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This section is part of verses 16- 23 which some theologians called the Colossian heresies. Verse 16 and 17 is about legalism which is the pursuit of spirituality based on human achievement. Verse 18- 19 is about mysticism, which is the pursuit of spirituality through a deeper and higher religious experience. And verses 20 to 23 is about aicism which is the pursuit of spirituality through a life of selfdenial. But whatever we may call them, the problem with all of them is that they are vain human attempts to achieve spirituality, be saved and connected with Christ apart from God's grace and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That was why the apostle Paul said to the Colossians in verse 16, "Let no man therefore judge you."
The Danger Of Spiritual Deception
Colossians 2:18-19
This section is part of verses 16–23, which some theologians called the Colossian heresies. Verse 16 and 17 is about legalism, which is the pursuit of spirituality based on human achievement. Verse 18–19 is about mysticism, which is the pursuit of spirituality through a deeper and higher religious experience. And verses 20 to 23 is about asceticism, which is the pursuit of spirituality through a life of self-denial.
But whatever we may call them, the problem with all of them is that they are vain human attempts to achieve spirituality, be saved, and connected with Christ apart from God's grace and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That was why the Apostle Paul said to the Colossians in verse 16, “Let no man therefore judge you” (Colossians 2:16). And here he said, “Let no man beguile you”. In other words, these are but heresies. There is no way you can achieve spirituality, be saved, and be united with Christ apart from God’s grace and true faith in His only begotten Son.
The title of our message is “The Danger of Spiritual Deception”.
I. False Humility
Firstly, we want to learn about the danger of false humility. Paul began by saying in verse 18, “Let no man beguile you of your reward” (Colossians 2:18). To beguile is to deceive or defraud, which means ‘do not let anyone take away your reward or prize in Christ Jesus by deceit or fraud’. The idea is that the heretics in Colossae set themselves as spiritual referees or umpires to disqualify anyone for not abiding by their man-made rules. And one of their man-made rules was involuntary humility.
We understand the meaning of humility, and this word is always used in the positive sense. It is good to be humble, which is a spiritual fruit. But the original Greek word for voluntary means to love or to take delight in. And when this word is placed before the word humility, it means to love humility. Immediately it has a negative connotation. It becomes a false humility.
False humility is when we want others to think of us as humble. A classic example would be the scribes and Pharisees in the New Testament who took pride in their humility.
Remember Jesus warned His disciples, in Matthew chapter 6, ‘When you give, do not sound a trumpet like the hypocrites do. When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to be seen by men. And when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites who are always putting on a show‘ (Matthew 6:1–18).
Oftentimes the Pharisees would fast twice a week, especially on the second and fifth days of the week. Those days were also the major Jewish market days, whereby the cities and towns were crowded with farmers, merchants, and shoppers.
So they fasted during those two days because they would be able to get the largest audience. They put on a sad countenance or gloomy face. They disfigured their faces in that they purposely neglected their appearances. They wore old clothes, sometimes dirty clothes, and covered themselves with dirt and ashes.
Why? So they might appear unto men to be fasting. They wanted to earn the praises of men. They wanted the people to see and know that they were fasting so they would be able to appear to be humble, holy, spiritual, and righteous. Jesus said they were hypocrites.
Have you ever heard this saying that in humility there is pride? There is pride because when we tell people bad things about ourselves, that we are not good, we are not serving well, not wise, not spiritual, not mature, what we really want to hear the people say is, “Oh, I don’t think you are like that. I think you are wise. You are intelligent. You are spiritual. You are mature,” and so forth.
And then in our hearts we say, “That’s good. That helps. Keep it up. I would like you to talk me out of it.”
When the person agrees with us and says, “Yes, I guess you are right. You are not very intelligent,” we are offended. That is a false humility.
There was once a story about a man who thought of himself to be quite spiritual. One day he was talking to a more mature friend, and he asked his friend to pray for him that he might be humble. He said to his friend, “Please pray for me that I may be nothing.”
His friend replied with much wisdom, “Don’t worry about that. You are nothing, my friend. Just take it by faith.”
He was offended because his false humility was exposed.
False humility is when we want God to think of us as humble, and through our humility He will accept us. That is the reason why some people willingly subject themselves to self-denial, self-torture, self-deprivation, and allow themselves to be afflicted with all kinds of abuses and injuries, thinking that by their great humility they will be accepted by God.
In a cathedral in Rome, there is a staircase leading up to the church. It has 28 wide marble steps. The Roman Catholics believe that when a person climbs those steps on his knees in humility, he will receive forgiveness of sins and redeem a soul from purgatory.
When Martin Luther was still a Catholic monk, he climbed those steps and he repeated the Lord’s Prayer on each step. But at the top of the steps, there was this lingering doubt in his heart. Who knows whether this is true or not? Obviously, later on God revealed to him that it was false.
We wish that there are no such people in our churches today, but the sad reality is that there are many who have this false humility like the heretics and false teachers in Colossae. False humility not only is a vain attempt to deceive others and God, so it will achieve nothing, but it is also an oxymoron because the person deceives himself into thinking he is somebody, but actually he is not.
II. False Worship
Look at the second part of verse 18: “And worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (Colossians 2:18).
The heretics or false teachers had a far more serious problem than just false humility, and that was the worshipping of angels. The worship of angels is a clear violation of the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
It is good for us to consider Exodus 20:1–3 to have a better understanding of the seriousness of this commandment. “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:1–3).
The Israelites had just come out of Egypt. Egypt was one of the most polytheistic cultures in the ancient world. Polytheism is the worship of many gods. The Egyptians worshipped the gods of the sun, moon, stars, animals, lands, rivers, light, darkness, and so forth. Most certainly, having lived for about 400 years in Egypt, the Israelites were also influenced to worship strange gods. So it was very important for God to begin with the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods.” (Exodus 20:3)
“What gives God the right to make such a demand?” Some people may ask. Well, He is the only living and true God. All other gods are false.
Notice how this first commandment was introduced: “I am the LORD thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). In other words, this commandment was based on who He was and what He had done. God had saved the Israelites for His glory. He had delivered them from slavery. He had demonstrated His power through the templates, the opening of the Red Sea, the manna that came down from heaven, the water from the rock, that He was the only true God, the One who had defeated all the false gods of Egypt. Therefore, He had every right to claim all their worship and praises because of who He was and what He had done.
We all know that it is important to learn to share, right? So we teach our children, “you must share your things with others”. But it is also important for us to realise that some things are not meant to be shared. For example, we will not share confidential information, or the answers to the examination, or the love between the husband and wife. These things are not meant to be shared with someone else. They have to be kept exclusive. How much more there are things which God would never share. He would not share His glory with any other gods.
In a sense, God was saying, ‘I am the one and only God. And since I am the only God, I refuse to share my worship with anyone or anything else. It is exclusive. It is only for me. I cannot tolerate any rival. All other gods are forced.’
Dear friend, like the Israelites of old, God has delivered us from the penalty and slavery of sins. He has saved us for His glory, and it is through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ who died and shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary to wash away all our sins. He has saved us, and He has demonstrated His power to transform our lives. He has revealed to us through the different situations, circumstances, and events of life that He is the only true God. And so He has every right to claim our worship and praises. So we worship and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. And we must never share our worship of Him with anyone or anything else, not the angels.
It is worthy to note how this command was phrased or worded. “Before me” does not mean we can have other gods, but we just need to put God first and then followed by other gods. Here “before me” means in my presence. God is all present. So we are forbidden to worship other gods, and we can never hide from Him. And since God is all knowing, whenever you and I worship other gods anywhere or anytime, we are doing it in His presence and with His knowledge. He knows.
The worship of angels is not only a blatant violation and blasphemy, but it is totally unnecessary and ridiculous because even the angels themselves worship God. Isaiah the prophet said, ‘I saw two seraphim standing above the throne of God. Each had six wings, two to cover their eyes because the glory of God was too brilliant for them to behold. Two wings to cover their feet because of their reverence and humility before God, and two wings for them to fly around His throne. One of the seraphim was crying out, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory’ ’ (Isaiah 6).
The angels themselves refuse to be worshiped, that is the irony. Yet people would worship angels. In Revelation 19:10, the Apostle John was amazed with the visions he had just seen. So much so that he fell down at his feet to worship the angel. And the angel rebuked him, saying, “See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).
Later on, John tried to worship the angel again. And again, he was rebuked. And this time around, the angel said, “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God” (Revelation 22:9).
In other words, you do not need extra biblical revelations through angels or visions because you already have this book, the Bible. All that you needed to know can be found in this book.
That was precisely the problem with the heretics and false teachers in Collosae. They were intruding into those things they have not seen, vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds. They claimed to have seen angels and received visions which they did not. And by those claims their worldly minds were inflated with pride. They became so proud.
Today, charismatic pastors have made many such claims about angels visiting them and revealing to them extra biblical revelations. They will say things like, “An angel visited me yesterday, and this is what he wants me to say to you,” or “I saw a vision and this is what I'm called to reveal to you.” When gullible people hear such things, they will be thrilled, amazed, if not frightened. They will feel obligated to hear and believe. And those charismatic pastors would be proud to say whatever they want to say with great authority. But that authority is a great deception.
Dear friend, when we hear things like that, what should we do? When someone comes to you and says, “Well, an angel has visited me, and I'm told to tell you that this is the person you should marry,” or “I received a vision and I'm here to tell you this is the job you are supposed to take. You are to do this, you are to do that.”
We should rather say, well, “God did not reveal those things to me. If He wants to, He will reveal to me through His Bible, the word of God, and through the wonderworking of His Spirit. But He did not reveal those things to me.”
Paul now went on to speak about those heretics and false teachers, who they really were. Look at verse 19: “And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God” (Colossians 2:19). Instead of taking possession, holding fast onto the Head who was the Lord Jesus Christ, they went beyond Him. They went the opposite direction, and they were not connected to Him. In reality, they were unbelievers.
So using the analogy of the body, Paul explained how the body was connected by joints and bands or ligaments, all attached to the Head, which dictates, directs, and decides what the body should eat or drink and how it should be nourished and grow.
In a similar fashion, Christians, you and I, the body of believers, are all connected to Christ our Head, from whom we receive instructions, directions, and spiritual nourishment which will help us to grow and continue to grow spiritually. That is what it means, “increaseth with the increase of God.”
This is in line with the teachings of our Lord Jesus in John 15:1-8. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to this passage. John 15:1-8., verse 1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” Or the vine dresser. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
Here Jesus was not saying that some branches that are attached to Him may not produce fruit, but rather He was emphasising the impossibility. Every branch that is attached to the vine will bear fruit. And the Father will purge the branch like the way the farmers will cultivate and prune their trees to produce more fruit. Sometimes in this process of cultivating and pruning, they have to cut certain parts of the tree, which can be painful. And this can come in the form of trials, troubles, and afflictions which God allows into our lives. Not to destroy us, not to put us down, but to cause us to be more fruitful.
Verse three: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). This is about justification. They were justified and saved through the word of God. But the Christian life does not stop at justification. It continues through sanctification. And the only way for sanctification to happen is to continuously abide in Christ and His word.
Therefore, verse four says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). It is impossible for the branch to survive, let alone produce fruits, even if it is just one millimetre away from the vine. Likewise, the Christian will not be able to grow spiritually if he or she is detached from Christ.
Take a moment and consider our lives. We are not perfect, right? Most certainly we are not obedient all the time. Sometimes we are close to Christ, and other times we drift away from Him.
When we are growing spiritually, when we are serving God effectively and efficiently, when we are flourishing in our gospel work, is it not because we are closely connected with Christ? And when we are not growing spiritually, when we are murmuring and complaining, when we are bitter, full of jealousy and envy and hatred, is it not because we find ourselves drifting away from Him and His word? That tells us how much we need to abide in Him.
Verse five: “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” Who are the “ye”? The believers. “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Every believer will produce fruits. The question is how much? Some will produce an hundredfold, others sixtyfold, yet others thirtyfold. The more we abide in Christ and His word, the more fruits we will produce.
Verse six: “If a man abide not in me,” this is about justification. He who is not justified or saved, what will happen to him? “He is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6).
Verse seven: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you.” Again, Jesus now switched to sanctification. In other words, if you are closely connected with me and obey my word, then “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). This is not a blank cheque. If we are closely connected with Christ and His word, we will understand and know what to ask for in accordance with His will, not outside of His will, and we shall receive those things.
Finally, verse eight: “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). God has saved us for His glory. And the only way to glorify Him is by our sanctified lives, by producing much fruits. By our fruits, we will show evidence that we are the true disciples of Christ, not by just what we profess in our mouths.
Jesus Himself said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord… then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22–23). But by our fruits it will show evidence that we are true believers.
Dear friend, there is always the temptation to move from believing, trusting, and abiding in Christ to believing, trusting, and abiding in our experiences. Today people tend to gravitate toward their feelings. That is why worship is about how they feel. If they like electric guitars, drums, and contemporary music, rock songs, then bring them into the worship, and make it lively. Worship is about me and how I feel.
Services are about what they think and perceive as right. If they like things to be done in a certain way, even if it contradicts biblical principles, never mind. Who cares? It should be done my way.
Spirituality is about the extra biblical revelation that they receive through visions and dreams. That is why the charismatic movement is so popular today, because it caters to all these human senses and experiences.
From trusting and believing in Christ alone, they have moved to believing and trusting in how they feel. As believers, we must not succumb to this temptation. Like the Colossians, Paul said, ‘Do not let anyone deceive you.’
True spirituality, true faith, and true salvation is not attained through false humility. It may make you feel good thinking that you are humble. It cannot save you nor make you spiritual.
The worship of angels, it may make you feel special through your vain pursuit for visions and dreams. But yet again, it is vanity. The truth is that they are great deceptions.
True spirituality, true faith, and true salvation is only attained through one person, and one person only, and that is Jesus Christ alone. Abide in Him and His word, and you will grow from strength to strength. That is the only way.
As the hymn says, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
I pray that all of us will only look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He who has saved us at our conversion will continue to save us in our sanctification, that we produce much fruits all the way until our glorification. And then we hear our Lord say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, indeed, as we consider this portion of Scriptures in our study through the book of Colossians, Thou hast taught us the danger of spiritual deception. Just as there were heretics and false teachers at the time of the Apostle Paul and in the city of Colossae, today we have many more such heretics and false teachers in our midst.
We are living in a world whereby people would want us to draw away from Christ and onto the things of this world, to move from believing and trusting in Him alone to believing and trusting in our experiences and feelings. And this is very prevailing even in many churches. And we pray that we will not succumb to this temptation.
Worship is not about us. Singing hymns of praise is not about us. The giving of tithes and offerings is not about us. It is all about Thee, that the glory will go to Thee, because Thou hast saved us for Thy glory. And we who are saved ought to live our lives to glorify Thee through our sanctified lives by producing much fruits.
So teach us that we will not fall into the danger of this spiritual deception, the danger of false humility and of the worship of angels, or even visions and dreams which the world would pursue after.
All this we give Thee thanks and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.