A Biblical Expository on Brian Houston's "You Need More Money" Chapter 1

Each week I will be creating additions to this expository. The aim of these blog entries is simply to expose the teachings of Brian Houston and compare them with biblical truth. In short, I do not agree with Brian Houston's teachings and through reading this blog entry, I hope you will see why.

Brian Houston, a review of “You Need More Money”, Sydney: Maxamised Leadership Inc, 1999, 7-13

 

 

A Biblical Expository on Brian Houston’s “You Need More Money”

by Daniel McGurgan

Abstract

When I first heard of this book, I was shocked like many Christians based primarily on the title itself “You Need More Money.” I have to admit that this book was difficult to read without flipping tables over in the proverbial sense. At this point, I’d like to mention why I’ve decided to write this expository of You Need More Money. The reason why writing these entries is really because as a Christian I love truth and I love truth to be told in an unhindered loving manner. So with this in mind, I will try as best to let scripture decide if you or I need more money. Given that this book had received a number of bad reviews on the World Wide Web, it’s fair to say that Houston’s title does attract a lot of controversy within the church, the reason being that many mainstream churches teach the contrary that we don’t in fact need more money. In this expository, I will analysis and critic each chapter and expose the teachings of Brian Houston on the topic of money and by upholding the scriptures, my goal is to expose the truth. For the sake of consistency, I’ve decided to use the scriptural quotations as they are written in this book. However, additional quotations will be notified within these entries.

 

Chapter 1

Dealing with a Poverty Mentality

This chapter largely addresses the problem of most church goers that is to say that we don’t have a right view of money. Houston gets straight to the point in saying that we as individuals require more money and he backs this up with scriptural reference. “I believe that God wants the church to have the kind of wealth that the world experiences” Isaiah 60:5 p8

Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the gentiles shall come to you.

Houston’s premise for attaining wealth begins with his belief in God, however the scriptural reference here doesn’t match ‘the church’ as it is today. The reason being is because this passage addresses the House of Israel and actually using this verse to say that “God wants the church to have the kind of wealth that the world experiences” is a bit like shooting yourself in the proverbial foot, really because it doesn’t address the modern church at all. Let’s see what Houston has to say explaining this verse.  “See it is this way: money can accomplish tremendous things for the kingdom of God. In order to do this, we have to become comfortable with wealth, and break the bondage, guilt and condemnation of impoverished thinking. Poverty is definitely not God’s will for His people, in fact all His promises talk of blessing and prosperity.” P8

Well he doesn’t explain the text at all; in fact it’s easy enough to say that this verse has been taken largely out of context (I’ll get to that later). Instead what Houston is doing is eisegeting the scriptures, that is to say that he is interpreting scripture by inserting his own presuppositions. Exegesis is the antithetical of eisegesis, that it is the expository of scripture in order to uphold the scriptures without altering the meaning in anyway. How do I know that Brian Houston is eisegeting scripture? Well there’s only one way to find out, let’s really examine what that particular verse is holding to.

Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the gentiles shall come to you. Isaiah 60:5

Firstly we should probably ask who the ‘you’ is referring to in this verse. Because the verse doesn’t imply who the ‘you’ is referring to, we need to go to other verses within the chapter to see if there are any clues as to who this might be referring to.

 

 with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the honor of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
who has glorified you.
Foreigners will build up your walls,

and their kings will serve you.
Although I struck you in My wrath,
yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.
and their kings will serve you.  Isaiah 60:9-10 (HCSB)

There are a couple of clues here in this passage as to who Isaiah 60 is referring to. Isaiah 60 is like a prayer, so without looking deeply into the text, you could easily take what Brian Houston says about Isaiah 60:5 as meant for the modern church. Here in this passage I’ve highlighted two parts, foreigners and God’s wrath upon a people. It’s clear to see that the foreigners (or gentiles, if we take translation what Houston presented with) are separate from this people. But who are they? Well if we look at verse 10 there’s a big clue there “The Holy One of Israel”, This entire chapter is referring to the House of Israel (or Israelites), gentiles and the Lord’s relationship with both of these groups of people. So what does Isaiah 60:5 really mean? Well it doesn’t mean anything relating to money, but the biggest clues are actually found in the beginning verses.

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you. (Isaiah 60:1-2 HCSB)

This chapter begins with a wonderful claim of God’s mercy over the House of Israel and a separation of His wrath to those who are outside of His covenant. Isaiah 60:5 is nothing more than a partiality of God’s mercy over Israel, not addressing the modern church, but given that gentiles are mentioned within the text it’s confusing why Brian decided to use Isaiah 60:5 to illustrate his point. Brian does a similar thing with the scriptural text on page 12; “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you, through His poverty, might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

So how does Houston explain this text? “They (Christians) completely miss the crucial point because if you read on, the reason why He became poor was that you through His poverty, might become rich. That is what it says, He became poor so YOU could become rich. The purpose of Jesus coming to earth included giving up a place of abundance and riches and becoming poor so that we could escape poverty.” P12

 The problem here is not entirely his teaching, it’s that there’s a misunderstanding of what is meant by biblical ‘richness’. It’s absurd to consider a Holy God giving up their own throne and lowering themselves to a position of poverty so that we could have nice homes and a sweet ride. One would might want to start questioning Houston’s teachings at this point “why would a holy God give up His rightful position on the throne so that He could grant me an abundance of that which is temporal?” So let’s have a look at what 2 Corinthians 8:9 says in context.  

I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰ Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it.^{[b] 11} But now finish the task^[c] as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. ¹² For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality^[d]— ¹⁴ at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality.( 2 Corinthians 8:14 HCSB)

Of all verses that Houston chose, this one is actually a rebuke on the Corinthian church for their lack of giving for Paul’s ministry. How does this differ from what Houston is saying? Well unlike Paul, Houston is ‘hash tagging’ the idea of richness being something that we need to attain through the poverty of Christ. Paul on the other hand, reminds the Corinthian church of their salvation through Christian and rebukes them on the bases of essentially a lack of giving. The clue really in this text is found in verse 8 “I am testing the genuineness of your love.” How does the Apostle Paul’s teaching differ from Houston’s teaching here? Well essentially it’s the focus; the Apostle Paul begins with a testing of love, whilst Houston’s focus still remains solely on attaining wealth.

 So how does Houston conclude chapter 1 “It is time to relax and become comfortable around money. You need to stretch yourself and position yourself right out of your comfort zone. For example, it may involve a little exercise like putting on your best clothes and ordering coffee in a fancy restaurant or hotel lobby.” This is far from biblical teaching! The scriptures give us commands that are so contrary to this kind of teaching.

for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13 HCSB)

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 HCSB)

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,  keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:1-3 HCSB)

 
 Final thoughts on Chapter 1

It’s not hard to see how Brian Houston uses scripture to manipulate and uphold his own ideas. However, with close examination of the scriptures in context, it’s easy enough to see how his teachings become easily flawed. My advice like I mention to anyone, is simply this, please test all things with scripture. No man is greater than the scriptures and thus as a biblical principle, we as Christians should uphold and honour the word of God as it stands, pure and immovable. Even if my own quotations are not accurate, I would prefer to be corrected for the sake of biblical accuracy.

 

The Greatest Sin

At the time that Adam and Eve had sinned, what was the greatest sin that they had committed? Was it eating the forbidden fruit? Or was it something greater? John 1:1 sheds some light on this question.

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

The very authoritative spoken word of God was there in the beginning, His word, powerful enough to create all things in existence! The greatest sin that Adam and Eve had committed was not simply that they ate the fruit, but that they disobeyed the authoritative word of God. Genesis 2:16 says;

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but you must not eat^[m] from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

This is the same word that spoke nature into existence and binds life together! God is the reason for the uniformity of nature as it says in Colossians 1:17

He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.

We see the echoes of this sin in both Jeremiah and the book of Joshua. In Jeremiah 42:9-17 it says:

⁹ He said to them, “This is what the Lord says, the God of Israel to whom you sent me to bring your petition before Him: ¹⁰ ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you. ¹¹ Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘because I am with you to save you and deliver you from him. ¹² I will grant you compassion, and he^[a] will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil. ¹³ But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ so as not to obey the voice of the Lord your God, ¹⁴ and if you say, ‘No, instead we’ll go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for food, and we’ll live there,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah! This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and live there for a while, ¹⁶ then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels^[b] there to Egypt, and you will die there. ¹⁷ All who resolve to go to Egypt to live there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no one escape or survive from the disaster I will bring on them.’

This wasn’t just one warning against the move to Egypt, this was one of many warnings! But in the preceding chapters, Israel fails to obey the Lord, wrath and turmoil falls upon them which is reason enough for the book of Lamentations. In Joshua, we meet a fellow by the name of Achan who coveted a number of items retrieved from the first attack against Jericho. It was made clear to the Israelites that no one was to covet any items of value upon this first attack. Achan confesses his sin in Joshua 7:20-21

Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: ²¹ When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon,^[h] 200 silver shekels,^[i] and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,^[j] I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the money under the cloak.”

But friends, this confession only came about after Joshua went through the entire house of Israel to know who coveted these items. Did Achan have time to repent? Absolutely! But his confession was not one of sincerity, but one of simply being caught in the act. Friends I hope that each and every one of us don’t have a confession like Achan’s on the Day of Judgment. We need not delay in coming to the Lord and confessing our every known sin to Him. We have all broken the greatest commandment, that is, true obedience to the Lord’s word. But let us not rest on the arm of laziness and let us not grow weary of doing good (Galatians 6:9). But let us press on, knowing that our Lord is good to save and to correct our footing back to the narrow path.

The Conditions of Hell

Hell is the subject and the place of eternal torment that will keep me up at night as I ponder this very fact that many people I work with, many people close to me are on a wide path to eternal destruction. Does it keep you up at night Christian? Do you consider the flames that are never ending for many who are being held accountable for their iniquities against a holy and righteous God? O how we should rightly fear our Lord! And let us make no mistake about what it means to be saved as well, for it says in Matthew 7:22

On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Oh yes, the very fact that a professing Christian is ever active in the church cannot keep them out of that terrifying place where the flames never die down nor where the worm likewise never dies. Should we not rightly fear our Lord? If only then that our lives become of no use even to Christ’ observance, what a terrifying thing to hear from our great and powerful Lord “away from me, I never knew you!” The underlying presumption is that this person presumes to know Christ, but clearly it is more right that Christ knows us.

Do you ever consider Christian that the very thing that keeps you away from hell is the Lord’s attribute of grace and mercy? We all deserve hell, we all deserve the full cup of the Lord’s holy and right wrath poured out onto our souls. Paul’s observation of mankind tells us so in Romans 3:10-18 “there is no one good…” And right you are Paul! Do you ask yourself this simple question Christian, “what did the Lord see in me to choose a person like me?” I can tell you the simple truth is this; He saw nothing but a vile wretched sinner that without the working of the Lord’s love upon the cross, none of us would see the light of heaven! This simple and yet extraordinary truth should keep us ever mindful and thankful of the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is this truth that causes division between the believer and the non-believer. Jesus says in Matthew 10:34 “I have come to bring a sword” a sword that creates division between those who adore Christ as Lord and of those who despise Him. Does the topic of hell make you sorrowful knowing many non-believers are headed for this eternal destruction? Hell should keep us sober minded, prayerfully vigilant and ever seeking to obey Christ! It is good to dwell on hell; it is where our minds meet the reality of many under the wrath of God. Let us not be comfortable in this life! Let us continue to pray for and minister to those who are headed for a great and terrifying fate!

O that the church should wake up to this reality! It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (Hebrews 10:31) Salvation therefore is not dependant on man’s doing, it is not dependant on a simple prayer (that is, the sinners prayer) but it is dependent on the very working of our Lord. It is He who changes the heart, mind, soul and course of a believer! Knowing our wretched condition before the Lord is to know that all we brought to the table was nothing more than our filthy sin. There was nothing worthy inside of you Christian when the Lord chose you and that is reason to fear the Lord and be ever thankful for His mercies upon us. Let us not treat the mercies of God as something trivial, but something that we should strive to know and strive to push on in telling others of through the power of the gospel! (Romans 1:16)