The Prosperity Gospel: The Gospel that Never Provides

Whenever I was a young kid, I was afraid of the dark. In 3rd grade I had moved from Springfield to Ozark and my parents had purchased a house with a basement and I thought it would be a great idea to take the bedroom in the basement because I’d have the whole floor to myself. After a couple nights of sleeping down there, a long way away from my parents’ room, I began to become a little bit afraid of the dark. I knew what was in my room - I knew the way to get to the bathroom and the stairs, but there would be times where the moonlight would shine through my curtains and I would see some scary shadow on the wall or closet. This would scare me at times, just as unfamiliar things can scare us at times in our lives. What I had to remember was that there was nothing scary at all. There was a light that made a scary image but the image wasn’t real… It was just a shadow.

Sometimes, whenever we focus on the shadows in our life, we can get a little scared. Other times, we look at things in life that are actually shadows and we believe they are the real thing. Think of some of the shadows in our world today. We see division, confusion, and chaos all around us. After you look at these things day after day, it’s really easy to get upset and depressed. This is what our world is doing at the moment. What they are focusing on are shadows, though. What is the substance? What is our real struggle against? Paul shares that it’s not against flesh and blood

Ephesians 6:12 CSB

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

Shadows are powerful. They can create havoc in our minds and they can scare us. People act physically on shadows, but the shadow is cast from something else. We have to keep our mind on the true enemy. Likewise, as Christians, we have to keep our mind on the true substance. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus. We have to keep our eyes on His Gospel. Jesus, as a bright light, casts a lot of shadows. Sadly, some people are tempted to trust in the shadow rather than the substance itself. They trust in the gift rather than the provider. They trust in the sign rather than the Savior. They trust in a false Gospel that promises to make them happy, healthy, and wealthy rather than a Gospel that promises to save them from their sin. Just as I believed in the shadow and was confused by its presence in my room, there are people who believe in shadows in our world. Rather than trusting in the true Gospel, they trust in a false Gospel. Rather than laying their life down and following Christ, they want to keep their lives as they are and add blessings, power, and riches to their modern conveniences.

People have been deceived with false Gospels for thousands of years - church. Just as there are charlatans and false teachers in our world today, there were false teachers and sorcerers that the early Church had to battle against. What was the answer to such people in Bible times? What is the answer to false teachers today? This is what we’ll study this morning: We point people to the true Gospel. We point people to the true Savior. To the true Hero of the story. To the only One who can save. We point people to Jesus Christ. Let’s continue studying out of Acts this morning.

Acts 8:14–25 CSB

14 When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 After they went down there, they prayed for them so that the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit because he had not yet come down on any of them. 16 (They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your heart’s intent may be forgiven. 23 For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by wickedness.” 24 “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon replied, “so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 25 So, after they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they traveled back to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

The True Gospel Provides (14-17)

How many of you have ever been let down by someone else? If we’re being honest with one another we’ve all been let down and we’ve all let someone else down a time or two. Studies illustrate this point, but did you know that many children are told by their parents that they will provide for them, yet time after time their parents let them down? There are so many people who have grown up thinking that there is no one who will truly be there for them and have their back. There is no one who will provide what it is that I need. If you’ve ever been in this situation, I pray that you’ve experienced the provision of Christ in your life as He truly does satisfy and provide! The reality of our world is that nothing in this world truly satisfies and provides the thing that we desperately need. In the words of the wisest man in the world, the best this world has to offer isn’t enough

Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

This world by definition will not provide the thing our lives need the most: a relationship with the Creator of our lives. The insult to injury of sorts, though, is that there are some people out there who claim to be followers of Jesus who advocate a false Gospel that promises to provide material possessions and things that will satisfy our deepest longings. We don’t need more temporary things to fill our lives and our schedules, we need an eternal thing to reorient our lives from top to bottom! After all, Solomon shares with us that we are created for eternity

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NASB95

11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

God has set eternity on our hearts. The only thing that will satisfy our souls is an eternal God who sustains His creation. He is the key to the lock. He is the provider for our souls.

In our opening verses we see Peter and John travel from Jerusalem to Samaria in order to see what has happened in the region. Peter and John are 2 of the key leaders of the church at this point in time and we see that they go to Samaria so that the “Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit.” What does this mean? When do you receive the Holy Spirit? Catholics and Pentecostals differ with us in this answer. They tell us that you are converted and then, later on down the line, you receive the Holy Spirit. Almost as though there are 2 stages: Conversion, and then the Holy Spirit. They base their understanding on this here in Acts 8 as the people have believed, have been baptized, and they are about to receive the Holy Spirit. These verses are complex and there are a great deal of interpretations.

We believe that the moment that you repent of your sins and place your faith in Christ as Lord - you are a new creation and receive the Holy Spirit. You are adopted into His family and you receive Christ’s righteousness! This is simultaneous and all takes place whenever you are justified. So, how can we square up that belief (as taught other places in Scripture) with Acts 8:14-17? John Stott is helpful as he shares this, “This was done in God’s providence to show the Samaritans that they were united in fellowship with the original “pillars” (John and Peter) and are now apart of the same Christian mission.” In other words, there aren’t 2 separate Christian conversions, one physical and one spiritual, rather this is a unique exception to the rule that is done in God’s will in order to show Jew and Samaritan alike that they are united and apart of the same team because… they share the same Spirit!

Even if they can’t trust one another, they can trust in the Lord. Think of things that you trust in every day. Whenever you got into our sanctuary, you sat down in a pew. You trusted in that pew to hold you up. You drove to church in a car or truck. You trusted in your vehicle to get you here. If you’ve ever flown in an airplane, you’ve trusted in that plane and its structure to safely transport you from point A to point B. Yet, all of these things break down…

Planes crash. Chairs break. The Prosperity Gospel of health and wealth, name it claim it, is a sham. What can we truly trust in? The Character of the One True Living God of the Bible. We can trust His Good News! Whenever you repent of your sins and trust in Christ as Lord, you receive the Holy Spirit and you can have full confidence that your God will provide because He is with you in your highest of highs and your lowest of lows. He will always provide - you can take that to the bank and He satisfies the longing in our souls in a way that no other person or thing can. He knows us. He sustains us. He provides for us as only He can do as our eternal Father. Therefore, the true Gospel - not the false Gospel - provides.

The True Gospel is Not For Sale (18-20)

In a capitalistic society, people always try to make a buck where they can. Whether it be lemonade stands to help kids earn some money in the summer or garage sales to go towards missions, we’re familiar with things that are for sale. There are some, though, who take this to a whole different level. In our world there are some self-proclaimed pastors who have strived to make a buck or two off of the Gospel. If you give me ___ amount of dollars, you’ll be blessed by God and receive His goodwill - as if a pastor has the authority to guarantee that!? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a “get-rich-quick” scheme. The Gospel has never been and will never be for sale - it’s not something one can buy or sell - it is good news for mankind!

Last week we studied this man, Simon Magus, who was blown away by Phillip’s ability to heal and cleanse people through the power of the Holy Spirit. Simon appeared to believe and was even baptized! The story seems to be going well till this point, but here in verse 18 we see that Simon simply didn’t “get” it. He didn’t understand what the Gospel was! There is a temptation for us to “miss” what the Gospel is as well, friends. Per Barna research, only 32% of churchgoers believe that human beings are separated from God due to our sin and only 56% of churchgoers believe that Jesus Christ was crucified and raised from the dead to conquer sin and death! What do the rest of churchgoers believe in? A false Gospel! Possibly a prosperity Gospel that IS for sale or offers conditional promises along the way. Possibly a therapeutic Gospel that promises your best life now. Friends, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ coming to earth to reverse the curse and do for us what we could never do, that message, is not for sale.

Have you ever seen a magic trick that truly left you dumbfounded? As a kid, I loved magic tricks - I was never good at them, but I loved watching them. Magic tricks leave us with mystery and we want answers to our questions! Often times people go up to the person who does the trick and they ask, “How did you do that?” Sometimes the person refuses to share the secret, but other times he will share for a fee. Therefore, some people will pay $25/50 to learn a simple magic trick in our world today. Simon thought he could learn the tricks for a monetary fee. After all, who is this man? He’s a professional magician - he’s acting like anyone would in his occupation! This was a common practice in the ancient world as we’ll see in Acts 19 where Paul shares with the Ephesian Christians to burn their magic scrolls.

Simon isn’t interested in Phillip’s God - He’s interested in Phillip’s power. Simon Magus was a greedy person who thought that he could use the Gospel to make a buck. As John Polhill shares, “Throughout Acts, human greed is always depicted as a most destructive force.” We see this with Judas in Acts 1:18, Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:11, and we see it again with Simon in Acts 8:18. Greed and magic undermine the power and truth of the Gospel.

The Gospel is not for sale - and Peter calls Simon out for this. We must do the same with people who think they can manipulate people with the Gospel today. It’s not about making money, ultimately what the Gospel does is transform hearts and flip lives upside down.

The True Gospel Transforms the Heart (21-24)

Peter tells Simon that his heart is not right before God. Did you know that before Christ, the Bible shares with us that we are not in a very good position? The Bible shares with us that before Christ, we were walking as children of darkness. The Bible shares with us that our hearts are deceitful and wicked and impossible to understand - our world screams the opposite! Our world says to follow your heart. You do you - live your best life! Who is right? Society or Jesus?

We all know the “church answer” to this question - Jesus is always right. But there are so many times where we are faced with difficulty and we follow our heart rather than trusting in the Lord. May we heed the advice given in in Proverbs 3 as we find

Proverbs 3:5–6 CSB

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

One of the amazing things about modern medicine is that doctors can help people with critical problems live significantly longer and experience a higher quality of life along the way. One of the more severe health problems that people can have is cardiovascular problems - heart problems. For some, the only answer for their problem is a transplant. A heart transplant is a serious procedure that carries with is some critical risks. Yet, for many, without the transplant they are looking at just a couple of years, possibly. With the transplant, they’d possibly have decades of life to live. Thanks to modern medicine, heart transplants have helped families have their mom or dad for many more years than they would otherwise.

What each one of us need is a heart transplant. No, not a physical one, but a spiritual one. David, in Psalm 51 asks for this

Psalm 51:10 CSB

10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Left to ourselves, our heart is wicked and dying. Our heart is simply not right before the Lord due to our sinfulness! What do we need? We need the Gospel! We need a transformation to take place - frankly, just like survivors of this procedure, we need a miracle! This is what Jesus Christ provides - though! We don’t have to put our name down on a transplant list and pray that our name eventually finds a donor. We have access to living water, everlasting life, and a new heart right now through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice in our place on the cross! Further, as Paul shares in Romans 8:16, the Spirit transforms out heart and entire lives

Romans 8:16 CSB

16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,

A false Gospel cannot do this. Left to ourselves, we are bound by wickedness. We are children under wrath. We are walking in darkness… But God. He didn’t leave us where we were at. He sent His Son to be the once for all sacrifice for sin in our place even though He never once sinned! He created us, He loves us, He doesn’t need us - but He wants us! He wants to give us a new heart - have you received this new heart? Have you received this life-changing transformation that only the Gospel can bring?

See, with a heart transplant you’re still going to eventually pass away. With a false Gospel you might enjoy prosperity for a time on this side of eternity, but eventually you too will pass away. Yet, if you are in Christ we read that there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1) and that our hope is resurrection and eternity spent with our heavenly Father. The True Gospel provides lasting, eternal hope. The false Gospels of this world promise possessions that amount to dust at best and discouragement at worst. Don’t buy into these false fruits - repent and be forgiven by Christ. Receive the clean heart that we all desperately need.

The True Gospel Must Be Proclaimed (25)

If you’ve received this new heart and are living as a new creation, your job isn’t over. Think of a student who just graduated from college. They’ve worked really hard, made sacrifices, made friends, and undergone a lot of change during their time in school. Even though they’ve come a long way, their journey is far from over. Graduation is a time of celebration, sure, but it marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another! As Christians, conversion and becoming a Christian is cause for celebration and rejoicing, but it’s not the end of the story - it’s the beginning! In fact, the real work is just about to begin. As a new creation, we are called to be like Christ to others. Paul talks about this in Romans 6 as he shares this

Romans 6:11–13 CSB

11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.

This should be our story as Christians. We are dead to sin and we offer our lives to God and His purposes. We surrender to His plan for our lives! What is God’s plan for your life? In part, as a Christian, your purpose is to be a witness for Christ and to proclaim the good news to others. This is what we see take place at the conclusion of our text in verse 25. Peter and John are in Samaria and traveling back to Jerusalem. This would have been a tiresome journey as they travel uphill to their home. How many of you have ever traveled somewhere and you have a great time, but you’re just ready to get home? This is pretty common whenever we travel - we love getting to our destination, but whenever it’s time to go home we’re ready to get home and sleep in our own bed.

Peter and John no doubt were ready to go home and continue their work in Jerusalem, but they had an opportunity along the way to share the good news and they took advantage of that opportunity. We don’t always know why God places people in our path but He often gives us these types of divine opportunities to share the Gospel or to share His love with others. There are times where we think that things just happen by random chance or we’re too busy thinking about something to notice what God is truly doing - church, may we not miss the importance of proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to others as we live our lives. The Gospel changes hearts and if it could change our heart, just imagine what it could do to the hearts of those around us!

In Luke 9:51-56 we read that John the disciple had called on Jesus to bring fire down on the Samaritan villages because they didn’t welcome Jesus in. John wasn’t a huge fan of the Samaritans… Yet, now we see this same John is preaching the Gospel to these same people and possibly in the same village that failed to accept Jesus several months before! This is how the true Gospel changes our lives in a 180 degree fashion. We remember that it’s not about us and our past - it’s about His Kingdom and His good news.

Conclusion

The Gospel changes lives. Sadly, in our text we are reminded that not everyone who hears the true Gospel will believe in it and place their faith in Christ as Lord. This can be discouraging at times, but it must not cause us to stop being faithful to the task at hand.

3 pieces of application for us from this text:

Pursue Unity Within the Body of Christ

As Phillip, Peter, and John are in Samaria proclaiming the Gospel, we can’t lose sight of the way in which the Holy Spirit unites former enemies into friends and co-workers. As you look around the church today, not just our church but the global church, remember that we share the same Holy Spirit and have the same calling! As Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:1-6, let’s maintain that unity that Christ died to forge. There is no difference too big that the Spirit cannot unite. Remember what we have in common rather than the things that draw us apart.

Oppose False Teachers/False Gospels

Just as Simon Magus was a false teacher who led people astray in the early centuries of the church, we know that there are people who teach a false Gospel today and they draw people away from the Truth. How do we combat such people? We speak the truth in love as Ephesians 4:15 commands, but we also have to rebuke such a teaching. Peter calls Simon out in our text. Paul calls out false teachers in his letters and encourages his listeners to avoid and rebuke them

2 Thessalonians 3:6 CSB

6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister who is idle and does not live according to the tradition received from us.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 CSB

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don’t associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

What should we do whenever a teacher is teaching something in direct opposition with the Word of God? We keep away from that person and we take note of them. We warn our brothers and sisters. The most unloving thing you can do as a Christian is to let someone think that they are ok when in actuality you know that they are in danger. Speak the truth, in love. Oppose false teachers.

Proclaim the True Gospel Without Discrimination

We see the Gospel start to advance from Jerusalem to Samaria. From the Jews to the Samaritans. Soon the Gospel will go from the Jews to the Gentiles and from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond. In our world there are a lot of things that differentiate people. Income level, job status, social standing, education, experience, and many more. What unites cops and convicts? What unites billionaires and beggars? What unites PhD graduates and high school dropouts? Little does in our society, but the Gospel unites these types of people. The Gospel is good news regardless of your past! Therefore, proclaim its truth to others without reservation. There is no one too rich, famous, smart, bad, or broken for the Gospel.

How has the Gospel changed your life?

How are you working to share its truth with others?

Don’t focus on the shadow or the fruit - focus on the substance. Focus on the vine. Abide in Him and point people to the only One who satisfies!

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