I have watched the prosperity gospel grow in popularity during my lifetime. It used to be preached primarily in small Pentecostal churches scattered around the country. Now, it is the central message in some of America’s largest churches. It fills arenas and is the subject of bestselling books. Even conservative presidents have embraced faith leaders who herald it. It has become so prevalent that its eccentricities are a key part of “Righteous Gemstones,” a new HBO series.
I have traveled the world and have seen firsthand the devastating effects of the prosperity gospel in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It promises material wealth and physical health to those who trust in God. It implies, if not outright asserts, that a lack of wealth and health is due to a corresponding lack of faith. Congregants are called on to believe and to evidence their belief through sacrificial giving with the promise of God rewarding them.
People who fall prey to the prosperity gospel keep believing and giving, assuming God will reward them materially and physically. Christ is not central if ever referenced at all. His sacrificial atonement is replaced with our sacrificial giving. His glorious resurrection is replaced with our own aspirations of glorious prosperity.
We are not promised to see the church advance or progress exponentially. However, we can expect God to do more than we can ask or think while entrusting him with the final outcome.
The prosperity gospel is heresy. Through my work with the Langham Partnership, I’ve become acquainted with the teaching of Femi Adeleye from Ghana, whose book on this subject, “Preachers of a Different Gospel,” is well worth consideration. He describes the prosperity gospel found in Africa as a false gospel exported from America that is “nothing less than the doctrine of demons” (Page 12).
I believe there is something of a similar nature lurking in my own circles, one to which I have fallen prey. It is the scarcity gospel. It is the belief that we should expect God to do very little through our churches or in our lifetime. We don’t expect to see people come to faith in surprising numbers through the ministry of our churches. We don’t expect to see a surprising work of God’s Spirit sweep through our churches and strengthen the faith of congregants. We don’t expect to see the gospel advance in places and among people where the church is underrepresented.
We expect little. And that may be what we actually experience during our lifetime. We are not promised to see the church advance or progress exponentially. However, we can expect God to do more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20) while entrusting him with the final outcome.
The scarcity gospel was first brought to my attention while studying the founders of Princeton Seminary. I came across this quote from Charles Hodge: “I am fully persuaded that the vast majority of the human race will share in the beatitudes and glories of our Lord’s redemption.”
What? I thought he was a Calvinist. Doesn’t he know many are called but “few” are chosen? I tried to reconcile my admiration for Hodge’s exegetical skill with his outlandish assertion. I faced a choice. I could believe Hodge was wrong, or I could consider why my own outlook may be wrong. The latter seemed more likely.
I went back to the Bible and encountered statements that led me to repent of my scarcity gospel.
• God promised Abraham that his descendants would be innumerable (Genesis 15:5).
• The prophet Isaiah was told “many” would come to the mountain of the Lord and worship Him (Isaiah 2:2-4).
• Paul tells us that Christ came so “many” will be made righteous (Romans 5:19).
• The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that Christ will bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).
What should we expect God to do? We should expect God to save sinners and advance Christ’s church in a way that reflects the expectancy of Scripture. We shouldn’t expect God to bring a few sons to glory or some sons to glory. We should expect him to bring many.
It is easy to see why we are attracted to the scarcity gospel. As ministers, we want to protect ourselves from disappointment. If we expect God to do big things but our congregations experience only small steps forward or no progress at all, we grow disillusioned with ourselves and potentially God himself.
We also tend to calibrate our expectations of God according to the news cycle. It is easy for Christians to watch the news and conclude that Christianity is losing its influence in America. The percentage of Christians in America is shrinking, and Christians are increasingly in the minority on cultural hot topics. It can feel as though the church in America is shrinking rather than blossoming.
We shouldn’t expect God to bring a few sons to glory or some sons to glory. We should expect him to bring many.
There are facts to support this feeling. The church’s growth rate is shrinking. Secular values are becoming the norm, and biblical values are becoming marginalized.
I’m not asking you to disbelieve the news or set yourself up for disappointment. I am asking you to believe in the power of the gospel to save. I am asking you to believe that Christ can use our churches, our preaching, our prayers, and our meager gifts to do things that are disproportionately amazing in our lifetime.
What does it look like to repent of the scarcity gospel?
• It radically changes our prayer life from the normal list of friends and family to faith-filled bold requests for God’s transforming power to be made manifest.
• It changes our expectations as to what the preaching and teaching of God’s Word can accomplish.
• It changes what we think God will do with the financial gifts we contribute to the advancement of His kingdom.
• It changes how we interpret events unfolding in our culture as exceptions rather than the trajectory of God’s work in the world.
The world shouldn’t dictate what we anticipate from God. As the West becomes more committed to a secular belief system, it doesn’t mean we should expect less from God during our lifetime. He is sovereign, which is why we should believe anything is possible. His Spirit can move when and where He wishes. Whether or not we witness exponential growth in our own culture, we know the end of history will reveal His faithfulness in fulfilling His original promise to Abraham wherein the sons of God will be as populous as the sands of the sea.
Andy Jones is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is also the founder and managing director of Roundtree, a marketing agency serving Christian organizations.
Photo by Stefan Kunze on Unsplash