I wrote this in November 2010
It’s amazing at how easily we can miss things that are right in front of our eyes. Have you ever looked for your keys or glasses and after turning the house upside down, found they were right in front of you in the first place – or worse still, your glasses are actually perched on your head!?
I felt a little like this when I realised just how many times Paul has to warn the churches in his letters about false believing. There are so many warnings from Paul to the Church on this subject. Here are just 2 examples of Paul’s exhortations to the church at Colossae and Galatia:
Colossians 2 v 4: I say this in order that no one may mislead and delude you by plausible and persuasive and attractive arguments and beguiling speech .... Colossians 2 v 8: Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.
Galatians 1 v 6-9: I can't believe your fickleness—how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head. Let me be blunt: If one of us—even if an angel from heaven!—were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I'll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed.
These are Christians that Paul is addressing, many of whom heard the Gospel from Paul himself (although the Church at Colossae probably heard the message from the other apostles). Many of these people probably heard of Jesus first hand from friends, relatives etc. It wasn’t really a matter of did Jesus exist for these people, it was more of whether He was indeed, the promised Messiah. Yet despite hearing the gospel from probably some of the most dynamic men that walked the earth, these churches were so easily mislead.
Paul’s problem with the Galatian church was that they were resorting to the law for their righteousness. He called them fickle and traitors. Now that’s pretty strong. I wouldn’t be happy with being called fickle or a traitor! They thought that by keeping the law, that they could be righteous. Of course, Paul admonishes that if this were so, what would Jesus needed to have come to earth for? We believe our righteousness is in Christ, purchased at such a great cost, nevertheless ours by grace. And this assurance of His wonderful gift of righteousness produces the right kind of living that the law demands.
Now how interesting that the law is in the Bible. It’s not that they had devised something new. It was Biblical stuff – not some cult or sin. But the issue is that Jesus came to fulfil the law. The law wasn’t God’s will. Abraham never had the law, yet he was called righteous. The problem with the law is that is separates us from God, because we just are incapable of keeping the law. Abraham had faith and was close to God. His faith was counted to him as righteousness. Once the law was given, the people backed away from God. They told Moses... “no, you talk to God, we’ll stay here”. Whereas Abraham was so close to God, God consulted him about destroying Sodom & Gomorrah. Paul knew the law, he was a very devout Jew. But then he was shown that Jesus is the Way, the Truth & the Light. If we think we can fulfil the law then we are saying we don’t need Jesus.
The church at Colossae had a similar issue – they were being told by legalists that they had to be circumcised and that there was certain food that they couldn’t eat. Again, all Biblical stuff, but again Paul needs to address it.
I love what Paul says to the Colossians in chapter 2 v 7 :
“Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving”
This is Paul’s answer to the issue – be planted deep within His love. We can only be planted in His love if we know Him intimately. When He is the centre of everything in our lives, when we are rooted in Him, then we will be Jesus-conscious. We won’t be bound by the law, but we will automatically keep it, because we will be walking in the light of His love.
We won’t be swept away with the latest craze or side-tracked with the things of this world. We will be so filled with Him that if false teaching comes our way, we will know within our hearts. Scripture will always back-up scripture. We can easily test what we hear by looking for ourselves to see if it corresponds with what Jesus says. In fact Paul even says if an angel comes and tells you something and it’s out of line with Jesus and the Gospel, then they are wrong. Paul makes it clear that he’s not talking about a false spirit here; he’s not talking about demons. He said if an angel from heaven tells you something that is contrary to Jesus’ words then let him be cursed. Now that’s fairly clear – we should always be on our guard making sure what we are taking in is in line with the Word of God. Don’t just automatically believe someone because they say they are someone knowledgeable or intellectual. Use His Wisdom.
(NB - I’m not saying to doubt everything you hear – but once you get His Word in your heart, if you hear something contrary to His word, you will know it straight away. Jesus said that His sheep will hear His voice....it all comes from a place of spending time with Him; learning His word, listening and listening so we know beyond doubt when we hear Him.)
In the next chapter (Col 3 v 14) Paul is exhorting the Colossian church to be meek, patient and gentle with each other, but he says “And above all these [put on] love”. The Greek word put denotes to clothe yourself, and also to sink into. That’s just a fantastic image to meditate on....to clothe ourselves in and to sink into His love.
That’s lovely, you may agree, but how exactly do we do that? If we just go to verse 16 of the same chapter, Paul shares how we do that: “Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness”
I think we can all miss it now and then – usually totally innocently. We slip back into thinking our good deeds will produce our own righteousness. Probably more than anything though, we get an image of Jesus that we have formed ourselves. We form an image of Him that suits our needs or thinking. We will all miss the mark every now and then, it’s inevitable. However, if His Word is in our hearts and minds and dwells in us, then we will always be Christ-conscious. I think that the first step of how we let wrong beliefs set into us is that we neglect His true Word. There’s no end to the wonders of His Word. I love that even though I’ve read something a dozen times before, He always reveals more of Himself though His Word. If I’m not reading His word, telling me who I am in Christ, and revealing His glory to me, I will miss it. I will fail to confess that I am more than a conqueror. I will overlook that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. I will cease to be conscious of the fact that at His name, every knee will bow.
Society today has a very strange perception of Jesus, church, God. Just a hundred or so years ago, the church was a centre of a town or village. Now, it’s probably the pub! People’s perceptions change like the breeze changes. God never changes – He is the same yesterday, today & forever Amen! Just because today’s society has a distorted idea of church and God, we can make sure that we are seeing the true and Living God for Who He really is by letting Him have His home in our hearts. AMEN!
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