Reading Plan for this week:
Monday, March 16 / 2 Corinthians 11:16-21
Tuesday, March 17 / Romans 15:14-21
Wednesday, March 18 / 2 Corinthians 11:22-29
Thursday, March 19 / Colossians 1:21-29
Friday, March 20 / 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Saturday, March 21 / Luke 21:10-19
Sermon Discussion Questions
Signs and Symptoms of Counterfeit in the Spiritual Life
- If jealousy is a sin, why is it okay for Paul to be jealous? Define “divine jealousy.” How can we determine whether or not our jealousy is sinful or righteous?
- What responsibility do we bear in being duped by a counterfeit?
A Counterfeit Jesus
- If we believe in our hearts that we are worshipping Jesus but are being duped by a counterfeit, would we still be saved by our genuine belief? Why or why not?
- What responsibility do we bear in being duped by a “counterfeit Jesus”? How can we guard ourselves against this horrific deception? If your answer is “Christianese,” (pray, read your bible, go to church), why then is a judgment pronounced on those who proclaim “Lord, Lord,” in Matthew 7:21-23? Doesn’t declaring that Jesus is Lord bring about salvation? Defend your answer with Scripture. Hint: It’s in the context of Matthew 7.
A Counterfeit Spirit
- How can we cause damage to the gospel mission by being Christian in name only? Aren’t we all hypocrites? What’s the difference between using this reasoning as an excuse versus a conviction in a call to action? See Romans 6:1-4.
- When the Holy Spirit enters us, it produces spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22). What kind of spirit produces spiritual fruit?
- On the contrary, fake fruit has the potential to cause great harm to our life’s work of making the gospel known. How can we spot this fake fruit? Better still, how can we spot whether the fruit we are producing is fake or genuine?
In My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers wrote, “The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, 'Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God.'” How can we practically use the grace of God to see what we cannot see?
A Counterfeit Gospel
- What is the difference between the prosperity gospel and the authentic gospel? How do we spot the fake and why is the fake so harmful? In Deuteronomy 28:1-13, faithfulness is tied to blessing. Many of these verses even attribute material blessing to faithfulness. Why then is it wrong to speak of God’s material blessing as it relates to salvation?
Exposing the Counterfeit
- How can we guard ourselves against being duped by these excellent fakes?
- An authentic church makes disciples. What is the definition of discipleship? See Matthew 16:24. How do I know if I’m an authentic disciple of Christ? Hint: Give me Jesus!
"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8).