Liars, Thieves and

Crooks
2 Timothy 4:3-4

Liars, Thieves and Crooks
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when men
will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires,
they will gather around them a great
number of teachers to say what their
itching ears want to hear. 4 They will
turn their ears away from the truth
and turn aside to myths.
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
The Prosperity Gospel
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
True Christianity
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
Heresy:
opinion or doctrine at
variance with the orthodox
or accepted doctrine,
especially of a church or
religious system.

Liars, Thieves and Crooks
Galatians 1:6-9
6 I am astonished that you are so
quickly deserting the one who called
you by the grace of Christ and are
turning to a different gospel
7 which is really no gospel at all.
Evidently some people are throwing
you into confusion and are trying to
pervert the gospel of Christ
8 But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach a gospel
other than the one we preached to
you, let him be eternally
condemned! 9 As we have already
said, so now I say again: If anybody
is preaching to you a gospel other
than what you accepted, let him be
eternally condemned!

The Prosperity Gospel
Name it and Claim it Gospel
Blab it and grab it Gospel
Health and Wealth Gospel
Word of Faith Gospel
Gospel of Success
Positive Confession Theology
The Prosperity Gospel
A new gospel is being taught
today. This new gospel is
perplexing-it omits Jesus and
neglects the cross According to
this new gospel, if believers
repeat positive confessions, focus
their thoughts, and generate
enough faith, God will release
blessings upon their lives
This egocentric gospel teaches that
God wants believers to be materially
prosperous in the here-and-now.
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
Who are these people and
where can you find them:

Just turn on and watch
Trinity Broadcasting Network
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
Who is the greatest heretic
in America today?

Joel Osteen
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
When you say of the Lord you
are healthy, you are whole, you
are free, you are blessed-when
you say it, God has promised
He will do it If you are not
sharing in his favor, you might
want to watch your words.
Heres the key: If you dont
unleash your words in the right
direction, if you dont call in
your favor, you will not
experience those blessings
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
Pitts commented, God is a
loving, forgiving God who will
reward believers with health,
wealth, and happiness. Its the
centerpiece of every sermon
To become a better you, you
must be positive toward yourself,
develop better relationships,
embrace the place you are. Not
one mention of God in that.
Not one mention of Jesus
Christ in that. Osteen replied,
Thats just my message.
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
Osteens gospel, then, is that Jesus
died in order to save man from a
less than ideal life. Absent from his
preaching is a well-defined concept
of original sin, as well as a biblical
explanation of the death of Jesus
Christ on the cross.
David W. J ones & Russell S. Woodbridge
Health, Wealth and Happiness
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such men are false apostles,
deceitful workmen, masquerading as
apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder,
for Satan himself masquerades as an
angel of light. 15 It is not surprising,
then, if his servants masquerade as
servants of righteousness. Their end
will be what their actions deserve.
Liars, Thieves and Crooks
2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But there were also false
prophets among the people, just
as there will be false teachers
among you. They will secretly
introduce destructive heresies,
even denying the sovereign Lord
who bought them bringing
swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their
shameful ways and will bring the
way of truth into disrepute. 3 In
their greed these teachers will
exploit you with stories they have
made up. Their condemnation
has long been hanging over them,
and their destruction has not
been sleeping.

True Christianity
Suffering
Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you on
behalf of Christ not only to
believe on him, but also to suffer
for him


True Christianity
1 Peter 2:21
To this you were called,
because Christ suffered for
you, leaving you an
example, that you should
follow in his steps
True Christianity
1 Peter 4:19
So then, those who suffer
according to Gods will
should commit themselves to
their faithful Creator and
continue to do good.
True Christianity
Luke 9:23-24
23 Then he said to them all: If
anyone would come after me, he
must deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me will save it
True Christianity
Wealth and Poverty
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor

True Christianity
During His earthly ministry, Jesus
attended to and identified with
many from the lower class-including
prostitutes, orphans, widows, and
other social and economic
outcastsduring His ministry He
apparently had no home, no land
and no regular income.
Health, Wealth & Happiness
True Christianity
Matthew 8:20
Jesus replied, Foxes have
holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has
no place to lay his head.

True Christianity
But Jesus also interacted
with the religious elite
Christ also ministered to
powerful and wealthy
individuals
True Christianity
Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved
him. One thing you lack, he
said. Go, sell everything you
have and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.
True Christianity
1 Timothy 6:3-10
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines
and does not agree to the sound
instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ
and to godly teaching, 4 he is
conceited and understands nothing.
He has an unhealthy interest in
controversies and quarrels about
words that result in envy, strife,
malicious talk, evil suspicions
5 and constant friction between
men of corrupt mind, who have
been robbed of the truth and who
think that godliness is a means to
financial gain. 6 But godliness with
contentment is great gain. 7 For we
brought nothing into the world,
and we can take nothing out of it.
8 But if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with that.

9 People who want to get rich fall
into temptation and a trap and into
many foolish and harmful desires
that plunge men into ruin and
destruction. 10 For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs.

True Christianity
1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Command those who are rich
in this present world not to be
arrogant nor to put their hope in
wealth, which is so uncertain, but
to put their hope in God, who
richly provides us with
everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good,
to be rich in good deeds, and to
be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up
treasure for themselves as a firm
foundation for the coming age,
so that they may take hold of the
life that is truly life.

Final Thoughts
Word Faith teachers have
corrupted the heart of New
Testament Christianity, moving the
believers focus off sound doctrine,
worship, service, sacrifice, and
ministry; shifting it instead to
promised physical, financial, and
material blessings.
J ohn MacArthur
Final Thoughts
We are his servants, not
He ours. He has called us
to lives of loving service
and worship, not godlike
supremacy. He blesses us,
but not always materially.
In no way can we write our
own ticket and expect Him
to follow our scriptThe life
of a Christian is spent in
pursuit of Gods will-not a
strategy to get Him to go
along with ours.