Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies: A Meditation on the Difficulty of Colossians 2:8 | Chad Ragsdale

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/hollow-and-deceptive-philosophies/  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ What I am going to try to articulate here is something that has been on my mind for some time. The seeds of these thoughts were not planted by the assassination of Charlie Kirk (and the reactions to it), but the assassination did provide water for the seeds. I have been dwelling on the difficulty of Colossians 2:8. It is a difficulty that, I’ll confess, is personal to me. I know that not everyone shares this difficulty, but many do. The difficulty is this: How do you warn people you love about dangerous and toxic ideas while also trying to avoid causing offense and stirring up controversy? A dominant theme in Colossians (arguably THE dominant theme) is the supremacy of Jesus. The Colossian Christians were apparently being seduced by ideologies that were calling into question the sufficiency and sovereignty of a Jesus who is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and in whom “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9, NIV). Because of Christ’s supremacy, Paul exhorts these believers to have their lives “rooted and built up in him” (Colossians 2:7, NIV) and by extension, not have their lives rooted in anything else. This is the context of Colossians 2:8. “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, NIV) Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ Get our Premium podcast feed featuring all the breakout sessions from the RENEW gathering early.  https://reallifetheologypodcast.supercast.com/  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW