WISE AS SERPENTS...

Colossians 2:8  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

In Matthew 10 we have the account of Jesus sending out the Twelve disciples to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven had come.  He gives them their instructions and in these instructions is one that always used to make me scratch my head.  In Matthew 10:16 he says, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  Wise as serpents and innocent as doves?  It almost strikes me as two opposite instructions.  First, be street smart about everything; alert and not easily deceived.  Second, don’t get involved in the street stuff; the sin and worldliness.

This morning in my reading I came across Colossians 2:8.  I never put these two passages together in my mind before but it seems as if Paul is encouraging the believers in the same way that Jesus charged his disciples.  “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world…”  Be wise as serpents, be alert, don’t be deceived.  “…And not according to Christ.”  Live your lives according to Christ in obedience and holiness.

I sit early in the morning and have coffee with guys from church and we have run up against this question many times.  How do we live our lives in this culture without being deceived and how do we continue faithfully demonstrating the love of Christ?  Our culture is pressing against our Christian faith all the time.  The pressure is to conform to the viewpoints and perspectives of the world.  Our schools are teaching a godless version of the origin of all things.  The environmental movement is pushing us toward worship of the earth rather than stewardship of it.  Government is threatening us with hate speech when we preach and teach a biblical view of sexuality and marriage.  More and more we are being groomed to accept the intrusion of the state into our lives while they promise they are only looking out for our good.  All of these things and many more are quietly intruding, slowly but surely leading even Christian people astray, away from the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Paul says these are human philosophies and empty deceits.  The rise from the elemental spirits of the world; i.e. the fallen human flesh.  Christians are tempted to compromise.  We are condemned because we will not accept a relativistic perspective on the philosophies of the world.  This is why we must be faithful students of the Bible.  This is why we can’t give in to those who say the Bible is no longer relevant.  This is why we must reject the popular idea that theology and doctrine are divisive and unnecessary in our churches.  If anything, we need theology and doctrine more than ever!  If we don’t hold fast to the teachings of Jesus we will surely fall into the quagmire of this world and lose hold of the truth.