Holding Fast to the Gospel of Jesus

2 Corinthians 11:1-15

How confident are you in your knowledge of disney mom’s?

Were going to play a game real quick around disney mom’s.

It’s a group game and it’s 6 questions with one tie breaker!

Let’s see how we do!

Must type out answer. No multiple choice.

Here we go.

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Hopefully we all know our own moms better than that.

It’s amazing sometimes we can know someone our whole lives and still learn something new about them.

Last weekend I was hanging out with my dad because he was helping me work on my mower.

We went out to get some pizza around dinner time.

He was telling me a story about his mom who passed away in the early 2000s.

I remember grandma well and especially visiting her in the nursing home before she passed.

However, he told me last week that in the early 60s she developed breast cancer when my dad was only about 2 years old.

I had never heard this before, but it was in the time before chemotherapy.

Back then they did x-ray therapy on her and it really messed with her and burned/scarred her body quite badly.

However, she did survive and lived another 50 years almost.

They would call her every year and check on her and ask her about her diet and other ways of living.

They were curious if she was doing anything different to aid in her survival than most people were.

But she wasn’t…

She drank cokes, ate candy and fried foods… she was just a normal lady.

Now the reason they asked her these questions was to gain knowledge.

If there was something they could learn from her, they wanted to know so doctors could help others survive cancer!

In order to help others, they wanted to know about my grandma’s experiences.

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Transition.

In order for us to help other people experience the gospel, we have to know it.

In order for us to not be swayed by a false gospel, we have to know the true Gospel.

Read 2 Corinthians 11:1-15 Page 103 in your books

I wish you would put up with a little foolishness from me. Yes, do put up with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure[b] devotion to Christ. 4 For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly! 5 Now I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6 Even if I am untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have in every way made that clear to you in everything. 7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to minister to you. 9 When I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, since the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have kept myself, and will keep myself, from burdening you in any way. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped[c] in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows I do! 12 But I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want to be regarded as our equals in what they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.

What is the most risky thing you’ve ever done?

Honeymoon Zip lining in Jamaica.

End story saying how neat it was, but how we were way past our deadline for checkin in with Allison’s parents.

Scary.

In College, talk about the area we cleared out behind the house so we could have bonfires and a dog.

Stupid… This could have got us kicked out of school.

Sometimes we make foolish decisions in life and we have to live with the consequences.

Don’t make a foolish decision with Jesus…

Jesus isn’t a risk.

Not believing in Jesus is the biggest risk!

Paul talks here in 2 Corinthians about another gospel.

Paul challenges them not to believe in that or follow it!

Well how do we know the true gospel from a false gospel?

Main Point:

We must know the true gospel so clearly that we’re never tempted to believe a false gospel.

Now please don’t disappoint me here… what is the gospel?

We’ve talked about it alot recently?

Quote 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

What are some examples of false gospels?

In Paul’s day there were some heretics known as the Gnostics.

There was even a false gospel written called “The gospel of Judas”

In the gospel of Judas, these gnostics claimed that Jesus had revealed special knowledge only to Judas…

In other words, the one who betrayed Jesus did it for a reason that only Judas and Jesus knew…

These gnostics were spreading this false gospel throughout Corinth and they did so in a way that seemed intelligent.

Paul says though in vs. 5 -8

These guys seem smart, but trust me, their logic is false.

They are robbing you guys and taking money from you! When have I ever taken money?

These Gnostics would charge for their teachings and make money.

Paul reminds them, hey, I haven’t burdened any of you with my finances or issues.

I come here, preach the gospel and ask for nothing because Jesus is worth it!

Here’s the question for us.

Do we recognize a false gospel when we see it?

I’ll be frank, I can’t compete for your attention against Instagram, tik tok, youtube, your friends.

You interact with those spaces alot more than you interact with me.

But the messages loudly proclaimed in those spaces largely are a false gospel.

They promise you something that they can’t deliver only to give you something you never wanted.

Sin does that.

Sin takes us further than we wanted to go and gives us what we never wanted.

But it’s like cancer.

It destroys us from the inside out.

Unless we recognize it, we will never get rid of it.

Unless we know the true gospel, we will also buy a false product.

It promises to heal, but only leaves us in worse shape.

Let me ask you.

Let’s say in 15 years you’re married.

You’ve been married for 5 years.

Your spouse also had cancer and you helped them battle it and now they are cancer free.

However, one day your wife or our husband comes to you and says “I’ve got some bad news...”

I fell in love with someone else that I work with.

How would you respond?

Why would you be angry?

You helped them over the disease! You have been with them the through it all!

Wouldn’t you be justified being angry?

Of course!

IN the first few verses, Paul says he is jealous over the Corinthians.

He has fought for them but these false teachers have come in like a rotten co-worker and have tried to convince the Corinthians to abandon their first love, Jesus.

But here’s the truth.

A spouse will be more susceptible to being swayed by false promises of love if they don’t understand how much they are loved.

In the last 10 years, Allison and I have walked together through my parents divorce, the death of family members, and the loss of a child together in the womb.

Through all of that, we have loved each other with a love only the 2 of us share.

It would be extremely difficult to divide us.

The reason is, we know what true love is because we have experienced it.

You can watch all the fluff love movies you want to.

All the Hallmark movies (Which I love Christmas hallmark movies by the way)

But, until you experience it, you won’t fully appreciate it.

But when you do experience it, you can more easily call out the ridiculous expressions of love hollywood tries to show us.

In the same way, the more I experience the gospel, the less likely I am to be swayed by a false gospel.

But the less experienced I am with the gospel the more easily I may be swayed!

SO here’s the qeustion today:

APPLICATION:

What are you doing to familiarize yourself with the truth of Scripture so you aren’t swayed by a false gospel?

Vs. 14-15 say that Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.

Satan doesn’t look like the red guy with a tail and pitchfork.

Satan looks way more like the sweet 65 year old grandma who’s gone to church all her life!

Now I’m not picking on church grandmas ok…

But seriously!

Sin trips us because it LOOKS GOOD not becausee it doesn’t!

False Gospels take over people not because they are obviously false, but because they seem true!

As believers we need to do 3 things:

Arm ourselves with Scripture.

We’ve got to get into God’s word.

I don’t care if you hate to read. Do hard things.

RUnning illustration.

I hate it, but recently I learned I don’t need to learn to love it. I Just need to learn to do it.

DO hard things! The results will come!

You may not love to read, but the more you read Scripture (You may still hate to read) but I PROMISE you you will love God.

2. Be a Protector;

As you are armed with Scripture, look for ways to protect your mind.

Pay attention to false messages and ones that go against scripture!

Look out for others! Don’t let your friends fall for false messages either!

3. Remember whose you are!

Christ paid it all on the cross for you.

Jesus wants you to know how much he was willing to pay for you.

Satan just wants to see how cheap he can get you for.

Do you see the difference?

To Satan, your on sale, he just wants to buy in at a cheap price.

Jesus meanwhile is standing saying, Hey! I paid full price and then some!

Remember who bought you with a price and follow Him!

Let’s pray and go love your mom today!