THE COMFORT OF BEING 'LUKEWARM'! [THE PATH DEVOTIONS]

“"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"” (Rev 3:14-22)

Hi everyone,

Wow, that passage from Revelation really speaks to a church that has the confidence that they are on the right track, and yet, God says that they are ‘wretched, and miserable and poor and blind and naked’- not a very accurate self-assessment! So, what can make a ‘church’ so confident that they are doing good, when in reality, God sees them in such a disgusting light? One word: Lukewarm. God hates the ‘lukewarm’ churchgoer: He wants us to be Hot for him, or ‘cold’ against Him. Why? Because ‘lukewarm Christianity’ leads people to death (eternal or relational) by its works based religion, its moralistic deism, or it’s ‘easy believism’ (words without conversion): all void of a true relationship with The Savior due to a misunderstanding and misapplication of Scripture. For those who have drifted into ‘lukewarmness’, He says for them to open their spiritual eyes, and, He is using discipline to try and guide them back into True relationship with Him. For those who are lost, He is knocking at the door, saying, ‘open your spiritual ears and hear the knocking so you can open the door to a relationship with Me’. In both cases, God wants a relationship, not a stagnate, lukewarm ‘religion’. 

Many in the church today have either drifted into some type of ‘lukewarm Christianity’ with a moralistic bent or a situationally ‘purpose driven religion’; or, have been led by false teaching into a ‘lukewarm comfort’ and false assurance while having an unconverted and unrepentant heart. That is what this last couple months of instruction about false teaching has hopefully helped us to see: these dangers are all around us and could very well be in our midst. Let’s all be diligent in our own walk with God to stay Hot and remember that we have in our possession the ‘salve’ of Truth to give to those around us who have become ‘lukewarm’, so they can see clearly the relationship they need with Him; or, by the power of the Gospel, direct the ears of others who don’t yet know him to the sound of Him knocking so they can open the door and experience the ‘radiant heat’ of His presence for the first time!

This Sunday we will be completing our study on the doctrine of ‘The Church’ and then finishing with a look at scriptural warnings specific to false teachers like those we may be familiar with or heard about. Until Sunday, I will leave you with a reading from A.W. Tozer that is really relevant to our discussion about Mankind and the Church. 

Enjoy, and See you all Sunday!

Randy

Quote from, "Experiencing The Presence Of God" by A. W. Tozer -

"I have noticed that in recent years a serious error has developed among religious people in general. I fear that its focus is on what I will call a Christ-less nature mysticism. This is even invading what is termed as the evangelical church. When the fall of the year comes around, these nature mystics imagine a little man with a paintbrush painting the leaves, and some get very watery eyed about this. Again, in the spring, when the frogs begin to make their music in the little ponds, man’s thoughts turn to love and the kind of things the poets write about. That is very dangerous, because if it is cross-less —without redemption, without Christ and without a proper reconciliation—it can be deadly. Yet, there are churches spending millions of dollars on fabulous buildings, but the congregation never hears a thing, year in and year out, about reconciliation. 

Today’s church faces the danger of a cross-less Christianity. A preacher will get up in front of the congregation and talk so piously about the “Great All Father.” Or he might say, “This we ask in the spirit of Jesus.” He did not ask it in the name of Jesus, but in the spirit of Jesus. He was a nice fellow, not wanting to offend anybody and surely too nice to embrace the cross. This does not represent the biblical focus of Christianity. We must get back to the idea of a priesthood. We must get back to the idea of God on one side and man on the other, and the two of them alienated from each other. This alienation is not by the fault of God, but by the fault of man. We must get back to a sacrifice and a priest who can come between God, who is holy, and man, who is unholy, and bring the two of them together. That is priesthood."

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Are You Serious?

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 16:25 NLT

I guess what prompted me to write this is that I have been hearing a lot of statistics lately that are alarming. Things like, ‘30% of our high school students in Christian families think that gay marriage is acceptable.’ Or, ‘Over 30% of high school students in Christian families believe that living together before you marry is a legitimate way to see if two people are ‘right’ for each other.’ I hear that many of the people that are confessing Christians, believe that there is no conflict between being a practicing homosexual, or having sex outside of marriage, and the Bible. What I have to ask myself when I hear such claims is “Are you serious?” And I don’t mean that remark in the common vernacular that means, “You’ve got to be kidding?” I mean it as it is written, “Are you really serious when you make those claims?” The reason I say this is that I think there must be a disconnect between what ‘Confessing Christians’ are saying and what they really know to be true; or, we have many christians that don’t take the Word of God (The Bible) seriously. 

For those that know what the Bible teaches and yet hold to a different stance on subjects like those mentioned above, I have to ask you, why do you call yourself a Christian? I’m not trying to be mean, I’m asking a serious question. Maybe to be clear we need to define what is meant by ‘Christian’*. This gets into an even deeper hole of un-clarity due to the word ‘Christian’ having so many interpretations in our society. Some may say that a christian  is one who is raised in a christian home, they don’t hold to any particular belief but consider themselves christian because they aren’t Hindu, Buddhist or Islamic. I believe that many of us in the United States hold to this type of belief- they say they are christian, but they cuss a blue streak, don’t attend church (many do which is even more puzzling), believe that you get to heaven if your good outweighs the bad, get drunk, are full of hateful prejudice… you get the picture: they think that being raised in a ‘christian’ home is what makes you a christian even if you don’t actually understand what the Bible teaches about what it means to be a real Christian. 

Others are of the more ‘new age’ christian church, even though they may not consider themselves ‘new age’ and may attend a Catholic, Baptist or any other christian church’. These are those who say that the bible is one holy book out of many, and that we christians believe it to be true (but not The Truth); and, they say, there are other paths to god. They know what the bible says, or to be more precise, what they believe the bible says, but they evidently don’t think it’s serious when it speaks of belief in Jesus as the ‘only way’ to gain heaven or eternal bliss after death; and by contrast, was saying that if you don’t believe in Him as the only way to heaven, then you will go to an eternal hell. They see the different paths to god  in each of the different religions and truly believe that each one ‘must be convinced in their own mind’ of what ‘real truth’ is. Maybe you remember the infamous words of the one who sentenced Jesus to death, Pilate, “What is truth?” Well, I guess according  to the new christian, Pilate had his truth too!  Now this approach would be good if it wasn’t for one thing: the Bible and the Truth- I know, you are saying that is two words, and you’re correct in the number, but if you know the Bible- take a look at John 17:17- then you will see that the Bible (Word) is Truth! 

You see, the Bible says that there is only one way and one Holy and True word of God; it doesn’t give any alternative or wiggle room. The Bible in essence teaches that you either believe it as truth or not: it is an ‘either or’ proposition, not a ‘this and that’ proposition. So, you see, if the Bible is true (it either is or not) then my beliefs or your beliefs don’t hold any weight if they don’t align with what the Bible teaches: we are like someone trying to row a boat away from the middle edge of the Niagara Falls; even though ‘you think you can’, you are going over the falls! Now, you have the choice to either believe the Bible or not, but not to take only the parts you want and still consider yourself a Christian in the true biblical sense: the Bible doesn’t give you that option and neither did Jesus. 

Let’s get back to the question, “Are you serious?” Are you actually serious about Jesus, the Bible (his Word), and belief in an afterlife as the Bible teaches: The Truth? If you are then you will need to ask yourself the other question, “Do my beliefs line up with the Bible?” If you have truthfully examined your belief system in light of the Bible and can say that you hold to the truth of it, great! If you don’t know, then you need to read the Bible for yourself (don’t let someone else answer this life-determining question for you) and see if the Bible’s teachings are what you believe. Don’t look at the Bible and try to find a verse here and there to substantiate ‘your’ beliefs, but actually read the context of the Bible and see if what you believe is actually taught in the Bible. Remember, it is an ‘either or’ proposition, you either believe the Bible or you don’t. At the very least we need to be honest with what we actually believe and why we believe it. Yes, the Bible has some hard teachings that we may not like, however, if it is true then I accept even those things that I don’t like or don’t make sense to me as the true Word of God; or, I reject the Bible as the true word of God and say so, I don’t pick and choose those things I like even though the Bible itself doesn’t give me that option. I am honest with myself and others. At any rate, you don’t want to come to that day when, like we all will, you close your eyes in this life for the last time never having given any real time considering what Jesus said; what the Bible said; and, do I believe it? You may think it doesn’t matter, but, I sure wouldn’t want to leave this question unanswered, do you?

So, are you serious? If you are a Christian, are you serious about your belief in the ‘entire’ Word of God? If you’re not, then maybe you need to be more serious about if you really are a ‘Christian’ or not. It’s time for us all to examine ourselves and ask that question:

“Are We Serious?”  

“1You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”  2 Timothy 3: 1-5 NLT

"(2) I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone, (3) since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. (4) For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. (5) Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?"  2Co 13:2-5 NASB95

*The use of Capitalization or not throughout the article is intentional.

Jesus: The 'One and Only' High Priest!

Sometimes I think that people get confused when they hear the word ‘Priest’. There are priests in many if not most of the major religions of the world: Buddhist, Judaism, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and the list goes on. The question that I would like to address today is, “What does the Bible say about the priest or the priesthood?”

The full definition of a priest according to Merriam Webster is: “:  one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God; specifically:  an Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman Catholic clergyman ranking below a bishop and above a deacon.” And that is exactly what we find in the Bible when it is referring to the priest, whether it was the pagan priest or the Jewish priest. Here I want to concentrate on the Jewish Levitical Priest and then move on to see how this priesthood is represented as it concerns the New Covenant. I won’t be going into extensive detail on the rituals or rites they performed, but will be concentrating more on the place or significance of the priesthood in the old and new covenants.

The priesthood is first introduced to us in the book of Genesis by a priest that meets Abraham on his way back from a victorious battle in ‘The Kings Valley’ in which he rescued his nephew Lot. This priests name is Melchizedek. Now, Melchizedek is not a Jewish priest (the Jews were not so named yet) but was only described as “a priest of the Most High God” who brought out bread and wine for Abraham to enjoy and before leaving Abraham gives the priest a tenth of all the ‘spoil’ that was captured during the battle just won. We will see Melchizedek again but not until the time of the New Covenant. It is many years after this encounter with Melchizedek, after the death of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph; after 400 years in slavery to the Egyptians, that we again see a priest in the Bible.

After Moses was raised in Egypt, was cast out of Egypt and was again brought back to Egypt to bring out the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt that we are introduced to a new priesthood given by God to the Hebrew people: the Levitical priest.  Moses and his brother Aaron were descendants of the patriarch Levi, one of the 12 children of Jacob. Moses was the deliverer of Israel from slavery and Aaron was his mouthpiece. Once the Israelites were out of Egypt and free from their slavery we find this written in Exodus 28:1 as God speaks to Moses and says, "Call for your brother, Aaron, and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Set them apart from the rest of the people of Israel so they may minister to me and be my priests.” God was establishing a priesthood for the nation of Israel: The Levitical priesthood. It would be a priesthood based on one’s birth not by education, choice or appointment. If you were born a ‘Levite’ you would be in the priestly line. Here is how it is explained in the New Testament book of Hebrews: “…Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi,..” Hebrews 7:5.  So, the Levitical priesthood was born and continued until the time of Jesus.

The duty of the Levitical priest was to serve at the temple. Different priests would have different duties and they would take their turns coming to the temple to do their service at their appointed time. The people would bring their sacrifices, their offerings and their tithes to the priests and the priests would offer them to God and receive their portion of these as the law allowed. The high priest was one who was appointed as was Aaron in the beginning of the office. He would be the one who served during his life as High Priest by entering the Holy of Holies once a year and taking in the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the nation. He, as well as the other priests, would offer sacrifices for his own sins and then offer the atoning sacrifice and the sprinkling of the blood. Here again let’s look to the book of Hebrews to give a more clear understanding: Hebrews 9: “1  That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. 2There were two rooms in that Tabernacle.^a In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room^b called the Most Holy Place. 4In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.6When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room^c as they performed their religious duties. 7But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle^d and the system it represented were still in use.” This was the role of the priest in the ‘old covenant’.

There was a problem with this system, however, and it had to do with the cleansing of one’s sin. You see, this form of priesthood because it was made up of mortal sinful humans as priests and because the animal, blood sacrifices it offered were only able to ‘satisfy’ the lawful requirement but not make a permanent ‘fix’ for the problem of sin, could not save anyone. Hebrews 3: 1-3, “1The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. 3But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. 4For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” And then when it was the right time Jesus came to satisfy the requirements of the law by his death on the cross and initiate the New Covenant. This was the solution that the righteous God had planned and required to bring eternal salvation to mankind.

When the new covenant was established after the death of Jesus on the cross, the old covenant and its continuous line of human priests was done away with. Jesus became the new High Priest, it was not a continuation of the old way but He established a brand new priesthood that was not based on any of the requirements of the old type priest. Jesus was said to be the new Melchizedek!

Look at this passage from Hebrews 7:  “1This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. 2Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” 3There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.”…” 11So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?^b  12And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it. 13For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. 14What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe. Jesus Is like Melchizedek 15This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”^c  18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, 21but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’”^d  22Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God. 23There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save^e those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. 26He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.^f  27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. 28The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.”

This passage is pretty much self-explanatory, yet I do want to point out a few things so we don’t look past them. First, notice that the reference to Melchizedek is to show that Jesus is a brand new line of priest. That he has no beginning and no end; that his priesthood will never end and there will be no other priesthood like those of the old covenant. Second, that Jesus will be able to do something that the old priest could not do: he will live forever and be able to bring eternal salvation to those who come to God through him because he will forever live to intercede with God on their behalf. Lastly, there will not be a need for any other priests since He will live forever and will hold the priesthood permanently. Notice in verse 24 where it says that “because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.” The word here translated as forever is a Greek word aparabatos which carries the meaning of ‘not passing from one to another’. Here is the same verse from the Jubilee translation, “but this man, because he continues forever, has the intransmissible priesthood.” In other words, because Jesus will hold the priesthood permanently there will be no need for multiple priest, Jesus will be the mediator and interceder forever and for all. Anyone who says they are serving under or going to a priest, other than Jesus, who is in the line of Melchizedek are serving a counterfeit priesthood and are actually calling Jesus’ death and his permanent priesthood insufficient. They are trying to re-establish a priesthood that has been done away with and this is what is being warned against in these words from Hebrews.

Now, with a New Covenant which has resulted in a new priesthood, we have a new way to approach God for the forgiveness of sins and to bring our petitions. We can go directly to the one who died on the cross to make this new way to God possible. This one, who when he died on the cross, was the cause for the veil that had separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple to be torn in half, signifying the end of the old way of people needing a priest to approach God. Jesus is now the way, there is no other, it has been done away with. This is why anyone who has accepted Jesus, his death and resurrection, and trusted him as their savior can now approach God through Jesus at any time. Notice how this is explained in Hebrews 10, “19And so, dear brothers and sisters,^f we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20By his death,^g Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

To sum up what has been taught here, we have no need for any other than Jesus to approach for the forgiveness of our sin. I know that many say that they believe the apostles of the lord were given the power to forgive sins; however, the verse that they use to ‘proof-text’ the doctrine for apostolic succession of the priesthood say’s nothing about apostolic succession or confession of sin, as a matter of fact it sounds an awful lot like the verses at the end of the Lord’s prayer. Let’s look at these verses in question. First we will look at John 20, “19That Sunday evening^b the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Notice that nothing is said here of confession or of succession. The only thing we can say about this is that we know that it will not disagree with the plain commands in other scriptures that explain no one except God can forgive sins. I would also like to point out that at no time in the writings of the New Testament do we find any of the apostles forgiving anyone’s sin, they always direct people to Jesus or God for forgiveness. Even in the Lord’s Prayer, which we will look at next, Jesus does not direct anyone to a priest but to the Father for the forgiveness of sin. If this were a declaration of the apostle’s ability to give forgiveness or absolution of sin it surely would have been exercised and recorded in his word, especially if it were a necessity for one’s forgiveness.

So, if it isn’t for forgiveness what did the command mean? It is possible that it was being said that now, with the Holy Spirit, the disciples of Christ would have the strength to forgive sin. Remember that the disciples themselves asked for this when Jesus said that they would need to forgive someone 7 times a day: Luke 17: 3b “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” 5the apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” Let’s also look at the prologue to the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6, “9Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us today the food we need,^a   12and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13And don’t let us yield to temptation,^b  but rescue us from the evil one.^c  

14“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Did you notice the similarity to the passage from John? And once again it is speaking of the forgiveness of others. And what we need to remember from the passage in John is that they were locked up and afraid of the Jew’s who had just put Jesus to death, they more than likely had much to forgive. Then Jesus comes, gives them the Holy Spirit and then tells them they are being ‘sent out’ with this power to forgive and lead men to Him. This seems to be the more natural reading of this passage. We should never force a passage to fit our doctrine, rather let the scripture form our doctrine.

Since Jesus has fulfilled the law and became the High Priest of the New Covenant, he has torn down the barrier between God and men and has made a way for all who believe to come to the very presence of God through him. Jesus is the only priest we need, he is the only priest that can take your sins and give you eternal forgiveness. Don’t fall into any other system that tries to establish again a priesthood that cannot save: the Word doesn’t leave that option, Jesus is the only way.

Randy

Fan or Follower?

I heard a teacher on the radio years ago who spoke about the ‘add on Jesus’. What he meant by this was that many people were saying they had Jesus in their life but they weren’t acting like he was anything more than just another ‘thing’ that they had going on. In other words, you may be a sports fan, a fan of some movie star, you are a fan of Facebook, a fan of some singer, a fan of Jesus: you may go to church, go to work, go shopping, go to a movie or go out to eat. In all of these things, Jesus just becomes another ‘thing’ in your life. You say you are a Christian, you may go to church as long as there isn’t something better to do and the music is ‘your kind’ of music; the preaching is ‘your kind’ of preaching and the people are ‘your kind’ of people. You see, as long as Jesus ‘fits’ into your life, he’s welcome. You may even know some of the catchy verses in the Bible and once in a while if you need an answer to something you open the Bible and read it like you would a fortune cookie so you can find the magical answer that you need. You will even give him some credit for the things in your life that you don’t need or want the credit for; you may pray to him when there is a ‘need’ that you can’t handle. This is the ‘add’ on’ Jesus that many are ‘fans’ of today.

There is a difference between being a fan and being a follower of Jesus. You see, being a follower of Jesus means that Jesus becomes not just a part of your life along with everything else, but he ‘is’ your life. You don’t go to Jesus only when you need an answer or are at the end of your rope; you go to him every day for everything: it is all his, all in his control and you know it. Your prayers aren’t about ‘getting something’ they are about bringing everything in your life to him; about talking to the only one who is in control of all things; about thanking him for all things- good and bad. Going to church isn’t about doing something because it makes you feel good, or to meet your weekly obligation, it’s about obeying him and his word; it’s about being part of a ‘body’ and letting him place you in that body where you will function to bring glory to him. You will read the bible, his word, because you know this is where he has spoken and revealed his will for us; because you want to obey him; because it brings you more in line with him not because you want him to come in line with you. We follow him to bring him glory, to obey him, to love him, good or bad not only when it is convenient for us.

I hope you understand the difference between being a fan and a follower of Jesus; what it means to have him in control of your life. It just seems that in most lives this just isn’t the case. You see people who are going to church and living in sin, seemingly without seeing the conflict. People are justifying lifestyles and language that Jesus’ word specifically says are wrong, yet they won’t let go of these things because they have their own ‘belief’ about the things they think Jesus ‘really’ cares about even though he has already told them in his word what their belief should be. But, they don’t want ‘that’ Jesus they want their ‘add on’ Jesus that follows them and not the other way around. They seem inclined to follow that old sage W.C. Fields: when asked why he was reading the bible, he said, “Just trying to find a loophole.” Most of the time they wouldn’t say loophole, they would say ‘that Jesus never said anything about it’ or ‘a loving Jesus loves everyone’, forgetting that a loving Jesus can’t let wrong go unpunished, “but is patient, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance”, see 2 Peter 3:9, but you see, there is still that choice you must make to follow him or you will perish. Remember the excuse the Romans were using to justify living how they wanted even though it was contradictory to the message that Jesus and his followers were teaching: “What should we do then, should we go on sinning so that grace can abound?” Romans 6:1. You see, they liked the message of God’s grace and forgiveness so they started making up their own set of beliefs such as ‘if God’s grace is shown by his forgiveness then we shouldn’t worry about sinning or approving of those that do, because his grace will cover it’. But when they said this the apostle Paul had to correct them and say, “By no means! We are those who have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6:2 NIV. If you need more evidence of what is meant by follower of Jesus, go back to Romans 1 and just read it starting at verse 18. People tried to justify everything from worshipping things and people; homosexuality (Gay and Lesbian), all the way to greed and envy! Paul ends the chapter by giving this conclusion in verse 32, “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do those very things but also approve of those who practice them.” Fans. People were just living how they chose, approving of others that did the same, and justifying it all to themselves: but not to Jesus.  

So, what are you? A fan or a follower. If you have made Jesus just a part of your life that you choose when and where he can ‘fit’ in, then you are a fan. If you are somehow ‘justifying’ things that you are doing in your life or believing even though you know ‘the righteous decrees’, then you are a fan. We all need to be honest with ourselves and decide if we are living as a fan or follower of Jesus. Today is the day,

Are you a fan or a follower?

Come to the Well of Living Water!

Have you heard the story from the Gospel of John where Jesus confronts a woman by a well? He actually doesn’t start the conversation off by confronting her, he simply asks her for a drink of water. He had been walking all day and the other men, his disciples, had gone down to the town to get some food. While he was waiting on a hill in the region of Samaria by a well of water, a woman comes in the early evening to draw some water. When Jesus sees her he simply asks her for a drink. Now in that culture and in those days it wasn’t like a Jewish man to ask anything from a Samaritan, since they were considered ‘unclean’, much less to ask a Samaritan Woman. But he did. Now she’s a little taken back by his request and asks him why he a Jew would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink. This is when the conversation gets interesting. Jesus tells her that if she knew who he was and the gift of God, she could have asked and received ‘living water’. Living water? What was that? She didn’t even question it, she simply told this stranger, Jesus, that he didn’t have anything to draw the water with- she sure wasn’t going to loan him her bucket was she?- and the well was too deep to get it without something to draw it out with. She asks him how he thought he was going to get out the water since he surely wasn’t greater than her ancestor Jacob. I mean Jacob was one of the three, you know: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This stranger couldn’t be more powerful than Jacob, could he? Jesus lets the woman talk, he doesn’t just make water appear to show that, yes, he was more powerful than Jacob. When she finally finishes her ‘you can’t get out the water and Jacob is better than you’ rant, Jesus picks up where he left her and says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”N.A.S.B.  There it is again, that living water. This time the woman does pick up on the living water theme and asks Jesus for some of that living water so that she wouldn’t have to come up the hill anymore and get water! She’s thinking physical, He’s speaking spiritual. This happens a lot to Jesus, he speaks great spiritual truths and inevitably the people he is speaking to take it in physical terms. If you want to see a good example of this skip ahead to verses 31-33 of this same chapter and his own disciple’s fall into the same problem as the woman.

So, that’s the part of the story I want to look at. What is the Living Water that Jesus was talking about? And how can he give us something so that we never thirst? And thirst for what?

Have you ever had a problem, felt guilty, overwhelmed and didn’t know how to get rid of the feelings you were feeling. Sure, you can stuff them down and pretend that you’re okay- but you’re not. You’re not, and you know it; if you look deep within, you know you just can’t shake that feeling, that guilt, that shame, that anger- you fill in the blank. You see, this woman at the well had stuffed her guilt, her shame, her anger, and all those other things she was feeling deep down. They were there, but she didn’t want to deal with them, so she kept trying to get Jesus on to some subject that didn’t involve him and her and what he could do for her. I mean, let’s give the woman a little credit here: I’m sure because of her past and all those things that she has stuffed inside- see the next few verses- she is being cautious with this stranger, after all, she didn’t know this was the Jesus of the Bible, right? So, she keeps trying to shift this to some practical, logical type conversation, but this man at the well, this Jesus, just keeps pushing her back to face this ‘living water’ topic. Why? Because he knew she needed it. That’s what Jesus does, he just keeps on putting those same things in front of us so we have to face them before we can move on. Who knows, maybe right now some of you are saying, man this sounds just like… yep! You may be thinking, “Why does this Jesus stuff keep coming up? I don’t even believe in that stuff, can we just stop talking about it?” or, “Every time I pick up the Bible to see what it says, I keep on reading about…”  Yep. That’s him, Jesus, trying to give you some of that living water. The exact water you need.

You see, we all have some of that ‘woman’ inside of us don’t we? Some of us have more, some less, but we all have some. And Jesus is still offering that living water to anyone who will come to him and ask. Did you notice that Jesus said to ask and he would give it? He didn’t just start spewing it out did he? Why? Because Jesus wants the people that receive the healing, living water to want it. Do you ever notice that if you aren’t thirsty water doesn’t really taste that great, but when you’re thirsty, wow! Jesus wants the same thing with us, he wants us thirsty so that when the water is offered we will take it in deeply and let it do the work. Once again, it comes down to choosing Jesus: asking him for the living water.

Now, you may have noticed that last line in the last paragraph: ‘Jesus, the living water.’ Yes, Jesus is the living water. And what Jesus is saying is that if we ask, he will give us himself! And notice that he says that the water he gives will be inside whoever drinks of him and that water (Jesus) will become a well springing up inside of them to eternal life. He will fill you; he will give you life eternal. So when we drink in Jesus he is able to calm those storms inside, to give healing to those feeling that you never could do on your own, because now you see, you have Jesus “springing up” inside of you, never running dry, always enough.

Like I said, the offer is still there just like it was for the woman. “If you knew the gift of God, you would have asked and I would have given you living water.” There is one other thing we should get clear right here: notice the word “gift”. This living water, this Jesus, is a gift of God. Let’s get this straight, a gift isn’t a gift it you do something or try to pay part of it; it then becomes a reward or merit of some kind. This is not what Jesus said; it’s not what he is offering, he is offering us a gift. He didn’t tell the woman that she needed to do something to earn the water, or say some special words to merit it; he offered it freely as a gift. He does the same for you and for me. If you’re wanting to do something to earn the water you will need to see someone besides Jesus, the only problem is that He is the only one that has it to offer: there is no other way.

So, now that we know what the water is, how we get it and what it is for, we get back to those words that Jesus originally wanted from the woman, and now wants from you and me:

“Ask”.

Randy

THE BIBLE VERSE THAT DESTROYS THE MACRO-EVOLUTIONARY SCALE.

Inside the evolutionary camp there is an evolutionary view called macro-evolution. If you want a visualization just think of the scale popularized in the 1970's which you probably saw in elementary school, you know the one of the fish creeping onto land and becoming a bird then a beast an ape and finally a man. Now, this view can be summed up with the definition found on the website, biology online:
Macro-evolution: Definition : noun, plural: macro-evolutions: Evolution happening on a large scale, e.g. at or above the level of a species, over geologic time resulting in the divergence of taxonomic groups.
I have never held to the macro-evolution model, though I know many who do. In fact, if you hold to a type of evolutionary view that calls for any type of animal specie evolving from a lower animal specie, then you must by definition hold to the macro-evolutionary model. I am not surprised by those outside of bible teaching churches and bible believing Christian circles (I will use those definitions to describe 'Christian' in the rest of the article) who would grasp the macro-evolutionary model as a cornerstone of their belief; however, I am quite surprised when I come across a Christian that holds to this view. So, without getting into what many see as inconsistencies in the belief that some hold in the Christian church which recognizes either an 'old earth' or a 'young earth' view, I want to concentrate on one verse in the New Testament. The debate between old earth and new earth theories of creation are for a different time: neither view would conflict with this discussion since they both hold to the microevolution model of human origins and neither hold to the macro-evolutionary model. These are in contrast to the model that is in dispute here, namely Theistic Evolution which includes the belief in macro-evolution as a means of human origin.
You see, I believe that in this one verse that we are going to look at there is enough proof through the literal rendering of the verse to shut the door to any notion of a macro-evolutionary model for biological evolution for those who hold to Biblical creation. It will be a short study and hopefully by the time we are through, you will see that the belief of a Biblical creation cannot be held together with a macro-evolutionary model of hominid (human kind) origins.
So, let's jump into the study. Here is the verse:
“All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.” 1 Corinthians 15:39 NASB
That's it. One verse, and within that verse we will be concentrating mainly on three words: 'not', and then, 'one' and 'another', which are actually one word translated two ways.
Notice in the first part of the verse it says, “All flesh is not the same flesh,”. Now this may seem obvious upon casual reading but notice that it qualifies the statement by using the conjunction 'but', saying in the next part of the verse, “but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beast...birds...fish.” This conjunction that is translated 'but' is literally 'alla' in the Greek which means, 'but', 'nevertheless', 'notwithstanding', 'nay', etc. So, what is being said here is that there is without question, different kinds of flesh. This brings us to the first term we need to dig into, “is not”. In the Greek language there is a term called the 'absolute negative'; the word used here for 'not' is the Greek primary word, ou (pronounced oo) when translated becomes 'is not ever, never, absolutely not'. This can be contrasted to a similar passage in 1 Corinthians 14:39 where Paul has just finished giving instructions on the use of certain spiritual gifts in the assembly and he says, “Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.” NASB italics inserted. The word used here for 'not' is the Greek word 'mē' which is referred to as a qualified negation- no, lest, etc. The reason this qualified negation was used here was due to the fact that there were certain rules that Paul had just pointed out that are to be followed in the assembly regarding the use of tongues, so instead of the absolute, “never, ever forbid to speak in tongues”, the qualified is used, “do not forbid to speak in tongues lest...” letting it be known to the Greek reader that there may be times that tongues would be forbidden. In the case of 15:39; however, the opposite is true, “all flesh is not and never has been or will be the same flesh,”; the absolute negative makes this certain. Now we move on to the words 'one' and 'another'. These are actually the same word in the Greek, 'allos' which means 'another' or 'different'. So, by implication, not only is the verse saying that there is absolutely, without question 'different kinds' of flesh, there is also a different kind of flesh between species and none are or ever have shared the others 'kind'.
So, what does this all mean? What it means is that man doesn't have and never has had the same flesh as the beast, the bird or the fish! Isn't it amazing that some time around 50-60 A.D. the evolutionary scale of fish-bird-beast-man was given a fatal blow in one verse? Especially amazing given the fact that Darwin's diagram of the evolutionary tree was not invented until the 1800's! Now, if there is a God (and I believe there is) that would be just the type of answer He would give: one verse, include the evolutionary scale and put it to death by the use of a couple of words. Amazing.
In conclusion I want to emphasize again that I am not arguing with those who are 'outside' of Christianity, only those who hold to the macro-evolutionary model of Theistic Evolution and profess to be Christian. And even then, I don't believe the argument is with me, it appears, at the very least, to be with this one verse tucked away in the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.
Randy

Colossians 2:6-15

This week we come to one of the central teachings in the whole of the New Testament about what it looks like to 'walk as a Jesus follower'. If you will turn in your Bibles- does everyone have a Bible? If not, you can follow along as I read up on the screen, but I encourage everyone to get a Bible, get familiar with it and bring it with you to church. It can be a book, an app, a reader or a PC- however you or whatever will get you into the word of God is what I want you to have with you. So, if you'll turn about half way through the New Testament at the back of your Bible, you will find Colossians just after Philippians and just before 1 Thessalonians. So, be finding your way there, turn to Chapter 2 verse 6 and we will be there in a minute.

So, like I mentioned, this part of the New Testament, is going to tell us what being a follower of Jesus looks like; what kinds of things you can expect as one who has given their life over to the King- Jesus! What it looks like to accept Him; what it looks like to know him; what it looks like to die for him- now that got a few eyebrows to lift a little; and what it looks like to live for him. You see, following Jesus isn't a 'part time' job- it's not a part time relationship. Just think about that for a moment: what if you're parents (and some may have experienced something like this) what if your parents had decided when they had YOU to be just a part time parent. You know, there you were, diaper and all, just lying there waiting for someone to feed you, change you, hold you- but your parents were not 'on the clock'- you see it was Monday and your Mom and Dad didn't have to be at parent duty until Wednesday from 12-6! Now, that's ridiculous isn't it? Yes, and so is being a part time Jesus follower- but people do it all the time and I'm guessing, just guessing now, that right here in this church building, we have a few 'part timers'. Now don't be looking down the row or at the heads in front of you- that part timer may be a little closer than you think! Instead, let's go ahead and get our eyes on the scripture before us and dig in to see what it means to be a 'Full time Christian'.

Colossians 2 starting at verse 6:

Col 2:6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
Col 2:7  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Let's stop right here for a moment and see the 'set up' that Paul is giving us here as we begin to dive into the scripture today:
"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,"
Anytime we have a 'Therefore' in the scripture what do we need to do?.. Yes, see what it is 'there for'. Now to find the 'there' in the therefore we need to go back into chapter 1 verses 13-14: you see, the therefore in scripture will always lead you back to a 'truth' established earlier that is being expounded on or 'clarified' at the present- "Therefore always leads me back to a Truth that I'm Here for!"

O.k. back to chapter 1 starting at verse 13:

Col 1:13  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Col 1:14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And then to clarify it a little further he says in verses 19-22 of chapter 1:
Col 1:19  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
Col 1:20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Col 1:21  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
Col 1:22  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

So, there it is- That is what we are Here for!
We are here today, here in church, here with all these others
that are here, here in Colossians 2 stopped at verse 6 to find
out what it means to 'be that person' that we just read about
in chapter 1. But before I ask you a very important question about this reason we are here let me explain to you a little more about what is going on in verse 6:

Col 2:6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

I think what is important for us to understand here in this statement that is made by Paul, is what he means by 'as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,' You see, that is no little statement no matter how insignificant it may seem! The way the readers of this letter in Colossae had 'received Christ Jesus the Lord' was not a simple raising of the hand, say a few words and then leave church, go about life as usual except now I have a little relief, a little something to go to when the times get rough 'spirituality' that I can 'rely' on. No, what these readers, what Paul himself, was going through to 'receive' Jesus as Lord was a time of persecution that didn't allow you to be 'part' Christian. If you accepted Christ at this time, under the Emperor Nero's reign, you could expect reviling, casting out by your family, being taken prisoner for this 'new' faith (like Paul), being beheaded (like Paul), fed to beasts, slaughtered as a 'gladiator' or maybe being a 'living candle' to light the road to Rome! Wow, what 'prosperity' was found in the gospel! So, what if that door opened up right now and soldiers walked in because this was an illegal assembly of a 'false religion' according to the state- a bigoted religion because of it's narrow views and exclusive claims of divine truth. What if they had the torches lit and the wood outside to hang you on...or even if they weren't right here, right now, but the chance, just the chance of it happening were real- would you? would you raise that hand, say that silent prayer, or would you boldly call on the name of Jesus- no matter what! THAT, is what the Colossian readers of this gospel were facing- that was reality to them. So, did they take it serious when they professed faith in Jesus as Lord- you bet, and I hope that we do too.

Moving on now, the last part of verse 6 and verse 7:

Col 2:6-7 ESV  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,  (7)  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

I was out in the back yard just the other day and I was trying to drive a wood post into the ground. Now a couple of the posts went in really easy but when I got close to the 'established' trees in the back I couldn't drive in the post. You see, the roots had grown so thick and so deep that no matter how hard I tried to pound in the post, it wouldn't do much more than scratch the surface. This is the type of deep rooted faith that we are to have in Jesus; the type of deep rooted faith that it is able to hold up a well established, well built life- a well built walk! So, be thankful 'if' you are there- abound with thanksgiving.

So, here is that hard question I told you was coming: Are you that kind of Jesus follower? If you haven't thought about it before or you know you aren't, the next question is, why? Why would you 'not' think about something as important as this? and, Why would you be in church if you aren't really serious about your walk with Jesus? I mean you could be out biking, boating, shopping, sleeping! If you are here, and you know about the kind of Jesus experience we are talking about, but you are choosing not to follow Him anyway? I just don't see why you would want to be here- but maybe today's scripture is exactly 'why' you're here...maybe.

This next section of chapter 2 we are getting ready to dig into is going to explain why it is important to know where you stand in relation to that all important question, so let's move on to see why it's important to know what kind of Jesus follower you are, and to realize that there is no such thing as a 'Part time Christian'.

Col 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.
Col 2:9  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Col 2:10  and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Here, once again, Paul is expanding on something he has mentioned previously. Look at verse 4:
Col 2:4  I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

So, let's look at these together. He is saying that the arguments that we can be deluded or led off the right path by are not some out of this world crazy talk that you 'know isn't true'; rather, it will be something plausible, something that your mind can easily digest, can relate to! This is what is called in Ephesians 6:11, the wiles, schemes, or the tactics of the devil:

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Schemes here is the Greek word 'methodia' and you can see what this word looks like in English: method or methods. If you break this word down to it's roots it comes to mean a 'well travelled path' or a 'a path gone over again and again'. So, this scheme of the devil, this 'plausible argument', this 'philosophy and empty deceit' that we are being warned against isn't normally, isn't most of the time, going to be some strange idea that we have heard for the first time. It will be something we have thought about, something we have mulled over, something that 'strikes a chord' in your mind. Notice also that it is, 'according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.' So, this scheme, this plausible argument, this philosophy- which is called 'empty '- is according to human tradition, to worldly standards and not Godly standards. Do you understand what this is saying. You see, worldly standards can 'appear' godly. Jesus knew this, it's why he said in Mark:

Mar 7:6-8 ESV  And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; (7)  in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' (8)  You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

Now, we may read this and be thinking, 'Yep, those Pharisees were really bad, they were sooo religious but didn't have a 'relationship' with God!' and you would be correct- but that isn't how the people saw it. The Pharisees were respected for their 'closeness' to God. I mean, if you wanted to go to heaven then you wanted to be 'as good as a Pharisee' right? Didn't Jesus even say in Matthew 5:20 that if you want to make it to heaven then 'your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes.' ? But down the road a bit He calls them out for their false 'piety' and 'false tradition'.
And really, don't we all get caught up in 'human tradition': order of worship- 'hey, we can't have communion first, it's always done at the end!' or, 'man, I can't believe those people sat where I 'always' sit'. So, what we are being warned about here is not letting 'human tradition' lead us astray. Don't let it lead you down a path of thinking that since you are saved by grace it doesn't matter how you live- thinking that it's OK to drink until you feel the buzz because 'I have freedom in Jesus', or to have sex outside of a marriage between a man and a woman because 'my god is a god of love, he wouldn't condemn people for loving each other', or, 'yeah, I'm a Christian but I don't think god would condemn someone who is a different religion if they are good people, there are a lot of roads to heaven'. Or even, 'the bible may contain the word of God, but it has a lot of places where science has shown it to be outdated, so it may be a good guide for life, and the stories are good teaching tools, but I can't just believe it is actually the 'inspired' word of God' And the beat goes on...!

People can also be pulled away to false religions and philosophies that meet some need within them to 'meet the demands of God'. In other words, we think we need to satisfy God's anger at our sin by doing good things or things that are decreed by our god. This may seem distant to your way of thinking until you realize that following rules for the sake of 'doing the right thing' or, 'because the bible tells me so..' can easily fall into this religious tradition, philosophy of the world, mind set. Our lives begin to be controlled by the thought of not missing that prayer, or part of prayer; by not missing church- no matter what!; not saying, doing or behaving certain ways begin to bring you into bondage instead of freedom. So, there is false and worldly deceit on both ends of the pendulum of everyday existence.
But as we look to the end of the warning in vs. 8 and move into 9 and 10 we see where the protection from being led astray comes from:
and not according to Christ.

Col 2:9  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Col 2:10  and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Here once again we see Paul pointing us to Jesus, the Jesus that he has already pointed at in chapter 1:15-20; it is in those verses that verses 9 and 10 are built on:

Col 1:15-20 ESV  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  (16)  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.  (17)  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  (18)  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  (19)  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,  (20)  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

What we need to notice in these verses is where Paul says that he (Jesus) created everything "whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him."
You see, this is the reason we can have confidence that Jesus is able to lead us in such a way that we do not have to fear being 'led astray' by these false teachings and philosophies even though they are empowered and receive their deceptiveness from hell itself! Jesus has the final word, he has the power to defeat the devil and his schemes because Jesus created the devil and he created all those enemies of darkness in the spiritual realm that our battle is against. There is no power on earth or in heaven that Jesus is not pre-eminent; where he is not 'head over every rule and authority'! You see, we are 'made complete in him.' You and I are not half, not partial, but we are complete in Jesus. It is the world and the schemes of the devil that are trying to make you feel that you need more than Jesus to be adequate or to be fulfilled- it's a lie from hell, there in completeness in Jesus: he is all you need, he is the only one who will be able to satisfy the longing of the your soul in it's search for God. When we come to this realization; that Jesus is our completeness, our wholeness and our adequacy- no power in heaven or on earth will be able to shake you or lead you away. Hollow and empty deception, or, false teaching will be made evident because you have the real thing.

I don't know if you have ever heard how they teach the federal agents that work with money how to tell between a real and a counterfeit piece of paper money. Well, the way to teach someone how to tell the real thing from the counterfeit isn't by having them study the counterfeit; it's by having them study and become so familiar with the real thing that the counterfeit is immediately obvious...this is how we are to be with Jesus. Once we come to know him and spend time with him in his word- this is where he reveals himself- once we immerse ourselves into his word and his ways, we won't be able to be led astray, we will know truth and error,  we will know what is hollow, empty and false. As a matter of fact, one of the way's to "learn" money is by  the “touch, tilt, look at, look through.”  test; maybe this would be a good way to look at Jesus! If we know how the 'real Jesus' 'feels' the way that Jesus is shown in the Word and the way he acts, responds, converses and handles situations. We need to know him so well, the 'touch' from all angles, from outside and inside, that no matter what is presented to us we will know if it is true or counterfeit- because we know the 'real Jesus'.

And now we move on to see not that we 'can' overcome the enemy, but the 'why' we can overcome the enemy and the deceptions of the world. In verses 11-14 we will put the magnifying glass on the inner workings of the faith that is able to overcome!

So, Col 2:11-14 ESV 

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 un-circumcision 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.

In these verses we see two 'types' of what our salvation 'is'. It 'is' circumcision and baptism; and in both cases it is not physical circumcision or baptism that is being spoken of. There is a passage in the book of Deuteronomy 30 verse 6 that says,

Deu 30:6 ESV  And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

And even though this is in the old testament, it is exactly what is being spoken of here. You see, even in the old covenant, people were saved by faith in the coming messiah, Jesus, and his death on the cross. It is this circumcision of the heart that saves us, this letting God cut away the flesh, the old sinful flesh, that cannot inherit eternal life- this is what gives us life and power to overcome. Without the cutting away, the rendering of the flesh over to death, we cannot and will not attain the victory that is spoken of here.

And baptism- now this one can become a little fuzzy to us if we don't realize that this is not- not- the dunking in water that is being spoken of here- this is speaking of the spiritual meaning of baptism. The death of our old self, the burial of this old self and the resurrection of a brand new, completely new life in Jesus. Notice, we are 'buried 'with' him and we are raised 'with' him through faith in the 'powerful working of God'. So, what we need to see here is that is only 'with' Jesus: only because we have died on the cross with Jesus- our sins have been nailed there 'with' him, the sinless son of God! Notice the words in verse 14,

 "by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." 

Wow- do you see it there. Look at what this is saying. Back in the time when Jesus was nailed to the cross- his hands pierced through and his feet- one on the other- nailed through: when he was nailed to this cross they also nailed a statement above him that spoke of his crime- do you remember what it said? 'Jesus of Nazareth The King of The Jews'. That was it, the charge against him was actually the truth. But what I want to emphasize here in verse 14 is that it says that 'our' charges- you see, you and I were dead in our trespasses and sins- verse 13- so we had our charges nailed up on that cross of eternal death that we would experience if not for our accepting the free gift of life from Jesus. When we accepted him, God took those charges and nailed them on Jesus' cross! Amazing! He, Jesus, took all my sins- those charges against me- said- "those sins are now satisfied" and when he died on that cross, my sins and yours were done away with- we have now legally been set free from the charges of our sins and only by Jesus, his death alone, am I now able to be set free from the penalty of eternal separation from God and into the glorious hope of heaven and eternal life- only because of him! Our debt has been paid and satisfied in the death of Jesus.

And now, finally in verse 15 he says:

Col 2:15 ESV  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Emphasizing, magnifying once again that the rulers of the spiritual realm, these authorities have been marched out in open shame just like captured enemies because of this death on the cross of Jesus. You and I are set free and have victory over the enemy because Jesus died on the cross, took our sins on the cross with him, then he rose from the grave and with him we have and can experience new life and victorious life over the enemy because and only by our death and resurrection- spiritually- with him!

So to go back and see where we have travelled today- we saw that we have been saved and that we will have in this new life, perils along the way that want to trip us, deceive us and trap us. But we have a sure victory over all these if or because we have experienced new life due to our new heart that is given by God in the circumcision or cutting away of the old sinful flesh and the new life that we have by our death and resurrection with Jesus which is figured in baptism and was actually fulfilled on the cross with Christ. And now, because of this we can have victory over the defeated enemy of our souls, since they have been defeated and disarmed by Jesus when he triumphed over them by his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.
So, I want to end by going back to that first thing we talked about today, that 'part time Christian' question. You see, this victory is available to those who have accepted the gift that Jesus offers, but the offer isn't for Jesus to be Lord of your life along with any other or along with you! No, Jesus is to be Lord of your life period- no other Lords, no other Gods, no other in control. Is that you? Have you made him Lord, or are you just doing the part time Christian gig? This is the question today for you to answer, hopefully you can say that Jesus is the only Lord of your life and that you are a full time Jesus follower, but if not we are going to pray right now, and if you haven't given yourself fully to follow Jesus and you have decided today to do that, to give your life fully to him, then now is the time.

Let's pray....