It is very common for so-called Christian churches and preachers these days to deliver a false message that is not found anywhere in the pages of the Bible. It is known as the "prosperity gospel," and it gives people the false impression that if they accept Jesus into their lives then everything that is going wrong in their life will be fixed. The saying, as you may have heard, goes something like: "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life."
The problem with this is that it goes against everything scripture has to say about how what people will experience once they are saved and become born again. In Matthew 10:22 we read: "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Here Jesus Christ Himself warns those who are following Him that the rest of the world is going to hate them simply because they adhere to His name. Contrary to the prosperity gospel's proclamation, this is sure to bring more hardship in life than it would to remove it.
Similarly in John 15:19 we read: "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." Those who have been saved "out of this world" by God and been born again will be hated by the world, not loved. The reason that people preach the prosperity gospel in the first place is so that "the world" will love them, rather than hate them.
This results from man taking the gospel of Christ and making in man-centered rather than God-centered. It takes all of the focus off of bringing glory to God and simply tries to let people extract everything they can from it for themselves. The reason people love the prosperity gospel is because it is from the world, not from God. As we have already read that what is from God will be hated by the world. This is why it takes a powerful work of God Himself to save a person.
People are fooled into believing that the reason someone is wealthy and has a big house and car is because they "serve Jesus." As a result of this people who want more for themselves will begin to "serve God," the only problem being it is a false faith and a false profession. The Bible says not to love the world or the things of the world, and the prosperity gospel is in direct contradiction to that teaching. Do not fall into the trap of the prosperity gospel, instead read your Bible and discover what the true gospel has to offer: Spiritual Life and a justified relationship with God who is the creator of heaven and earth.
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