Paul vs. the 'Super Apostles'

Good morning to all of you. We are just about to the events of Easter. Can you believe it? It's almost Easter. We've got next Sunday, the Palm Sunday dinner.

We always do our annual Easter dinner when we think you're maybe more likely to be here. So don't forget that. And then, of course, we're gonna have a Good Friday service.

For those of you that are unclear, we do communion. We celebrate the Lord's Supper at our Good Friday service. So be sure to put that on your calendar.

I think it's six o'clock. And then, of course, Easter Sunday. And for some of you that wanna know, like, where are we gonna be when we're preaching?

So we're in Corinthians today. We'll be there again next week. And then on Easter Sunday, we will be in the Gospel of Luke. So just plan accordingly, bring enough Bible, bring the relevant sections of the Bible, or just bring all the Bible with you, and we'll be good.

I'm Jason. I think I've had a chance to greet most of you. And if you're new here today, a special welcome to you. We have been walking through a book of the Bible called 2 Corinthians.

It's actually a letter. And today, we are all the way up to chapter 11. Chapter 11 out of 13. We're gonna finish this thing very soon. We've been marching through this letter.

It's from the Apostle Paul to a city, a church in a city, a Greek city called Corinth. And today, we come to a place where, well, there's no other way to say it.

Things are gonna become very, very personal. Very personal. The relationship between this Apostle and this church, to put it lightly, it's been a little bit rocky.

And the reason that it's been rocky is because Paul has moved on to do further missionary work. He's planted this church. He spent 18 months here.

But he left and went on to do other work. And some things have developed in his absence. And I don't know about you, but sometimes I think to myself, like, you know, if a really slightly more capable leader, like the Apostle Paul, slightly more capable than me, you know, if he can have problems in his churches,

it's probably not the end of the world that some of our churches today have some problems. But as things stand right now, we know that the church has mostly come around.

Mostly. He's heard an encouraging report from his protege, Titus, and he's even preparing to come back and make a return visit. Only there are still some very big problems that remain.

Some super big problems, we might say. And today we're going to hear Paul take direct aim at them, at the so-called super apostles. So we're in verse 1.

If you want to follow along with me as I read for us, I'm going to read verse 1 through verse 15.

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me. For I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

But 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.

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.

Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge.

Indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preach the gospel, God's gospel to you free of charge?

I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone.

For the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do. And what I am doing, I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission, they work on the same terms as we do.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. Let's pray once more.

Will you pray with me? Father, as we open your word, in this very personal moment between your apostle Paul and this struggling church, will you show us what you have for not just one church once upon a time, but for all of your churches, because you, Lord, we trust, we know,

have seen fit to superintend this, to inspire this, to put this here for our benefit. And so we thank you, and we praise you, and we pray for this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, if you were with us, say, a couple of weeks ago, you heard Paul defend his ministry before. As a matter of fact, last time we were in this letter, he defended the genuineness of his ministry.

You'll remember that he talked about several marks of what makes for a genuine ministry. He said things like, genuine ministry is going to build up and not tear down.

Genuine ministry is not concerned with comparisons, but only with the Lord's approval. Genuine ministry will work in the sphere that God has assigned to us.

And when we have any fruit or we see any results, we boast only in the Lord. That's Paul. That's Paul's ministry. Genuine. Genuine. But now Paul takes an interesting turn, doesn't he, here in this part of the letter?

Knowing that, again, there are some real problems, some particular people here in this church that are causing trouble. He takes a very novel, and I would say kind of an interesting tactic.

He's going to turn himself into a fool. He literally says that. He's getting ready to launch in. We stopped right before it starts. But he's going to launch into next week what is often called by scholars, the fool's speech.

Paul is going to say, hey, you guys have been duped into thinking that all this foolish stuff that these guys are all about, that that's important, that that's what qualifies a person for ministry.

Well, I can do that. I'll jump right in, and I'll brag about all the stuff that qualifies me too. Of course, for Paul, he does it in a way that's almost absurd.

Because the things he starts bragging about are things like his weakness and his sufferings and all the ways that he's been persecuted. He says, I'm boasting in things that show my weakness.

That's what he says down in verse 30, if we look ahead. So he's going to get there. So that's what he's starting out saying in verse 1. I want you to bear with me in a little foolishness.

Do bear with me. But then what he goes on and does in verse 2, before he launches into the fool's speech, he wants them to know some things first.

He's going to be very straightforward with them. There are some important things you guys need to know, he says, about my feelings about you, about my role with you, and about what you as a church are really up against.

Rival versions of the gospel, a different Jesus that some are preaching to you, a mindset that favors superficial, worldly things, while my opponents are using these things to drive a wedge between you and me,

you the church that I love so much. So he starts out in verse 2, and he says, guys, I got to tell you, I feel some jealousy. I feel a divine jealousy for you.

We stop right there, because I don't know, last time I checked, I thought jealousy was a sin. Is Paul saying, I'm being sinful. I have jealousy.

And the answer to that is, no, he's not. That's not that kind of jealousy. That would be jealousy of a human variety, the kind that most of us experience.

But Paul isn't referring to that. And if you conjure up some Old Testament passages about God being a jealous God, that's what you should do.

That's the kind of jealousy that Paul has for these people, his people. It's a holy zeal. That's what Paul has. His jealousy is not corrupted by sinful impulses or by anything impure.

His jealousy is pure and untainted. He goes on in verse 2, I'm jealous since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

What an interesting metaphor from Paul, right? To use what is essentially matchmaker language. Any of you ever tried to play matchmaker on the playground when you were a kid?

Or maybe as a middle-aged adult, you try to play matchmaker for the poor single person that maybe doesn't want you to play matchmaker for them.

Some of you are like, yeah, but sometimes it works out. Well, it's also sometimes really embarrassing. But anyway, Paul's not that kind of matchmaker.

He's not doing it on the playground. It's not embarrassing. What he is doing, listen, he is putting himself in the position as the bride's father.

Because that's how marriages worked at this time in the ancient world. They were arranged. And he's saying, you, the church, are the Lord's bride.

You're Jesus' bride. He's your bridegroom. And I matched you guys up. I betrothed you as a church when I came here and brought you the gospel.

And you received it. Betrothals. You know, we think about that. We're like, oh, I know what that is. That's like an engagement, right? We have those today.

Well, yes and no. A betrothal, please understand, in the ancient world, was a lot more serious than today's engagements. Honestly, somebody today who's engaged that doesn't want to be engaged can simply do this.

Here you go. Take the ring off. Give it back. Engagement's over. I hope that doesn't happen. But sometimes it does. Not so in the ancient world.

When you were betrothed, it meant that you had to literally get a divorce. You needed a certificate of divorce. Somebody had to misbehave morally.

Betrothals were essentially like you were already married with one exception. And that one exception is that you were spending a one-year period still living at home with your father if you're the betrothed woman.

Still living with your father, still under his protection. You had one ceremony, the betrothal ceremony, and you were waiting on that second ceremony, the wedding ceremony itself, the consummation ceremony, where the bridegroom would finally bring the bride home to be with them.

And please understand, that's a very fitting analogy. As God's people today, if you're a Christian, if you're a part of the true church, you are betrothed.

It's binding. We're just waiting for the consummation of heaven. Paul says, you're the Lord's. You're committed to Him. When I came and brought you the gospel, by the grace of God, you received it, and you became betrothed.

You know, they say that a father in the ancient world would do anything to protect, anything to protect the purity of his betrothed daughter.

He would guard her. He would protect her. He would watch out, make sure that there are not other eyes on her, that there wouldn't be any other would-be suitors.

That time's over. She is betrothed and promised. It's done. And yet, check out what's happening. Paul says in verse 3, I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, that your thoughts will be led astray

from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. He goes all the way back to Eve, doesn't he? The very first bride ever. Eve, the mother of all the living.

And what Paul's saying is that just as the serpent in the garden and by the way, this will not be the last time in our passage that Paul refers to Satan, the devil.

He says, just as that old enemy once deceived Eve by his cunning, I'm afraid that your thoughts, literally your minds, will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

You know, in other words, what he's saying is like, hey, church, somebody's hitting on you. Somebody wants to cut in on this dance. Somebody wants to take your purity by taking you home for themselves.

But you're already promised. You are already claimed. I remember very vividly back in Bible college, I went to one of these marriage factory Bible colleges.

Anybody know what those are like? I came out unmarried, but I met Terry during college. But at my college, it seemed like, you know, everybody was dating and everybody was getting engaged.

Well, we had one year, mid-year, where a new student showed up in January. His name was Chris. And Chris was really friendly with everybody.

And he was really outgoing. And Chris was really fun-loving. And Chris was also really engaged. Like he had a fiance back home in Kansas or wherever it was.

But did that stop Chris from being the life of the party with all the girls on campus? No, it did not. Chris could not spend enough time with all the ladies on campus.

You'd literally walk by and he would be like in the middle of a circle of girls. Chris really liked to be with the girls. He would laugh with them.

He'd chat them up. He'd joke with them. He would flirt with them. I mean, we could all see it. This was not a happily engaged young man. And I remember feeling really badly for the poor girl back home in Kansas that had no idea.

Paul is worried about the spiritual purity of this church. Set apart for Christ through the work of the true gospel. That's what he goes on to say next.

Look at what he turns to in verse 4. He says, For if someone comes and proclaims to you 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.

Another Jesus, meaning like a modified version of Jesus that's shaped according to someone's liking that maybe leaves out parts that they don't like.

A different spirit. We're not sure what that is. At the very least, it's not the genuine work of the Holy Spirit. A different gospel? How can there be a different one when we know in point of fact that there is only one true gospel?

By the time we come to verse 5, Paul finally names his opponents. And he's got a fun nickname for them. Verse 5. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles.

Super apostles. You know, you really have to love it. I did some checking on this, the original language. Paul has been known to show a few flashes of sarcasm.

And this is one here. What he does here is he actually invents a word. Paul does that on occasion in the Greek. He invents a word by mashing up two adjectives in front of apostles.

The two adjectives, if you're curious, are hyper, which means above or beyond. And then the second adjective is lian, which means exceedingly.

Above, beyond, exceedingly. These guys are beyond exceedingly apostles. Super apostles. Now here's the thing. A few scholars actually think that our rivals here in Corinth, these super apostles, that they may have actually liked the title.

There's a couple scholars that think they were actually using it or letting people use this title. They were referring to themselves as super apostles.

We're better than that weakling Paul. You know, we're not your usual apostles. We're kind of special, kind of unique class. We're like the next gen.

We are the superior, the super apostles. You know, there are times in the church, in the church's history, where we have maybe gotten a little too enthusiastic about our titles.

Right? I'm talking about those of us that lead. I usually prefer that you call me Jason. That's the name I was given. Some of you call me Pastor, and that's fine, or Pastor Jason.

I don't mind that. And as a matter of fact, when it comes to the kids, I think that's really good. I think it's good that they call Amber, Mrs. Amber, or Pastor Matt, Pastor Matt.

I think it's nice for kids to have like a title of respect, a little distance from an adult. That's just a personal preference. It's not in Scripture.

But you realize that in some circles, for pastors, it can become all about the reverend. The reverend. Not just the R-E-V period, but like write it out, the whole word.

Reverend. Did you know that there are apparently like different levels of reverence? You ever heard of that? It's kind of a big deal, I guess.

I mean, to me, just being called reverend by itself is a little like, ah, you know what reverend means? Holy. I don't want to be called that.

I would like to be, but you know, I'm not sure I'm always living up to that. So I learned that there is also a title, right reverend. Maybe as opposed to left reverend.

Maybe, I don't know. Is right reverend, is that higher than just reverend? I think it might be. And then beyond that, I mean, not to be outdone, there is, let's see, very reverend.

That's literally a title. The very reverend Jason Nichols. But neither the right nor the very can compete with the most reverend. I mean, it just goes on.

There's the most reverend, the most reverend holy canon, his eminence, his excellency. And I've been thinking a lot this week about changing the nameplate on my door.

I'm trying to settle on what I think would be the best title for me. But isn't this ridiculous? These are men, people, humans. whether they were just thinking of themselves as super apostles or actually saying it out loud.

Super apostle Jim, what do you have for us today? Super apostle Jack, would you like to share a word with the church? Paul's like, let me tell you guys, I am not, in the least, verse 5, in the least, inferior to these guys.

And we wonder, why would Paul have to say this? Why would he have to defend himself like this? Were some people in the church actually running around and saying that he was inferior?

Were the super apostles themselves saying this? Yes, they were. And here's what they were basing it on. We learn this starting in verse 6. He says, even if I, Paul, am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge.

Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you in all things. All those cherished and much vaunted skills in rhetoric that we know were so popular was all the rage in Corinth and ancient Greece.

To be a skilled rhetorician, that's what Paul's talking about. He knows that there are public speakers in the city who had that specialized training.

We're talking about skilled rhetoricians that knew how to carefully craft their words, use wordplay, all for emotional effect. They were clever.

They were charming. They could adapt an argument to win over their listeners. Real polish. They had, you know, the vast knowledge of a philosopher along with the timing of a stand-up comic.

Oh, the booming voice of an opera singer. Apparently, that was a thing. To practice your voice in ancient Greece for hours on end like an opera singer would.

These were the stylized standards of Greco-Roman rhetoric. All to get the audience to be putty in your hands. And it probably didn't hurt if you're tall, dark, and handsome and had fancy clothes on.

Well, guess what? Paul didn't care about any of this. Paul had an appearance that was not impressive. And I'm sure his clothes were not much.

He probably was a bit hobbled ! from all his persecutions. A little crooked in appearance. A lot worse for the wearer. I mean, can you imagine people saying, did you see how scarred up that guy is?

Now, make no mistake, Paul could be a very powerful speaker. And we know that even in letters like 2 Corinthians that he actually was skilled in rhetoric.

He knows what he's doing. But as he says over in his first letter to them, back in 1 Corinthians 2, he says, I didn't come to you with brilliance of speech.

I didn't come to you with the world's wisdom. I came instead in weakness. The weakness of a Savior who humbled himself and suffered and was humiliated and went to a horrible Roman cross to save the world.

So this is one way that the super apostles were trying to discredit him. They were saying, we're winners and Paul, you're a loser. We thrive.

You suffer. We have all the polish and the style. We're a real draw and frankly, you, well, you haven't been around in a while. There's another way they were trying to discredit him.

We go on to hear this in verse 7. They were telling the church that, Paul won't take any of your money. Verse 7, he says that he preached the gospel, God's gospel to you free of charge.

See, in wealthy cities like Corinth, not only was there rhetoric, there was also the system of patronage. The Roman system, Greco-Roman system of patronage was huge in places like Corinth.

This was where a rich person, some one of the elites, would basically give money to someone to get favors in return. This is where if you're a rich person, you would maybe give money to one of these publicly trained speakers, these rhetoricians, and they, you call it benefaction, and then they in return

would make you, their benefactor, look good. They would run around talking about you. Go to the city gate or wherever it was in town, to the city square, and speak eloquently about what an amazing guy you were, or her, or she, you can imagine how this would play out in a church.

Wealthy people, and we know there were some in Corinth, wealthy Corinthian church people paying the super apostles to get these kinds of favors, a kind of like, you know, I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine.

Listen, this is why Paul wouldn't take any of their money. He didn't want to get caught up in any way in this system of patronage. He was, after all, a missionary to them.

He came to them as almost all missionaries do on someone else's money, or in his case, on some of his own dime and other people's money. He came to them with some support from the folks in Macedonia, and he wanted to be very clear with them that unlike those rival super apostles you have there,

I want to be very clear that I don't make converts, I don't do ministry to get money from them. Instead, what he says is he humbled himself, and what he means by that is he did the humble work of tent making.

He was a tent maker by trade. That's actual manual labor. That probably means some calluses on your fingers, maybe some dirt under your fingernails.

Listen, the elite in Corinth, they didn't like manual labor, they looked down on it. They did not value that. We know that Paul worked as a tent maker to support himself.

We know that when he first got to Corinth, he did that like during the day, and then in the evening and late into the night, he would teach.

We also know from the book of Acts chapter 18 that he did this for a while. Of course, no one can sustain that pace for very long until his companions showed up, and they basically provided for his needs so he could devote himself to full-time ministry.

Acts 18 · chapter mention

But what he's saying is, did I sin in some way against you when I did it this way? More sarcasm, more irony. Some might say I'm unskilled in speaking, but is anyone seriously going to entertain the charge that I don't have knowledge?

I spent 18 months with you people, taught you the true gospel, not this other variety from your super apostles, the one about life being about winning and success and ease and luxury.

I spent 18 months giving you the real Jesus who humbled himself by coming in the flesh and then suffered and died for your sins. Not the miracle-working only Jesus or the great orator, wise teacher Jesus.

I gave you the real Jesus. I invested a year and a half with you people watching the real spirit, the Holy Spirit, move among you to give you new spiritual life.

Not this other spirit that's at work now with these false super apostles. apostles. In fact, verse 8, I did it at the expense of other churches.

He puts on a little bit of sarcasm, a little bit of irony here. He says, I robbed other churches by accepting their support to serve you. Now, Paul wasn't actually robbing them.

It was willfully given by the Macedonian churches, but he's making a point. He's saying, I essentially plundered the poorer churches of Macedonia so that you, rich Corinth, wouldn't see me in the wrong light.

I did it because I had to distance myself from your corrupt social systems of patronage. And actually, with this statement, overstatement about these other churches, we realize that Paul's answering another charge, an additional charge from these super apostles.

They were trying to say that Paul didn't really love them. Apparently, there was great social stigma in not receiving a gift. If somebody offers you a gift, you dishonor them if you don't receive it.

And they were using this to Paul's disadvantage by saying that since Paul won't receive your money, that shows what he thinks about you. He doesn't really love you.

Paul doesn't even mount an argument. Verse 11, he simply says, that's crazy. You know how much I love you. And then he appeals to God. He's like, God knows how much I love you.

And in fact, in verses 10 through 12, Paul actually calls their bluff. He tells them, this is my boast, actually, that I don't take your money.

Not that it wouldn't be right. It is right for the ox to eat while it treads out the grain. He says elsewhere that the worker is worthy of his wages.

He defends that. There's that passage in his first letter, 1 Corinthians 9, verse 14, where he says that in the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:14

This is legitimate. This should be normal, Paul says. But, because of how corrupt things are in your situation, I didn't do it there. And yeah, I have this as a boast.

It's a boast that I won't stop talking about. I won't be silent that I never took a penny from you people. That's something that your so-called super apostles cannot say.

I know they try, but they can't. Verse 12, and what I am doing, I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission, they work on the same terms we do.

But they really don't. And Paul says, I cut the ground right out from under their feet with their false claim. They want to say that they carry out their work, they do their mission on the same terms that I do.

They are lying. And you all know that they're lying.

By verse 13, Paul finally comes right to it. Finally, it's a direct assault on the super apostles and what they really are. This is what he says.

Verse 13, what are they really? For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. There's no more irony, no more exaggeration or sarcasm.

He's done with all the personal defenses about his personal policies, and now he cuts right to the chase. It's time to expose these people for their true character and what they really are.

False apostles. Literally, this is a Greek word we all understand. Pseudo. false. Pseudo apostles. Meaning, they are passing themselves off as something they are not.

Because when you preach a different Jesus, or when you proclaim a different gospel, or when you have a different spirit flowing about in your ministry, that makes you a fake, a fraud.

False. false. He also calls them deceitful workmen. You know, usually that term workmen in Scripture is a really important term. It's a really honorable description.

It's honestly, it appears more than the word pastor. How many times does Paul refer to someone else that's done incredible things in the church or in ministry and says, they're my fellow worker, fellow workmen.

But here he says, these are, they're workers, but they're deceitful. Deceitful workmen. They work against the true gospel and its faithful workers.

They disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. It's like Halloween time. These guys, they're putting on a costume, only they wear it year round.

Year round, they play dress up and pretend, seducing people to another Jesus. And they're doing it in the name of Jesus. Maybe even quoting selectively from Jesus.

And no wonder, Paul says, continues to drive the dagger in verse 14. No wonder, for even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.

Verse 15. So it's no surprise, it's no wonder, that his servants also would disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Kind of reminds me of what Jesus once said to a bunch of Pharisees when they doubted him.

When they said he was a liar, he said, no, I'm not the liar, you're the liar. And you're just like your father. He's the father of all lies, the devil.

So it is with these false so-called super apostles, their true master, the great deceiver, as he uses tactics of deception, so do they. And they'll do it all the while appearing to be holy and pious and talented

and likable and slick. But they are leading you astray. Leading your thoughts astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ, Paul says. You're like Eve, church.

Right now, you've got the apple in your hand and the serpentine tongues of those super apostles are offering you that fruit telling you to take a bite.

Don't do it. Because you need to know that God is not fooled. Neither am I, Paul says. I'm not fooled either. And you need to know what's coming for them.

Their end, end of verse 15, their end will correspond to their deeds. In other words, he means that on the final day, both will be condemned.

Both their deeds and they themselves.

Guys, this morning before we close, I want to just take a minute to reflect on this. I don't have any points for you. It's another pointless sermon.

You've got to make them up. I want us to think about what this means and how we might carefully apply this today. Because last time I checked, nobody's running around with the, you know, most reverend super apostle title.

Right? But I do have a few questions I want to ask you. Here's the first one. Do we live in a world where people can be impressed with eloquence and great speaking ability?

Just admit it. You're impressed every week. Right? I wish. Let me ask you. Is it possible that there can be a celebration of highly effective speaking in the church

that's actually quite vapid theologically? I'm asking you. Can there be someone who is a tremendous speaker? A captivating speaker that doesn't really give much content?

Yeah. Can we have the kind of worship in our churches? Worship that, you know, rocks the house. I always cringe when people say that. They really rocked the house today.

I'm like, okay. Or others of you are like, I don't like that. I like it when it really appeals to me quietly. Charms my heart. Can you have worship that either rocks the house or charms the heart that's also theologically vapid?

Yeah. Do we live in a world where some talented folks can be pretty inspiring with their well-crafted and superbly delivered presentations? And I'm talking about speaking, yes, but also writing.

Yeah, we do. Do we live in a world where what's trendy or cool or inspiring really draws? Yes, we do. You should write a song, you know, like, isn't that like the Andrew Peterson song?

We could all sing, yes, we do, and we ask these questions.

Whether it's people who can draw us in by, you know, different qualities appeal to different people. And sometimes the false teachers among us stack up different ones.

So it might be niceness, nice, winsome. Or maybe it's charm and charisma. Or for others of us, we're drawn by someone who seems very well-learned or well-read.

Or maybe it's by how open and tolerant and enlightened they seem. Or here's one that never fails throughout the ages how funny they are. Humor is God's gift to us.

You know, it's a strange thing that even today, you know, with all of our technology and virtual 3D and movies and everything else, it's amazing to me that you can still see a major venue packed out to listen to a person talk.

Listen to a person talk. You think that's not happening? Do you know how many people go see Dave Chappelle? Nate Bargetze? I recommend the latter, not the former.

Big crowds just to hear a person talk. I guess they call it material, but they're often talking about some of the silliest things in their lives.

The most trivial things. And we'll pay 80, 100, 200 dollars a ticket to hear somebody talk. Let's not think we've come so far. And when it comes to the church, and when it comes to matters of faith and ministry, whether it's a pastor like me or a teacher out there or an amazing

worship band, we've got an amazing worship band, or books that are being written by big names and conference headliners, we have to be discerning.

We have to be discerning. Our thoughts can be led astray. From a sincere, pure devotion to Christ, the real Christ, the full orbed biblical Jesus, not the one that someone manufactures by filtering out parts they don't like,

like the super apostles were apparently doing with their Jesus, this other Jesus as Paul describes them. That's what they were doing. They were filtering out the parts they didn't like, and the parts they didn't like were things like the suffering side of Jesus, you know, they probably didn't have like a good Friday

service. They were filtering out the Jesus who was weak, the Jesus who was humiliated, the Jesus who had to die for sins that people actually committed, that actually needed atoning, the Jesus whose death really did

have to satisfy the wrath of the Father, from whom we as human beings really are separated, apart from Christ. When you filter those things out, those I would call the harder truths of the gospel, and you build a ministry without them, you know what might happen?

That ministry might thrive. It may very well grow, and it may feel really good to a lot of people, but it's thriving in what Paul would say is a different spirit, not the holy one.

that's one challenge, but it's not the only kind of challenge we face in the church today. In other places, we see people grow many empires through their worship teams, or their amazing, dazzling stage presence.

Well, maybe they don't call themselves a super apostle, but they are a super pastor, a celebrity pastor. We've even coined a term for them. you're one of those modern day celebrity pastors.

You know, I hear some of them even take the show on the road and sell tickets. Are we careful and discerning about who we allow to sell us their music, or their books, or their conference tickets?

Because you know what some of them want? They want us to buy. They want us to come and fill an auditorium. They want us to come and fund their massive budgets, and in some cases their lavish lifestyles.

Now, I'm not saying big is always bad. Small can be bad too. But small is not usually as tempted by what's flashy, or dazzling, or cool, because we honestly can't afford it.

Right? Remember, Paul warns about these leaders that they were peddling the word of God for profit. Of course, there's another lane for the ministry of the false apostles and deceitful workmen today, and this is one that might touch a few of us a little bit more personally, because it might involve

some folks that you know, even maybe right here locally in our town. I'm talking about folks who get caught up in the progressive gaze. The progressive gaze.

I mean, it's true, sure, most of the old mainline denominations, I mean, they caved a long time ago on the core doctrines of the faith. You know, Jesus is the only way, or the virgin birth, or the wrath of God.

Most of the mainline denominations have essentially become servants of a gospel of social improvement, social improvement programs. That's not a secret.

That's not new. I don't know if you've been watching, but this has been hitting the evangelical church lately. You see it with both the theological and the moral teachings of the church when churches either downplay or shave off or filter out what they deem to be

too hard, too harsh, too restrictive. Some ministries want to get back in step with what the culture celebrates by claiming that it can be good.

But evil is not good. Immoral is not the new moral. And wrong is not right, no matter how many ways we twist Scripture to try to say that it is.

And such people who do these things, such people who lead in these kinds of compromised ministries, such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

And we remember who stands behind such deception. The father of all lies. Satan himself.

The late C.S. Lewis once wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters. If you've never read it, it's a good read. It's fictional. But in the fictional story of Screwtape, the head demon, as he's trying to train his nephew, a lower-level demon named Wormwood, he's trying to

school him in all the best tactics that work against the people of God. And here's what he says at one point. I have a quote I want to read you.

Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one. The gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

I think Jesus said, wide is the gate, and easy is the way.

So today, let's heed the warning from Paul. And let's learn from the example and the experiences of this ancient church, and let's not be deceived.

We've been promised to one bridegroom, and we are, as the church, his bride. So let's be found sincere and pure in our devotion to him, washed, ready, waiting.

And let's watch out for those deceptive tactics of that old serpent, and for all those who run around even today, disguising themselves as servants of righteousness when they're actually far from it.

And let's not put up so readily, church, let's not put up so readily, either with our ears or our eyes or our minds or our hearts with any other Jesus or any other spirit or any other gospel than the

one that is real and holy and true. Let's pray together. You want to stand with me? Let's pray as the team comes. Lord, for this battle, we need your help.

Lord, you know us, Lord. You created us a little lower than the angels, Hebrews says. You know our frame, our form. You know, Lord, as a parent looks at a young child, maybe a toddler, who wants what they think they want and doesn't always know what's good for them.

I imagine that's how we look to you, Father. And so we need your help by the power of your spirit in us, by the authority of your word given to us.

We need your help in this lifelong task of being discerning. We don't want to fall victim. Lord, we don't want to be led astray. And so, Lord, guard us, protect us.

As an ancient father would watch over his bride, you watch over us, Lord, and protect us from all rival suitors. We've been claimed. We have been betrothed.

We are yours.

And, Lord, help us to help one another as well, whether we're here as a pastor like I am or a leader of some kind or a parent or even a good friend to someone.

Lord, help us to have wise words to share in situations where someone is being attacked. And we will give you glory. We will praise you. We thank you that you claim us as your own.

And, Lord, that that betrothal period will one day be complete. And whether we come because life expires for us or you return as you promised you're going to do, we look forward to that time where we are together with you.

We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.