Gospel Counterfeits
In their book How People Change, Tim Lane and Paul David Tripp lay out seven counterfeit gospels.
- Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”
- Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”
- Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”
- Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”
- Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”
- Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs."
- “Social-ism.” “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”
How many of these do you recognize in your own heart? How can we help our congregations to recognize them in their hearts through preaching, discipling, and counseling?
Two more immediately come to mind, from my own experience:
*leader-ism*: "I'm very inspired by what this person says about God and me. I even rave about how great he is to non-believers. But I tend to take his word above the Bible, and I neglect to actually tell my friends about Jesus."
*power-ism*: "The gifts of the Holy Spirit have really built my faith and make me a powerful servant of God. But I find myself focusing on what Jesus gives me over who he is."
Posted by: Ken Arnold | Apr 4, 2008 6:50:29 PM
Oh man, formalism and biblicism, hands down. I feel I finally partially overcame some of my mysticism, only to be looking in the face of new false Gospels.
It's why I keep coming back here.
Posted by: Scott | Apr 10, 2008 12:20:48 PM