For far too many American and global Christians, the “prosperity gospel” is all they know of Christianity. For far too many Christians what the Scriptures actually teach about the law and the gospel is almost entirely unknown. Their leaders and influences are complete charlatans such as Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and Joel Osteen. As Mike Horton showed years ago, for many Christless Christianity is Christianity. It takes other forms too but the “health and wealth” message is perhaps its most garish form. In this new film Brandon Kimber tackles this topic and related questions. Is Christianity really about “being a good person”? What is salvation? How are people saved and what consequences does this have for their life? What hath Oprah to do with Christianity? For that matter, what hath Norman Vincent Peale to do with Christianity?
This is a full-length film exposing the message of false teachers such as Benny Hinn through video clips and interviews with his nephew Costi Hinn, who grew up in that world and has repented of it and now embraced historic and biblical Christianity. It also features an exposition of the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide), in Christ alone. Brandon interviews some folks from the old, settled and Reformed world, e.g., Mike Horton, Julius Kim, and me along with a number of figures from the Young, Restless, and Reforming world (e.g., Matt Chandler, John Piper).
I was aware of the church growth movement and of course of some of the aspects of the health and wealth movements (which the film connects as part of the “American Gospel”) but I was naïve about some of the features of the so-called prosperity gospel, some of the tricks the so-called “faith healers” use, and just how extravagantly they live. Hearing from Costi about growing up in the movement and amidst its excesses, lies, and abuses was eye-opening. The film traces the history of the health and wealth movement which I found helpful. Listening to the stories of those who were taken in by the movement and have now emerged to embrace the biblical understanding of the good news is encouraging and a sobering warning about how influential and harmful the American Gospel really is.
For the first month you can rent American Gospel on Vimeo. After that it will go on sale.
Thank you for your tireless devotion to Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, & Soli Deo Gloria.
It occurs to me that the problem comes down to a failure of comprehending what it means to be born again. Only those who are born again will see the kingdom of heaven. Natural man cannot understand the gospel because he is spiritually dead. He will only respond to appeals to gratify his own sinful, fleshly desires. So that is what so many, so called evangelical churches offer, and the more successful they are in convincing spiritually dead people that God wants to give them fleshly gratification, the more they flourish.
Fleshly gratification can take many forms. It can come as prideful synergism, where I attribute to my own best efforts a role in my final salvation. It can come as, a recent song on Christian radio puts it, I want to touch You, feel You, see You, the quest for illegitimate religious experience. As false assurance that I am going to heaven because I prayed the prayer and signed the card. The prosperity gospel may be the most blatant form of these Satanic lies, but any gospel that does not expose our total inability to be right with God except by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone will damn you to hell.