I recently came across a conservative thinker who has become somewhat of a sensation in North American in the last couple of years. He’s extremely articulate and defends conservatism in a far more thoughtful and logical fashion than is typically found on conservative media outlets. As I’ve read some of his writing and watched some of his interviews, I’ve been intrigued - even drawn in. He makes sense. He’s a formidable debater. He’s right on so many issues.
I found myself wanting to read more, wanting to buy his books. But then I began to hear hints of spiritual confusion in his thinking and philosophies, many of which were driven by pragmatics, completely contrary to biblical wisdom and teaching.
The Holy Spirit put on the brakes and brought Colossians 2:8 to my mind: See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
So much of what he said was true. And yet his philosophy, particularly as it addressed the heart of man, was anti-biblical and hopeless. How easily this man could use his truths to desensitize people to his untruths. This is a potentially spiritually deadly issue because it leads people to a gospel-less place using things they already believe and agree with.
It occurred to me that the entire time I was listening to this man, I was listening to preaching. Anyone who has a worldview for which they contend verbally is a preacher in this sense: they are seeking to convince others that what they are saying is true. They are seeking converts.
We listen to preaching when we read any book, listen to any song, watch any movie/TV/YouTube video, or even have a casual conversation. Everyone has a worldview from which they think and speak. When they speak from that worldview, they preach that worldview. Everyone does it. It is inevitable. You are a preacher in that sense. Everyone who articulates an opinion is a preacher.
Who is driving these sermons? In the case of non-believers, the sermons are not simply driven by their own opinions. The whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). They are of the domain of darkness, held captive by him to do his will (Col 1:13; 2 Tim 2:26). They willfully follow the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). Therefore, the preaching of the world will be a conduit for the lies of the enemy for the purpose of leading the minds of believers astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:3).
In Colossians 2:8, Paul warns specifically about the elemental spirits of the world. The apostle is referring to demonic spirits behind human traditions and philosophies. What the world peddles as common sense, pragmatic solutions, and public opinion in many cases could more aptly be characterized as doctrines of demons (1 Tim 4:1).
What’s the solution? How do we inoculate ourselves against the danger of the dark preaching flowing into our ears all the time? The preceding verses hold the key: Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Col. 2:6-7).
The key is to walk in Christ, and Paul gives three ways of doing that. First, we must be rooted and built up in Him. This is Paul’s answer to the John 15 “abiding in Christ.” We must live in constant fellowship with Jesus, engaging with Him daily, seeking our spiritual sustenance from Him and enjoying Him. Enjoying Jesus is such a powerful remedy against the alluring lies of the world. When we are rooted and built up in Him, we know how empty are the bogus pleasures offered by the world compared to His fullness.
Second, we must be established in the faith. This simply means to be constant students of the word, the faith once for all delivered to the saints. “Established” speaks of more than just knowing doctrine, though. It entails allowing the Scriptures to mold our thinking and how we view the world, which entails voluminous reading and studying of the Scriptures. We must allow the truth to be the glasses through which we view the world. With a firm grasp of the Scriptures, we will have a much easier time spotting the traps of the enemy.
Third, we must abound in thanksgiving. To abound in thanksgiving requires one to keep an eye on what he’s been given. As believers, it requires us to keep our eyes on the inheritance that is ours in Christ through His death and resurrection (1 Peter 1:3-5), as well as the giver of those gifts (Heb 12:1-2).
The frightful truth is that we have a malevolent foe who is preaching to us all the time and we rarely realize it. He uses everyday conversations and social media and movies and books to dress his lies up to look very much like truths we already believe. He does this to slowly chip away at our interest in and affection for Jesus and replace them with illicit worship. And since we don’t consider that this is happening, we don’t defend against it the way Paul has commanded.
The moment we stop thinking of the Christian life as a war is the moment we stop thinking biblically and become low-hanging fruit for the enemy (2 Cor 10:4; Eph 6:10-18; 1 Pet 5:8). We’re listening to preaching all the time. Are we being captured by it?
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