This is our Sunday Re: Think, an opportunity for us to continue to think on the events of last Sunday.
In honor of Reformation Sunday we began our time together by remembering why we are Protestant. We remembered the day nearly 500 years ago when a Monk and a Mallet changed the world. We remembered what had to transpire for the church to be turned upside down by the Catholic who could never get right with God. Contrary to the raw bag of goods that Tetzel and the Pope had been selling Martin Luther came preaching Justification on the basis of Faith alone in Christ alone.
Luther was not the first to confront Bad Theology as we have witnessed Paul warring against the same in his letter to the church in Colosse. On Sunday we focused in on Colossians 2:16-23 and the Deception of Bad Theology; noting what Bad Theology is, Where it leads to and finally where the Remedy could be found.
The heresy Paul confronted in Colosse consisted mainly of an amalgum of Judaism, Gnosticism and other prevalent philosophies of the day. The result of these combinations lead to one of two perverted camps. One camp sold a Jesus+Rules Salvation leading to Legalism. The second camp preached a gospel characterized by Jesus+Experience leading to syncretism. Both of these are perverted for the True Gospel is Jesus+Nothing. In order to spot Bad Theology we pointed to a few characteristics of Bad Theology. Bad Theology is:
- Judgment Based instead of Grace Based
- Concerned with the Temporary instead of the Eternal
- Focused on Outward Action instead of Inward Change
- Man Centered instead of Christ Centered
- Extra Biblical
- Selective
We saw that Bad Theology leads to Legalism and Syncretism. Legalism is when we add to the Gospel a list of Rules and Regulations over and against what the Bible has laid down. Syncretism is when we throw Jesus into a pot with New Age Spirituality, defunct types of supernatural worship or any other experiential element and create a freak God we Worship instead of the One True God (Read Oprah here). In addition Bad Theology leads to Pride and a misplacement of God as we think we “know better” and even go so far as to look for vacancies within the Trinity.
The Rememdy according to Paul is to remember where the true Substance lies, not in law keeping or experience seeking, but in Christ. Many of us have become Sleepy Hollow Christians becoming disconnected from our head who is Jesus and much like the horseman in the mythical tale, replacing it with a pumpkin or much worse.
This Sunday we will dig deeper into where the true Remedy lay as Paul moves forward in Colossians 3:1-4. A couple of questions to consider:
- Why is it so easy to attempt to add to the Gospel something that doesn’t belong?
- What are some safeguards against practicing Bad Theology?
- How can I reconnect with Christ who is my head?
Any thoughts?
No comments yet.