Oral Roberts: It’s How You END That Counts

I just heard on the news about the passing away of Oral Roberts.
He was one of the most famous of all American preachers. He was a
fascinating fellow to read about, a real go-getter who overcame
deep poverty to achieve his goals in his chosen vocation.

When I was eight or nine I watched a couple of Oral Roberts’

healing campaigns on TV. At the time I hadn’t even been exposed
to the basic salvation message. I’d never even heard that God was
in the healing business, I thought fixing bodies was strictly the
doctor’s bailiwick when aspirin didn’t do the trick.

My first impressions were: “This guy is a real saint. He’s someone

special. He really loves that poor woman in the wheelchair. Just
hear how sweet that man sounds, the choking sob in his voice. He’s
almost crying he cares about those poor sick people so much. This
man is the closest thing you’ll find to Jesus on earth.”

The Bible contains many warnings about not putting other human
beings on a pedestal. But I didn’t know any better back then. I
honestly thought a very few SPECIAL men achieved great sainthood
and the rest of us were just humdrum humans. To many people,
the preacher IS God’s VIP agent on earth and the ONLY Bible they’ll
ever read. I found it hard even to understand the Bible. It was the
preacher’s job to make sense of all that mysterious King James
English. Oral’s preaching style was easy listening, not classical.

Oral did come up with some nice songs such as “Expect a Miracle”
and “God is a Good God”. We used to sing those when I was a
young Christian in church many years ago. They made us all feel
good. You have to give Oral credit for bringing the “feel good
factor” into his meetings and TV shows.

But there’s a dark side to this. If you’re after the cash you won’t
scare the fish away with messages and songs that don’t tickle
people’s ears (2 Tim.4:3). Very few major televangelists open their
shows by announcing they’re about to preach on the horrors of hell
and the need to RUN to Christ as Savior. Very few of them will
admit that not ALL people are healed physically in this life, and
giving a big offering won’t buy favors from God. Instead, the junk
mail I used to get from Richard and Oral would rehash the same old
theme: the bigger the sacrifice the greater the blessing, and sow a
seed to meet your need. BECOME A BLESSING PACT MEMBER
TODAY! Where does the REAL Jesus ever pass out Blessing Pacts in
His services? Where was Christ’s Rolex, or the diamond jewelry His
disciples airbrushed out of His publicity photos?

Patti Roberts in her book Ashes to Gold, describes how Oral, her
former father-in-law, would gold-plate his bathroom plumbing
fixtures with money taken from hungry widows on Social Security.
Patti felt guilty about how they got their luxurious lifestyle and
started to ask questions Oral didn’t like. She compared Oral to
Johann Tetzel, a Catholic church official who got rich selling
indulgences (paper pardons for sin). The impression left on
Christian’s minds is God is some coin-operated genie Who feeds on
money. That is the very worst insult televangelists can pay a
gracious God. When you blaspheme the Lord in such a way you’re
playing with deadly fire (Heb.12:28-29).

My brother Adam kept getting junk mail from televangelists for

years after his death. So many lusted after the contents of Adam’s
penny jar, I forgot who sent this one: some “prophet” said “God”
revealed to him that devil had planned a horrible year for Adam if
he didn’t cough up some cash and send it to God’s servant to
enable him to pray to prevent it. Give me a break! The poor guy
was already in his grave and this charlatan wants to pray to protect
him? What worse could satan do to Adam than kill him with
cancer? Does Adam need money in heaven?

Hank Hanegraaf in his book Christianity in Crisis told about a similar

tactic used by Oral Roberts. Oral forecast that his faith partner’s
new year of 1985 would be so awful his followers would wish that
year had never come unless they paid careful attention to his
instructions (send money). God had allegedly given Oral 33
predictions concerning the new year, and that year would be full of
worry and fear for his partners unless they stopped satan dead in
his tracks with a generous donation. Where do you read of Jesus
charging a solitary cent to pray for anyone or deliver them from
satan’s power? When did Jesus ever say: In goes the moolah, out
pops the miracle?

I recall this particular incident. Hanegraaf also mentions Oral’s

biggest money-raising stunt ever: On January 4, 1987 Oral told his
followers that unless he raised 8 million dollars by March, God was
going to take his life. As the days passed, I kept wondering if God
would call Oral’s bluff just so the real truth would emerge. But
some millionaire bailed Oral out at the last minute. His donation
bought Oral almost 23 more years of time. Sounds more like Mafia
ransom money to me. What Biblical apostle ever stooped to such a
baldfaced lie to fill up their offering buckets? I thought the blood of
Jesus was the only ransom God demanded for our souls?

Hanegraaf also mentions the cruelest extortion trick of all: Oral

warned his followers that if they didn’t come through with their faith
pledges, it would be tantamount to lying to the Holy Ghost and they
might drop dead like Ananias and Sapphira. Let me tell you, satan
has used fear of the Unpardonable Sin to torment me in times past.
No other fear on earth is like it. It’s spiritual witchcraft to
deliberately to put that fear on one of God’s children. If any sin is
is unforgiveable that kind of lie is!

Oral insisted that his ministry was one of the few worth supporting
because he was the only one who owned a medical center. God
allegedly ordered Oral to build it to merge the power of medicine
and faith. But the costs of operating the hospital outstripped
available funds. They couldn’t afford to pay the staff. One ward
after another was closed, then whole floors. Wasn’t long before it
went belly up. Why would God order Christians to sacrifice bread
and butter to build a failed project like that?
Another account I read had Oral isolating himself up in his prayer
tower till God brought in enough cash to satisfy him. “God” gave in
and Oral emerged triumphant.

Doubtless Oral made a good beginning with God. The fact he lived
to age 91 is miraculous, for the simple reason he nearly died from
tuberculosis at age 17. God healed him through the prayer of faith,
and Oral felt called to the healing ministry himself. Oral helped
Christians rediscover a SUPERNATURAL God Who could do great
things in the here and now, not just up in heaven. But it’s not
enough to make a good beginning. It’s how you end that counts
(Matt.24:13; Heb.3:14; Rev.2:26). More and more Oral was
beguiled by the false prosperity gospel and all its carnival fund-
raising trickery. The temporal satisfaction of filthy lucre was just too
enticing for a man who had grown up in terrible poverty and
hunger.

Long ago the apostle Peter warned about covetousness (chasing

after material things and making an idol of them):

2 Pet.2:3: And through covetousness shall they with feigned words

make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time
lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

If anything can be learned from Oral’s legacy it’s this: Keep your
eyes on the REAL prize: life in eternity with the REAL Jesus Who
alone satisfies the real hunger of our hearts.