1. Be aware! A lie can sound like the truth.
Colossians 2:4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
What sounds “normal” and persuasive may be destructive and dangerous.
· Absolutes: Define the core beliefs of Christian faith.
· Convictions: While not core beliefs, these may have significant impact on the health and effectiveness of the church.
· Opinions: Views or personal judgments generally not worth dividing over.
· Questions: Currently unsettled issues.
How do we know where an issue falls?
Where an issue falls within these categories should be determined by weighing the cumulative force of at least seven considerations:
1. Biblical Clarity
2. Relevance to the Character of God
3. Relevance to the Essence of the Gospel
4. Biblical Frequency and Significance (how often in Scripture it is taught, and what weight Scripture places upon it)
5. Effect on other Doctrines
6. Consensus among Christians (past and present)
7. Effect on Personal and Church Life
2. Be real! Faith must be committed to practice.
Colossians 2:5-7 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. 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.
3. Be evasive! Dangerous forces are lurking.
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.
“Captive” is the word used for “plundering of cargo from a ship.”
Evade the Devil and false teachers. Almost every book in the New Testament has something to say about false teaching and those who advance false doctrines. False prophets, false christs, false understandings of Jesus, false apostles, false gospels, and other aberrations have been matters of concern since the time of Jesus.
From the viewpoint of those who hold to historic Christianity, a “cult” is a religious movement which claims to be based on the Bible or Christian faith and advocates beliefs which are significantly different than the plain teachings of the Bible.
Cults invariably diverge from historic Christianity in their answer of two questions: Who is Jesus? How does one follow Jesus as a true believer?
4. Be triumphant! Align yourself with Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:9-15 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 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 uncircumcision 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. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
