What Did He Mean By Carry A Cross???

Something tells me this is not the kind of cross Christ said to carry

Over the past few days I have been musing on some of the implications of the gospel and the prosperity gospel.

One though is, where's the cross? The one Jesus said to take up and follow Him with. Where is the part where we walk the Calvary road? Where are the tribulations? Anyhow, that's all the negative side of the argument. I get a whole lot more excited whenever I take a peek at the positive side.

The Positive Side:

The prosperity gospel claims to offer more than the orthodox gospel.

But it's not that the prosperity offers more than the true gospel. It offers less, infinitely less when Christ is de-valued at the expense of material gain.

The prosperity gospel begins with Christ and then leads to other 'greater' things. Things that we can have in this life and the next.

The true gospel begins and ends with Christ who is far greater than anything we can have in this life and the next.

Applied Personally:

I don't believe in the prosperity gospel, but sometimes it might look like I did. Especially when it comes to what it takes to be satisfied. If it's Christ + anything, it's not lookin' good.

I have to ask, what's it going to take for me to be satisfied, cash or Christ?

After all, Jesus said, you can't serve both God and Mammon.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Josh

Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text

More on The Prosperity Gospel

Piper on the prosperity gospel in frank, honest, passionate, no-nonsense, biblical fashion.

One of The Worst "Gospels"

The video is thoughtful, fair and well made. It takes you inside Africa to see firsthand what's going on with our exported 'gospel' experiment.

I am afraid this so called gospel makes my stomach sick almost every time I see or hear it preached.

Moving from good news to good advice and calling it gospel is not only an abominable heresy, it's wickedly cruel. I am thankful that God is not and cannot be foiled by wolves, He is actively rescuing his sheep from their hands.

My prayer is that by His grace more believers will see the diversion for what it is and instead discover Christ is their true treasure in the midst of every kind of poverty. In Christ all can find peace and joy in seemingly impossible situations. Let the rich of us say we are poor without Him, and poorest rejoice because they have gained the pearl of greatest price, in this life and the life to come.

[HT: Challies] [Vitamin Z]