The prosperity gospel is the teaching that believers should expect health, wealth, and material success as direct rewards for their faith and financial giving. Reformed theology rejects this, maintaining that God's providence governs both riches and poverty according to His sovereign will, while Scripture promises believers spiritual blessings in Christ and contentment in all earthly circumstances.
The prosperity gospel often centers on the idea that physical wealth is a sign of God's favor or a result of one's own faith. However, the Scriptures warn against the pursuit of material riches, reminding us that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" 1 Timothy 6:10. The gospel is not a transaction where we trade faith for financial gain; rather, it is the good news that Christ has secured our eternal inheritance. We are warned that those who focus on becoming rich fall into "a temptation and a snare" 1 Timothy 6:9.
Reformed theology confesses that all things—including health and sickness, riches and poverty—come to us through the sovereign hand of God rather than by chance or as a mere response to human effort Heidelberg Catechism — Question 27. This shift in perspective moves the focus from personal accumulation to biblical contentment. As the Apostle Paul teaches, "godliness with contentment is great gain" 1 Timothy 6:6. Because we are loved and accepted in Christ, we are liberated from the need to secure our own material destiny.