The Best Defense is a Deep Root

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Have you ever been convinced of something that turned out to be completely false? Perhaps it was a "too good to be true" offer or a piece of advice that led you down the wrong path.

    We live in a world saturated with information unlike anything that we have ever experienced before. When I was younger we had to look through books and encyclopedias at the library to get information. Now we have all the world's information in the palm of our hands.

    However there is a problem with all this readily available information. That problem is that we also have to handle a ton of misinformation. To make matters worse the technology of today has has made it where video's and audio sound bites can not always be trusted. We live in a world of information and misinformation. A world full of news and fake news. In such a world how can we understand what is true and what is not? 

    The danger of deception is that it rarely looks like a lie at first; it often looks like "the next big thing" or a more "sensible" way of thinking. A good convincing lie always has a smidge of truth to make it convincing. 

    We see this in the church today, where the Word of God is often sidelined for man-made philosophies or scientific theories that try to explain our existence without the Creator. When we start trying to make God's Word agree with man's ideas, we are already being deceived.

    The Apostle Paul understood this pressure. He was writing to a group of believers in Colossae who were being told that Jesus wasn't enough. They were being pressured to follow "big thinkers," perform rituals, and adhere to a strict list of "dos and don'ts". This legalism was poisoning the church, creating pride in some and shame in others. Paul knew that the only way to defend against these sophisticated deceptions was to be anchored in something—and Someone—unchanging.

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 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. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."- Colossians 2:6–9 (NKJV)

How to Build Your Defense

    It's in this passage that Paul outlines a three-step strategy to ensure we aren't "cheated" or steered away from the truth of the Gospel.

1. Receive a Person, Not a Process

Paul reminds us that we didn't just receive a theology or a list of rules; we received a Person.

  • Being saved isn't about saying a prayer or being baptized without the presence of Jesus. It's not about a denomination or some ordinance. It is about the person of Jesus Christ.  


  • It is like a wedding: you can have the rings, the vows, and the minister, but if the bride and groom doesn't show up, you aren't married. A marriage is between one man and one woman, not in an idea or in some aspect of a wedding. 

        So it is with your relationship with Christ. Salvation is not about a prayer you prayed, or a         baptism you entered into, or even a church you became a member of. Salvation is about         receiving the person of Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. 
 

  • Salvation is the real, living presence of Jesus Christ speaking to your heart. If you have the "steps" but not the Savior, you are susceptible to deception.

2. Keep the Pace in Your Walk

To "walk in Him" means to live in close communion daily.

  • If you walk faster than your companion, you are trying to chart the course yourself and can easily get lost.

  • If you walk too slow, you fall behind and become vulnerable to attack.

  • But when you walk with Jesus, you know His direction and you have His constant protection. It's about following His leading. The problem comes when we rush ahead into something or we drag our feet. In both of these situations we are not walking with Him.

3. Grow Downward to Stand Upward

Paul uses the illustration of a tree to describe our spiritual growth.

  • When a seed is planted, the work starts "behind the scenes" as roots expand deep into the soil. 

  • As your roots dig deeper into your relationship with Jesus, you become "grounded". Building your relationship with Jesus is about learning more about Him and his ways. Its about learning the stories that talk about Him (even the Old Testament talks about Jesus). Its about spending time with Him in prayer and speaking and listening to Him.  

  • Only after the roots are established does the tree sprout up and out where others can see the change. God works from the inside out. He is not interested in making you "look" clean, He is working to make you clean. 

Staying Grounded Today

    It is easy to become legalistic, focusing on "rules" rather than the "Relationship". Paul himself had been a legalistic Pharisee, and he realized that all his rule-keeping couldn't save him. He needed Jesus. The truth is so do we. 

    In a world full of "empty deceit" and "traditions of men," your best defense isn't arguing better; it’s being rooted deeper. When you are firmly grounded in the person of Christ, the winds of new philosophies might blow, but they won't knock you over.

Take a moment to reflect on your own "walk": Are you keeping pace with Jesus today, or have you started running ahead of Him to chart your own course?

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