Rev. David Holwick C
First Baptist Church
Nobleboro, Maine
July 26, 2020
2 Peter 2:1-3
COUNTERING COUNTERFEITS
I. Fake money can get you into trouble.
A. George Floyd's arrest was over a fake $20 bill.
1) We don't know if he knew it was a fake, or if it even was
a fake, but we know the arrest ended very badly.
2) About $70 million to $200 million in fake money is
circulating right now.
B. There is something worse than fake money.
1) It is a counterfeit faith.
2) This is a problem that has been around from the beginning.
a) In chapter 1, Peter writes about how amazing it is that
God can speak to us through people, the prophets.
b) In chapter 2, he has to remind them that genuine
prophets have always been shadowed by false ones.
c) It happened in Old Testament times, it happened in
New Testament times - and it is happening today.
3) Can you tell the fake from the real?
II. How can you tell a fake?
A. Old Testament test of a false prophet. Deut 18:20-22
1) Inaccurate. Predictions don't come true.
2) Heretical. Even when true, leads people away from God.
3) Immoral. The pagan prophet Balaam enticed the
Israelites to sin and caused their downfall. Num 25:1
B. Peter has a similar outlook.
1) False teachings had already entered the church.
2) He knew it would be popular - he says many will follow it.
3) And he saw the damage of how it would confuse people and
bring the gospel into disrepute.
III. Important insights on counterfeit faith.
A. Fakes will come from within us. 2:1
1) They will call themselves Christian.
2) They might be a Sunday School teacher, or even a pastor.
a) Even in this church, we have had people who promoted
very strange ideas.
B. They will deny the Lord.
1) Heresies always diminish Christ in some way.
a) They don't necessarily reject him, but they whittle
him down to something more acceptable.
b) Jesus usually ends up looking just like the teacher.
2) Examples of theological deniers:
Back in 1984 in England, David Jenkins was
consecrated as the bishop of Durham, an important church.
He was controversial because he rejected the Virgin
Birth and had reservations about the resurrection of
Jesus.
Three days after his consecration, lightning struck the
nearby York Cathedral and caused severe damage.
Religious leaders weren't the only ones to suggest a
connection.
Pew organization survey done recently with American Baptists:
17% are not absolutely certain God exists.
38% think the Bible is not the Word of God or is not all
literally true.
18% don't believe in hell or aren't sure it exists.
66% believe right or wrong depends on the situation -
there are no clear standards.
#2878
C. False teachers will be carnal.
1) Peter mentions their depraved conduct in verse 2.
a) Throughout history, fake theology has gone hand-in-hand
with immoral living.
b) A great selling point has been that they loosen the
Biblical standards on sexuality. Do what you want!
c) In a broader sense, it focuses on the flesh.
1> Whatever appeals to our senses - gluttony, bling,
big status symbols, fast cars.
2> True spirituality realizes the flesh is weak; only
God's Spirit can really satisfy us.
2) In particular Peter mentions their greed.
a) If you see a religious leader get very rich, watch out.
b) It is a whole mindset among some Christians.
A few years ago a Christian magazine had an ad that
appeared about every month.
It showed a man standing by a Mercedes-Benz, dressed
very nicely, with a lovely house behind him.
The caption says, "I bet you never thought that a
Christian could makes lots of money."
Sermon #1501
c) Peter emphasizes the aspect of exploitation.
1> They take advantage of people who can't afford it.
IV. Where are the fakes today?
A. Oh where to begin... violence and money.
1) The recent shootout in a church in South Africa.
One faction in a church took hostages.
Gunfire broke out and 5 were killed, 6 hospitalized.
34 firearms were seized.
Two years prior to that, they had another shootout.
And just before that, $6.5 million in church funds had
gone missing.
2) Americans can beat that.
In Louisiana, television evangelist Jesse Duplantis asked
his followers for a $54 million business jet.
He told them that if Jesus was still preaching he
"wouldn't be riding a donkey."
He has already gone through three private planes, claiming
he burned them up for the Lord Jesus Christ.[1]
3) Joel Osteen is a special case.
His net worth is between $40 and $60 million.
His house is 17,000 square feet.
He says he receives no salary but makes his money from
book sales, which I believe.
My issue is with what he teaches.
He almost never mentions sin or anything negative.
Being positive must work - his church has 43,000 people.
But as one critic mentioned, Osteen makes religion about
us instead of about God, and that is a heresy.
[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel-Osteen]
4) Even local churches have been caught up in this.
I remember the pentecostal Church Alive on Route 10.
The leaders sold the building to another congregation, and
used the money to buy a yacht.
They said it was for ministry.
The IRS had a different opinion...
B. Warped theology.
1) In the Netherlands, one out of 6 pastors is an atheist or
agnostic.
2) One pastor there described the Bible's account of Jesus'
life as a mythological story about a man who may never
have existed, even if it is a valuable source of
wisdom about how to live a good life."
He also wrote a book called, "Believing in a Non-Existent
God."
Some in his denomination were appalled but the leaders
decided his views were too commonly held to be
considered out of bounds.
#63330
3) This is a political year, so we can expect the Bible to be
twisted and abused to condemn the other side.
a) I expect both parties to do this.
V. How do you handle a fake?
A. In the old days, you treated them harshly.
1) The Old Testament calls for stoning to death.
2) The Spanish Inquisition had various tortures.
B. Peter does not call for this.
1) He says God will take care of them.
2) I think Christians should expose false teaching and
constantly reassess what we ourselves are teaching.
a) Are we emphasizing God's grace so much we have neglected
to warn about sin? Or the other way around?
b) Are we presenting Jesus as a nice guy instead of a
crucified & risen Savior who demands to be our Lord?
VI. Know what is real.
A. The FBI has a system.
When the FBI trains its agents to identify counterfeit bills,
they are not required to study fake money.
Instead, they undergo a thorough study of genuine currency.
It is the best preparation for identifying fake stuff.
To overcome error, you have to know what is true.
#6798
B. One of the great preachers on God's truth died this week.
1) Perhaps you have heard of J.I. Packer, perhaps not.
He was a serious Christian and wrote many deep books.
One of his best was called simply "Knowing God."
His book describes four characteristics of those who truly
know God.
First, they have a great energy for God.
Second, they have great thoughts of God.
Third, they show a great boldness for God.
And finally, they have a great contentment in God.
#66347
Do these four characteristics describe your own faith?
C. Perhaps you need to cash this bill.
[Hold up Rutherford B. Hayes banknote]
It has a president on the front, with a bushy beard.
I like that.
The seal of the Treasury is there, and the serial number.
There is a red watermark of the Liberty Bell.
And Washington crossing the Delaware is on the back.
The value printed on this banknote is $1,000,000.
I'll have to go across the yard to Chase Bank and cash it in
right after the service.
But a closer inspection shows this:
"The million-dollar question: Will you go to heaven when you
die?"
This banknote is not legal tender. But it is true.
Because it points out our sin and points us to Jesus.
Do you believe in him?
Have you committed your life to him? [2]
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Sermon #1501 “An Alternative To Truth,” by Rev. David Roper, Peninsula
Bible Church; Palo Alto, California, May 15, 1977.
http://www.pbc.org/. Paul Apple sermon collection.
# 2878 “Theological Doubt and Heresy,” by Rev. W. David Holwick, adapted
from an old sermon and a current Pew survey:
# 6798 “FBI and Counterfeit Bills,” by unknown author; Roddy Chestnut
Illustration collection.
#63330 “A Laboratory For Christianity's Destruction,” by Dr. R. Albert
Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist Seminary,
August 26, 2011; http://www.albertmohler.com.
#66347 “J.I. Packer Helped So Many Know God,” by John Stonestreet,
BreakPoint Commentary, July 21, 2020.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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