From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 11 of a 20-part series. Read part 10.

Scripture declares that those who persist in promoting counterfeit worship are dangerous spiritual imposters.

¹⁸ Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

²⁰ Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations - ²¹ "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," ²² which all concern things which perish with the using - according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

²³ These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Robbing Christians of Their Reward

The inspired words before us, given through the Apostle Paul, are presented to us in a particular form. Paul begins with a strong imperative statement: "Let no one cheat you of your reward."

Obviously there is a reward, and Paul has given us a clear picture of the believer's reward throughout Colossians chapter one and on into chapter two. The Christian's reward is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Jehovah says to Abraham in Genesis chapter fifteen, verse one, "I [Myself] am your shield, you exceedingly great reward."

The Christian's reward is all that Jesus Christ is, all that He has done, all that He is doing, and all that He will yet do. Jesus Christ is God Himself, the fullness of the Godhead in a body, the Creator, the Savior, the Head of the Church. He is the very fullness of the wisdom of God. He is the true source of all wisdom and knowledge. He is the One who has reconciled us to God the Father because we have been crucified, buried, and raised with Him. Saving faith must have an object, and Jesus Christ is the object of true saving faith. He is also the One who is now at work to reconcile all things to Himself, and in a great day to come He will renovate and restore this sin-cursed creation as the eternal dwelling place of believers. For all these reasons, He is worthy of all our worship.

But some would rob Christ of His rightful glory by putting the focus on man in worship. Proverbs 11:18 tells us that "The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward." It is in that spirit Paul says, "Let no one cheat you of your reward." Let no one cheat you of the things that are yours because of your position in Christ. False teachers are continually attempting to bring things into the life and thinking of the believer, and into the life and thinking of the church, that place barriers between believers and their Lord.

These people, Paul told the Colossians, are attempting to bring things into the Christian's life and thinking that are of no value for the believer's and the church's true need, which is to be armed and equipped for the warfare of the new man against the old man, the warfare of the Spirit against the flesh.

The Nature of the Imposters

In Colossians chapter two, the Apostle Paul describes such people in clear terms, so that believers will be able to readily identify them when they seek to subvert the church. He describes their efforts to usurp the authority of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture. He describes their false humility, their focus on the flesh, their appearance of wisdom, when in fact the things that they promote in the church are alien to the wisdom that is found in Christ and His Word alone. He also describes the position of these people - they are not holding fast to the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are seeking to establish their own headship. Furthermore, he describes the nature of the religion they seek to promote. It is "self-imposed religion" - more literally, self-made religion. Counterfeit religion.

Dear friends, Scripture makes a critical fact about these people very clear, and it is a fact that most Bible-believing Christians refuse to face at their peril: Those who insist on bringing these things into the Evangelical church, who seek to establish counterfeit authority, who promote counterfeit worship without repentance, who will not obey the truth, are counterfeit Christians. The weight of the evidence is heavy against their professions of Christian faith. Such a strong statement may make some readers uncomfortable. Some may protest. But it is what Scripture says.

Pay close attention to the words of our Lord Himself:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matthew 7:15-23)

In Second Timothy 3:13, Paul warns Timothy that "evil men and imposters" - spiritual swindlers - "will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Just a few verses later, in Second Timothy chapter four, Paul warns that "the time will come when they" - professing Christians, people in the visible church - "will not endure sound doctrine." Literally, they will not put up with it.

Spreading Worship Heresy at the Speed of Light

And so, Paul says, "according to their own desires" - not the commandments of God - "they will heap up for themselves" false teachers. "They will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables," Paul warns. They will embrace the counterfeit doctrinal inventions of men and women who are not Christians at all, and those who have been led away by them. Perhaps at no time has this ever been the case as much as it is in the visible church today, and particularly in the matter of worship. People are going after one false teacher after another after another.

Often that false teacher is a "worship leader" who acts with the approval of a pastor who believes such innovations are necessary to draw a crowd. In many places, churches are taking up new un-Biblical innovations at every service. Because of today's technology of instant communications via satellite television and the Internet, the latest worship heresies can spread around the world, literally at the speed of light. What begins on one church television program this week may be emulated by hundreds of churches around the globe the next.

What kinds of doctrinal inventions do they introduce, especially in the area of worship? That will be the subject of our next article.