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Introduction:
There is something about a sunrise that is captivating.
My family really enjoys being able to see sunrises.
Where we live, we are able to normally see a beautiful sunrise most clear mornings.
Watching the colors and the contrasts gives us one more reason to be captivated by God.
The beauty that He has created is extravagant.
He didn’t need to make a sunrise bend light the way it does and reflect off of clouds the way it does.
But He did.
We live in a world full of other captivating things as well.
Some captivating things are worthy of honor and bring God glory.
While others are of the evil on and take you captive as they captivate you.
Today we are going to discuss two types of captivity.
One is being captivated by God which is actually a liberating captivity.
When captivated by God, you are drawn to Him and you are given an offer of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Instead of being captive to sin, you are freed from it.
The captivity of God brings about freedom.
However, captivity to the world and to the evil one brings chains of bondage.
Join me as we read God’s Word:
Let us pray.
Prayer
Today we are going to discuss the two major things you can be captivated by…The first is...
I.
You Can Be Captivated By… The World (8)
“See to it” is the way Paul segues this section of Scripture.
This phrase means to “be on guard” or “to watch out for or pay attention to.”
This is written as an imperative meaning it isn’t optional but is a mandatory warning.
He has just finished talking about being rooted in Christ and being built up and established by Christ.
And now he changes the approach from what to do to what not to do.
What is this warning that he is stressing to the Colossian people?
To avoid being captive by philosophy and empty deceit.
Captive is an interesting idea.
To captivate is to hold interest and attention or to charm.
A captive is someone who has been taken prisoner or maybe better stated someone who has lost control to another.
When you put these two together it really seems to flow with Paul is saying here.
Do not be charmed into becoming a prisoner of wrong thinking.
This word captive can also mean to be enslaved.
We are designed to be worshipers.
We are designed to be captivated.
And we are all enslaved to something.
It is either sin or it is Christ.
We see this idea taught elsewhere in Scripture.
You see we can be enslaved to sin which leads to death or we can be enslaved to God which leads to freedom and eternal life.
So what does Paul teach here in verse 8 of Colossians that makes it so easy to become enslaved to sin?
He first brings up the word philosophy.
This Greek word, Philosophia (phill-ose-oh-fee-a), is only found here in this verse.
It means to love wisdom.
What is missing in our English translation is an article before this word.
It could be translated “the philosophy.”
It most likely was referring to the erroneous teachings of the false teachers in the area of Colossae.
In context, as we will see in a moment, it most likely was a false teaching that involved mystical experiences and human traditions.
These false teachers focused on the supernatural more than Christ and focused on tradition more than Christ.
Right after hitting on this idea of false philosophies he warns against empty deceit as well.
Empty deceit refers to deception that has no real base.
It is like a mirage in the desert.
It looks so real to people and yet it has no substance.
It is a deception of the eyes and mind.
This is likely a qualifier for ‘the philosophy’ mentioned before.
These philosophies seem so promising but they have no real substance.
They have no value.
This philosophy and empty deceit stems from two different things Paul brings up here:
Philosophy and Empty Deceit Are:
According to Human Tradition
According to the Elemental Spirits of the World
First, what does it mean that they are according to human tradition?
The Greek word here means given from one to another.
Just because something has been passed down from generation to generation does not mean it is true.
The Catholic Church is a great example of this.
There are many traditions that are passed down that have no Biblical backing.
Some of them even fly right in the face of the Biblical text.
This religiosity and human tradition chokes out the actual Word of God, much like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.
Obviously the Colossian church was battling similar things.
The traditions of man were triumphing over the Gospel.
The church in Colossae was also battling another arch nemesis.
If Satan cannot get a church to embrace false teaching through humanism and human tradition, he resorts to false spiritual experiences.
He encourages mysticism.
Mysticism is a form of spiritual expression in which one may gain insight through supernatural experiences.
Sadly, these experiences are not Biblically based and are often demonically-based.
These elemental spirits mentioned here are likely demonic in nature.
There is some disagreement with what these elemental spirits are and what the correct translation is here in this - however most translators agree that they are a form of demonic force.
Note that both of these first two “according to’s” in verse 8 are satantic and demonic in nature.
The first is humanism which originated in the garden.
Satan knew right where to first attack man - his pride.
Did God really say?
Satan is still very effective using this today as well isn’t he!
And the second, elemental spirits, is directly demonic.
Be careful about how you work through beliefs and philosophies.
Oftentimes demonically-inspired false teachers present something very close to the Gospel but twist it gradually and over time.
They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing.
See what Jesus says about these false teachers:
Some of these false teachers will appear as good trees from a distance.
Yet, as you get closer and examine the fruit through the lens of the Scriptures, the rottenness of the fruit becomes more and more apparent.
How are we to stand against these forces?
How can we protect our churches against these forces?
We will get into that in a moment as we focus on Christ.
Yet before we move on from this point, there is one movement among churches that warrants some note.
It is one thing to speak about the Colossian church and their struggles.
But what about today?
Do we have false teachings moving through our churches today?
Time wouldn’t suffice to cover them all my friends!
They are spreading like wildfire through our churches today.
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