Chapter 2:
Counterfeit Hopes
False Hope
Alternative theories seem appealing because they promise us
that we can avoid chaos, live in freedom, and keep our own agenda and pride
intact (19).
“It is in the little moments of life that battles are lost
or won” (19).
Do not be abducted by hollow and deceptive philosophy!! (Col
2:6-8)
What Needs to Change?
1.
My circumstances?
a.
“…misses my need for Christ’s redeeming grace,
and it places the BLAME for my sin at God’s doorstep” (21)
2.
My behavior?
a.
Only addresses external actions
b.
Vertical change (person to God) via Spirit and
the Word, leading to repentance of cherishing something in place of Christ.
That vertical change then leads to new behavior on the horizontal (person to
person) plane (21).
3.
My thinking?
a.
“…reduces our relationship to Christ to ‘think
His thoughts’ and ‘act the way Jesus would act’ (22)
b.
“This emphasis on thinking as the solution to
our problems fails to introduce the Person who has come not only to change the
way we think about life, but to change us as well. We are more than thinkers.
We are worshipers who enter into relationship with the person or thing we think
will give us life. Jesus comes to transform our entire being, not just our
mind. He comes as a person, not a cognitive concept we insert into a new
formula for life” (22).
4.
My self-concept?
a.
“The most important assumption this theory makes
is that our hearts are empty and need to be filled….But we are not empty beings!
We are rebels against God” (22-23).
b.
Downplays our guilt & shame, missing the
opportunity to call us to esteem Christ’s work on our behalf (23)
c.
“We feel small because we are small, but false
teaching encourages us to reject those thoughts of smallness by affirming our
own greatness….But the cross of Christ shows me how glorious, merciful, and
forgiving God is and how great His love is for me in Christ. This recognition
of my guilt and God’s glory is the only thing that can eradicate shame and
self-loathing. And it is found outside me, not within me. I am called to esteem
God, not myself” (23-24).
5.
Just trust Jesus more?
a.
“If [Jesus] is my therapist, then He meets my
needs as I define them. If He is my Redeemer, He defines my true needs and
addresses them in ways far more glorious than I could have anticipated” (24).
b.
“We turn Jesus into someone whose goal in life
is to make us feel good about ourselves. But God’s holy love is not like this
at all. God’s holy love grants forgiveness and cleanses us of our guilt, but it
also calls us to admit that we have forsaken His love and settled for things
that pale in comparison” (24).
True Hope (Col 2:11-15)
1.
You are Full in Christ
2.
New Record and New Power
a.
“But in Christ, you get it all….You lack
nothing. You don’t need Christ plus something else. He is enough. All that He
is, we are” (27).
3.
Set Free in Christ
a.
“Freedom from demonic forces is no second or
subsequent work of grace to be sought at the hands of God. It is, simply, the
gospel privilege for all. For of every true believer it is written that they
have already come to fullness of life in Christ, the one who is the head of all
rule and authority” (28).
The Real World
“Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked flee to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace” (29).
Abide in Christ!!
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