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Was Jesus materially rich? If so is the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ justified?

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The ‘Prosperity Gospel’ is inconsistent with what the NT teaches. The fact is, Jesus’ seamless robe was the only earthly possession He seems to have had. Christ himself said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” In the humility of his humanity, Jesus was certainly not materially wealthy (see Matt. 8:20).

Though it is not wrong to be rich and we are never told to sell all that we have, etc., there is a great deal of warning regarding money and material riches in the Bible (see Matt. 6:19ff; 1 Tim. 6:6-10 and 17-19). Christ once told a man to go and sell all that he had and then follow him, but this was not a command to all disciples or Christians, rather it was designed to show him that he had not perfectly kept the law because of the sin of covetousness. Thus, like all men, he was in need of Christ and His free redemption.

Related Topics: Christology, Finance

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