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In the wake of the death of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, controversial faith-healing televangelist Benny Hinn, who has often been criticized for his endorsement of the prosperity gospel, said in a stunning confession Wednesday that sometimes he has taken the erroneous gospel too far.
"We get attacked for preaching prosperity, well it's in the Bible, but I think some have gone to the extreme with it sadly, and it's not God's word what is taught and I think I'm as guilty as others. Sometimes you go a little farther than you really need to go and then God brings you back to normality and reality," Hinn, 65, said as he reflected on Graham's death with a ministry colleague in a Facebook Live broadcast.
Televangelist Benny Hinn Admits Going Too Far With Prosperity Gospel in Wake of Billy Graham's Death
"And it's not God's Word what is taught. I think I'm as guilty as others," he continued. "The more you know the Bible, the more you become biblically based and balanced in your opinions and thoughts. Because we're influenced. When I was younger, I was influenced by the preachers who taught whatever they taught. But as I've lived longer, I think, 'Wait a minute. This doesn't really fit totally with the Bible. It doesn't fit with reality.' What is prosperity? No lack."
Benny Hinn rebukes prosperity Gospel, but admits 'I think I'm as guilty as others'
Hinn said, “Did Elijah the prophet have a car? No. Did not even have a bicycle. He had no lack … Did Jesus drive a car or live in a mansion? No. He had no lack. How about the apostles? None lacked among them. Today, the idea is abundance and palatial homes and cars and bank accounts. The focus is wrong … It’s so wrong.”
Hinn went on to say that he no longer flies private jets, and dispelled rumors that he is worth $40 million.
“We all sadly make the mistake of thinking that, ‘Well this is what God wants,’ and God says ‘No, that’s not what I want.’ It’s time to live biblically.
Benny Hinn Says He's Guilty of Taking the Prosperity Gospel Outside of What the Bible Teaches
What is the prosperity gospel?.....
In the prosperity gospel, also known as the “Word of Faith,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Word of Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will. The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy. They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them.
What does the Bible say about the prosperity gospel?
What's wrong with prosperity?.....
Indeed, it is well known to students of human societies that an increase in prosperity often brings with it a precipitous decline in religious involvement. After all, why would anyone need God when there is Master Card and Visa? The declining numbers in churches in the Western World seem to affirm that Wesley’s fears were warranted. Christian leaders speculate that if current trends continue in England, for example, Methodists will cease to exist in that country in thirty years.(3) Of course, long before Wesley uttered his fears, Jesus warned his disciples: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches” (Luke 16:13). Jesus warns of the idolatry that so easily entraps us, luring us away from faithful allegiance.
We might be tempted to disregard any such warning in times of economic “slow down.” How can people be tempted to serve “the master” of money, after all, when there is so much less of it? Yet even in its absence, we can find our hearts soothed more by money than by God and behold the signs of a dangerous dependence. When our hearts find salvation and security in having more and more material gain—whether we actually hold it or not—we are reminded of “the deceitfulness of riches” and the narcotic effects of material success.
Thus clearly, the abolition of wealth or production is not the answer to materialism! Rather, the answer Jesus suggests lies in the proper use of wealth in our world: as a blessing for others and not just for our own use. Jesus instructed disciples to “sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven….For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:33-34).
The Prosperity Drug
"We get attacked for preaching prosperity, well it's in the Bible, but I think some have gone to the extreme with it sadly, and it's not God's word what is taught and I think I'm as guilty as others. Sometimes you go a little farther than you really need to go and then God brings you back to normality and reality," Hinn, 65, said as he reflected on Graham's death with a ministry colleague in a Facebook Live broadcast.
Televangelist Benny Hinn Admits Going Too Far With Prosperity Gospel in Wake of Billy Graham's Death
"And it's not God's Word what is taught. I think I'm as guilty as others," he continued. "The more you know the Bible, the more you become biblically based and balanced in your opinions and thoughts. Because we're influenced. When I was younger, I was influenced by the preachers who taught whatever they taught. But as I've lived longer, I think, 'Wait a minute. This doesn't really fit totally with the Bible. It doesn't fit with reality.' What is prosperity? No lack."
Benny Hinn rebukes prosperity Gospel, but admits 'I think I'm as guilty as others'
Hinn said, “Did Elijah the prophet have a car? No. Did not even have a bicycle. He had no lack … Did Jesus drive a car or live in a mansion? No. He had no lack. How about the apostles? None lacked among them. Today, the idea is abundance and palatial homes and cars and bank accounts. The focus is wrong … It’s so wrong.”
Hinn went on to say that he no longer flies private jets, and dispelled rumors that he is worth $40 million.
“We all sadly make the mistake of thinking that, ‘Well this is what God wants,’ and God says ‘No, that’s not what I want.’ It’s time to live biblically.
Benny Hinn Says He's Guilty of Taking the Prosperity Gospel Outside of What the Bible Teaches
What is the prosperity gospel?.....
In the prosperity gospel, also known as the “Word of Faith,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Word of Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will. The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy. They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them.
What does the Bible say about the prosperity gospel?
What's wrong with prosperity?.....
Indeed, it is well known to students of human societies that an increase in prosperity often brings with it a precipitous decline in religious involvement. After all, why would anyone need God when there is Master Card and Visa? The declining numbers in churches in the Western World seem to affirm that Wesley’s fears were warranted. Christian leaders speculate that if current trends continue in England, for example, Methodists will cease to exist in that country in thirty years.(3) Of course, long before Wesley uttered his fears, Jesus warned his disciples: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches” (Luke 16:13). Jesus warns of the idolatry that so easily entraps us, luring us away from faithful allegiance.
We might be tempted to disregard any such warning in times of economic “slow down.” How can people be tempted to serve “the master” of money, after all, when there is so much less of it? Yet even in its absence, we can find our hearts soothed more by money than by God and behold the signs of a dangerous dependence. When our hearts find salvation and security in having more and more material gain—whether we actually hold it or not—we are reminded of “the deceitfulness of riches” and the narcotic effects of material success.
Thus clearly, the abolition of wealth or production is not the answer to materialism! Rather, the answer Jesus suggests lies in the proper use of wealth in our world: as a blessing for others and not just for our own use. Jesus instructed disciples to “sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven….For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:33-34).
The Prosperity Drug
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