Gospel Pretenses
Do I believe in Christ’s redemptive work for me in the present? Do I believe that Christ has given me a new identity? Do I believe God can change me into who He wants me to be? Do I trust God to lead me in the best possible way?
I wish I could exclaim a resounding “YES!” to all the above questions. Truthfully, the way I live my life floats somewhere between yes and no. Intellectually speaking, I do believe God can and will transform me into Christ’s image over time, through the conviction and empowering of the Holy Spirit. But often, my heart is somewhere else, trying to earn my own salvation.
Once again, I am processing ideas proposed by Lane and Tripp in their book How People Change. In the book, the authors claim that Christians are often guilty of trying to fill their lives with good things that become ultimate things. In other words, we start pursuing ideas, practices or beliefs that take the place of God in our lives. While we acknowledge that God is our Savior and that He has dealt with our sin through Christ’s death and resurrection, we fail to make God the Lord and Savior of our life today. Instead, we seek a “Gospel Pretense”, a plausible lie with enough truth to be believable.
The authors go on to offer seven “Gospel Pretenses” or seven methodologies that Christians follow to substitute for God’s authentic transformative work in our lives. While each methodology sounds good on the surface, each one can take the place of God and become an idol that we worship.
Formalism: A form of Christian busyness. Christians who engage in formalism are involved in many, many ministries in and outside the church. In spite of their dedicated volunteerism, their sinful heart hasn’t changed much because they don’t let God into the “secular” parts of their lives.
Legalism: A set of rules and standards. Christians who follow the rules, uphold the standard, and keep the spiritual to-do lists are often motivated by legalism. In spite of appearing like the ideal Christian, they struggle with the image of a Gracious God. Thus, they are quite self-righteous. Or they feel like an absolute failure when the standard can’t be met.
Mysticism: Seeking spiritual highs. Christians who are consumers of experience tend to live for the next big moment. As mystics*, they find the interim very difficult and discouraging. They are quick to forget that God is the God of the highs and the lows. He desires to use blessing and trails to transform our character. (*The authors are viewing mystics as more experiential than contemplative.)
Activism: Defending what’s right. Christians who are activists are the voice of justice and mercy in our society. However, they can be tempted to view the evil outside of them as greater than the evil inside of them. They forget the joyful pursuit of Christ in their own lives.
Biblicalism: Mastery of Biblical theology. Christians who follow Biblicalism are absolutely amazing in their knowledge of the Bible. They tend to critique other individuals’ misuse of the Word of God. Yet, they haven’t let of the God of the Bible critique and change their own heart.
Psychology-ism: Christianity as therapy. Christians who believe in psychology-ism see Christ more as their therapist than their savior. They only want God to be the shoulder that they can cry on. They want to pursue God for healing, not for godliness.
Social-ism: The spiritual club. Christians who seek social-ism absolutely love the relationships that they have found in the body of Christ. But, when those relationships are missing, their engagement in the seeking Christ diminishes. They value respect, fellowship, acceptance, and position in the body of Christ more than communion with Christ.
Kids, the more you get to know me and my walk with God, the more you will see these “Gospel Pretenses” in my life. While I am not extreme in any one, I struggle with many. Lately, I am tempted to replace the Gospel of Christ with Legalism and Activism. If you have been reading my past posts, you will know that at times I can get pretty irate about some topic and proceed to rant about how Christians should change to make the world a better place. After all, there is some standard to uphold, some issue to take a righteous stand on! However, I am quick to forget that I desperately need God’s grace in my own life to address my issues with envy, covetousness, self-righteousness and self-loathing. Often I want people to view me as one amazing Christian who is doing so much for the furtherance for God’s Kingdom. If I am honest, I don’t want to be crucified with Christ so that I die to myself and only let Christ live. I want to be in control of my life. I want to be awesome on my own terms.
So you see kids, I am a Christian in need of Christ’s transforming grace and power, NOW. So I pray…
Dear Lord, transform me, change me, mold me into your likeness. Take control of my life. May people see the awe inspiring work of Christ’s grace in my heart. Forgive me for seeking good things and making them ultimate things. Help me to seek you and you alone.
I wish I could exclaim a resounding “YES!” to all the above questions. Truthfully, the way I live my life floats somewhere between yes and no. Intellectually speaking, I do believe God can and will transform me into Christ’s image over time, through the conviction and empowering of the Holy Spirit. But often, my heart is somewhere else, trying to earn my own salvation.
Once again, I am processing ideas proposed by Lane and Tripp in their book How People Change. In the book, the authors claim that Christians are often guilty of trying to fill their lives with good things that become ultimate things. In other words, we start pursuing ideas, practices or beliefs that take the place of God in our lives. While we acknowledge that God is our Savior and that He has dealt with our sin through Christ’s death and resurrection, we fail to make God the Lord and Savior of our life today. Instead, we seek a “Gospel Pretense”, a plausible lie with enough truth to be believable.
The authors go on to offer seven “Gospel Pretenses” or seven methodologies that Christians follow to substitute for God’s authentic transformative work in our lives. While each methodology sounds good on the surface, each one can take the place of God and become an idol that we worship.
Formalism: A form of Christian busyness. Christians who engage in formalism are involved in many, many ministries in and outside the church. In spite of their dedicated volunteerism, their sinful heart hasn’t changed much because they don’t let God into the “secular” parts of their lives.
Legalism: A set of rules and standards. Christians who follow the rules, uphold the standard, and keep the spiritual to-do lists are often motivated by legalism. In spite of appearing like the ideal Christian, they struggle with the image of a Gracious God. Thus, they are quite self-righteous. Or they feel like an absolute failure when the standard can’t be met.
Mysticism: Seeking spiritual highs. Christians who are consumers of experience tend to live for the next big moment. As mystics*, they find the interim very difficult and discouraging. They are quick to forget that God is the God of the highs and the lows. He desires to use blessing and trails to transform our character. (*The authors are viewing mystics as more experiential than contemplative.)
Activism: Defending what’s right. Christians who are activists are the voice of justice and mercy in our society. However, they can be tempted to view the evil outside of them as greater than the evil inside of them. They forget the joyful pursuit of Christ in their own lives.
Biblicalism: Mastery of Biblical theology. Christians who follow Biblicalism are absolutely amazing in their knowledge of the Bible. They tend to critique other individuals’ misuse of the Word of God. Yet, they haven’t let of the God of the Bible critique and change their own heart.
Psychology-ism: Christianity as therapy. Christians who believe in psychology-ism see Christ more as their therapist than their savior. They only want God to be the shoulder that they can cry on. They want to pursue God for healing, not for godliness.
Social-ism: The spiritual club. Christians who seek social-ism absolutely love the relationships that they have found in the body of Christ. But, when those relationships are missing, their engagement in the seeking Christ diminishes. They value respect, fellowship, acceptance, and position in the body of Christ more than communion with Christ.
Kids, the more you get to know me and my walk with God, the more you will see these “Gospel Pretenses” in my life. While I am not extreme in any one, I struggle with many. Lately, I am tempted to replace the Gospel of Christ with Legalism and Activism. If you have been reading my past posts, you will know that at times I can get pretty irate about some topic and proceed to rant about how Christians should change to make the world a better place. After all, there is some standard to uphold, some issue to take a righteous stand on! However, I am quick to forget that I desperately need God’s grace in my own life to address my issues with envy, covetousness, self-righteousness and self-loathing. Often I want people to view me as one amazing Christian who is doing so much for the furtherance for God’s Kingdom. If I am honest, I don’t want to be crucified with Christ so that I die to myself and only let Christ live. I want to be in control of my life. I want to be awesome on my own terms.
So you see kids, I am a Christian in need of Christ’s transforming grace and power, NOW. So I pray…
Dear Lord, transform me, change me, mold me into your likeness. Take control of my life. May people see the awe inspiring work of Christ’s grace in my heart. Forgive me for seeking good things and making them ultimate things. Help me to seek you and you alone.