Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. -- Colossians 2: 8 (NLT)
There is a war going on for the lost in society. On one side stands the ruler of this world, Satan. On the other side stands the vehicle God has chosen to deliver the Gospel message, the church. You can trace the tactics of the devil as far back as the Garden of Eden and see that his strategies do not change. His game plan stays consistent. He does not try to nor need to over analyze anything:
"It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, "You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'" "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." -- Genesis 3: 3-5 (NLT)
The devil is a liar beloved and his strategy is to get you to doubt what God has already said. In the case of Eve, He said it directly to them and in our case He has said it to us through His Word. That is why we must not treat the Bible as some vague collection of short stories, cobbled together for our entertainment. It was given to us as a mighty Spiritual weapon against the lies of the enemy.
On the other side is the church, which is charged with a single task -- bring the Gospel to the corners of the earth. It is only the Gospel that has the power people need to be set free in this life. It is only the Gospel that has the keys to eternal life. It is only the Gospel that everyone needs so desperately. Only the Gospel; the Good News of Jesus Christ:
When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: "The Spirit of the L ord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the L ord 's favor has come." He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day!" -- Luke 4: 16-21 (NLT)
The world is captive beloved; they are imprisoned as we once were. They are blinded by the devil. They live oppressed lives and only the Good News can remove that yoke, cure that blindness and break those shackles. Unfortunately, where the devil knows to not change what works, the church seems to think it is about them. The past several decades have seen a rise in man-centered logic permeating the delivering of the Gospel message. The key verse from the Apostle Paul warns us specifically about such empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense which are derived from human thinking and the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. Let us not lose sight of that last point Paul is making. We sometimes forget that the Holy Spirit is not the only spirit. He is the only Spirit that comes from God but the world has its own spirits and principalities and minions of Satan. So when we see these theories of church growth that distort and pollute the Gospel with well crafted human arguments they actually come from the enemy himself. There are only two choices. If it is not coming from Christ then it is coming from what is opposed to Christ.
