1 Timothy 6:3-5  If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 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 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. 

1 Timothy 6:3-5 (Message)  These are the things I want you to teach and preach.  If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors.  Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory.  They think religion is a way to make a fast buck. 

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30)  Definitely savage wolves have come to destroy the church and are skewing the Word of God. Insidiously, they pick off the innocent lambs within the church, those who have recently begun the journey of faith or who are very weak in their faith.  The cults come to their doors and pretend to speak the same speech that the innocent Christians speak.  They use the Bible as their source of belief; they even say they believe in Jesus Christ.  But, they always add to the Bible, a new revelation to consider, a new way of thinking.  They usually tell of a person they revere as much as Christ. This person is so important to them that his revelation, his doctrine, is considered as important as Christ's words. Sadly, these cults lead many to their destruction, for they lead people from Christ and his sacrifice to a different doctrine. They add something to the gospel and therefore make the gospel of none effect.  These wolves come to devour the church for their own means.  Consequently, these wolves take people outside of the church of the living God. 

Within today's church we have many who are preaching gain as godliness.  Most of these people have reaped very extravagant lifestyles from this kind of preaching.  They are making a fast buck off the gospel.  Sadly, this is the message carnal Christians want to hear.  They want a quick payoff for believing in God.  Christ many times is used as a slot machine.  You plug in a prayer, and then a wonderful answer to your problem is supposed to come out.  Isn't He a good God, a good father?  Well, as everyone knows, a good God will make my life better.  He'll make sure I'm happy, I'm contented.  He'll make sure all of my needs, desires, and longings will be met, for as a good God, He will not give me a serpent for a fish.  This kind of Christianity has one focus: SELF.  For that kind of Christian, this life is the most important.  IT IS THE EVE SYNDROME: Did God say that I should just serve him OR MYSELF?  The focus is on the self-life, the going around once life--get as much as you can out of life for tomorrow you may die.  

This kind of ministry is very popular.  It fills up churches.  There are no executions in this church: Stephen makes it, James makes it, all of the martyrs make it.  There are no hungry Christians, no Christians who are persecuted, and no Christians who are sick.  This is a land of nirvana; all is well in this land.  The sun is always shining; the grass is always green.  The SELF-LAND is a good land to believe in when you are a carnal Christian.  However, the SELF-LAND is not the land of the Bible.  New Testament Christians fled from one city to the next because of persecution. Beloved disciples were killed.  Poverty was found in Jerusalem.  Sickness was evident.  The reason SELF-LAND is not found in the Bible is that this world is NOT OUR HOME.  This is not our abiding place.  This isn't the NEW JERUSALEM.  

Yes, we have prosperity.  Our souls are always prosperous, no matter what the conditions are on this earth.  We always have the blessed HOLY SPIRIT within us to comfort and to guide us.  He keeps us in right relationship with God.  He is the protector of our souls.  He makes the sun to shine and the grass to be green in our spirits.  Yes, we are prosperous, but not as the prosperity teachers declare.  We are prosperous because God is prosperous.  We are prosperous because we are now adopted into the land of prosperity provided by our heavenly Father for those who love him.  We partake of his land, his being, his place of abiding--his Promised Land.