This article is a summary of the following episode: The Prosperity Gospel Test
Most of us would never dream of calling ourselves prosperity-gospel Christians. If someone asked, we would quickly distance ourselves from teachings that promise health, wealth, and influence as the outcome of strong faith or generous giving. We know the danger of a transactional view of God.
But there is a subtler form of prosperity thinking that slips into the lives of sincere, reformed, gospel-loving believers. It does not show up in our theology statements. It shows up in our assumptions, our fears, our disappointment, and the quiet ways we measure God’s love.
This version of the prosperity gospel is not about money or success. It is about performance. It is about believing God moves toward us or away from us based on how well we think we are doing. It is pietism dressed up in conservative clothing.
To expose this in ourselves, I put together a handful of questions. They are simple, but they reveal a great deal about where we place our hope.
Question 1: When life is hard, do you quietly assume you caused it?
Many Christians immediately search their behavior when suffering hits. We wonder if our hardship is punishment for laziness, lack of discipline, weak prayer, or missed devotion.
Scripture certainly teaches that sin brings consequences. Peter says not to suffer for evil. But all suffering is not the result of personal failure. We live in a fallen world, and hardship is universal. The quiet instinct to assume every hard thing is God’s reaction to us is deeply rooted in transactional thinking.
Question 2: Do you feel God is pleased with you only when your spiritual habits are strong?
Most believers know this experience. You begin the year with fresh resolve. Bible reading is consistent, prayer is steady, and your conscience feels lighter. Then life hits, the rhythm falls apart, and suddenly God feels distant.
This is not the voice of the gospel.
It is the voice of the scorekeeper we create in our own minds.
God’s affection toward his children does not rise and fall with our performance. His delight is grounded in Christ, not in our discipline.
Question 3: When blessings come, do you feel you finally did something right?
A good season of life can expose what we secretly believe. When finances improve or relationships flourish, many Christians assume they finally got things together. It is easy to imagine that blessings prove we made good choices, followed the right steps, or impressed God in some way.
Scripture never ties God’s love to our outward circumstances. If it did, Paul, Peter, and the entire early church would have been considered spiritual failures. Blessing is meaningful, but it is never a verdict on your performance.
Question 4: When you fall into sin, do you believe God steps back from you?
This may be the most common form of quiet prosperity thinking. We imagine God takes a step back until we confess, clean up, and try harder. We assume his nearness is fragile and easily damaged.
Nothing could be further from the gospel. When we sin, we have an advocate. When we fail, we have a High Priest who intercedes for us.
The Father does not pull away from his children when they stumble. He invites us to run toward him with boldness. Our righteousness before him is Christ himself.
Question 5: Do you measure God’s love by how peaceful or comfortable life feels?
When life feels calm, we say God is good. When life breaks apart, we quietly question what he is doing. This is prosperity thinking in disguise.
Jesus promised that sorrow and suffering will come. He promised trouble in this world. He also promised to be near, to sustain, and to carry us.
Comfort is not proof of God’s love. The cross is.
Question 6: Do you believe mature Christians should have fewer struggles?
Many believers assume that the older they get in the faith, the smoother life should become. Yet every believer I have shepherded over the years would say the opposite. Temptation does not disappear. Trials often increase. Awareness of sin grows deeper.
Maturity does not remove struggle.
Maturity teaches us to run to Christ in the struggle.
Paul himself lived this tension. His present tense words in Romans 7 are not the confession of an unbeliever. They are the battle cry of a mature apostle who needed Christ every day.
Question 7: Do you expect spiritual effort to produce quick results?
This is one of the clearest signs of quiet prosperity thinking. We live in a results-driven world. We assume that more reading, more prayer, more discipline will guarantee transformation. But growth is not mechanical.
Spiritual maturity is slow. It is the work of the Spirit. It happens through the ordinary means of grace, through life in the church, through suffering, through weakness, and through long dependence on Christ.
We do not accelerate sanctification by force of will. Faithfulness matters, but it does not control outcomes.
Question 8: Do you feel uneasy resting in Christ unless you have first done your part?
Rest sounds passive to many believers. It feels irresponsible. We assume we must meet God halfway. Yet Jesus calls exhausted people, not accomplished people. Rest is not a reward for effort. It is the life we have in Christ.
Rest means this: Your forgiveness is secure. Your righteousness is complete. Your status before God is fixed. Your salvation is upheld by someone stronger than you.
Rest frees you to love, serve, and obey without fear.
Question 9: Do you believe a strong Christian life should shield you from sorrow?
Some Christians assume sadness is a sign of weak faith. They avoid lament. They suppress grief. They wear a constant smile because sorrow feels like spiritual failure.
Jesus wept. Paul despaired of life itself. The Psalms are filled with tears.
Sorrow is not a lack of faith. Sorrow is part of the life of faith.
A Quiet Invitation Back to Grace
Here is what all these questions reveal:
Many Christians who reject the prosperity gospel still live as though God’s favor moves up and down based on performance. Many believers who cherish the doctrines of grace still slip into transactional thinking.
But the gospel is not transactional. Salvation is not earned. God’s love is not fragile. Christ’s righteousness is not incomplete.
You do not need to convince God to bless you. You do not need to earn his smile. You do not need to clean yourself up before he comes near.
You already have his attention. You already have his affection. You already have his righteousness. You already have his mercy.
Rest in that.
And from that rest, you will have strength to face suffering, to love others, to confess your sin, and to walk by faith.
The quiet prosperity thinking that creeps into our hearts can be exposed. But we do not fight it by trying harder. We fight it by looking to Christ.
All of Christ for all of life.
