If you were to jump into your car and drive around Chapel Hill, or maybe even where you live, it would not take long before you would see a sign posted outside one of the homes that would look something like this:
Now, let me be clear, I am not looking to have a political discussion. I sincerely believe that this sign was created with overall good intentions and many that place it in their yards are doing so in sincerity. But I do share this for a specific reason. This sign is dangerous. Allow me to explain…
Every single point on this sign would agree with God’s Word. For example,
1. Black Lives Matter: Let’s look at the very basic assertion of this phrase- “black lives matter”. Yes, black lives do matter because all human beings are made in the image of God; therefore, every human being (in this case of black lives), has a priceless value in the eyes of God- enough that God sent His son to die on the behalf of all human beings.
2. Women’s Rights are Human Rights: According to the Scriptures, women were specifically created by God, in the image of God; therefore, making God’s love for women equal to His love for men. God’s Word says in Genesis 1:27-28: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Christian apologist, Rebecca McLaughlin, points out that the very idea of universal human rights comes from Christianity.
3. No Human is Illegal: Again, when this statement is removed from the context of immigration and border control, there is a Biblical significance to it. But the Bible actually contradicts this statement. All humans are illegal due to sin but they are declared “legal” in Christ. Consider Ephesians 2:19: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
4. Science is Real: There is nothing in Scripture that would contradict this statement. Some of our greatest scientist of the past, such as Isaac Newton and Francis Collins, had no problem reconciling faith and science.
5. Love is Love: We would affirm that love is love because God tells us what love REALLY means.
6. Kindness is Everything: This refers to the human-to-human kindness- which that command is littered all throughout Scripture.
But the danger in this sign lies in the fact that even though most points, from the statement made itself, are supported by God’s Word; the actual definition of several points are rooted in an antibiblical foundation. For example,
1. “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” – support for abortion
2. “Science is Real”- undermines the Christian faith and creation.
3. “Love is Love”- support for a view of marriage/relationship that contradicts God's Word
The point that I am making with all of this is not to talk about the sign itself, necessarily, but to help us realize that there are many things that come our way that sound good on the surface, and so we as Christians end up accepting it, when in reality, the core of its meaning is based upon a false doctrine and philosophy. It is for this very reason the Apostle Paul writes Colossians 2:1-10.
The book of Colossians is addressed to the church of Colossae. The church was not a bad church, but they were fooled by the the false doctrine that surrounded them; therefore, they began to allow things to creep into the church that undermined the preeminence of Christ. Within Colossians 2:1-10, the Apostle Paul warns against the affect of false doctrine by stating that false doctrine produces lukewarm faith (see the example of the church in Laodicea from Col. 2:1).
The Apostle Paul commands us to walk IN Christ by planting our roots deep in Christ. Paul doesn't tell us to walk with Christ, but to walk IN Christ. How do we do this? Through prayer, reading God's Word, and adhering to Biblical counsel.
We live in a society that continues to move further and further away from the truth of God's Word. If we are not careful and we fail to plant ourselves deep in Christ, we can become like the church in Colossae and become captive to false doctrine. It is our responsibility as Christians to continuously yield ourselves over to the control of Christ. As we grow in Christ, we become better equipped to combat the false doctrines that surround use daily.
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