Our Wednesday Night Bible study have been on Unity in the church, I found the section on Encouragement both convicting and helpful. Here is the section on "Gospel Gaps". Enjoy!
In Colossians 2:8. “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” To use this terminology, we are all philosophers. We all, all the time, are creating philosophies of meaning in our lives. What matters? Why do things happen? What’s worth living for? And though we usually know what the right answers are to those questions, we are easily deceived and easily taken captive through philosophies that are human and worldly rather than infused with the gospel.
I am also thinking in context of 1 Cor. 3:18 which says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise." It is almost impossible to get someone to see that they are self deceived. So often, we foolishly believe that we are immune to the message that this world is blaring at us day after day—through the words of our friends, the incentive plans at our jobs, the behavior of our neighbors, not to mention the prevailing assumptions of media. But the world’s ideas of meaning and purpose so often gain a foothold in the desires of our hearts. Our guiding philosophy should rest on the truth of the gospel—but even as Christians, our lives are often inconsistent with its truth. In their book “How People Change,” Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp call this the “gospel gap.” And they observe that such gaps don’t stay empty. We—and the others in our church—are often operating with a mix of gospel truth and philosophies that, though they sound biblical, have at their core the values of this world. In their book, Lane and Tripp lay out seven of these substitute philosophies. I’m going to walk through them—and as I do, I want you to think of where you might recognize these as being true of your own heart—or that of others you know in this church. Being able to recognize the gospel counterfeits is incredibly important.
1. The first is “Formalism.” I participate in regular meetings and ministries of the church—and so I feel that my life is under control. I may always be in church, but it has little impact on my heart and on how I live my life. And I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not give it the same commitment as I do.
2. The second is Formalism’s close cousin “Legalism.” I live by rules—rules I create for myself, rules I create for others. I feel OK if I can keep my own rules. And I become arrogant and full of contempt when others can’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.
3. Next is "mysticism"—the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him. And I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may also shift churches often, looking for one which will give me what I’m looking for.
4. Activism is the worldly philosophy that might be particularly dangerous in this town. I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.
5. Then there is Biblicism—reducing the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology. I know my bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. And so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.
6. Sixth is the Therapeutic gospel. I talk a lot about the “hurting” people in our congregation. And how Christ is the only answer for that hurt—for real help and healing. Yet without realizing it, I have made Christ more therapist than Savior. I view the sin of others against me as a greater problem than my own sin—and I shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs. Again, another gospel all together.
7. Finally, what you might call “social-ism.” The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church can become their own idol—the body of Christ replacing Christ himself. And the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.
Seven anti-gospel philosophies to which we as Christians are particularly prone. Incidentally, remember what I said earlier about not just working for happiness and fulfillment? These seven are one reason why that is so dangerous, because they are all roads to fulfillment—at least for a time. I think that because fulfillment in this fallen world is so difficult, we often think that it must be synonymous with the gospel. But it is not. I know many non-Christians who I honestly think are leading wonderfully fulfilling lives. Yet that means that they merely travel the road to destruction with less emotional burden than the rest.
