The Blessings of a Church's Warning
Colossians • Sermon • Submitted
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Colossians 2:4–8 (KJV 1900)
4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Satan, the master of deception, manipulates the truth to get an advantage over us.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The lie deceives the one not trusting in God’s word; the eye inflames passion; passion masters volition’s resistance; the flesh obeys its impulse; the act of gratification is followed immediately by shame and guilt.
rudiments basically means "one of a row or series."
It had several meanings attached to it: (1) the
elementary sounds or letters, the A B Cs; (2) the
basic elements of the universe, as in 2 Peter 3:10.
12; (3) the basic elements of knowledge, the
A B Cs of some system, as in Hebrews 5:12. But in
ancient Greece, this word also meant "the elemental
spirits of the universe, the angels that influenced
the heavenly bodies." It was one of the words in
the vocabulary of the religious astrology of that
day.
The Gnostics believed that the angels and the
heavenly bodies influenced people's lives. Paul's
warnings to the Colossians about "new moon" and
other religious practices determined by the calendar
(Col. 2:16) may be related to this Gnostic teaching,
although the Jewish people also watched the cal.
endar (Gal. 4:10). One thing is certain: such teach-
ings about demons and angels were not a part of
true Christian doctrine. If anything, such teachings
were satanic.
The fact that this teaching is not after Christ is
sufficient to warn
us against horoscopes, astral
charts, Ouija boards, and other spiritist practices.
The whole zodiac system is contrary to the teaching
of the Word of God. The Christian who dabbles
in mysticism and the occult is only asking for
trouble.
Why follow empty philosophy when we have all
fullness in Christ? This is like turning away from
the satisfying river to drink at the dirty cisterns of
the world (Jer. 2:13). Of course, the false teachers
in Colossae did not ask the believers to forsake
Christ. They asked them to make Christ a part of
the new system. But this would only remove Him
from His rightful place of preeminence.
So Paul gave the true and lasting antidote to all
false teaching:
"All fullness is in Christ, and you
have been made full in Him. Why, then, would you
need anything else?" (see Col. 2:9-10)
We have seen the word "fullness" (pleroma)
before (1:19). It means
"the sum total of all that
God is, all of His being and attributes." This word
was used by the Gnostics, but they did not give it
the same meaning as did Paul. To them, the
pleroma was the source of all the
"emanations"
through which men could come to God. The highest
point in Gnostic religious experience was to share
in the pleroma.
Of course, there are no emanations from God.
The gulf between heaven and earth was bridged
in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He is declared to
be "Emmanuel, God with us" (Matt. 1:23). Jesus
Christ is the fullness of God, and that fullness dwells
continually and permanently in Him bodily. Once
again, Paul refuted the Gnostic doctrine that matter
was evil and that Jesus did not have a human
body.
When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He went
in a human body. It was a glorified body, to be
sure, but it was real. After His resurrection, our
Lord was careful to assure His disciples that He
was the same Person in the same body; He was not
a ghost or a spirit. (See John 20:19-29.) There is a
glorified Man in heaven! The God-Man, Jesus
Christ, embodies the fullness of Godl
, Now, the remarkable thing is this: every believer
shares that fullness! "And you are complete in Him'
(Col. 2:10). The tense of the Greek verb indicates
that this fullness is a permanent experience. Dr.
Kenneth West's very literal Expanded Translation
reads,
"And you aré in Him, having been com-
Humanistic worldview
Calvinism - teaching
Whosoever shall call
I believe there are no mistakes in my Bible
Eve accepted a lie to satisfy her flesh
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Mark them which cause divisions
avoid them
They serve not the Lord Jesus Christ
but their own belly
The hearts of the simple
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
I am there with you in the spirit...
When we went to Michigan and Indiana I enjoyed
Joying
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
You received Salvation/ Jesus by faith through grace
This side of heaven you will always
I am to approach every day by faith
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Rooted in Him - grounded, unmovable, firm in your place in Christ - I not only know facts about Jesus I know Jesus
Do you know Him
You can be a child of God and not know Jesus
You might be estranged
Roots are the support system of the tree
Roots provide the nutrients and sustenance of the tree
The Christian life is a journey and you don’t arrive until you get to heaven
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
You don’t have to have everything all figured out before you start serving God
He has me, I want to apprehend me
So many are consumed by things that have no eternal valued
Keep building, keep walking, keep growing, keep striving
Colossians 2:7 (KJV 1900)
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Stablished = solidified, firm, sure, not wavering or being blown by every wind of doctrine, anchored
are you sure, are you strong in the faith
those who fall away
Can you be counted on, relied on
How can you be...
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith,
vs 7...as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Taught = instructed
gratitude
give yourself to teaching
I went to a conference this past year
in Iowa = I was instructed and bought books
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
If you come to church 1 time a week and that’s all the Bible you get, you are starving spiritually
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Be alert
Carried off as a captive into another
Awake to righteousness
Be sober, Be vigilant
Philosophy - a love of worldly wisdom
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Heresies
denying the lord
Pernicious = malignant teaching
Vain Deceit
Empty arrogance = filled with pride and try to fill you with pride
unbalanced teaching
In Christ you are something
out of Christ you are nothing
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Deny yourself take up your cross
We are living in a nation that preaches another gospel
1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
Pride in thinking that I know all there is to know about certain portions of scripture.
Legalism magnifies pride and is an enemy of the church.
If you don’t serve or perform like I do, you are not as good as me
Lasciviousness promotes selfishness and compromise and also is an enemy of the church.
Vain deceit is about self
3. Traditions of men
Man’s ways that may sound spiritual but are not founded upon the Word of God.
Convictions that are demanded but do not have clear Biblical foundation.
Traditions are good
But pharisees gloried
Galatians 1:14 (KJV 1900)
14 And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
They created rules that were not Biblical
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Traditions are good if it is supported by scripture.
4. Rudiments of the World
Elements and principles that are of this world.
We are not trying to bring the world in we are trying to reach the world
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Any doctrine that exalts itself above the knowledge of God is a weapon that satan will use to destroy your faith
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
… and not after christ
things that appose or in competition with what is in my Bible is my enemy
If you are not
If you are a person that takes church casually, you will be deceived
If you work or minister to get the glory, you will be deceived
Speak truth in love and not in pride