Recognizing the Emptiness of False Religion

I remember as a child going on vacation to a resort in the Dominican Republic with my mom. I remember walking into a hotel lobby and saw a bowl of fruit set out for guests. I decided to grab an apple. I bit into it only to discover that it wasn’t real. It was quite embarrassing to bite into a fake apple thinking that it was real.

But to the eyes of a 10 yr old child, that shiny red apple sure looked real. It had the physical appearance of an apple, but on the inside it was full of plastic. I had mistaken something artificial for something that was real.

I wonder if you’ve noticed the same elements in false, empty religion or spirituality. It looks good from the outside, but on the inside you notice that its artificial, that it’s fake. I know people who are seeking for spiritual encounters, and finding different religions to try out but finding themselves empty.

It’s tempting to read these verses and attribute it towards the non-believing world and not the church but the sad reality is that some of those people tried to find it in the church as well. The passage we are walking through today shows us a picture of this type of empty, this type of false religion.

Main Idea: In order to recognize empty religion, you must recognize the fruit of it and avoid those who promote it.

And we are going to see two ways how we can spot this type of empty religion.

CONTEXT: Now to put this passage in its context, Paul here is writing this letter to his young protégé Timothy. This is known to be Paul’s last letter before being beheaded in Rome. Paul is writing to encourage Timothy and to remind him of the challenges he will face as a young pastor.

For the past 9 weeks, we have seen how Paul reminded Timothy of how thankful He is for his life, how his faith is sincere, to fan the flame of the gift of God inside of him, to not be ashamed of Paul or his sufferings. He was reminded of God’s sovereign grace so that he can remain loyal to the gospel. Paul shared with him the good news of a faithful friend who sought after him and told him about those who abandoned him.

He then encouraged Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ, to raise up other leaders, to learn from the solider, athlete, and farmer, and to not mess up what Jesus started.

Then Paul transitions to encourage Timothy on how to remain faithful in the midst of fallenness, and if he wants to be a vessel used by God then He must be a person that is distinct, set apart, how he must be unique, from these fallen leaders.

Transition: And now Paul wants to remind Timothy on how to recognize empty religion and how to avoid it. Which leads me to my first point, if we are going to recognize empty religion, #1 must discern its fruit.

1. We must recognize the fruit. (v. 1-5a)

2 Timothy 3:1-5a says, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

The verse begins by saying, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”

The way it’s written in the Greek is that Paul is commanding Timothy that this is something he needs to know. The word understand here can also be translated as know or realize, to be quite sure. It’s not saying hey Timothy, I want to inform you about this theory I’m having about the last days, it’s more like hey bro I want you to know and be sure about the signs to look for concerning the last days.

When people think of the last days, they think about the times we are living in. But Scripture paints it in a different light. the writers of the New Testament would agree that the “last days,” the “later times,” the “last time,” began with the coming of the Messiah, Jesus into the world. Jesus being on earth during his first advent is what ushered in the last days. This is why 1 John 2:18 says, “Children, it is the last hour…” Hebrews 1:2 says, “In these last days God has spoken to us by His Son.” 1 Peter 1:20 says, “Christ was made manifest in the last times for your sake.” And Peter also confirmed this during his sermon at Pentecost where he says what they experienced was a a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy: That in the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

So as someone who loves the church and is burdened the church, Paul here is reminding Timothy and us of what these difficult times looks like. Paul knew that the church was going to have outside attacks, but he also knew that the devil was going to plant bad seeds from within to hinder the church’s growth. In Acts 20 Paul assemble’s the Ephesians elders together for a goodbye speech and a final exhortation and in that speech he warns them, “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

So when Paul here is telling Timothy that in the last days there will come times of difficulty, times that are grievous, times that are troublesome. He’s reminding him of the severity. Paul is convinced that evil will intensify during the last days

This is the second time Paul tells Timothy this. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared…”

Jude also warns us in his letter (Jude 1:18) that “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.”

So with this type warning of warning, Paul lists out 19 different characteristics of what empty false religion looks like.

Lovers of self - These are people who view themselves as the most important over all things. Everything they do in life is always rooted in what’s in it for me.

Lovers of money - Lovers of money are those who hold money as most important over all things; they use it as a filter by which to understand all other situations.

Proud - This can also be translated as a boaster. Someone who brags about himself.

Arrogant - This is the person who looks down at everyone.

Abusive - This is someone who is rude and insulting.

Disobedient to their Parents - Has the idea that they have no respect for their parents. And in this context Disobedience to parents was a serious charge, with serious consequences.

Ungrateful - This person is ungrateful for the kindness and benefits they receive.

Unholy - This speaks about the person who has no respect for the sacred. They have no reverence.

Heartless - The heartless is a person who is hard of heart. One is one who is incapable to act in charity toward others, or to consider the actions of the other charitably. They always see the worst possible view of a situation. They are unable to evaluate a situation through the lens of charity.

Unappeasable - Means they cannot be reconciled. It means they won’t forgive. These are people who unable to agree upon a mediating position in times of conflict.

Slanderous - Means they will say negative things about people that are not true. (False accusations.)

Without Self-Control - Someone who is unrestrained. Typically this is applied of people who can’t control their sexual impulses, but this includes failure to control their tongue, appetite, and all other aspects of life.

Brutal - This means they are violent.

Not Loving Good - Instead of being concerned for the good (as those memorialized in honorary inscriptions hoped to cast themselves) this word indicates no concern whatever for the good.

Treacherous - This can also be translated as traitors. The person who is a traitor is one who was formerly allied with a person, idea, or cause and who has since changed position and is against the person, idea, or cause. Those whom the person was formerly allied with view the one who changed positions as a traitor.

Reckless - This has to do with acting boldly and without forethought in situations that require delicacy. The one who is rash or reckless is one who presses ahead using dubious, dangerous, and thoughtless actions to achieve a goal.

Swollen with Conceit - The way this is used in the greek speaks to a person who is under-experienced and overconfident. They don’t view themselves rightly.

Lovers of Pleasure rather than lovers of God - Paul here describes persons who enthrone their own self-gratification. These people devote themselves to the pursuit of pleasure rather than pursuing God.

Having the Appearance of Godliness but denying its power - The people in view are false believers who claim to be godly. These are the people who say the right things in front of you, even attend church on Sunday, but their lives don’t reflect the transformative power of the gospel. This last characteristic is meant to summarize the emptiness of false religion. Charles Spurgeon said it like this,

“The form of godliness without the power is not worthy the trouble it takes to put it together, and keep it together. Imitation jewels are pretty and brilliant; but if you take them to the jeweler he will give you nothing for them. There is a religion which is all paste gems—a godliness which glitters, but is not gold; and in that day when you will want to realize something from it, you will be wretchedly disappointed. A form of godliness joined to an unholy heart is of no value to God.”

The point is this: When it comes to empty false religion, we need to discern its fruit.

Growing up in the inner city introduced me to ethnic religious cults like the Black Hebrew Israelites. The BHI movement teaches in a nutshell that the true people of Israel are black and that those who are part of the African diaspora are the lost 12 tribes of Israel. The reason this religious cult exists is because the American Evangelical Church, historically, failed to give blacks the dignity that comes from being made in the image of God. They are a consequence of the false teaching that came from within the American Evangelical Church.

That’s why they exist, but the reason why they are a cult, why its an empty false religion is because one of the things that stand out in my engagement with them is that they operated by the flesh and not in the Spirit. Their evangelism is characterized by being “arrogant & abusive.” They have a form of external godliness (adhering to dietary laws, observing the sabbath), but their lives do not reflect the transformative power of the Gospel.

As much as they try to promote black dignity, you know their movement is not of God because they’re fruit that they bear is one of the flesh and not of the Spirit. And Jesus said you will know them by their fruit.

Application: Paul’s descriptive list of behavior in the last days can describe our society—even, unfortunately, the behavior of some Christians. Every one of these can be found in churches today. Check your life against Paul’s list. Ask yourself, does your life reflect these verses?

Don’t settle for comfort without commitment. Stand up against evil by living as God would have his people live.

Transition: So far we have seen that if we are going to recognize empty religion we must discern its fruit. But not only are we to examine its fruit, #2 we must avoid those who promote it.

2. We must avoid those who promote it.

2 Timothy 3:5b-9 says, “Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

Paul continues to say that we should avoid these people. Why should we avoid them Paul? It’s because these people deny the power of godliness by their actions. As a result they should not people who should have influence in the lives of Christians. They are to be resisted and avoided. And it’s these types of people that he says in verse 6 that creep into households. They weasel their way in to capture weak women. The idea is the image of a military prisoner. They capture these women in order to mislead them.

the Apostle John, who later writes to the same church, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” The Apostle John means that when you receive this person, when you greet this person, that you are affirming this person and their ministry. The purity of the church and its witness is at stake when we affirm false teachers instead of resisting them. We should resist and avoid such people.

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians says something similar, He says, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.”

Avoid them! Resist Them! Expose Them! Verses 6-7 say that these men looked for women who were “burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” John Stott, speaking on this verse says,

“Their weakness was double. First, they were morally weak, ‘burdened with sins and swayed by various impulses’. Their sins were to them both a burden and a tyrant, and the false teachers, worming their way into their home, played upon their feelings of guilt and of infirmity. Secondly, they were intellectually weak, unstable, credulous, gullible. They were the kind of women who would ‘listen to anybody’, while at the same time they could ‘never arrive at a knowledge of the truth’. Constitutionally incapable of reaching any settled convictions, they were like little boats tossed hither and thither by a storm. In such a state of mental confusion, people will listen to any teacher, however specious. ‘It was no love of truth that impelled them to learn,’ however, ‘but only a morbid love of novelty.’ Such women, weak in character and intellect, are an easy prey for door-to-door religious salesmen.”

Now this verse doesn’t imply that women are naturally gullible, Paul is stating the reality of the context he is writing in and how the false teachers operate. Paul, then, begins to use an example to make his point. Verses 8-9 say, “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

The names Jannes and Jambres do not appear in the Old Testament, but there are references to them in Jewish, pagan, and Christian literature as two of Pharaoh’s magicians who tried to demonstrate that they could work miracles as effectively as Moses. The way false teachers opposed the gospel was to use sorcery to undermine the power of the gospel. In the same way that Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, Elymas opposed the Gospel through sorcery against Paul in Acts 13:8. These people won’t go very far, God will eventually expose these people.

Now we cannot limit this to those who are involved in the occult, the implication is that both groups resisting the truth of God’s word and work through his people. The point is this: These people who emerge in the church in every age are very active in promoting falsehood and error under the guise of the church’s message. At the time Paul was writing, these false teachers concentrated their efforts on influencing impressionable women, but in every age there are those who are easily influenced by the latest fashionable religious theory and by the love of novelty, as is clear from the number of sects and cults in existence today. But the distressing truth is that, even within the visible church itself, there are those in positions of leadership as ministers who are zealous in promoting a counterfeit faith.

I remember early in my walk with the Lord, I had a friend reach out because he was encouraged by my growth in the Lord. This was a guy who I can say I grew up with and attending HS with. But he was concerned that I wasn’t reading from a God Inspired translation of the Bible. He told me that if I wasn’t reading from the KJV or attending a church that preaches from the KJV that my growth will be limited and also be led astray.

Mind you, I’ve only been walking with the Lord for about 3 months now. But something inside of me was letting me know what he was saying wasn’t true. I now know it was the HS working in me and guiding me to the truth. Listen, thank God for the HS, because I was also in a church that didn’t emphasize giving answers to the complex issues. So as a new Christian, I found a debate from a Evangelical Christian Scholar and a KJVO pastor and the Lord used that to show clarity.

So as I regurgitated what I learned to my friend, he said I was deceived. Long story short, it wasn’t long before he started to believe and practice, what is known as a hyper-grace gospel. That it’s okay to live however you want because once you trusted in Christ, you’re eternally secure. He no longer pursued holiness, and no matter how much I tried to reason with him, he resisted the truth and kept promoting unbiblical ideas. It got to the point where I had to love the brother from afar and choose to not associate with him.

It was hard to sever a relationship because the purity of the gospel was at stake. I quickly learned that I had to avoid those who promoted empty religion.

Church, we have to be discerning. We need to avoid people who promote false religion. There is a False teaching in our day that is creeping within the church. People that teach that it is okay to cheat on your wife and still be a pastor. There are denominations out there that teach that the Bible isn’t God’s Word, that Jesus wasn’t born through the virgin Mary, that Jesus wasn’t divine. Denominations that teach that it’s okay to live however you want and follow whatever religion you want because the death of Christ saves everyone. That it is okay to live a homosexual lifestyle and be a Christian and even be an ordained minister, that it’s totally okay to murder babies in the womb because God understand. Now when I say murdering babies, I’m not talking about terminating a pregnancy because of a miscarriage or a still-born baby, I’m talking about terminating the pregnancy because you simply don’t want children. These are examples of false teaching creeping into the church, and God through the Apostle Paul is telling us to resist and avoid such people.

The application is simple, are you surrounding yourself around people who are promoting false empty religion? Are you spreading unbiblical ideas and promoting false empty religion that doesn’t save?

Now I understand that the tone and meaning of this text is to warn us of what to look for when it comes to empty religion. However, I want to provide clarity as well of what we should look for when looking for a true church. Just as bankers pinpoint counterfeit money is by studying and immersing yourself in the real thing, Christians can spot empty false religion by being immersed in the real thing.

When the New Testament church began in Acts 2, it was described this way: “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:41–42). There was the preaching of God’s word, the sharing of the common life, the ordinances, and prayer. From this list, I want to draw out two distinguishing characteristics of true churches and then add another four more that I believe to be implied through the Scriptures.

3. 7 Characteristics of a True Church

The Word is Taught & The Gospel is Proclaimed.

The early christians devoted themselves to the Apostles Teaching. A true church seeks to obey the aspect of the great commission where Jesus says we are to “teach others to obey what he has commanded us.” A true church seeks to open up the scriptures and teach them in such a way that it is clearly explained so that the people understand what God is telling them and how they should live it out. This is why we do verse-by-verse preaching. We want to tell you what God has through his Word.

Closely connected with the preaching of the word of God should be the proclamation of the true gospel. This is the heart of the word of God. The church should be one place where men and women are constantly reminded of the way in which God reconciles sinners to himself. And if you are here today, and you don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, then understand that you are a sinner. This means you broke his law and have not lived up to his standard. This bible teaches that there is no one earth who does good and never sins. And because all have sinned, this means no one deserves to go to heaven, but deserves condemnation. But God loved you so much that he didn’t want you to be condemned and demonstrated this By sending Jesus to live the life you could not live and die the death that you deserved. The gospel is this: the innocent one died in the place of the guilty so that the the guilty ones who surrender & trust in the innocent one will be seen as innocent by the righteous judge. So today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Receive him for the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of eternal life.

The Administration of the Sacraments (Baptism & Communion)

The early church made the practice of baptism and communion a regular thing when they met. Baptism is the next step for those who surrendered their life to Jesus. Baptism is an act of obedience that symbolizes the old person dying and being raised to new life in Christ. Communion, then serves as a reminder of what Christ accomplished for us, and like baptism is also an act of obedience since we are commanded to do this regularly in remembrance of him.

Biblical Leadership (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

This simply means that we follow the patterns prescribed in Scripture of what leadership looks like. That qualified men, men of character, are the ones who serve the church as pastor’s and elder’s and that qualified men and women serve the church as deacon’s. Healthy biblical leadership prioritizes character over giftedness and is intentional in building up the saints to do the work of ministry.

Practice of Church Discipline (Matthew 18:15-18; 1 Corinthians 5)

Conrad Mbewe (Em Be We) writes, “The church is meant to be a place where godliness and truth are upheld. Where either of these is missing in the life of a person, they should be warned and urged to repent so that they are restored to a healthy spiritual life. However, where they stubbornly continue living a life of sin or holding on to and teaching heresy, they should be disciplined in terms of public rebuke or excommunication.” This is why partnership [what we call members] is important, when we are in covenant community with one another, we can live out the one another of the NT faithfully and hold each other accountable when we don’t.

Evidence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-25)

When I say evidence of the Spirit, I don’t mean speaking in tongues or other forms of charismatic of pentecostal expressions. We believe in the gifts of the Spirit, but that is not what we are emphasizing. What we mean is that the fruit of the Spirit that is characterized in Galatians 5:-22-23 is lived out through its leadership and its members. That there is a genuine love for one another.

Christ is Exalting through Singing (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:18-20)

The Scriptures teach and show that the gathered church sings. We are commanded to sing and to encourage one another through song. A true biblical church sings Christ-Exalted, God-Honoring, Gospel-Centered songs when they gather.

Mission Focused (Matthew 28:18-20; James 1:27)

Remembering that God did not call us to be a holy huddle but to go out and make disciples. That we embody a compassionate mission to a lost and dying world. That we would be a light that shines in the darkness. Applying both Matthew 28 and James 1:27

Let me conclude with this, Imitation Christianity has dangerous consequences. Putting on an appearance of faith often leads people to believe a person is a true believer. In an actual incident during the Korean War, a lieutenant inspecting a new platoon over which he was about to take command reported that several soldiers carried rifles that had rusted shut. Yet they were scheduled to go into battle the next day! They looked like soldiers; they carried weapons. But they were unprepared and unable to fight.

Church, I don’t know if you are hearing me right now but there are some churchgoers rely on superficial appearances. Many people today carry Bibles, attend church, mouth the right words, yet evidence no spiritual power in their lives. They have no direct, personal, intimate connection with God.

Let’s not fake it till we make it, but let’s be a people that take our faith seriously. I said this earlier, but I will say it again, Just as bankers pinpoint counterfeit money is by studying and immersing yourself in the real thing, Christians can spot empty false religion by being immersed in the real thing. Let’s immerse ourselves in the real thing so that we can recognize, so that we can pinpoint the emptiness of false religion and avoid those who promote it.

Let’s pray.