Don't Get Fooled Again Pt. 2
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Referenced Verses: Colossians 2:4-10, Acts 20:29-31, 2 Peter 3:17 , Genesis 3:1-6, Colossians 2:8, Romans 1:20-21, Romans 16:17-19, Mark 7:3-7, 1 Timothy 6:9-11, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Hebrews 12:1-3, John 1:16, John 14:9
Introduction
Introduction
Good Morning church family. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Kyle Harrison and I am one of the Pastors here at Dishman Baptist Church. Pastor Chris has been in the warm weather of California at the Shepherds’ Conference, where he has been encouraged and challenged as the Lead Pastor of our Church. So I am here today to continue our exploration of Colossians chapter 2.
Last week Pastor Chris started a section of this letter that focuses on the false teachings that were attacking the church, being accepted by the church and being created in the church.
If you recall Paul was in agony for these people, whom he had never seen. He wanted them to be encouraged, unified and to be strengthened.
I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable.
For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.
So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.
They knew Jesus as Lord and Paul did not want them to be deceived but wanted them to be rooted, built up and grounded in their faith.
This is where we pick today. We will start in Colossians Chapter 2 Verse 8
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
Do not be Captured
Do not be Captured
Paul is warning the church of a threat and to not be taken captive by it. He says to “Be careful” or to be alert or watchful. Don’t let your guard down. The word captive means “to kidnap” or “to carry of booty” like a pirate or “spoils of war”. If they are not careful this threat is going to kidnap them. Remember these are Christians who call Jesus Lord. Paul does not want them to be captured again or ensnared again. We are set free by Jesus but if we are not careful we can give up that freedom by being captured again.
A warning of a threat to the church was also given to the Leaders at Ephesus Paul stated:
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.
Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.
Peter had a similar warning
Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.
What was threatening the Colossian Church?
By Deceptive Philosophy
By Deceptive Philosophy
The word philosophy comes from the two Greek words. The first means “to love” the second means “wisdom”.
Colossians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 8: Philosophy or Christ?
Philosophy is the love and pursuit of wisdom
Philosophy is the love and pursuit of wisdom.
Has any one here ever asked a question like:
Why do we exist?
Who am I ?
What is my purpose?
Every culture has asked and answered questions like these, each in their own way. I would even go out on a limb and say every adult has asked questions like these? We see cultures of people believe in spirits or Gods or reincarnation or … The list goes on.
Human beings have been looking for answers to questions since the beginning. The serpent asked Eve the following question,
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3
“Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.
The serpent presented a question or a doubt to Eve. After contemplating the question, she made the conclusion that the food was delightful and desirable for obtaining wisdom.
Every person creates there own view of the world. We look around and ask questions or as in Eve’s case those questions are presented to us. Then each person comes to their own conclusions and thus creates their own wisdom. Each of us is a philosopher at some level. Our conclusions come from what we experience in our families, schools, friends, jobs, other relationships and our beliefs about God.
Man has always been trying to answer the hard questions. The pursuit of wisdom is not wrong. We should be seeking answers to hard questions but when those answers are not clear or we do not like those answers a false philosophy can be created.
“Philosophy and Empty Deceit”
Paul describes this type of Philosophy as “empty deceit” or a empty deception. Deception in this case means to cause someone to believe an untruth. The way this is written, it is the false teaching that is deceptive.
We become captive by false teachings that cause us to believe in something that is untrue.
Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them,
because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.
The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.
The false teachings in the church sounded great to the people but it was a trick and a lie but one easily excepted by the people. Why do we believe these ides. Because they sound good to us. They cater to our sinful wants and desires like: knowledge, power, greed, comfort, and selfishness.
For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools
This is where new religions come from. Many religions and denominations trace there history back to a single man or group of men who had some new wisdom to share. We trace our relationship back to the teachings of Jesus who was the God-man. Fully God and fully man. But even before Jesus sent his disciples there has been a constant attack of false wisdom on the church. The Jewish people were not even safe from being trapped, the Pharisees and Sadducees in the bible were separate groups who believed that their wisdom was right and the other one was wrong.
When we start looking for new answers, the church gets divided and starts to attack its own people. When we allow our eyes to come off of Jesus, we start to rely on our own understanding.
This false wisdom is springing up everywhere in our world. We have so much information at our disposal that new ideas are developing as we speak. We must be wary of these new and false philosophies.
Paul the tells us where these deceptive ideas come from.
Based on Human Tradition
Based on Human Tradition
Tradition is anything that is handed down from one to another. These traditions manifested themselves in different ways, one was those who believed that they had some special kind of revelation or truth about life. Some taught that if you could achieve a certain status or spirituality then this revelation would come to you too. Or if you agreed with them, you would be part of a select group of people that really had the truth. Sounds kind of cultish. The issue was that these philosophies were straying away from the foundational Word of God and taking people with them.
My parents divorced when I was in 4th grade. I lived with my mom most of the year and I would visit my dad in the summers. The summer after my sophomore year my dad offered for me to stay for my junior year. I decided to do that and in a couple weeks I was in school in Montana. I was a Christian but I was really young in my faith. We had locker partners and I was happy to find out that my locker partner was a Christian. I was invited to one of their small groups. Everyone was super nice and the evening went much like I expected until, there came a time where they talked in tongues. They must of assumed I understood what was going on, because without explanation they each started to talk in tongues at the same time. Each was saying their own thing. 20 people talking in words I couldn’t understand, and all at the same time. When they got done my friend’s mom could tell I was lost and so we talked. She told me that if I was a Christian and had the Holy Spirit in me, I would have been able to understand each person in the room. I had a huge belief crisis at that moment because I believed I was a Christian but I could not understand what they were saying. After they saw how distressed I was they went back on all of it. It was a interesting night. I look back now and I know that interpreting someone speaking in a different language than my own is possible but not a mandatory fruit of having the Holy Spirit dwell in me.
The more I spent time with this group, the more uncomfortable I became with their special knowledge. This was one of the primary philosophies that Paul was addressing.
Another way that Human tradition was manifested was in the handing down of added customs and rituals . Each generation would add to the previous. Many started for good reasons but these traditions keep getting modified until they no longer represent the way of God.
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, keeping the tradition of the elders.
When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they have washed. And there are many other customs they have received and keep, like the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and dining couches.)
So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders, instead of eating bread with ceremonially unclean hands?”
He answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines human commands.
Have any of you ever uttered the phrase “That’s the way we have always done it.” Why do we say that? This is the statement to defend traditions. It is also usually not completely true or a false statement. Because always is never always. What we are really saying is “we are comfortable with the way we are doing it and we don’t want to change.”
This statement should not have any value to us. Why? Because the statement is base on human tradition. The better statement is “We do it this way because scripture tells us to do this or be that and this is how we do it.”
This is why is it so important that each and every single Christian has their own foundation built on Jesus and not men. As you grow you should be reviewing what you are taught by your parents and your Pastors and friends with the Holy Perfect Word of God.
When maintaining Human tradition becomes more important than obedience to Christ, we become captured.
Based on Elements of the World
Based on Elements of the World
The verse continues;
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world,
These false teachings were not only coming from human traditions that were adding to the teachings of the bible but there was also a source of false teaching that was based on the “Elements of the World”.
Elements refers to rudimentary or primary principles. One way it was used referred to the letters of the alphabet. Elements is also used in the letter from Paul to the Galatians.
In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.
Both sections of scripture describe an immaturity of the person. The exact point Paul was trying to make is hard to say but it can be concluded that Paul was looking at philosophies that were basic, lacking meat or depth. They were elementary and that to believe in these ideas was to step backwards in maturity. Teaching that look the hard or sharp part of scripture and put them aside for a basic incomplete and therefore unbiblical version.
Here are some of the false teachings that are a simplification of the truth:
All religions lead to Heaven. The idea that as long as you believe in something you will get to heaven. But Jesus Said:
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 14
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Prosperity and name it claim it belief that...
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
There are many more but you do not want to be here all day
Why do Christians listen to these things. Scripture said we would
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.
They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.
So why do we continue to go down this path of following false teachings? We chase ideas and thing that fall into the category of “Rather than Christ”
Rather than Christ
Rather than Christ
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
Who are we supposed to stay focused on? Who’s philosophies and teachings should we follow?
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,
keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.
Why should we focus on Jesus. Paul gives us a great description of who Jesus is.
For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
Read that again. Circle it mark it.
For the entire fullness (completeness), of God’s nature (his divinity) dwells in Christ’s bodily form. This verse is the complete rebuttal to any teaching or belief that Jesus was not also God.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Some of the false teachers believed that God’s nature was given to Christ and the Holy Spirit in lesser levels. The word dwells means to “to settle down and be at home” . The verb is present which means that God’s nature dwells continually in Jesus. The teachers taught that spirit was good and that the body was bad. Because of this belief they could not reconcile Jesus as human and as God. Paul made it clear that this teaching was false and that God dwelled in Jesus’ bodily form.
God dwells fully in Jesus and we have been filled by him.
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2
and you have been filled by him
For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
Stop and think about that, we are made complete. We have recieved His fullness.
And because the fullness of God’s divine nature is in Christ then he is:
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2
who is the head over every ruler and authority.
It is that simple Jesus rules over everything. Over all of creation. Even our spring weather.
Application Questions
Application Questions
Be alert for future attacks
Are you proactively preparing for the false teaching you will be exposed to?
How are you helping others to be alert?
Are you raising your children to be prepared?
Does you small group actively talk about truth and have open conversation about false teachings?
Corrective Action
Pray for the Holy Spirit to open you eyes?
What false teachings or traditions have captured your heart?
Ask someone to give honest feedback on where you may be held captive.
Ask for help to repent from these teachings and refocus on the truth of God.
Who is your 1 disciple and your 1 disciple to be?
Can you name the person you are going to disciple?
Do they know that they are your 1.
Can you name the person you are going to seek to share the Gospel with?
Do you pray for them regularly?
Are you building a relationship with them?
Have you asked others to pray with you for this person?
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Can I ask you a honest question? Are you willing to out on a limb today?
Raise your hand if you have your 1 and your 2.
Conclusion
Conclusion
If you are exploring the idea that God exists and who He is, I am glad you are here today. You are probably bombarded with ideas that are confusing and contradictory. I would love to sit down with you and answer any of your questions that you may have. I can tell you now that God is exactly what the bible says he is. He is love and kind ness and truth. And he sent Jesus to die for yours and my sins. Please do not leave here today if you have questions.
If you are a Christian, take home one of the application sheets and go through them with some seriousness and thought. You might be surprised at what the Holy Spirit Reveals to us.
Response Time
Response Time