But Peter said unto him,
Thy money perish with thee,
because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Romans 8:20
"Following World War II, American evangelicalism saw an explosion of Pentecostal revivals.
In 1941 America went to war and in a very short time the economically depressed United States
turned into a fiscal powerhouse. ... Post-World War II America considered itself doubly blessed. The economy boomed … Good health required fewer miracles … Positive thinking matched the nation's triumphant mood … Even Pentecostals found the message irresistible.
The doctrine of prosperity is riddled with error. It is based on three assumptions:
In the 1940s and 1950s, independent Pentecostal healing evangelists began to speak of financial blessings, spiritual laws, and the significance of high-spirited faith. Their new focus on mind-power to win both health and wealth would be the start of the modern prosperity movement.
Out of this post-war revival, a new heresy was born: the “prosperity gospel.” Bradley A. Koch clearly defines this ideology, stating: “The Prosperity Gospel is the doctrine that God wants people to be prosperous, especially financially. Adherents to the Prosperity Gospel believe that wealth is a sign of God’s blessing and the poor are poor because of a lack of faith.”
Gloria and Kenneth Copeland preach a “hundred-fold return” doctrine. In her book, God’s Will Is Prosperity, Gloria Copeland wrote:
You give $1 for the Gospel’s sake and $100 belongs to you; give $10 and receive $1,000; give $1,000 and receive $100,000. Give one airplane and receive one hundred times the value of the airplanes. Give one car and the return would furnish you with a lifetime of cars.
This is worse than graft. This is simony. Simony is graft disguised in robes of light. It is defined as “The act of buying or selling ecclesiastical preferment, ecclesiastical pardons, or other things regarded as sacred or spiritual.” The term itself comes from Simon Magus, whose story holds a dire warning to all believers to shun the dangers of this false gospel.
- Wealth is a sign of God's favor and blessing.
- Poverty is a sign of that God is displeased with you or something in your life.
- If you give to God, He is bound by His Word to give you more in return than you have given."