Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
I have 2,000 years of church history composed of millions of faithful brothers and sisters who are with me in the latter category.
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I think James chapter one if very relevant. James begins by saying that we should pray and that when we pray we should have faith that we will receive and that we will receive. He then discusses why this doesn't happen, saying a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Instead of being "doubleminded" he says that the brother of low degree should glory in his high standing in the Lord, and the rich should glory in the fact that he is brought low. The reason that the rich is brought low is that his glory is as the grass of the field that withers and dries up under the scorching sun.
Now either James is incredibly random in his writing or he is saying that many saints are praying to get rich, and that is to be "doubleminded" and that is why their prayers are not answered.
To me, this is what shoots the biggest hole in the prosperity gospel. First they get saints to focus on vain wealth which is likened to the flowers of the field, one day it is here, the next it is cast into the fire. The second problem is they misdirect the prayers. Instead of teaching that those who are of low degree should glory in their high standing in the Lord, they say that their high standing in the Lord is proof that they shouldn't be of low degree in this age, and the fact that they are is due to their not being true to the Biblical principles, and the key principle they have ignored is "sowing to the kingdom". So they make saints feel guilty for being of low degree, and the only way to deal with that guilt is to give to the kingdom and by extension to donate to their ministry.