Rejecting The Counterfeit

Take your Bibles and open them to 2 Corinthians 11. We’re at a naturally stopping point in our study of the book of Revelation and since today we are celebrating our graduating seniors and it’s Memorial Day weekend I thought we would do something different with today’s message.

The title of the message is “Rejecting the Counterfeit Jesus.”

One of repeating themes throughout the book of the Revelation and throughout the NT in general is a warning to Christians against false teaching and false Christs.

Jesus said in Matthew 24 that one of the distinguishing marks of the end times is a rise of false teachers and false messiahs who lead people astray.

Certainly in our culture there’s no shortage of talk about Jesus.

But what do people mean when they say “Jesus” and how do we identify the REAL Jesus from the abundance of the counterfeits.

That’s what I want us to look at this morning.

It’s especially relevant for our graduating seniors. You’re about to be on your own. You’re going to develop your own Christian convictions - adult convictions that will enable you to navigate your upcoming adult problems. You’ll need discernment and wisdom in this process.

There’s is nothing more important in all of the world than for you to know the REAL Jesus and reject the counterfeits.

The most important thing about you is what comes to your mind when you hear the word God and specifically your understanding of Jesus Christ as His Son, God incarnate, the savior of the world.

Read the Text

Our passage to unpack this idea is 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

2 Corinthians 11:1–4 (CSB)

1 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 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!

Before we read any further let me give you a bit of context. Paul planted the church in Corinth. In his first letter he talks about how when he came he knew and preached nothing else except Christ and him crucified! (1 Cor 1:23; 2:2)

After Paul left these other teachers came in. They called themselves apostles of Christ but they were not teaching the biblical Gospel.

Paul says the Christians in Corinth were ‘putting up’ with these false teachers. The reason is because they were really gifted in their public speaking skills.

Moreover, they were denigrating Paul’s ministry because of his poor public speaking skills and his constant battles with suffering.

2 Corinthians 11:5–11 (CSB)

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 in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows I do!

This might feel like a bit of a rabbit trail but Paul is defending his ministry against the trash talking of these “super apostles.”

They said Paul wasn’t a REAL apostle because he wasn’t a gifted speaker. Paul’s response? I may be untrained in rhetoric but at least the words I speak are actually TRUE.

The second charge seems to be around his refusing to accept payment for his preaching ministry. We know Paul wasn’t opposed to this in principle because he encourages churches to properly compensate their pastors. But in Corinth he refused to take payment so as to remove any potential barrier or accusation from anyone misjudging his motives.

Paul concludes 2 Corinthians 11:12-15

2 Corinthians 11:12–15 (CSB)

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.

Counterfeit Christs

There’s so much here but I want us to focus in on 2 Cor 11:4

2 Corinthians 11:4 (CSB)

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!

This is the danger I want to warn us against this morning. Whether you’re a graduating senior entering into a season of developing an adult faith or a seasoned senior who’s been in church longer than I’ve been alive - the warning is the same.

Following Jesus requires discernment. The culture is full of counterfeit Christs.

You must be able to separate the real Jesus from the cultural counterfeits. And there are ALL KINDS of counterfeits:

Most people in our culture are “pro Jesus” so long as they get to make him in their own image.

He shows up in our movies, our music, our commercialization of Christmas and Easter.

If you put Jesus into a Google search you’ll get over a billion hits. Put him into your Amazon search and you’ll find close to 100,000 results: books, DVDs, jewelry, T shirts, bobble heads, halloween costumes, and on and on.

Jesus is everywhere. But is the Jesus everyone likes the Jesus that the apostles preached? Or is He another Jesus?

Cultural Visions of Jesus

I came across something the other day that mentioned a couple of these counterfeits:

Each one has some element of truth, but usually at the exclusion of some other important truth. By themselves they’re not the real Jesus.

Therapist Jesus: Helps you cope with your past by telling you how valuable you are. Tells you not to be too hard on yourself because of what all has been done to you.

Hippy Jesus: The open-minded Jesus who accepts and affirms you no matter what so long as you are living in “your truth.” He never challenges you in your sin or brokenness.

Touchdown Jesus: He helps athletes run faster and jump higher than non-Christian athletes. Follow him and you’ll only ever win and never lose.

Corporate Jesus: Follow him to advance in your job, close the sell, manage your time, make connections and influence people.

Life coach Jesus. He’ll help you become your best self. He’ll teach you practical skills and guide you through tough decisions.

Guru Jesus: He hates religion. He doesn’t like churches or pastors or doctrine and He just wants you to find the god within.

Jesus the Moral Philosopher: He didn’t come to save us from our sins but to show us a better way. We can excel in life if we would but ask W.W.J.D.

Jesus the Marxist: Teaches us how to identify our oppressors, overthrow the system and replace it with something from Karl Marx.

Jesus the Fascist: He’s got no time for sissies. He knows how to own the libs. He stands ready to kick you in the rear if your too soft or nuanced.

Jesus of the American Dream: Will bless you with fulfillment and happiness and wealth. He exists to make your dreams come true!

We could go on: Mean Jesus, Religious Jesus, Historical Jesus...

And then there’s the Apostle Paul – “When I came to Corinth, I desired to know nothing among you except for Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2)

The Jesus preached by his first followers was the son of God who died in our place for our sins and was buried, was raised, ascended into heaven and will come again to judge the earth.

That was the Jesus that Paul preached.

These cultural counterfeits are partial at best. At worst, they are a gross misrepresentation of everything Jesus preached or represented.

So how do we know? How can we identify the counterfeits?

I want to offer you three facts about counterfeits that will hopefully help you practice discernment and stay commited to the real Jesus for the long haul.

Principle 1: Look-a-Likes

The first principle is this: Know that counterfeits will look, sound and maybe even feel like the real thing.

All of the best counterfeit goods adhere to this principle.

At a distance, counterfeit money is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. You’ve got to get up close and examine the details to separate the real from the fake.

The same is true with counterfeit Jesus.

Paul says in verse 14 that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

Why wouldn’t HE!? Christians aren’t going to be deceived by people or spirits that openly oppose Christ and the truth of the Gospel. It’s EASY to stay away from that stuff.

If only Satan really was a red dragon with horns and pitchfork. That’d make him easy to spot and resit. But that’s not how Satan operates. He’s the Father of lies and a master of disguise.

There are many Satanic schemes and ideologies that people might look at and think: “how beautiful, how compelling, look at the power and the glory! How could this not be something true, good and beautiful?

Not only is this true of Satan, it’s true of his messengers. The Spirit of the Anti-christ is not just “against” Christ. It’s “instead” of Christ. It’s a “false” Christ or “replacement” Christ. That means it’s going to look, sound and feel like the real thing.

Principle 2: Attention to Detail

That leads to the second principle which is this: Spotting a counterfeit requires that you pay close attention to the details.

When you’re trying to distinguish counterfeit money from real money one of the things they’ll tell you to do is pay attention to the details.

Does the letter next to the serial number match the year of print?

Are the lines and borders crisp and sharp (cheap printers can’t do that)

Is the watermark present? Is the ink color shifting? You feel the raised printing?

In other words, there are a set of unique attributes that help you filter the true from the counterfeit.

The same is true when it comes to Jesus. There is a “theological core” with which you can familiarize yourself so that you’re better able to filter out what’s trash from what’s truth.

There are some teachers who are not just different, they are false. They’re not just advocating a different perspective, they’re advancing the work of Satan.

If you get certain things about Jesus wrong - it really doesn’t matter what else you get right.

We MUST have that category in our thinking or we will be duped by empty platitudes and sincere looking but bad actors.

Look at verses 13 through 15 again.

2 Corinthians 11:13–15 (CSB)

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.

Did They Know?

Look at how deeply mistaken these false teachers are. Paul calls them false apostles. Deceitful workmen. Disguising themselves as apostles of Christ, just like Satan.

I wonder if they knew? Did they believe themselves to be false apostles? Were they intentionally deceptive? Or had they deluded themselves into thinking they were right?

I’m not sure about these false teacher in particular. However, I know that MANY false teachers advance the schemes of Satan and they are completely unaware. They have deluded themselves into thinking they’re advancing truth when in fact it’s the opposite.

Jesus warned us against this in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7:22-23

Matthew 7:22–23 (CSB)

22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

These teachers, like those in the SOM, may have been very convinced in their own mind that they were doing the work of God when actually they were doing the work of the devil.

What WERE they teaching?

What was this other gospel they were preaching?

2 Corinthians 11:4 (CSB)

Maybe they were saying for you to truly be saved you had to have Jesus PLUS something else.

There was a sect within that early church that tried to minimize salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. They said you need Jesus AND obedience to the law. Not so!

Maybe it was a “health and wealth” Gospel. The false apostles said, “If you believe this good news, you won’t have to suffer. You won’t get sick. Everything will go your way.”

We don’t know exactly, but it was a different Gospel, a different Spirit and a different Jesus.

Perhaps it was a Jesus who had no weakness, no humiliation.

Maybe it was a Jesus without moral demands, one that could look the other way with their sexual immorality.

Maybe it was a Jesus that they didn’t believe actually came in the flesh. Maybe they didn’t believe Jesus to be fully divine.

Or maybe they were just using the word Jesus to whitewash whatever other mantra they were trying to sell. People like Jesus talk. People will give money for Jesus talk. People will buy trinkets of Jesus. So whatever it is, I just give them a Jesus.

The important part for us, even if we don’t know in detail what made a different gospel is that we establish this category.

We cannot automatically join hands with everyone who says they love Jesus. It may not be the real Jesus that they love and serve.

This is why it takes discernment.

Content Is King!

When it comes to paying attention to details in spotting counterfeits we must also remember that CONTENT IS KING!

There’s a tendency, especially in our culture, to think that if a person is REALLY sincere or passionate then that’s enough.

There’s another tendency to think that if a person has good moral character then the Jesus they are preaching is the true Jesus.

Character, passion and sincerely matter a great deal. But when it comes to spotting the counterfeits you must remember that CONTENT IS KING.

How someone FEELS about Jesus is less important than what they THINK.

How persuasively and passionately someone TALKS about Jesus is less important than WHAT they actually say.

That’s exactly how the Christians in Corinth were being deceived. They were wowed by the skills, passion and lifestyles of these “super apostles” and Paul has to write and remind them - “content is king! Truth matters more than anything else!”

A person’s lifestyle matters! Especially if they’re a teacher of God’s word. But the content of their speech matters MORE.

You can be passionate, virtuous and sincere and STILL be a heretic!

Example From Philippians 1

You ask, “How do you know that?”

Well there’s an interesting passage in Philippians 1 where Paul acknowledges from prison that there are people out there preaching the Biblical gospel but doing so with improper motives.

Philippians 1:15–18 (CSB)

15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice

Is Paul excusing their bad motives? No way! But he is saying if morally compromised people are going to preach at least their preaching the real Jesus and the real Gospel.

Sincerity is not the measure of truth. Passion is not the measure of truth. Character is not the measure of truth.

You must measure truth against TRUTH. Measure it against the standard of God’s Word.

Principle 3: Devastating Consequences

Fact one: A counterfeit Jesus might look, sound and feel like the real Jesus. (Satan angel of light)

Fact two: spotting a counterfeit Jesus requires attention to detail. (content is king)

Fact three: widespread faith in a counterfeit has devastating consequences.

There are some truths where divergent opinions don’t really matter. There are certain debates where you can be wrong: no harm no foul.

However, when it comes to the person of Jesus - it doesn’t matter what else you get right if you get Him wrong. Getting Jesus wrong has devastating consequences!

Just like the widespread adoption of counterfeit money could bring down our financial system - so also will widespread faith in a counterfeit Christ destroy the world.

The greater the acceptance the greater the damage. In fact, the end of days is actually brought about BECAUSE OF a widespread faith in a counterfeit Christ.

Paul is hinting at this in verses 2.

2 Corinthians 11:2–3 (CSB)

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 devotion to Christ.

Counterfeits & Adultery

Paul uses the analogy of marriage to describe the relationship between Christ and these Corinthian Christians. They were betrothed to Christ. The Spirit of God was using the Word of God to cleanse them of sin and present them as a virgin bride for the day of the great wedding.

But this false teaching was coming in and undermining that work. They were becoming spiritually tainted by these false teachers. They were being seduced away from a pure and sincere devotion to Jesus.

When you put your faith in a counterfeit Christ you’re committing an act of spiritual adultery. It’s a BIG DEAL.

And look at verse 3 – “I’m afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

Sneaky Snakey Satan

Paul points out that these counterfeits and the effort to draw people away from the real and into the fake is the work of Satan. The same Satan that appeared to Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The serpent in the garden was cunning. It’s the only characteristic mentioned of the snake” “he was craftier than all the other animals. He was smart, shrewd.”

Satan is the master deceiver! And his most powerful weapon is His WORDS.

He doesn’t come to you and say, “God’s stupid. Don’t listen to him.” He comes craftily. He comes under the guise of academics, or pop culture, or relevance, or even under the guise of religion.

He’s cunning. His goal is to make us into spiritual adulterers, to lose our spiritual virginity, to lead us away from a pure devotion to Christ.

Don’t Even Tolerate It

And it’s not just accepting or believing the counterfeit that brings the consequences. The mere toleration of his lies is sufficient to bring you down.

That’s what they were doing in Corinth.

2 Corinthians 11:4 “You put up with it splendidly!”

Paul is being sarcastic. Look at you guys! SOOOO tolerant of the heretics. How proud you must be!

Maybe they didn’t buy it completely. Maybe it was a “eat the meat spit out the bones” kind of deal. But it was leading them away from Christ nonetheless.

I think if Paul were speaking to us today he might say “Don’t buy their books. Don’t let them preach. Don’t go to their conferences. Don’t "like” their social media posts.”

You may not be saying these things yet, but you’re putting up with them. You’re encouraging it. You’re giving them an audience, a platform. And the stakes could not be higher.”

Their End is Destruction

What are the stakes? Eternal life. Being rightly related to God are the stakes! Listening to Satanic lies about Christ will eventually lead you to hell.

What else would you expect? Commit yourself to Satan’s schemes and you’ll end up where he ends up.

You see at the end of verse 15 – “For the false teachers, their end will correspond to their works.”

The point is, false teachers may not always be obvious but they are always dangerous.

They may look nice and be accomplished and sound good and be persuasive but the most deadly poison comes from a golden cup.

Maybe they’re winsome, funny, knowledgable and smart. What do they say about Jesus? Maybe they’re attractive, popular, successful and cool. What do they say about Christ?

The prettier the package the more suspicious I would be.

Be Discerning

So as we bring this to a close my final exhortation for us this morning is to BE DISCERNING.

Discernment is a lost virtue in our culture. People are suspicious of discernment because it might make you look mean or intolerant.

Who cares if it saves you and your children from eternal damnation.

True discernment grounds the merit of an idea in TRUTH not popularity or social consequence.

One of the reasons discernment is so difficult in our culture is because we’ve become so influenced by tribalism and populism. There are sociological reasons for that but it can be dangerous when applied to your spiritual life.

We are SO POLARIZED in our culture. We evaluate ideas based on their origin or who is arguing for it/against it.

What motivates people is not a desire to know the truth but a desire to NOT BE ASSOCIATED with the other team. If they’re for it, I’m against it!

Tension to Hold

When you begin to live in this way you’ll discover that some of the greatest truths are found in the tensions of paradox.

I started this sermon by mentioning some “counterfeit” versions of Jesus. For so many, the problem with the counterfeit isn’t that there is NO truth. The problem is that they were an incomplete picture of the truth.

The Biblical Jesus IS a great moral example but he’s not JUST a great moral example.

The Biblical Jesus should be thought of as a wonderful counselor but he’s not JUST a voice we should consider, he’s also a King to whom we must submit.

In other words, the biblical Jesus and the biblical Gospel requires us to hold different truths in tension.

For example, the real Jesus is both truly God AND truly man. It’s a tension to hold, not a contradiction to solve. Compromise either end and you’ll end up in error.

The real Jesus is full of both grace AND truth. He loves you even though you’re undeserving but he loves you too much to leave you in your sin and brokenness.

Following the real Jesus will result in suffering AND glory. We join him in suffering even as he suffered on the cross but we will also join him in the glory of his resurrection.

The real Jesus is tough AND tender. He’s a lion AND a lamb.

The Real Jesus

It would take a whole sermon for each of these tensions but I do think they give you a basic idea.

If your Jesus is not omnipotent, omniscient and fullness of God in the flesh then he’s not the real Jesus.

On the other hand if your Jesus cannot identify with you in your humanity, himself being tempted in every way you are then he’s not the real Jesus.

If your Jesus only weighs you down with the demands of the law then it’s not the real Jesus.

On the other hand if heNEVER exposes your sin, calling you to something higher, God’s design for your true flourishing then it’s not the real Jesus.

The real Jesus exposes our weakness and our strength, our potential glory and our wretched state. He is both God and man and full of both grace AND truth. He has invited us to live by dying and gain our life by giving it away.

All of these paradoxes are held in tension with the true Jesus. And every counterfeit tries to have one thing at the expense of the other.

Resolution at the Cross

But true discernment will not allow us to relax truth at any point. Because in forcing us to hold these truths in tension it creates humility in our heart and leads us inevitably to the true Christ and his Cross.

In the words of Jesus, when you know the true truth the truth will set your free. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

At his cross we find God’s wrath against sin and love for sinners in perfect harmony.

At the cross we see our sinful brokenness and our deliverance and glory.

At the cross we see we’re far worse off than we could’ve ever imagined but in Christ we are far more loved than we could have ever dared to hope.

Why would you choose a counterfeit Christ when the true Christ and his cross are the ONLY things that can make sense out of your life and give you hope for the future?

Conclusion

If you’re here it’s probably because you like Jesus, or someone you like likes Jesus and you like them enough to come and be here this morning. Do you know and understand who Jesus is?

He justifies and sanctifies. He comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. Do you know him?

He died on the cross for your sin and he calls you to take up your own cross and follow him.

That’s the Jesus of the Bible, and the Jesus of history, and the Jesus that Paul preached, and the Jesus who will one day come again.