Gospel Of Self-Esteem Series

Intro

Self-awareness is a part of the human experience. Managing our inner consciousness of self can be challenging. Watch a young toddler. At times, he will act out of sense of confidence, maybe even over confidence. At other times, he will withdraw out of a sense of shame or fear of embarrassment. Self-awareness is a fact of life. How do we manage it so that we grow as a person and enjoy a fulfilling and meaningful life? Some people are more aware of this issue than others. But it is an issue for every one of us.

The Bible offers counsel on how to have a healthy relationship with yourself. Alternatively, the world has its own counsel on the matter. Interestingly, most of us have encountered in the church a mixture of the ideas. In Colossians 2:8, Paul cautioned Christians about the influence of worldly concepts: “Don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ” (NLT). Human thinking can be very appealing to our natural minds. It can easily lead us astray if we are not staying in the Word of God and listening to his counsel.

Our in-depth study of the Beatitudes has heightened my awareness of how the Gospel of Self-Esteem is robbing people of God’s best. The attraction of the Gospel of Self-Esteem is that it offers some relief from our insecurities and low opinions of ourselves. We want to feel good about ourselves. We know that if we are thinking right about ourselves, we can function more effectively in life. What is commonly referred to as low self-esteem can impair our ability to relate to others and accomplish meaningful goals.

However, we must realize is that the world’s solution to that problem is very different from God’s solution. And trying to mix the two does not work either. It is like mixing oil and water. In 2 Corinthians, Paul was addressing some of the deception that teachers had injected into the church there. He wrote, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3 NIV). Something about the teaching was leading them astray so that their focus and devotion was being turned from Christ to something else. The next verse implies that these teachers were preaching “another Jesus” or “another gospel.” Here is what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:4: “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (NIV). They were receiving those messages and substituting them for the pure gospel of Christ. Paul’s message kept the focus on Christ and salvation through his atoning death.

In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul was confronting those who were moving away from the simple gospel of Christ. In verse 2, he made a clear statement about where he kept the focus: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (NKJV). In the previous chapter, he confronted the tendency to move away from that central message toward man’s wisdom: “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are

called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:22-24 NKJV). The problem people were having with the true gospel was its focus on the cross. That was a stumbling block for the Jews; it did not fit their concept of Messiah. And it was foolishness to the Greeks/gentiles because it was not based on human reasoning. But Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:24 the real gospel carries in it the power of God, the power to meet your needs, and the wisdom of God, the counsel as to how to meet those needs.

So, in Paul’s day and in our day, there is a competition of ideas, even in the church. On the one

hand, Paul was preaching the simple message of Jesus Christ and him crucified. On the other

hand, others were teaching the philosophies of men and passing that off as a better gospel.

In this message, I am cautioning you about alternative messages that do not square with the New

Testament. I am cautioning against mixing the world’s wisdom with the simplicity that is found

in devotion to Christ. Specifically, I am addressing a Gospel of Self-Esteem that competes with