Q&A: How should Christians respond to the Prosperity or Ultra Faith Movement?

I believe the prosperity or "ultra faith" teaching is full of imbalance and such things almost always create danger. For starters, this teaching focuses the heart of the believer almost exclusively on material blessings and places the weight of seeing such things come to pass entirely on the faith of the recipient. It is then quick to accuse believers for having insufficient faith when prayers for healing or blessing aren't immediately answered. 

One of the fundamental errors of this movement is the belief that physical healing is guaranteed as part of the work that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. They often quote Isaiah 53:5 saying, "...by His wounds we are healed" claiming that in the sacrifice of Jesus we have been given physical health and healing. This is a very superficial conclusion based on the appearance of the word "healed" which is assumed to refer to physical healing. However, the context of that passage, as well as the passage in which it is quoted in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:24) is SPIRITUAL HEALING. 

The ultra faith movement treats God as if He were a mindless vending machine. If we simply deposit the required amount of coins (faith) and push the button, we are guaranteed of receiving whatever we want. It is true that God looks for our faith, but He is not obligated by it. Our faith does not overrule the sovereignty of the God who always knows what is best for His children.

I am certainly not saying that God does not heal. He does and I have seen it. At our fellowship we continue to pray for people to be healed and we anoint them with oil according to the Word of God. However, the belief that physical healing is a guarantee to all believers and that God always heals in every instance where faith is applied is simply and biblically untrue.

If your church is fixated on a prosperity message, you may need to find a new community of believers with whom to fellowship. I find that most prosperity-based churches do not teach through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, but instead camp on specific passages that support their views. In such an environment a true and healthy spiritual maturity may be hard to come by.