October 16, 2021 -- Colossians 2:20-23 -- Exposing the elemental spirits of this age
/People loved by the Father, by the power of the Spirit: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Colossians 2:20-23 ESV
Notice the very first phrase, the conditional, if with Christ you died, and the implications of it. Our whole life is oriented towards Him. That is we intentionally, moment by moment, tune our mental and spiritual and physical orientation is toward Him. He is our life’s goal and delight. There are so many human precepts and teachings which masquerade as having wisdom, but in fact are demonic and man-made religions which do violence to the beauty of knowing Christ.
The whole LGBTQ? movement is a direct attack on the word of God. Our human sexuality does not have precedence. Genesis is clear. There are two genders, male and female. The sinful impulses of our heart and mind may pull us against this, but our call is to stop the indulgences of the flesh. Remember, we died with Christ, so straight or queer, all of us who name the Name of Jesus, we are called to submit our sexuality to Jesus and honour Him in our flesh. This is a life-long practice. Christians recognize all of us have untamed lusts and desires which threaten to undo obedience to Jesus. Therefore, with kindness and great empathy, we can reach out to those who are bound up in sexual sins and offer the only hope that exists, joy-filled obedience to Jesus Christ.
Black Lives Matter, and its Marxist underpinnings expressed in Critical Race Theory, do violence to True biblical understanding of who we are. All of us are made in the image of God. Darwinism, and all the godless theories evolving from it, are man-made religions. Those who are in Christ and read the Bible know there are not “races” but all people are of one flesh. We are all descended from Adam and Eve. To use the interpretative lens of BLM or CRT to examine scripture is to place the elemental, demonic spirit of this age above the glory and instruction of Jesus Christ. Only in Christ Jesus can we find reconciliation and peace which breaks down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14 teaches us this so clearly).
Knowing God our Father is in charge of all things, Jesus the Radiance of His Glory is our salvation and LORD, this is revealed to us by the wisdom of the Spirit. The Spirit takes the word of God and applies it to our hearts helping us to understand the pandemic battle we’re in right now. The world is in the grip of the philosophical heresy of technopoly (Neal Postman has an excellent book on the philosophy of Technopoly). Technopoly is the heresy that all our problems and societal ills can be resolved through technology. This pandemic is revealing the government’s addiction to technopoly—the false hope in humanity’s ability to use tools to fix all things. It is a desperate lie. In no way have the ascetic lockdowns or jabs—which is severity committed against the body denying the body’s natural immune response—solved the pandemic. Nor can they.
All of these previously mentioned sinful philosophies really are nothing new. There is nothing new under the sun. In every age and with every new generation people seek to “free themselves from the bondage of religion” only to create gods in their own image, raising up religious tyrants ever more despotic and ridiculous. A good grasp of history will uncover this, and serve to instruct us, highlighting each triumph of the people Who are united with Christ and by the Spirit’s power are ever seeking to honour Him in all areas of life.
Dearly loved people of God, our soul’s calling is to know Jesus Christ. In our union with Him through baptism, we have died to ourselves and we have died to all the teachings and philosophies of this world which seek to dethrone Him. In fact, Jesus remains seated at the right hand of the Father. He is robed in holy power and by His Spirit He is protecting His people who declare His glory and are prepared to face all human, spiritual and sometimes even from fellow, misguided members of the church, opposition to His rule. Jesus has already overcome the world. Faith sees this. Such faith is fed and strengthened by the Word. Be prepared to face harsh criticism, persecution, ridicule for the sake of the Name of Jesus. Our peace is found in Christ alone. He is our joy and our strength.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Psalm 57 ESV
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