At one time or another, we have probably heard a preacher quoting scriptures that guarantee prosperity through God's largesse. One huckster I saw some time ago said he needed three hundred people to send him $1,000 each, as seed money to grow their personal fortune, of course.

Despite his finding a "respectable" way to beg for money, it seems that it would require a good amount of intestinal fortitude to ask for $300,000! It is a good thing for the prosperity gospel preacher that his audience does not understand God's Word. If they did, they would laugh him off the stage and relegate him to a street corner to do his begging.

Of course, this preacher marshaled plenty of solid scriptures to support his claims:

» Matthew 7:7-8: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you: For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

» Matthew 21:22: "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

» Malachi 3:10: "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.'" (See also Luke 11:9; John 15:7; 14:14; I John 3:22.)

These passages beg the question: Why are these words solid promises to God's people and simply blue-sky pipe-dreams to everyone else?

The answer is that these "ask and receive" scriptures are addressed only to God's covenant people—His elect—who have dedicated their lives to serving the living God, on whom He has poured His Holy Spirit and so can understand. These promises come into play only when such people have reached the point in their spiritual development that they request the same things Jesus Christ would have asked for: godly things for godly purposes.

In such cases, Isaiah 65:24 also comes into play, showing the immediacy of God's response: "It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear." We can see an example of this in Daniel 9:20-23, when God sent the angel Gabriel while the righteous prophet was still on his knees.

We recognize that God authored the Scriptures to benefit those whom He has called and will call to understanding. The passages quoted earlier make sense only in the light of John 6:44, that is, that the Father calls His elect individually and draws them to Christ. His calling is not universal. His Word, then, is not ultimately applicable for everyone right now.

So, is there something deficient with this preacher's prosperity gospel? Yes, there is. Put simply, he is using those texts out of context (an exegetical no-no called "proof-texting"). Those who have God's Holy Spirit understand that the Bible is primarily for those called from the foundation of the world (Romans 15:4; Ephesians 1:3-6), not to everyone in the world. The prosperity preacher also advocates their use as a "get rich quick" scheme, whereas God's promises prioritize spiritual gifts and growth.

The question is, does God have a prosperity gospel, too? Absolutely! What, then, are the differences between the two prosperity gospels?

A notable difference is that the television audience sends its money directly to the preacher, while God's elect saints send their tithes and substance to God. The preacher delivers nothing to his audience but false hopes and too-good-to-be-true assurances, while God unstintingly produces prosperity for His people! The preacher is a charlatan, but God is the real deal!

Also, the preacher requires almost nothing from his audience, just a signed check. God, though, requires a great deal from His saints. He does not require a deep understanding of obscure scriptures or the perfect execution of arcane rituals. What He does require is faith and obedience from His little flock (Luke 12:32). He will not even hear sinners (Isaiah 59:2).

While God's requirements for His prosperity gospel cover every area of an individual's life, they are not complex. However, one must realize that His benefits are conditional, which He explains in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. In both chapters, God stipulates that He will fulfill His promises only after diligent obedience; otherwise, the people receive curses.

We should never forget that God holds the trump card: His will. What He wants is what will happen. In other words, our requests for aid and gifting must align with His purpose. It is to our current and eternal benefit that we make certain we are perfectly aligned to God's will.

As the prophet Hanani said to King Asa, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to [or, wholly centered on] Him" (II Chronicles 16:9). If our hearts are trained solely on God, we will trust Him without reservation. D. Elton Trueblood, a Quaker theologian from the last century, wrote, "Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation."

The entirety of Psalm 23 shows us how thoroughly the Almighty provides for those who trust Him, ending with verse 6: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow [or, pursue and overtake] me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalm 136 is the classic text for understanding the depth of God's mercy or lovingkindness. In it, the Hebrew word ḥesed is used 26 times to proclaim God's eternal and all-encompassing love, kindness, and loyalty in its many aspects toward those who faithfully keep His covenant.

The prosperity and protections God promises and provides, both personally and nationally, have come to rest only upon the faithful little flock, those who are diligently and obediently working out their salvation in a close relationship with Him (Philippians 2:12) and are enduring to the end (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).