Sound Doctrine-12

Sound Doctrine – 12

Colossians 2:6–8 (AMP)

6As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.

7Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.

8See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).

Colossians 2:16–23 (NIV84)

16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:

21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?

22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

The purpose of the letter was to provide the resources that the Colossian Christians needed to fend off some kind of false teaching to which they were exposed.

The false teachers were downplaying the supremacy of Jesus Christ and exalting angels.

The false teachers were appealing to spiritual beings, visions, and rules to find security; they were questioning the sufficiency of Christ.

The false teachers believed that “angels and principalities played a prominent role in creation and the giving of the Law. They were regarded as controlling the communication between God and man and so needed to be placated by keeping strict legal observances.”

Paul’s intent in writing the book of Colossians was to make the centrality and supremacy of Christ, especially with respect to other spiritual beings, a central plank in his response to the false teachers.

In today’s world, false teaching still abounds. One serious area is the infiltration of New Age doctrine into the Christian worldview.

New Age theology includes these eight points:

God and creation are one. God is an impersonal force or energy.

Revelation is special and continuous. The Bible is not authoritative. In fact, the four Gospels of the New Testament present symbolic details about the mysteries of God.

Humanity is one with God. Every person is divine.

Jesus is a man who evolved into a godlike being. The Christ spirit, an impersonal “force,” dwelt in Jesus, just as it did in any number of other great religious leaders.

Humanity’s crises are all the result of people’s ignorance of their own divinity.

Humanity needs a complete “transformation” in which each person is made aware of his or her oneness with God.

Through various techniques an altered state of consciousness can be produced in individuals, resulting in a perceived change of reality.

The “transformation” of each individual is the basis for the transformation of the entire world—“global transformation”—which will result in social unity.

Colossians 2:18–19 (NIV84)

18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

The Word of God must remain our standard, our norm, for evaluating all that people past or present say about angels. The Bible is as authoritative in its teaching about angels as it is in everything else in its pages.

Revelation 2:12–17 (NIV84)

12“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

13I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

15Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Revelation 2:15 (NLT2)

15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.

16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Pergamum was a stronghold of emperor worship. 

Revelation specifically locates Satan’s throne in Pergamum because it was the only one of the seven cities where a Christian had been put to death.

Who has the sharp, double-edged sword. Roman governors had the ultimate “right of the sword” (ius gladii, i.e., capital punishment). The one with the sword had the power of life and death.

Christ’s throne is sovereign over Satan’s, and Satan’s representatives who wrongly use the God-ordained power of the sword will themselves be judged by the heavenly law court.

Balak, son of Zippor and king of Moab, hired Balaam to prophesy a curse on the nation of Israel.

Balaam, a pagan magician who momentarily served God but was ultimately motivated by personal gain, failed to do so after three attempts. This error is characteristic of false teachers who are so consumed by greed that obedience to God becomes irrelevant.

When Balaam could not directly curse Israel, he apparently counseled the Moabite king to entice the Israelites into immoral behavior, hoping God would be forced to punish them.

The Pergamum Christians were “culturally pressured” to accommodate the practices of non-Christians to maintain good social and business relationships with people outside the Christian community.

This resulted in a compromise of their Christian values and standards with the surrounding culture.

Romans 1:16–17 (NIV84)

16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

The Gospel alone, not human effort, cultural conformity, or social acceptance, brings salvation.

Salvation is rooted in God’s righteousness revealed in Christ, received by faith, not by external association or compromise with the world’s systems.

Any action that suggests salvation, blessing, or success can be secured by participation in pagan, imperial, or worldly rituals denies the sufficiency and exclusivity of the Gospel.

The Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans were not merely a subgroup in the church who were more lenient toward pagan religion and society. In the letters their thought is called a teaching (Gk didachē;. Rev. 2:14, 15, 20, 24), and they may have claimed inspiration for this teaching (Rev. 2:20).

Their leaders may have called themselves apostles (Rev. 2:2) and prophets (Rev. 2:20), and been actively seeking disciples.

They were permissive about both eating meat offered to idols and immorality.

Teaching of the Nicolaitans. The teaching of the Nicolaitans is defined as that of Balaam of the OT and Jewish tradition: eating food sacrificed to idols and immorality (Num 25:1–2; 31:16).

1 Corinthians 10:23–33 (NIV84)

23“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive.

24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,

26for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

27If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

28But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake—

29the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience?

30If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—

33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

For further study and insight, see 1 Corinthians 8.

Food sold in the marketplace was not considered defiled. Outside of its idolatrous context, idol food becomes simply food and belongs to the one God.

Where it is known that the meat has been part of an idol sacrifice, then clearly to eat it would be in breach of the instruction “You are to abstain from food offered to idols” (Acts 15:29).

The question at issue is, How does the edict that you abstain from idol meat apply when you do not know whether or not some particular food is idol meat? Paul interprets the edict: one must not eat it where the fact that the meat has been sacrificed to idols is known or is said to be the case; but he regards it as no issue if it is not known whether the meat was part of a sacrifice (because no one is making it an issue). Paul’s view is thus not inconsistent with the Council of Jerusalem’s decree.

If anyone considers an idol to be a spirit or a god, then let that person not eat food offered to idols; otherwise, in his mind he will be worshiping and honoring the spirit or god represented by that idol.

But if someone considers that an idol has no meaning whatever—that it is just a dead piece of wood or stone or metal—then that person can eat food sacrificed to idols without sinning, because he is not worshiping a god or evil spirit when he eats such food.

However, he must not eat such food in the presence of a brother or sister who believes that the idol is a spirit or god, because in their eyes it will seem as if he is worshiping an idol, and they will be offended. We must never act only according to our own opinion and understanding; we must also avoid doing those things which our brother or sister considers sinful and offensive.

If one is going to eat food sacrificed to idols, let him do it in the privacy of his own home. He must not go to the temple or other public place to eat it, because a brother or sister might see him and take offense.

2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 (NIV84)

14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

17“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

18“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

1Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Both the teaching of Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans introduced pagan doctrine into Christian worship. This is call syncretism.

Syncretism is the blending or mixing of different religious beliefs and practices into one system. Instead of keeping the worship of the true God pure, syncretism combines elements of biblical faith with pagan or worldly ideas.

Syncretism = “mixing truth with error” in worship or spirituality.

John Frame: “Syncretism is always idolatry in disguise.”

R.C. Sproul: “To mix what is holy with what is common is profanity.”

Is this occurring today? Have we allowed a mixing of truth with error?

Christian or Holy Yoga?

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV84)

16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) is the sufficient and final authority for faith and practice.

Any spiritual discipline or practice claiming to promote holiness, worship, or communion with God must be explicitly or implicitly supported by biblical teaching.

Yoga, in its essence and historical roots, is not derived from biblical revelation but from Hindu religious philosophy, where it functions as a path toward union with Brahman (the ultimate divine reality).

Even if Scripture is later read or meditated upon during “Christian yoga,” the form and framework remain alien to biblical spirituality.

Deuteronomy 12:29–32 (NIV84)

29The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,

30and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”

31You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

32See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

God is to be worshiped only in the ways He has commanded in His Word—not by human invention or syncretistic adaptation.

“Holy Yoga” often treats yoga postures and breathing techniques as vehicles for spiritual encounter, devotion, or worship. Since such practices are not instituted by God in Scripture, they constitute unauthorized forms of worship, however well-intentioned.

To introduce practices from pagan spirituality into Christian devotion violates God’s clear commands not to imitate the worship patterns of the nations.

Herman Bavinck: “All pagan religion is, in the last analysis, self-deification.”

John Calvin: “Man’s nature… is a perpetual factory of idols.”

Louis Berkhof: “The Holy Spirit works through the means of grace, not through inventions of men.”

1 Corinthians 10:20–21 (NIV84)

20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.

21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.

Even if one strips yoga of overt Hindu chants or symbols, the postures and breathing exercises (asanas and pranayama) were developed within, and are inseparable from, a spiritual system meant to achieve a non-Christian end.

1 Timothy 4:7–8 (NIV84)

7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Francis Schaeffer: “Discipline of body is good when it serves, not replaces, the reality of communion with God.”

Physical stretching can be morally neutral but calling it “holy” worship oversteps the biblical category and risks syncretism.

Syncretism in Worship

Hebrews 12:28–29 (NIV84)

28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

29for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Concert-style worship, filled with lights, fog machines, and choreographed performances, introduces human inventions not prescribed in Scripture. These elements are considered extra-Biblical, and possibly distracting from God’s glory, shifting focus toward entertainment rather than reverent adoration.

Many modern services aim to evoke feelings through sensory stimulation: music crescendos, lighting changes, and dance, which can manipulate emotions rather than lead to genuine spiritual reflection.

The danger is that attendees may confuse emotional excitement for spiritual encounter.

R.C. Sproul: “We live in what may be the most irreverent age in human history. The church has become entertainment-driven and man-centered. Worship has been replaced by performance.”

“When the church begins to imitate the world in order to reach the world, it ceases to be the church.”

Jonathan Edwards: “There is no spiritual life in the affections that arise from nothing but the external effects of music or eloquence.” Emotions must be grounded in the truth of Scripture, not sensory manipulation.

We’ll look at more disturbing forms of syncretism that have entered today’s churches Next Week!!!

(The Lord Willing)