Counterfeit Christianity

BEYOND THE BASICS ARTICLE | William Stewart | Odessa, Ontario

Caveat emptor is an old maxim regarding the acquisition of goods. It is Latin for “let the buyer beware.” Charlatans and swindlers are always ready to take advantage of unsuspecting patrons. If we are not careful (and sometimes even when we thought we were careful) we can be cheated by forgeries and bogus items, whether it be artwork, sports memorabilia, clothing, electronics, nutritional supplements, or even food products. The prevalence of online shopping today has opened a massive opportunity for con artists to dupe buyers. Indeed, caveat emptor! Some may not use cash anymore, but there is always the possibility of coming across counterfeit currency for those who do. 2018 statistics from the Bank of Canada indicate over 33,000 counterfeit notes were detected in circulation, about double what was discovered in 2015. One encounter with a counterfeit bill is enough to make anyone appreciate the high cost of counterfeiting. The bank will take the fake note off your hands, removing it from the marketplace, but you receive nothing in return. They cannot and will not reimburse those who have had the misfortune of receiving a bogus bill. To do so would encourage criminal activity and undermine the value of authentic notes. A $5 bill may not hurt much, but imagine losing $20, $50, or even $100 to counterfeit. Ouch!

As troubling as buying a knock-off item or losing cash due to counterfeit currency, there is a more serious deception defrauding the world. Sadly, it is one to which most people pay little or no attention. It is not a scam that affects our pocketbooks – worse – it reaches to the very core of our being, to our eternal soul. Would you believe that counterfeiting is more of a problem in the religious world than it ever has been or will be with money and merchandise? A common perception among people, whether religious or not, is that it really does not matter – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. They are simply different ways to the same end, right? Not so! These various religions present different doctrines, different hopes, and different philosophies. A prophet of God wrote many years ago, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3) The prophet speaks of the agreement needed between God and those who will serve Him. There are not as many ways to God as there are religions in the world. We must come to God according to His will, not our own. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Any religion which excludes Jesus as the source for which eternal life is blatantly counterfeit.

Even in the realm of what is commonly called “Christianity,” we must be cautious. Just because something calls itself “Christianity” does not make it so. We need to seek authentic Christianity. Counterfeit churches have become a powerful tool for Satan. We hear and read statements such as: “Attend the church of your choice,” or “One church is just as good as another,” or “It really doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you believe.” These statements all proceed from the one whom Jesus identified as “the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Counterfeit Christianity has been a source of frustration for many, causing multitudes to give up on “organized religion.” Let me say bluntly – the denominational mess which surrounds us is contrary to God’s will. The apostle Paul specifically taught against sectarianism (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Jesus prayed for His followers, that “…they all may be one…” (John 17:20-21). Jesus came to establish ONE church (Matthew 16:18). The apostle Paul likewise spoke of just ONE church (Ephesians 4:4; cf. 1:22-23). If Jesus only built ONE church, and yet there are thousands of different churches with widely different doctrines, we have a problem. So, how do we know which church is the Lord’s church?

The importance of finding the Lord’s church and being added to it cannot be overstated. Acts 20:28 tells us Jesus purchased the church with His blood. Which church? His church. He did not purchase a host of pseudo-Christian groups. He did not die for an assortment of denominational organizations. Various denominations may use the Bible, have uplifting worship services, and the people may be wonderful. But “…unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” (Psalm 127:1).

Some things are obviously erroneous and thus not a huge concern. For example, when you see a cheap pair of Abidas shoes, you know to leave them alone – the authentic brand is Adidas, not Abidas. However, some counterfeits (and this is true in religion) bear a striking resemblance to the real deal. So we need to be observant and discerning. If what is taught and practiced in the church we go to seems “good,” but we cannot legitimately support it from the Bible, we are in the wrong place. If the church we are a member of was started by someone other than Jesus, it is not His church. Just as there are identifying marks for authentic products, there are identifying marks for the Lord’s church. We’ll consider ten here.

1. ORIGIN. The church was built (Matthew 16:18) and bought (Acts 20:28) by Jesus. It began in Jerusalem in the first century (Acts 1-2). Any church which claims a different place, time, or person of origin is not the Lord’s.
2. NAME. Juliet’s “What’s in a name” speech notwithstanding, names are important. Have you ever received a cheque where your name was misspelled or amiss in some fashion? Legally, you cannot cash the cheque. The church of the Bible gives glory to the Christ (Romans 16:16) and to God (1 Corinthians 1:2). A church wearing a name to exalt someone or something else is not His.
3. STRUCTURE. Jesus is the only head of His church (Ephesians 1:22-23). He does not share this position with anyone, nor has He appointed anyone on earth to function as the head of the church. Each congregation is to have or be working towards qualified bishops and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-16). Elevating men with titles is condemned (Matthew 23:6-10). Men are to take leadership in the public assembly (1 Timothy 2:11-12). A church that claims some earthly head or sets aside the role and qualifications of leaders, or which exalts men with flattering titles, or which has women exercising leadership in the assembly cannot be the Lord’s.
4. MORALITY. God redeemed His people to be holy (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15-16). A church that flaunts their acceptance of sin or is soft on moral issues cannot be the Lord’s church.
5. SALVATION. The church that Jesus built preaches the same gospel which He announced after His resurrection (Mark 16:15-16), which Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38), which Philip taught to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), and which Paul declared to the Macedonians (Acts 16:13-15, 30-34), Romans (6:3-5), Galatians (3:26-27), and in every other place where he proclaimed Christ. Therefore, any church preaching a “faith only” gospel or any other gospel (Galatians 1:6-9) is not the Lord’s.
6. AUTHORITY. The church built by Jesus follows His word, seeking biblical authority for what is done (Colossians 3:17). A church that ignores the need for authority in practice and doctrine, which freely goes beyond or falls short of God’s word, is not His.
7. WORSHIP. The church established by Jesus engages in biblical worship. Biblical worship includes observation of the Lord’s Supper and the collection for the saints on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2), praising God without the use of instrumental accompaniment (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), and sharing together in prayers and the apostolic teachings as revealed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:42). If a church is not following the Bible pattern for worship, it is not the church for which Jesus built and died.
8. DOCTRINE. The Lord’s church abides in the doctrine of Christ, the New Testament or New covenant, which was established in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is for our learning (Romans 15:4) but is not our law. Paul taught that we must “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), not slicing and dicing it to find support for various -isms and schisms that find their origin in the mind of man. If a church does not hold to sound doctrine but simply teaches what people want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3), it is not the Lord’s.
9. PURPOSE. The church which Jesus established has God-ordained objectives. Those objectives include a focus on worshiping and exalting the Lord (Acts 17:23-28), spreading the message of salvation to others (Luke 19:10; Matthew 28:18-20), encouraging and building one another’s faith (1 Corinthians 14:5, 26; Ephesians 4:12), and ministering to needy saints (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32, 34-35; 2 Corinthians 8). The church Jesus built is not a social club or a family life center; it was not established as an entertainment and social hub in the community.
10. FELLOWSHIP. Biblical fellowship is companionship and union with God and others, grounded in the things mentioned above. John says we can have fellowship with one another and with the Lord if we walk in the light (1 John 1:3, 7). However, we are not to give the hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9) to those who do not abide in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9-11). A church that receives and stands for things that the Lord does not, that church cannot be His.

There are certainly more identifying marks of authentic Christianity, but these will suffice for this article. We need to be focused on the truth. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Again, in prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Your word. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth of God’s word is authentic and authoritative. If we follow it, we can have the assurance we are legitimately walking in God’s way. Don’t fall for the devil’s deceptions.

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July 2021 | GROW magazine