NonChristian Philosophies of Men:
1. I DID IT MY WAY
Christian rebuttal: The Christian is a slave to Jesus Christ (I.Corinthians 7:22) called upon to follow the will of God whether he or she likes it or not. Mark 3:35
2. There is no such thing as “absolute truth” two people can define “truth” in conflicting ways and both still be correct….
Christian rebuttal: Then God spoke all these words…the 10 commandments followed(Exodus 20:1-17), these were absolute truths and will always remain so for the
Christian who believes in the inerrancy and infallibility of the God-breathed Old and New Testaments
II. Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:160
3. Marriage is just a piece of paper…it’s all right to live together out of wedlock…
Christian rebuttal: Marriage was created by God as a covenant union both public and private between a man and a woman that was to signify the mystical union,the new covenant, between Jesus Christ and His Church. The Bible gives many clear directives about marriage: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous.
Hebrews 13:4 also I. Corinthians 7; Matthew 22:1-10; Ephesians 5:21-32
4. Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and all other people pray to the same god,even though they use different names for their god….
Christian rebuttal: The god of the Muslims and Buddhists is very very different from Jesus Christ; people who pray to Satan (Satanists) are not praying to the same god Christians pray to; no other religion believes Jesus Christ is God or in the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost)…no one comes to the Father but by Me (Jesus Christ).
John 14:6; Isaiah 45:5
5. You can tell if something is morally/ethically right for you by whether or not it works in your life and feels right…
Christian rebuttal: Being beaten, mocked and crucified did not feel right or good and all the disciples couldn’t make any sense of such a horrible loss of Jesus on the cross; they were discouraged and broken in spirit until the resurrection. Never forget:
“Jesus Christ was at the center of His Father’s will at the worsemoment in His life” (Matthew 27:46) Morality and ethics have very little to do
with my feelings and how well something works out; but they have a whole lot to do with my obedience to the will and Word of God (John 14: 23)
See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the
universe and not according to Jesus Christ. For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him, who is
the head of all rule and authority.
Colossians 2:8-10; 1:19
“The opinion of man is no substitute for the Word of God.” Read it and live by it !
Beware the Philosophies of Men
(Mark 7:6-13; 12:18-27; Colossians 2:6-10)
Last week Bob R. was sharing with our Sunday school class the story of a man who recently had sent away for some lecture tapes. After listening to the tapes about religion and science and the Bible, the man who had believed in God and considered himself a Christian, no longer believed in the truth of the Bible and stopped going to church.
This falling away from the Christian faith is the very issue Paul is talking about to the Christians in Colosse. Paul says in verse 8:
See to it that no one takes you captive (no one cheats you) through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the
elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Like it did with this man listening to some lecture tapes, or going to a secular
university where a seemingly erudite college professor is proclaiming the
“death of god”, or watching so many of the TV shows that think nothing of using
explicit sex scenes and vulgar language (parental discretion is advised they say),
or just drifting along with the latest political correctness under the euphemisms of
diversity and tolerance, before you know it you are questioning or doubting your basic Christian morals and beliefs, turning away from the church, and quietly deciding to yourself that the Word of God is out of step with the times.
Of the many songs Frank Sinatra sang, one of his favorites was:
“I did it my way”. Crowd after crowd loved that song- not just the way he sang it but the message as well. In your bulletin this morning I have included an insert listing 5 what I call non-Christian philosophies of men; there are many more than these 5 but hopefully as we talk about them it will awaken you and me to the warning Paul speaks about.
“I did it my way” is clearly contrary
to the message of Jesus Christ who over and over again taught us to do the will of our Heavenly Father. “Not my will but thine be done” Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Lk.22:42). When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them what we call the Lord’s prayer,
the beginning of which teaches us:
“thy kingdom come thy will be done…”
(Mt.6:10). As you notice in your bulletin insert under number one, Paul says as a Christian you and I are slaves (bondservants) to Jesus Christ…. it is no
longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me….
Christians are not out to do things or live life my way or our way, we belong to Jesus Christ and as His heirs are obedient to the will of God especially when my desires may come in direct conflict to God’s. The story of Jonah going off to Tarshish instead of Nineveh or the children of Israel refusing to enter the promise land after the 12 spies returned with 10 giving a negative report are examples “of marching off to my own drummer” instead of obeying the call of God. Granted there are many people today doing their own thing and living “successful” lives in the eyes of the world but their lifestyles and behavior are far far away from the Kingdom of God and what Jesus called the “narrow way.”
As Christians following Jesus Christ we are not here to do our own thing or to do it my way; we are here to do “God’s thing and to do it His way”.
If you are determined to live your life as you please, remember you are NOT on the “gospel train”; you need to repent—to change your way of thinking,
your philosophy from self-centered to Christ-centered.
Another non-Christian philosophy that is listed number 2 on your bulletin insert is the belief today that there is no such thing as absolute truth but that two people can define “truth” in conflicting ways and both still be correct. God gave the 10
Commandments to Moses; they were not suggestions or meant for one generation of people (only the Jews); they were 10 divine laws –absolute truths-given directly by God to be taught and obeyed for all people for all time- don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, don’t swear falsely, don’t covet, worship only God….
People today want to compromise these divine laws- it’s all right for me to commit adultery if my spouse is unfaithful; or if this fellow cheats me, I’ll steal from him. The commandments of God are absolute truth meaning they are unchanging and forever right. If some college professor or teacher wants to persuade you that there is no such thing as absolute truth or that all truth is relative meaning truth can be changed in this circumstance or situation; just put that man on trial for murder or some sex offense.
He did not commit the murder or the offense but someone who is angry or jealous or has some hidden agenda has falsely
accused the man and now he is on trial and needs a witness to testify that he was not at the scene and had nothing to do with the crime he is accused of.
How important now is the testimony of that witness and more important that he or she tell the truth as it really happened – that falsely accused man is desperate to have the whole truth and nothing but the truth spoken- the last thing he wants is some head-in-the-clouds philosopher talking about all truth is relative – that there is no absolute truth.
And the same should be the case for us as Christians when someone tries to convince you that it’s not important to believe in God; it’s all right to lie or cheat if you don’t get caught; and sewing a little “wild oats” before or after marriage is no big deal. Well it is a big deal to God- it’s the breaking of one of His divine commandments--- beware that you are not deceived by the current traditions of men said Paul.
Another tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Jesus Christ is mentioned as number 3 on your insert list.
More and more young people and old people are living together heterosexually or homosexually outside of wedlock. The argument of men or tradition is made- as long as we are in love and not hurting anybody there is nothing wrong with such a lifestyle. Just the fact of me talking about this issue in a negative light is offensive to many of our young people who think the church is out of touch with the times- that our culture is changing and if the church doesn’t get with it it will die.
Words like “love” “inclusive” “tolerant” are used to justify this growing and popular philosophy of men. You can read the biblical passages listed under number 3 to see how clearly Jesus Christ and the Word of God declares marriage to be between a man and a woman and to be the basic structure of the family bound by a promise ( a covenant) that is like the same bond and covenant that exists between Jesus Christ and His Church.
It is not that God is trying to make things difficult for us; His rules on marriage are for our own benefit and well being; it is not just for one person but for the family unit as well as for the society. We wonder why our Cleveland schools have so much difficulty or why does so much violence and moral decay exist in our society. The answer lies in our homes and the family—it’s deterioration from the basic moral and biblical standards that once existed. The further we continue
to drift from the “old-fashion” biblical standards of marriage, the greater the decay we will see in what we one time considered a good and godly life.
I realize that many young people are determined to live the way they want to live and here again we are back to number 1 “I did it my way” not your will God but my will will be done. We as Christians must know the biblical truth, living it and defining it for our young people, so that we are not guilty of remaining silent when we should have spoken out against another non-christian philosophy of men leading to destruction instead of the Kingdom of God.
Another “in-thing” today is listed as number 4 in which people think that we all pray to the same god- that all religions are just different paths up to the top of the same mountain to God. If that were the case Jesus would have never had to come and die on a cross for our sins but He did. On more that one occasion Jesus just flat out told some of the religious men of his community: you are greatly mistaken (Mk. 12:27). In other words what you believe is wrong according to God the Father. The apostle Paul did the same thing in Corinth, Greece when he went into that town and said to the religious men and philosophers I see you worship a number of gods (as if they were all equal); you even include worship to an unknown god (Acts 17:23). Then Paul went on to teach them that there is only one true living God, Jesus Christ, who died for their sins and rose from the dead. Both Jesus and Paul make it crystal clear, all religions are not the same, nor do they lead to the same end, nor do they pray to the same god. Jesus made some outlandish claims: that He was one with the Father before the world was created, that He is the Father in flesh and will come again a second time- that He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are three in one; that you must be born again by believing in and following Him, that He, Jesus Christ is the one and only way to the Father.
In our day these claims are considered politically incorrect. You either believe then or you don’t. Paul said to the Christians of his day, the traditions and philosophies of men do not believe them and will try to deceive you and make you believe otherwise, beware, beware.
Finally the fifth non Christian philosophy in your bulletin insert has to do with letting your feelings be your guide instead of the Word of God. If it feels right and seems successful it must be OK. Is that what Hitler thought when he had the German army march into Poland in 1939 and then across Europe? To Hitler the Third Reich felt pretty good and looked pretty successful at least from 1939-1941 when the Germans were winning—a mad man who ended his life with a shot from a pistol—see how a nation bought into a philosophy of a man instead of God. And do not our own lives reflect the same destructive pattern the further we drift away from the Word of God telling myself this lifestyle and behavior feels pretty good and look how well I am doing. The sentence you want to always remember is one I quoted by Ravi Zacharias:
“…Jesus Christ was at the center of His Father’s will at the worse moment in His life.” (Mt.27:46) For the Christian, morality and ethics have very little to do with my feelings and how well something works out, but they have a whole lot to do with my obedience to the will and Word of God. (John 14:23)
I repeat Paul’s words then to the Christians at Colosse that are just as true for us today:
See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe and not according to Jesus Christ…for in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority. (Colossian 2:8-10; 1:19)
