(If you don’t want to read this, just go watch Amerian Gospel: Christ Alone on Netflix. If you have anyone in your life who believes the “Prosperity Gospel,” encourage them to watch it with you.)
One of the greatest dangers to the church of Jesus Christ isn’t those who oppose it, but those who claim to be a part of it. The Bible calls these “false teachers,” and they are as opposed to the gospel today as they were in the days of the apostles. These are people who claim to represent Christ, but teach things that are not only not found in the Bible, but often give people a false idea of salvation and lead them to Hell.
Today, perhaps the greatest false teaching we have is known as the Prosperity Gospel. It’s been popularized by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and caused some waves through the book and movie called “The Secret.” This false teaching is so widespread for one simple fact – it allows us to read the Bible and satisfy our greed. It gives us the idea that God exists to give us everything we want, diminishing the almighty God of the universe into a vending machine who says “Insert faith and get what you want.”
Unlike other false beliefs that are clearly against Christ, this one gets easily overlooked because it uses the Bible to justify itself. It pulls verses out of context and makes it seem like God wants health, wealth, and prosperity for His children. And because of this, people adorn their walls, bodies, and social media feeds with things that seem biblical. They go to church every Sunday and seem to sing the right words, pray the right prayers, and do everything we’d expect of the people of God.
Yet beneath it all, Christ is nowhere to be found. People don’t want to dedicate their lives to Christ – they want to invest time in Christ so they can get what they really want. Christ isn’t the goal, but the means of fulfilling their desires. They want the things of the world, and they’re told that this Jesus person is the way to get it all.
American Gospel: Christ Alone reveals all of this. It takes some of the most popular “prosperity preachers” and shows exactly what they believe. It includes countless clips from sermons where they continually treat God as a genie in a bottle. They reduce Christ’s death to our means to have a better life today. And the Holy Spirit is little more than someone who makes people have an emotional experience (often speaking in tongues) to confirm that they have God’s blessing.
American Gospel isn’t gentle about how it presents false teaching. It’s minute after minute of corrupt teaching that aims at our greed, abusing the glory of Jesus Christ for their own gain. It’s a “gospel” that’s centered on us, seeing blessings as things like money and health. And these teachers have spent decades of their lives manipulating the word of God and leading so many people to Hell because they have no concept of who Christ truly is or why they need Him for more than salvation from poverty or unhappiness.
What’s brilliant about this movie is what they put between clips of these false teachers. On their own, it may be a challenge to listen to what these people say and identify what, exactly, is wrong with it. Yet throughout the movie, numerous pastors and other Christians discuss what the gospel really is. The way they speak of Christ, sin, and salvation is completely different to what prosperity preachers were saying moments ago.
It sheds light on this false gospel by holding it up to the one, true gospel of Jesus Christ. It shows why there’s only one way to Heaven, and simply believing in Jesus or reading from the Bible isn’t enough to get us there. It shows why the Prosperity Gospel offers no hope or salvation at all because it doesn’t offer a real version of Christ.
I would love for all Christians to watch this movie. It exposes a false teaching, but also shines a light on how most of us still have times where we treat God like a vending machine. It calls everyone to repentance and worship of Christ, reminding us that He isn’t worthy of praise because of what He gives us but because of who He is.
I won’t lie, this movie is hard to watch. If someone believes in things like “health, wealth, and prosperity,” “word of faith,” or enjoys things produced by Bethel Church, they’re likely to have their belief-system rattled. It becomes impossible for a follower of Christ to justify these beliefs when they are shown to be so clearly against what is truly taught in the Bible.
Likewise, it’s difficult to watch for those who aren’t a follower of people like Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, or Joyce Meyers. This movie is about 2 hours of hearing people take the word of God and destroy everything that makes it precious. It takes salvation, the very thing people around the world are still dying for, and dilutes it into nothing more than something designed to make us happy. At times, it’s downright infuriating to hear our God abused by people who claim to represent Him.
Seriously, dedicated a few hours to watching American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch it on Netflix, rent it through Amazon, or buy it from their website. This is such an important movie for all Christians to watch, especially those in the United States who already live in a God-hating culture that is filled with idols to tempt our greedy hearts.
Watch it. Have your friends and small group watch it. Talk about it with other people.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, (2 Timothy 4:3)
The world needs the good news of a savior who died for their sins so they could be forgiven by God. The world needs to hear of sin, repentance, and surrender to Jesus Christ. What the world doesn’t need, yet loves so much, is the Prosperity Gospel.
