MASQUERADERS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever experienced a masquerade?

Literally, it is a dance party where people where masks and clothes to conceal their real identity. In other words, everyone attending is in disguise.

Keep that thought now as we look at a more figurative application of the word. For anytime someone pretends to be something that they aren’t, they are labeled as having propagated a masquerade, deliberately seeking to deceive others.

Why the discussion on this?

Because as we see in our scripture passage today, the Apostle Paul is calling out fake leaders who had infiltrated the Christian church in Corinth. These “false apostles” and “deceitful workers” weren’t promoting themselves as such. Rather, they were “masquerading as apostles of Christ” and Paul was very concerned that they would lead the Corinthian Christians astray, destroying all the positive progress he had made in helping them develop and grow their church authentically upon the foundation of the Gospel.

As we have seen elsewhere in this chapter, these masquerading apostles were intentionally trying to discredit Paul in the eyes of the Corinth believers. This is what deceivers will do. They will try to draw attention and scrutiny away from themselves by placing the spotlight on someone else. Their efforts are nothing short of sinful and therefore of Satan.

It’s this association with the enemy through wicked conduct that Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to fully understand. Just as Satan masquerades as an angel of light, so too will his minions follow his lead and pretend to be someone that they weren’t, in this case “servants of righteousness”.

Given his full trust in the Lord, Paul knew that the masquerades of the false prophets and teachers would not go unseen or unpunished. The Apostle understood that nothing is ever concealed from God and anyone choosing to trick others into believing they are partnered with Him when they were really connected to Satan would face judgment. In the case of the masqueraders, their end would be what their actions deserved. In other words, they would get what they deserved.

Today, we still have leaders within Christian denominations and churches who are masquerading as being committed to the Lord’s word and will when their actions, words, and policy proposals are unbiblical and immoral. Just like the false prophets and leaders in today’s passage, they lead the very people they are supposed to turn toward righteousness down the road of transgression and destruction. Rest assured that God will make sure they receive an end that will be what their behavior deserves.

How can we spot a Christian masquerader before they mislead and corrupt us?

We need to be constantly engaged with God’s word so we can spot a false teaching when it comes upon us. If the instruction is not validated by the scriptures, then it fails the litmus test for truth. The light of the word of God will always shine His light to reveal evil working in the dark.

We also need to be consistently engaged with the Holy Spirit. If you’re not sure whether or not a Christian leader is legit, pray and ask for the Lord to reveal whether or not that leader can be trusted. The Lord will always answer your prayer and either validate or invalidate the leader in question.

We have seen in today’s message that masqueraders exist in the church, masqueraders who are dedicated to dishonesty and fraudulent ministry. With the Lord’s help, we can identify these sinners before they do the damage that Satan desires.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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