In 1996 I was a graduate student at Oakland University. I was doing an internship at a counseling center in Flint to finish up my Master’s degree in Counseling. I was new and very inexperienced, and was working in my office one day when the phone rang. All the “real” therapists were busy, so I took the call. On the other end of the phone was a desperate-sounding man. He said he had a gun to his head and that he was going to pull the trigger unless I could give him some reason to live in the next ten minutes. It was not this guy’s lucky day. Here he decides to do this desperate thing, and he get a gun and calls a counseling center, and he gets an intern on the phone. That was probably just a step above an automated operator. “If you are suicidal and want to issue a life or death ultimatum to a therapist, press 1.”
Anyway, this is the call that every therapist dreads. I prayed that the owner, Diane, would come into the office just by chance. She did, and I tried to get her to take the call, but the man protested and would not be handed to anyone else. Diane told me to handle it. That’s what internships are for: to sink or swim – to realize we really can do what we have been trained to do. Diane stood there as I sat down and summoned everything I had learned in graduate school up to that point. I had to remember that I was only human, that whatever he chose to do was not my fault, that hopefully he was bluffing, and that I probably didn’t want to approach the situation with that assumption.
What I had to do was keep first things first. What mattered most was not making this man happy. It was not even finding out about his problem. The only thing that mattered was doing whatever I could do to keep him from blowing his brains out in the next couple of minutes and getting him into the clinic as quickly as possible where he could get treatment.
So that’s what I did. I kept him on the phone and did the necessary things to keep him talking and focused on something other than his intention to kill himself. After ten or fifteen minutes I was able to get him to come into the clinic and meet with one of our psychologists who took care of him. That may have been the longest 15 minutes of my life.
I had to keep first things first. That required that I know what was most important, and direct all of my training, all of my efforts, all of my skills to that one thing – making sure that this guy didn’t kill himself. Had he pulled the trigger that afternoon, I’d have been a brand new counseling intern feeling responsible for the death of a client just two weeks into my internship. There was a lot at stake – for him and for me.
At key times in our lives, we have to place first things first. We have to direct all of our energy, all of our attention, all of our skills and efforts, to the one thing that matters most. In those times we know that if we fail, we will carry a heavy load of responsibility for a very long time, that we CAN’T fail because there’s too much at stake. In the church at Colosse, there was a threat – this Gnostic teaching that was creeping into the church. That threat was potentially devastating to the church and the people in it, so when Paul heard about it, he sat down and wrote a letter. And in that letter, Paul demonstrated his understanding that the proper response to a threat is to do whatever needs to be done to preserve life or to minimize damage, because there’s too much at stake to just sit back and hope for the best. This is not a letter that says, “Hey, how’s it going? Having a great time, wish you were here.” It’s a letter that says, “You are drifting from the MAIN thing – the most important thing – the FIRST thing – you are on a collision course with spiritual disaster, and you don’t even know it. Jesus is first. Jesus is number one. Jesus must be the focus of your lives. You don’t understand what’s at stake.” Paul writes with all the conviction of a spiritual father who has taken responsibility for this young church and the people in it.
Sometimes it is up to people with more knowledge and experience than us to help us place first things first. The guy on the phone that day wanted me to solve his problems. Because of my training I quickly knew that I could not solve his problems. But to me his biggest problem was that weapon (supposedly) pressed to his temple, and I was pretty sure I could help with that.
Spiritually, most people do not understand the dangers they face. They do not understand how important right belief is. They do not understand the danger presented by too much absorption of the world’s perspective. It is the job of a spiritual leader to understand these dangers and protect his people from them. Remember our study of Titus? So today I want to begin showing you some of the dangers Paul pointed out to his people, and hope you realize that these things are still dangerous to us – to you – in your pursuit of God today.
As Paul sounds the warning signal of danger in the church and defends the preeminence of Christ, we see him address three particular dangers. As I said before, the first of these is what he calls “empty philosophies.” We will cover just that section today. The second of these is called “religious legalism,” and will be covered next week. And the third of these is what Paul would call “man-made disciplines.” We’ll cover that in two weeks. Now in Paul’s context, the Gnostic heresy contained all of these dangers and I’m only mentioning that so you don’t think I’ve changed the subject. We’re still dealing with the Gnostic teaching.
Let’s begin with the first of these dangers against which Paul tries to defend the church at Colosse. In verses 1-10, Paul warns them to steer clear of empty philosophies. Clearly here he is referring to Gnosticism in particular, but also to any religious system that denies or minimizes the preeminence of Christ. I’ve shown you how you can identify Paul’s references to Gnosticism by his use of words like “full, fullness, mystery, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.” These were all words the Gnostics used all the time.
In v. 4, Paul says, “I tell you all this stuff about Christ so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”
Colossians 2:4 (NIV)
4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
Now Paul was very educated. He knew fine-sounding arguments when he heard them. He knew Greek philosophy and had sat around debating philosophers. He understood human wisdom. In our universities today our children are being taught fine-sounding arguments that deny the existence, deity, or preeminence of Christ. Most important, this teaching is accepted as the height of knowledge. I mean, if you want to be smart in our society, what do you do? You go to a university, right? Isn’t it fascinating that our public universities are so completely secular that you are considered highly educated if you graduate with a degree from one of them, even though in the course of that education, you learn absolutely nothing about God, about the spiritual world, about what is in your own soul, about the possibility that there might be more than what you see around you every day? All of that stuff is considered so trivial, so minor, that you graduate from one of these places considered highly educated, though you have learned nothing about any of the things that actually DEFINE human existence for most people.
I mean, you wanna hear some fine-sounding arguments, take a college philosophy course. Take a biology course. Take a psychology course. Though perhaps you might not hear a single word AGAINST God in some of these courses, you will almost certainly not hear a single word ABOUT God either – it is simply assumed that God is irrelevant to being able to truly understand things – that we can know everything we need to know about philosophy, about biology, about our own minds, without ever referring to God at all; that we can be highly educated human beings and not know anything about God. Now there’s a fine argument for you. After all, the most powerful argument is one of silence. It’s far more powerful in our universities to simply go about our business never speaking of God than it is to actively oppose him. If you oppose him, after all, people will wonder what’s up. If you simply assume he is not needed, most will not notice and will get on board. There’s your incredibly thin, very discrete, hair-thin, incredibly fine argument.
In verse 8 Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy. . .”
Colossians 2:8 (NIV)
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 think he has just told us how to keep that from happening in the previous verses.
He says in verse 6 that we are to first of all live in Christ.
Colossians 2:6 (NIV)
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
As you were saved by faith, so live by faith. As you were saved by the Word, so live according to the Word. As you were saved through the work of the Spirit, so live in the Spirit. The Christian life continues as it began, by faith in God. That’s really what Paul is saying here. He’s saying, “Don’t get sidetracked by fancy philosophy and fine-sounding arguments. They’re just excuses to not look at Jesus.”
Folks, if you only remember one thing from today’s sermon, remember that: Don’t get sidetracked by fancy philosophy and fine-sounding arguments. See, right now is the only honest moment you have. No matter what your spiritual journey has looked like up until now, it’s irrelevant to the choice you make today about whether or not to follow Jesus. Don’t get distracted.
So we avoid spiritual captivity first of all by living in Christ.
Next, we avoid these empty philosophies by Growing up in Christ.
Verse 7 says
Colossians 2:7 (NIV)
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Have roots that dig down into the richness of the Word. Have foundations that are strong, laid upon Jesus Christ. It is so important to be taught the Word of God! Believers fall prey to all kinds of strange ideas unless they are rooted in Christ, grounded in the Word, and built up in Biblical truth.
Many Christians think they are safe because they prayed some prayer for salvation 20 years ago. But that would be like saying that simply being born means we will survive. This is nonsense. If after we are born we are not nurtured to adulthood and taught how to feed and clothe and care for ourselves, and if we do not actually DO these things, we will NOT survive. We WILL fall prey to empty philosophies that will make us spiritual slaves if we do not walk in Christ and GROW UP in him.
Next, let’s look at the last part of verse 8.
Colossians 2:8 (NIV)
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.
So the next thing we must do is make Christ the test.
Make Christ the test of whether a philosophy, a belief, or a system of beliefs is hollow or substantive – whether it means nothing, or means everything. Almost every religion assigns Christ a place of eminence – acknowledges him as a great teacher – but only Christianity believes he was God – only Christianity assigns him the place of firstness, superiority, of preeminence.
The fourth thing we must do if we wish to not be drawn in to foolish and empty philosophies and belief systems is to draw on the fullness found in Christ.
Colossians 2:9-10 (NIV)
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
There it is, that word fullness again, showing up twice in these verses. And there’s Paul again saying, “Jesus is God – He is Eikon Theos, exactly God – all the fullness of the Deity lived in His physical body.”
Paul understood that when believers drift into worldly living, or are taken prey by worthless philosophies, it is usually because they feel they lack something that Jesus Christ cannot supply. He writes in verse 10:
Colossians 2:10 (NIV)
10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
It is not the mysterious, esoteric knowledge of the Gnostics that brings spiritual completion or fullness, it is knowledge of Jesus, and acknowledgement of Him above all else.
Folks, this was written 2000 years ago but could have been written today. I can name for you some of the empty philosophies of the past century, and most of them end in “ism.” The big ones are Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and Atheism. But there are others that are probably much more dangerous to us because of their subtlety and level of acceptability in our culture. Individualism – the me-first doctrine that says that the individual is the most important thing in society. I’ve said again and again that that’s anti-Biblical. The Christian faith is to be lived out in community. Consumerism – the idea that constant spending and gratification of our needs and desires is a good thing because it fuels our economy and is therefore healthy for – Capitalism. Or how about Scientific materialism – the belief that the material world is all there is, that nothing exists beyond what can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted. And one that has become increasingly popular in recent decades is called Nihilism. This is the belief that there is nothing to be hoped for, that everything in the universe is random, without meaning, without purpose, and therefore completely pointless, therefore there is no place to which we can turn to find hope. Or Relativism – the idea that everything is relative – even truth itself. So that if I believe there’s a God, then that’s true for me, and if you believe there is no God, then that’s true for you. The belief system that propagates this philosophy is called Postmodernism, and this is the belief system embraced by the majority of Americans and Europeans today, whether they know what it’s called or not. Every single one of these empty philosophies is dangerous because they are hardly realized as philosophies at the time they are popular in their culture – they are simply assumed. They are “fine.” Paul wrote two thousand years ago that without firm grounding in the preeminence of Christ – the belief that he is above all things and superior to all philosophies, powers, and belief systems – that we WOULD be taken captive by these hollow philosophies. And that is precisely what has happened in our world, again and again.
So what makes a philosophy hollow and what does Paul mean when he refers to being taken captive by these kinds of things? You could say a philosophy is hollow when it does not carry within itself the power to deliver on its promises. This is what all hollow philosophies have in common – they look good, sound good, and appeal to people. They may even have a certain amount of potential to help people or individuals, but they ultimately do not carry within themselves the power to deliver on their promises. What they lack is the ability to change the human heart from a heart of sin and self-interest to a heart of purity and love. Until that is done, no system will ever work. And once that is done, we could find ourselves living at peace under a variety of different systems.
Think about it: Every belief system – atheism, materialism, agnosticism, individualism, consumerism, fascism, communism, feminism – every single one of them promises a better world. But Paul understood something and tried to communicate it to us. Humanity does not need a better world. Humanity needs better human beings – human beings with changed hearts and minds and lives and perspectives and behaviors – and when humanity has better human beings, the world will be the better place everyone longs for.
So Jesus comes along and what Jesus says to each of us is not, “I’m gonna change the world,” but “I want to change YOUR world.” And when Jesus changes the worlds of people, one life at a time, the world begins to change – and that is God’s plan to rescue humanity from the mess it is in. But in order to accomplish that plan, God needs people who are willing to face the truth about who they are and that begins by looking up to God, looking in to their own sin, and reaching out for the hand of Jesus, which is the only way we have to get across the bridge of selfishness and empty belief and over to where God is.
Paul’s words are ancient-modern – written two thousand years ago and perfectly applicable to us today. So let me close with a challenge. I don’t particularly mind when non-believers do not acknowledge the preeminence of Christ. They are non-believers – they are lost. Our job is to reach them. [Some are here today and we welcome you.] But we will not be able to reach them unless we believe differently. The church does no one any favors when it tries to be so cool and so hip that it loses the very thing that makes it the church. Secularism is forgivable in a secular society – but it is inexcusable in the church. As for Wildwind, God is on the throne here – Jesus is proclaimed and preached as the Savior of the world, as the only hope not only for lost men, women, and children, but also as the only hope for those of us who have chosen to cling to Him in faith. God protect us from shallow faith that bends and sways and is fooled by every empty philosophy and hollow belief system.
So my challenge for you is to learn the Word of God; to grow and mature in your faith, to not settle for outward appearances of religion, but to go for heart change – the inside job that only Jesus can deliver.
During this series I’ve been thinking a lot of an old hymn we’re gonna do for you. If the words get out of your mouth and into your heart, it’ll do your heart good.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
