Avoiding the Captivity of Your Mind
Colossians 2:6-8
June 7, 2009
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Me: My heart broke last week when I found out that New Hampshire’s governor had signed a bill into law allowing gay marriage.
New Hampshire is now the sixth state to allow it, and that’s just tragic.
So on Wednesday night during the weekly prayer meeting, we were reading Colossians, and we read this passage we’re going to look at today.
And I felt that God was leading me to talk, not about gay marriage necessarily, but about the mindset that the world has regarding issues like this.
I find myself shaking my head a lot of the time when I come across something in the news or on TV or whatever, that basically says that because “everyone” seems to be doing or saying or believing something, that it’s okay or true.
We: All of us are bombarded with messages telling us that traditional ways of thinking, especially ways of thinking based on the Bible are out-dated, out of sync with society, and even down-right dangerous.
So how do we combat these ideas? How do recognize the falsehoods of these beliefs and how do we discuss them with those who disagree with us?
How do we equip ourselves and our children to face these things in a way that promotes truth and enables us and our kids to stand firm when confronted with error?
I don’t know that I’ll be able to answer every question, but I do want us to look at some things that I believe will help us as we look to bring the truth of Christ to those around us.
God: I believe the answers lie in a short passage in the book of Colossians.
Colossians 2:6-8 (p. 834) –
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
I’m going to do things just a bit differently, today.
We’re going to look at the last verse of our passage first, then finish by looking at the two verses ahead of that last.
Let’s talk first of about the philosophy of the world mentioned here in verse 8.
The word “philosophy” here just means a mindset or way of thinking. We’re not talking necessarily about something you have to have a PhD to understand or discuss.
Everyone has a philosophy about life, even if they can’t describe it. Okay?
Here are some funny philosophies I found while working on this message:
“To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.”
“It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.” (brainofbrian.com)
And one of my personal philosophies, “There’s more to life than finding the closest parking spot.”
Anyway, the Apostle Paul describes the philosophy of the world in four ways:
It’s hollow, deceptive, it depends on human tradition, and it depends on the basic principles of this world.
In other words, the mindset of the world has no substance, it lies, and depends on the idea that humans are the center of existence.
Man’s ideas of what is truth and what is good change all the time.
People used to believe that truth was objective and absolute. In other words, truth could be known and believed because it was true in every circumstance.
Now people believe that truth is relative. It might be true for you, but not for me, and that there is no such thing as absolute truth.
But when mankind is the decider of what is true and what is good and right, then those standards of truth and right will change with society, and I think I can safely guarantee that as we continue to the time when Jesus returns, those standards will only continue to go down, not up.
And if you’re not careful, you can be taken captive by these things. And that’s just plain dangerous.
But this passage of Scripture also tells us that we can avoid being taken captive.
Let’s look back at verses 6-7 –
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
The key to avoiding the captivity of your mind is found in Christ – living in Him, being rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in your faith in Him.
Why? Because Christ is truth.
He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Not a truth. The truth.
I mentioned that the world’s ideas of what’s true and right change over time.
But Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
He doesn’t change with the times. He doesn’t change with the winds of political correctness.
He is truth, He is always the truth, and He will always be the truth.
You: How do we avoid being taken captive by the world’s mindset?
Let me suggest three actions you can take to develop a Biblical mindset.
* Develop and strengthen your own convictions regarding:
(btw, I’m talking about convictions, not opinions. Convictions are those things you hang onto that define who you are and what you believe. Opinions can change as easily as the winds)
-Absolute truth.
"Absolute truth" is defined as inflexible reality: fixed, invariable, unalterable facts. For example, it is a fixed, invariable, unalterable fact that there are absolutely no square circles and there are absolutely no round squares. (Allaboutphilosophy.org)
Opinion polls and majority rules don’t determine truth. Truth is truth regardless of who believes it.
It’s an absolute truth that this pulpit is made of wood, not water. It’s also an absolute truth that I will never be taller than Lowell or Doug. Better looking, maybe, but not taller...
Absolute truth exists, and you need to develop and strengthen your convictions about that.
You also need to develop and strengthen convictions about…
-The reliability and trustworthiness of the Scriptures.
Folks, are you convinced to the core of your being that the Scriptures are true, accurate?
If not, then you need to work on that. Because if the Scriptures are not true and accurate, then you and I have no hope for heaven.
If they’re not true and accurate, then the God we worship is a lie.
You also need to develop and strengthen your convictions regarding…
-Jesus Christ – who He was, what He did and said, His death and physical resurrection, His coming again as judge.
We gain those convictions from the Scriptures, which are the primary source of information about Him.
People have all sorts of weird ideas about who Jesus including the idea that he spent a number of years learning how to “become” the Christ by going to various shamans in places like Tibet.
Others believe that Jesus and Satan were brothers.
I have a feeling that if someone said Jesus was actually reincarnated in Oprah, people would believe it.
Especially if she said so and then wrote a book about it.
If the Scriptures are true, then Jesus is true. And if Jesus is true, then we need to worship and obey Him in every area of our lives, if for no other reason than gratitude for His sacrifice and resurrection on our behalf.
In order to avoid the captivity of your mind, you also need to…
* Become firmly grounded in the Scriptures.
This is how we find out about God and what He requires of us.
This is where we gain guidance and wisdom.
This is where we find assurance of our salvation in Christ, and the many promises God has for those who love and serve Him.
It’s also how we can filter out the false teachings and philosophies of the world.
And lastly, to avoid the captivity of your mind…
* Learn to recognize and refute worldly philosophies and thinking.
If you’re grounded in the Scriptures and the notions of absolute truth, you will learn to spot error in how the world thinks, and you will know why it’s wrong.
That’s crucial, by the way. It’s not enough to just be able to say, “that’s wrong.” You need to be able to say why it’s wrong.
And along with that you need to learn how to discuss and debate the issues in a calm manner.
The Bible says that the Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be able to teach, gently instructing those who oppose you.
John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace, said –
“What will it profit a man if he gains his cause, and silences his adversary, if at the same time he loses that humble, tender frame of spirit in which the Lord delights?” (1001 Quotations that Connect, Craig Brian Larson, Brian Lowery, eds.)
I think we need more people who are willing to become equipped to do this last thing.
Why? Because the world is full of those who oppose the truth of Scripture and Christ, and we don’t have nearly enough people who are capable of having an intelligent conversation with someone about these things.
All these things depend on your willingness to do something that takes intentional work and effort: think!
Learn to think. Learn to look at things and examine them before just accepting them. Learn how to debate and discuss them. Learn how to show love to those who disagree.
At the end of your note-taking guide I’ve listed some resources to help you with understanding why the Scriptures can be trusted.
Some resources you can get right now:
Books by Lee Strobel (former atheist):
The Case for Faith
The Case for Christ
The Case for the Real Jesus
The Case for Creator
Other books:
The Faith, by Charles Colson
True for You, but Not for Me, by Paul Copan
Books by Ravi Zacharias (former Hindu and atheist):
Jesus Among Other Gods (also a video series)
The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists
Can Man Live without God
[His weekly broadcast Let My People Think can be heard Sundays on 88.9 FM (1:00 PM) and 90.1 (6:00 PM)]
Video Series: The Truth Project (by Focus on the Family).
We: Folks, we need to be a people who aren’t sucked in by everything that comes down the pike that sounds or looks religious.
I’ve mentioned in the past that one of the dangers abounding today is that there is so much out there that contains a little bit of truth but is filled with error.
People are gullible, and Christians can be just as gullible as everyone else.
If you don’t believe me, just look at your e-mail inbox sometime at the forwards you get that mention Jesus, angels, or whatever, that promise a blessing if you forward it to ten people in the next ten minutes, or that try to lay a guilt trip on you for not forwarding it.
By the way, if you send those to me, they get automatically deleted, oftentimes without being read!
Anyway, how many Christians will forward that on because they erroneously think God’s going to punish them or withhold some blessing?
I could go on about stuff I get all the time about things like petitions to make sure it’s not illegal to mention God on TV, or how “In God We Trust” is being removed from our money.
Those things seem relatively harmless. But if people are falling for that kind of stuff, what’s going to happen when they’re confronted with error about Christ and the Scriptures?
They’ll believe it. And it can put their very soul in danger.
We need to be people who aren’t swept away by the world’s thinking. We need to be people who are not taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy.
Commit today to being intentional about being rooted and built up in Christ.
Let’s pray.
