Looking again at spiritual abuse

Act 3:6-8  But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!”  (7)  Then Peter took hold of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong.  (8)  He jumped up, stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

A subtle but devastating form of spiritual abuse is rampant today. Especially in the name it and claim it camp of evangelical Christianity. Here is the gist of the concept. If you believe you will receive, and if you do not receive it is either because you have not believed enough, not been patient enough, or not listened to all that God has told you to do, and therefore, it is not God's fault that you don't have this or that, it is not the fault of the preacher preaching the prosperity, but it is your fault for not having faith enough, patience enough, or being obedient enough.

Take special notice of the above scripture passage that I have presented. It was not the man's faith that healed him. It was Peter's faith. Yes you read correctly. It was the faith of the preacher. I am weary of all of the preachers who perpetuate this kind of depressing abuse. Most of the time they never even mention the gospel or Jesus the gospel made flesh. They ignore that the purpose of the signs and wonders were to establish the truth of the gospel message and nothing else. Look at this passage from Acts:  Act 14:3  "So they stayed there for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace, granting miraculous signs and wonders to be performed through their hands." There you see plainly that the purpose of the miraculous signs and wonders were to establish the truth of the pristine gospel message. More than that, the miracles came through the hands of the apostles and not through the faith of those receiving the miracles.

Yes, you can find places where Jesus rewarded faith with miracles, but it was ALWAYS for a gospel purpose. This is true through out all of the New Testament. So let's bring it back to spiritual abuse. There are complex factors at play in our sojourn here on planet earth. There are faith giants that have not been cured of cancer. There are faith giants that have not been wealthy but rather have had a meager and dare I say difficult existence.

Yes, the New Covenant promises health and wealth. Yes, the curses of Deuteronomy 28 have been alleviated by the cross. But that does not mitigate the fact that people of strong faith suffer. Too many people in the prosperity movement have enriched themselves at the expense of the very people hoping for a break-through that could least afford the sacrifice.