2 Corinthians 11:2-4

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

2^nd Corinthians 11:2-4

In chapters 10 and most of 11, Paul returns to defending his ministry against those who would speak against him from afar. He speaks against accusations of being domineering (10:7-8), incongruity of teaching (10:10-11), and boasting (10:13-18). He deftly defends his own teaching and asserts that he does indeed teach the same things in person that he does from afar. In the midst of this defense, Paul tells of his concern for the fickle traits the Corinthians showed towards teaching. “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” Paul is worried that in his absence, the Corinthian believers are a bit to apt to become swayed by other teachers who came in preaching ‘different Jesus’’ and ‘different gospels’. Now of course there is only one Jesus and there is only one gospel (“good news”) but Paul is referring to people preaching false versions of Jesus and false versions of the gospel.

We must remember that that:

a.       The communication network of Paul’s day was far more limited than our own. The Corinthian Christians (likely) had never personally met or heard from Jesus while he walked on earth. There was no news culture to report in a systematic way what Jesus said and did. These new believers relied upon those who had personally known Jesus (the apostles) to provide accurate descriptions of Jesus’ life and teachings. [We can see that this concern for purity of the gospel by looking at Luke’s preface to his gospel and Acts.]

b.      Secondly, the canon of Scripture had not yet been defined in totality. To be sure, even by Paul’s later years, certain gospels were widely circulated and of course the Old Testament (as we call it) was viewed as authoritative, but largely, the early Church, especially the Gentile church, relied upon personal witnesses to inform their orthodoxy.

Into that context, Paul is concerned that the Corinthians were falling victim to spurious preachers who claimed doctrines and teachings contrary to that of the true Christ.

As I read this text, I cannot help but identify the ‘different’ gospels that we often entertain today. We, like the Corinthians, rely upon the witness of Scripture to inform us of the truth of the gospel. We are those who Jesus prayed for that would believe without having seen Him on earth. Most of us would never claim (or admit) to following a different ‘god’ but we, by our behavior, betray our words and illustrate the depth of our false beliefs. Before I identify a few ‘false gospels’ that I find particularly concerning (this is by no way a complete list) let me say that we all operate under false impressions of Jesus at different ways and at different times. None of us can claim complete orthodoxy. Indeed the process of sanctification, to which we all are in progress, is a process of bringing our beliefs and actions in line with the truth of gospel. Thanks be to God that we are not justified by the percentage of time we get it right, but rather by the person of Jesus Christ who extends grace to sinners and works through His Holy Spirit to perfect us into His image.

The gospel of personal fulfillment

The first false gospel is the gospel of personal fulfillment. This gospel is not so much about serving Jesus but rather about what our ‘rights’ are as humans. At its essence, this gospel claims that faith in Christ earns us the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and whatever else we desire. The heart of this gospel is hedonism- we want what we want. This gospel is difficult to detect because few would outwardly claim that while we have sworn allegiance to Christ, we still strive to please ourselves.

However, this gospel is demonstrated by the way we conduct ourselves and by the language we use. For example, we might bemoan the legalistic fervor of the Pharisees while eschewing freedom from lists and rules. In our hearts though, the reason for our disdain is not to cling to the purity of grace and the Law of Love but rather to please the desires of our own hearts. We might say things like: ‘God doesn’t want me to be unhappy.’ Such a gospel denies truth and instead rests upon the premise that now that we are within the family of God, all things should and will be given to us regardless what Scripture has said on the matter. Any notion of limits upon our freedom or discipline from the Lord or claims of Spiritual authority are heartily disputed.

The way to answer this false gospel is by not evading the truth of Scripture. We must not isolate ourselves from church and spiritual authority. We must closely check our personal desires against the context of Scripture.

The gospel of cultural relevance

This gospel takes the truth that we cannot witness to a world that we are not in, but perverts it until it is merely an excuse to sin. We find that instead of clinging to the truth of Scripture we wait upon the approval of the world to live out our faith. Such a gospel quickly abandons the truth of Scripture in light of popular opinion. Such a gospel is one of limited perspective; it sees faith only within the context of the current social and political environment. Thus, if some aspect of Christianity flies in the face of the majority of popular belief it must be faulty (non-authoritative) or abandoned.

While we must always be prayerfully and thoughtfully looking to preach the truth of Scripture into differing cultures, we must also be aware that the Word of God exists outside of our social, political, and national context. It is, in fact, authoritative regardless of what popular opinion might assert.

I find this false gospel most often displayed in my life when I shy away from witnessing to others about Christ because of contemporary views toward witnessing or Christianity in general. We can also see the effects of this gospel when we look to appropriate elements of contemporary culture into our lives. We are, in essence, beginning to synchronize our faith with the beliefs of culture.

We can see the way to combat this false gospel in the life of Daniel, who, when taken from his home, religion, and culture was presented with the perfectly rational choice to assent to the demands of life in Babylon, yet chose instead to honor the God of Israel without compromising his faith. One other element to note is that Daniel managed to honor his God and defy the decrees of Babylon without being overly aggressive or inflammatory. We could use a lesson in such a mixture of defiance and humility.

The gospel of comfort/stagnation

This gospel is similar to the idea of personal fulfillment in that it also focuses on what is best for us. However, this gospel is not as blatant. This gospel affirms Jesus’ call of sovereignty on our lives but tempers that call with the realities of this world.’ I know I want to be God’s witness but I’ve got a job and a family and a mortgage to manage (steward, to make it sound more spiritual)’. ‘We’re supposed to be good stewards of what is entrusted to us right?’ it asks.

 This gospel hooks us not by appeals to excessive materialism but rather by appealing to our desire for comfort and stability. Just as insidious as wanton and active sinful behavior, comfort eats away at the work the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. Where we begin as enthusiastic and impassioned as the early Christians in Jerusalem, we are quickly swayed by such otherwise positive elements as unity, frugality, discipline, and wisdom. In the throes of this gospel we ignore the reality of sanctification and the belief that the Lord desires that we be conformed into the image of Christ and that that process continues throughout our lifetime on this earth. Too often, those afflicted by this false gospel wake up one day to find that their Spiritual fervor became dulled by the otherwise well-intentioned concerns of daily life.

To combat this false gospel, we must be constantly in prayer imploring the Lord to show us the next step He wants us to take. We must also be willing to maintain accountability with other believers who will help us in striving for the glory of the Lord.