The focus here embraces the ideology of the Apostle Peter concerning false teachers who would arise among the Christians. The same as today, there were false teachers in ancient times. These false teachers would be skilled with words and they would devise ways to make merchandise of the church. Peter’s major concern was, these false teachers would introduce destructive error into the Gospel and lead many astray. In the days of the Apostles, these false teachers were called out and exposed. In today's permissive society our only recourse is to pray for them and leave it to God while they go about polluting the mind of the saints.
Jesus often addressed the issue in conversations with his disciples. (Luke 21:8) And he said Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. In Matthew, it seems as if Jesus was reflecting upon his soon to be established church when he stated, (Matthew 18:20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Two or three gathered together in worship just does not meet the criteria of today's churches and mega churches.
One cannot help but marvel at the transitions taking place in Christendom as it
struggles to adapt to the changing demands of society. Things that once were characterized as unholy or impure now requires a second look through tinted glasses. A religion that once flourished within the confrontational nature of Holy Scripture akin to John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness screaming, "Oh ye generation of vipers...” have now morphed into a viable business model seeking to attract customers. This once confrontational religion has now dumb down its rhetoric in the name of peace and political correctness; it has agreed to respect the rights of all religions, a thing that the God of David never ordained. The fire and brimstone have been retired and the sunshine and favors have become the modern day message.
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What happen? Why are the changes? As each emerging generation became more and more entrenched in the knowledge of good and evil, the ‘pie in the sky, bye and bye’, began to lose its luster. The ancient appeal of God was tested by knowledgeable men and found wanting. The organized church realizing that its core membership base was eroding realized the necessity of branding itself, and the creation of a sellable product in the process. This product would combine two of the most powerful elements that define the human condition, motivation, and manipulation. This concept or new religion would be sellable to the masses, without regards to their structured or indoctrinated belief. The desire to be prosperous and to be in good health can be found at all levels of humanity, without regard to ethnic or cultural backgrounds.
(3rd John 1:2) Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. This scripture provided the biblical foundation for transforming the Gospel of the Kingdom into a Gospel of prosperity and motivation. Manipulation paved the road to financial success to those who embraced and exported this new gospel.
To understand the proper context of the above verse requires reading the entire chapter. This brief epistle is written to a Christian whose name was Gaius. As a form of greeting, a wish is implied, not a command or even a promise. The word used here commonly means in the New Testament to pray, but it is also employed to express a strong and earnest desire for anything. This is probably all that is implied here. The sense is, "In every respect, I wish that it may go as well with you as it does your soul. A simple greeting to a Christian friend who is sick.
The Gospel of Prosperity promises an earthly reward while the Gospel of the Kingdom promises a spiritual reward. The mixing of the two promises the best of both worlds. As an earthly person, we are more easily influenced by earthly things, rather than spiritual things. This new form of Christianity offers blessings and favors to those who embrace it ideology. Salvation becomes sellable, and access to God is determined by the size of your offering.
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The marketing manipulation that is used to promote this new form of Christianity is the same method marketers use to get potential consumers to become acting consumers. It is called the AIDA Model. This model consists of four stages: Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. Students in marketing, learn about this concept and are graded on their ability to bring about the desired action. The application of this model to promote a new and expandable form of Christianity is the same model used to promote a new brand of box cereal. Follow me for a moment.
The application of this model does not require a college degree; it merely requires a gift of ‘gab’, the ability to sell others on your idea and a desire to manipulate others. Manipulation seems to be such an ominous word, yet there are a good side and a bad side of manipulation. There is harmless manipulation such as being led to believe that a Honda is superior to a Chevrolet vehicle. An example of a type of dangerous manipulation was to convince the public that smoking was ok. Money is usually a common factor of all types of manipulations, in the organized church, in the community, and in business. Yet, the true church was never intended to be established on the same level or base as an everyday business.
The manipulation of desire is caused by knowing what is wanted or needed and offering it. What do you want becomes the prime question. In the vernacular of the charlatan priest, “whatever you want, God has got it”, and there is not one righteous soul that would respond negatively to this suggestion. If you want money, God will give you money. Here again The Reverend Ike, my model for the fleecing of the sheep mailed out thousands of letters in the early sixties that said, “ SOMEBODY, reading this letter will receive a financial blessing from God, all you have to do is plant a seed of faith. The call for action was accepted by many, especially those of certain ethnic and cultural backgrounds who were financially intimidated. Once they became aware of this newly created ATM God, logic took a holiday as they lined up, clamoring for the blessings. A touch of common sense or the knowledge of God could have rendered that type of promotion baseless and profane.
The drawing card to any successful religious assembly is, come over here and get your blessing, or come over here and be healed. They prey on two of the most vulnerable aspects of human nature. Healings and blessings soon become synonymous with a packed house. Problems began to manifest themselves when God refused to be manipulated. “If he did it once, he will do it again”, became the cry of the self-indoctrinated motivational speaker without the validity of scriptural support. Standing on the creek bank waiting for God to separate the water soon became a lesson in futility. The redefinition of the works of God became commonplace, in that the starting of a flooded car has now been described as a miracle. The scripture is taken out of its context and the righteous are being indoctrinated into believing that if you speak it will be so. If this were true, what a beautiful world we would have. A sick person in the hospital is often decreed heal, yet often that person passes on from life into death.
A cloak of fear is used to intimidate those whose eyes are being open to the false doctrines that are prevailing. It is taboo to speak a word against those who claim the anointing of God. Yet, how many people have left the altar wondering why they didn't get the blessing that was promised to them? There was a man who gave his last dollar and went out waiting for the blessing that was promised, was left wondering if he and his family had been forsaken by God. But, these are things you can't talk about. If you fail to get what you asked for, the problem is not in God, it is in us. Through fear, a new indoctrination of Christianity appears to be holding.
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