The Therapeutic Gospel

The best way to spot a counterfeit bill is to know a real bill perfectly.  Before our current trend of every sales clerk swiping a pen across $5 bills, people were trained to spot fake bills by spending hours looking at and studying real ones.  I did not go through this training, but I am told that to those who have looked at a real $20 or $50 bill for hours can immediately spot a counterfeit even if it looks and feels good to the average eye.

Today I will be writing about the first of Wax's Counterfeit gospels.  I believe the same advice applies to distinguishing true from false presentations of the gospel as applies to spotting counterfeit money- look at the real gospel long and hard!  Study it and let it penetrate deep within your mind, heart, and soul.  When you look at the true gospel long enough, fakes are immediately obvious.

The problem is that many of us from the Evangelical camp have not learned the real gospel.  We have been taught and find a level of satisfaction with cheap imitations.  These counterfeits have a measure of the truth, but they lack in important areas.  I believe that many who affirm these counterfeits are truly believers in Christ.  I am not doubting their salvation.  The problem is that these counterfeits rob the Church of its witness, and they keep individuals from growing in grace and godliness.  Most who have embraced these false gospels are always "looking for something more" or "deeper" that will change them and give them life.  In the process, they miss the beauty of Christ, and they lack truly transforming power in their life!

The first counterfeit Wax calls the therapeutic gospel.  This gospel has many forms, but all involve making us happy and fulfilled as the highest goal in life.  Why is this so appealing?  Well, in our fallen selfish state, all of us believe this!  We want to find happiness and fulfillment.  We want to find peace and security.

Does not the gospel proclaim that true joy, peace, and love are found in Christ?  Of course it does!  That is why this counterfeit is so attractive.  The problem is when we believe that joy, peace, and love means fulfilling the "American dream" and it involves God becoming our puppet to help us achieve our goals.  In other words, for those who embrace this counterfeit gospel, God's purpose is our happiness instead of our purposing being to glorify and enjoy God.

To illustrate this point, Wax uses the illustration of a happy meal.  As he states,

The brilliance of the Happy Meal comes from its promise not only of the toy, but of happiness.  The mere thought of a McDonald's Happy Meal lights up a child's face.  Parents aren't just purchasing greasy chicken and soggy French fries; they are purchasing an experience that will make their kids feel good.

Sometimes we package the gospel in a way that makes God out to be a kind of Ronald McDonald who wants to give kids a Happy Meal.  We make 'pursuing happiness' the central goal of life, and we work toward this goal by being nice and helpful to other people.  Whenever we do have conflicts, we resolve them quickly so we can restore our own peace of mind.  As peace of mind becomes the goal of the Christian life, the idea that we would need peace with God slowly becomes incomprehensible.  (after all, what could Ronald McDonald possibly have against me?)

How do you know whether you've fallen for the Happy Meal gospel?  One very practical way is to examine your prayer life.  When are you most likely to go to God in prayer?  What kinds of requests do you make?  Is your biggest concern your unmet emotional needs?  Or are you concerned about how your life reflects the glory of God? (45)

I believe in the West today, or perhaps with all influenced by rampant consumerism, this gospel counterfeit is very appealing.  In fact, most of us believe it at some level!  The real problem with this counterfeit is that it denies the reality of our sinful heart that is in rebellion against God.  It believes that our tendencies and desire are all sent from God.  It denies the weakness of our flesh and the temptations of world to excite our flesh to walk apart from God.  

At its root, this form of spirituality will sap our joy.  It cannot explain suffering and sin.  It cannot tolerate difficult times.  It lacks any power to put to death our very real sinful nature.  In fact, it is so popular because it appeals directly to the worst part of us- that which is in rebellion against God!

What do you do if you have slipped into this belief?  Repent and believe the real gospel.  Take a look at my previous posts about the gospel.  If the gospel sounds foreign to you, you might want to subscribe to this blog and find better teaching close to home!

May we all walk in repentance and faith today!