Devotional June 09, 2009


Colossians 2:1-4
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

In this passage, Paul was warning the Colossian church not to buy in to the Gnostic ways of thinking, who believed that the way to heaven was by obtaining knowledge and mysterious wisdom. Because they were persuasive in their reasoning, some of the Colossians began to buy in to this line of thought.

The problem with the Gnostic’s thinking is that they were omitting the true mystery of God…Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Colossians were subtly being moved away from faith in Christ.

A good example of this is a program I watched on PBS a few nights ago that promoted the idea that we as humans can change ourselves through the power of our thoughts. “If you are bad…think good.” The problem with that thinking is that it is not complete; therefore it is not true. A change of behavior doesn’t change the heart. Only Christ can change the heart.

As believers today, we need to be careful that we are not being moved away from the knowledge that salvation is in and from Christ. So be careful not to be deluded with persuasive arguments.