Avoid These 4 Things that Spoil Your Life
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of this world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8 KJV).
In Colossians 2:8, Paul listed four things that spoil a believer’s heart and life.
These things are toxic to our faith and lead to a life of worry and fear instead of hope and faith. “Beware lest any man spoil you,” he said. The word spoil here means “to lead away as booty,” as in a pirate plundering and pillaging a ship (G4812). The four poisons Paul shared lead our hearts away from Christ. They pull us from the rhythms of grace found in Matthew 11, and they gradually spoil our lives. When something spoils, like milk left on a counter for too long, it slowly goes from good to bad. Think about that. How many Christians start their faith journey with joy, only to be spoiled by the world and its philosophies? Satan spoils them with philosophy and vain deceit, plundering their lives of the wonderful treasures offered us in Christ.
Philosophy, vain deceit, the traditions of men, and the rudiments of this world are influences that drive our world—things like the love of money and love for self—steal our inheritance in Christ. It’s not that God withholds any good thing from us, but we become spoiled. That’s why it’s so important to be “rooted and built up in” Christ, to be taught the truth that is in Christ and become firmly “established in the faith” (Col. 2:7). We want to avoid the natural progression of spoilage that comes from living in and being saturated by the world (Eph. 4:20-24). Let’s look more closely at the four toxins Paul described.
Philosophies
Philosophy is simply a way of thinking. In Colossians 2:8, philosophy refers to man’s thoughts, opinions, and wisdom independent of God (which the Bible calls foolishness). People, today, think they are wiser and even more righteous than God. Their philosophies regarding the origins of man, when life begins, how governments should work, sexuality and gen- der, and what happens after death are contrary to the Word of God and toxic to the human heart. These philosophies pull us away from truth. They spoil us and create uncertainty, worry, and fear in life.
“Climate change,” for example, has been heralded as the end of the world and used as a scare tactic to force drastic measures in conservation and energy reform for decades. (When I was a kid, it was warnings about “the next ice age.” But when the world started getting warmer instead of colder, it was changed to “global warming.” Now, with the last few years of record low temperatures, it has switched to “climate change.” Different terminology, same tactic.) Its goal is power, the loss of individual freedom, and government-mandated control. It is the only way to transition from a representative republic to a communist dictatorship without a bullet fired. It all leads to fear and the loss of freedom—freedom of speech, thought, movement, and career choices, just to mention a few. Today, the young people raised under this philosophy have no hope for marriage, family, and long, productive lives. The evils of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia make sense to them as a means of population control and conservationism.
Many other such philosophies are spoiling generations in and out of the Church. But there is good news! God also has a way of thinking, and His way is unchanging. It isn’t motivated by fear, nor does it create uncertainty in our lives. God’s philosophy, His way of thinking, is found in His Word. Genesis 8:22 tells us, “‘While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.’” The earth will remain and cycle through cold and heat, day and night for as long as God determines (see Heb. 1:3). You and I can neither destroy nor save God’s creation. To think otherwise is the apex of pride and a messiah complex.
Unfortunately, many come to Jesus and never renounce pride. They do not change their personal philosophy and submit to God’s Word. In Isaiah 55:7, we read, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” When we come to Jesus, we must not only forsake our wicked ways, but also set aside our unrighteous thoughts. Unrighteous thoughts are not just evil or perverted thoughts, but one contrary to the truth of God’s Word. We can’t keep thinking like we did before getting saved and experience peace. We must renounce worldly thoughts and wash our brains with the water of God’s Word (see Eph. 5:26).
First Corinthians 1:18-20 (NLT) reads,
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.
God’s Word has something to say about every philosophy in our culture. His Word brings the foolishness of man’s so-called wisdom to light. And while it may take time to uproot, tear down, and rebuild the philosophies we had before knowing Christ, that’s what it means to make Jesus Lord.
Second Corinthians 10:5 calls these worldly philosophies strongholds or arguments and tells Christians to cast them down by “bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ.” The strongholds of sin and evil can only happen in our culture when we refuse to bring every philosophy of man to the obedience of Christ. God wants to reverse this—starting with His Church—but we need to renew our minds (change our philosophy) to God’s way of thinking.
Vain Deceit
Vain deceit is fraud or outright lies. Fraud poisons the minds of innocent people and is motivated by a lust for power. It’s how Satan, the father of lies, infuses our society with fear and usurps control (see John 8:44). Recently, the devil used lies surrounding COVID-19 to create panic over our health. He’s also used election fraud, religious fraud, media fraud, and science fraud to pull people away from Christ. He has spoiled the Christian’s faith in God’s Word and God’s good plan for humanity.
Take, for example, our national news media. How could so many different news outlets in different cities with different anchors read from the same page of election fraud? How could the false accusation of Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election remain in the hearts and minds of mil- lions after it had been proven false? Only through demonic influence, and if your only source of information was (and is) the national news media, you’re in danger of spoilage.
To ensnare the masses, one must lie, lie often, and lie with impunity as he suppresses the truth. There is absolutely no negative consequences for lying, but there are rewards for deceiving the masses. It is hard to conceive how many people want to be lied to. That’s why censorship and political correctness are so evil. There is a coordinated assault on truth from every corner of society. But the Church is called to be “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). We must love and embrace truth in these last days. We must pursue it and share it with a lost and dying world. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” The New Living Translation uses the word “wickedness.” Vain deceit locks people into death and immaturity. It spoils, while the truth preserves.
Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). God’s Word is truth. Period. It wasn’t truth “in its time.” It isn’t truth only meant for some. It’s not subjective. It is truth! It’s objective and eternal. It doesn’t change with culture. The Word is the only way for us to be sanctified. Sanctify means to be set apart or made holy (G37). It means to be purified. Sanctification in God’s Word is how we detox our hearts and consecrate our minds so we can combat the lies of this culture. Jesus also said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). Knowing the truth sets the captive free. And when received in humility, God’s Word has a cleansing effect. It sanctifies us and sets us free from the principalities and powers of dark- ness. When we submit to its final and absolute authority, the Word changes our minds and keeps us from being spoiled. Unfortunately, most believers continue in the news media instead of God’s Word, and those lies enslave them to worry and fear. Vain deceit spoils them to the truth and locks them into immaturity. We must come to Jesus—the truth—and keep coming to Him, stay yoked to Him, and learn of Him to avoid spoilage (see Eph. 4:21).
Traditions of Men
Tradition in and of itself is not bad. Wholesome family traditions can be healthy. They can build family bonds. Paul spoke of healthy traditions, “Therefore brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15). But when those traditions no longer serve their original, godly purpose and become a matter of going through the motions, they morph into the traditions of men and are no longer healthy. Jesus said these types of traditions make God’s Word “of no effect” (Mark 7:13). Singing from church hymnals, like many traditions, started as a blessing. They started with the intention of pointing people to Christ, but when that tradition was exalted above God or truth—when no other songs were considered holy or worthy of being sung—it became an idol.
Ways of thinking or acting that cannot be touched or challenged fall into this category. For example, if you vote a particular way because that’s the way your family always voted (even if that way no longer reflects your Judeo-Christian values), your voting has morphed into a tradition of man. It has become an idol and will make the Word of God “of no effect” in your life (see 1 Cor. 10:19-20).
When dealing with the Pharisees, Jesus quoted Isaiah who said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach manmade ideas as commands from God” (Mark 7:6-7 NLT). The New King James Version goes on to say in verse nine, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” When tradition becomes unassailable, it grows toxic and starts spoiling our hearts. It pulls us away from Christ and cancels out the power of God’s Word.
Years ago, in the beginning stages of Victory Life Church, I canceled Sunday night services and moved our midweek service to Thursday nights. The decision was made with much prayer and godly counsel, but you would have thought I killed the Pope! People had a fit. They couldn’t understand how changing service times would serve the vision God had given us for Victory Life. By changing Sunday nights to life group nights (small groups that gather in homes to pray, discuss the Word, build community, and fellowship), we could expand ministry opportunities throughout the city while giving people the margin of time needed for that. This solution also allowed me to minister in different churches without neglecting my flock, and allowed the com- munity to visit our church and receive teaching they might not otherwise receive. This “tradition” served our church well for several years, but we have since moved back to Wednesday night services as a better method to serve our vision. That’s what makes a good tradition. It serves a godly purpose and can be changed as the Lord leads.
Rudiments of the World
The rudiments or basic principles of the world refer to the spiritual powers of antichrist that manipulate people unwittingly. The spirit of antichrist has been in the world for centuries (see 1 John 2:18; 4:3). It spoils immature, innocent believers who do not have a basic understanding of God’s Word. Whether you realize it or not, each of us is either receiving from the Spirit of Christ or from the spirit of antichrist. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, antichrist means “one who denies or opposes Christ.” In the Greek, it means “an opponent of Messiah (G500). It’s not just that his spirit opposes Christ, but is an opponent in its opposition to Christ. It is a counterfeit messiah, a substitute for the real Messiah. Antichrist offers a false good or compassion, a counterfeit love and kindness, replacing what God calls good with what man calls good. It is Satan disguising himself as “an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Satan doesn’t deceive the masses with outright evil and darkness; he manifests as a savior clothed in compassion (a false, counterfeit compassion). He calls evil good and good evil. He puts darkness for light and light for darkness, bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (see Isa. 5:20). This is the spirit we are fighting today in our culture. When someone calls sexual perversion love or sexual purity hate speech, that is the spirit of antichrist.
While everyone recognizes we are in a battle, we’re not just in a battle between good and evil. We are in a battle between man’s definition of good and God’s definition of good. Man’s definition of good independent of God and His Word is the spirit of antichrist. It is a perverted good, a counterfeit. A “good” that’s only good for a few, a good that tries to stand in for Christ. God’s definition of good is actually good. It’s doesn’t change with circumstance or time. It doesn’t change person by person. It’s truly equitable and just. This was original sin in the Garden when Adam and Eve thought they could know or discern good and evil without God. They thought good and evil could be known in disobedience to God. People are still eating of that tree today and it always leads to death (see Gen. 2:16-17).
Before Christ, our lives were manipulated by the rudiments of this world. We thought we were smart. We thought we were wise and in control. But we were actually blinded to the truth. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Cor. 4:3-4 KJV). Then, the glorious light of the gospel shined on us. Jesus opened our eyes, and we were saved:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Wow! The same spirits that once blinded our minds and manipulated us are working in the world today, but we do not have to submit to them. We can instead submit to the rhythms of God’s grace that guard our hearts from Satan’s deadly poison. Satan does not have the power to spoil us and plunder our inheritance without our consent. Let’s keep moving from faith to faith, glory to glory, and grace to grace as we work these disciplines into our lives.
