lubumba pastors blog

In V2 of chapter 1, Paul declares grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to the believers at Corinth. As we approach the Christmas season, those words ring out with the echo of the angels' announcement of the grace and peace bestowed upon men, and among men, through the birth of our Savior. Even so, many believers stumble and struggle with fear in their relationship with...

The letter of 2 Corinthians opens with a pretty typical greeting from one of the Lord's apostles. However, in light of the context of the letter in Paul dealing with opposition in the church from men claiming to be apostles, what is the significance of him describing himself as an apostle "by the will of God?" What is the authority that the office of an apostle chosen by Christ carri...

This is an introductory study beginning a series on the letter of 2 Corinthians. While 1 Corinthians is quite easy to follow with its structure of Paul addressing issues in the church one-by one, the letter of 2 Corinthians is a bit less straightforward in seeing it as a whole. It includes much biographical data about Paul, and some surprising statements, such as when Paul lists himself as a &quot...

Article 14 brings the statement to a conclusion by focusing on the faulty motives underlying prosperity theology. The doctrines of prosperity theology are not derived from careful study of scripture, but rather a corrupt motivation for worldly things. What does the Bible tell Christians about desires for things of this world and desire for God? Can those desires coincide? What corruption has occur...

Article 13 of the statement responds to the issue of overreaching claims of authorities made by leaders within the prosperity circle. This overreach goes hand in hand with leaders' rejection of any accountability in their positions of oversight in the church. What is the extent of an elder's authority over Christians in the church? How can we know whether this leader really has our best in...

Article 12 discusses correct perspective on biblical training of the Christian's mind and emotions, while denying the practice within prosperity theology of "positive mental imaging" to manifest the realities people desire in their life. What are God's commands to Christians for how to train our thinking? Why is this so essential for early Christian life and for maturing in the f...

Article 11 of the statement addresses the misuse and misunderstanding of faith in prosperity theology. In the teaching of these churches, faith is described as something believers can use to obtain whatever circumstances they wish and to eliminate any experience they don't desire in their life. Often, when people fail to obtain healing, material wealth, or whatever they may be praying for, the...

Article 10 responds to the overreaching assertions made by some false teachers that because people are made in God's image, and because they are adopted as children of God, believers have somehow become "little gods." This seems to come from a motive to support the claim that believers have the authority to "speak or declare things into existence." Is this assertion about a...

Article 9 of the statement addresses the teaching of prosperity preachers that believers can "manifest their reality" through the words that they use. The idea is that whatever circumstances a believers wishes to experience, he must simply begin a pattern of speaking those things "into existence" by referencing them and avoiding words to that declare a contrary reality. Is it r...

Article 8 of this statement confronts the corrupt instructions and motives on Christian giving prevalent in the prosperity theology circles. Even a shallow examination of these groups will reveal a cycle of encouraging people to give so they can receive what they want from God. And these "gift/investments" that people bring wind up in the pockets of those promising God's blessing for...

Article 7 responds to prosperity theology's mishandling and misrepresenting God's predictions of suffering in the Christian life. What does the Bible say a believer can expect will happen when he or she truly follows Christ? And how does the experience of the church throughout its history, and our own experience today, inform us about these realities? Consider these things in another episo...

Article 6 of this statement responds to teaching within the church that places, locations, and certain "anointed altars" still play a part in correct worship practiced by believers. Is it true that Christians are supposed to pray in certain places, or that God hears us better when we pray from a certain location? What are the things that God does explain hinder us from being able to offe...

Article 5 deals with the popular misconception of "generational curses" - the idea that I can be saved and yet still experience God's judgment in my life due to the sins of my ancestors. What does the Bible have to say about this concept and how has Jesus redeemed us from every curse of the law? Find out in another study of transforming our thinking through the power of God's Wor...

Article 4 of the statement responds to the common practice of prosperity preachers to apply promises given to individuals or Israel in the covenant of the law to believers today. A very common example of this comes from Deuteronomy 6 where God predicted the Israelites would take possession of vineyards they didn't plant and houses they didn't build. Is it appropriate to understand these pr...

In this study, we examine article 3 of this statement which does a faithful job of countering the false doctrines rampant in the prosperity gospel theology. Article 3 deals with principles of proper Bible study and interpretation and denies the claims often made by prosperity teachers about the sources of "new revelation." Be blessed by another episode of transforming our thinking throug...

In this study, we discuss article 2 of the aforementioned statement dealing with the teachings of the prosperity gospel. Prosperity teachers often mingle and confuse promises that pertain immediately to the believer's life and ones that context shows refer to the eternal state when we are with God and God is with us. Prosperity teachers insist that the atonement must eliminate things like pove...

In this study, we unpack Article 1 of the aforementioned document. Prosperity theology claims that genuine faith will mean material prosperity, good health, and generally lead to all our worldly desires being fulfilled. It also teaches that the mark of being a true child of God is most reflected by a person's material prosperity. Do these ideas agree with scripture? Why or why not? Consider th...

This episode introduces a new topic where we will be looking at a document titled "Africa Statement on the Prosperity Gospel and Word of Faith movement. The statement was drafted by pastors in Africa who are greatly concerned by the corruption of prosperity theology in the preaching of churches professing to follow Jesus. The article does an excellent job of articulating issues with this fals...

In Paul's closing statements of 1 Corinthians, he makes a statement that many believers might find unusual. He says, "If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed." Some might say this is a harsh or even offensive statement, which would certainly be true if it came from a perspective that we are somehow better than those who have not responded to the grace of God in Christ...

In 1 Corinthians 16:15-16, Paul admonished the Corinthian believers to "be subject" to men who had "devoted themselves to the service of the saints." Many times, we admire people and leaders for their ability. We pay homage to those who do things we can't. But what is the supreme quality Jesus said was essential for leaders in his kingdom, and is it something we all can tru...

As Paul brings this letter to a close, he gives us 5 imperative exhortations to put into practice. We are to be watchful, to stand firm, to act like men, to be strong, and do everything we do in love. There is much debate in Western culture around the topics of masculinity and femininity. In Uganda, manhood is defined by cultural practices. How do we know what it really means to "be a man&quo...

1 Corinthians 16:8-9 gives us insight into where and when Paul wrote the first letter of Corinthians. He mentions he is in Ephesus, and planning to stay there, because there was "an open door for effective labor." Immediately after describing this open door, he adds though that there were "many adversaries." Those two statements might seem like a contradiction, but actually, th...

1 Corinthians 16 opens with instructions for the believers in Corinth relating to their participation in a collection that was being taken for the saints in Jerusalem. For some, giving can be among the list of commands easy to understand, but challenging to put into practice. What principles does the Bible give to us in this chapter that are helpful guides to ensure we actually fulfill our Christi...

The conclusion of 1 Corinthians 15 includes statements about the rapture of believers, Christ's conquest of death, and a reminder again of believers' hope in a literal resurrection. But the final verse gives us a reminder that all of God's truth is given to us to reshape our thinking and actions. So, in light of these truths we've been studying, how should we live in this world? Sh...

1 Corinthians 15:35-49 gives us another piece of Paul's refutation that there was no literal resurrection. Sometimes in life, we can be mired in a perspective limited to the natural world we relate to. This can cause us to doubt things we can't see. But Paul addresses how illogical it is to reject the resurrection by giving us an example that reveals the resurrection, even in the natural w...