“People are appalled by the truth”
I’m appalled. And sad. I hope you are too.
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To Prosperity Preachers
From John Piper at desiringgod.org
This post is the first in a series of twelve. The content comes from “Twelve Appeals to Prosperity Preachers” found in the new edition of Let the Nations Be Glad.
Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” His disciples were astonished, as many in the “prosperity” movement should be. So Jesus went on to raise their astonishment even higher by saying, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” They responded in disbelief: “Then who can be saved?” Jesus says, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:23-27).
This means that their astonishment was warranted. A camel can’t go through the eye of a needle. This is not a metaphor for something requiring great effort or humble sacrifice. It can’t be done. We know this because Jesus said, Impossible! That was his word, not ours. “With man it is impossible.” The point is that the heart-change required is something man can’t do for himself. God must do it—“. . . but [it is] not [impossible] with God.”
We can’t make ourselves stop treasuring money above Christ. But God can. That is good news. And that should be part of the message that prosperity preachers herald before they entice people to become more camel-like. Why would a preacher want to preach a gospel that encourages the desire to be rich and thus confirms people in their natural unfitness for the kingdom of God?
6 things that can change your life….
Six things I know to be true…
1. This is God’s world
Look around you at the beauty of the mountains, the individuality of a snowflake, the incredible way the human body works and its not hard to see that we are created people living in a created world. Therefore we must have a creator. That creator, naturally, is the boss of what he made. Image you started a company, wouldn’t you want to be the one who decides how to run it? Wouldn’t that, in fact, be your right? Same goes with the creator of this world. God made us and is therefore rightly in charge. The bible says
‘You are worthy, our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory and honour and power. You are worthy because you created all things. They were created and they exist. That is the way you planned it.’ Revelation chapter 4, verse 11
God is a boss who wants to give good things to the world he made. Doesn’t that sound good? Perfect even? But clearly things are not like that.
2. We do our own thing
All you have to do is watch the news or read a paper to know something has turned bad. Is it God? No of course not – its us! The average person is happy to live ignoring God and being their own boss. And this is precisely where we go wrong. We didn’t make this world and we don’t know the best way to make it work. We willingly turn from God’s leadership and he holds us responsible for that.
‘No-one is right with God, no-one at all. No-one understands. No-one trusts in God. All of them have turned away.’ Romans chapter 3, verses 10-12
So what do you think God will do about this – about us who ignore him, do our own thing and got the world into such a mess??
3. There is trouble ahead
Back to your company. You hire someone to be a part of what YOU created and they ignore you, refuse to listen to your orders and treat your property like it’s their own. What do you do? Fire them, right? Why do we deserve any different. When we ignore God we say to him ‘leave me alone’ and in return he will do just that and cut us off from him completely. He is the creator and therefore the source of life and light, and when we are cut off from him that means death and destruction. Choosing our own way leads only to punishment.
‘People have to die once. After that, God will judge them.’ Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27
So without God this is our grim future. But….
4. God has a solution
God made us and that means he cares about us – in fact he LOVES us and doesn’t want this future to be true for us. So he offers a solution. He sent his son Jesus to the world to save us from it. Jesus lived the way we should. He never ignored God and he always followed him. He was the one PERFECT person. God sent him to take away the punishment that we deserve. He died our death and because our debt has been paid, we can be forgiven.
‘Christ died for sins once and for all time. The one who did what is right died for those who don’t do right. He died to bring you to God.’ 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18
But this is not the end of the story…
5. Jesus is NOT dead!
Thats right – he lives! God, who is the source of life, brought Jesus back to life! God accepts Jesus’ death as the punishment for us, and put Jesus in charge of the world – he is now the king! So the one who took our punishment, is the one who we will stand in front of for judgement. His death was not for nothing. He gives us a chance to be forgiven and to begin a new life, following God.
‘Give praise to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us a new birth and a hope that is alive. It is alive because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.’ 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 3
So where does this leave you??
6. There’s a choice to be made
We can either keep being our own boss or we can let the one who made us be our boss. Jesus invites us to turn to him, trust him as the one who saves us, and follow him for the rest of our life. Without this, we are heading away from life towards death.
‘Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life. Anyone who says no to the Son will not have eternal life. God’s anger remains on him.’ John chapter 3, verse 36
Wondering what to do now? If you want to accept Jesus’ offer all you
need to do is talk to him – this is what prayer is. All you need to say is
sorry I’ve ignored you, thanks for sending Jesus,
and please forgive me and be my boss forever.
Got questions? Comment or email me
For more info check out this site or
see what my mate Dave says about the king who saves.
