Jesus promised his disciples great wealth in this world if they gave up all to follow him. Sometimes this is known as the 100 fold principle.
Could it really be true? Does putting your faith in Jesus not only give you eternal life in heaven but also a wealthy and luxuries life here on earth? And if this is true then why would anyone ever reject Christianity? Why would a person reject a religion that promises you wealth and prosperity now and in eternity?
Unfortunately, many believe the lie that salvation includes the promise of forgiven heart and financial abundance. In this sermon I look at one passage that prosperity preachers often use to deceive their followers into following their pious pyramid schemes.
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:29-30
Prosperity preachers call this “seed giving” or the “seed principle” or “seed faith” They claim that God will turn your $1 into $100 or your $100 into $1,000. I doesn’t matter how much you give, God will multiply it by 100 and give it right back to you!
Benny Hinn even goes even further and asks this followers to give at least a $1,000 in order to unleash the “thousandfold principle.” Of course all this multiplication leaves you feeling like Jesus is some sort of lucky slot machine that magically multiplies your coins. Faith becomes a financial formula for attaining temporary prosperity.
Was Jesus revealing to his disciples the secret to becoming wealthy? Should we take Jesus’ statement in these verses as a gospel equation for the multiplication of money?
Is there a bank of Jesus’ that gives a 1000% return?
The answer is simply “no” and in order to better understand why let’s take a deeper look at this passage.
