Counterfeit Christianity

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Colossians 2

Counterfeit Christianity

Desired outcome: To distinguish counterfeit Christianity from a faithful walk with Jesus the Lord.

I was engaged to Staci and living in Mexico. I was in charge of getting our wedding bands. That’s about the only thing I was in charge of because Staci was in the States planning our wedding. The area of Mexico I was in is well known for its silver. It is also well known for many knock-off imitations to silver from street vendors. So I read a brochure (in Spanish, of course!) on how to tell the difference between real silver and fake and headed into the streets to get our wedding bands. There is a certain marking they put on the rings to establish them as authentic. The problem is that the imitators also stamp that marking on their rings. I found one of the many street vendors, checked for the marking, bartered for the price, and walked away with two, shiny silver rings. (Hold my ring up in the air with pride.) I went back and showed them to the friends I was staying with and within a matter of minutes they burst my bubble of pride by informing me that my newly acquired treasures were not real silver! The only satisfaction I have from this story is that our wedding bands are probably the cheapest wedding bands you’ve ever seen. I guess it takes more than a tourist brochure to identify REAL silver.

People make a living being able to determine counterfeit from real. Baseball cards, diamonds, handwriting, gold, silver, currency. There is a whole industry dedicated to make sure people don’t steal and counterfeit our identity.

Every day, there are counterfeits getting by as authentic. And if we’re not careful, it could be happening in our lives even right now. I’m not talking about wedding rings, or the money in our wallets, or even our identities. I’m talking about our walk with the Lord.

In v.18 of Chapter 2, Paul warns the Colossians to let no one keep defrauding them of their prize. In other words, they had received the Christ Jesus as Lord, they were firmly rooted in their faith, and they were instructed as to how to continue in their walk. They were well on their way. And then, something peculiar started happening. Someone came in with a different teaching. Some of the teaching was just plain wrong. Other teaching was well-intentioned, but it started being more and more rules with less and less grace. Let’s examine our own lives as we look at the areas Paul brought up to the Colossians in vv.18-19.

1. Self-abasement- humility gone wrong. Humility sounds like a good thing, but this is taking it to the next level. Self-abasement means to belittle or degrade yourself or to lower your dignity or self-esteem. This is a false humility. What is really happening here is that we are criticizing ourselves when we are God’s redeemed creation in Christ. We’re dismissing the work that Christ has done and is doing in our lives. Now, I’ve got to put myself down so I look humble. SLAP another man-made law on my good news!

2. Worshiping angels- Acknowledging God’s help and guidance through His angels is fine. But God is a very jealous God. He does not want us worshiping anything except Himself (even the purest of His created beings- angels). Now I’m giving credit to something besides God. SLAP another man-made law on my good news!

3. Overemphasizing visions- Visions from the Lord are good. Getting direction from the Lord is good. But turning that vision into gospel causes problems. “My vision is better than yours. What? You mean you haven’t had a vision from the Lord!? Well, you must not have a very good relationship with Him!” Now I’ve got to make sure I come up with a top-notch vision. SLAP another man-made law on my good news!

4. Inflating fleshly mind- Here’s the opposite problem of self-abasement. Look at all the things I know! Listen to how eloquent I sound! Observe how brilliant I am! Now I’ve got to sound intelligent in all I say. SLAP another man-made law on my good news!

5. Not holding fast to the head (Christ) – This false teaching says, “Christ is a good start, but there’s so much more. Following Jesus is good for baby Christians, but if you want to grow up, you need Jesus +. Jesus 2.0. The newest, latest, greatest study or book or tool or technology.” Now I’ve got to make sure that I’m cutting edge too! SLAP another man-made law on my good news!

God wants us to grow in substance, not in rules. We can’t get caught up in the mere shadow or the symbolism of what we do and lose the meaning behind the symbolism. We hear this all the time at Christmas. Don’t forget the true meaning of Christmas! But let’s also not forget the true meaning of why we meet on Sundays, of why the Bible is the centerpiece of this room, of why there is a cross on this wall, and of why we partake of this bread and this cup.

There are elementary principles or building blocks that we build our lives upon. The scriptures only mention two kinds of elementary principles and they are not compatible with each other. First, there are the principles of the world. In our reading this morning, we are advised to die to these principles. Then, there’s the principles of God (from Heb. 5:12). These principles are the building blocks upon which our foundation of faith is established. Mixing of the two principles is how we get man-made laws mixed in with the gospel. We should not do it and we don’t want to do it, and I’ll tell you why.

Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” One of the worst things about Counterfeit Christianity is it complicates the message that Jesus came to bring. Counterfeit Christianity makes Jesus less attractive to the world that He came to save. The message of Jesus is quite simple. It is not always easy for us to accept, but it certainly isn’t complicated. So I want to give you today 4 tools to help us avoid Counterfeit Christianity that I pray will simplify our lives.

4 Key Questions to Help Me Avoid Counterfeit Christianity

1. Does this (activity, person, program, thing) help my walk with the Lord? Am I drawn closer to my Lord because of this? Does it lead me to the heart of God? In my living room one early morning last fall, I was sitting down to do my daily time with the Lord. I had just finished a Bible reading plan which took me through the Bible in one year. Whenever I fell behind, I read extra to catch up. I was very disciplined for the whole year. But now I was done. I was trying to figure out what to do next when it occurred to me that I had been reading just to check it off my list for the day. So instead of starting another Bible reading program, I decided to wake up every morning and go before the Lord to see what I should do that day. Now the down side is that I wasn’t as disciplined. If I missed a day, I didn’t feel as bad about it. But some days I would journal. Other days I would read scripture and a devotional or take some time to pray. Everyday, I had to ask, “What will help with my walk with the Lord today?”

2. Does this (activity, person, program, thing) build up my identity in Christ? Do the people I spend time with encourage me or tear me down? Is the truth being spoken about who I am because of Christ? Last summer in Northern MN, I helped with a week-long training for High School leaders. We had one night devoted to learning about our identity in Christ. We do this because we are constantly bombarded by friends, family, co-workers, and even ourselves who tell us in obvious and subtle ways that we aren’t so great. And then we look at our lives, and we don’t seem so great. But if we look at ourselves through the filter of Christ in us, that’s when we see how God views us. This is a night that I’ve seen change lives. When someone grasps this concept for the first time, you see their eyes light up, they sit up straighter; you can literally see their confidence grow. Am I putting things and people in my life that are telling me the truth about who I am?

3. Does this (activity, person, program, thing) establish my faith? Am I more secure in who God is? Do I have more confidence in Him? Do I trust Him more? Good teaching can do this for you, whether it’s through Bible Study or here on Sunday mornings (I hope) or a good Christian radio program. Find ways to grow in your understanding and knowledge of God.

4. Does this (activity, person, program, thing) make me overflow with gratitude? Do I enjoy it? If not, how’s my attitude? Am I more thankful when I’m finished? “A man went to his elder complained, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The elder answered, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man was incredulous, but the elder insisted. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man came back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he told the elder. "The goat is filthy." The elder then told him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returned to the elder a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat-- only the nine of us." We overflow with gratitude not because of circumstances but because of what Christ has done and what He is doing in our lives. What am I doing to overflow with gratitude?

We don’t have to figure this all out on our own. We don’t have to get it perfect. Jesus promises to be with us always, to the very end of the age. And He’s given us a reminder of that through the Lord’s Supper, which we’re going to celebrate now.

How do professionals learn to identify counterfeits? They don’t study all the various counterfeits. They study the real deal; inside and out, from every possible angle and perspective; until they know the authentic so perfectly that no attempt at forgery can get by them.

As we enter into this time, take an opportunity to study the authentic Jesus and ask him to help you eliminate anything counterfeit in your life.

Desired outcome: To distinguish counterfeit Christianity from a faithful walk with Jesus the Lord.