Prosperity gospel
Serious error
The teaching that God promises financial wealth and physical health to believers who have enough faith, often unlocked by giving money to a ministry.
Also called: prosperity teaching, prosperity theology, health and wealth gospel, seed faith, giving to receive
What it means
The prosperity gospel teaches that God wants every believer to be rich and healthy now, and that Christ's atonement purchased material prosperity as well as forgiveness. Poverty and sickness are signs of weak faith, unconfessed sin, or failure to give. A common form is "seed faith": money given to a church or ministry is a seed that God will multiply back to the giver.
The teaching spread widely through twentieth-century American revivalism and broadcasting, and it is now prominent around the world, often where people are poorest. It appeals to real needs and to the true fact that God is generous and cares about our bodies and daily bread.
The historic Protestant confessions reject it. They teach that God's providence includes trials and afflictions for his children for their good, that contentment and generosity mark the Christian life, and that the gospel's promise is Christ himself, not wealth.
What Scripture says
Paul condemns those who treat godliness as a means of gain and warns that the love of money is a root of evil.
Jesus tells his followers to store up treasure in heaven rather than on earth.
God refused to remove Paul's thorn, saying his grace is sufficient and his power is perfected in weakness.
Paul learned contentment in plenty and in need, through Christ who strengthens him.
Many faithful believers were destitute, afflicted, and mistreated, and were commended for their faith.
Peter rebukes Simon for thinking God's gift could be obtained with money.
What is wrong with it
Scripture never promises believers wealth and health in this life in exchange for faith or giving. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head; the apostles were poor, beaten, and imprisoned; Paul pleaded for healing and was told no. The New Testament calls the love of money a root of all kinds of evil and warns against those who treat godliness as a way to get rich.
Giving in order to get turns generosity, which is a response to grace, into an investment. It treats God as a vending machine and faith as a technique for controlling him.
How it undermines the truth
It undermines the gospel by making Christ a means to worldly goods rather than the treasure himself. It undermines the doctrine of the atonement, which secures forgiveness and new life, not a guarantee of health and riches now. It undermines God's sovereignty and providence, in which suffering serves his good purposes for his children. And it twists the meaning of faith into trust in our own words and gifts.
How it can harm a church
The prosperity gospel falls hardest on the poor, the sick, and the grieving. People give money they cannot spare, expecting a return that never comes, and are then told their faith was weak. The sick may be shamed for their illness, and some have abandoned medical care. Many lose their faith altogether when the promises fail.
It also tends to enrich leaders at the expense of their flocks and weakens accountability, since a leader's wealth is presented as proof of God's favor.
This page describes a teaching, not the faith of any person who holds it.
Where it comes up
Confessions: WCF 5.5; LBCF 1689 5.5
On this site: Giving
Related terms
Word of FaithOutside historic orthodoxy
A movement teaching that faith is a force and words have creative power, so believers can speak health and wealth into being; some of its teachers also deny creedal truths about God and Christ.
Soft prosperityFlagged as a concern
A milder form of prosperity teaching that does not promise riches outright but implies that faith and giving will bring success, comfort, and blessing in this life.
TitheA view held among orthodox Christians
Giving a tenth of one's income to God; some churches teach it as binding on Christians, others as a helpful guide for generous, proportional giving.
The gospelHistoric orthodoxy
The good news that God saves sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and freely forgives and accepts all who turn from sin and trust in Him.