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True Ministers vs. Prosperity Ministers
“Not that I seek out the gift, but I seek out the fruit which abounds to your reckoning.”
(Philippians 4:17)
Here is the difference between Paul and the prosperity ministers of every age. Both receive the gift of the faithful gladly, but Paul is clear that seeking out the gift is not his intention; the prosperity ministers of todays age and every age are blatant in their seeking of the gift. Paul accepts the gift not because it will bring him comfort, but that he can use the gift to further the Gospel. The ministers of the prosperity gospel do seek their own comfort and revel in it. In receiving the gift, Paul is essentially giving it away for the building up of the kingdom; prosperity ministers keep the gift…to borrow the language of Jude, they are shepherds who only feed themselves (Jude 12).
But how is there a reckoning that is applied to us? Do we really earn merit from God? Not in the sense that you are likely thinking, we do not. Surely the most we can apply to ourselves is that we are unworthy servants (Luke 17:10). At the same time, being faithful with what you have and using it for the kingdom is a mark of a true believer (Matthew 25:40). Further, those who are faithful with the small things that are entrusted to them in this life will be given more responsibility (in this life — Matthew 25:21; Luke 16:10). Thus, the reckoning is that this church has been faithful in the work to which has been given to them not only in Philippi but also in the broader ministry of Paul the Apostle (and perhaps even others!). And the honor due their faithfulness will not be taken from them.
The question remains as to what motivates and drives each of us. Do we earn and gather money and gifts for our own comfort or to build the kingdom? Do we look inwardly and seek comfort or do we look outwardly and sacrifice the things of comfort for the spread of the Gospel? The latter is not an option for us if we are Christians. The bottom line is that God has called us to a task and that task is not one of personal comfort. Plus, why should we settle for the comforts of this fallen world? Of what account are they in comparison to the glories of heaven?
A Meal-Ticket or A Ministry?
“On one hand, there are some who proclaim Christ from jealousy and contention while others do so in good will; the latter from love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel; the former preach Christ out of contention, not genuinely, intending tribulation to arise while I am in my chains.”
(Philippians 1:15-17)
At the first reading of these words, it would be natural to be shocked at what it is Paul is saying. Indeed, there are some people who, being jealous of the attention that Paul is getting, begin preaching Christ…not with any sincerity, but in the hopes that they will bring Paul grief while he is imprisoned and can do nothing to stop them. Surely this must not be the case! Are there some who are so wicked and brazen that they would do such a thing? The sad thing is that there were such people in Paul’s day and there still are such people today, who use the pulpit and the ministry to serve their own ends and care nothing about the state of Christ’s church.
So, how does Paul react to that? Does he rail against those who preach ingenuously? No, he doesn’t, but we will get to that. God is indeed clear that he has a judgment awaiting those who are shepherds who are only interested in feeding themselves (see Ezekiel 34 and Jude). And, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord” (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:9; Hebrews 10:30). God will bring judgment and great will be their fall, we need not fret over the end of the wicked.
At the same time, it should grieve us that there are so many in our world today that would make the Gospel their meal-ticket rather than a ministry. Even mores, it ought to grieve us that so many people would be so ignorant of the teachings of scripture that they would fall into such traps…people desperate to have their “ears itched” instead of being instructed in the Word of Truth. May we pray for a generation that will be so committed to the scriptures that they would see through the thin veneer of the prosperity gospel, the liberal gospel, and the heretical teaching that such contentious preachers would find no welcome in our communities. May God’s word be lifted up, not the greed or pride of men.
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