"Health and Wealth" Teachers Claim Direct Counsel from God

Many of the leaders in this movement claim that God, Jesus, or angels appeared to them and taught them these ideas.  But we must ask, "Are these revelations biblical if they condone actions that are unbiblical or foolhardy?"  In fact, the supposedly divine visions, revelations, prophesies, and interpretations are often so false or unbiblical that one wonders if these visions are from their own mind or worse, from the devil.  Time and again in almost all of the writings of the faith teachers we find superficial or false interpretations of the Bible, misapplication, or serious errors of logic.  This means that the "health and wealth" or "faith" teachers are in serious trouble.  To start with, the Bible says that God is not the author of confusion or error (1 Corinthians 14:33; John 3:33; 17:17).

For example, "Jesus" told Charles Kapps, "I have told my people they can have what they say and they are saying what they have."  Does that make sense?  Does it even sound like Jesus?  Kapps also states, "The Spirit of God spoke to me concerning confessing the Word of God aloud: where you can hear yourself saying it.  He said 'It is a scientific application of the wisdom of God to the psychological make-up of man.'"  Again, does this sound like something the Spirit of God would say?

Another example is Kenneth Copeland's "Jesus," who supposedly told him one must "believe that your words have power, and the things you say will come to pass.  The result is that you can have whatever you say when you believe."  Does any Christian really believe Jesus said that in light of the Bible?  

Still another example of one of these faith teachers claiming God spoke directly to him is Robert Tilton.  He states, "The Spirit of the Lord has given me this prosperity message to share with you."  

Or Kenneth Hagin, who said, "the Lord spoke to me and said, 'don't pray for money anymore.  You have authority through my name to claim prosperity.'"  Kenneth Hagin promotes E.W. Kenyon's unbiblical and sometimes illogical text, The Wonderful Name of Jesus, by saying, "it is revelation knowledge.  It is the Word of God."

In Jerry Savelle's prosperity series we are told, "The revelation knowledge in this set was given to Brother Savelle supernaturally by God."    Savelle himself tells us "I was just sitting there, minding my own business . . . when suddenly the Lord appeared unto me.  When He appeared, He said these words to me: 'Son, my people are in financial famine in America and I am giving you the assignment to tell them how to get out.'  Then He began to reveal to me the keys to deliverance."

In summary you can see all these men claim direct counsel from God.  But is this really true?  The appearances of Jesus and angels, the words they spoke to these men -- these do not sound like the biblical Jesus or the angels that speak for God and the Bible.  God or Jesus would never encourage teachings that are unbiblical, unbalance or illogical, or which could bring spiritual confusion or ruin into the lives of those who live by them.

If these visions and appearances are real and not inflated self-delusions, then they can only result from Satan appearing as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).  It is the devil (and certainly not the above teachers) who desires to distort the Word, encourages spiritual excesses and illogical thinking, and brings difficulties or spiritual destruction into the lives of Christian people.


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What is the "Health & Wealth" Gospel?

The "health and wealth" gospel teaches that the human mind and tongue contain a "power."  When a person speaks expressing his faith in supposedly divine laws, his positive thoughts and his positive verbal expression (such as, "I am healed of my heart attack") are supposed to produce "divine force" that will health, produce wealth, and influence the environment.  According to the "health and wealth" teachers, God automatically responds and accomplishes what we command when we positively confess our needs and desires.  The non-biblical part of this teaching is that God is obligated to do what we decide.  We are in charge, not God.  Charles Capps and other "faith" teacher clearly state "Words are the most powerful things in the universe."

The teachings and emphases in this movement vary but in general there are at least five major tenets of the "health and wealth" or "faith" gospel.

1.  Perfect divine healing was made available to all believers through the death of Christ.  A person's healing is limited only because of his insufficient faith to receive it.

2.  It is God's desire that all believers prosper -- financially, physically, and spiritually.

3.  A person must "claim" his health and wealth.  He can do this immediately by believing he already has it and by positively confessing these conditions, even though all outward appearances seem to be different.  When sense perceptions do seem to contradict health and wealth beliefs (such as when a person is not healed of his heart attack), our senses must be rejected and a person must live by "faith."  The reason given is as follows:  The mind is so powerful that "negative confession" is just as potent a force as positive confession and therefore can become a destructive force.

4. "Health and wealth" teachers often insist one must experience the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" which is usually evidenced by speaking in tongues.

5.  Many "health and wealth" teachers rely on "angelic" contact.  They receive guidance and in turn, command angels to do their will!  "Angels" appear to be responsible for directing the ministries of several of the leading "health and wealth" teachers.

"Health and wealth" or "faith" teachers often claim divine visions, divine inspiration, or divine interpretations of Scripture passages which give their teachings absolute authority.  This is an especially serious claim and Christians need to examine it carefully.