The Colossians and Philosophy

The Colossians and Philosophy

The church in Colosse was predominately Gentile and had grown up in a pagan world. However, there were those Judaizing teachers who had come among them and sought to force Gentile Christians to become circumcised and keep many rituals of the Judaism. They had left pagan worship with all the rituals of idolatry and now faced a new challenge of those who wanted to bind the rituals of Judaism on them. Paul’s words in Colossians chapter two deals with both paganism and Jewish ritualism. colossians

Paul reminded them of what had happened in their conversion to Christ. They had embraced Jesus as their Messiah and Lord. Paganism had elements of the gods coming and were gods living among men, but Christianity involved the reality that God became a mortal and lived on this earth. He was Immanuel, but He also was Lord and they had committed themselves to His authority (v. 6).

He uses three descriptive phrases to encourage them to remain faithful. He first uses a military term, “walk in Him” (v. 6). He was their commander in chief. There was no other commander, either in paganism or Judaism. Then he said they were “rooted…in Him” (v. 7). Like the roots of a large tree extended into the depths of the earth, so their faith had been deeply implanted in the Christ (v. 7). Jesus is Himself described as the Root of Jesse. “There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope” (Rom. 15:12). The Colossians had been rooted in the One who is truly the Root.

The third term used by Paul is that they were “built up in Him and established in the faith” (v. 7). They had learned the truth and the truth had set them free from paganism and Judaism. When one fully appreciates this, Satan has no power to draw him away from the Lord.

Paul then warns them to beware of the danger of being deceived and carried way through philosophy and empty deceit (v. 8). Secular wisdom has its place, but it can never replace the wisdom from above. Far too many Christians have decided they know more about life and God than their Creator. The definition of philosophy is the love of wisdom, but we must never forget the true wisdom from the One who is wise!

He then mentions the danger of living by the traditions of men (v. 8). Again, let us be reminded that there are Divine traditions (2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6), and there are the religious traditions which come from the hearts of mortals. So, as you live your lives, develop your concepts of morality and marriage, and right and wrong, stay rooted and grounded in Him.

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Psalm 96

Psalm 96

We do not always know the circumstances about what was happening when the psalmist took his pen to let us see what a man after God’s own heart was dealing with. Such is not the case of Psalm 96. The historical setting of that psalm is found 1 Chronicles chapter sixteen.

King David had defeated the Jebusites who occupied Jerusalem and had prepared a place in that city to place the ark of the covenant in the tent/tabernacle he had erected there. As the ark was brought, a host of Jewish worshipers assembled. The divine record describes it in these words. “So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God…On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord” (1 Chron. 16:1, 7).

What was the heart of David like as he worshiped God? Look at this psalm, and then be determined to let your heart be like this man as you come to worship Him.

David urged the people to “Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wonderful works” (16:9).  While you focus on Him, He is focused on you. Sing praises to Him. “Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who see the Lord” (16:10). Let your soul commune within and glorify His name as you sing.

“Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face evermore” (16:11).  Perhaps the words of Paul explain this best. “You were raised with Christ, seek those things above where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above” (Col. 3:1-2). You are in His presence so devote your entire being to the glorification and adoration of Him.

“Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth …Remember His covenant forever” (16:12, 15). That covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob finds its final fulfillment in you! As you worship, remember all that He has done so that you can come before Him to worship.

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations” (16:23-24). Our adoration of Him does not end when the final prayer is prayed. Our faith has been fortified and we leave the assembly, but there is more. In several church buildings I have seen a sign saying, “Enter to Worship,” but there was another sign posted as you left the building, “Leave to Serve.” The blessing and joy of worship must be shared with the world.

God help us to worship Him like David did!

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A Single Word A Single Verse

A Single Verse

The forceful power of a small word in a single verse in the Bible can so easily be overlooked. The key to understanding the signs of the end in Matthew 24 is found in the word “all” in verse thirty-four. The time of the establishment of the kingdom is found in Daniel 7:13-14 when one notices the word “to” instead of the word “from.” Let’s take a moment and look at the word “all” and its importance in understanding the work of Christ in our lives.

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven He said, “All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and on the earth” (Matt. 28:18). The word “all” in this verse has been overlooked by so many. Pilate thought that the authority he had from Rome meant that he could release Jesus or crucify Him. The King of kings told the governor that he had no power except that which heaven had given him (John 19:11). If mighty kings have no power, then how does any mortal think he has power and authority over the One who has all authority?

Yet, in the religious world so many have ignored His authority. Jesus does not have all authority in a system which places the authority of the Vatican over the teachings of Jesus. The same is true of other religions in America. Modern Christendom is being torn asunder as church hierarchy deals with homosexuality and transgenders and their place in modern churches. The reality is that He who has all authority is the only One to decide these matters—He has all authority. The entire basis of true Christianity is found in realizing that truth is not decided by hierarchy, learned scholars, gifted speakers or by anyone whose heart says, “I know that this is what the Bible teaches, but I have decided to ignore that and follow what I want to do.” We have robbed Jesus of the authority that is His!

Being a faithful Christian involves realizing that He has all the authority in our lives. The words of King Agrippa show this when he said, “You almost persuade me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). Almost is not enough, it will have no bearing on the final day of judgment for one to almost have served Him. Look at Paul’s response in which I have purposely changed the spelling of two words. The apostle said, “I would to God that …you…might become both allmost and alltogether such as I am.” Almost being a Christian is not enough. He who has all authority says that it is ALLmost and ALLtogether.

There is no place for churches or individuals thinking they will please God by recognizing some of the authority of Jesus. There is no place for churches or individuals thinking they will please God by recognizing most of the authority of Jesus. His last words before He left the earth affirmed He has all authority. God help us all to honor that authority!

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The Christian Race

The Christian Race

We have watched those moments when athletes are about to start their race for the Olympic gold medal. They have done this so often since they first lined up to race, perhaps when they were still in grammar school. In various ways the official has said, “On your marks, get set, go.” The starting gun sounds, and the race begins.

Those starting words vary depending on the place and circumstances. In England, the words sometimes used are, “On your mark, steady, go.” As I grew up, the phrase most often used was shortened to, “Ready, Set, Go.” It is interesting to see how these three words are used to apply to our Christian lives.

The Christian is “ready.” You see this in Paul’s letter to the Romans. After he said that he was a debtor to all men, he said, “So as much as in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also” (Rom. 1:15). When he said “as much as in me,” he emphasized how devoted he was to getting the gospel to all mankind. He gave as much as he had! When he used the words, “to you who are in Rome also,” the word “also” emphasized that he felt the same toward teaching in every place.

When Paul wrote Titus, he said, “Remind them…to be ready for every good work” (Tit. 3:1). Faithfulness to God causes us to see a work that needs to be done, and then because we are ready, we do it! As the runner crouches to start the race and awaits the starting gun, so the Christian is “crouched” and his “starting gun” is seeing something needing to be done.race

The Christian is “set.” The book of Hebrews describes our lives as being participants in a race in which we are surround by a great company of witnesses. Evidently those witnesses are the heroes of faith mentioned chapter eleven. The writer then says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2). The race is set and so are we! Our affections are firmly
“…set on things which are above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2).

The Christian is prepared to “go.” When Jesus called men to follow Him and become fishers of men, they responded, but there was no way they could have understood all that was involved in following Jesus. However, just before He ascended, He gave them detailed instructions of what being a follower of Jesus involved. They were told to go to all nations, to every creature and teach them the words Jesus had given them (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). The response to the invitation to “come” is then to “go.”

So, as you run your race, remember that it involves three things—ready, set, go. Let’s run the race faithfully.

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The Soul of the Psalmist

The Soul of the Psalmist

We do not always know the circumstances in which the psalmist found himself when he took his pen in hand. However, as we can read his psalms, we often find that we have experienced similar circumstances in our lives, which have brought about the same feelings he had. Consider Psalm 43 where David asks, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”psalmist

The psalm begins with the man of God surrounded by evil. His enemies and their actions are described as being deceitful and unjust. His reaction  was to walk about mourning because of their oppression. How do you deal with life when there seems to be “no light at the end of the tunnel” and then your heart reaches out to heaven asking God to vindicate you against those who trouble you?  David cried out, “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause” (v. 1).

How do you deal with such situations? How did the psalmist deal with them? While you may feel that God has cast you off (v. 2), you still know that God is the God of your strength and the reality is that He has not actually cast you aside. Notice the psalmist’s prayer as He deals with this matter: “Oh, send our Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your tabernacle” (v. 3). He knew his help was found in His temple.

When he entered the presence of God and His altar, he could cast aside the mourning. God changed that into “exceeding joy” and David began praising God. Sometimes our life can be just like David. We grope about mourning our situation and choose to not even go to worship. It is as though we think we must handle trials all by ourselves, yet when we go to the place where His light shines and His truth is found, our mourning is changed into joy. It is remarkable that we can be so overwhelmed that we pull back from God.

When David came into God’s house, he knew God had not forsaken him, and he said, “I will praise You, O God, my God” (v. 4). It was then that David was reminded that he belonged to God and God truly was my God. He is personally concerned about all of His children, personally!

Notice how this brief psalm ends. He looked again at how his soul had been cast down, and said, “Why are you disquieted within me” (v. 5)? He then gives the answer. “Hope in God.” God had not forsaken him and left him all alone to deal with life’s trials. God was “…the help of my countenance and my God.” It was in His presence, in His tabernacle, that God said he would find help and praise Him again.

When trials come, never withdraw from coming to worship Him in His presence in His temple. His truth and light change how we view trials!

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