THE MASQUERADER
“As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these try to compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ” (Gal. 6:12)
Introduction
The
Apostle is instructing the Galatians in how to recognize false teachers. First
off, they are recognized by their focus on the outward show. They are overly
concerned with, and place much emphasis on, externals. And secondly, the reason
why false teachers place so much emphasis on the externals is because they live
in fear. They are overly concerned with what others think of them. And this,
when you think about it, amounts to the same thing as the first point. So, in a
word, the false teacher is one who fears man more than he fears God.Image from Web
Now,
you may think that a false teacher would be a very easy thing to spot in the
church. But that’s not always the case. He may not be that easy to recognize.
For example, he may be quite orthodox in what he teaches. He may assent to the
Reformed Confessions of the Church, such as the Westminster Standards and the
Three Forms of Unity. He may even swear before God that the Westminster
Confession is his own confession
And,
as I said, the false teacher may even be teaching what Jude calls, “the faith
which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3b). He may do so with
great frequency, even every Sunday. He may do so with great eloquence, even
have people flock to hear him. He may even get invited to speak, even all over
the world. But truth be known, the man is a false teacher.
Here’s the subtlety: We tend to think of false teachers as those who teach false teachings. But the true nature of the false teacher is that he may even teach true doctrine, but for his own end. And, he will continue teaching proper doctrine, i.e., so long as he doesn’t have to suffer for it! Therefore, the false teacher may not be discovered until pressure is brought to bear upon him. He won’t necessarily be exposed until he’s driven to make a stand on what he claims to believe. The false teacher, as we shall see, will compromise the truth to avoid persecution.
The
Masquerader’s Dress
“As
many as desire to make a good showing, these try to compel you to be
circumcised.” Paul here is speaking of the false teachers who are in Galatia. He’s
describing them as those who “desire to make a good showing.” Or, as the NIV
would have it “Those who want to make a good impression outwardly.”
So,
we see then, the “masquerader” dresses himself in order to make a good show. He
wants people to like him. He wants people to be suitably impressed with him. So,
he “dresses” for the occasion. If you’re going golfing, he’s got the plus-fours
on! If you’re going fly-fishing, he’s got the waders on! If you’re going
cycling, he’s got the spandex-shorts on!Image from Web
Now,
we’re talking metaphorically here. We’re not necessarily talking about actual
clothes here. Although outer garments might very well be part of his act. No,
what we’re meaning by this, is that the false teacher is one who masquerades. In
other words, the masquerader is the type of person who tries to disguise his
true personality. He tries to mask who he really is. He masquerades.
Let
me explain what I mean a little further. In the church you expect the teaching
elder to be someone who cares about people. Well, the masquerader, the false
teacher, might very well care about people too. However, the way he cares about
people is different to the way the true teacher cares about them. The true teacher cares about people because he
cares about God and what God thinks. Whereas the false teacher cares about
people because he cares about himself. But it doesn’t just stop there. He cares
about what people think of him.
Now,
don’t get me wrong, no-one likes it when people dislike them. But being liked
by others is what the false teacher is all about, according to our text. The
masquerader is out to make a good impression in the world. So, you can see that
it’s not so easy to spot the false teacher. He might be a real “people’s man” He
might even come and visit you – often! You might even be impressed by how much
he cares about you. But, according to the verse before us, he has an ulterior
motive. He’s after your approval. He wants you to like him. He’s out to make a
good showing, a good impression.
So, you can see then, that it’s not as easy as looks, to spot a masquerader. In fact, truth be known, the masquerader may not even know that he himself is a false teacher! Jeremiah says, does he not, that the heart is a deceitful and desperately wicked thing (Jer. 17:9). That’s why the Apostle, e.g., says elsewhere, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove [or test] yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Cor. 13:5). Also, he says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). Commenting on this verse Matthew Henry says, “A preacher of salvation may yet miss it. He may show others the way to heaven, and never get thither himself.”
The
false teacher may think himself the epitome of orthodox Christianity, i.e., the
Reformed Faith. He may, for a time, faithfully proclaim the whole counsel of
God. He may even preach on Hell, Repentance, the Christian Keeping of God’s
Law. Why, he may even preach on Tithing! – along with all the other less
offensive doctrines. However, just because his theology is all dressed up in
Presbyterian and Reformed, i.e., Biblical, garb doesn’t make him the real thing.
So,
what is it then, that makes him the real thing and not a masquerader? What is
the difference between the false teacher and the true teacher? Well, for a
start, it’s the grace of God. A man is a true teacher simply because of God’s
grace. It is God who supplies the true teachers to His Church. Which is not to
say that the false teacher doesn’t have a role to play. (We’ll look into the
role he plays a little later.) But the main difference between a false and a
true teacher is one of desire. Yet, on the surface both the false and the true
teacher may desire to put on a good show. However, here’s the difference, the
difference is in the object of the desire. The object of the false teacher’s
desire is his own glory. “They desire to have you circumcised that they may
GLORY in your flesh” (Gal. 6:13b). But what is the chief end of the true
teacher? His chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever! Therefore, the
true teacher is the one who puts God’s glory first – regardless of the
consequences, for that’s the pattern in Scripture.
“And
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a
better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and
of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were
tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not
worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith” (Heb. 11:35b ff.).
Again,
as the Apostle says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.”
Then look carefully at the teachers in the churches, and examine them – not to
judge but discern. Are there men (and women) teachers in the churches trying to
put on a good show? Are they all dog-collars, purple-robes, gold crosses, and
muttering pious-platitudes? Are they all outward pomp and ceremony? It’s not
hard to spot some false teachers just by their outward dress and manner.
But, again, I remind you, it’s not so much their outward dress that betrays the false teacher, it’s their inner motives – their heart betrays them. It’s by their fruits ye shall know them – not by their suits! But what about those false teachers who actually teach according to the Scriptures. What about those ones who may not even have realized they are false teachers? How are they revealed to be what they truly are, i.e., man-pleasers? Well, look at the rest of our text, “these try to compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross.” So, we see then, that the false teachers are exposed by persecution. The last thing the false teacher wants is persecution. He is after the approval of men not their disapproval.
The
Masquerader’s Dread
The
masquerader fears man more than God. The masquerader, the false teacher,
desires glory, not persecution. He’ll do anything to avoid being persecuted. He’ll
even begin teaching erroneous doctrine if he thinks it will save his own flesh.
As
you well know, certain false teachers had come among the Galatian congregation.
And instead of that church showing them where to go, they began to capitulate. That’s
the reason why Paul fired off this letter to them in the first place. As in any
church, there were those in the Galatian Church who wanted to keep the peace. There’s
nothing wrong with wanting to keep the peace in the church. However, false
teachers are willing to compromise the Gospel just to keep the peace!
In
other words, the masquerader has his mask removed through persecution. He will
only stand for the Gospel if he receives the approval of men. But he will not
stand on the truth of the cross of Christ if it means hardship for him. The
masquerader’s masquerade is over when the wolf enters the fold. The wolf enters
the sheepfold clothed in sheepskin. He enters with darkness dressed up as
light. “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel
of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also
transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be
according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Image from Web
The
false shepherd or teacher has a decision to make. And remember, his decision is
based upon the popular vote! If most people are clamouring for the new teaching
brought by the wolf, then he’ll follow the new teaching, even if it contradicts
the Gospel! That’s what we see in the verse before us.
The
Galatian teachers were beginning to try to consider circumcision (and other
aspects of the ceremonial law) as the way of salvation. The wolf had got among
them and he was hungry, and he was demanding a piece of their flesh!
This
was a time of testing for the Galatian Congregation. What’s it going to be? Are
you going to stand up for the Gospel or not? Or we could phrase the question
this way, Do you fear God or do you fear man? These false teachers, these
masqueraders are putting pressure on you to compromise the clear teaching of
Scripture, what are you going to do? What is your teaching elder (or elders)
telling you to do? The wolf is snapping at them, what are they doing about it? Are
they throwing the wolf a piece of meat, e.g., circumcision? Or are they
standing on the truth?
According
to the verse before us, the false teacher will refuse to suffer persecution for
the cross of Christ. He’ll compromise. That’s how you tell the false from the
true and the true from the false. The true will not compromise no matter how
much he is persecuted. But the false will when the fiery trial comes, because
he fears man. He dreads persecution. If he sees it coming, he’s planning his
escape route. He’s packing his bags with the engine running.
Jesus
refers to the false teacher, the masquerader as a “hireling.” “But he who is a
hireling and not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf
coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and
scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care
about the sheep” (John 10:12-13).
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| Image from Web |
Also,
related to this, is the fact that the masquerader is obsessed with crowds. He
loves to make a good showing so that he’ll be commended by men. The more people
he has in his congregation, the more accolades he receives. Therefore, the
false teacher is obsessed by numbers. Numbers to him are pats on his back. His
great fear, his dread is unpopularity. More people means more popularity.
Let’s
recap before we conclude: We’ve looked at the masquerader’s dress, and we’ve
look at his dread. He clothes himself with the praises of men. And he dreads
being defrocked by persecution. But we all stand before God naked in the Fall
of Adam (Rom. 5:12). Either you have been clothed in Christ’s righteousness, or
you haven’t.
Suffering persecution for the cross of Christ is God’s way of testing you! It’s His way of letting you know who has put on Christ or who has not. Persecution in the Church is God’s way of letting us know the false teachers from the true. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 tells us God raises up false prophets, i.e., false teachers to test our love for God. We’ve looked at some of the ways of recognizing these masqueraders.
Conclusion
Keep
in mind that persecution in the church is not always a bad thing. As the
Apostle Peter says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while,
if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the GENUINESS of your
faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by
fire, may be found to praise, honor, glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”
(1 Pet. 1:6-7).
Persecution
comes to the Church to reveal the genuineness of your faith. While conversely,
it exposes the lack thereof. Therefore, persecution is God’s way of unmasking
the masqueraders. So, be encouraged and support the true teachers.
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