Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  2024  Day 124

May 3;       Colossians 2:8;        180/260;        ‘Beware of Tradition’

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Here is yet another verse that exhorts us to know the Word of God.  God’s Word is our protection from the deception and lies of the devil.  Our minds are sometimes fascinated by philosophy, which is intellectual and used by the devil to lie to us, making us think that we are so sophisticated and open to deep truths.  Vain deceit in reality is empty delusion.  Again, our pride, that we are deep thinkers, tries to deceive us into accepting as truth, false knowledge made up by the devil or men trying to draw us away from the Word of God.  Without God’s Word we become susceptible to lies ‘served up’ deceptively, insinuating that the Bible is outdated or merely another document written by men.  Our adversary, satan, will do all that he can to keep us from reading and knowing God’s Word.  When we know the Word, the devil’s lies and deception are revealed and we can live victoriously, knowing that the Lord Jesus won.  Twice in Mark 7 Jesus teaches that the traditions of the religious leaders nullified the Word of God.  The religious leaders actually wound up doing the work of the devil.  Even if they did it unknowingly, it still greatly hindered what those sincerely seeking the Lord were taught.  Finally, Paul tells them that to beware of being cheated by the principles of the world.  The word ‘world’ is the Greek word kosmos and means the information taught as truth in any given age by a world system that is alienated from and set against Jesus.  What a powerful verse teaching the strategies of the devil to hinder the Word.