How do people who claim religion go astray? By exalting Christ in name but separating Him from His words, from what He actually taught. Often, but not always, this process begins when a majority are biblically illiterate: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Ignorance leaves a vacuum that false leaders fill with strange ideas. Like Satan, these leaders “disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15 cf. Matthew 7:15). They set up authorities other than and above the Lord Himself. Colossians provides samples of such authorities.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition…. Therefore [because of God’s work at the cross] let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head. (Colossians 2:8, 16-19)
Philosophies People come to Christianity from various background philosophies. Early Greeks valued spirit over the material body. Therefore, Gnostics created their own version of Christianity by honoring Christ’s spirit while denying He had a real body (2 John 1:7). They and others celebrated spiritual ‘freedom’ while their bodies acted immorally (2 Peter 2:19; Revelation 2:14, 20). They justified their perversions by twisting the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16; Jude 1:4).
Similarly, people today create “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4) to suit their own ideas. Thus ‘Jesus’ is remade to support political and social movements. Words like “justice” and “salvation” are redefined to fit their causes, as are basic biblical concepts such as headship, gender and morality. Two modern philosophies are humanism and relativism. Humanism treats humans as supreme, gods of the universe. Relativism says that truth changes with circumstances and cannot be known with certainty. These philosophies combine to influence many, even causing some believers to think, “All that matters in the Bible is the meaning I give it. I have my truth. You may have your truth, but keep it to yourself.” Various philosophies invent “myths”—fictions that tell people what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14).
Shadows Within the church in Colossae were influences for reinstating shadows of the Law—festivals, foods and Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16-17). Prior to the Colossian letter, false teachers could have argued as people do today, “Scripture gave these ways to honor God, so they cannot be bad. Besides, there is no command against these old rules.” Still today, the Bible never tells Christians, “You shall not worship by priests, by animal sacrifices, by incense and instruments, by the temple’s altar and its physical things.” Instead, the Bible draws a clear and crucial distinction between the Old Covenant and New Covenant. It gives us the far better worship “in spirit and truth” with living sacrifices (John 4:23-24; Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 13:15-16). To return to the Law’s lifeless things reverses our Lord’s purpose for light, not shadows.
Experiences Suppose a person’s prediction comes true, or he meets an angel, or has a dream or vision. Does that give him the authority to overturn Christ’s revealed will? Absolutely not! Many Scriptures address such matters (Deuteronomy 13:1-3; 18:9-14; Matthew 24:24; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Galatians 1:8; 1 Timothy 6:20-21).
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head. (Colossians 2:18-19)
I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead My people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. (Jeremiah 23:32)