February 15, 2009 - Pastor Tim

WHAT JESUS ARE YOU FOLLOWING?

2 Corinthians 11:1-15

We got a check in the mail the other day for $10.00. It was addressed to Cindy, and she opened it and left it on the kitchen counter. It looked to me like a rebate check of some sort, so when I was getting ready to deposit another check, I glanced at the letter which this check came attached to and picked up the check with the intention of depositing it too. Cindy called me after I’d left the house that morning and asked if I’d taken the check. She’d read the letter which it came with and realized that if you cash that check, you’re opening a charge account with this company. It wasn’t a rebate check at all! It was a clever ploy to get people to start another charge account—and to pay their annual fee to do so! And in my haste, I almost fell for it!

The Apostle Paul was detecting that the same thing was happening to the Christians in the church in Corinth—but it wasn’t credit card companies that were deceiving them, it was what he called “false prophets, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.” Let me read from chapter 11 to you this morning—

[Read 2 Corinthians 11:1-6, 12-15, NIV]

Paul spoke so directly with the Christians in Corinth because Paul cared about these people as a father cares about his children—which, in some ways, was what they were to Paul because he was the one who had first taken the Gospel to them! Just as the snake had seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden, Paul feared that they were being sucked into the lies and distortions propagated by those passing themselves off as reputable teachers in the Christian life. And the result was that these Christians in Corinth were being lured away from the simple purity of their love for Jesus Christ.

But what they were happily falling for were all lies! It was as if it was a completely different “Jesus” that was being preached and taught and sought after—and they were falling for it! Those teachers were posing as Christ’s agents but were total shams—and it’s no wonder! Satan does it all the time! Satan dresses up as a beautiful angel of light! So it shouldn’t surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God.

While Paul had firmly stated that self-praise was worthless, he evidently felt that in this case it was what he had to do in order to get the attention of the converts in Corinth who were vulnerable to whatever teachers came their way claiming to have a word from God. He had to get their attention! In some ways, what we have here is Paul sharing in God’s divine jealousy. God will not share our devotion with anyone or anything. In that sense, He’s a “jealous” God. And Paul had a father’s passionate concern for the exclusive and pure devotion to Christ in the lives of his spiritual children.

He could see what was happening to them, and was so fearful that their hearts and minds would be corrupted and they would lose their single-minded faithfulness to Christ. His words, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy,” picks up an analogy that Hosea used in the Old Testament. We’re reminded here that faithfulness to Christ needs to be like that of a husband and wife to each other. And while we can’t discern from scripture the specific content of these false teachings, what is clear is that there was a gullible willingness on the part of the Corinthian Christians to listen to the eloquent preachers of an adulterated gospel. The “Jesus” these false teachers were proclaiming wasn’t the same Jesus that they had come to know and love and serve under Paul’s discipling ministry.

These wandering preachers had apparently received some financial remuneration for their teaching—and they had encouraged it, as they regarded themselves as apostles. They had felt it was their right to accept or even to demand appropriate wages for their work—and this had become the validation then of the authenticity of what they were doing. Paul, on the other, had refused financial support from those to whom he was currently ministering, and he was hoping that his financial independence would highlight a difference between him and those he called “false prophets” and prompt the Corinthians to rethink their attitude toward him—and recognize that he was genuinely concerned for them!

Turn again to Paul’s words in verses 13-15—

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15a)

My thought today, in reading and studying this throughout the week, is that every generation must deal with its own “false prophets”—those who come with their own version of Christianity or religion. And what’s so absolutely confusing to many sincere church folk is that propagators of a false gospel can sound so spiritual and so sure of themselves, so that without even being aware of what’s happening we’re taken in! The sad truth is that people can easily be manipulated to meet the ego needs of a leader—and it can happen about anywhere! God’s Word to us today is a warning not to be gullible Christians!

How are we taken in today? I want us to first of all consider the danger of that which is cloaked as “Christianity” but isn’t. I’m not talking about a matter of theological fine tuning and the little differences we might have between one church and another. I’m talking here about those that define themselves as “Christian” but, when lined up alongside the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures, clearly aren’t “Christian” at all.

I’ve enjoyed the Wednesday evening Men’s Class that Phil Weeks and I lead (you’re invited…). The book we’ve been going through is written by Patrick Morley, entitled Seven Seasons of the Man in the Mirror. Early in the book he tells of his own journey, a spiritual journey in which he was caught for a long time in what he calls “cultural Christianity.” His initial commitment was to what he calls “the God I wanted”—and he eventually came to be committed to “the God Who is.” And it seems that a lot of people are happily serving the God we want—and there are a lot of false prophets out there teaching that kind of religion.

Looking back, Patrick Morley would tell you that he simply added Jesus to his life—as another interest in an already busy and otherwise overcrowded schedule. He calls it “the gospel of addition.” He had accepted Christ into his life, but he still wanted to run his own life. He tried to blend together what he saw as the best of two worlds—success in the material world and salvation in the spiritual kingdom. The technical term for this is “syncretism.” It’s the attempt or tendency to combine differing philosophies or religious beliefs. It’s probably at the heart of all false prophets.

People who are trying to approach Christianity in this way pick and choose scripture as it affirms what they’ve already concluded. So when they see a verse in the Bible that agrees with their overall philosophy of life, they underline it and may even memorize it. But when they come across scripture that challenges their way of thinking, they simply pull out a large mental eraser and smudge that verse right out of their minds.

Cultural Christianity is first and foremost committed to building kingdoms of our own. God becomes a means to the end. In cultural Christianity, the devotion is to what we want in life, rather than what God wants for our lives. We call upon the Lord, but our thought of God is “more or less a cosmic genie to help fulfill [our] dreams.” Cultural Christianity is to seek the God or gods we want and not the God Who is.

The problem is that Cultural Christianity doesn’t lead us to Jesus Christ. It leads us to “another Jesus,” so to speak. And all of the blessings of fellowship with God and a life of truly living and life eternal aren’t experienced because we never seemed to find the Jesus that really is.

And you can find churches out there who are teaching “cultural Christianity”! I sometimes call it “Christian Lite.” And these churches and pastors may even have a tremendous following because it’s what we in our humanity want to hear, even though they’re failing to say all of what Scripture says. You see, that’s the problem—when we pick and choose Scripture. There’s no doubt at all that God’s grace and love are primary themes of Scripture—particularly the New Testament. And aren’t we glad for that?! But if we’re preaching and teaching that and failing to come alongside that with an understanding of God’s judgment and His “jealousy” for our devotion and His holiness that will not tolerate sin, then we’re listening to a watered-down gospel.

On the other hand, some of you may feel like all you ever heard in your early years was God’s judgment and His punishment for sinners. Even good intentioned people became false prophets who made the whole basis of Christianity a legalistic system. “If you do that, you’re going to hell!” It neglects the Gospel of God’s love and mercy—and, interestingly enough, it cultivated “false prophets” who were critical, negative and judgmental with others—so different from what Jesus taught us to be. And such people have done more damage in “holiness” churches than they can ever fathom.

The “Christian Lite” Gospel demands nothing of us—and we know that’s not the Gospel Jesus taught. Jesus called people to leave behind anything that would distract our devotion to Him. He’s the One who said, “You cannot serve two masters.” And then more specifically nailed us at the point where many of us try to go—“You cannot serve both God and Money.” Ouch! Funny, isn’t it, that Son of God would somehow understand that money is what seems to trip up so many people. We can’t just “add” Jesus to our already busy lives and overcrowded schedules. He calls us to something deeper…something more significant…something more life-changing. He calls us to absolute devotion to Him and to His ways—a life that puts Christ first in all we do and then is willing to trust the Lord to take care of all the things that we might otherwise conclude are our primary issues in life.

I get concerned about how fickle Christians can be. And we’ve been that way throughout the ages! The Church has always had to deal correctively with all sorts of distortions of Biblical teachings! And I’ve watched it happen in my lifetime!

It seems to me that there was a dominance of teaching on the Second Coming of Jesus back in the 1960’s. I suppose it was a reflection of where we were as a society. Now please understand, I believe in the Second Coming of Jesus. I believe that, as Scripture tells us, He’s going to return some day and that everything as we know it in this world is going to come to a screeching halt. I don’t pretend to understand all the specifics of what will happen when and in what order—and I don’t believe Scripture makes that incredibly clear to us, so I have to assume that God doesn’t intend for us to know all the details—just that Christ will return and that we are to be ready to meet Him. But there was such an emphasis on such things a few decades ago that people were getting saved as a form of fire insurance! Preachers were scaring people into salvation! And some false prophets were even foolish enough to declare the time table of Christ’s return—which Scripture tells us none of us will know!

And then a man named Jim Baker caught the attention and the wallets of many in the Christian community back in the 70’s. Much of what he said was true, but he wasn’t living it himself. He got caught up in greed and he and his wife promoted a gospel of prosperity—that God wants to prosper us all. Well, of course, such a gospel sounds good! For the Bakers, it was their justification of an extravagant lifestyle. And it all eventually came crashing down, with Jim Baker spending years in prison. I stood behind him in a line at Branson, Missouri and few years ago and kept thinking, “I should know who this is!” It hit me after we had gone our separate directions. He was a false prophet who was brought to his knees in what I believe ended up being a true repentance.

Today many have become enamored with anything relating to “the emerging church.” Much of it is in reaction to ways in which the church has drifted from what Christ intended for us to be, and in that way it’s certainly legitimate. But in many respects it reflects too broad of a pendulum swing—and it is foolish for any of us to fully buy into authors and teachers simply because they’re part of “the emerging church” movement. Actually, they get a number of things right, including their challenge to evangelicals to be of some earthly good—the idea that how we live and what we do for people is important. The striving for authenticity is admirable. But it seems that too easily that leads to a “what can I do for God” mentality as opposed to a gospel-focus on the atoning work that Christ did for me on the cross. I’ll tell that you I’m afraid of how the emerging church movement too easily is guilty of having a low view of Scripture, minimizing the authority of the Word and removing the trustworthiness of God’s Word to us and shying away from any concept of “absolute truth.” I fear how many are taking it to minimize the need for people of all ages to make a clear-cut, all-out decision to follow Jesus. And when we’re reading emerging church leaders and listening to them, we need to listen with discernment because not everything that’s coming out in the name of “emerging church” comes from an accurate or a balanced view of Scripture. I’m certainly not calling them all false teachers, but neither can I embrace all of what they’re telling us. All I’m saying, friends, is that we can’t trust everything we read in every book that’s supposedly written by a Christian author.

Now, let me come at Paul’s thoughts from a little different angle. We’ve been talking about the dangers of following the teachings of those cloaked as “Christianity.” But I don’t think we’d be true to the passage in our world today if we didn’t also consider the dangers of that which is cloaked as “compatible” with Christianity. There are lots of celebrities and icons out there that Christians are listening to every day! Does the name “Oprah Winfrey” come to your mind? How about Dr. Phil? And the on-going mantra of these and other celebrities who get a listening is that there’s something good to be learned from all religions. It’s exactly what I was talking about in the context of “cultural Christianity” a few minutes ago—syncretism. It’s the attempt or tendency to combine differing philosophical or religious beliefs. And it’s very much a part of the culture in which we live.

It’s often propagated in the name of “tolerance”—what some see as the new 11th Commandment. Don’t get me wrong. I believe all people should be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect—with the love and grace with which Jesus encountered people. But tolerance has come to mean for many that it’s wrong—even “unchristian”—to declare that certain actions and lifestyles are sinful. And some of you are bristling that I’d even say that—because we’re infected by our cultural lie. Jesus wasn’t afraid to call sin “sin”—and it was much because of his love for the sinner. He knew that sin wrecks lives—now and eternally. Do you get it?

The false prophets of our world who cloak their teachings as “compatible” with Christianity place the ideals and philosophies and theologies of other religions on equal par with those of Christianity. Some religions that want to be seen as compatible with Christianity or in line with it have put certain people on equal plain as Jesus, the Son of God—accepting the authority of what they say to be as valid as what Jesus said.

Please understand…I’m not trying to bash certain people or certain religions—at least not in an unkind way. But I’m a Christian. My life has been changed by the love and grace of the God who sent His Son to be my Savior. I’m not wise enough and smart enough to be the final authority on all matters relating to our faith. But in some wonderful, mystical way, I have come to know Him—just as each of us can do through the sacrificial death of Jesus. And He has called us into an exclusive relationship with Him—a pure devotion…to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And He has called us to take this Gospel to others. All through the Old Testament His warning to the Israelites was not to buy into the false religions of the people around them. And in the New Testament, Jesus gave His life for the salvation of all the people of the world, and His followers put their lives on the line to take that Gospel message to others because they knew that people would die without hope if they didn’t.

We need to be wise and discerning! Funnel what others are saying through the authority of the Bible! Don’t just fall for every person’s ideas because they are eloquent and convincing! Be stronger than that! Seek out the truth of Scripture yourselves! Be faithful in studying God’s Word with me. I’ll do my very best to be faithful to the Word week after week! Get involved in a Sunday School class or a small group—and in those settings study the Word! And understand that we need to study the Word together and hold one another accountable for being true to it. “Private faith” is too vulnerable to being easily led into tangents and ultimately led astray. We need one another!

Email is a part of my every-day life. I get lots of emails—more than I want! And people I know and people I don’t know send me all kinds of emails that propagate some idea or some concern or some theory. And I’m supposed to send it out to everyone I know that day or the sky is somehow going to fall in upon me! But the truth is that I can’t buy into it all. It’s not all true. It hasn’t all been tested. It’s not all consistent with the Word of God, the Bible. The truth is that I shouldn’t even open up many of these emails, because they can “corrupt” my computer. Like viruses that spread from one child coughing to another, the viruses in an email that’s opened can do great damage to my computer. It seems like everyone has equal access to my email account, but I don’t have to grant them equal status. It’s a choice I make, and one that I make every day.

The same is true in our own lives. There are a lot of ideas and philosophies and religious teachings floating around out there, and they may all seem to have access into your life in one way or another. It’s no different than it’s always been…but maybe now with communication as it is we’re even more vulnerable. But God wants to equip us, as His children, with all that we need to discern between His truth for our lives and that which is a lie—merely merely a word from Satan, the great enemy of our souls, who cleverly masquerades himself as an angel of light.

May God make us wise and discerning, loving and patient, strong and incorruptible.