Recognizing and Resisting the Threat

The basis and end game of false teaching is decidedly opposed to Jesus Christ. Believers must be able to recognize and resist the threat to the beauty and purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

Last week we were introduced the theme that will be reiterated throughout this chapter: there are opponents to Christ but believers must not fall victim to them and fall away from Christ, but rather continue in Christ with a posture of humble, joyful, satisfied delight.

 

Oftentimes if we are concerned about false teaching it is merely the labels that we worry about. However, here in Colossians 2, Paul works hard to unpack their specific game plan and methodology while connecting some major dots with regard to Christ. There is a burden here to know the specifics, the true anatomy and consequence of the false teaching.

As a result of what is at stake with a right understanding of Jesus, believers must be ever more vigilant to recognize and resist the threats against the truth.

 

 

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

 

 

Believers must maintain vigilance in the face of false teachers, knowing that their end game is to spiritually kidnap you.

 

 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

 

We have to remember here that our context is not one that represents a peace time but rather one that reflects the threat level being increased. 

 

If we imposed Homeland Security Department’s standards the threat would be somewhere between “High” and “Severe” or “Red and “Orange”.

 

Look back up at verse 4 here in chapter 2. We covered this last week:

 

Colossians 2:4  ⁴ I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

 

The threat is as real as Paul’s unceasing burden for their spiritual growth, preservation and safety.

 

As a result Paul comes out quite emphatically here in verse 8. He writes, “See to it”. 

 

This is an intense command here. He is telling the believers to “Look!” “Watch out!” “Be on the alert!” “Don’t fall asleep!”

 

Paul is not looking here for half-hearted engagement but an intense alertness. I remember my Mum used to regularly tell me to “keep my eyes peeled”, I’m not sure what that literally means, but she meant that I needed to keep my eyes open and my mind engaged.

 

If we might use a picture here, the application is not to be like the older, more portly, retired security guard who is occasionally nodding off at his post due to boredom. Instead it is to be like a Marine in wartime, carefully making his way through enemy territory. He is alert, he is examining his surroundings, he is careful, he knows the cost, he is aware of the threat.

 

You are to be on the alert…so that no one takes you captive!

 

Here we see the objective of the false teachers: captivity. 

 

You might be tempted to think that Paul is just prone to use dramatic, picturesque words here to make a point. Captivity is not really what he has in mind, is it?

 

The term translated here as “takes you captive” joins two Greek words, one that means to “Carry off” and the other that means “treasure”. It was used in other Greek writings to refer to kidnapping, plundering a house, seducing and raping a maiden, taking prisoners in war and plundering a town while taking all of its goods.

 

We are not talking about a mere broadening of religious understanding but rather the aggressive, relentless and oppressive plundering of your spiritual house.

 

Picking up on this robbing you of your riches picture that is present here, let’s look back at what you have in Christ:

 

 

Colossians 2:16  ¹⁶ Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—

Colossians 2:18  ¹⁸ Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

 

They are coming after you! They are coming after your prize! They want to steal your treasure! They want to enschackle you!

 

You might say, “No one is coming after me…” 

 

Have you ever had the knock on your door only to see the smiling Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon missionary? 

 

Do you think they are angels sent from heaven to diversify your spiritual portfolio?

 

Who sent them? Why are they doing what they are doing?

They are peddling a religion of self-righteousness that seeks to marginalize the cross, give Jesus a makeover, and put you and your family in shackles. Their goal in making converts is making captives.

 

It is not just the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, as we will see, but they are foot soldiers in this war on the truth, this war on Christ.

 

This battle is on your doorstep.  You need to be responsible. You are in the war. So, You be on the alert (right now), you be ready (right now), you look out (right now), so that in the future…no one takes you captive.

 

(application) We need to be responsible about this. Especially you men. You need to lead your families in this area. The odds are that these predators will come after your wife when you are at work, or at your kids at school. 

We understand this type of mentality. We understand living amid a threat. 

 

There were nearly 800,000 missing persons reported last year in this country. Most of which are children.

 

We know what people are up to. Nobody lets there toddlers run free at the State Fair (nor our wives for that matter), we have their hands firmly clasped in ours.

 

I read this week that “approximately one in seven youth online (10 to 17-years-old) received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet.” That is a lot of kids! So we are careful we talk to our kids.

 

As bad as this is, and I am in now way minimizing how bad this stuff is, what we are talking about here is worse. What Paul has in mind here is not merely the effect of a lack of joy in this life, and the potential for heartache, but even more, the eternal consequence of turning away from Christ.

 

There is a responsibility then, specifically, to the men, lead your families protect them from error. Parents protect your kids. Friends protect your friends. And you can only do this by you yourself, walking in high alert, being careful, like the marine in enemy territory, not to be picked off or picked up and carried off by enemies of Christ.

 

Know they are there. Know what they want to do. Know they are looking at you. Know that you need to be responsible. Know that the threat is real. 

 

 

Do not become a statistic.

 

Believers must maintain vigilance in the face of false teachers, knowing that their end game is to spiritually kidnap you.

 

First, You must know their plan. Now, Second, you must know their hook: deceitful philosophy.

 

 

 The means for carrying off vulnerable people into captivity is expressed in terms of an empty and deceitful philosophy.

 

 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

 

Here we have the hook or the means by which they snag you. They are offering you a chocolate covered crème filled donut, but it has a dangerously sharp and rusty hook on the inside. They mean to take you captive.

 

The text says that the way in which this happens is through philosophy and empty deception. 

 

Does this mean that philosophy is bad? I have read several folks who use this passage to launch into a diatribe against philosophy.

 

Philosophy is a compound word that means, “love of wisdom”. Well on the surface this cannot be all bad, considering that Jesus is said to be the “treasure of all wisdom and knowledge” (v.3).

 

It is important for us to understand that culturally for Paul and the Colossians philosophy was far more wide and inclusive than we think today, it applied any system of thought. It included all of the various worldviews. 

 

Even Josephus, the First Century Jewish historian, writes, "For there are three forms of philosophies among the Jews. The followers of the first school are called Pharisees, of the second Sadducees, and of the third Essenes" (Jewish War II. viii. 2).

 

Thankfully Paul connects the word for us with a bit more description:

 

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception

 

The way in which they would be taken captive is through philosophy that is empty and deceptive. 

 

The word used for empty can refer to empty containers as well as vain and worthless things. It is the same term that is used by James when he says that “faith without works is…useless” (James 2.20) Likewise Paul wrote, that if “Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain” (1 Cor. 15.14).

 

So yes it is empty, but also it is deception.

 

This is the same word characterizes sin in Hebrews 3.13 and it describes our fallen desires apart from Christ in Ephesians 4.22. So just like our fallen hearts this term communicates trickery and deception through error.

 

These errorists do not come in promoting lawlessness or even atheism. Instead they come in and carefully pitch a philosophy that deceitfully appeals to your fallen heart.

 

The popular book “The Secret” has sold several million copies and then millions more on DVD. The premise of the book is a philosophy or a worldview that enthrones you and your personal dreams (this is quite flattering to the fallen heart!).

 

“You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet.” (p. 164)

 

In this philosophy you are sovereign. Your thoughts bring about reality. You attract what you want to have happen. No wonder Oprah has been trumpeting this book and the DVDs.

 

“The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret.” (p. 183)

 

This is empty deceit because it is wrong! It doesn’t work. It is not reality. If I have cancer I cannot just think my way out of it. When you unwrap the shiny wrapping of the secret you find the ancient, rusty, metal hook that Satan has been mercilessly using to carry off unsuspecting, gullible, vulnerable, dissatisfied people throughout history.

 

Just like the issue in Colossae, the philosophy is empty deceit. It does not work. 

 

Colossians 2:16-23  

 

¹⁶ Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- ¹⁷ things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 

 

 

¹⁸ Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. 

 

 

²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ²¹ "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" ²² (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 

 

 

²³ These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

 

The contrast to this empty deceitful philosophy is the gospel. 

 

The philosophy is lacking, but Christ is the fullness. Where it is has no value we have the riches of Christ. Where it is deceitful and untrustworthy we have the reliable and divinely attested word in the gospel. Where the philosophy is empty and lacking power, the gospel of Christ transforms lives.

 

Listen, nothing else works! The whole point of this letter is that Christ is better! He is better than any and everything. You might be wondering, “How do I prevent wandering off like a careless toddler?” Listen, you continue in Christ; both hands clinging to his perfection, both feet walking in him, with a heart that is stirred with a cross-centered delight in him. 

 

Don’t worry about the other stuff. Just concern yourself with the glory and beauty of Christ. The other stuff will look like a Halloween mask to you in comparison.

 

The means for carrying off vulnerable people into captivity is expressed in terms of an empty and deceitful philosophy.

 

 First, You must know their plan.

 Second, you must know their hook: deceitful philosophy.

Now Third:  Know their badge: Human Traditions….

 

 

False teaching and thinking inevitably will appeal to human traditions as their basis, for they have no divine basis, they are contrary to Christ.

 

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

 

In this whole section here the contrast between the false philosophy and Christ is evident. Now the basis for such a philosophy is directly pitted against Christ. Please see this contrast here: according to the traditions of men…rather than according to Christ. It is Jesus who is under attack here.

 

The term traditions is all over the place in the New Testament. It is not bad in and of itself. We have “good traditions in 2 Thes 2.15 and then bad ones in Mark 7.3. It is what it is attached to that causes such a problem. Notice here in our verse it is the tradition…of men.

 

One of the more dangerous things about traditions is the implicit authority and value that is embedded in it. From a natural perspective, consider what so enraged Nebraska fans over the last 4 years when Bill Callahan was the coach. It was the slow evaporation of the various traditions, be it the walk on program, the black shirts, the wearing of red, and probably most problematic for Callahan, the winning. Fans were outraged. “How dare you take our traditions?!” 

 

Biblically speaking traditions have the opportunity to be disastrous. If Jesus was a wild game hunter, the beast that he enjoyed shooting the most was the traditions of men.

 

In a memorable passage that you can almost feel the bite to it, Jesus unloads on the religious guys:

 

Matthew 15:2 "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."

Matthew 15:3 And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

Matthew 15:6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.' And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

 

One of the reasons why Jesus has and always will be a problem for people is the fact that he does not come to bless traditions but to blow them up and become the ultimate tradition.

 

Here in Colossians 2 we can just hear these creative proponents of their message that is deviating from Christ, and their basis is tradition.

 

No doubt they were incorrectly blending elements of Old Testament Jewish worship with popular pagan philosophies. The results of this pagan/Jewish hybrid is an assault on the sufficiency of Christ.

 

What I love about the way Paul deals with this is he points to the infraction and then immediately points to the person and work of Christ so as to destroy such traditions as an option. 

 

Look again at verse 11ff:

Colossians 2:11-22   ¹¹ and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; ¹² having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 

 

¹⁵ When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. ¹⁶ Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- ¹⁷ things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 

 

¹⁸ Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. 

 

²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ²¹ "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" ²² (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

 

Antiquity does not equal authority and creativity does not equal authenticity. The badge of tradition is just as rampant today. 

 

We have the steady congregation of Roman Catholics who maintain value and merit in the traditions of the church, specifically baptism, communion, and the magisterium.

 

Then you have the many Lutherans who cling to their tradition of baptism as a form of merit.

 

Then there the flamboyantly liberal wings of protestant denominations, such as the Methodists, Episcopalians, and the Congregationalists. These folks cling to their liberal understanding and interpretation of Scripture and life as a basis for their standing before God.

 

Then you have fundamentalists who cling to what they do or do not do as their basis for standing before God. This may be the circle that we may be closest to. These guys were most like the Pharisees. They know their Bibles but are also zealous for traditions. 

 

Maybe it is the wearing of a suit, a tie, a dress. Maybe it is how you comb your hair or do not comb your hair. Maybe it is the lack of piercings, tattoos, loud music. Maybe there is merit toward holiness in homeschooling your kids, or private schooling. Maybe there is merit in your mind for not drinking alcohol or not eating certain types of food.

 

You might say, “I don’t think there is merit in those things, I just have preferences.” Well, let me ask you, do you shake your head, and think people are less godly than you because they do not do what you do? 

 

If the answer is yes, then you are clinging to traditions.

 

Whether we are talking about the new recession into the old traditions of monasticism and subjective contemplation, or the tried and true traditions of many protestant denominations today, or the explosive legalism that is wired through much of fundamentalist evangelical churches today, if you are clinging to a means of holiness that is in addition to or at the expense of Christ, you are in error. You are insulting Christ and his gloriously powerful cross.

 

Martin Luther rightly said,   “God never promised to save anybody for his religious observance of ceremonies and ordinances. Those who rely upon such things do serve a god, but it is their own invention of a god, and not the true God. The true God has this to say: No religion pleases Me whereby the Father is not glorified through His Son Jesus. All who give their faith to this Son of Mine, to them I am God and Father. I accept, justify, and save them. All others abide under My curse because they worship creatures instead of Me.

 

These things have been hatched in the minds of men. They cannot bring you to Christ, they cannot bring about holiness, and they cannot restrain the flesh. They are empty, full of deceit, ineffective, human traditions.

 

 

 First, You must know their plan.

 Second, you must know their hook: deceitful philosophy.

Third:  Know their badge: Human Traditions….

Now, Fourth: Know what they’re selling: emptiness

 

 

 In reality the false teachers are offering nothing of value. Instead they are selling emptiness and weakness packaged in a mirage.

 

If our last term indicated the basis for the teaching this phrase here shows us the sphere. Look again at verse 8:

 

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

 

What are elementary principles of the world?

 

This is a very important word for us in understanding this whole section here in Colossians. It is also used in verse v.20: If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees.

 

In both verses (8 & 20) the contrast is to Christ. The same term is used in a similar context in Galatians 4 to warn against defecting from Christ.

 

From the standpoint of a definition the word means foundational or basic. Generally it has to do with the rudimentary or basic elements of anything. It is used of the letters of the alphabet, basic notes of musical scale, and fundamental components of the universe (air, earth, fire, and water).

 

The same word is used in Hebrews 5 to express the need for the believers there to be mature and move on from the ‘basics’ so to speak.

 

But we should note that both here and Galatians, when the issue of the gospel is on the line, the term is used in a pejorative sense. In fact, Paul writes in Galatians that these elemental things are “weak and worthless” (Gal. 4.9).

 

Now if you have an English Standard translation or some of the other modern translations, you will notice that your Bibles read “elemental spirits” whereas the NASB, NIV, and some others say “elemental principles”.

 

This is because there are typically two primary understandings of what this word refers to: either the material or the spiritual realm.

 

However, when you read Colossians, and in particular chapter 2, you see an emphasis upon both the material and the spiritual.

 

From a material standpoint, he writes about circumcision in verse 11, the Sabbath and festivals in verse 16, and self-abasement in verses 18, 20-21.

 

But from a spiritual standpoint, you have the rulers and authorities disarmed in verse 15, the worship of angels in verse 18, and mystical revelation in verse 18. 

 

So in our context you have the emphasis upon both the material and the spiritual.

 

Further, when you look at the culture and worldview of the folks in Paul’s day we do not see the clear and neat divisions between the spiritual and material world like we do today.  People made gods out of natural elements (the earth, water, sun, the moon, etc.). 

 

This culturally pagan temptation has always been in the periphial of the people of God:

 

Deuteronomy 4:15-19  ¹⁵ "So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷ the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, ¹⁸ the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. ¹⁹ "And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

 

The reference to pursuing material elements in this spiritual context must then indict their paganism. 

 

“The Colossian ‘philosophy,’ by its preoccupation with rules about material things was, in Paul’s view, treating them like the pagans did, as if they were fundamental cosmic powers that needed to be placated. They were, in effect, putting them in the place of Christ.” (Moo, 191-192)

 

In other words, at the heart of their submission to these elemental principles is a pagan perspective on both material and spiritual elements. 

 

They sought to appease, gain or keep God through these various intermediaries. The way to do this they thought was to engage in various activities related to their bodies (eating certain foods & drinking certain drinks), observing certain feasts, observing the Sabbath, communing with angels, engaging in personal subjective revelation, and performing various traditions.

 

At the heart of these worthless pursuits of elemental principles is the dethroning, demoting and marginalization of Jesus. 

 

This is because, as Paul writes, all of these rulers have been (verse 15) disarmed and defeated.

 

In a similar vein and with similar emphasis Paul in Galatians writes that their pursuits toward things from the Law were nothing more than neo-paganism. These things are “weak and worthless”.   

In the same tone he concludes in Colossians: ²³ These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. 

 

It is without value. To turn away from Christ to anything is to turn to futility and worthlessness. To add to Christ is to take away from him.

 

You may laugh and conclude that this was such a problem in the first century but does not affect us today. 

 

Do you know what the fasted growing religion in this US is?

 

Wicca.

“Wicca is the fastest-growing religion in America, set to be the third largest religion by 2012,” claims Marla Alupoaicei, who co-wrote the recently released book “Generation Hex” with fellow Christian author Dillon Burroughs.

“The numbers of adherents are doubling every 30 months,” she says.

Wiccans believe in the five classical elements, though unlike in ancient Greece, they are seen as symbolic as opposed to literal. The five elements are:

The five elements are symbolized by the five points of the pentagram

 

Traditionally the God is viewed as a Horned God of nature. He is often seen as a god of woodlands, sexuality, and hunting. Sounds like someone went a bit long on a hunting trip.

 

Listen, nothing has changed. It is the same attraction to stuff that does not work.

 

False teachers and false religions always advertise something more but never can deliver. This is because they seek to lead you from Christ who alone is sufficient.

 

False religions prey upon people that are like the dog in Aesop’s story. The dog was crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth. As he crossed the bridge he saw his own shadow in the water and thought it was another dog with a piece of meat double the size of the one that was in his teeth. The Dog dropped his own food and pounced upon the other dog in effort to get the larger piece of meat from him. He ended up losing both; his original lunch was gone do to the stream sweeping it away and the other piece because it was his not real, it was merely a shadow enlivened by his own imagination.

 

Too many people pounce upon a spirituality that is cast in their own image and according to their own desires but is nothing more than their own imagination. As a result they are left like the foolish dog, confused and hungry without Christ.

 

In reality the false teachers are offering nothing of value. Instead they are selling emptiness and weakness packaged in a mirage.

 

First, You must know their plan.

Second, you must know their hook:  deceitful philosophy.

Third:  Know their badge: Human Traditions….

Fourth: Know what they’re selling: emptiness…

Now, Fifth: Know their Opponent: The Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

It is Jesus Christ who is excluded when false teachers promote their agendas.

 

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

 

Now we are formally introduced with the grand problem of all of this. We have been getting our bullets from this storage shed throughout our attack on this false teaching, now we are permitted to see it with its intended clarity and punch.

 

Watch how the passage progresses:

 

See that no on takes you captive, through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world,  rather than according to Christ!!!

 

This is the whole point!

 

You might ask, “How is Christ excluded?”

 

The answer is, “Because he is not given his proper seat as the preminent, supreme, and sufficient one!” 

 

Jesus is not interested in taking a demotion. He is the undisputed champion of heaven and earth, he is the supreme one. He is the exclusive answer as to who to satisfy the nagging void of spiritual emptiness. He is the one who has come to live and die for sinners so as to reconcile them to himself. He is the one who will ultimately reign as king over all, whether this is by compulsion or grace. Jesus will get his glory.

 

There are no backdoors to the feast of heaven it is through Christ and Christ alone.

 

The foolishness and futility of turning away from Christ in Colossians, especially after such a glorious and unmatched portrayl of him in this book.

Can you imagine hearing all about the best 5-star restaurant in a city and then getting the opportunity to go. You get all dressed up and pick up your friends and head to the restaurant. You can’t park in the parking lot because it is so full so you walk there. When you arrive you walk in the front door, smell the aroma of food, notice the beautiful decorations, even see the chefs, but instead of stopping you just march right through the back door and into the parking lot where you open up the dumpster and climb in with your friends. It is here that you are aiming to find satisfaction, delight, and fulfillment.

 

To turn away from Christ is to jump into the dumpster and nibble off the half-eaten chicken wings, drink the last drop of flat soda and intermingle with the rest of the trash.

 

When you turn away from Christ you turn to weak, worthless, religious rubbish.

 

Last week we talked about the need for all of us to personally proclaim the person and work of Christ to our own hearts. This produces contentment in Christ, love for Christ and prevents the wandering eyes of spiritual adulterers. It causes you to humbly and joyfully treasure the treasure.

 

Can you guess what Paul does in the next verses?

 

He recounts the glorious person and work of Christ. It is like he yells about the dangers of false teaching and then sings about the glories of Christ.

 

This again is instructive to us. Remind your fallen hearts of the greatness and glory of Christ so that you would not long forget and would not be attracted by the weak and worthless marketing of religious hucksters that aim to pull you away from Christ.

 

It is Jesus Christ who is excluded when false teachers promote their agendas.

 

 

Here in Colossians 2, Paul works hard to unpack the specific game plan and methodology of the false teachers’ while connecting some major dots with regard to Christ.

 

This apostolic briefing is intended to help us be better aware of the specifics, the true anatomy and consequence of the false teaching.

 

First, You must know their plan.

Second, you must know their hook: deceitful philosophy.

Third:  Know their badge: Human Traditions….

Fourth: Know what they’re selling: emptiness…

Fifth: Know their Opponent: The Lord Jesus Christ.

By God’s grace may we be ever more humbled by our own sin and as a result ever more content in Christ as we recognize and resist the myriad of threats against the truth.