"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col.
2:8). In the verses preceding this the apostle exhorts us
to be "rooted and built up in him, and established in
the faith and as ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him." If this exhortation is
received and obeyed, we will be safeguarded against the
philosophies of men, their vain deceit, and also the
rudiments of the world. To be rooted and built up in
Christ, in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge, is the only safeguard against the false
teachers who have gone out into the world to deceive. As
there were false prophets among the people, so shall there
be false teachers among us today. Satan is bent on the
destruction of every soul; and if he can work through a
wolf in sheep's clothing to capture your soul, he has
accomplished his desire. If he can send one of his
prophets along who can beguile you with enticing words and
lead you away from the simple teachings of Christ, he has
gained your soul. Let us give heed to the Apostle's
exhortation. The words of our text might be better
understood if we quote them from Weymouth's translation of
the New Testament. "Take care lest there be any one
who leads you away as prisoners by means of his philosophy
and idle fancies, following human traditions and the
world's crude notions instead of following Christ"
(Weymouth).
There has always been, and are yet
today, many voices clamoring for attention, men with idle
fancies and petty notions to offer mankind, men with the
spirit of pre-eminence and desire to lead others. And it
is through this kind of men that Satan has open channel to
deceive many. Almost everyone at some time in life faces
the questions: where shall I live after this life is over?
I realize I must die, but after death where shall I live?
Pondering these questions in mind, they become fruitful
subjects on which false teachers may work, and many are
led away prisoners to the philosophy and vain deceit of
men and are forever SPOILED. Their minds are bound by the
traditions of men and the crude notions of this world, and
they are spoiled to the teachings of Jesus. Many good
honest people have fallen victim to the idle fancies of
men and are following the crude notions of this world
instead of following Christ.
The question that is most common in
the mind of those pondering the hereafter is, "What
shall I do?" or, "What must I do to be
saved?" Many sincere, good-meaning people, groping in
sin and darkness, are asking this question. As soon as it
is asked, there are legions who come forth with an answer.
Some say join church, or sign a card, make a pledge to do
better, shake hands with preacher, be baptized, be
confirmed, take instructions to be a Catholic, do penance,
or some other thing. Beloved, it is of these things that
Paul cautions us to beware, lest we be spoiled by the
philosophy of man. These answers are after the traditions
of men and are the vain, crude notions of the world. Men
who adhere to these things and depend upon them saving
their souls will be lost for all eternity. Oh! the need of
preaching the pure gospel of Christ in our darkened world
today. Men are blundering their way along through this
life, ignorant of the teachings of God's word. They have
been spoiled by the vain deceit of men and are led about
as prisoners by the enticing words of men. Paul says in
Romans, " For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall saved." "How then shall they call
on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him whom they have not heard?" Here lies
the great reason why so many folk believe not—how can
they believe on him of whom they have not heard? Those who
are called of God to preach the gospel need to herald the
message of salvation and tell the world of the power of
the blood of Jesus to save from all sin. Too much time is
spent dealing with old wives' fables and genealogies that
only gender strife which disrupts the workings of the
Spirit. Too many have the desire to be an outstanding
theologian rather than a message-bearer for God. The
preacher should be able to say, "Hear the burden of
the word of the Lord," and then in his preaching
convince the people he has the burden of the Lord resting
upon his heart.
Let's go to the Bible for an answer
to the question ÒWhat must I do to be saved?" This
same question was asked on the day of Pentecost (Acts
2:37-38) . After Peter had preached that memorable sermon
and the Holy Spirit had pricked the hearts of the
listeners with conviction they cried, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" The thing that prompted
this question was the presence of the Holy Spirit in
convicting power and the burden of sin resting on their
hearts. They realized their guilt before God and asked
what they should do. Peter answered their question by
saying. "REPENT, and be baptized everyone of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."
This was God's answer to their inquiry on the day of
Pentecost and is GodÕs answer to that question today.
Jesus called his twelve apostles to him and commissioned
them and sent them out to preach. "And they went out,
and preached that men should repent" (Mark 6:12).
Paul preached repentance at MarsÕ Hill (Acts 17:30).
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but
now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." If you
have not already repented, you are commanded to repent and
forsake sin that your sins may be blotted out. God has
promised to blot them out if you'll repent. Regardless of
the good resolutions you make, all the cards you sign, the
preachers' hands you shake, the churches you join, the
confirmation classes you attend, or the instructions you
take from the Catholic priest, your sins are still
standing before God and will, until you come to him,
forsaking and repenting of them. You may seek salvation in
other ways, but Peter declares, "There is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus died on Calvary for our
sins; he paid our debt: he took our place; therefore, we
should be glad to come humbly to him and ask him to have
mercy on us and pardon us from sins. Beloved, this is the
only way to heaven; this is the starting point.
These are God's requirements for us
today, and we must meet them if we save our souls. Reader,
beware lest some friend or teacher or even preacher lead
you away by his philosophy and vain deceit and spoil your
mind against the pure teachings of Christ, making you a
prisoner to his idle fancies and crude notions, saying you
don't have repent or forsake sin. Jesus said if ye die in
your sins, where I am ye cannot come. Again he says,
"He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words,
hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day" (John
12:48). Therefore let us take warning from the exhortation
of the Apostle Paul and beware lest any man spoil us with
his philosophy and vain deceit.
