Prosperity doctrine: Truth or bluff?

The most recent doctrinal uprising today in the christian world is this so-called prosperity doctrine. Almost every other preacher seems to be preaching it. What is intresting is, neither Jesus nor His apostles seem to have known this. In fact, they preached otherwise. Jesus said, in this world you (christians) will suffer. Again St. Peter writes,

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: I Peter 2:21

We are called to accept suffering

 Luke 9:23-24
 23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  24For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Romans 8:17
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

2 Timothy 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Philippians 3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

2 Timothy 2:11,12
11It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

2 Corinthians 1:5-10
 5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.  6And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.  7And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.  8For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:  9But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:  10Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Suffering is real. Christ despised its shame.

 Hebrews 12:1-13
 1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Unlike what these preachers are driving at, suffering does not pull us away from God. Maybe sin does.

Romans 8:35-39
 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rather its prosperity that may seperate us from God:

James 5:1-6

 1Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

So dear friend take heed that you dont get carried away by a false theory of prosperity. Suffering was, is and will be a part of christian living. The word-of-faith, speak-it-have-it, visualize-it-have-it doctrines are too unbiblical. It has lead many to greediness.

1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is the root of all evil.

Lets take care to avoid such stuff.