I want to meditate on Colossians 2:18,19. As I read Colossians 2:18,19 I catch a glimpse of a condition that I think affects 90% of Christians today, a false Christianity. Let me quote the verse,
“18Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”
I see several things, but the main thing is the false Christianity that comes from "churchgoing". Since Christianity has been the state religion of the US for the last 100 years many people attend because that is what they are “supposed to do.” This has led to a huge misunderstanding of what it really means to be a Christian, a true follower of Christ. This has led to ‘false humility and worship of angels’ as well as not ‘holding fast to the Head,’ which is Christ. People hold on to their rituals and habits and what they see as ‘keeping up appearances’ and thereby fall into a false Christianity. ‘False humility’ is the show that people put on, the façade they wear. ‘Worship of angels’ is the result of distractions in their relationship with Christ whereby something else takes the place of Christ in their worship. We get caught up in what we know and in what we think and get separated from Christ, the head. This is most readily seen in the mega-church and their programs, although this is not the only place that this can be seen. People substitute true Christianity for the appearance of Christianity by attending every meeting, serving on every board, and going to every function. The horrible thing is that most of the time they don’t even realize it. Doing those things isn’t bad, they become bad when they are done while not ‘holding fast to the Head.’ When these things become substitutes for a true relationship with Christ they become ‘false humility and worship of angels’, and can "cheat you of your reward". When these programs take the place of a consistent quiet time or they take the place of prayer they have disconnected from the Head, from Christ. The product of this is a modern day Pharisee, people who honor God with their lips while their hearts are from him. We need to be careful in everything that we are not led astray from the real focus of our worship and our service, the Head, Jesus Christ. The "angels" can't save us. We need to maintain our focus on Christ that our work might not be in vain. Reality check!
I praise you Father for your glorious work in the lives of men through your son Christ Jesus. You have given meaning to our lives and provided us a way back into your courts and into your presence. Help us to always maintain the correct focus in our lives, a focus on you and on Jesus. Let all that we do be for your glory and not our own, that your kingdom may be enlarged on this earth and your name praised. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
3 comments:
You make a great point. There is certainly a growing issue in America with Christianity being a cultural norm and nothing more. When Americans want to be more "spiritual" they first consider Christianity because it is culturally the predominate religion. This is very scary. This kind of mentality leads to false confessions of faith. Which like you said is just honoring God with your lips. Long story short we have weak doctrine being taught to itching ears that want to hear it leading to false idols and Christians living in a place of false security.
Good points. Although I'm sure the writer had in mind a more literal use of the term "worship of angels" I think your use of it here as a principle is appropriate. And since the term "angel" also means "messenger", we can also apply it to the danger as Christians of worshiping the messenger (aka. the preacher).
I would say though, that our tendency to cultural Christianity goes back way more than 100 years. I'd say it dates back to Constantine, and right on through the Reformation to the Puritans to today. Ever since Constantine the notion has existed of expanding the kingdom of God through expanding the national boundaries of "Christian" nations. Even our Puritan forebears had this mindset. I don't think we can break away from it entirely until our nation is truly post-Christian. But we must continue to emphasize, as Christ did, that His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom on this world consists in is His reign in the hearts of His people throughout the ages until He returns.
Good points. Although I'm sure the writer had in mind a more literal use of the term "worship of angels" I think your use of it here as a principle is appropriate. And since the term "angel" also means "messenger", we can also apply it to the danger as Christians of worshiping the messenger (aka. the preacher).
I would say though, that our tendency to cultural Christianity goes back way more than 100 years. I'd say it dates back to Constantine, and right on through the Reformation to the Puritans to today. Ever since Constantine the notion has existed of expanding the kingdom of God through expanding the national boundaries of "Christian" nations. Even our Puritan forebears had this mindset. I don't think we can break away from it entirely until our nation is truly post-Christian. But we must continue to emphasize, as Christ did, that His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom on this world consists in is His reign in the hearts of His people throughout the ages until He returns.
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