Counterfeit Christianity
True Or False?
Courage comes with True Faith
Insecurity comes with False Faith
Christ is the object of True Faith
Self is the object of False Faith
Joy is the result of True Faith
Bitterness is the result of False Faith
Slide 1
Have you ever met someone who claimed to be a Christian, but their conduct made you wonder what it was that they truly believed.
One of the biggest turn offs for myself and I am sure for many others was the apparent hypocrisy of some leaders who claimed Christianity but totally disregarded living it.
I came out of a religious background where I was completely turned off by the apparent hypocrisy of many there.
But hypocrisy is not limited to any one particular denomination.
We don’t have to go back too far to come up with a list of prominent protestant televangelists that had fallen due to moral failure.
Now I am not suggesting that everyone who sins morally is not a Christian, but there must be repentance from those who sin.
And beyond that, we should see differences in the way life is lived as a whole from those who claim the name of Christ.
We are getting back into our Acts Series today after focusing on the promises of Easter that the Lord has made to us.
We are going to be looking at 2 men who claim the name of Christ with one of them having a True Faith while the other has a False Faith and see if we can discern some things that should accompany a True Faith in our own life.
When we last left the book of Acts, we were looking at Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and his life of Success and how we can be successful in life. We saw that being successful has to do with fulfilling your purpose and that our purpose is to glorify the Lord.
We too often are searching for success in what the world says will make you successful and we only end up empty inside.
Well, lets move on and look at Philip and Simon and see what we can learn about how a True Faith looks like versus False Faith and some of the things that go along with each of them.
Turn with me to Acts 8:1-25 (p. 776-777)
Slide 2
Dual Nature
Now before I begin, I want to state that as a Christian, we have a dual nature. When we receive Jesus as Savior, the Bible tells us that we become a new creation.
We are a new creation in the sense that now we have Spiritual nature that is of God. But we also still have our fleshly nature while we are in this body. And these natures battle each other. We see Paul describing this battle for himself in Romans chapter 7.
So as I talk about the things that go with and are the result of true faith, these are in the extreme.
There are going to be times that True Christians experience some of the things that go along with what we associate with a False faith. This is because that each one of us is in some condition of maturing. We are all at different stages. But nevertheless, these things should never be the norm for us.
The norm for us should be the things that accompany and result from a True faith.
So that being said, we are going to be reading in Acts 8:1-25 (p. 776-777)
Stephen has just finished giving a history of Israel leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus and now he has just been stoned and killed for his testimony to them.
And beginning in Acts 8:1 we read
Acts 8:1-25
1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."
25 When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
(from New International Version)
So here we have Philip & Simon, two men whom, from the perspective of an outsider, initially may both be thought to be a person that God was doing something through. But as we shall see, one had true faith, and one a false faith. Let’s see what things accompany each of these.
The first thing we see concerning Philip is that
Courage Comes with True Faith (Acts 8:1-5)
Slide 3
Philip has just seen one of his fellow deacons killed for preaching the gospel. Yet, he continues to preach it also. He has changed his location, but we see that Saul is pursuing these men and women everywhere
Philip had a True Faith, one that helped him to be courageous.
Now some of us think that courage is not being afraid.
That is not what courage is.
Courage is to do what you should despite your fear.
Illustration – Dawn Mollo
A definition of courage reads
the quality of will that enables a person to confront fear or danger regardless of the consequences
from www.wordsmith.net
When we have a true faith, we are going to sometimes be put in positions that are scary.
A true faith will give us the courage to do what we should in spite of that fear. It will not take the fear away. It will give us the strength to act in the face of that fear however.
When we trust in the Lord, when we recognize what He has done to show His love for us and how He wants us to follow after Him, it cannot help but give us strength to persevere.
There have been times in my own life when it has been tempting to turn from what I felt the Lord wanted me to do.
After I left my job as a broker at the CME, and I was volunteering full time, (I had received a severance package to live on that allowed me to volunteer full time for 9 months) and continuing my seminary education, it did not look like the church where I was at would be able to take me on staff.
I remember thinking to myself, Lord, should I be going back to work?
How am I going to support my family?
But then remembering how God had spoken to me and what led me to leave in the first place, I continued on in the direction that He called
He gave me strength to overcome my fear. That is all that Courage is.
But what about False Faith?
What would be something that comes with a False Faith?
Well, one of the things we see here is
Insecurity Comes with False Faith
Slide 4
Acts 8:10-11
all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.
A false faith needs to constantly be recognized so a person can feel like they are somebody.
A False Faith doesn’t bring about anything courageous, it just brings about insecurity
The person has to keep telling himself or having other people tell him how great he is because this person is not receiving the affirmation of God or from the Spirit that He is doing what the Lord wants.
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
(from New International Version)
When we have a True Faith, we can always have peace and assurance from God.
Now there are times that even those with True Faith are not having peace, but that has more to do with God growing us to be mature.
A Peace from the world only leads to insecurity and the need to constantly be affirmed by the world.
The peace from God, that someone who has a true faith has, surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) that someone with
a false faith,
a faith that is in name only,
a faith that only makes a profession of faith but is not real,
does not and will not have.
Simon, here does not have peace from God.
He only has the peace from the world.
But the text says Simon believed and was baptized.
.
Acts 8:13 says
Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
His belief was not a true belief. His was a belief in name only.
We only know that because we see the outcome and we see Peter with His gift of discernment telling us that. We won’t always know if a person has a true or false faith.
Philip didn’t know that Simon’s faith was false when he baptized him.
But we see here that Simon wanted to be around Philip all the time. He wanted to learn how those miracles were done so that He could do them and have the false security of other people’s affirmations.
The only security that is eternal is the security of being in the Lord’s grip, being His follower.
So Courage comes with a True Faith, and Insecurity with a False Faith.
But another difference between a true and a false faith has to do with the object of our faith.
Christ is the object of True Faith
While
Self is the object of False Faith
Slide 5
Listen to this.
Acts 8:4-5
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. (from New International Version)
Acts 8:9
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
Acts 8:19
19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Someone with a true faith points back the things that are accomplished through them to Christ.
Someone with a false faith wants to point things to themselves.
Philip was proclaiming the name of Christ.
Simon was seeking to exalt himself.
Throughout the book of Acts we see the Apostles and others pointing to Christ for the great accomplishments that are done through them.
In Acts 3:6, Peter heals the Crippled beggar
6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."
(from New International Version)
When Paul and Barnabas where in Lystra, they healed a man that was crippled. The people came out thinking they were Zeus and Hermes and were going to sacrifice to them
Acts 14:14-17
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."
Christ, the living God, is the object of their faith.
However, those with a false faith have themselves as the object of their faith.
They may talk about Christ, but it is to gain something for themselves.
They want themselves exalted.
Simon says to Peter when He saw them imparting the gift of the Spirit through the laying on of their hands, that he wants to buy that ability.
He wants it because there has been no change in Simon. He still wants people to be amazed by him and think that he is someone great.
The purpose of why he wants this gift is not to glorify God, but to glorify himself.
A true Faith will seek to glorify the Lord while a false faith seeks to benefit ourself.
The last thing I want us to see is that
Joy is the result of True Faith
while
Bitterness is the result of False Faith
Slide 6
Acts 8:5-8
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
Peter says to Simon in
Acts 8:23
For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
Joy in the Lord will accompany a true Faith.
Proverbs 10:28
The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
There is a joy in being in relationship with the Lord. True relationship, not just some name only relationship which is no relationship at all.
Simon had only some false faith that was really
no benefit to him at all and certainly
did not glorify the Lord.
I want to read Acts 8:20-24 again
20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."
Peter tells Simon that he has no part or share in this ministry because his heart is not right before the Lord.
I want you to ask yourself if your heart is right before the Lord.
Are you seeing yourself acting in the face of your fears?
Are you pointing to Christ with your actions?
Are you experiencing joy in the Lord through your living?
Or
Are you facing insecurities as a rule in your life?
In the things you do, are they to exalt you?
Are you bitter over how someone else may be able to do more than you?
If you are not experiencing the things that accompany a True Faith, it is either a
lack of maturity or
a false Faith,
but, even if it has been a false faith in the past, I have good news for you.
God is a merciful, loving and forgiving God and He desires to forgive you if you will accept his forgiveness.
This is the whole reason that he sent Jesus to die on the cross, so that you could be forgiven of your sins.
However, nobody can do this for you.
Peter tells Simon to pray to the Lord so He might receive forgiveness.
Simon, however requests Peter to do it. He doesn’t really seek forgiveness, he is only looking to avoid the consequences of his actions. That is not repentance.
Don’t settle for a false faith that is really no faith at all.
A false faith will only bring about
insecurity,
pride and
bitterness,
and worst of all, it leads to an eternity apart from the Lord in Hell.
When we come to the Lord with hearts that are soft, that are truly repentant for our sins, we enter into a True faith that brings with it
courage in the face of fear,
a desire to glorify the Lord, that brings fulfillment to us also,
and a joy that is eternal.
That is what accompanies a True Faith.
If you are not experiencing these things, then enter into that True Faith by receiving Jesus as your Savior, truly in your heart.
Recognize who you are, A sinner who can’t save himself.
Recognize who Jesus is, the Savior you loves you so much that He was willing to take the consequences of your actions, your sins, upon Himself.
Recognize that it is through accepting his death as payment for your sins,
that that is the only way to be forgiven and
come into relationship with God.
Believe that the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead after 3 days, also will give spiritual and physical life to you.
When you believe and know these things in your heart, confess them to God and receive the gift of eternal life, a life that is courageous, Christ focused, and joyful.
If you this is what your heart is crying out for then pray with me as we close our service.
Pray.
