Satan's Gospel
There is a message out there that promises life, peace and happiness, but ends in the loss of all of these. It is a message that soothes the ears of those who will listen and entices the most diligent of students in the Word. This message even uses the word of God to draw men in.
This is actually the very message that Satan used to try tempting Christ in the wilderness shortly after his baptism.
You can hear this message from many devils on tv. You hear it in the heart of the bible belt at a host of cute little country churches and in a plethora of huge mega-churches around the world.
We have all been exposed to it and probably each been inclined/tempted to listen and adopt its sweet melody.
Look at Satan’s gospel in Matthew 4:
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Notice the challenge here…or the promise: “If you are the Son of God…you can do whatever you want.”
Now, I have heard so many smooth-talking preachers make this same promise to their congregations and audiences. Telling them that, “If you really are a child of God, no bad will come to you. You will always be healthy. You will always have a full bank account.”
KNOW THIS PEOPLE: THIS IS THE GOSPEL OF SATAN! We can see him use it right here in Matthew’s gospel account!
We call it the “Prosperity Gospel” and I would dare say it is the most dangerous of all the heresies and false doctrines the world can offer.
I have watched more faiths destroyed by it than any other wickedness.
Maybe you have been angry with God or questioning why all the bad is going on in your life.
Maybe you got burned by this prosperity gospel and when you were sick, hurt or broke, you felt that God had abandoned you.
The truth is that God is here with you but you claimed a promise that God never made to you.
In fact, he promised the opposite in John 16:33 when He said that you would definitely have trouble in this world, but not to lose heart because He is with you in it!
James also told us that He has given us many trials to grow our endurance. He is actually helping us grow by not having and by suffering.
If this prosperity gospel is true and prosperity is a measurement of our faith, then Jesus, Paul, the disciples and so many early church fathers failed miserably and were not loved by God.
Would you dare say that Jesus, having no place to lay his head, being beaten and killed, went through all of that because He didn’t have enough faith?
These people, who are telling you that you can have all the money and health if you just have strong enough faith because you really are a child of God, are the mouthpiece of Satan!
If you have noticed, in every other post, I speak of love and compassion. I talk about meeting people where they are. But here, in this post I have opposed fiercely this heretical message. The reason is because I have been instructed by God’s word to “resist the devil.” I will love what God loves, and hate what God hates, and I assure you, He hates this damnable evil.