Thanksgiving and Resisting Worldly Philosophies
A Meditation on Colossians 2:6-7
By Wayne Christensen
Sometimes seemingly small Christian virtues can have a bigger impact than we may have initially imagined. Peter’s first epistle is designed to help God’s people live holy lives in the midst of suffering. The persecution has been so intense that it resulted in these believers being forced from their homeland. And the persecution is going to get worse, before it gets better. It’s in this context that Peter exhorts the elect exiles to “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:19). Why does Peter write this? Because he is an extrovert who loves socializing? That may be true, but the reason for the command to show hospitality is much deeper than that.
In his book The Hospitality Commands, Alexander Strauch makes the following observation about the significance of hospitality. He notes, “In many practical ways, the local church in the New Testament shows itself to be a close-knit family of brothers and sisters…. The first Christians viewed themselves as part of a worldwide brotherhood that transcended all national, racial, and social boundaries. That brotherhood was rooted in their oneness with Christ, the ‘Elder Brother’ (Romans 8:29). Furthermore, they knew they were a persecuted minority in an intensely hostile world. Thus their very survival depended on active participation in the family of brothers and sisters. ‘The little pockets of early Christians survived,’ writes C. S. Lewis, ‘because they cared exclusively for the love of the brethren and stopped their ears to the opinion of the Pagan society all round them’” (pp. 11-12).
As it turns out, the apparently insignificant call to practice hospitality, to gather together in each other’s homes, is intended for the very survival of the saints who are suffering. “Active participation” is necessary so the family of God can get to know each other better, encourage one another, build each other up; so that we can stand strong, regardless of the storms that may come our way. As the saying goes: united we stand, divided we fall.
Similarly, I believe the apostle Paul in Colossians is providing us with what, at first glance, may seem like a minor command, but after further review it may prove to be more powerful than we realized. Let me set the stage by giving you the context of Colossians. The heading in my Bible reads: “Paul wrote this letter to the church in Colossae (about A. D. 60) to counteract false teachers. Evidently these teachers were trying to impose strict rules about eating and drinking and religious festivals, and were advocating the worship of angels. Paul shows the superiority of Christ over all human philosophies and traditions” (The ESV Classic Reference Edition, p. 1183). That’s the general setting, we don’t have to get bogged down with the details.
But what we shouldn’t overlook is that Paul was genuinely concerned for these Christians. He tells them that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). He goes on to stress: “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments” (vs. 4). And then, just a few verses later, he says: “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” (vs. 8). In our day the philosophies or ideologies that oppose Christianity may be different, and include evolution, secular humanism, Marxism, radical egalitarianism, LGBTQIA+, scientism, etc., but the danger is the same.
Sandwiched between these two concerns for believers not to be diluted or taken captive are these instructions in verses 6-7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Paul provides us with, at least, three requirements so we can avoid deception, and instead persevere in the faith. The first two are pretty straightforward, but the third one may be surprising.
Walk in the Lord
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him…” (vs. 6).
When you became a Christian, you did so because you received Christ Jesus the Lord (vs. 6). The first major theological controversy I faced as a Christian had to do with the so-called Lordship salvation issue. John MacArthur had just published the book The Gospel According to Jesus when I was a student in Bible college and it stirred the whole campus, and beyond. His thesis is that a true Christian has received Christ Jesus as Lord, and not just as Savior. Which means that as a consequence there will be a change in his or her life. The other side, I found out, taught that a person could receive Christ simply as Savior, without confessing his lordship, without repenting of sin (they considered that to be a work) and without a transformed life that bears fruit. These may, or may not, come later. For whatever reason, they were confused by the clear words of Jesus in Matthew 7:20: “thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
At this point, we need to be very careful. We have no idea where a person has come from. You don’t know what another person has been through. This judgment must be the judgment of charity overflowing with grace. But Paul is clear: in order not to be taken captive and persevere in the faith, we must walk (we must live our daily lives) in the same way that we received Christ Jesus when we first became a Christian…as the Lord.
Continue to be Taught
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught…” (vv. 6-7).
Without being rooted and firmly grounded in the teaching of Scripture, Christians will not persevere. Recently, we planted a couple of small artificial Christmas trees in our flower pots at the church. Because they were not firmly planted in the soil, they were easily blown over by the wind. It was kind of a sad sight.
I hate to say it, but some people who profess faith in Christ are like that. They stand tall for Jesus…for about a day and half, before some trial comes their way and blows them over. In the parable of the soils, Jesus notes: “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (Lk. 8:13). To have strong, deep roots, you need to continue to be taught. The early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). Do our lives reflect a similar devotion? To resist worldly philosophies, we need to be deliberate about meditating on God’s word.
Psalm 1:1-4 reads: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
This blessed man, with deep roots, is careful to steer clear of the counsel of the wicked, but he is also known for having his nose buried in the law of God; day and night he meditates upon it. This didn’t happen by accident, it took planning. To avoid captivity and persevere in the faith one must walk in the Lord and continue to be taught.
Abound in Thanksgiving
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7).
Just for fun, let’s consider a little thought experiment here. If I had said: you know false teachers with deceptive philosophies and ideologies are going to attack the church of God. How shall we resist and stand firm in the faith? How many of you would have said: “I know what we need to do, we need to make sure that we are abounding in thankfulness? We need to be intentional about overflowing in gratitude?”
Why would no one have given that answer? Because just as we underestimate the power of hospitality to endure suffering, so we underestimate the impact of thanksgiving to resist worldly philosophies. We know that walking according to the lordship of Christ is essential. We know that continuing to be taught the Word of God is indispensable. But we fail to recognize that abounding in gratitude is in the same league. To us, when Paul adds the phrase “abounding in gratitude” we look at it like green beans on the Thanksgiving table. It’s just an optional side dish; we can take it or leave it. Manifestly, that was not Paul’s perspective.
Consider why Eve was deceived by the serpent. We read in Genesis 3:1-2: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.”” Eve failed to mentions that God had said: “We may surely eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.” Thus, she downplayed the goodness and generosity of God, and therefore her own gratitude.
Can we try another thought experiment; again, just for fun. What if Eve had exulted: “Can you believe it, God created this entire universe for his glory and our enjoyment! The only thing that is off-limits is one little tree. I am so thankful. In fact, I’m abounding in thanksgiving, and if I abound anymore my heart will burst. Isn’t it astounding how blessed we are?”
If that had been Eve’s response to Satan, do you think she would have ended up being deluded and taken captive? Clearly this is conjecture on my part, but I don’t think so. As I look at those who succumb to the various “isms” of this world, I have noticed that gratitude is quite conspicuous by its absence. Now, be honest: during those times when you were deluded, and gave into temptation, do you think that would’ve happened if your heart had been abounding in thanksgiving at that moment? I don’t have to look any further than my own nose to answer that question.
Do any of you worry about your children being taken captive? The statistics tell a sad tale. It is incumbent upon us parents to instruct our children to walk in the Lord, to ground them in the vital truths of the faith, and then teach them to be thankful. And the good place to begin is by showing them what thankfulness looks like.