Beware the health and wealth gospel

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Though we have learned as a denomination to appreciate regional and cultural differences in the way we worship God, that does not mean that we believe that “anything goes.” We draw the line at behavior that leads people away from a right relationship with God.

As I travel around the world, I take note of questions from our pastors and members. Their questions often arise from what they heard a popular preacher say on television. They ask me: “Have you read their book?” “What do you think of their teaching?” My answers typically advise caution, for sound theology often is lacking in what televangelists offer. I don’t mean to paint them all with the same broad brush, but the unfortunate fact is that many of them teach what is known as the health and wealth gospel. It’s also known as the word of faith, positive confession or seed-faith teaching. Some give it more pejorative names like name it and claim it or blab it and grab it. Perhaps calling it the health and stealth gospel would be the most accurate, for this false teaching has the potential to lead people away from the true gospel.

 

Missionary experts have noted how many people who embrace the health and wealth gospel are caught up in it for three to five years before they realize that the only ones prospering are the televangelists. When they realize they have been duped, some look for another church where they can recover from the false teaching. Sadly, others stop attending church altogether.

Health and wealth teachers abandon sound principles of biblical interpretation and teaching and utilize sensational, often bizarre theatrics to keep their audiences stirred up. Their message is that physical health and wealth is the evidence of God’s saving grace. But that teaching is nonsense—it is grounded in several exegetical, hermeneutical and theological errors.

One error is the belief that you can release the power of heaven through your words. This is quite a departure from the examples of prayer in Scripture. It is akin to occult or magical practices where spirits, powers and forces must do your bidding if you know the right words (incantation) to say. This approach makes God out to be some sort of cosmic vending machine!

Another error is the belief that you need special, private revelation from God to understand the teaching, because it is not made clear in the Bible. Here is an illustrative quote from a popular word of faith televangelist: “The Bible can’t even find any way to explain this. Not really. That’s why you’ve got to get it by revelation. There are no words to explain what I’m telling you. I’ve got to just trust God that he’s putting it into your spirit like he put it into mine.” Really? The apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-9 about claims to special, private revelations and interpretations. Be on your guard!

The reason the health and wealth gospel is spiritually harmful is that it presents a relationship with God as a transaction: If you don’t do your part, you won’t be blessed. But if you speak the right words, with just the right attitude (what they erroneously refer to as “faith”), then God must give you the asked-for benefit.

God is not interested in a transactional relationship with us. His covenant is not a contract—not an if you, then I proposition. God gives to us freely out of his own goodness, love and sheer generosity in accordance with the promises he freely has made toward his people and creation. Relating to God in a transactional way is a form of pagan religion—a form of idolatry—that denies God’s grace and distrusts his gracious character. It is the very thing that Jesus condemned in the Jewish religious leaders of his day. The idea of conducting a transaction with God is doomed from the beginning for we can never perfectly “do our part.” But, thankfully, God never wanted or expected that we would. Rather he invites and enables us to receive his blessings by trusting him to be true to his promises—true to his word—indeed, true to himself.

In and through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Father has given us the greatest blessing of all. Its focus is not physical health or wealth. Jesus did not heal everyone in his ministry. No one got wealthy, including Jesus himself. Some, in fact, gave up all their worldly possessions! The miracles Jesus performed were limited and temporary (even those he raised from the dead eventually died again!). These miracles were signs that pointed to the greatest blessing of all: redemption and reconciliation to God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ priority was to reconcile people to God so they would put their entire trust in him and lead lives reflecting his character. Paul refers to this Christ-likeness as “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NRSV). Paul exulted in “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33) and proclaimed, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). That is the “health” and “wealth” that we are to seek and to receive by faith.

If our focus is on temporal, physical rewards, Christ becomes merely a means—a tool—to gain our own ends. A transactional gospel ignores Jesus’ warning about getting caught up in “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth” (Matthew 13:22) that choke out the development of genuine, mature faith in our gracious God.

I could cite other scriptures, but I think I’ve made the point. GCI does not support or promote the health and wealth gospel. We believe that it distorts Scripture, conflicts with Jesus’ message of the gospel and threatens a right relationship with God. Please remind those who are tempted to embrace it of Paul’s warning that, “The grace of God… teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12, emphasis added). Also remind them of Jesus’ warning: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

With love, in Christ’s service,

Joseph Tkach