Latest / Clear Path Christianity / Marks of a Counterfeit Gospel || CPC Podcast Ep. 4
Transcript
- Cole Crone: So I asked in the last episode that if we know that counterfeit, counterfeit Christianities, counterfeits exist, because we go, remember we went through these apostolic warnings of Paul talking about another gospel, another Christ, all right, another spirit, right, Peter talking about these destructive heresies and all that. So if we know from the Bible, its various warnings, that counterfeits exist, then. the subsequent question must be something to the effect of how might we recognize those counterfeits. So in this episode, I'm gonna go through I believe to be the ⁓ five ⁓ marks of a counterfeit gospel. again, I know that the truth hurts. I know that when I would hear somebody something that was contrary what my group had taught, I felt like I was in the ring. My fighter flight starts to fire up. And I want to urge you, just remember, just I've been there. I know how you're feeling. So if one of these marks hits a little too close to home, again, just know. I got hit by every one of these for over three decades of my life. Okay? So, number one, a diminished or redefined Christ. So, ⁓ any teaching about that claims that he is ⁓ a created being, an exalted prophet? anything about him being a spirit brother? or just a good moral teacher, I'm gonna say those are all out of bounds. These four things that I've mentioned are contradicted by the Bible Let's look first at 1 ⁓ verses 15 through 20. ⁓ He, meaning Jesus, is the image the invisible God, the firstborn over creation. Okay, so whoever Jesus is, he is the image of the invisible God. In other words, he makes God visible. He is the perfect representation of who God is. what does Paul mean by the firstborn over all creation? He's gonna go on to tell you. Paul says, for by him ⁓ all things were created. ⁓ And Paul's gonna go on to define, what does he mean by all All that are in heaven and things that are on both ⁓ visible and invisible. Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him. Okay, so for those of you who are interested in languages, can open up your Blue Letter Bible app and you can go to the Greek and you can see, what does Paul mean by this word all? Spoiler alert, he means all. All means all. So, all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things. In him all things consist. He is the head of the body, that is the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. In other words, he's the first to be resurrected. Right? He's the first to be resurrected. All those who are in him are gonna follow. that in all things he might have the preeminence. Right? The reason he's the firstborn from the dead is so that he will have the first position of prominence above the rest of us. For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him. Again, whether things on earth, things in heaven. having made peace through the blood of his cross. He's the firstborn. What does that mean? Again, Paul goes on to say he's the creative agent, okay, who created, again, ⁓ all things. So. If Jesus is a created being, he created himself? Doesn't make a lot of sense. he isn't just, he isn't a created being. He isn't just an exalted prophet, right? He is the image of the invisible God. He's not just a spirit brother. He's not just a moral teacher. Let's continue. What does the writer of the Hebrews have to say about it? Hebrews chapter one verses one to four. God who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers ⁓ by the prophets. Okay, so we're talking about the God of the Old Testament, right? He's the one who spoke to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his son. Yeah, so the primary means of communication by which in these days the father is revealed is by the son. Jesus says, if you've seen me, you've seen the father. That's how one they are. ⁓ he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, ⁓ The writer of the Hebrews is telling us that, yeah, there's this world, ⁓ even if there are other worlds, ⁓ is king over those too. who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." In other words, Jesus is the highest of beings. He is above the angels. And yet, he's one of us. the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld Him. His glory, glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So, we have to have this contrast. We have to understand that He is both God and man. And that there's reason that he has to be both God and man. Number one, he cannot represent humanity if he's not man. It's just that simple. If he is supposed to be the at... Again, the last episode I used the word atonement a lot, but I continuously pronounced it at-one-ment, because that's what it means. He can't do the at-one-ing. He can't make one. Right? If he's not our representative. Likewise, he is insufficient to atone for humanity if he's not also God. How does one man... pay for the sins of billions of humans? Well, because he's not just human. Because he's worth more than all of the other humans. This one man. Because this one man is worth more than all of the other humans put together. Why? Because he's God. number two of a counterfeit gospel is you have a contrary source of authority. So, what are some examples of a contrary source of authority? New revelation that supersedes the Bible. New revelation that contradicts the Bible. Prophetic reinterpretations of the Bible. Any type of secret knowledge. Organizational authority that is equal to but contrary to the Bible. So, if you have an authority that's equal to the Bible, that's okay as long as it's never contrary to the Bible. This is where us Protestants get, we gotta bob and weave a little bit from attacks from our Eastern Orthodox and our Roman Catholic friends because it's like, you know, they have an authority that is. on par with scripture. And they would say that it's never contrary to scripture. And I would say as long as that's the case, fair play. But as soon as it becomes contrary, then I've got a problem with that. Because where I come from, we had a whole system based on nonsense that was contrary to the Bible. So I'll have that caveat in there. If you're listening to this and you're Eastern Orthodox or you're Roman Catholic, I'm not coming at you. just, I'm uncomfortable with organizational authority that is equal to the Bible, just in general. ⁓ But I'm okay with it as long as it's not contrary. So let's move forward, There's biblical contradictions ⁓ to again, as I see it. Look at Galatians 1-8. Again, one of the most radical statements in the New Testament, as far as I can tell, from the Apostle Paul. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach another gospel to you, then what we have preached to you in the past, so if somebody comes and they're peddling something that isn't what we had given you in the first place, even if it's us, so even if we come back and we go, guys, man, we got that wrong, ⁓ the gospel's actually this, Paul's saying, nope, let us be accursed. And I'm gonna go even further. Even if a divine being comes down and gives you a different gospel, you are to count that angelic preacher as accursed, as cut off from God, as anathema, as damned. Very strong statement there, but what Paul's trying to say is that no one has the right to change the gospel. No one. Okay, let's look at Jude. Jude, ⁓ verse three, beloved, While I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Again, what Jude is trying to say is that prior to him, prior to Jude, again, look at this past tense verbs, was once for all, not is going to be in the future, right, but was past tense. once for all delivered to the saints. So whatever the faith is, whatever Christianity is, it was once for all delivered to the saints prior to Jude. I don't know how I can see that any other way. I don't know how to make sense of preachers or prophets coming and preaching things that are contrary to the Bible when Jude makes it very clear that the faith is complete. I just can't make sense of that, okay? So again, historically, we see that Gnosticism added a secret knowledge to, again, a completed faith. And Montanism, which is this movement, that elevated prophecy, even above the apostolic teaching, these are movements that have been condemned by the church from basically the beginning. again, a counterfeit gospel always adds to or relocates authority to ⁓ teach that are contrary to the completed faith. so mark number three. I'm calling this ⁓ Salvation by Works ⁓ of the Law. So for If your group teaches that salvation requires the following things, obedience to unbiblical commands, compliance to extra biblical rituals, certain levels of moral performance, esoteric knowledge or knowledge only meant to be understood by a few, or legalistic law keeping, I'm gonna say that's a mark of a counterfeit gospel. because of these biblical contradictions. Romans 3, 28, very clearly, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Pretty straightforward. So if somebody comes to you and says, well you gotta be circumcised to be saved. Nope, mark number three. That's a false gospel. You gotta keep the kosher laws to be saved. Ow, not for me. Nope, false gospel, for sure. works of the law, again, circumcision, kosher diet, certain other observances are not required. Paul says, a man is justified by faith apart from deeds of the law. Okay, let's look at Galatians 2, 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. So again, works of the law. not required for justification. Let's go back to the most popular passage probably that I hear anyways cited for this very point. Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. Again, I'm gonna include as I did in the last episode, I'm gonna include verse 10 because I'm not an easy believe-ist. So, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." So, we're saved by grace, through faith, for works. you have grace plus works of the law, you have gospel. Pretty clear. Mark number four, extra biblical exclusivist claims. I think we need to be aware of these statements in terms of these claims. ⁓ One, we alone have restored truth. Two, ⁓ all other churches are apostate and damned. Number three, salvation only exists within our organization. Okay, those are all gonna be big problems for me. Because again, I have a list of biblical contradictions. From Ephesians four, four through six, there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called into one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all and in you all. So there is this unity amongst the faithful. So it isn't just every, this isn't universalism, this isn't everybody being reconciled, but this is everybody who has been called, who has one Lord, who has one faith, who's part of one baptism, one God and Father, Christians. That's what that's trying to say. Now we go to 1 Corinthians 12 verses 12 and 13. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are still one body. So also is Christ. For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, all have been made to drink into one Spirit. So again, there is this unity in this, what Jude tells us is a completed faith. So historically, orthodoxy or biblical historical Christianity was defined by shared apostolic confession, not necessarily by organizational monopoly. Finally, mark number five. Distorted assurance. Yeah, 10 years ago there was just no chance for me. I couldn't even fathom the possibility of having any form of assurance. I couldn't even fathom that. Having any form of, like you know, you would hear people, your Christian neighbor, your Christian coworkers talking about, you know, being saved. I'm like, how on earth could you possibly know that you're saved? Right? Like, aren't we all gonna find out that we're saved if we've done enough? If Jesus deems our works as worthy of his salvation, isn't that the only time that we will ever know that we've been saved? and here are some examples of what I mean by that. Number one, salvation can be lost through minor infractions. Number two, constant fear of expulsion from the group is a big one for me, from my past. Spiritual standing mediated through leaders rather than the Bible. Big, big, big problem for me. Really all these were a big problem for me in my past. But again, I've got some biblical contradictions. These biblical contradict those points that I just mentioned. ⁓ Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. In other words, for those who are walking in the Spirit, salvation is both certain and secure. this is Jesus talking in John. John 10 28, Jesus says, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. In other words, Jesus is saying, I've got my disciples. They're in my hand. from which they cannot be taken. If you are a disciple of Christ, you are in His hand, and no one can remove you from there. No one can remove you from that secure place. Again, let's look at the writer to the Hebrews. Hebrews 10, 14, he says, for by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. If you, again, I'm gonna be a little bit cheeky. I was a little bit cheeky in the last episode. If you look at the Greek word here, ⁓ rendered here in the English forever, guess what it means? It means forever. So if we remain in Christ, we are eternally perfected. So counterfeit gospels, again as I see it, as I'm surveying the data, I'm looking at what the Bible has to say, the church seems, the early church seems to be confirming what I'm seeing here, what the vast majority of Christians are currently teaching. These things are starting to, these things are really matching up for me. And a counterfeit gospel often produces fear-based control rather than spirit-focused security. Okay, so as I conclude, again, I'm always asking this question at the end of every episode. Why does this matter? I'm living proof that it matters because I have believed a counterfeit gospel. I have been a fake Christian. I have been a member of a cult. I have went to bed every night in fear of where my soul would be going. I went to bed every night in fear of where the souls of my children were going because I didn't know God. I didn't know what God had done for me. And so once I learned who Jesus is, what Jesus did on my behalf, then I couldn't help but investigate what is this supposed to look like? What is my source of truth? Is it? these quote unquote apostles who founded my little community, you know, who all died out 20 years before I was even born? Is it them? Are they the ones that have the authority? Or should I be looking at the Bible for myself? Should I be seeing how is the current consensus, understanding of what the Bible teaches, comport with what Christians have believed throughout history. How do these things work together? And it, I don't think it could have been made any more clear to me. This is what the Bible says. We either agree with it, ⁓ or good luck. Or good luck. I want us all to go from where I was, a place of darkness, ignorance. being completely lost, being hopeless, living a life that was meaningless, purposeless, directionless, to knowing who Jesus really is. what truth really is, how salvation is obtained, right? What are the historic guardrails of the gospel? Because if we lose the gospel, we don't just have a ⁓ lesser Christianity. We don't just have something that isn't as good as it could otherwise be. We have nothing. Because if ⁓ we lose the gospel, we don't just have ⁓ a ⁓ lesser Christianity. We don't just something that isn't as good as it could be. We have nothing. If we lose the gospel, we lose everything. If we lose the gospel, we lose everything. And as the church, we must, as the apostle Paul encourages Timothy, verse Timothy three, as the church, we must be the pillar and buttress of that truth. and having been someone who didn't know that truth, and by God's grace now does, I want to dedicate my life to helping as many people come out of that darkness where I came from and into God's marvelous light.