“WARNING!”
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12)
July 24, 2016
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty
deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental
spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (ESV)
There’s a clever little trick that is often used quite effectively by
philosophers, politicians, salesmen, and even news commentators--a
trick that the secularist social engineers of our day have perfected
into a fine art. Here’s the trick: When you want your audience to
accept something that you are saying without question, all you have to
do is begin your statement with something like this: “It is obvious
and clear to every rational person that . . . ” and then go on to say
whatever it is that you want them to believe. Since no one wants to
appear ignorant or irrational, nobody will really question what you’re
saying, nor will they demand any proof, for fear that they will look
like some kind of uninformed malcontent. What’s so clever about this
trick is that it allows you to sneak a lot of things past people even
when they know better.
In the Epistle for this day the apostle Paul warns his readers and us
against falling victim to this kind of deception. He even goes so far
as to call it a captivity of sorts. And it’s no mere coincidence that
he should use that particular word, because when the Bible talks about
people being held captive, it’s usually talking about Satan and sin
being their captors. While he doesn’t say it in so many words here,
the apostle certainly seems to be attributing this kind of deception
to the evil one. Anything that comes between our Savior and us is a
satanic influence. There are, of course, countless things that Satan
uses in his attempts to deceive us, but in the passage before us this
morning Paul warns us about two of them in particular: “human
tradition” and “the elemental spirits of the world.”
When the Word of God warns us about “human tradition,” it is not
saying or implying that there is anything inherently bad about
tradition. Rightly used, tradition can be a valuable teacher, because
it shows us which values and customs of the past have proven to be so
useful that they have survived through the centuries. It can also
teach us some important lessons from the mistakes of the past. What
Paul is warning us about here is becoming a slave to “human
tradition”--making it our source of authority--letting it become a
substitute for God’s Word in determining what is true and what is
not--letting it become, in fact, a substitute for Christ Himself as
our source of hope and confidence. Paul is telling us to be careful
lest we take an attitude like the one expressed so well in a couple of
lines from the old musical “Fiddler on the Roof” where Tevye says:
“You may ask, how did the tradition get started? I’ll tell you. I
don’t know, but it’s a tradition.”
The problem with using human tradition as our source of authority is
that it’s merely human--and everything that is merely human is touched
and tainted by sin. It simply can’t be counted on, because all of us
think, speak, and act out of mixed motives. With every new set of
circumstances comes a new body of “human wisdom.” Some of it is good
and some is not. Some of it is good for a time but then becomes
obsolete. And with our limited abilities of perception we aren’t
always able to sort it all out. On the other hand, the Word of God is
the only constant and reliable source of authority and wisdom, and the
Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen again “for us and for our
salvation” (Nicene Creed, Article II), is the only constant and
reliable Source of God’s grace and forgiveness. The definition and
condemnation of sin that we find in God’s Law are still in effect
today and always will be, no matter how human opinions about sin may
have changed or might change in the future. The Gospel message of
God’s free grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ is just as comforting
to convicted sinners today as it was twenty centuries ago and it
always will be, no matter how much it is scorned and ridiculed by the
so-called intellectuals of our day or of the days to come. The wisdom
of God doesn’t have to be revised with each generation like human
wisdom does.
The other thing that we are warned against here is something that the
apostle calls “the elemental spirits of the world.” It seems that it
cannot be emphasized enough that the Christian way of thinking is at
odds with the world’s way of thinking. It always has been and it
always will be. The mindset of the world and the mindset of the child
of God are incompatible. The things that the child of God admires are
worthless to the world and vice versa. What the child of God strives
for with all of his strength is what the world avoids at all costs.
What the world looks at as success the child of God often sees as
greed. The world lives according to the principle that you should get
all that you can in life. Jesus, by contrast, taught His followers
that they can find real value in their lives only by losing themselves
in the needs and concerns of others. We’re only kidding ourselves if
we think that it’s possible to be a faithful disciple of Jesus and at
the time same pursue the world’s agenda and live according to “the
elemental spirits of the world.”
For this reason it is very disturbing for us to hear even “Christian”
people say things from time to time that betray what their real
priorities are. A seminary classmate of mine was a very successful
engineer who gave up a good salary in order to study for the ministry.
All of his co-workers thought that he was out his mind when he told
them what he was planning to do. You might expect that from them, but
what is really disturbing is that a lot of people who call themselves
Christians probably feel the same way. What do we really want for our
children? --peace with God or financial security? --a willingness to
live for Christ or a chance to get ahead? --a life lived in
fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church or fame and
fortune? --discipleship or material wealth? These are pointed
questions, but they are questions that we all have to ask ourselves in
the light of God’s Word for us in this morning’s Epistle.
By the world’s standards my Dad never amounted to much. He quit
school after the ninth grade and went to work on a farm. After that
he worked for a number of years as a clerk at the local general store,
and in later years he packed folding tables at a factory. Throughout
his life he never made very much money. At age 55 he suffered a
stroke and had to quit working, and five years later he died. What
did he accomplish in his life? Let me tell you: More than any other
individual, he taught me who Jesus Christ is and what He did for me
and for all of us. He showed me what it means to be Jesus’ disciple.
The world will never recognize any of these things as being worthwhile
and will laugh to scorn anyone who does. But Jesus says that these
are the things that are really important. Let the world go its way.
You have something more important to pursue. A hundred years from now
it won’t matter how much money you’ve made or how many possessions you
have accumulated. It won’t make any difference where you went to
school or how many letters you have behind your name. But it will
make all the difference in the world that your trust, your confidence,
and your life are rooted in Jesus Christ. May His Spirit enlighten
and strengthen us with the Gospel and, in so doing, guard us always
and keep us from ever thinking otherwise.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in
you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and
strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our
world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able
ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is
faithful, and He will do it. Amen.