Reading through Beyond Greed in the lead-up to Christmas last year made me think again about ‘prosperity teaching’ and whether I’m as immune to it as I like to think I am. I can spot the Joel Osteen variety a mile off, but when it comes without those trappings, I’m not so sure that I’m as good at spotting it and guarding my heart against its temptations. Yet, if Jesus says it’s the ‘deceitfulness’ of wealth that makes it so dangerous to my perseverance and fruitfulness as a disciple (Mark 4:19), then I need to be on guard for the subtle half-truths as well as the big lie. (more…)
Tag Archives: Prosperity
Nowism
Up front, Sola Panel
There is an insidious and dangerous teaching that I’ve noticed creeping into my church, threatening my Christian hope, and stifling my evangelistic effectiveness. Up to this point, it hasn’t had a catchy title.1 But I want to correct that. I’m going to call this teaching ‘nowism’, from the English word ‘now’, meaning ‘the present age’. (more…)
Tests and trials for the rich
As I preached through James recently, I became fascinated with trials and tests. It was not just a matter of idle exegetical curiosity, since by any measure the church I am part of belongs to the wealthiest class of the most materialistic civilisation on earth. We just expect to have whatever we want and I struggle with greed as much as anyone. I concluded that being rich is a trial as much as suffering hardship. This might be a hard thing for someone who is not rich to accept—how can the rich complain?! But this appears to be the teaching of God’s word here in the letter of James.
Seven financial habits of gospel-minded people
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