Gnostic Mind Traps (7/19/10)

Shalom,




Please begin by reading Col 2:18-23.



The problem Paul is dealing with in his letter to the Colossians is Gnosticism. Gnostics were very spiritual minded, but without any restraint. If you had a dream or a vision or a revelation, there was no way to refute your insight. They didn't have a standard to go by like the Bible. But this version of Gnosticism being dealt with was a hybrid brand. It combined elements of Jewish and Greek thought, which wasn't often done back then.

1 Cor 1:20 includes this statement from Yahweh. "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" The most brilliant men can't appreciate the plan of our Creator without spiritual insight. Being an esteemed scholar won't necessarily get you the answers so many are asking, but being an honest God-seeker will. Yahweh's wisdom and understanding is perfect and complete. Man's wisdom and understanding is partial and limited.



One of the strong points of this localized Gnostic teaching was angel worship. They believed man was totally unworthy to approach God, so the mediators between heaven and earth were angels. Therefore, angels must be submitted to and worshiped in their way of thinking. According to their teaching, angels were used by Yahweh to bring the world of matter into being. The Bible clearly speaks that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit didn't need the help of any nagels during the Creation. So these Gnostics felt the means for redeeming mankind from the bondage of material influence was through angels.

These false teachers were saying that you could achieve perfection while here on earth. But to do so, you had to progress through a number of initiations and levels of wisdom in spiritual mysteries. It had a similar system to the current Masonic levels. This "salvation" of sinful man had nothing to do with Jesus and his atoning death on the cross. It took him completely out of the picture. This emotional journey was as appealing to humans then as it continues to be today.

The past ten to twenty years has brought our society a fascination with angels. There have been numerous TV shows about miraculous angelic assistance. Books and novelty items abound with angelic themes. But much of this focus is without biblical insight and wisdom. Much of it has a fairy tale nature or is New Age in nature. It seems odd to me that it's okay to believe in the angels, but not the God who created them.

There was also an intellectual trap built into this Gnostic heresy. The great promise to those overcoming the flesh was knowledge. After they experienced the angelic visions, they were told they would receive "special" knowledge. Only certain people were allowed into this level of knowledge. It was a very elitist group, and required the outsider to seek access from an insider.

They held rituals and ceremonies to reveal this knowledge to one another. It sounds very much like secret socities still in existence today. In this type of group you can't know the secrets until you progress through the levels or degrees. This is an insidious way to maintain control over people. It's also a snobbish thrill. "I know something you don't know," and "you haven't attained to my level yet" are ego-stroking things these types of people say.



So the problem in Colossae was just another diversion to get people away from the sufficiency of Jesus. Here's their three-point attack on the essentials of the Christ. First, the Gnostics maintained that you can overcome sin by consistently punishing the body, but that's only a religious trap. Denying the body its desires only arouses them. Neglecting the body doesn't nourish the spirit. Second, they said you can experience angels and have visions to attain to higher spiritual levels. And each time you have these experiences you're moved to higher spiritual plane. This is an emotional trap, playing off our desires to be special or above the crowd. The intellectual trap is the third. They said you can have knowledge that nobody else has. But who decides if this special knowledge is valid or worth knowing? Why, only the leaders of your group, of course.

Today's church has fallen into the same traps. There are many churchgoers who are caught up in the performance mentality. a lot of people think "I've got to do something in order to be special." This thinking leads them to gauge their spirituality on how often they attend church or some other unbioblcal standard. Many look to outdo those around them in some sort of measurable category so they can appease their own conscience by finding others "lower" than themselves.

How many people have been snared by the emotional trap? "I've had a vision." "I've seen an angel." This leads to spiritual pride based on their individual mystical experiences. Thinking yourself more spiritual than others because of your experiences leads to jealousy and competition in the church. This is especially found in cultish groups. We've got to be wary of "experience-based" spirituality without throwing out the fact that experiences with our Lord and Savior are vital to our growth in faith and true spiritual knowledge. Make sure your experiences can be backed up by the Scriptures.

The intellectual trap is rampant in our day. we've all seen the aloofness of someone who pretends to know more than anyone else. They constantly talk about their maturity or insight or training. I found a ministry leader who calls this the "twilight zone syndrome." People who fall into this trap often are strange and unusual like a Twilight Zone episode. Their version of reality is "out there" and not verifiable by others. This person has an unteachable spirit, and their attitude works against the unity Jesus prayed for us to have.

Another thing the Gnostics bring us is tolerance to the extreme. There's a program at Brown University called "Responding to Terrorism: Challenges for Democracy." Student readings emphasize that Islam "is a religion that values family and tolerance," and that "throughout much of history, Muslims have lived peacefully with followers of other religions." Well, maybe they would, but after they've conquered much of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe in holy wars things weren't great for "other" religions. Currently, Christians are being persecuted in places like Sudan and Saudi Arabia, and they would tell you Islamic tolerance is almost non-existent. This "Islam is peaceful" message was reinfocred at the University of North Carolina. Freshmen were told to read selections from the Koran, peaceful selections. The parts about how it's the duty of Muslims to kill Jews, Christians, and other infidels somehow got left out.

We can't stand by as the tolerance troops tell us we''re not allowed to judge people who blow up themselves, other people, and buildings for "the cause." We must teach that true tolerance doesn't mean accepting everyone's beliefs, but hearing them. Not suppressing our own beliefs, but speaking truth with conviction.



Solomon said it well in Ecclesiastes, "there is nothing new under the sun." The false teachers that plagued Colossae wanted to take the people's minds captive with thes false doctrines. Instead of Jesus helping us conquer our flesh, instead of finding full satisfaction in him, instead of his Word emlightening our hearts; these teachers offered a counterfeit.

The methods being used today are exactly the same. We need to be on guard at all times so that we don't fall into these traps. They're same old tricks in a new wrapper. There's nothing truly new about the New Age teachings. They aren't what we need to learn or accept as we seek to know our Lord and Savior better.

Jesus is sufficient for our every need. His death on the cross is enough to set us free from sin and help us overcome the flesh. His Word is sufficient to help us see through the emotional and intellectual traps. Trust in Yahweh and his Word. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth the truth of Yahweh found in Jesus Christ.



Blessings & Peace, Mike