Don't Get Sucked In (Part 1)

Helena Modjeska (1844-1909) was one of the most popular actresses of her time because of her emotional style and superb ability. Once, to demonstrate the raw power of her ability, she gave a dramatic reading in her native tongue, Polish. No one at the sedate dinner party understood Polish, but all were in tears by the end of her performance. Such was the power of her presentation. Only later was it revealed that the piece that had moved the sophisticated audience to tears was the Polish alphabet.

Green, Michael P., ed. Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively. Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989.

There is a danger we believers must face that is very similar to that experience of Helena Modjeska…if we are not discerning of the truth, we could very easily be swayed into action by the power and charisma of some people, that we end up believing something of no greater value than a foreign alphabet!

There are many preachers and teachers available that promote much of what they say as in being in-line with Scripture…some of it is good, some of it not…

There is a great need amongst God’s people for greater discernment...

There are many preachers and teachers available that promote much of what they say as in being in-line with Scripture…some of it is good, some of it not…

In what areas of life do you need to show discernment?

There is a great need amongst God’s people for greater discernment...

This was true in Paul’s day as well as ours...

That is where we find ourselves in the study of Colossians today...

Please turn in your Bibles to …Paul is going to continue his theme of the Supremacy of Christ Alone, of finding our sufficiency in Christ…and he does this by sharing with them the concern he has for them...

He is so concerned for these people that he states he is...

Agonizing For Their Maturity

Col 2:1

Colossians 2:1 NASB95

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,

is a continuation of Paul’s thoughts expressed in …he labors with God’s power at work in him for the goal of seeing believers mature in Christ.

Paul wants them to know something…he wants them to know that he cares for them deeply and is greatly concerned about the attacks they are facing and the potential for them to drift away from the truth...

He is not just concerned about the Colossian believers, he is also concerned about the believers in Laodicea…this letter was to be circulated to them as well…Laodicea was about 10 miles from Colosse and was a sister church along with that of Hierapolis…

Colossians 4:16 NASB95

When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.

That letter is lost but some scholars believe the letter to the Ephesians is that letter…this is the same Laodicea that Jesus rebukes in … Jesus wanted to spit them out of his mouth because they were lukewarm…

Whatever Paul wrote to them and regardless of what they read from this letter, it didn’t take…and they believed they were rich by their own standards and became detestable to the Lord.

Revelation 3:15–18 NASB95

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

Rev 3:15-18

Paul wanted them all to know how much he loved them and even believers he hadn’t met yet...and that his heart beat for them was for them to mature in Christ…...

He was so in love with them that he agonized for them…struggle (NASB), contending for (NIV), conflict (NKJV)

His struggle is not outward because he was in prison, his struggle was an inner agony that believers would be easily duped by the abundance of false teaching that sounded so good and was yet extremely dangerous…he was concerned for them and wanted them to be discerning.

Context of Believers Developing Discernment

I pray that you, the people of MBC, are growing in your discernment of the truth…and I pray that you and I are all growing at a rate that God desires for us…and I pray that we all have a learner’s spirit that desires to know God’s Word more and to be faithful to live out our faith with boldness and greater levels of faithfulness..

Context of Believers Developing Discernment

The text we are examining this morning is a smaller portion of a larger section of his letter that carries the same thought…Please notice with me what Paul says in , , ,

Colossians 2:8 NASB95

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.

Colossians 2:16 NASB95

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 NASB95

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,

Colossians 2:20–21 NASB95

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, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

All of these are directed to the believers of Colosse to be discerning and very careful about what you accept as truth and how your acceptance of truth impacts the way you live...

One of the greatest benchmarks for spiritual maturity is the ability to discern when something being said doesn’t line up with the whole of Scripture.

Ephesians 4:14 NASB95

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

Ephesians 4:13 NASB95

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:15–16 NASB95

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Ephesians 4:16 NASB95

from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

I share Paul’s agony…there is an abundance of “spiritual material and powerfully persuasive preacher/teachers” available to us today, and at mere click of a button you can find something that sounds reasonable, and you can hear someone who can be pretty convincing that what they are telling you is true...and unless you have developed a discerning mind you can very easily be sucked into their philosophies that stand in stark contrast to the completed Word of God.

Eph

These all form the same argument with a different element being refuted..

So for the next few weeks as we examine , we will carry the same theme…Don’t Get Sucked In…Use discernment...

form Paul’s opening salvo for greater discernment of God’s people by telling us...

Don’t Be Deluded By What Sounds Good!

Colossians 2:4 NASB95

I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

So in the time we have remaining let’s consider how we can keep ourselves from being deluded.

Delude (NASB/ESV)/Deceive (NIV/NKJV) = literally means “to reckon wrong”; to deceive by false reasoning

Persuasive (NASB), plausible (ESV), fine sounding (NIV) = convincing but false speech...

This is clever teaching that is close enough to the truth to sound respectable and worthy of acceptance, yet far enough away from the truth to be devastating in its effects on both the individual and a congregation.

Paul doesn’t mention the specific person or teaching he was thinking of because there were many in Paul’s time…much like ours…so he says let no one…he doesn’t want any person to come along and persuade you to think something that does not fit with sound doctrine!

Instead of attacking each false teacher by name or even by a specific doctrine here, he just lays out the truth...

I’ve become convinced that because there are so many doctrinal deviations out there it would be impossible for me to mention them all and point out the people who espouse them…

I’ve also become convinced that I cannot and will not try to compete against those internet sensations who garner a large Facebook/Instagram following, the megachurch gurus, the celebrity TV preachers, or teachers who sell tons of books and videos…

This is where ministry in the 21st century gets extremely difficult because some of them are good, and as pastors we welcome the additional teachings and insights from those who are true to the whole of Scripture…

but there are also an equal number, if not more, of them that are not true to the whole of Scripture that create more problems in churches than they solve!

Many people are being sucked in to believing that they are okay with God while their sin is left unforgiven…many are being sucked in to believing that God wants you to be happy by making you feel good about yourself…many are being sucked in to believing that answers for the issues that plague all humanity are found outside a relationship with God through Jesus Christ…believers are buying in to man’s solution of psychology instead of listening to the Word of God!

Since I can’t and won’t compete with all that, I am simply going to focus on the fact that we need to know the truth and wisdom of Christ more so that when people come along claiming truth we can easily discern it for what it is because we know the real thing.

You are not okay with God if you are still living with unforgiven sin and walking in disobedience to Him

...instead we need to know the truth and wisdom of Christ more so that when people come along claiming truth we can easily discern it for what it is because we know the real thing

God does not want you to be happy, God wants you to be holy.

The only source of answers that will make a lasting difference in your life is to be found in Christ alone!

So with all that in mind and in the time we have remaining let’s consider how we can keep ourselves from being deluded by good sounding arguments that are simply not true.

So in the time we have remaining let’s consider how we can keep ourselves from being deluded.

2 Keys...

1. Stay Focused on the Truth (1-5)

Read

Let that Truth Encourage You

Colossians 2:2 NASB95

that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

The purpose of Paul’s struggle and the purpose of the letter was to strengthen their hearts.

The word for encourage here means to come alongside of … the noun form of this word is one of the names of the Holy Spirit...

The idea here is that Paul wants to come alongside them and strengthen them so they can stand up against false teaching.

When the Scripture speaks of the heart, it is talking about the inner person, the control center of our lives…it definitely includes the thinking...

The heart

Proverbs 23:7 NASB95

For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

Proverbs 4:23 NASB95

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

What concerned Paul most about these people was not their behavior, not their service or lack of service, it was their hearts…why?

Proverbs 4:23 NASB95

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

1 Samuel 16:7 NASB95

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

The heart is very important to God and Paul knew that…he knew that if they had not settled the truth about Jesus into the control center of their lives, they would easily be swayed away from Him…

Paul knew that if they had not settled the truth about Jesus into the control center of their lives, they would easily be swayed away from Him.

We need to find our strength in the truth that Jesus Christ alone provides all the hope we need…that in obedience to His will we know we are pleasing God…that if our heart is focused on pleasing Him, we can stand against those who do not share our focus.

What sources do you tend to rely on for strength instead of your relationship with Christ?

Let that Truth Unite You

Colossians 2:2 NASB95

In unity there is strength…believers find strength when they are united together in love…the participle here is best translated as “by being united in love...”

In other words, encouragement (strengthening) comes when you are lovingly linked together with God’s people…the imagery here is of a body being held together by ligaments to make a strong unit...

False teaching will naturally divide and we must be careful to discern it before it creates a rift that seems impossible to mend.

When we are lovingly concerned for one another, we are going to heed the warnings Paul alludes to in and admonish one another with the goal of strengthening each other…we don’t want to lose people because they have been deluded into thinking they are okay when they are not...

Paul is really calling for a balance here between truth and love.

Love only = there is a dangerous line of thinking existent today that regardless of what people teach from the Bible, each person has their own interpretation of the Bible and we ought to just love them anyway and accept what they say.

Truth only = equally dangerous is the line of thinking that we can just tell them how it is and let them deal with it and never show concern for them in any capacity...

Ephesians 4:15 NASB95

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

we lovingly strengthen each other by being unified around the truth of Jesus and we hold each other accountable to that truth...

What can you do to form a more united bond with God’s people that can be a source of encouragement for them and you?

Let that Truth Assure You

Colossians 2:2 NASB95

Colossians 2:2–3 NASB95

The same word for riches is used in for spiritual wealth…here the wealth consists of an informed conviction which results from insight…in other words, the ability to discern truth from error…far more valuable than worldly wealth is the richness of being able to recognize truth from falsehood...

Understanding is the ability to apply biblical principles to everyday life…the greatest and most important knowledge to ever be gained is the true knowledge of Christ.

the greatest and most important knowledge to ever be gained is the knowledge of Christ.

the knowledge of Christ.

and of course undoubtedly Paul has in mind the Gnostic heretics who had the view that they had access to knowledge that was even greater than the knowledge of Christ.

the view that they had access to knowledge that was even greater than

the knowledge of Christ.

My friend that is exactly where the church is today.

you read the average book on Christian living today...listen to the average Christian radio broadcast...read many blogs and articles…watch them through streaming video, and you are more likely to hear the supposed "wisdom" of psychology than you are the wisdom of Christ.

- listen to the average Christian radio broadcast

- read many journals and magazines....

- and you are more likely to hear the supposed "wisdom" of

psychology than you are the wisdom of Christ.

and we have an entire echelon of people today who view themselves as the new experts on how to handle life because they have access to “special knowledge”

the new experts on how to handle life because they have access to

special knowledge

I bring this up because its important to recognize that we're not talking about a body of literature that is Switzerland in relation to Christianity…completely neutral....

that we're a bunch of flaming rednecks when it comes to this topic--

- but its important to recognize that we're not talking about a body

of literature that is neutral in it's relationship to

Christianity.

we're talking about a body of literature and teaching that is absolutely in competition to the Christian faith.

competition to the Christian faith.

Please hear this…

You cannot handle the problems of life apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

relationship with Jesus Christ.

that is exactly what psychology purports to do…biblical counseling and psychology share the same goal…change…the difference is psychology doesn’t know what standard to use when it comes to change… whatever the societal norm is at the time tends to become the target…for believers, the target is Christ, holiness, reflecting his character...

biblical counseling and psychology share the same goal…change…the difference is psychology doesn’t know what standard to use when it comes to change… whatever the societal norm is at the time tends to become the target…for believers, the target is Christ, holiness, reflecting his character.

2 Peter 1:3–4 NASB95

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

The real danger is when the two are mixed...

There is a sweeping view among Evangelical churches that without the insights of secular psychology, pastors and churches are simply inadequate to deal with the deepest hurts of modern man…Why Christians Can’t Trust Psychology…Dr. Ed Bulkley

the sad thing is that the church is becoming guilty of what Israel did…in

Jeremiah 2:13 NASB95

“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:13 NASB95

“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.

Paul says--it's in Christ, that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden…you won’t find and shouldn’t even be looking for happiness or holiness outside your relationship with Christ...

the ironic thing is that many in the church today have run to broken cisterns that can't hold water in order to find knowledge on how to live.

broken cicterns that can't hold water in order to find

knowledge on how to live.

Whatever you find outside of Christ is only temporary at best and cannot measure to the incomparable riches found in Christ alone…you need to be convinced of that…you need to be assured of that!

and knowledge are hid.

What answers to life are you looking for that ought to drive you to God’s Word for help?

Let that Truth Stabilize You

Colossians 2:5 NASB95

For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.

These terms are military terms which paint a picture of the Colossians not breaking rank or defecting…when the enemy attacked, they held their ground.

Good discipline translates a word referring to a line of soldiers drawn up for battle.

Stability refers to the solidity of a formation of soldiers.

Together they express that the Colossians were standing firm against the attacks of false teaching…

Paul wanted them to stay settled in their present understanding and not yield to doubt...

That is my prayer for us…(share most recent struggle)…I want you to be convinced this is where you belong because you know the truth of God’s word is spoken, the truth of God’s Word is preached and taught, and the truth of God’s Word is being practiced…and if you are not convinced of that, please come talk to me...

Are you convinced this is where you belong? If so, what can you do that will communicate that conviction to others? If not, why not?

2. Walk In That Truth (6-7)

Colossians 2:6–7 NASB95

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

We can avoid being deluded by persuasive words not just by maintaining a solid front, but also by moving forward with steady progress.

“When we stop moving forward we stall, when we stall we can fall”…Max Anders

When we were first saved, we trusted in Christ as our LORD!…now we are to live with Him as our LORD!

Walk = step by step progression, day by day we are to conduct ourselves in submission to his Lordship…this is not a sprint race, it is a journey, a marathon, steady progress is the key...

Paul uses four participles to describe what our walk should look like...

Firmly Rooted In Christ

Because You Are Rooted In It

This is written in a tense that indicates something that happened in the past and has a continuing effect…you were planted eternally in Christ at the moment of salvation…it is a once and for all planting…once we have been rooted by faith in Christ, there is no need to transplant us into different soil...

What this means is we are not to be spiritual tumbleweeds that get blown around with every wind of doctrine…roots don’t exist in tumbleweeds...

Roots also don’t exist for themselves…they exist to give the plan strength and help it grow...

What can you do today to make sure your roots are going deep into God’s Word?

It is Your Blueprint

Built Up By Christ

We are to grow in the faith we were taught…from the Scripture…no need to seek secret or higher knowledge…we are to grow and be built up by the truth that has already been revealed in Christ.

We are placed upon the foundation of Christ and from that point we grow in grace...

This is an already but not yet proposition...

We are already God’s building —

We are continually being built and fashioned more and more by God into a temple suitable for God —

How are you contributing to your own growth? How are you contributing to the growth of others?

Established in Our Faith

It is

This is written in the passive voice indicating it is God who will establish believers...

established is a translation of a word that means to confirm, verify, prove to be true.

God is proving we belong to Him, God is verifying our faith, God uses His Word to strengthen us and build us…the more we understand His Word the more God establishes us, the deeper our roots go and the more we become anchored to the foundation

How do you see God establishing you in your faith?

Overflowing With Thankfulness

this is the only one in the active voice meaning it is a response to the other three.

In other words, believers who are firmly rooted in Christ, are being built up in Him and established in their faith, will overflow with thankfulness to God.

A thankful heart is a heart that is not easily swayed from God.

List at least 5 things you are thankful for that are yours because you are in Christ.

Discernment takes a strong mind. By taking in the Word of God and living by its truth we find our sufficiency in Christ alone. As we walk in Him, we will not be swayed by good sounding arguments to live any other way!

Do you believe in the sufficiency of Christ and His Word for all that pertains to life and godliness? If not, what resources are you turning to for answers?

List 3 “good sounding” arguments you’ve heard recently that need to be biblically discerned.

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