Study the Word

Guest (Male): Pastor Tom Keller encouraging us to live out our faith.

Thom Keller: So, the question for us is, do you walk the talk? Do I walk the talk? Do we walk out our faith? Do we live out our faith? Are you the same person here in a Sunday as you are at the workplace on Monday? Are you the same person here on a Sunday as you are in school or in college on Monday? How do you live out your faith? Do you know that this is how you prove to God that you love him by walking it out?

Guest (Male): There are many voices competing for our attention today. Some are more persuasive than others, and tragically many of those voices are false. So, we must be on our guard. And today's study of the word will help us do just that. We're about to continue in our series from Colossians. You're now to bring Colossians chapter 2 into focus, Pastor Tom Keller.

Thom Keller: Our father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He said this to his son. He said, a man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city. But his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. His son asked, but Dad, what happened to the flee? Take your wife and flee out of the city. Okay. It reminds me of a better story of a Sunday school teacher who asked her class if anyone knows the name that the Bible uses for God. One little boy raised his hand and said his name is Harold.

Harold, the teacher said, where did you get that? He said, I heard it in a prayer. Our father who art in heaven, Harold be thy name. Well, today's teaching is going to look at some tools to help share Christ with others and some very practical tools to keep us seeing things as we should see them correctly. So, we're going to start with Colossians 2:2. We did these verses last week, but just for context. Beautiful words. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.

In him, in Christ lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. From that then we pick up in verse 4 this morning. I am telling you this so that no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong. He says, though I am far away from you, he was Paul was in a Roman prison about 950 miles as the crow flies. That's about Philadelphia to Orlando. That's quite a distance, especially by foot or sea.

And he says, I want no one to deceive you. King James is the word beguile. I want no one to beguile you. In Greek, the word for beguile is and it means to think wrong, to deceive by false reasoning, to delude, to circumvent, to go around the back. So, who are these false teachers? Well, they're to believe to be either Judaizers who demanded the Gentiles, first who are non-Jews, that non-Jews to become Christians, they said you first had to become a Jew, be circumcised, keep all the Jewish law, then you can become a Christian, and then you continue to keep the Jewish law.

Uh Paul's constant nemesis. Or the second possibility, are Gnostic philosophers. Now, we covered this the last two weeks, but Gnostics claimed to possess a higher truth and have access to mysteries that were beyond what the Bible revealed. Mysteries, they said, that were accessible only to those who were intelligent enough to grasp these mysteries. Now, I wish we could go into this every time for the sake of those of you who are here for the first time. We just don't have the time to go into the details of the Gnostic heresy, but if you'd like to know more, you can go back to the teaching two weeks ago where we talked about that at length.

But this same beguiling is taking place in the church today. In fact, over the past 2,000 years, many have come as false shepherds and have come to deceive. And this beguiling is a vital part of Satan's strategy. Why? Well, stop and think about what Satan is up against. Here's God's message. God says, I love you and I want you to live with me in heaven forever when you die. And to get there, you don't need to pay any money or do any work or do any penance. All you have to do is believe. Believe in Christ for salvation and you will be saved.

That's what Satan has to strategize against, a very welcoming, loving message. And on top of that, Satan knows that God has placed a God consciousness and awareness of God in the heart of every single human being. Romans 1:19 says this. They know the truth. Humans, people know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. And beyond that, God has even placed thoughts about the afterlife in a man's heart as well. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, he has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. So, God has placed in understanding that he there is a God, and he has placed in understanding that we question what happens when we die.

We he put those thoughts in our mind. So, what does Satan do? Does he try to convince you that you don't want to walk on that pathway to God? Sometimes, but not most times. It's pointless. Something in us believes. Ask any child. They still know. They haven't been hardened yet. They still have that connection. Ask any child here in Sunday school, they love it. No, instead Satan floods us with this idea of many roads to heaven. Many roads. As an example, let's say that I offered the chance to win $1 million, no risk. Are you in?

Well, you say why first want to hear what's involved. Okay, that's fair. So, let's say behind these doors over here, there is a locked treasure chest filled with a million dollars in cash. And also behind those doors is a nutcracker just like this one. And the nutcracker has a key in its mouth. And here's what's involved. You stand there at the doors. I blow a whistle. You go through those doors. You get the key. You open the treasure chest and the money's yours. That simple. You have 2 minutes. You say there's a catch. The key doesn't fit the treasure chest.

No, it fits. You say the nutcracker's mouth is welded closed. I can't get the key out. No? No. It's pitch black inside and I can't find I'll stumble in darkness. No, it's lighted. There are lions, tigers and

Guest (Male): Bears.

Thom Keller: guarding the nutcracker. No, they're not in there. You say the nutcracker or the chest is a mile away and I can never get there within a minute. No, no, no, it's within easy within within walking distance. So, are you in? You say I think so. So, you stand at the doors. I look at my watch. I say ready, set, on your mark, go. And you walk inside and there is a treasure chest as promised with 100,000 nutcrackers surrounding it. Now, it's not so easy, is it? You have 2 minutes. And see that's exactly what Satan does.

He floods us with false and counterfeit religions to tie us up. He knows we want to believe, so he gives us a lot of different things to believe in, a lot of different choices. And these counterfeits are from Satan. We know that because of what verse 8 says, listen. So, don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ. So, and just in case if you're one who likes this many roads, many paths to God idea, and it's an attractive thought.

In fact, Americans love this idea. A LifeWay survey says that half of Americans believe that faith is not about discovering one standard objective truth, many paths. Well, would you allow me to challenge that thought that there are many paths? You many people picture the many different religions like this wagon wheel, one center hub being God and all of the spokes being valid expressions of God. Hinduism, Islam, different teachings of Vedas, the Koran, but all being valid expressions of the one true center God. Do you think many people hold to that concept? That's huge. It's huge.

Well, let's see how this holds up against just simple basic logic. You know, people will say to you, you're just a mindless, thoughtless Christian. You just you drank the lemonade. You haven't thought this through. It's just the opposite and I can prove it. Let's start with just one basic assumption and then test this with logic, just pure logic. One basic assumption that God cannot lie and he can't contradict himself. If you can agree with me that God can't lie and he can't contradict himself, then this analogy is going to work. So, this is what they see on the wagon wheel.

God is at the center. He is truth, can lie, can contradict himself. And yet he's telling this group, this is how you get to heaven. And then he turns to the next group and says, you know, I just told them that was a lie. This is how you get to heaven. And then he turns to the Hindus and says, you know, I just told the Christians that was a lie. This is how you don't really get to heaven. You're reincarnated. You come back as a bug. You work off your bad karma and eventually you hit Nirvana.

And then he says to the Muslims, you know, I just said to the Hindus and the Christians it's a lie. This is how you get to heaven. Now, if God can't lie and God can't contradict himself, if there are conflicts within those stories that are all supposedly coming from one true God, to the extent that there are contradictions in all of them, all you can say is this, logic. They're either all wrong or one is right. They're either all wrong or one is right. My logic won't let me say that the Christian view is right.

That's not what I'm after. That's not the point. I'm logic won't go that far. And logic doesn't allow me to say Christianity is the one true one. Logic doesn't go that far. But what logic does say is only one can be true or none are true. And so they say, well, then what do you do with Christianity? I say, look, what I did is I just knocked you off the many roads path. If heaven and hell hinges on finding the right path, then you better start your research cuz heaven and hell does hang on working that out, figuring that out.

And just one more proof against the many roads theory. Now, this analogy only applies if you believe that Christianity and Jesus dying on the cross represents one of the legitimate religions, but only one of several legitimate religions. If that's you, then consider this. If Christianity is true and yet at the same time you believe that there are other ways to God, other ways to heaven, then why in the world would God have allowed his beloved son Jesus to die on the cross when God could have simply said, listen, there are five or seven or 10 other ways to get to heaven.

My son doesn't need to die on the cross if I can just send you one of those other ways. Find one of those other ways. And Jesus made this very point in the garden when he asked this of his father in Matthew 26 verse 39. Jesus went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground praying. This is the night before he was crucified. My father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. He said, if it's possible for another way, there wasn't another way.

That's why he had to die because there was no other way. So, folks, look at these verses that we're looking at today. Colossians 2:4. I am telling you this so that no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. And verse 8, don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ. And you know, I believe this is the primary strategy uses today to keep more people on their pathway on the many pathways to hell than any other strategy.

And that's pluralism. This idea of many roads to God. In Paul's day, he battled with Judaizers and Gnostics. I think we deal primarily with the lie of pluralism today. And as you know, many mainline churches have fallen prey to this deception. There is some good news actually. There are some trends trending in the right direction. I like good news. 2020 Ligonier State of Theology Study revealed that the number of Americans ages 18 to 34 with evangelical beliefs rose significantly from 14% in 2016 to 18% in 2018. That's substantial. That's a 20% bump in 2 years.

Ligonier also noted a large increase in evangelical millennials affirming that salvation is found in Christ alone, up 62% from 53% in 2016. Again, that's a 20% bump in uh 4 years. Ligonier survey also found the millennials ages 18 to 34 have grown a bit more conservative on abortion as a sin. 57% agreed in 2018 versus only 50 in 2016. And on sex outside of marriage as a sin, 54% agreed in 2018 versus 47 in 2016. Now, although that trend is good, that still leaves almost 40% of those 18 to 34 year olds who identify themselves as evangelicals, over 1/3 of them believing that Jesus is not the only way.

How can that be? How can they come to that conclusion? You know why it is? It's because the church in many parts of the country holds a low view of Scripture. John 14:6 says this. Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. Listen, if you have a high view of Scripture, what do you do with this? I am the way, truth and life. No one comes to the Father except through me. No one. Sounds like a pretty narrow path. One path. A 2009 survey by Public Religion Research revealed that 71% of mainline denomination clergy clergy pastors disagree with the statement that the Bible is the inherent word of God both in matters of faith and historical, geographical and other secular matters.

Or said conversely, only 29% of mainline clergy agree with that statement. Agree. Only 29% agree that the Bible is the inherent word of God. That was a study, a survey taken of United Methodist pastors, Evangelical Lutheran, American Baptists USA, Presbyterian Church USA, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ. And get this, 51% of mainline clergy support abortion in all or most cases. 51% Think that reflects a low view of the Scriptures. So, I believe exactly the same beguiling, Satan causing people to think wrong, to deceive by false reasoning, to delude, to circumvent the Bible is going on today just as it was in Paul's day.

Now, these false teachers then and now propagate a higher knowledge, a higher truth which they will teach uh with big smile on the faces. Is open only to those with greater and more intelligent minds, those who have scaled the mountain of knowledge. These are many university professors today. You know, there truly is nothing new under the sun. It went on 2,000 years ago and it's still going on. And so, folks, please, please, please do not fall prey to this lie. Because if you do, listen closely, if you do, you'll stop witnessing to people. Because what's the point if in the end they probably have figured out their own way to heaven?

Why should I just tell them about Jesus when they maybe have another way of getting there? It just shuts the whole thing down. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I to tell them this is the only way? Well, it is the only way. That's why. Which brings up a second test of logic. Let's say that you ask someone about heaven. You say, what do you believe about heaven and hell? And how do you think you get there? What what answers will you get? Well, some some will say, well, I believe in heaven and hell, kind of an orthodox view.

Some will say, I believe in heaven, but I don't believe in hell. I don't think God would do that. Some say I don't believe in either. And some say, I don't care. And then you ask, well, how do you get there? How do you get to heaven? Some will say, well, I believe everybody gets there. You hear that often. Or they'll say, I believe if someone lives a good life, they'll get there. Or some will say, I believe only Christians get there. Or some will say, I believe when I die, I die. That's it. I'm dead like a dog.

I'm gone. Well, let's test that logically and ask this question. Are they all correct? In other words, if I believe everyone gets to heaven, do they? If I believe there's no hell, there's isn't a hell. If I believe I will come back to the earth reincarnated as a bug, I will. Or said another way, can every person determine their own personal eternal existence after death and by believing it make it so? Make it reality? No, of course not. Now, you might respond and say, listen, if I can't create my own personal reality, so then what is reality when I die?

And they coming at me as a Christian, they might say, listen, Tom, that's no proof that you're right. That's no proof that there is a heaven and a hell and that only Christians go there. That's no proof. No, it's not. That's not my point. My point is that you are lying to yourself and living in some grandiose self-delusion if you believe that you can create your own custom design reality concerning life after death because you can't. Look, logic would dictate there's one single outcome that applies to all people. People say, well, are you saying that logic proves it's Christianity?

No. I'm saying if heaven and hell hinges on getting it right, then start your search. Do the research. Be honest with yourself. Do the hard research. But give up this this ludicrous idea that I can just determine what I want it to be and that's how it's what it's going to be. So, moving on in verse 6. And now, just as you accepted Christ as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Here is a message for all of us today. Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, it says now live in obedience to him.

Live in Greek, the word here means walk or walk it out. Walk the talk. So, the question for us is, do you walk the talk? Do I walk the talk? Do we walk out our faith? Do we live at our faith? Are you the same person here in a Sunday as you are at the workplace on Monday? Are you the same person here on a Sunday as you are in school or in college on Monday? How do you live out your faith? Do you know that this is how you prove to God that you love him by walking it out?

John 14:15 makes that clear. Jesus speaking, if you love me, you will keep my commands. If you love me, you'll walk it out. John 14:21, whoever has my commandments and keeps them is he who loves me. You walk it out, that's who loves me. 1 John 5:3. Loving God means keeping his commandments. Loving God means walking it out. And his commandments are not burdensome. And you know, this is also how we come to get to know, to understand Jesus by walking it out. 1 John 2:3 says this. And this and by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep our commandments.

You come to know him by keeping his commandments, by walking it out. And folks, as you obey God, your faith will grow.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Pastor Tom Keller on Study the Word and we're in a study of Colossians right now. Would you like to give this a second listen? Either go to our website at ccleb.com or visit our YouTube page. Simply subscribe to our channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon and you can watch our services live or on demand. That includes this series in Colossians. For those interested in a CD copy call 717 273 5633. Once again, that's 717 273 5633. Study the Word is listener supported. With your help, we're able to reach thousands of people all over the world.

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