I think we may finally be living in a day when the ‘Christianity’ that exists in the cultural marketplace is now more fake than real. What began with liberal departures from the essentials of our faith has now moved to a wide spread illiteracy of the very truths of Christianity.
Christianity has become a surface religious distraction from the hardships and realities of life and is no longer a relevant belief system connecting us to our Creator and Savior.
In the western world the fakes are much more visible than those who still hold to the basic truths of the gospel message.
Paul struggled with the same deceptive departures from the faith that we deal with today.
In Corinth he was constantly defending the true Gospel.
False teachers who were skilled in the cultural oratory of the Greek culture were coming in and misleading those in the church who could not differentiate between a big show and a message of truth.
5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. 6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
There is a story of people were dinning together. After dinner it was agreed that each should recite something. A well-known actor arose &, with elocution & dramatic art, he declaimed the 23rd Psalm & sat down to tremendous applause.
A quiet man followed him. He too began to recite the 23rd Psalm & at 1st there was a chuckle. But before he had ended there was a stillness that was more eloquent than any applause. When he had spoken the last words there was a silence, & then the actor leant across & said, “Sir, I know the Psalm, but you know the Shepherd.”
Paul may not have had the oratory skills of those whom had grown up and been trained in a culture that promoted these skills but Paul had an intimate knowledge and relationship with God that these fakes did not have.
Turn on your typical ‘Christian television show’ and you will see some of the most outlandish and over the top behaviors mixed with some of the most unbiblical declarations that could be imagined. All this is done before a curious watching world with very little response from those in the legitimate church. The end result is that Christianity is no longer considered relevant but appears as an odd and strange system of behaviors by those who seem completely out of touch with reality. HOW DID PAUL DEAL WITH A SIMILAR SITUATION IN HIS DAY?
PAUL DECLARED HIS PERSONAL COMMITMENT:
7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? 8 I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; 9 and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.
One of the obvious things in a false presentation of the Christian faith is a constant focus of taking instead of serving.
There is a ‘fleecing’ of the flock instead of a commitment to ‘feeding’ them.
2 PETER 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words
The last thing Paul wanted to do was to give an appearance of his coming to Corinth and reaching out to them for personal gain. He says that he ‘robbed other churches' in order to minister in Corinth without an appearance of personal advantage.
1) Paul was provided for by the churches in Macedonia while he ministered in Corinth.
This was done to avoid any appearance to the church in Corinth that Paul was like others who only wanted their money.
2) Modern fakes have made a theology out of taking money from people.
While they live in their big houses and drive their expensive cars they promise the same for others who share their same level of faith. The way to achieve that same level is to sow seeds of faith by giving financially to them as a way of giving a faith gift to God.
Years ago I read an autobiography of a lady named Patty Roberts.
She had been the wife of Richard Roberts and the daughter in law of Oral Roberts.
She and Richard were often the musical portion of Oral Roberts television specials.
Patty had a simple faith and struggled with the financial aspect of this supposed life of ministry. In her book she describes sitting in a bathtub and looking at the gold spout the water was coming out of and thinking of all the sacrifices made to buy this and many other extravagant things that were a part of her and Richards lives. She knew inside this was not what the gospel was really all about and in her conviction walked away from it.
She and Richard soon divorced and she was replaced by another wife who was able to deal with the compromise of taking from those who gave and investing it in an extravagant lifestyle.
I believe the gospel presentation to the Western world suffers greatly because of the obstacles produced by the very visible nature of a fake Christianity.
1 Pet.5:2 “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;”
The Synod of the church in Uganda drew up the following 4 tests by which a man may examine himself & test the reality of his Christianity.
[1] Do you know salvation through the Cross of Christ?
[2] Are you growing in the power of the Holy Spirit, in prayer, meditation & the knowledge of God?
[3] Is there a great desire to spread the kingdom of God by example, & by preaching & teaching?
[4] Are you bringing others to Christ by individual searching, by visiting, & by public witness?
PAUL DESCRIBED A PREVAILING CRISIS:
10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. ….12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
Paul recognized the tremendous danger in these individuals running freely through the church in Corinth. They desired to be considered as representations of true Christianity and Paul committed himself to confronting that lie.
Paul gives a great definition of who a false leader in the church truly is.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
1. They masquerade themselves in the body of Christ.
2. They reflect the same behavior Satan uses in deceiving the world.
When I was growing up a popular form of comedy was doing impressions of some of the well-known people of the day. People like Rich Little and Frank Gorsham were very good at sounding very much like those they imitated.
I once went to Silver Dollar City and near the entrance gate I came across a Bill Clinton imitator who very much looked the part.
What they do for the sake of comedy those who are false leaders in the Christian world and even Satan himself do for tragedy.
Satan has a perfect imitation of God. His imitation is so good, not because it imitates Who God is, but it imitates Whom we in our sinfulness desire God to be.
The problem exists that they sound biblical, use familiar biblical terms and prey upon people searching for a relationship with the God of the Bible. They are often more polished or in our day more technologically equipped than many who are simple in their faithful service to the Lord.
2 TIM 4:2-4 ‘Preach the word: be ready in season and out of season: reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths.
HOW DO WE COUNTER SUCH ACTIVITY IN THE WORLD? WHAT ACTIONS FROM THE CHURCH WILL CUT THROUGH SUCH DECEPTION?
Paul begins to provide an argument against these teachers by making a comparison between his own ministry credentials and theirs
PAUL DESCRIBED HIS PERSONAL COMMITMENT:
Fakes will never have the substance of a truly changed nature.
They will be that same old sin nature stuffed in a religious skin.
1. Paul’s first defense is his connection to the very roots of the faith.
At that time in history the gospel was still new and those with the primary experience and leadership of the church had all formally been Jews.
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
2. Paul’s second defense was the evidence from his life:
The quickest way to weed out the fakes is to put a price on their faith.
It might be a simple as turning off the air conditioning in their TV studios or as demanding as to ask them to serve God in the midst of personal ridicule, financial struggles or even physical harm. These simple demands would quickly deter most if not all who are not true servants of God.
We might wonder why God would allow the hardships that serving Him can often bring. One of the reasons is to show who is real and who is pretending.
I remember playing sports in high school. The hardest days of football practice were always the first few. The coaches would work us and run us and push us to the point of exhaustion. I did not understand then why they did this but later on I was told that it was to weed out those who were not really committed. If they were not the real deal then it would only take a little hardship to send them packing. Those who were genuine would only be strengthened by the added demands.
Starting in verse 23 Paul gives an amazing description of the demands of his following Christ. If these false teachers had not been in Corinth threatening the church then we might not have this unbelievable narrative of what it meant for Paul to follow Christ.
What were the Lords 1st words to Paul after his conversion?
Acts 9:15,16 “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. "For I will show him (the great things he’ll do in my name? The success he’ll have as a missionary? How famous & popular he’ll become? No!) how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
23 Are they servants of Christ?...-I more so; in far more labors,
in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,
Paul was imprisoned and often beaten or stoned.
Deuteronomy 25:3 said that the Maximum # of stripes one could receive was 40 so it became the rabbinical tradition to give out 39 – just to make sure you didn’t go over 40. Paul received 39 lashes 5 times 195 lashings total.
According to the ancient Jewish writing the Misnah – The whip was made of leather – divided into four tails. 1) The recipient would receive 1/3 on front chest – 2/3 on his back and shoulders.
195 Stripes – 65 on the front – 130 on his Back
Can you imagine what Paul’s body must’ve looked like – Scarred beyond measure
Gal.6:17 “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; Birch or Elm rods of wood That was Roman punishment. Baseball bat – Caning is still used in some parts of the east today.
Warren Weirsbe says that when looking for a leader to look for the scars.
….three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
Paul describes the constant cost along the way of his following Christ.
He walked his own VIA DOLOROSA
28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
While Paul was enduring his own hardships he had a constant concern for those who suffered in the churches he had begun. He knew the hatred of Satan for the church and the persecutions that many believers were suffering thru.
Most underground churches to avoid detection meet secretly in dimly lit places & have to sing and preach in hushed tones.
American churches are in the most visible locations we can find and we use expensive signs to draw attention to ourselves. We meet in well-lit auditoriums and use PA systems to make sure all we do is heard. We even place things on the internet to be seen by everyone around the world. How often do we think of our fellow believers who are meeting at other places around the world at the very cost of their lives.
WHILE THE AMERICA CHURCH CELEBRATED IT’S WEALTH AND COMFORT: More people were tortured for their faith in Christ in the 20th century than in all the previous 1900 years combined!
100 million people were martyred for their faith in the 20th century.
More people died in events related to their faith in the past century than in all the 20th century wars combined.
Recent statistics show an estimated 200 million Christians are facing persecution around the world.
“Sudan” - 2 million have died since 1983 thru war, genocide, or famine.
The whole south has been displaced, over 5 million affected.
An estimated 60,000-200,000 are now chattel slaves. (Chattel = An article of personal, movable property) 30,000 street children/homeless in Khartoum alone!
Yet, in the South Christianity has grown from 5% in 1960 to perhaps 70% in 2000.
30 If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.
If we were Paul what would we have boasted about?
What would we have thought would have shown we were genuine believers?
Paul could have boasted about healings, about speaking to large audiences, about starting churches and ministries, about all the people who followed him in ministry.
All those things the fakes could have also boasted in.
Someone might say that a big church or a popular following is a sign of God’s hand on my ministry. The fakes often have bigger churches and more followers.
Paul boasted on what the fakes didn’t have. A commitment to God at the cost what true discipleship brings.
The fact that we do what we do for no other reason that our personal love for and service to the God Who saved us is the greatest proof of our faith.
The fact that there is nothing God could ask of us that we would refuse to do regardless of the personal cost to our lives or at the very cost of life itself.
The fact that the last thing we would want to do is to distract from the gospel with any appearance of person gain for our service to God.
You can compare two ministries from the Old Testament: Jeremiah & Jonah
1) Jonah refused God’s call and actually ran in the opposite direction. Jonah was eventually brought to Nineveh covered in whale spit. Jonah preached and a great revival happened.
Yet Jonah was a overall failure before God.
2) Jeremiah never seemed to have any converts and was constantly punished for his faithfulness to God’s message. Jeremiah was a huge success in God’s eyes.
Paul’s advice to a young pastor:
II Timothy 2:3 Therefore endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
II Timothy 3:10-12 But you have fully known my teaching, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, Persecutions, afflictions…….what persecutions I endured: but out of [them] all the Lord delivered me. And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
