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| RICHARD ROBERTS |
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DAILY GUIDE TO MIRACLES from Oral Roberts Ministries Saturday, April 22nd, 2006 www.orm.cc A Promise You Can Bank On Richard Roberts Oral Roberts Ministries www.orm.cc "Did you know that the spirit of poverty can be on someone who has a lot of money? In fact, a lot of the world's wealthiest people have a spirit of poverty because they're afraid they're going to lose what they've got. And that's the real spirit of poverty-thinking you don't have enough no matter what you have. That was the spirit of the rich young ruler in Luke 18. He asked Jesus, "How can I get into the kingdom of heaven?" And Jesus answered, "You lack one thing. I want you to give." The young man responded, "Wait a minute. I'm wealthy. Don't touch my money. That's mine!" He was afraid that if he became a giver like Jesus had told him, he'd lose it all. And he refused to become a seed-sower. One of the greatest things I've learned since I became a Christian is how to make my life a seed. How to sow unto the Lord. How to invest my money, time, and talents into things that please God. Because when I do, God fulfills His promise, which says, Prove me now...if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes (Malachi 3:10-11). There is a mystery about giving and receiving. Proverbs 11:24 says that you can give, yet gain even more; or withhold and come to poverty. God promises, He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (II Corinthians 9:6 NKJV). And that's a promise you can bank on!" ON DOCTRINE NOTE: Richard Roberts is trying to teach his readers that the story of the Rich Young Ruler is about giving in relation to the "Seed Faith" doctrine created by his father Oral Roberts. This is an almost identical claim to that made by Paul Crouch. When the teacher begins with a wrong premise, then the conclusion becomes a greater error. This is exactly the case with Richard Roberts' treatment of the Rich Young Ruler. The subject of the narrative is about obtaining salvation and has nothing to do with the concept of "Seed Faith" giving (Giving and Receiving) and the claim that a person can give to God and receive back a hundredfold return on their money. Richard Roberts made the reference to the narrative in Luke 18, but there are elements missing in that narrative that make it convenient for him to make the claims that he does, however, the same incident is recorded in Matthew 19 where the issue is stated more clearly and the reason why Jesus Christ asked the rich young ruler to give away ALL of his money to the poor. "Then he said to Him, 'Which ones?' And Jesus said, 'You shall not commit murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' The young man said to Him, 'All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?'" Matthew 19:18-20The rich young ruler had indicated to Jesus that he had kept all of the requirements of the Law, at least those in the 10 Commandments, which included the requirement to ". . . love your neighbor as yourself." Hoping that he had convinced Jesus that he was a model human being and was perfectly obeying the commands of God and worthy of a place in heaven, the rich young ruler was put to the test by Jesus in order to see if he actually did love his neighbor just as he loved himself. The command was to give away all of his money in order to confirm the reality of what he claimed about his life. "Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me,'" Matthew 19:21.The conditions imposed on the man were something quite different than those claimed by Richard Roberts, in relation to his teaching about "Seed Faith." 1. The command was to give away ALL of his money, not just a tithe or his "best seed". 2. The money was to be given to the poor, not to some ministry like Oral Roberts Ministries. 3. There is no return of money promised, especially a one-hundredfold return. 4. The treasure would return a reward in heaven, ". . . and you shall have treasure in heaven . . ." 5. The man was to then follow Jesus Christ. Richard Roberts wants to change the context and content of the narrative so that it will apply to his teaching about "Seed Faith," and preserve the fund raising technique that supports the Oral Roberts Ministries. He wishes to change the nature of the command: 1. From giving to the poor to giving to a ministry. 2. From giving away all to giving away only a tithe, or your best gift or the portion that you can afford. 3. From a test of sincerity to a lesson in "Seed Faith" giving. He wishes to change the nature of the return: 1. From a confirmation of performance to a means to obtain wealth. 2. From a reward in heaven to monetary rewards in this life. 3. From a credit to an account in heaven to filling a bank account on earth. He wishes to change the lesson taught: 1. From missing salvation as a result of greed to missing monetary rewards for not sowing for a harvest. 2. From deceiving ones self by claiming perfect performance to thinking a person does not have enough money to sow seed. Richard Roberts has many associates in ministry such as John Avanzini, Kenneth Copeland and Paul Crouch, all of whom claim that Jesus was a rich man who lived in a mansion and took in so much money through His ministry that He needed a business manager who was Judas Iscariot. But in this little narrative about the rich young ruler, the man did not follow a Jesus who was rich beyond belief, but he refused to follow Jesus, because when he heard the command of Jesus to give away everything and follow Him, the Scripture says, "But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property," Matthew 19:22 (NAS).The young man knew the prospects if he were to give away his money and follow Jesus, because there was no possibility that he would become rich again. There was no lucrative ministry taking in money by the bushelsful and no fancy clothes or mansions. The young ruler was the one who owned much property, as opposed to Jesus Christ who owned no property. Jesus Christ was not offering the man the financial deal of the century, but He was testing the spiritual condition of the man and he failed the test. He did not fail because he refused to become a "seed-sower" but because his money was his god and he was willing to exchange the eternal damnation of his soul for the enjoyment of a few dollars in a temporal life, Mark 8:34-38. Being a "seed-sower" is not the lesson of the rich young ruler. The apostle Peter gets the message when he asks Jesus: "'Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?'" Matthew 19:27The question immediately followed the incident with the rich young ruler and was Peter's response to what Jesus had required of him. The apostles were already in the position which Jesus commanded of the rich young ruler, and they wanted to know what they were going to get out of the deal. Richard Roberts says that if you give your "Seed Faith" money to his ministry, you can obtain faith, healing, riches and all of the desires of the heart, but Jesus replied to Peter as follows: "'Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first,'" Matthew 19:28-30.Jesus then launches into the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, which teaches the equality of salvation, and He never even once mentions the concept of "Seed Faith" and the "Doctrine of Giving and Receiving." The problem inherent in Richard Roberts' teaching is that it is a one way street. It is claimed that a person can have everything that they desire if they give their "Seed Faith" offerings to Oral Roberts Ministries, but the same does not apply to that ministry. The ministry does not obtain its funding by giving its "Seed Faith" offering to some other ministry in order to obtain the one-hundred fold return on the money given, but it operates on the money given to it by followers who believe that they are going to get something for nothing and make a profit at the same time. Doesn't it seem strange that it is claimed that "Seed Faith" giving will make a person rich and pay all the bills, but the same aspect is not used by ministries to secure their funding? "Seed Faith" sowing is another way to say send a donation or provide funding, which is the reason the teaching exists. SEE: RICHARD ROBERTS ORAL ROBERTS "Giving and Receiving," another name for "Seed Faith" "Does God Promise Health and Wealth?" Part 1 Part 2 |
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