Pretensions

I’m reading “how people change” by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp. There’s an interesting passage on 2 Corinthians 10:5, which in the NIV translation is -

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV

I prefer the ESV, which is phrased differently, but the word for “pretension” is

λογισμός
logismós; gen. logismoú, masc. noun from logízomai (G3049), to reckon. A reckoning, calculation, consideration, reflection (Rom_2:15). In the Class. Gr. writers, used of the consideration and reflection preceding and determining conduct, the same meaning as in Joh_11:50, dialogízomai (G1260), to deliberate. In the sense of device, counsel (2Co_10:5; Sept.: Pro_6:18; Jer_11:19).
Syn.: boulḗ (G1012), purpose or thought still in the mind; nóema (G3540), thought.
Ant.: aphrosúnē (G877), senselessness, folly.

So I can see how they got “pretension” from that; a pretension is certainly a calculated, purposeful act that determines a person’s conduct.

Here’s Lane and Tripp’s take on the verse:

I like the term Paul uses for these counterfeits in 2 Corinthians 10:5. He calls them “pretensions.” Not every lie is a pretense. A pretense is a plausible lie. I could tell you that I was a female Olympic gymnast. That would be a lie, but it would not be a pretense because it would lack plausibility. But if I dressed in a suit and stood in front of an office with a briefcase and a set of architectural drawings, I could probably fool you into thinking I was a building contractor.

The most dangerous pretensions are those that masquerade as true Christianity but are missing the identity-provision-process core of the gospel. They have their roots in the truth, but they are incomplete. The result is a Christianity that is mere externalism. Whenever we are missing the message of Christ’s indwelling work to progressively transform us, the hole will be filled by a Christian lifestyle that focuses more on externals than on the heart. I believe that a war for the heart of Christianity is raging all around us, seeking to draw us away from its true core toward the externals.

Yes.  It’s easy to look at someone like Fred Phelps and know that guy is no Christian.  But others – leading people down a cheap and easy path to faith where “God’s blessings” mean prosperity and earthly happiness; where the gospel functions differently for American Christians than it does for Christians in Darfur; where “joy” is not of the eternal variety and is sourced in our current circumstances… those things represent both a lie and a pretense.  They go on to give examples of that “externalism” like legalism, mysticism, activism… all things that Christians use to avoid the true gospel.

It is not enough to embrace Christ’s promise of life after death.  We must also embrace his promise of life before death, which is only possible because of Christ’s grace at work in our hearts today.  This is what this book is about.  …

How does God grow and change us while we live here on earth?  What has Christ given to help me with that tough conversation with my spouse last Tuesday night?  How does his grace impact a person’s struggle with depression or fear?  What has Christ given to help me deal with the pressures of parenting or the workplace?  What provision has he made for my struggles with lust, fear, or materialism?  What do repentance and change actually look like? …

These are the kinds of practical questions this book will address.  Our intention is to take the gospel of Christ’s grace into all the specific places where you live your life.  We believe that you can know why you do the things you do.  You can have a clear sense of were change is needed in your life and what that change should look like.  You can understand what God is doing in the present and how you can be part of it.

… Often there has been too much of a separation between the theology we say we believe and the world we struggle in every day.  The purpose of this book is to bridge that gap.

I’m only a couple of chapters into it but I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve posted a couple times recently about witnessing (and more coming on that topic) but the most important thing about witnessing is living in such a way that it is clear you really believe what you say. When people spot the pretense, they dismiss not just you, for being dishonest, but the gospel as well.