Fighting Heresy
Notes
Transcript
What is truth? Everyone is wondering the same thing. What is truth? We live in an era where people no longer believe in truth that is absolute, rather we are in the post-post-modern era where the mantra is, “something is true if it is true to you.” You may hear people say, that might be your truth, but that is not my truth.” So we see that everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes and making up a truth according to themselves.
This places people as the authority of everything and essentially makes them God. We live in a time where things are upside down and in these last days we see Isaiah 5:20 lived before our eyes.
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
All around us there is confusion and chaos. Yet, this is the same kind of setting that the letter to the Colossians was written in.
What is truth?
Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.
-Blaise Pascal
It is this idea of false teaching being so established that we want to deal with today. The Apostle Paul wrote Colossians to point out false teaching and remind the believers about the remedy to deception, who is the Truth with a capital T, Jesus Christ.
What is truth? Truth is a person, and His name is Jesus Christ.
There has been no era of time that is free of lies. The false teaching and heresy that was creeping into the Colossian church is pressing upon God’s people now. In fact, many of the same heresies we see in the early church are still around today. Some lies are nearly timeless, for the evil one, Satan, who is the father of lies, continues to repackage the same rubbish.
There is nothing new under the sun, it is just new to us, or new to an era. We must be able to answer the question “What is Truth?”
And when we can answer that question we can join the ranks in.
Fighting Heresy
So today we want to get geared up for the first installment of a two-part mini-series, called fighting heresy.
It is my hope that we gather all we need to push back against false teaching, where we are able to stand our ground and stand upon the truth. May we all echo the words of the great theologian and philosopher Augustine who said.
Where I found truth, there found I my God, who is the truth itself.
Augustine
May we all find truth as we unite together in Fighting Heresy.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Pray with me!
Today we will be fighting heresy with absolutes. But before we begin this battle let’s reestablish a foundation and ensure we can answer the question.
What is heresy?
heresy is something that is outside of the truth. You would be labeled a heretic if you believed something that was untrue doctrinally. For example, if someone believed that Jesus was just a man they would be a heretic. If someone believed that Jesus was only God, denying His humanity they would be a heretic.
There is one truth and it is absolute. Anything outside of the truth is heresy. Yet, not all heresy is the same. There is some that takes people completely out of the faith, like false positions about Christ. However, there is some heresy, like believing that Christians should not suffer in this world, that is wrong, but does not take you out of true faith. Believers are called to suffer and endure, and any teaching that suggests you will live the best life now without suffering is heresy.
Today we want to zero in on false teaching and get heresy in our cross hairs so we can fight heresy head on, with absolutes.
Just as Jesus is the absolute truth, which is the remedy to the lies, we will see there are some absolutes that are rooted in the truth of Christ.
Absolute Sufficiency (v9-10)
Absolute Salvation (v11-12)
Absolute Forgiveness (v13-14)
Absolute Triumph (v15)
Let us learn to fight heresy together with absolutes.
First the Absolute Sufficiency of Christ.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
What is truth? This is truth. Christ is sufficient for everything. He is all we need.
There were so many ideas and philosophies pressing in upon the Christians in Colossae. Whether the acceptance of angel worship of the mystics, the superior special knowledge of the gnostics, or the sweeping belief that Jesus was not God, all of these created a recipe for disaster for the church there. However, Paul fights back the best way possible and gets right to the power behind true faith, the Truth Jesus Christ who is Absolutely Sufficient because He is absolutely God.
Paul circles back around with a few ideas that have already been discussed and he puts them together in a presentation of the gospel. He reaffirms the Supremacy of Christ while fighting heresy.
Here Paul reflects back to the Christ Hymn from Colossians 1:19 and comes full circle to a critical idea for this letter. Jesus Christ is God. Paul wants to put all the pieces together.
In Christ is the completeness of God, for He is God.
We find Paul beginning his attack. The false teachers believed that Christ could not be both man and God. In verse 9 Paul rightly asserts that Christ is fully God and fully man. This is significant as there are two points here.
1. Christ is not another deity along with God, rather the fullness of God is in Christ further establishing His absolute sufficiency.
2. Christ is not less than God. He is not a created angelic being. Rather He is God, and in Him is everything we need for salvation and holy living [1].
This is how you fight heresy. By knowing who Christ is, and who you are in Christ, you fight the two common attacks of false teaching. Know the truth. False teachers will attack the person of Jesus Christ and the believers identity [2]. However, we must know that He is absolutely sufficient.
Verse 10 says, “And you have been filled in Him.” You are filled completely with Christ who is the fulness of God.” You are complete in the completeness of God. In Christ we can say, “He completes me.” We are made full in the one who is all fullness. This is absolute sufficiency that projects the supremacy of Christ.
Last week Paul gave the warning, Do not be deceived. Do not fall to false teaching. Here he follows up the warning with an absolute truth.
Since Christ is in you and fills you, you have absolutely no excuse for being deceived. Why?
The rest of the verse tells us of Christ, “who is the head of all rule and authority.” Let’s say this another way. He is the Chiefest Chief, the Kingliest King, the Lord of Lords. The All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Sufficient, Ruler of the Universe that He planned, designed, created, and sustains with His word. Our God is an awesome God. Amen!
He is absolutely sufficient. And in His sufficiency He provides...
Absolute Salvation
Like our passage last week was full of metaphors, this passage too, also has some powerful imagery surrounding two familiar rituals, circumcision and baptism.
11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
The surgery of Circumcision was a symbol of the Mosaic covenant. Those who promised themselves to God, fulfilled their end of their contractual agreement by the act of circumcision. Every male baby would be rendered before God and circumcised on the 8th day in dedication to God. This was a physical reminder of the covenant with the promise-keeping God.
This act “symbolized “cutting off” the old life of sin, purifying one’s heart, and dedicating oneself to God” [3].
Although Paul is referencing the original ritual of circumcision, he is talking about a different kind of circumcision; the circumcision of the heart. This is the one “made without hands,” for it is made at conversion. Paul uses the metaphor here to talk about absolute salvation.
Scholars tell us that, “The Colossian believers had become God’s children. The sign of their new life was not a cutting of the flesh, but a “cutting off” of the sinful nature. Their commitment to God had been written on their hearts, not on their bodies. Only Christ could perform this circumcision, for only by accepting Him as Savior can people be saved” [4].
This is the result of the gospel. This is what happens. Like a prisoner released, Christ sets people free from their evil desires by a spiritual operation, the operation of the heart. He removes the old nature and gives a new one. This new nature arrives the moment a person trusts in Christ and becomes a new creation, with a new life. This is absolute salvation.
What is truth? This is truth. Christ provides our absolute salvation, and there is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12).
Paul goes on to provide another metaphor to fight heresy and further prove absolute salvation.
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
The symbol of baptism is so significant and I’m grateful that God chose to use this metaphor in this passage. We recognize believers baptism as an outward expression of an inward reality. That reality is salvation in Jesus Christ. Believers receive a new heart at salvation, and that operation of God is invisible.
However, the results are radical. The person is made new and the new man will now have a desire for the things of God. The new person will crave Christ, and long for holiness. The new person will look to express their new identity in Christ any way they can.
One way we are commanded to express our new identity in Christ is through baptism. As part of the great commission to “go and make disciples” we find out the way to make disciples is by teaching all the lord commands and baptizing people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We are commanded to be baptized. When we become followers of Christ, we become disciples of Him and learn all we can about Him. We are also commanded to be baptized into Him and the metaphor is so rich.
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
What baptism does is give the believer the opportunity to identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The believer dies to self and dies to sin at conversion, but at baptism that death is visualized as the believer enters the watery grave and identifies with the burial of Christ. As the believer goes into the waters of baptism the old way of life is buried and when the believer rises up out of the water, it is in newness of life identifying with the resurrected Christ. As He lives so do believers.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 is the bedrock verse for New Life Bible Church. This verse aligns with the idea of the new life that is given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul uses the metaphor of baptism to show absolute salvation. Those who have died to sin and are made alive in Christ, know fully the supremacy of Christ. They know the importance of baptism and identification with Christ and His church.
Baptism has always been a critical part of a believers life and we all look forward to celebrating our first baptisms together on July 4th. What better way to celebrate the independence of the United States, than by claiming full dependence upon Christ with baptism. If you have not responded obediently to the Lord’s command to be baptized, will you please talk to me so we can discern if you are ready for the next step of your walk with Christ.
Baptism is a critical step in a believer’s life with Christ.
The metaphor of baptism here is the power behind Paul’s attack to fighting heresy. He says you have absolute salvation with the circumcision of the heart. You have absolute salvation when you identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ outwardly expressing what has already happened in your life when you were rescued by Christ.
In fighting heresy Paul is petitioning again for the believers to know who they are. You have been given a new heart, you have been baptized into Christ. Don’t fall for the trap, don’t be deceived.
What is truth? This is truth. Christ provides absolute salvation. Knowing this protects you in fighting heresy.
This act which saved you is absolute, because it comes from God who is absolute and he offers...
Absolute Forgiveness
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
Don’t you remember who you were? Don’t you recall the state of your existence before Christ? You were most miserable, because you were absolutely dead in your trespasses. The reality of this death sentence is further explained by Paul in...
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Here we see another element of the gospel presented, the effect of sin. First Paul talked about the absolute sufficiency of Christ. His glory and holiness are unmatched and radiate through eternity. And it is based upon who He is that we can be saved and receive absolute salvation. However that only happens when people recognize that they need absolute forgiveness of sin.
What makes the gospel so amazing is that it brings dead men to life. Here Paul says, don’t you remember who you were. You were dead in sin. Scholars tell us, “To be spiritually dead means to be devoid of any sense, unable to respond to spiritual stimuli, just as to be physically dead means to be unable to respond to physical stimuli. It is to be so locked in sin’s grasp that one is unable to respond to God” [5].
That was you. That was me. That is every person before the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ burst through like a ray of brilliant light and brings us to new life in Christ.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
At salvation we are brought to life and joined with Christ, where we are made alive together with him. And in Him there is the sweetest pardon. He forgives us all our trespasses. Every single offense. Every lie, every evil thought, every time you looked at things you shouldn’t have, every time you visited a website you know you should have stayed away from, every time you put your career or your status over your family. Every single one of those offenses, all of that is forgiven when we repent.
This is such a beautiful phrase “forgiven us all our trespasses.” There is inclusivity here is the word “our.” The whole world wants to talk about inclusion and the reality is this, we are all included in the title sinner, but only those saved by grace in Jesus Christ are included in absolute forgiveness.
Forgiveness is such a powerful reality for the Christian and that’s why Paul mentions it here to fight heresy. How could you ever go to false teaching when you have been given absolute forgiveness.
The cheating. Forgiven in Jesus Christ.
The stealing. Forgiven in Jesus Christ.
The evil words. Forgiven in Jesus Christ.
The lack of compassion. Forgiven in Jesus Christ.
The selfish desire. Forgiven in Jesus Christ.
And any other flavor of sin, you can just fill in the blank, for it is forgiven in Jesus Christ.
Absolute forgiveness makes the gospel an absolute treasure.
And just in case you were not sure just how final absolute forgiveness is. Paul gives us another word picture.
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
All that sin debt you have accrued, all that wickedness, all the consequence. Every single bit of it is nailed to the cross. This secures and completes our absolute salvation.
What is truth? This is truth. Christ provides our absolute salvation!
The words to the Hymn Nailed to the Cross tell this truth so well.
There was One Who was willing to die in my stead,
That a soul so unworthy might live;
And the path to the cross He was willing to tread,
All the sins of my life to forgive.
Refrain:
They are nailed to the cross! They are nailed to the cross!
Oh, how much He was willing to bear!
With what anguish and loss Jesus went to the cross,
But He carried my sins with Him there.
He is tender and loving and patient with me,
While He cleanses my heart of the dross;
But “there’s no condemnation”—I know I am free,
For my sins are all nailed to the cross.
I will cling to my Savior and never depart,
I will joyfully journey each day,
With a song on my lips and a song in my heart,
That my sins have been taken away.
They are nailed to the cross! They are nailed to the cross!
May this be the song of our hearts. May we also join in chorus to say. Our debt is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood our Jesus spilled…
This is such an amazing absolute truth that so many songs are written about it. Knowing that our massive debt of sin is absolutely paid was the motivation for the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn And Can It Be.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray
I woke; the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
Wesley wrote these words on the night he became a follower of Christ, the night his sins were nailed to the cross.
Isn’t that exactly what you experience in absolute forgiveness. Our chains fell off and we experienced freedom in Christ. So what do we do? We get up, get going, and follow Christ.
We begin to live our new life in Christ in a magnificent way.
Our final point is we live in...
Absolute Triumph
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
This verse of our passage literally puts the victory crown on Christ and on us who believe. When we are in Christ, we too are victorious over sin and death, because it is His victory in us and that victory is triumphant.
The imagery is this. Since Christ overcame all and defeated every kind of evil that was thrown at him by Satan and his powers, we too have the power to overcome every heresy and false teaching because we are in Christ. His victory is our victory and those who are truly His will not fall to heresy, rather they will fight heresy.
Paul brings to life the triumphant victory of Christ and reminds Christians that Jesus “put them to an open shame.” The demons, the fallen angels and Satan where all conquered when Jesus overcame death. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ literally strips Satan of his powers.
Like a general returning from war who parades his captives through the streets, Jesus receives the victory crown as a great conqueror. We too should conquer false doctrine and fight heresy because in Christ there is absolute triumph.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
We are more than conquerors. “On the cross, Jesus won a decisive victory, making clear to the universe that Satan is a vanquished foe. This does not mean that we will not have conflict. The devil has been defeated, but he has not yet conceded defeat. He has been overthrown, but he has not yet been fully eliminated. Satan continues to harass us. When we understand our identity in Christ, we can live above Satan’s control” [6].
We can live above Satan’s control because of Christ’s absolute triumph. The crown of thorns was exchanged for the King’s Eternal Crown. We can overcome false doctrine and heresy because the greatest victor is our God and King.
He is triumphant, He is victorious and we are more than conquerors with Him.
We can fight heresy by knowing that Christ is absolutely sufficient.
We can overcome false teaching by understanding our absolute salvation.
We can endure because we know without any doubt that we are absolutely forgiven.
And we can overcome, for He is the greatest overcomer, who is our triumphant King.
This is how you fight heresy. You might be thinking this is great for the Colossians, but we aren’t in the middle of a heresy war. I’m here to tell you that make sure you know what you stand for or you will fall for anything. In other words, the warning to the Colossians is just as relevant for us today.
The mystics are still around, there is a new wave of gnosticism, legalism is wrapped up in many religions, and the self-righteous find themselves drawn to it. In addition to all that, the same heresy found in our letter here that Paul tried to stop, and the council of Nicea tried to stop in the year 325, is the fundamental heresy of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Despite the warnings this kind of deception is picked up by many. Hence the strong language from Paul Don’t be deceived, know your God and fight the heresy.
PRACTICAL WAYS TO FIGHT HERESY
Know the Bible
The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to us. Since God is truth and His word is truth, shouldn’t we desire to know Him through His Word? This is such a simple idea, yet many people won’t put in the effort to Know the Bible. In fact, we are in an era now, where people, even those in the church are biblically illiterate. People simply don’t know the Word of God.
Al Mohler, says that biblical illiteracy is the scandal of our age.
Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli warn, "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates."
We must know the Bible. We must read it, engage with it, mark it up and treasure it. How can we fight heresy if we don’t know the Word of God. Scripture says of itself that it is a sword. It is a weapon for offensive attack and defensive posture. When we know the Bible we can fight against heresy and defend ourselves from false teaching.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Pick up your sword like a good soldier and join the fight. Know your Bible, because the enemy surly does. Which leads us to the next practical way to fight heresy.
Memorize Scripture
This discipline is critically important and seriously overlooked. Yes, we will gladly sign our children and grandchildren up for Awana’s to memorize verses, but as adults we don’t put much effort into the practice.
I confess this is one area I’ve felt a strong conviction recently. I’ve personally committed to memorizing Romans chapter one to start. Yes, we can all agree that memorizing Scripture is important, but will we do it. Will we do anything about it. Think of it this way. What if someone presents heresy to you, would you have enough Scripture stored up in your heart to defend yourself?
When Jesus was in the wilderness and tempted by Satan, the devil tried to convince Jesus of heresy. Each time Satan presented a proposition that was untrue. Satan attempted to deceive Jesus, however, each time Jesus responded to the deception with Scripture. This pattern established by Jesus is a practical way to fight heresy.
Will you commit to memorizing Scripture? Imagine if all of us were willing to memorize one verse a week. We would be filled with Scripture and I know that our church would be stronger as we memorize Scripture together. Will you take up the challenge for one verse a week? In our weekly emails going forward there will be a verse of the week to memorize. Le’ts memorize together.
Spend More Time in Prayer
Can you add more prayer to your life? I’d say you can’t afford not to. I am challenged by the great Reformer Martin Luther who said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” This seems so illogical to our way of thinking. We try to fit in a minute of prayer here, or throw up a prayer of desperation at the last second, but what if we really were people of prayer?
What if we committed to the first 15 minutes or longer of our day to nothing but prayer. So many people are falling to heresy because they are not spending enough time in prayer. I’m encouraged by theologians who have identified that every great movement of the Spirit of God was accompanied by great prayer from the people. There is still hope for another revival, however it will likely only happen when His people seek Him earnestly with prayer. Will you seek Him? Will you pursue Him with more prayer? Be prepared to fight heresy with a vibrant prayer life.
Commit to Fellowship
There are many people who think that fellowship is just the Christian term for hanging out. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Fellowship allows brothers and sisters to get to know each other past a superficial understanding. This means talking about theology and doctrine. It’s great to challenge one another and let iron sharpen iron through fellowship. It is also a great tool to keep one’s beliefs from falling to heresy.
In fellowship we can be accountable to one another and live our the one another commands. Let us encourage one another and be built up in Christ together.
Engage in Discipleship
Discipleship is helping someone become more like Jesus. This means helping them to learn to have a deeper relationship with Christ, which is built upon the truth of Scripture. Essentially, discipleship is teaching someone to trust and obey Jesus.
However, discipleship is really an offensive and defensive means to fight heresy. That’s because within the discipleship relationship there are two roles. The first role is that of the disciple-maker or the teacher and the other role is that of the disciple or student. Discipleship helps to fight heresy in two ways.
First, the student is shaped by the disciple maker to have a greater understanding of Christ. This means there will be many opportunities to talk about truth and steer toward truth along the discipleship journey. Secondly, as the disciple-maker is teaching the disciple, their own beliefs are solidified. The reason for this is that there is a universal law with teaching which says, the person who teaches learns the most.
When people are engaged in discipleship they are constantly submitting to the truth of Scripture and the personhood of Jesus Christ. Simply put, discipleship is critical in fighting heresy.
What is truth? This is truth!
When we know our Bibles we will have all the truth we need to fight heresy. When we memorize Scripture we will have weapons to fight heresy. When we commit to prayer we have a direct connection with the all-powerful God who will give us everything we need to fight heresy. When we practice fellowship we will have brothers and sisters to fight the good fight with. When we engage in discipleship we will all be growing stronger as soldiers for Christ to identify, fight and overcome heresy.
What is truth? This is Truth.
The absolute sufficiency of Christ provides all we could ever need.
His righteousness and unfailing love have secure absolute salvation.
His unending mercy and amazing grace have delivered absolute forgiveness.
His victory is our victory and we live in absolute triumph.
We fight heresy by knowing the truth.
What is truth? Jesus Christ is the truth! Trust and Obey Him and you will continue Fighting Heresy.
Pray with Me!
[1] Bruce B. Barton and Philip Wesley Comfort, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995), 189.
[2] Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 305.
[3] Bruce B. Barton and Philip Wesley Comfort, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995), 191.
[4] Ibid.
[5] John F. MacArthur Jr., Colossians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), 109.
[6] Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 308.