Question: How would the apostle Paul respond to Prosperity Theology?

I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.

Acts 9:16

It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.

Philippians 1:29

…We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!... we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly….we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. 1 Corinthians 4:8-13

2 Corinthians 11:23-29 I have worked much harder, been

in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been

constantly on the move…. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers; I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep…

I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

2 Corinthians 11:23-29

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

To keep me from becoming conceited…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

Galatians 6:11

Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

2 Timothy 4:20

Epaphroditus: “Indeed he was ill, and almost died.”

Philippians 2:24-30

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

1 Timothy 5:23

Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

2 Timothy 3:12

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:9

Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed… If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God… 1 Peter 4:12-15

Did Jesus Promise Prosperity in This

Life?

“I tell you the truth,” 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—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Mark 10:29-30

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!...

Galatians 1:6-10

Barna Report on Giving

96% of American Christians give away less than 10% of their income. Average: 2.6%

Today’s average American church member gives 30% less, proportionately, than the average church member gave in 1933, during the Great Depression.

• Four out of every ten church adults give nothing to churches.

• One-third of born-again adults said they tithed in 2000. But a comparison of their giving versus their income revealed only one out of eight actually did.

• The average church donor contributed a mean of $649 in 2000, down from $806 in 1999. Married adults are more likely than single adults to donate some money to a church in a typical month (64 percent to 42 percent).

• “Those in their twenties are substantially less likely (36 percent) than those in their thirties and forties (58 percent), or fifties or sixties (68 percent) to give to a church in a given month.”

Barna Research Group

The younger a church-goer, the less he gives (proportionately).

80% of the money given to the American church is given by those age 55 and older.

Within 50 years, $100 trillion will pass from older to younger.

Our lack of Giving means lack of

• Church, Mission, Relief funding

• Kingdom-mindedness

• Christlikeness

• God’s blessing

• Our Master’s Joy

• God’s grace

Questions:

What are some of the misunderstandings of giving among Christians?

What are the reasons many Christians aren’t generous givers?