DIGGING DEEPER

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."

As we move into the middle of the book of Colossians Paul quickly begins to attack the false philosophies of his day. Here in chapter 2 he tackles the philosophy of humanism. Humanism is the belief that humans are generally good and right and wrong can be derived from human qualities. Basically truth and morality can be found through human means. Next week he will delve into the philosophy of legalism, which teaches our identity in Christ is found in how well we obey the law. He will also discuss the teachings of mysticism, which teaches union with God is not found in Christ but rather through intellectual pursuit. Finally Paul will also directly warn against asceticism or the complete removal of oneself from society to find true relationship with God.

In today's world we face many errant philosophies as it pertains to a relationship with God. We would be wise to look at Paul's model for dealing with false teachings to best understand how to protect ourselves and confront them today.

First, Paul was familiar with the false teachings of the day. If Paul warns us not to become captive to a false system we need to understand what systems are spreading throughout the world in our day. A great resource for understanding other religions, philosophies, and cults can be found at www.4truth.net.

Second, We must follow Paul's example in dealing with these false systems. He does not spend huge amounts of time listing every detail of each of the four false teachings. He merely presents them at face value and then presents the truth of Jesus Christ in detail. In our lives we are to engage the world around us. As we go out and share the message of Jesus with others we encounter many world philosophies. We could choose to spend our influence telling people the error of their thinking or we could spend our influence explaining the truth that we have been set free, made clean, and given life eternally. Today, people are not open to listen to correction but they are genuinely seeking hoe and truth. If we have short opportunities to influence the lives of others be ready, armed with truth and the hope that is found in our salvation through Jesus Christ.
DON'T MISS NEXT WEEK'S MESSAGE: WHO AM I? (PART 3)

For more visit us @ www.bedrockchurch.com