But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! – 2 Corinthians 11:3-4
In a recent post Our Greatest Danger, we asked: “…what potentially produces the most trouble and torment—and even death—both now and in eternity?”
The short answer is the greatest danger to mankind is twofold: sin and deception.
Because we have an upcoming book on the deadly nature of sin, we will focus mainly on deception here.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Why is being deceived so perilous, and why should we care? A short and succinct explanation of this supreme scourge of humanity can be summed up this way:
Deception separates us from the truth. (Jn 8:31-32; 14:6; 17:17; 1 Jn 3:18)
Separation from the truth moves us away from God—who is our life—and away from His loving and perfect design, along with His light, His protection, and His blessings. Even worse, this also moves us toward darkness and evil, toward the enemies of God and His people, and toward the harm that comes from being outside of, and going against God’s perfect ways. (cp. Ecc 7:29)
Living according to error and sinful ways, always leads to unlimited trouble, grief, pain, destruction, and even death. (cp. Jas 5:19-20; Gal 6:7-8; 2 Tim 2:25ff)
On the other hand, and to illustrate what is at stake, just ask yourself: how much better would our world we be if everyone truly lived according to the truth?
Clearly, nothing is more dangerous and deadly than deception. *For more, see Why The Truth Matters
THE ENEMY’S GREATEST WEAPON
The answer to our first question leads us to our next question: What is our enemy’s most effective weapon in deceiving us? The answer is, in a word: Counterfeits.
These clever and enticing imitations—“another Jesus,” “a different spirit,” “a different gospel”—are firmly at the top of the list of how we are beguiled. When we fall for a counterfeit, it leads to untold amounts of harm and destruction through that particular deceit. (2 Cor 2:11; Gal 1:6-9; Eph 4:14; 2 Thess 2:9-12)
So, what, exactly, is a counterfeit, and how do we define it?
Counterfeit = Imitation of the real thing; a fake; a forgery; an enemy masquerading as a friend; to imitate or feign especially with intent to deceive
In other words, a counterfeit may look genuine, it might even have some good or some truth mixed in, but, overall, it is entirely false. Therefore, because they so closely resemble the real thing, and because deception is so utterly destructive, counterfeits are supremely dangerous and deadly. They are also heavily relied upon by the enemy of our souls.
Satan is the arch-counterfeiter. As we have seen, the Devil is now busy at work in the same field in which the Lord sowed the good seed. He is seeking to prevent the growth of the wheat by another plant, the tares, which closely resembles the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation he is aiming to neutralize the Word of Christ. Therefore, as Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel too; the latter being a clever counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parades, multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.
– A.W. Pink
If counterfeits are so deadly, then it behooves us to thoroughly understand that which poses such a threat to everyone. What is more, all who desire to love, protect, and help others should become experts in counterfeits and how to handle them. Why? Because nothing is more loving than to save others from the utter destruction that come from these deceits (Jas 5:19-20).
On the other hand, if we are not well equipped in this, we will be weak in loving God and others, and may even unwittingly harm others.
CATALOGUE OF COUNTERFEITS
What, then, are the most dangerous imitations that we should diligently watch out for? Here is a list of the deadliest yet most common counterfeits that all true Christians must be fully aware of and familiar with, and which they should be able to readily detect, expose, and explicitly warn others. (Eph 5:6-13; Phil 1:9-11)
Counterfeit Gospels
The Social Gospel
Attempting to merely make the world “a better place”
“Restoring Creation” or “Cultural Renewal”
A Mixture of Grace and Good Works
The belief that there is no need to be saved or reconciled to God
(Acts 15:1; Gal 1:6-9; 2 Cor 11:4)
Counterfeit Love
Good Intentions + Bad Ideology
Compassion – Discernment
(Jer 23:17; Rom 16:18; 1 Cor 13:6; Eph 4:14ff; 2 Tim 3:2; 4:3-4; 1 Jn 3:18)
Counterfeit Justice
Zeal + Error
Passion for Justice – Objectivity/Truth
Pursuit of Justice + World-Approved Theology
(Is 59:13ff; Prov 17:15; Jn 16:2-3; Acts 8:1-3)
Counterfeit Truth & Knowledge
False Teachings
(Gen 3; 1 Cor 1:17ff; 1 Tim 4:1-2; 6:20-21; 2 Tim 2:16ff; 2 Pet 2:1ff; 1 Jn 4:1ff)
Counterfeit Speech
“Linguistic Engineering”
(Gen 3:1, 4-5, 12-13; Matt 4:3, 6)
Counterfeit Church Leaders
(Matt 7:15ff; 2 Cor 11:13-15; Acts 20:28-30)
Counterfeit Teachers
(Matt 15:1ff; 2 Pet 2:1-2; 2 Tim 3:13; Jer 23:14-22)
Counterfeit Christians
(Matt 7:21-23; Gal 2:4-5; Jude 4)
Counterfeit Christs
(2 Cor 11:3-4; Matt 24:4ff)
Counterfeit Holy Spirit
(2 Cor 11:3-4, 13-15; 2 Thess 2:9-10; Matt 7:21-23; 2 Tim 4:1-2)
Counterfeit Gods
(Deut 12:29-31; 2 Thess 2:9-11)
Counterfeit Meditation
Mindfulness
New Age Types of Meditation
Lectio Divina
Eastern Mysticism; Silence/Emptying Your Mind
(Jer 23:25-34; cp Ps 1:1-3)
Counterfeit Prayer
Breath Prayers
Contemplative Prayer; “Silence and Solitude”
(Matt 6:7; Phil 4:6-8) *see Counterfeit Meditation
Counterfeit Word of God
The World’s Wisdom
Extra-Biblical Revelation
Relying on frequent “Personal Words” from the Lord rather than the Written Word
(Gen 3:1-5; Deut 13:1-5; 1 Kgs 22:13ff; Matt 15:1ff; 1 Cor 1:17ff; 3:18-20; Is 8:19-20; cp Acts 17:11)
Counterfeit Spiritual Disciplines
Actual biblical disciplines, such as Bible reading, are often combined with New Age practices and that of other mystics (e.g., “practicing the presence”; “going into the silence”; contemplative prayer).
“Quiet time” here does not always equal simply praying and reading your Bible.
(Jer 23:25-28)
Counterfeit Counsel & Wisdom
This can include “biblical counseling” that distorts the love of God and actual counsel of God’s Word.
(Ps 1:1-3; 1 Cor 1:17ff; Col 2:8; 2 Tim 2:15ff; 1 Jn 4:5-6)
Counterfeit Visions & Prophesies
(Jer 5:31; 14:14; 29:9; Ezek 22:28)
Counterfeit Signs, Miracles & Wonders
(Matt 7:21-23; 24:24; 2 Thess 2:9-10; Rev 16:14)
Counterfeit Needs
(Gen 3:1-6; 25:27-34; Acts 15:1; cp Lk 10:38-42)
Counterfeit Grace
(Jude 4; Rom 6:1; Gal 5:13; cp 1 Pet 5:12; Jn 1:14, 17)
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOVE
While there are many counterfeits, each one presents an opportunity and even a need to love others by helping them to avoid the great destruction that often comes from deception and sin. The question for each of us must be: how motivated are you to be equipped and love God and your neighbor in this way? Is anything more loving and beneficial than this?
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. – James 5:19-20
Love = Walking in the truth, being obedient to the truth of His Word, and speaking the truth in love, in order to glorify God and bless others
Love = Helping others avoid harm, destruction, death; therefore …
Love = Helping others avoid sin and deception (which are the greatest and most common causes of harm, destruction, and death)
Love = Helping others know the truth and true grace, so that they can know the true Jesus, true salvation, and many other true blessings as well
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. – Phil. 1:9-11
THINKING IT THROUGH
- What are some specific examples of counterfeit love, counterfeit justice, and counterfeit gospels?
- What are the top 5 specific counterfeits the world and the Church faces today?
- What does your life look like when it comes to loving others by detecting counterfeits and warning others of these deadly deceits?
- On a scale of 0 to 10, how equipped is the Church when it comes to appropriately loving and protecting the body of Christ from counterfeits? Why did you give it that number?
- How does your church tend to handle these supreme dangers?
- What personal changes would you like to make in light of all of the above?
Hope For Life has a great deal of biblical equipping RESOURCES to help equip the Church in loving others with the truth.
Our two most recent books Making Sense Of The Madness and Jesus Was A Socialist? go into more detail on counterfeit gospels, counterfeit love, and counterfeit justice, among others.
Leave A Comment