The Christian Faith Throughout The Ages Theology Religion Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

A Comparison Between Prosperity and Conservative Gospel Approaches

Edwin Mwale

African Bible College

P.O Box 1028

Lilongwe Malawi

May 25th, 2013

Contents

CHAPTER TWO 11

LITERATURE REVIEW 11

A. God’s Sovereignty 11

B. The Causation 14

C. Materialistic Gospel 16

D. Signs and Wonders and Suffering 19

E. On Prosperity and God’s Blessing 20

REFERENCE 21

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The Christian Faith throughout the ages has been experiencing diverse revelation discoveries that lead to movements, revivals and creeds being formed. Likewise, in our contemporary age there has risen the growing phenomenon of the Prosperity gospel which has now brought about a whole lot of confusion in the theological circles. The issue has to do with answers to human calamities, and struggles of life particularly for Christians. Throughout the ages it was believed that believers will have to suffer for their faith in Christ and examples are abundant of how different people across time have suffered for being Christians e.g. the Fox’s Book of Martyrs by John Knox is a book with full records on how believers in Christ suffered and were martyred for their faith. However, the Prosperity gospel preaching are being accused of advocating a new message that promises Christians that by putting their faith in Jesus they should expect an affluent life of health and wealth from God.

In this paper, the focus will be on exploring the Prosperity gospel and theology and extract what is good from it and at the same time consider the dangers associated with it in light of what scriptures say. On the other hand, attention will be given to the evangelical views particularly on the topics of suffering and prosperity, God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. These topics seem to be a hot cake and the centre of confusion between the two parties.

The Prosperity and Evangelical views on the topics mentioned above are so crucial in our day for they determine the believer’s response to intricate circumstances of life. This work got part of its inspiration from the stories of two women from South Africa both in their fifties who each had a case to do with health. They were committed members and partners of the African Enterprise. The researcher had an opportunity to hear their stories live after a staff morning devotions at the African Enterprise head quarters in Pietermaritzburg. The exaltation that day came from the text of Romans 5:1-11, a passage that speaks of rejoicing in suffering. After the message the two women one on her wheel chair because of an accident that took place when she was three years old and the other had a grand daughter of few months who had a hole in her heart and was going for a third operation told their stories.

How these situations may be addressed will determine which camp you belong to. On the one hand it is said that it is part of our calling as Christians to suffer. Of course suffering is one sign of being a true Christian. So count it all joy when you suffer. There is coming a time when God will compensate His people for all the toil and suffering endured in this world. John Piper (2006) one of the leading contemporary evangelical theologian states that in everything that happens to human life whether from Satan, or any other agent good or bad nothing happens outside God’s control; it is all determine by God. In one of his chapters on the Scripture’s General Perspective on God’s Relationship to Evil he says, "Yet this is not to say that God does not create, send, permit, or even move others to do evil, for Scripture is clear that nothing arises, exists, or endures independently of God’s will" (p. 41). In this camp suffering is the sign and evidence of God’s kingdom and true Christianity. This is what is termed the evangelical or the conservative camp in this paper.

On the other hand there are those who are advocating that a Christian should not be ill, poor, or suffer anything for Jesus Christ finished all this at the cross. While on the cross He declared it is finished, by His stripes the Bible says we are healed, He was made poor for us to become rich. If someone is sick it is their fault, may be they do not have enough faith, or they sinned in some way, may be they need to plant enough seed or just pray a little more and confess positively for the tongue has power to make alive or kill. In this camp, material prosperity, health and worth are the signs and evidences of the presence of God’s Kingdom. This is what has been termed the Prosperity gospel in this paper.

Statement of the Problem Purpose

This study is meant to find out people’s perspective over the issue at hand. It is meant to help the church see the direction she is heading to in as far as teaching and preaching of the gospel is concerned. With such knowledge, the Church may be able to work on what is out of place in its dogmas and so be able to reposition herself just as Christ called upon His Church in the book of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 to repentance and going back to her calling. It is well known that throughout the History of the Church there have been different revivals and reformations taking place from within and this may be another time the Church needs a revival and another reformation which may be discovered through this study.

Significance of the Study

This study is so paramount because it is dealing with the heart of the Christian faith which is the gospel. If the Bible is misinterpreted and mis-presented through exaggerations or subtractions God warns to punish people who do such for that will lead many astray. The Epistle of James (3:1) heralds a warning for those who teach God’s word that they will be strictly judged such being the case it is vital for the Church to take a serious caution on what is been taught by those who have teaching responsibilities. The Bible must be central in all Christian churches and it must be accurately interpreted for the buildup of the Church and her edification so that she no longer is taken to and fro by any wind of doctrine (Eph.4:11-16). Again this study is so important because it has everything to do with the answers to human calamities which answers can make people either love God or hate Him. It is so clear that the atheists have problems with a god who claims to be good and loving yet allowing people to suffer all sorts of natural and physical adversities of life. Such being the case one may find himself either on the part of advocating a god who proves his existence and love by removing human suffering and that is not the God of the Bible and true Christianity. This study will therefore strive to present a framework that is larger enough and that will do justice to both aspects of joy and sorrow for the people of God; putting into biblical perspective the place of wealth and suffering in human life and why God of the Bible allows such for His people.

The Bible is full of admonitions on money, how to handle money and warnings also abound in the Bible on the dangers of riches; with such an abundant information right from the Bible, it is possible to build a Church that is sensitive on the accumulation of wealth and its use so that no one, by God’s grace, gets trapped by the deceit of riches. On the other hand, for those who suffer for their faith in Christ, the Bible speaks to them also in many diverse ways to encourage and comfort them. One such striking scripture is Phil.1:29 where Apostle Paul states that it is given us not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for His sake. Thus this paper becomes so significant for it touches both areas of riches and suffering for the believers.

Background

The Prosperity gospel is believed to have started long time ago but it got to its summit in the late 1800s by E.W. Kenyon a Methodist evangelist who later turned to Pentecostalism upon his discovery of a new revelation that God does not want His people to suffer. The movement has grown so much and is been propagated further by Oral Roberts healing Ministries which introduced the "Seed Faith". Roberts believes that if a person has a need, he/she must plant a seed and much of this is in monetary fund towards his ministries. Gloria and Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Creflo Dollar Ministries, and the Benny Hinn Ministries are all advocates of the Faith Movement http://christianity.about.com. In his article on the Faith Movement Tom Brown answers two questions; what is the Faith Movement and is it from God? Brown states that the Faith Movement is not only from God but it is one of the most absolutely necessary plan of God for the end times for it adds to the Church what has been missing for the last several centuries.

The growth of the Faith Movement. The Faith Movement has found more grounds through the Television Broadcast on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) which is the World largest Christian Television founded in 1973. TBN has five thousand TV stations, 33 International Satellites and the internet cables that make it possible for TBN to broadcast across the global, from American, Europe, Australia, the South Pacific, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Africa http://christianity.about.com/.

The Prosperity Theology Teaching. On the teaching of the Faith Movement Tom Brown shades light on this in the following statement, "The Word of Faith movement adds to the Church what has been missing for the last several centuries, primarily the teaching that the believer can receive answers to every prayer that is based on God's Word, as long as he has enough faith and that there is nothing in his life that could be hindering his prayer. This is a revolutionary thought to most of Christendom" http://www.tbm.org/faithmove.htm. According to what Brown says, the Faith Movement puts much emphasis on three aspects of faith, the word, and prayer. This school of theology also has its own definitions of faith that best suits its understand and Lioy gives us a highlight on this in his article the "Heart of the Prosperity Gospel; the Savior or the Self?" in which faith is defined as follows; "It is a supernatural force that believers can use to appropriate whatever form of personal success they want including material wealth and health" (Lioy, p.42). In as much as this is true we would also be forced to consider what Jesus says on the same from MK.10:29-30 where He promises His disciples that those who put their faith in Him and forsake everything they have in this life must expect to receive hundred-ford in this life along with persecutions and eternal life at the end of the age. It is so imperative to pause a little bit and regurgitate over the term "persecutions" which Jesus added as a part of the package believers should expect to receive from the Father in this age as they await eternity. Thus we may be forced to consider any definition of faith "incomplete" if it does not put into consideration this little important detail that Jesus Christ puts in His definition of what it means to follow Him. The aspect of persecution is what makes the whole difference, confusion, and struggle among believers and this whole paper is here because of this word. Also another equally important aspect in what Jesus told His disciples about following Him is the idea of "leaving everything". It is equally inevitable that attention be given to this truth also because the issue at hand is rolling around people’s understand of whether being in God’s Kingdom means accumulating more worth to what one has or loosing what one has to get the new worth Jesus is offering.

To further comprehend the theology, teaching and impact of the Prosperity gospel which now is sweeping a lot of people across the global, Lioy continues to give us more insights by quoting from the report made by the Pew Research Center’s research in 2006 on the African Continent to find out the relationship between faith and material possession in which it is reported that 9 out of 10 participants from the Countries of Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya said yes. If you have faith God will grant you material prosperity (p.41).

With these remarks from the Faith Movement perspective the question that stands out is what is the place of suffering in the life of the believer then? This is important knowing that despite the claims that with faith, prayer and the right confession of God’s word Christians can have everything they ask for; the reality of suffering still remains even for those who are in the business of confessing and having enough faith. Testimonies abound so much that we need not to overemphasis the fact that believers are laying down in the hospital beds and in homes; they have fasted and have given their tithes equally. Many people are still going jobless, some are laid off, marriages and families of believers are shaken and divorce is experienced just as anyone else outside the Church, and worse still people are attending funeral ceremonies of believers. What then is the place of suffering in the Christian faith? Yancey (1990) comments on the place of suffering and he quotes the words of one of the believers from East Europe who said;

You Western Christians often seem to consider material prosperity to be the only sign of God’s blessing. On the other hand, you often seem to perceive poverty, discomfort, and suffering as signs of God’s disfavor. In some ways, we in the East understand suffering from the opposite perspective. We believe that suffering may be a sign of God’s favor and trust in the Christians to whom the trial is permitted to come---Quite simply, a quality like perseverance will only develop in the midst of trying circumstance. Think about it the person who always gets what he or she wants has no chance to learn perseverance, or patience. Suffering can be one of the tools to help fashion those good qualities."

(pp. 98, 108).

Suffice to say that there is a dichotomy on the issue of suffering in the Christian circles and that is the reason this work is dedicated solely to address this pertinent topic and see if a common ground can be arrived where the believer can safely stand ready to enjoy God’s blessing as well as handling suffering in a way that it becomes fruitful and God glorifying perhaps.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

God’s Sovereignty

One crucial topic that triggers much debate in these two camps is the theme of God’s sovereignty and providential hand that controls every aspect of an individual’s life so that one cannot do anything to change his/her circumstances. This is so dominant in the evangelical camp and the faith movement says no to such a theology; one has power to change their circumstances. On God’s sovereignty [1] , John Piper one of the contemporary evangelical theologians, states that in everything that happens to human life whether from Satan, or any other agent good or bad nothing happens outside God’s control; it is all determine by God. In one of his chapters on the Scripture’s General Perspective on God’s Relationship to Evil he says, "Yet this is not to say that God does not create, send, permit, or even move others to do evil, for Scripture is clear that nothing arises, exists, or endures independently of God’s will" (2006, p. 41). In response to this Tom Brown from the Faith Movement in his article on the "Dominion of the Believer" addresses the topic of sovereignty after the following manner:

"The dominion of the believer is the biblical concept that the believer controls his destiny through faith. However, the ultra sovereignty view is the traditional view that the believer’s destiny is controlled by fate. You hear people with the former view say when facing a tragedy, "Well, we do not understand why this happened, but we must recognize God is in control. This terrible thing happened for a reason". http://www.tbm.org/goodnews.htm.

In what Brown says there is an accusation on what he calls ultra sovereignty of fatalism.

On this crucial topic let us consider it under two subheadings; God’s sovereignty and Human responsibility and God’s sovereignty and Fatalism.

God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility. How these two aspects work together is so mysterious and causes a lot of questions than answers when trying to understand how they fit together. Carson spends a great deal of time discussion this topic and he summaries the two to show how they work together by the word "Compatibilism [2] ". Carson suggests that God is sovereign and does as He pleases and that humans are free in the choices. However, any human activities good or evil does not happen outside God’s control and God stands behind the evil that happens in a way that He is not responsible for the evil rather He is secondary. He also is the force behind all good and humans are only secondary agents to the good that happens. Carson continues to give some examples such as that of Joseph’s brothers in Gen.50:20 who Joseph says their actions against him were meant to destroy Joseph and they bore a full responsibility for their actions. Nonetheless God was working in the very evil of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish His good purpose of saving many souls through Joseph in Egypt. Here it is very clear how humans can initiate evil and be fully accountable for their actions and yet God works through those very actions in His sovereign plan to produce good results. Also the text of Phil.2:12-13 is another example Carson applies on Compatibilism which calls for believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in them both to will and to act. Clearly the text shows a combination of both Divine and human work in the believer’s sanctification. To this extent, Carson also deals with the question of whether God is only contingent and absolutely dependent for his being or choices on the moves taken by human beings. To this objection he response in this way;

"In no case is human responsibility permitted to function in such a way that God becomes absolutely contingent; that is, God is absolutely stymied, thwarted, frustrated, blocked, quite unable to proceed with what he himself had absolutely determined to do." (Carson, 199, pp. 194-218).

God’s Sovereignty, Fatalism and Ascetism. While on one hand others are struggling with the problem of Sovereignty and human responsibility, on the other hand others are struggling with fatalism and ascetism. Yancey presents two problems that may arise when people don’t understand the problem of suffering. These problems are; attributing all suffering to God and the other is thinking that being a Christian will exempt the person from suffering. The problem of fatalism comes when all suffering is attributed to God and so men think that they can do nothing about it for it is God’s will, if it happens it happens and there is nothing I can do about it. People who hold on to this view think that with every problem that raises God is trying to teach them or punish the sufferer for the sin they committed. The Faith Movement is so critical about this view and off course, the view is not biblical neither. This view commonly follows the ascetic pattern of the past where men resigned from all of life thinking that is the way to be accepted by God. In Church History we learn of the Monks who separated themselves from the society as to please and be acceptable to God. The Prosperity Gospel and the Faith Movement at their best are trying to revolutionize these believes by introducing another extreme that God wants His people health and wealth which is the next problem that Yancey addresses (1990, pp.94-100).

The Causation

The big question about human suffering is where do suffering come from and it naturally flows to know why do we suffer. What people believe about the cause of suffering will determine how they confront suffering and what they subscribe as solution to suffering. Yancey in trying to address the cause of human suffering presents the following scriptural references; Gen. 38:7 where the story of Er who the Bible says was wicked in the sight of the Lord and the Lord strike him dead. Luke 13:10-16 the woman who was bent for 18 years because of the devil who afflicted her. Job 2:4-7 Job traces two sources of his suffering first was Satan but he was permitted by God. Proverbs 26:27 speaks of following an evil pattern that will lead into suffering. With these quotations from Yancey let’s consider four causes of suffering; human wickedness, Nature, Satan, and God

Human wickedness. The Bible is full of cautions on how wickedness can lead to suffering. The book of Proverbs speaks much on how laziness can cause poverty. Laziness is one of wicked things a human can embarked on and yield its consequences such as poverty, leading to other evil things such as stealing. Human wickedness also is a cause for other people’s suffering who have not committed sin. There are people who are suffering because of injustice, corruption, oppression of other people and even of Governments. The bible in Acts 5 presents the story of Ananias and Sapphira who because of the wickedness of their hearts God struck them dead. During the days of Christ’s earthly life, people also believed that people’s wickedness and sins would bear consequences that would affect others too. Such is the story of the blind man on John 9:1-3. The disciples asked Jesus as to what would be the cause of the man’s blindness, was it his sin or the sin of his parents? So we can rightly infer that personal wickedness can cause suffering as well as the wickedness of other people can affect the innocent ones also. In Luke 10 the parable of the Good Samaritan is another example of suffering caused by human wickedness. Human wickedness has led to wars and massacres such as that of Hitler. Human wickedness has led to bombs attacks, suicide bombings like the 9/11 in the US, Rwanda, Sudan et el.

Satan as the cause of Suffering: He is another cause of Human suffering and roots of all suffering may be traced back to Satan’s deception in the garden of Eden Gen.3. The four gospels in the Bible are full of records on how Jesus spent a great deal of His time and ministry dealing with human suffering caused by Satan mainly diseases and demon possession. Healing and exorcism covered much of the time of Jesus ministry. The story of Job is another vivid ensample on the suffering caused by Satan. In Job 1:1-10, there is record of how Satan coaxed Job’s suffering and God permitted him to torture Job and see whether Job truly loved God from the heart or because of the things God had dome for him.

God as the cause of Suffering. This is the most nervous and fearful part to deal with in this work because on one particularly a believer would ever venture into accusing God for human suffering. However, it is important to understand that if God did not give Satan the warrant to torture Job, we would not have the story of Job today in the Bible. This is what Gaffin calls the problem of theodicy whereby God tolerates evil, even to the point where his own people suffer from it as did Job (T.D. Alexander, Brian S.Rosner, 2000, P.518). In John 9 we have the story of a man who was blind from his birth. The disciple tried to inquire from Jesus as to what would be the cause of his blindness; would it be that he sinned or his parents sinned? In His answer Jesus said it was none of the two rather his problem was there for God’s glory to be displayed. Jesus in this story does not say that it was Satan who caused the blindness of that man. So who did? The answer to this question can be best drawn from Ex 4:11 So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? This is very dreadful to know and to say it that God can be the cause of human suffering yet the scriptures tells so. Yancey (1990) gives us another important hint on why God causes suffering and he tells that the suffering God causes can serve as punishment for human wickedness as that of Er in Gen.38, Akan in Joshua 8 and that climax of such suffering is Israel’s seventy years of exile in Babylon because of their sin. This gets well displayed in the suffering of Christ on the cross where God afflicted His own son so that today His glory shines more when men of all tongues, Nations, tribes, and races come and worship Him because of the salvation received through the death of Christ. Suffering can also be God’s means of calling people to repentance as in Amos 4:6 "I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town yet you have not returned to me; declares the Lord" (Yancey, 1990, p.94). When God creates, sends or move others to do evil it might for the display of His glory just as it happened in Job’s life after his terrible suffering [3] and also the suffering of Christ, call to repentance or punishment for evil.

Materialistic Gospel

"The word of faith ministers have shown the power of faith, and that God will bless the believers in every way, including materially, if they will live according to the Word. This is revolutionary to many" (Tom Brown,). While Brown calls the Prosperity gospel a revolution Femi Adeleye calls it a delusion and he says one of the marks of this delusion is the obsession with materialism. Adeleye says that the pursuit of worth embraced today by the charismatics would be abhorred by the Christian in the 1970s. The pursuit of wealth in a way that would have embarrassed Christians in the 1970s has become the quest of the 1990s. Pastors and Bishops now drive the most expensive cars in town and own the most flamboyant buildings. He talks of two leading "Presidents and Founders’ in Lagos who boast of owning aircraft for the purpose of evangelism! Adeleye says that the problem is not really these material things but the justification that they are a measure of spiritual maturity, intimacy and favor with God (Adeleye, 1999, p. 36). To think that worth is a sign of God’s favor is a grave error that has ever risen in Christian circles because it rules out those who are poor of any God’s favor on them. Surprisingly Tom Brown agrees with Adeleye in the defense for the Prosperity Movement;

It makes me sick in my heart to watch ministers who have experienced some success, maybe even great success, to let it go to their heads. They demand only five star hotels, limousines, and special goodies, before they will even consider coming to your church. And when they do come, they become too big to mingle with the "little guy." They are too important to take time to answer questions from the "little people." They act like kings with little regard for "the peasants." C’mon, without God’s grace, none of us would be blessed with success. I thank God everyday for the unusual blessing He has shown me. I have and will refuse to allow it to get to my head.   http://www.tbm.org/goodnews.htm

So from these two ministers one evangelical and the other from the Faith Movement there is an agreement on how other ministers of the prosperity gospel are so materialistic and that is what is causing the whole problem about this gospel approach. The American founding fathers defined the highest values of life/government as pursuit of Liberty, pleasure and happiness, (Yancey, 1990, p. 94) now when the church takes these as its highest value it may be a way of drifting into secularism. In this gospel approach there no hope for the poor rather it condemns them for their week faith or sin so that God is against them. Such an approach is anti-biblical. The Bible is full of comforting message and hope for the poor man who is struggling with life on every side yet trusting God. It encourages them to keep persevering in faith and praise of God rather than complaining and doubt God which may result in hating Him thinking He is partial. Consider the following comment from pastor Esau Band one of the Radio preachers who also has a Church in town who said; "There is nothing bad in God’s plan for you; anything evil that happens to a person is not from God. God’s plan for His people is a good plan to prosper them and give them hope according to Jer.29:11 (Galaxy Radio Station, 28th Dec.2012, 8:00 pm). For pastor Banda Christians should not face anything bad for that is not part of God’s plan for his people. While this may be true for Pastor Banda it may not be true for everyone even right in his Church there are people who are struggling with life only that they may choose not to come on open and declare their issues in fear that they may be thought of as doubting Tomas’s.

Back to Brown who argues that the Faith Movement is an extension of charismatic movement bringing to the Spirit filled believers everywhere the message of uncompromising faith--that believers can receive answers to their prayers, including healing, so long as they exercise sufficient faith. To this extent one may be tempted to think that faith is a means to escape the troubles of this life which is not the case rather faith faces the troubles of this life squarely with hope that God is in control of every situation like did the heroes of Hebrews 11:34-39. On faith and suffering Yancey comments in this manner; "Faith in God offers no insurance against tragedy---nor does it offer insurance against feelings of doubt and betrayal. If anything, being a Christian complicates the issue" (1990, p.78)

Signs and Wonders and Suffering

On signs and wonders, a theology best followed by John Wimber of the Vineyard Churches Carson highlights the following:

Wimber holds that the inbreaking kingdom of God displayed in Jesus’ ministry is still with us. Although the consummated kingdom has not yet arrived, the saving, transforming kingdom has already dawned, and Jesus is already reigning; all authority is his---To this end Wimber and those who follow him devote some time at many meetings to healing, exorcisms in Jesus’ name and the like.-----But---and it is a very important "but"---his framework is still not large enough. He has tried to establish a theology of healing and power encounter without a theology of suffering; he has a theology of victory without an adequate theology of the cross; he has a theology of life without proper reflection on the place of death. He sees the triumph of the kingdom when sickness is overthrown, and cannot see the triumph of the kingdom when people are transformed in the midst of sickness. He discusses God’s power, but rarely wrestles with God’s predilection for displaying his power in the context of continuing weakness. He encourages triumphant faith, but does not establish a broad enough grid to show that triumphant faith may be exactly what is displayed where there is raw perseverance in the face of incredible suffering. He rightly sees that sin and suffering are intrinsically evil, but he nowhere thinks through how a sovereign God in some way stands behind them, even on occasion using them as instruments of needed discipline. In short, Wimber’s framework is not big enough (Carson, 1990, pp.123-125). Commenting on giving prophet Uebet Angel on Business television says, if you have just enough for yourself you are poor. If you give so that your name is placard in a Church you are just marketing your name, if you give just to receive a hundredfold you are just doing trade. Give for the gospel; give for one whole nation to be saved. (Angel, 20th Jan, 1:00pm).

On Prosperity and God’s Blessing

John Calvin the reformer on prosperity and God’s blessing says the following;

We should expect all prosperity from the blessing of God, and entirely depend on him. The principal part of self-denial, that which as we have said has reference to God, let us again consider more fully. Many things have already been said with regard to it which it were superfluous to repeat; and, therefore, it will be sufficient to view it as forming us to equanimity and endurance. First, then, in seeking the convenience or tranquility of the present life, Scripture calls us to resign ourselves, and all we have, to the disposal of the Lord, to give him up the affections of our heart, that he may tame and subdue them. We have a frenzied desire, an infinite eagerness, to pursue wealth and honor, intrigue for power, accumulate riches, and collect all those frivolities 21 which seem conducive to luxury and splendor. On the other hand, we have a remarkable dread, a remarkable hatred of poverty, mean birth, and a humble condition, and feel the strongest desire to guard against them. Hence, in regard to those who frame their life after their own counsel, we see how restless they are in mind, how many plans they try, to what fatigues they submit, in order that they may gain what avarice or ambition desires, or, on the other hand, escape poverty and meanness. To avoid similar entanglements, the course which Christian men must follow is this: first, they must not long for, or hope for, or think of any kind of prosperity apart from the blessing of God; on it they must cast themselves, and there safely and confidently recline. For, however much the carnal mind may seem sufficient for itself when in the pursuit of honor or wealth, it depends on its own industry and zeal, or is aided by the favor of men, it is certain that all this is nothing, and that neither intellect nor labor will be of the least avail, except in so far as the Lord prospers both. On the contrary, his blessing alone makes a way through all obstacles, and brings everything to a joyful and favorable issue. Secondly, though without this blessing we may be able to acquire some degree of fame and opulence, (as we daily see wicked men loaded with honors and riches,) yet since those on whom the curse of God lies do not enjoy the least particle of true happiness, whatever we obtain without his blessing must turn out ill. But surely men ought not to desire what adds to their misery (Institutes of The Christian Religion, p.787, para.9).

With these few it is evident that there is polarity going on over the issue of suffering and prosperity in the Church today and as such it is so imperative that a critical glance be made into the issue with sound biblical hermeneutics to see what is the truth over such matters and so build the Church on those foundations.