“…I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.’ Jude 3 (NIV) “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1 (NKJV) v False Teaching: THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL. Definition: The full blessing of God available to all who approach Him in faith and obedience include wealth, health and power. Promoters: Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, John Hagee, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Andrew Womack.

v What Are the Major Errors? They Teach Heretical and Unbiblical Views of… 1. JESUS’ ATONEMENT. “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5 (NIV) “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 (NIV) “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality…” 2 Corinthians 8:14 (NIV) “…He said, ‘It is finished!’” John 19:30b (NKJV) ‘He Himself bore our sins’ in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds you have been healed.’” 2 Peter 2:24 (NIV) “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away…He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13a, 14 (NLT)

2. EARTHLY WEALTH. “‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.’” Mark 10:29-30 (NIV) “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:9-11 (NIV)

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…” Hebrews 13:5a (NIV) ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…’ Matthew 6:19-20a (NIV)

3. PHYSICAL WELL BEING. “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NKJV) “It was good for Me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees….It was good for Me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” Psalm 119:71, 75 (NIV) “It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (NLT)

4. FAITH. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 (NIV) “’I said, “You are ‘gods’; you are all sons of the Most High.”’” Psalm 82:6 (NIV) “But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.” Psalm 82:7 (NIV) “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, “I have said you are ‘gods’?” If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—what about the One whom the Father set apart as His very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse Me of blasphemy because I said, “I am God’s Son”’? John 10:34-36 NIV) “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19 (NIV) “…which He will display at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords…” 1 Timothy 6:15 (ESV) “…The biggest problem with prosperity theology is not that it promises too much, but that it promises far too little.” Albert Mohler