Nonsense

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 are lots of “experts” in the world today. Notice I put the experts in quotation marks because the word apparently doesn’t mean what it used to. In the past, an expert is someone who had a vigorous education in a subject which gave them unique research tools to study a particular subject. For example, a doctor would be an expert in treating human ailments. Why? Because they got into medical school (which requires a high GPA), studied for an additional four years beyond college on all things medical, spent a year as an intern, another year as a resident, and then spent every day since using all of those skills to get people healthy.

The sad reality is that we as a world, are slowly losing our ability to discern who is an expert and who isn’t. With the creation of the Internet, anyone can represent themselves as an expert on nearly any subject. Blogs and vlogs are beginning to replace schooling, and the knowledge gained from it. Those writing the blogs often times lack the tools to discern truth from fiction, but put their views out there for all to see. Rumor and gossip become truth without a shred of evidence.

Unfortunately, this worldview has a habit of making it into the church as well. And, it’s not a new thing. The Apostle Paul was warning his churches nearly 2,000 years ago of such an issue. He wrote to the church in Colossae, “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.” In other words, if someone is trying to teach a theological truth that isn’t rooted in the Scriptures, using the verses in context, then they are spewing forth human reasoning and high-sounding nonsense.

We need to ensure we are teaching, and studying, from the source, the book, the Bible. Blogs, vlogs, daily devos, are great. But they can never take the place of the Word of God. Our faith must be firmly rooted there. Our education must begin and end in the Scriptures. When the Adventist movement first started out, we were known as the “people of the book,” because of our expert knowledge of the Scriptures. Church, let’s recapture that nickname.

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