Dear Saints of Valley Church,
One of the many ways Amanda and I are different is our timing of when to fill up the car with gas. Amanda was raised by a wise father who taught her to fill up the car once she reached about a quarter tank. I was also raised by wise parents, who probably tried to teach me that principle, but I tend to prioritize other responsibilities until the warning light turns on, signaling that I need to fill up. I have a love/hate relationship with that warning light. I hate that it adds time to my busy day (and it seems to always trigger on the busiest of days), but I’m so thankful that I have such a warning light (having once run out of gas on the way to a job interview and never want to re-live that experience again).
In our study of Colossians, Paul is flashing bright red warning lights. Last week, Pastor Kurt helped us to see Paul’s warning not to be taken captive by this world’s various philosophies and worldviews (2:8-15). This week, as we study Colossians 2:16-23, Paul warns us that the most dangerous philosophies and teachers are not other religions and worldviews from outside the church but false teachings from inside the church. The danger that “takes you captive” (2:8) comes from passing judgment (2:16), disqualification or defrauding (2:18), and submitting to worldly regulations (2:20) that may look like a form of enlightened Christianity but are really substitutes that replace the all-sufficient Savior that Paul has held forth in Colossians 1:15-20 and 2:9-15!
Just as I need the warning light in my car that I’m dangerously low on gas, the Holy Spirit knew that the Colossian church required then, and Valley Church needs today, Paul’s warnings about any teaching that would function as substitutes for the all-sufficient Savior’s work and word.
By His strength and for His glory,
Craig Shigyo