False Apostles

I. Introduction
A. The Corinthians are being lured astray by some Judaizers who infiltrated the church after he left.
B. This morning’s verses are about the men opposing Paul among the church in Corinth.
C. 2Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
D. Here Paul says that “such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” (13)
II. This raises the concept of disguise.
A. There are two kinds of disguise, aren’t there? — benign and malignant
1. Benign disguise
a. The kind of disguise you wear to a costume party
b. Imitation Wheat Chex
(1) It doesn’t matter because Wheat Chex are just cold cereal, and the imitation is just about the same as the real thing.
2. Malignant disguise
a. A good illustration of this is the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, disguised as grandmother.
(1) “My, what a deep voice you have! What big eyes you have, and big hands, and big mouth!”
(2) Why would the wolf disguise himself as Grandmother? It was because Grandmother was someone kind, someone trusted and safe. No one needs to be on guard around grandmother.
(3) And because of this, the wolf could lure LRRH in. She would neither flee nor cry out.
b. Another good illustration of this is the donkey who was disguised as Aslan the lion in The Last Battle (last book of Chronicles of Narnia). “If it’s the word of Aslan, we’d better obey it.”
B. Well, Paul tells us in v.14 that this is the tactic Satan and his servants use.
1. Satan is the master of malignant disguise. Paul says: “Such men are false apostles, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
2. Satan, the prince of darkness, disguises himself as an angel of light.
3. Satan does this, of course, to gain power over people.
4. Now sometimes Satan comes as a scary monster to frighten people.
5. But he can have a greater effect on many people — especially people who identify as Christian — if he comes disguised as an angel of light.
6. Then people let their guard down. They’re lulled into complacency. As William Jenkin said, Satan does more damage by creeping into the church than by breaking into the church.
C. You see, these men – who were not apostles – were disguising themselves as apostles.
1. What is an apostle? In the Greek, the word apostle is the noun version of the verb APOSTELLO, meaning send. So, it meant “sent one.” It was used of someone who was sent to bring a message on behalf of another or to represent another in a certain context. Before Jesus died, He told His 11 disciples that He was sending them out as His representatives into the world (John 17:18, 20:21).
2. So, why disguise yourself as an apostle? There was no one in the church more trusted than an apostle. No one who spoke the word of the Lord more dependably than an apostle. No one more filled with the Spirit than an apostle. No one with more authority than an apostle. No one safer than an apostle. Being an apostle was the best way to gain the trust of the Corinthians.
3. The worst kind of malignant disguise is when someone is not only a wolf in sheep’s clothing but also a wolf in shepherd’s clothing. And that’s exactly why these men claimed apostleship.
D. The fact is, Jesus is who He is, not who we want Him to be. And, if we’re really honest, everyone of us would like Jesus to be a little different than who He actually is. We would like Him to align better with our preferences or our pet ways of thinking.
1. I think it’s safe to say that if any of us were given the chance to invent a messiah, none of us would have invented a messiah exactly like Jesus.
2. And this makes us vulnerable to Satan’s ploys. It means he can create other Jesuses (2Cor.11:4), tweaked or improved to appeal to us in ways the real Jesus doesn’t.
3. And false teachers / false prophets / false apostles are Satan’s messengers to present to us & to the world these other Jesuses.
4. And we’re pretty gullible – because these Jesuses are specifically designed to appeal to us.
E. Patty recently related a story of reading about Adam and Eve to some of her grandchildren, who had apparently never heard it before. And, as she described the serpent and his tempting lies, the kids began to exclaim. They could tell where the story was going and they didn’t want Adam and Eve to swallow Satan’s hook. Even children can see the deception – when it’s for someone else!
1. And yet, people keep falling for the same trick!
2. Sometimes it’s because we don’t realize our vulnerability. We think other people might be so dumb as to be fooled, but we’re too smart to fall for Satan’s deceptions. So, we’re not alert and on guard, and we don’t put on the full armor of God, like He says in Eph.6:11.
3. But, the fact is we are no match for Satan. He is both more powerful and more clever than we are.
4. When an animal like a lion or wolf is hunting prey, generally they are looking for a victim who is small or weak or too old to outrun them or put up a big fight.
5. Satan, we’re told, is also prowling around looking for someone to devour (1Pet.5:8). But the kind of person who makes the easiest prey for this roaring lion is the one who feels no fear or vulnerability, the one who doesn’t think there’s a need to be alert, the one who feels self-sufficient and self-assured. Instead of being alert and watchful – and prayerful, people like this fall asleep like the disciples at Gethsemane, where Jesus told them, “Stay awake at all times, praying you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place.” – Lk.21:36
6. When we’re like this, we are sitting ducks for Satan’s deceptive attacks.
III. Lets talk more about these false apostles and the situation in Corinth.
A. I said last week that in 2Corinthians Paul emphasizes the bad fruit of these false apostles as opposed to their bad doctrine (Matt.7:15-20). They were arrogant, full of themselves, domineering, boastful, exploitative, looking down on others.
1. This is why they “disguised themselves as servants of righteousness.” This is why they claimed to be apostles. They loved to have the power to speak for God. They loved to be looked to as the experts. They loved the esteem and the attention and the deference. They loved the authority.
2. And so, they gave into the temptation to use the title “apostle” to gain earthly advantages.
3. But, as is so common, it was all for themselves — not for Christ, not for Christ’s people.
B. And the members of the Corinthian congregation were especially vulnerable to their false claims. For, as Paul describes them in 1Cor 4:8, the Corinthians were the kind of people who wanted to be rich and to reign as kings. And this made them susceptible to a false gospel proclaimed by cocky, diamond-studded apostles whose swagger appealed to their pride and lust for human exaltation.
C. Paul, on the other hand, wasn’t after glory or attention or earthly advantages.
1. “We are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word,” he says in 2Corinthians 2:17, “but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”
2. The problem was that Paul was not flashy like the false apostles. He didn’t have their pizzazz.
3. And some people– like these false apostles – think that outward charisma is really the key to effective ministry.
4. Paul refers to them in 2Corinthians 5:12 – “those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.”
5. Paul didn’t dazzle. He didn’t sparkle. When people came into contact with him, they didn’t walk away awestruck. And yet, apart from Jesus, he perhaps had a larger impact on the history of the world than any other human being.
6. In fact, this is the way it was with all of the apostles. They turned the world upside down, but they did not walk around in glittering robes or carry themselves in a majestic manner. Listen to this amazing description of the life of the apostles in 1Corinthians 4:11–13, “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”
D. So, in many ways the false apostles were more appealing to the Corinthians than the true ones were.
1. That’s why Paul has to fight so hard to keep them from drinking the Kool-aid (poison) of the false apostles.
IV. And then let me point out Paul’s final statement about the false apostles, in v.15b “Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
A. Now I don’t have to tell you that it’s not popular today to be exclusive.
1. It’s not very popular to say that someone is a tool of the devil. And it’s not very popular to say that they will be judged for it, but that’s exactly what Paul is doing.
B. Over and over again, Paul speaks pretty boldly about them. He doesn’t pull any punches.
1. He calls them “false apostles, deceitful workmen, servants of Satan.”
2. When it comes to wolves, Paul follows Jesus in abandoning all tenderness.
C. And now he adds this, “Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
1. On the last day, those who believed and taught that they would be saved by their works will find that they will in fact be condemned by their works.
2. It doesn’t matter how successful they are on earth, or how good a job they do with their disguise.
3. Of course, in the end, ALL people will pay for what they did (2Cor.5:10). But there’s a special place in hell reserved for those who – in Christ’s name – wreak havoc on His church.
D. This is the consistent message of Scripture: “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies...bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” – 2Pet.2:1
E. We should never laugh about this kind of thing. We shouldn’t laugh at phoney televangelists or megachurch pastors who are not preaching the gospel. It’s not funny. It’s tragic (Phil.3:18). Imagine your child being led astray by someone like that, and maybe you can appreciate the seriousness.
F. With all their focus on outward appearances, God doesn’t judge according to outward appearances. He judges according to the heart. Is a person’s heart filled with living faith, faith which works in love? Or is a person full of himself, full of the pride which results in a life of selfishness and greed?
V. So, what can we take away from all this?
A. The most obvious thing is to be alert to the presence of false prophets, false teachers in the world.
1. There are counterfeiters. There are forgers, forging God’s signature on their own statements. People who make up prophecies and then declare them as if from God.
2. Many verses in the NT warn us to be alert to the danger of false prophets or teachers.
a. Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
3. Matthew 24:11 “Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.”
4. Acts 20:29–31 “Fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert.”
5. 1John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
6. We live in a world of scammers. And plenty of them – in the name of Christ – are in the church.
7. Just as there were false apostles in Paul’s day, so there are false pastors and preachers and teachers and leaders – and even false apostles – in our day. They’re in ministry to devour and not to build – except to build their own empire and their own ego.
B. This is something every Christian must be concerned about. It requires alertness, as the NT often reminds us (e.g. 1Thes.5:6-8; 1Pet.5:8; Eph.6:18, Acts 20:31).
1. There are things to be afraid of, people to watch out for, dangerous teachings to be on guard against.
2. If you long for a life which involves no need to be alert, no need to be concerned about dangers, then you’re longing for heaven, because this life is not like that.
3. In this age our peace is tempered by our watchfulness. Jesus doesn’t instruct us to relax and go to sleep. He says, “Beware! You have an enemy who wants to destroy you.”
4. House fire 31 years ago: now it’s a little harder to go to sleep when a fire is raging.
5. Of course, some are so aware of the dangers of corruption that they have become jaded – so jaded that they can no longer benefit from anyone’s ministry. In their eyes, people are so tainted by pride and selfishness that it has ruined their ability to function happily in the church. This is sad.
6. At the other extreme are those who turn a blind eye to all the examples of this occurring in churches all around us. It is too painful, too disturbing. They pretend it doesn’t exist.
7. But if we are going to be able to benefit from and function happily in the church, we are going to have to be able to avoid these two pitfalls.
C. Someone might wonder why we make such a big deal about this. Why is it so bad if some people preach the Bible in a way we don’t agree with?
1. This takes us back to where we began: to the distinction between benign disguise and malignant disguise.
2. If Jesus isn’t real, then Christians are no better off than anyone else. In fact, we’re worse off, and everyone should feel sorry for us, because we are self-deceived, we’re living in a delusion (1Cor.15:19). We don’t see things as they really are.
3. But if Jesus is real, and if He is indeed our only hope, if our eternal welfare is based entirely on Him, then having a false Jesus means you have no Jesus, and no salvation, and no hope — just like if you have a fake thousand dollar bill, you can’t actually buy anything with it.
4. If there is a real Jesus, we must have Him — and not an imposter. It’s a matter of life and death.
5. There are so many things people fight over which are pretty ridiculous to fight over. They just don’t matter very much.
6. But who is a true apostle, and who is the true Jesus: these things are worth fighting for.
7. Suppose you had a friend who was very angry with someone, so much so that he was wanting to go kill the person – which means he would spend the rest of his life in jail. How hard would you work to convince him not to do so.
a. Wouldn’t that be a thing worth fighting for – or fighting against, we should say?
8. Well, whether you have the true Jesus or not is actually much more important than whether you spend the rest of your life in prison or not. Do you believe that? It’s true!
9. His lovingkindness is better than life! (Ps.63:3)