What specific biblical passages do critics cite against the prosperity gospel?
Executive summary
Critics of the prosperity gospel point to a cluster of biblical passages that, read in context, emphasize self-denial, suffering, warnings about wealth, and the priority of God over money—passages they say undercut teachings that faith guarantees material wealth and health [1] [2]. Defenders of prosperity teaching, conversely, often proof-text verses such as John 10:10, Malachi 3:10 and 2 Corinthians 8:9; critics insist those texts are either misread or misapplied [1] [3] [4].
1. Matthew 6:24 and the Sermon on the Mount: God or Mammon?
The claim that "you cannot serve both God and money" in Matthew 6:24 is repeatedly invoked by critics to argue the New Testament frames wealth as a rival allegiance, not a sign of divine favor, and to contrast the ethic of trust in God with transactional giving taught by prosperity teachers [5] [6].
2. Mark 8:34 and Mark 10:17–31: Cross-bearing over cash-bearing
Jesus’ call to deny oneself and take up a cross (Mark 8:34) and the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17–31, where attachment to possessions bars entry into the kingdom, are used as direct theological counters to any doctrine that equates greater faith with greater earthly wealth [1] [7].
3. Suffering and persecution passages: 2 Timothy 3:12 and Acts 9:16
Critics highlight texts that promise trials and suffering for believers—such as Jesus’ warnings about persecution and Paul’s examples—to show the New Testament anticipates hardship, not guaranteed health or prosperity, undermining the prosperity gospel’s central promises [1].
4. Warnings about wealth: 1 Timothy 6:6–10 and prophetic rebukes like Amos
Authors opposing prosperity theology point to pastoral and prophetic warnings—1 Timothy 6:6–8’s exhortation to contentment and Amos’ critique that divine favor does not equal material comfort—to argue Scripture offers a sober, nuanced view of wealth rather than an entitlement theology [2] [6].
5. The misuse-of-proof-texts: John 10:10, Malachi 3:10, and 3 John 2
Prosperity preachers commonly cite John 10:10 ("I have come that they might have life...") and Malachi 3:10's promise to "open... the windows of heaven" as evidence God intends financial blessing; critics and many scholars say those verses are taken out of context and stretched from spiritual or covenantal promises into material guarantees, and they note 3 John 2’s benign wish for prosperity is not a doctrinal warrant for a transactional gospel [1] [3] [8].
6. Contextual reversals: 2 Corinthians 8:9 and the apostolic example
Where proponents hold up 2 Corinthians 8:9 as supportive—Christ became poor so believers might become rich—critics (and some former prosperity proponents) argue the verse, read in context, models sacrificial giving and solidarity with the poor, even implying ministry leaders should follow Christ’s poverty rather than accumulate wealth [4].
7. Canonical critique: Galatians 1:8 and the charge of another gospel
The rhetorical hammer Galatians 1:8—"if anyone preaches a gospel contrary to the one we proclaimed, let him be accursed"—is cited by critics who classify prosperity teaching as a different gospel that displaces the cross-centered message of justification and repentance with a quid-pro-quo theology of blessings [9].
8. Practical theology and pastoral concerns: selective citation and omitted texts
Multiple observers and evangelical institutions warn that prosperity teaching frequently cherry-picks verses about blessing while ignoring the New Testament's pervasive themes of suffering, contentment, and warnings about wealth (1 Tim; Amos; Sermon on the Mount), creating a proof-texting problem rather than engaging the Bible’s broader ethical and theological witness [2] [6] [1].