Name It and Claim It - Wrong

Have you ever heard of the “name it and claim it” gospel? Those who preach and practice the “name it and claim it” gospel, believe that all you need to do is to name what you want and claim it to be so. Those who practice this style believe this is how Christians ought to live by faith.

Let me show you something. Go to Genesis 11. Remember the Tower of Babel? Verses 1-4 reads as follows:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Five times in verses 3-4, the words “let us,” “we,” and “ourselves” are used. They named it and then they claimed it. But God came down in verses 7-8 and confused their languages and scattered them abroad.

Now, go to the next chapter – Gen. 12. This is the call of Abraham. Verses 1-3, reads as follows:

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”

Six times in these verses, God says to Abraham, “I will.”

Folks, you want to know how to live by faith? You don’t do so by “naming it and claiming it,” instead, you wait until “God names it, and then you claim it.”

Do you see the difference? God first names it and then you by faith in God’s Word, claim it as His promise to you. The root of faith is rooted in the Word of God, that’s why it says in Gen. 12:1, “Now the Lord SAID to Abraham.” You see, “faith comes by hearing (from God) and hearing by the Word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Yes, there is a name it and claim it theology in the Bible. But it is not what we have been told -- you name it and then you claim it. That’s what the pagans did in Genesis 11 and God brought judgment upon them in the form of confusion and scattering. To live the faith of Abraham is to wait until to you hear from God first, and then, you claim it. And the way you hear from God is through the Word.

The father of faith for the Christians is Abraham. His method of living by faith is to allow God to first say it, and then you claim it.

The people at the Tower of Babel were also following their father – Satan. You know what he said that got him kicked out of heaven? Here it is – Isaiah 14:12-15:

How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,

to the depths of the pit.

Five times in verses 13-14, Lucifer said, “I will.” The same number of times the people of Babel named and claimed it. Satan named it and he claimed it. What became the result? Verse 15: “But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.”

Now who do you want to follow as your example, Abraham, the father of faith in Genesis 12, or Lucifer the father of lies in Genesis 11 and Isaiah 14?

By the way, in Genesis 11:4, the people said, “let us make for ourselves a name.”

Can you name me one person among these at the Tower of Babel? Just give me the name of one person mentioned here. Exactly!

But Abraham is well known throughout the Old and New Testament.

You name it and claim it

Or

God names it and you claim it.

The Bible says that “without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord” (Heb. 11:6).

Now which method are you going to practice?