How Do Counterfeit Gospels Affect the Gospel Story?

Counterfeit Gospels Chart: How 6 Counterfeits Affect the Gospel Story, Announcement, and Community

The best way to spot a counterfeit is to know the real thing.

When it comes to the gospel, the best way to spot a counterfeit gospel is to know the biblical gospel – not only to master it in a cerebral, objective sense, but to be captured by the beauty of what God has done for us in Christ.

Earlier this year, I listed nine “counterfeit gospels” that I considered writing about in Counterfeit Gospels. Then, I asked readers of Kingdom People to participate in a poll, choosing the six most prevalent among evangelicals today.

Later, I described the biblical gospel by using the analogy of a three-legged stool.

  • There’s the Gospel Story – the grand narrative of Scripture (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration).
  • Within that overarching framework, we make the Gospel Announcement about Jesus Christ (His perfect life, substitutionary death, resurrection, exaltation).
  • The gospel announcement then births the Gospel Community: God’s church – the embodiment of the gospel, the manifestation of God’s kingdom.

In the book, I describe a counterfeit gospel as a colony of termites, eating away at one of the legs of the stool until it topples the whole thing. Below is a handy chart included in the book that lays out the six counterfeits we deal with in the book and how each counterfeit affects the gospel Story, gospel Announcement, and gospel Community.

Take a look at the chart below and let me know what you think.

Does your heart drift toward any of these counterfeits? Why or why not?

Which counterfeits do you see as particularly dangerous in our day and age?

Article is Used in Its Entirety by Permission of Trevin Wax, Nov 2012, copyright 2012 The Gospel Coalition.  You might want to consider purchasing Trevin Wax’s book, Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hope, Moody 2011. Here is the link to his blog Kingdom People:  Living on Earth as Citizens of Heaven, where the excerpt from his book is located.  Many thanks to Trevin Wax for his permission.

Are We Becoming An Emergent Church (Progressive Church)? (15 warning signs!) – Part 2 of 2

15 Warning Signs (see *note at bottom of page) that Your Church may be becoming an Emergent Church or a Progressive Church (Detailed Information):

Do you need to read Part 1 First? Click here http://www.bibleanswerstoquestions.com/are-we-an-emergent-church

1. )  Scripture is no longer the ultimate authority as the basis for the Christian Faith.  You might also review your Children’s Sunday School curriculum to see if there is an effort to replace solid curriculum with perhaps a rewritten curriculum that doesn’t address Bible stories and perhaps refers to external, historical characters and extensive references to God’s kingdom here on earth.  Many times, a normal Bible may be replaced with a less offensive Bible that focuses on God’s kingdom here on earth.  Children should be learning Bible stories and led towards a saving relationship with Christ.  If sin (Romans 3:23), judgment (Romans 6:23a), atonement (Romans 6:23b, Romans 10:9-10) and the blessed hope of Christ’s Return is left out of the curriculum (Matthew 24:30), how are children learning what the Gospel means and the wonderful, good news of their future eternity with our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ?

Joshua 1:8 (NASB) “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

II Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB) “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

1 Peter 2:1-3 (NASB) “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

2. ) The centrality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being replaced by humanistic methods promoting Church Growth and a Social Gospel, and / or an inconsistent verbal proclamation of the Gospel from the pulpit.   Oftentimes, a Statement of Faith (SOF), will be trivialized by leadership and may be rewritten to make it more inclusive for members, thereby reducing or eliminating the distinctive, unique qualities that may have made the church a light and a beacon for the World to see (Matthew 5:13-15).  The importance of the Statement of Faith is covered in another blog article. The Bible is clear on the importance of a verbal gospel being proclaimed (Mark 16:15, Romans 1:16-17) and disciples being made (Matthew 28:19-20).  Often these commandments by Christ are removed from the core of the SOF.  See the 49 general commands of Christ covered in the blog article, “Are We Obedient to Christ?”  Many times, the gospel is no longer clearly and verbally proclaimed from the pulpit.  Often, community events will be organized on church property and members will even be told not to proselytize since it may offend someone from the community.   1 Corinthians 1:18 (NASB), “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

3. )  More and more emphasis is being placed on building the Kingdom of God now and less and less on the Warnings of Scripture about the imminent Return of Jesus Christ and a Coming Judgment in the Future.  Hebrews 9:27-28 (NASB), “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

4. )The Teaching that Jesus Christ will rule and reign in a literal millennial period is considered unbiblical and contrary to what the church now teaches.  (Revelation 20:2-7, etc.)   There have been several instances where a church member was teaching what the current Statement of Faith stated in this regard and then was chastised and oftentimes church discipline was applied for teaching this.  Please see the blog article which deals with our biblical stance for a literal millennial reign of Christ at the following link, http://www.bibleanswerstoquestions.com/the-literal-future-second-coming-of-jesus/

5. )  The stated teaching or personal belief of the Pastor that God has removed His hand from Israel and that Israel no longer has any Prophetic significance.  This is a loose, metaphorical interpretation of key scriptures in the Old Testament such as Isaiah chapter 9, 2 Kings 17:18 and other scriptures they associate with proof.  Granted, Israel has many rocky points in its history with the Lord, however, God in the New Testament (as well as the Old Testament) reaffirms His covenantal promises made to Israel in its important role in God’s Eternal Kingdom.  See Jeremiah 31:35-36, Romans 11, etc.  John MacArthur has covered this topic extensively in his six part series, “Has God Cancelled His Promises to Israel?, found at http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/title/h and scroll down to the part you want to review his notes or listen to the audio.  Part of the emerging church theology is to teach more from a symbolic, allegorical and metaphorical interpretation of scripture instead of applying solid hermeneutics in studying scripture.  Dr. Richard Mayhue has written some fine short-read books on how to study and interpret scripture.  See Amazon.com website for some of his excellent study books.

6. )  The Teaching that the Book of Revelation does not refer to the Future, but instead has been already fulfilled in the past.  Although your pastor and leaders may not directly state this, they may avoid teaching a long-held church belief that the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture of the church is biblical and try to teach a new eschatological direction.  This often leads to an Amillennial view of end times.  This author holds to a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture of the church.  Please see our blog article, http://www.bibleanswerstoquestions.com/the-literal-future-second-coming-of-jesus/ .

7. )   An experiential Mystical form of Christianity begins to be promoted as a method to reach the Postmodern Generation.  This may start to take shape and place with new art and symbols integrated into new building or remodeling projects.  An example of a mystical symbol may be a labyrinth, a more common symbol used in Emerging Churches more frequently.  (see Deuteronomy 18:9-13,2 Kings 23:24, Jude 1:3, etc.) We are warned in the Bible that we’re not to allow these into our buildings.  The mystic origins along with the sometimes occultist background for what should be an offensive symbol such as the Labyrinth doesn’t have any redeeming Christian value and does not belong in a church courtyard or plaza.  Rather than trying to list an overwhelming amount of hyperlinks and information across Internet to validate this point, just type “labyrinth Christian” in a popular search engine such as Google or Yahoo.  You will confirm there is very little valid, Biblical Christian significance and value for the labyrinth symbol with a great deal more research weight showing the pagan, mystic and occultist origins.   You can also use a less targeted research by typing in “labyrinth” and come up with more general information as well.  Prayer walks in some churches are oftentimes organized or centered around this symbol.  At the onset, this sounds good, right?  Aren’t we supposed to be in prayer together?  (Matthew 18:19-20, Colossians 4:2, 2 Corinthians 9:14, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, etc.).   However,  II Corinthians 6:14 (NASB) states, ”Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

8. )  Ideas are promoted teaching that Christianity needs to be reinvented in order to provide meaning for this generation.  Often this is disguised as making the Gospel more relevant to the community.  NOTE:  The Gospel stands on its own.  See Mark 16:15, Galatians 1:8-9.  The Holy Spirit draws people to Himself, not our efforts to make it palatable to non-believers, (Romans 1:16, Romans 8:14-16, Romans 10:9-10, etc.).

9. )  The Pastor may eventually implement an idea called “ancient-future” or “vintage Christianity” claiming that in order to take the church forward, we need to go back in church history and find out what experiences were effective to get people to embrace Christianity.   The caution and problem with this is that bad church history may be reintroduced as the way we should do things now.

10. )  While the authority of the Word of God is undermined, images and sensual experiences are promoted as the key to experiencing and knowing God.   There may be a strong movement towards incorporating more artwork to teach the story of the Bible from a meta-narrative viewpoint, such as a five act play.  There are several modern, emergent / progressive church theologians leading the charge on this viewpoint.

11. )  These experiences may include icons, candles, incense, liturgy, labyrinths, prayer stations, contemplative prayer, experiencing the sacraments, particularly the sacrament of the Eucharist.   Also this is mentioned in number 7 above.  Except for the labyrinth (Deuteronomy 18:9-13,2 Kings 23:24, Jude 1:3), these become a problem when experience is emphasized over the clarity of the Gospel.

12. )  There also seems to be a developing trend for a strong emphasis on ecumenism indicating that a bridge is being established that leads in the direction of unity with the Roman Catholic Church.   Martin Luther would be appalled to see that evangelical churches are slipping back into syncretism in delineating the Biblical Gospel to a Social Gospel focusing on good works, rather than the verbal proclamation of the Gospel.  Please see article in the link in this blog on the importance for the verbal proclamation of the Gospel, http://www.bibleanswerstoquestions.com/is-the-verbal-gospel-important-to-preach/

13. ) The danger of this movement toward ecumenical can be clearly seen when evangelical leaders are saying that the Reformation in fact went too far. They are reexamining the claims of the “church fathers” saying that communion is more than a symbol and that Jesus actually becomes present in the wafer at communion.   Do you notice that your communion time may be becoming more like an administered ritual, similar to that of the Catholic Church?  This point doesn’t always translate that communion is wrong just because it may be administered in a different way than what you’re used to.  The concern here is that this may be conducted in a more ritualistic and non-biblical or emergent / progressive manner. Be cautious on this point.  Please read 1 Corinthians 11 to discover what God’s Heart is about the way communion should be taken.  This author also loves taking part in foot washing as part of the communion service and the Lord’s Supper.  Not mandatory, but special.  See John 13:1-17.

14. ) There will be a growing trend towards an ecumenical unity for the cause of world peace claiming the validity of other religions and that there are many ways to God.  Although this may be the extreme version, this will be a gradual transition and the version this author believes will be the final destination unless the church repents early of their wandering away from sound doctrine and removes leadership.  See 2 Timothy 4:2-4, and 2 John 1:9-11.

15. ) Members of Churches who question or resist the new changes that the Pastor and leadership are implementing are often reprimanded and “church discipline” is applied and the members usually are asked to leave in that they are considered being divisive to the new direction of the church.  Mistreatment of members and a misapplication of Matthew 18 are becoming more and more frequent.  If you see this happening, chances are that you are either experiencing deceptive behavior from the pastor, pastoral staff and church elders.  Sometimes some elders may not even be aware of the gradual, deceptive changes.  Often lying and known cover ups by certain elders and pastors will shield the truth from being exposed.  They seem to think they are exempt from Matthew 18 themselves and the qualifications of an Elder (1 Timothy 3 and 4, Titus 1, etc., also covered in the article on this blog, “What are the Biblical Qualifications of an Elder?”  Sometimes in a transition of change and deceptive behavior, a member may be teaching in accordance with the current Statement of Faith and Church Bylaws and then be chastised and disciplined for teaching in accordance with the present Statement of Faith and Church Bylaws.  This occurs when the church leadership is trying to change a long church history based on the current Statement of Faith and Church Bylaws to fit their new desired theology.  There have been several heated church membership votes over this very issue!  Unfortunately, the younger people, ages 18 to 35, are usually among the more vocal supporters in these meetings.  Quite a ruckus at voting times!

Remember that not all of these 15 warnings have to be present in your church for you to be an emergent church or dangerously heading this direction!

Look to God’s Word.  Remember Paul’s instruction to Timothy:

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26, NASB).

Jesus is coming soon.  (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, NASB) “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.   For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

*Notes:  Some sources were used for my research, such as my own personal experiences and association with an unnamed Church group for the majority of practical examples presented and the website http://www.so4j.com/emergent-church-false-teaching.php, God’s Holy Word, His precious Son Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit.  Any mistakes made, I claim the responsibility.  Anything of excellence and supreme virtue – the credit belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (The Word, John 1:14).

Are We Becoming An Emergent Church (Progressive Church)? (15 warning signs!) – Part 1 of 2

Author’s Definition for Emergent Church / Progressive Church Theology:  A subversive movement by church leaders with the intended purpose to reinvent mainstream evangelical Christianity and insert a social gospel that is “more inclusive” and “less restrictive”.   Sadly, these leaders believe they are doing what God wants.

Did you already read Part 1 and need to go to Part 2? Click here Are We Becoming An Emergent Church? – Part 2

The Bible addresses this errant teaching in John 14:6 (NASB), “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”   This sounds rather exclusive, doesn’t it?  There is only one way to God.  This errant teaching also leads to a de-emphasis on proclaiming the verbal Gospel of Jesus Christ, which believers are commanded to do in Mark 16:15 (NASB), “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”  The Greek word for preach in this verse is κηρύσσω (pronounced kērussō or kay-roos’-so), which means to herald or proclaim as a public crier, especially divine truth.

Are We Becoming An Emergent / Progressive Church?

Short List of 15 Warning Signs (see *note at bottom of 2nd Page): (1)Scripture is no longer the ultimate authority as the basis for the Christian Faith; (2) The centrality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being replaced by humanistic methods promoting Church Growth and a Social Gospel, and / or an inconsistent verbal proclamation of the Gospel from the pulpit; (3) More and more emphasis is being placed on building the Kingdom of God now and less and less on the Warnings of Scripture about the imminent Return of Jesus Christ and a Coming Judgment in the Future; (4) The Teaching that Jesus Christ will rule and reign in a literal millennial period is considered unbiblical and heretical; (5) The stated teaching or personal belief of the Pastor that God has removed His hand from Israel and that Israel no longer has any Prophetic significance; (6) The Teaching that the Book of Revelation does not refer to the Future, but instead has been already fulfilled in the past; (7) An experiential Mystical form of Christianity begins to be promoted as a method to reach the Postmodern Generation; (8) Ideas are promoted teaching that Christianity needs to be reinvented in order to provide meaning for this generation; (9) The Pastor may implement an idea called “ancient-future” or “vintage Christianity” claiming that in order to take the church forward, we need to go back in church history and find out what experiences were effective to get people to embrace Christianity; (10) While the authority of the Word of God is undermined, images and sensual experiences are promoted as the key to experiencing and knowing God; (11) These experiences include icons, candles, incense, liturgy, labyrinths, prayer stations, contemplative prayer, experiencing the sacraments, particularly the sacrament of the Eucharist; (12) There seems to be a strong emphasis on ecumenism indicating that a bridge is being established that leads in the direction of unity with the Roman Catholic Church, Islam, Mormonism,etc.; (13) Some evangelical Protestant leaders are saying that the Reformation went too far. They are reexamining the claims of the “church fathers” saying that communion is more than a symbol and that Jesus actually becomes present in the wafer at communion; (14) There will be a growing trend towards an ecumenical unity for the cause of world peace claiming the validity of other religions and that there are many ways to God; and (15) Members of Churches who Question or Resist the new changes that the Pastor is implementing are reprimanded and usually asked to leave.  Often this involves lying and deceptive behavior on the part of the leadership.

Some early warnings and symptoms include the use of terms such as flourishing, inclusive, community, progressive, building God’s Kingdom here on Earth, developing a kingdom focus and perhaps a strong or defined movement towards changing a biblically defined existing Statement of Faith to a new Statement of Faith that is more inclusive.  This usually involves a changing of church bylaws to restrict or remove members biblical authority in challenging truth who should also be involved in church discipline.   A pastor passionate on becoming an Emergent Church will want to remove all obstacles and place himself closer to unfettered power.  (Author’s comments:  Although your church may not be there yet in denying the gospel, this may be the next step if some or most of the warning signs identified below are entrenched in your local church structure.  Listen carefully to your pastor’s sermons to hear if the verbal, proclaimed Gospel is missing from Pulpit sermons and messages.  Often the changes are subtle and it may be years before you realize your church is emergent.) 

Background Information for 15 Warning Signs:

What are the Warning Signs that We Need to Look Out for?  Even though not all warning signs may be present, any one of the 15 warning signs listed further down is a strong signal that your church may be starting down a dangerous and destructive path to becoming an emergent / progressive church, bent on distorting the Gospel and leading people away from their need for the Gospel.

Frequently, this may appear inconsequential at first or you may find it hard to believe that this is really happening to your church.  You might even feel bad questioning your church’s drifting theology because so many wonderful things seem to be happening such as relational life groups to build community, strong community outreach programs and visible community presence for your church, active youth programs, etc.  Please make careful observations and spend time in the Word with prayer and meditation and pray that the Holy Spirit would confirm whether this is happening in your local church body through careful study of God’s Word.  A denial and a refusal to confront these things in truth will later lead to shame and guilt in not being obedient to God’s Truth, not to mention a complicit effort to lead people astray from sound doctrine and teaching.  Please read 2 Timothy 4:3-5.

Be aware that when you do decide to confront your pastor and or leaders in regard to what God’s Word has to say, that you may become a target for a misapplication of Matthew 18 and singled out as a divider (creating division).  Many times there is a price to be paid in becoming bold for God’s Truth.  Take Galatians 4:16 (NASB) to heart, “So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

Based upon your pastor’s reaction to you, this may show that your pastor may not have a heart willing to receive correction as exhorted in Acts 17, 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  We’re supposed to be able to speak truth into each other’s lives. He may instead try to relegate any further discussion from you to an elder (usually their role is to be a hatchet man) and if the elder (more times than not) decides that you will need to drop this and not pursue it, you are then expected to follow the Pastor’s and the Elder’s authority. This buffering of doctrinal challenges to the pastor is becoming more prevalent in Emergent / Progressive Churches where the leadership is facing opposition to the new theological direction they’re taking the church.

Your church leaders may even instruct you in the following scriptures on submitting to church authority,  Hebrews 13:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, Philippians 1:1, etc.  Oftentimes, they also neglect to read or cite the following scriptures as well, which talks about their expected behavior as a leader, Matthew 20:25-28, 1 Peter 5:1-5, and 3 John 9-12.  Oftentimes they may start dealing with people challenging erred doctrine with a heavy hand and use Matthew 18 as a club instead of the purpose, which is to restore a sinning member to fellowship.  Since when does speaking the truth in love become a sinful behavior.  Yes, there is a Biblical manner in which to approach your pastor and we are to speak the truth in love, Ephesians 4:14-16 (NASB), “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Matthew 18 and Galatians 6:1 do address the biblical process pretty specifically (proper private approach, confrontation with witnesses, desired repentance and prayerfully restoration).  The biblical goal is always restoration.  As a final result after non-repentance is shown, then church dismissal, disfellowship or excommunication is applied.  This biblical discipline applies to the pastor and elders as well.  Members, according to Matthew 18 can biblically confront the pastor.  In some emergent churches, the structure of the bylaws is being rewritten and, this writer believes, in an unbiblical manner to only allow this to be applied and enforced from an Executive Board of Elders and exclude regular elders and members from having any authority.

Click below to link to the second part of this article, http://www.bibleanswerstoquestions.com/are-we-an-emergent-church/part2 .