The Great Christian Mask Deception

Although this seems obvious, I think I will state it anyway: the worst kind of deception is the one that is very deceptive. The worst kind of fake Rolex watch, when it comes to being tricked into buying one, is the one that looks the most like a Rolex watch. The most dangerous kind of counterfeit hundred dollar bill is the kind that looks the most real. The most dangerous kind of self-focus is the kind that hides behind the mask of religious terminology and artificial piety. Sometimes we wear the mask so long that we begin to believe it's actually real. We, following our heart, convince ourselves that our Christianeese and Jesus Jargon actually makes us legit. I guess Jeremiah was right when he said the "heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer 17:9)

Vinoth Ramachandra wrote this: "The Good News is packaged and marketed (using, uncritically, all the techniques of modern advertising) as a religious product offering 'peace of mind', 'how to get to heaven', 'health and prosperity', 'inner healing', 'the answer to all your problems' etc. What is promoted as 'faith in God' often turns out, on closer inspection, to be a means of obtaining emotional security or material blessing in this life and an insurance policy for the next. This kind of preaching leaves the status quo untouched... This kind of "gospel" is essentially escapist, the direct descendant of the pseudo-gospels of the false prophets of the Old Testament. It is simply a religious image of the secular consumerist culture in which modern men and women live."

If you "accepted" Jesus primarily based on the lie that He would fix your relationships, remove your problems, guarantee your promotion, and promise you "your best life now" than all you have accepted was self-promotion and self-glory. There are many in the church who have been given an extremely comfortable sheep costume and taught how to ba-aa-aa very well. Even the apostle Paul, in his day, said this: "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel." (Gal 1:1-7). Paul is so agitated because the kingdom of self is the most dangerous, deceptive and destructive when it cloaks itself with the kingdom of God.

As Paul David Tripp puts it: "It is quite possible for you to be convinced that you are living for the transcendent glories of the kingdom of God when you are, in fact, living for yourself... Selfishness is its most dangerous when it masquerades as service. Self-focus is most powerful when it dons the costume of love. Earthly treasures are most seductive when they take on the appearance of spiritual need. Idols do their nastiest work when they wear the latex mask of God." Is the gospel an end for you or a means to an end? Are you excited about the gospel or just the "stuff" that you think it will give you?

Another Augustine MUST READ!

Here's another goldmine of a quote from Augustine of Hippo. I am really falling in love with his writings. As Agostino Trapè says, he is a "a philosopher, theologian, mystic, and poet in one." After many years of being in bondage to sexual sin and lust (involving a 15 year relationship with a concubine) he was finally converted by the irresistible power of God's sovereign grace. He realized the deceitful emptiness of worldly pleasure compared to the eternal fullness of the pleasures of God. This is what he wrote:

"How sweet did it suddenly become to me to be without the sweetness of trifles! And it was now a joy to put away what I formerly feared to lose. For thou didst cast them away from me, O true and highest Sweetness. Thou didst cast them away, and in their place thou didst enter in thyself -- sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood; brighter than all light, but more veiled than all mystery; more exalted than all honor, though not to them that are exalted in their own eyes. Now was my soul free from the gnawing cares of seeking and getting, of wallowing in the mire and scratching the itch of lust. And I prattled like a child to thee, O Lord my God -- my light, my riches, and my salvation." (Confessions, IX, I).

John Piper - Youth and the Gospel

This is part of a message that John Piper gave to thousands of youth a few years ago and he is apologizing to them for how his generation has told them that the Gospel is about them. There is a gold mine in this short clip. Watch it!

Edwards - Joy in His Glory

This quote by Jonathan Edwards is described by John Piper as "outside the Bible, probably the most important paragraph in any book." This paragraph inspired Piper's well known phrase: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

"God is glorified within Himself these two ways: 1. By appearing . . . to Himself in His own perfect idea [of Himself], or in His Son who is the brightness of His glory. 2. By enjoying and delighting in Himself, by flowing forth in infinite love and delight towards Himself, or in his Holy Spirit. So God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1. By appearing to . . . their understanding. 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying, the manifestations which He makes of Himself. . . God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart. God made the world that He might communicate, and the creature receive, His glory; and that it might [be] received both by the mind and heart. He that testifies his idea of God's glory [doesn't] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it."

Jonathan Edwards is saying that it's not enough to just see or testify of God's glory. We must find our deepest satisfaction and joy and pleasure in glorifying Him. That means that if you have to loose your right arm or gouge out your right eye you must, no matter what, get happy in God. It means that you will never be truly happy or satisfied until God is truly glorified in your thoughts and your affections. God is not most glorified when we simply follow His orders or keep our noses clean; He is most glorified when when we, even in our suffering, are satisfied in Him. It's the most glorious win-win history has ever known... God most glorified and me most satisfied forever.

Heb 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." It is not enough to just believe that God exists. You must believe that He rewards those who seek Him. You must believe that He is the greatest happiness of your deepest joy. You must believe that nothing else in this world, not television or sports or vacations or wealth or even family, will satisfy you as much as Him. You must believe that He is and be most satisfied in Him alone. The reward is not that He gives us temporal blessings and wealth; the reward is our joy in Him.