Jesus Christ did not die for our sins to make us prosper carnally in this world. He came to save our souls from perishing eternally after our death on this earth.
We, as humans, give too much weightage to the temporary life we live on earth, and forget about the eternal judgement that's waiting for us after our death.
In other words, we go only by what we see with our naked eyes. Many preachers today are taking advantage of this, and preaching what the crowd wants to hear, rather than the truth. Sadly, some preachers seem to be deceived themselves, while a lot others seem to be intentionally doing it.
In fact, in today's scenario, it's hard to find a true preacher. So, in this blog post, we're giving some hints for you to find if the person you're listening to is a prosperity gospel preacher or the original gospel preacher.
The Prosperity Gospel preachers can't avoid doing this
First, let's see some things that prosperity gospel preachers do:
The Prosperity Gospel preachers will try to make you feel like they are the middlemen between you and God. They will focus on giving you a picture that you are blessed because of them or their holiness or their power.
Once you accept Christ as your personal Savior, they will speak with you primarily about your worldly prosperity rather than the inner cleansing and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
They will be mere motivational talkers, using God's name here and there to give a spiritual touch.
When you are in a financial need, they will ask you to trust God and they will be open to pray for you. But when they have a financial need, they will directly ask for donations from the church members, and sugar coat with words like if you give to them, you're giving to God, and that God will repay you.
Though God is against pride, their sermons focus on arousing your pride.
They may call themselves a saint or prophet or apostle, and prefix these titles with their names to market their prayer meetings.
They will demand you to stick with the church as a member, and might even scare you that God will be angry on you if you go to another church (or donate to another church) or follow another preacher.
They give more weightage to the church members donating more to the church.
They twist the plain and simple meaning of verses like Matthew 7:13-14 or never even talk about them.
Now don't get this wrong. It's not that you should not help or donate to the church, but if the preacher is not practicing what he preaches, then you must be wise enough to question their teaching, and find how they twist or deviate from the true word of God.
The True Gospel Preachers Do This
Now, let's take a quick look at some of the characteristics of the true Gospel preachers.
They seek the glory of God whenever they are credited for something. They acknowledge they themselves rely on the Grace of God everyday, and would never try to create a picture that they are holy.
They tell without any hesitation that they are not middlemen between you and God. They clearly acknowledge that it's only Christ's work on the cross gives you (and them) direct access to God.
They speak about our fallen nature, especially about sin and how Christ is essential for our souls to be saved.
When they speak to a person who already accepted Christ as their personal Savior, they will speak about the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the inner cleansing. They will give no importance for worldly well being.
They point out the hypocrisy in us (and in themselves too, at times), and affirm that we (and they) still need to grow a lot more in Christ. In other words, they don't bother about what the crowd wants to hear, they simply speak the truth, even if it's not accepted by the hearing crowd.
When they are in a financial need they will trust God, and live as an example. They wouldn't demand their church members to stay with the church, and not to go to any other church.
Their sermons will be based on the Bible. They wouldn't try to twist the Word of God for their personal benefits. They speak the truth even if it's hard to accept for the flesh.
They treat the financially poor and rich church members alike, regardless of the amount of money they donate to the church.
With these hints, you could easily differentiate a prosperity Gospel preacher from a true Gospel preacher.
The prosperity Gospel preacher will do everything to satisfy your flesh with a spiritual touch. The true Gospel preacher will not even think about satisfying your flesh, but certainly will tell you the truth in order to lead you in the right path for Eternal life. The choice about whom to hear, and whom to trust still lies with you.