The counterfeit Christian is “in a worse state than the openly profane,” says Benjamin Keach.[1] Keach, a seventeenth-century Baptist pastor and theologian, makes such a statement because the counterfeit is ignorant to his present state of unbelief, whereas the openly profane knows he is not in a state of grace. This is contrary to the true Christian who considers himself worse than a non-believer, worrying that he might be deceived into thinking his faith is genuine when it isn’t.
Some Christians become paralyzed by fear of the very thought of living as a counterfeit, while ungodly counterfeits rest well at night even though they are headed down the wide road that ends in eternal destruction. Since counterfeit Christianity is a perilous and deadly condition, let’s take a look at four characteristics of the counterfeit Christian:
- The counterfeit puts on a good show but is a stranger to true godliness.
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul speaks about lawless people who will deceive the church, and among the lawless are those who have the appearance of godliness but deny its power (2 Tm 3:1-5). On the outside the counterfeit looks good and plays the part well, but inwardly he is full of rot and decay. The counterfeit emphasizes external acts of piety, but his heart is far from the Lord. About such people, in the days of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord declared: “This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Is 29:13). The one whose heart is far from God will attend Sunday morning worship and sing God’s praises with zeal yet stands indifferent to the very words coming forth from his lips.
- The counterfeit is noticeably different in his public and private devotion to the Lord.
In public he displays enthusiasm, vigor, and affection for the Lord, but in private he rarely prays. A counterfeit Christian father does not cultivate godliness in his home. A counterfeit Christian mother does not care about the hearts and souls of her children; she only cares about her peace and comfort. The counterfeit gathers with the church and appears to be listening intently to the sermon only to forget the words that were preached by the time he reaches his car after the service. The counterfeit speaks eloquently about God in public yet, behind closed doors, he gives himself to ungodly television shows and to worldly living. He talks a good talk in public and even presents himself well, but when no one is watching he yields to every temptation of the flesh.
- The counterfeit is a stranger to self-examination yet is good at finding fault in others.
The counterfeit has her eye on others so that she might justify herself by others’ faults and transgressions. Because she knows better, the counterfeit wouldn’t dare say the words out loud but inwardly thinks to herself: “Thank God, I’m not like her!” The counterfeit’s fictitious and prideful assessment of herself becomes the standard by which she judges others. But Romans 2 teaches that such a judgment is foolish, “for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things” (Rom 2:1). As a stranger to self-examination, the counterfeit fails to see herself in light of Christ’s righteous standard, which is the measure by which she will be judged.
- The counterfeit Christian is very confident in the goodness of his condition.
There is never any doubt in the counterfeit Christian’s mind about the state of his soul, even when he’s living in sin. He assumes He is loved by God; after all, he is not like other men, especially “those” wicked sinners outside the church. The counterfeit assumes he is in a good condition before God, so his life is not characterized by evangelical repentance. Since he has a high view of himself, he rarely, if ever, admits to transgressions against God or others. Instead, his immediate response is to justify his actions rather than to examine whether he has sinned against God and against his fellow man.
In the words of Benjamin Keach: The counterfeit is “generally very confident touching the goodness of [his] own condition, not questioning [his] salvation, thus were the Pharisees; they judged others were in a damnable state, but as touching themselves, did not doubt…[that] they were not [like] other men; whereas a true Christian is full of fears and doubts about the truth of grace received, and [the] goodness of his condition.”[2]
The counterfeit Christian is ignorant to his present state of unbelief and is deceived into thinking that his soul rests in a state of grace. This is why Benjamin Keach asserts that the false professor is “in a worse state than the openly profane…”[3] But, while the counterfeit Christian is in a woeful condition, there is hope.
The counterfeit can find hope in Christ who is not a counterfeit. Jesus Christ lived a life free of deceit and died in the place of His people, including some who were openly profane and others who were deceived to their woeful condition. Therefore, the solution for the counterfeit is not to spiral into a state of despair but to look to Christ and trust in Him. His righteous life and sacrificial death are sufficient to deliver you from your life of hypocrisy.
If you’re worried that you might be a counterfeit because of your hypocrisy, understand that Christians will, at times, fall into hypocrisy, but the Christian life is not characterized by hypocrisy. The Christian life is characterized by faith and repentance.
This is why the solution is the same for the counterfeit as well as for the one who fears that he might be a counterfeit: Look to Jesus Christ. As you look to Him you will see your sin for what it really is, and the Spirit of God will increasingly lead you to put to death the hypocrisy which remains in your flesh.
[1]Benjamin Keach, Exposition of the Parables, 768.
[2]Ibid., 772.
[3]Ibid., 768.
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