By Chuck Bentley, CP Guest Contributor
Dear Chuck,
The prosperity gospel seems to be catching hold in American churches, with many placing an emphasis on building wealth. Can you help me defend my position that the Bible does not support this theology? As a Crown supporter, I want to see your message expand.
Faithful Stewardship
Dear Faithful Stewardship,
The Bible does not support the teaching of the prosperity gospel, nor does it support the opposite extreme, the poverty gospel. We cannot demand of God, nor should we, that He make us rich with the treasures of this world. We should also not condemn wealth as sinful or rich people as greedy and evil.
The Scripture teaches us to be responsible with what we have, whether a lot or a little (Matthew 25:14–30). The biblical standard is to be faithful to the Lord with our financial choices because it all belongs to Him and we are temporary stewards. But as you note, many Christians are shifting their emphasis to laying up treasures on Earth, not in Heaven.
The final warning is about money
While the church in Laodicea existed nearly two thousand years ago, its condition feels eerily familiar today. The city of Laodicea is mentioned in the New Testament — in Colossians 2, Colossians 4, and, most famously, Revelation 3. It was one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman world, known for banking, textiles, and medicine. After a devastating earthquake in AD 60, the city became so prosperous that it refused financial assistance from Rome, choosing instead to rebuild itself. It had become fiercely self-sufficient. And prosperity shaped its spiritual life.
In Revelation 3:17, Jesus told the church, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
Their greatest problem wasn’t wealth; it was misplaced dependency. Their self-sufficiency convinced them they no longer needed to depend on God; they were blind to their desperate poverty in the eyes of the Lord. This is a repudiation of the false teaching of the prosperity gospel.
Americans compare to the Laodiceans
Financial success can subtly move our trust from the Lord to our income, investments, retirement accounts, or possessions. Oh, we may still profess faith yet quietly depend on “our” resources while failing to recognize and honor God’s provision.
The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians included a message to the believers in Laodicea. Look carefully at what he said about riches:
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments” (Colossians 2:1–4 ESV, emphasis mine).
To protect the Church from the deception of worldly riches, Paul was pointing out that all the riches and treasures that have eternal value are found in Christ. I like to say that the real riches we need are all the things that money cannot buy.
Paul’s concern for the believers in Laodicea, expressed in Colossians, was that they would remain firmly rooted in Christ and not be taken captive by worldly thinking. That’s the antidote to financial self-sufficiency. Yet we read in Revelation 3 that the Laodiceans were deceived by their temporal riches to the point they believed they had no need for Christ.
We are called to be responsible with money
Biblical stewardship is living in the reality that everything we have belongs to God. We are managers, not owners. Wealth is a gift to be used wisely, held loosely, and shared generously.
The question isn’t whether God will bless us with resources. The question is whether those resources will draw us closer to Christ or cause us to live as though we no longer need Him.
The danger occurs when self-sufficiency finds its way into the Church. Jesus looks beyond bank accounts and into hearts. What captures our affection? On whom or what do we depend? Where is our ultimate trust?
Our greatest security must never be found in wealth but in the one who gives it.
A gift, not a God
We live in a culture that celebrates independence, financial success, and self-reliance. We have unprecedented access to wealth, technology, entertainment, and convenience. Yet despite our abundance, we suffer with unprecedented levels of anxiety, loneliness, debt, and spiritual apathy.
Wealth is a gift — not a god. It can meet certain needs but not the most important ones. Everything we own belongs to the Lord, and every blessing should draw us closer to Him, not farther away.
The church in Laodicea wasn’t condemned because it was wealthy but because it no longer recognized its need for Christ. May we never become so financially secure that we fail to depend on the One who provides “every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17).
Are you interested in receiving ministry updates from around the world? Do you want helpful and encouraging tools and tips on financial stewardship? Sign up to receive the Crown Newsletter emails by using the form on the homepage at Crown.org.
Chuck Bentley is CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, a global Christian ministry, founded by the late Larry Burkett. He is the host of a daily radio broadcast, My MoneyLife, featured on more than 1,000 Christian Music and Talk stations in the U.S., and author of his most recent book, Economic Evidence for God?. Be sure to follow Crown on Facebook.