who is in financial trouble ought to get out of debt before giving substantially to the church. The prosperity preachers say that giving much when you are financially in trouble will get you out of debt. Not so!
In closing, I want to restate that the Bible contains the guidelines for leading the Christian life. Moreover, if you have not read the Bible, then you probably should not even join a church, because the New Testament provides information that can enable one to choose a Biblical church. It seems that about 90% of all Christian churches are not Biblical. You wouldn’t know that, however, if you haven’t read through your Bible (see categories, Mission Statement post).
[This post does not delve into the source of all faith, God, as is stated in Ephesians 2:8-10 and elsewhere in scripture; that faith is a free gift from God…. The prosperity preachers would have you believe that you can grow your own faith, not so. You should look into that via a study Bible or Bible commentary– I want to remind you that at E-sword.net you can download free Bible software that includes a dozen or more versions of the Bible; and about a half-dozen each of commentaries and Bible dictionaries, and more, FREE. You can add various resources at a cost.]
Pray that God the Holy Spirit would open your spiritual eyes as the psalmist did below:
Psa 119:18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in Your instructions.
Psa 119:29 Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing Your instructions.
Psa 119:30 I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by Your regulations.
Psa 119:36 Give me an eagerness for Your laws rather than a love for money!
Psa 119:37 Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through Your word.