"Two-Step Heresy" November 20 Readings: Colossians 2:4-23

 

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2022

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but I have divided it so that we will spend half the year in the OT, and half the year in the NT. 

Bible Readings:  Colossians 2:4-23

Background:   

It is in this section that Paul confronts the heresy that was rampant in Colossae, which some have described as proto-gnostic while others have argued for something less specific and less defined. We may never know exactly what the heresy was, except that it did what all heresies do - it took the focus of the church away from Christ. So, Paul, having exalted Christ in chapter 1 reminded the people that nothing - not Jewish feasts and rituals, or the pagan elemental spirits, or any philosophy, theology, or idea is worth abandoning the pure joy of Christ.

It was frustrating to Paul, I'm sure, to be under house arrest in Rome while false doctrine was spreading among the churches he worked to establish, even those for whom he was a spiritual grandfather more than a father. His strong words here are reminiscent of the strong words he used to admonish the Galatians about their abandoning of grace to pursue legalistic righteousness.

Daily Devotional:  Two-Step Heresy

Raising children is a daunting task, especially when you are no longer able to govern and control every choice, every decision they make. Paul ran squarely into this problem with his churches. In fact, in 2 Corinthians he listed this as among the greatest of his stresses as an apostle. Will my spiritual children be okay? Will they continue in grace or will they be sidetracked by the myriad false teachers, false apostles, and false Christs Jesus promised would abound in the church?

Paul kept things simple for his children in the faith. Jesus. Stay with him. There was doctrine and there were guidelines for life, but it was "Christ in you" who was their hope of glory and he repeatedly enjoined them to walk with Jesus, to make him the center of everything, and not to be distracted from him by anything.

In verse 6, Paul makes a key point, one that is so often forgotten in Christian circles, replaced by what I call the "two-step heresy." No, that has nothing to do with dancing. It is the idea that there are two separate and distinct steps in the believer's life. First, he is saved by grace, by trusting in Jesus. We understand that salvation is of God and not by our own works. But we've created a second step, called the Christian life, that operates by a completely different set of rules. Now that you are saved, the "two-step" goes, you have to live by doing your best in your strength, trying to do something good for God.

But in verse 6, Paul says this:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live in him...

The dynamics of the Christian life are the same of the dynamics of salvation - you must trust God and depend on him for the strength to live as a Christian every bit as much as you depended on God for your soul's salvation. This doesn't mean that you don't have to strive against the flesh, but that you strive in the power of Christ. Yes, you battle, but it is in Christ's power and with the weapons he gives. We battle in his strength not our own. Those who think they must live their Christian lives simply by "giving it their all" and depending completely on themselves are doomed to fail. It is about the lordship of Christ and depending on him.

I must make it clear that I am not saying that we are to be passive or that Christian growth is automatic. That teaching is prevalent in some circles of Christianity today, is not scriptural, and seems to have devastating results - it is not grace but a perversion of grace. The grace of God does not free us from the battle against sin, it empowers us. It does not mean we need not seek holiness, but it makes holiness possible! 

The grace that saves is the grace that sanctifies and sustains us. I was saved by grace and I live each day by grace. 

Father, thank you that I can rely on your strength and power as much for my life as a believer every day as I did for my salvation. 

 

Consider God's Word:

Are you attempting to live in your own strength or are you walking in Christ's power, in the fullness of the Spirit, and in full faith?