Scripture and the Church

Thanksgiving: A Sure Antidote to Doctrinal Deviancy

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
From man's fall in Eden to the present day, all doctrinal deviancy is rooted in prideful unthankfulness for Christ and His Word. How do you know when it is happening to you or your church?

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

 

From man's fall in Eden to the present day, all doctrinal deviancy is rooted in prideful unthankfulness for Christ and His Word. How do you know when it is happening to you or your church?

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:6-10)

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declares five great truths to us in these words. First, the believer who is growing on a firm spiritual foundation puts down strong roots in sound doctrine, the doctrine of Christ, in order that the believer may grow upward in Christ. Paul uses two metaphors in this passage: "rooted" - that of a tree putting down strong roots, and "built up" - that of a building being erected upon a firm foundation.

Secondly, the believer who is growing on a firm foundation possesses stability in the truth. When the winds of false teaching blow, the rooted and grounded believer stands firm.

Thirdly, the believer who is growing on a firm foundation is constantly taking in the nourishment of sound teaching.

Fourth, the believer who is growing on a firm foundation possesses a rootedness, an anchored position in Christ, that is an "abundant" position. If you truly abound in the faith, it will leave no room for Satan to gain a foothold. You will be able to put up and keep up a solid battle front against the enemy.

And lastly, growing on a firm foundation results in gratitude for Christ and for the truth. Notice how Paul puts it in verse 7: "rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

Unthankfulness: Satan's Device

As we consider this point, let us begin by focusing on the negative before moving to the positive: Unthankfulness and ingratitude for Christ and for the truth is the common failing of those who lead the church into apostasy. It is also the common failing of those who follow them. It is the basic reason why individual Christians, and entire churches, succumb to Satan's triple threats described in Colossians chapter 3 - worldly philosophy, legalism, and man-made doctrines.

Unthankfulness has its roots in pride. It stems from an attitude that says, "I know better than God." This was the sin of Satan himself in his fall, as we find recorded in Isaiah chapter 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28. "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God," Satan said. "I will be like the Most High." "I am a god," he said, "I sit in the seat of the gods." The unthankfulness that leads to doctrinal deviancy has its roots in the same kind of pride - "I know better than God."

It also has its roots in an attitude that says, "I know better than God's Word." This was the sin into which Satan led Eve in the Garden of Eden. "Has God indeed said...?" That is Satan's deadly question in all ages. The implication his question is that God didn't really say what He meant, and God didn't really mean what He said. Satan was telling Eve, "God is withholding this wonderful thing from you, Eve, because He knows that if you partake of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God. This thing is going to make you wise. So eat of it, partake of it."

And so Satan planted not only the seeds of pride but also the seeds of unthankfulness in the heart of Eve, and likewise in the heart of Adam who sinned with her. Pride and unthankfulness led immediately to unbelief. The fall of man and the curse upon the entire creation resulted immediately from sin that was rooted in unthankfulness for the gracious gifts of God. That sin was brought about because our first parents were spiritually defeated by the Devil and his deceptions. It let loose all of the havoc that has plagued man and the created order for over six thousand years.

How vital it is to put up and keep up a solid battle front against the wiles of the Devil. How great a ruin can result from one seemingly insignificant sin of unthankfulness. How great a ruin can result when individual Christians, or the church as a body, decide not to submit to Christ as the Head, when we say, in effect, "We know better than Christ." How great a ruin can come to the individual believer, and to the church, when in an attitude of unthankfulness we refuse to recognize God's Word as the sole authority, and we say, in effect, "We know better than God's Word," and we let down our guard, and we allow worldly philosophy, or legalism, or man-made doctrines to gain a foothold.

It is the great sin of unthankfulness that leads the church into error, and keeps the church trapped in error.

Examples Abound

This is the great sin of Roman Catholicism. The Pope and the leaders of that church-state array themselves in elaborate and expensive vestments, parade before the people, and lord themselves over them. And rather than acknowledging, with thankfulness, that Jesus Christ has paid the price for sin once for all on the cross, they crucify Christ afresh every time they celebrate the Mass. Can anything be more unthankful?

This is also the great sin of the cults. The Jehovah's Witnesses say that God's Word must be submitted to the judgment of man's reason; we know better than God. Mormonism goes even further and says that man becomes a god through self-righteousness. Mormonism is a religion of prideful unthankfulness.

The so-called "word of faith" preachers that we see on television today will tell you that you are a god. These men and women strut across a stage in an attitude of open and sinful pride, an attitude of unthankfulness for the gracious gifts of God in Christ, and they tell you that you have a right to material wealth here and now. They plant the seeds of ungratefulness by the truckload, and they tell you that you can demand health and wealth from God.

How Do You Know?

We must be constantly on our guard against these evils. How do you know when unthankfulness is gaining control of your heart? How do you know when unthankfulness is taking you away from the firm foundation of the true faith? How do you know when unthankfulness is gaining control of the church? How do you recognize these things?

The answer is that you must exercise spiritual discernment. In order to exercise spiritual discernment you must first of all be a true believer in Christ. You must have the Spirit of God dwelling within you.

And you must, in an attitude of true humility, true thankfulness for the gifts of God in Christ, rely upon the Spirit of God to illuminate Scripture for you. God the Holy Spirit is the Author of every word of the Book.

And then you need to look at what every teacher and every teaching source is telling you, in the light of Scripture. You must have the attitude of the Bereans of Acts 17. You need to recognize when someone is using a lot of Christian terminology, but that some (often much) of what he or she is telling you consists of things that the Word of God never said, or things that the Word of God in fact speaks against.

You need to recognize when your own thoughts, or the thoughts of someone within the church, contradict the clear teaching of the Word of God. You need to recognize, by the light of the Word, any situation in which you yourself, or someone in the church, is falling into the trap of saying, "I know better than God" or "I know better than God's Word." You need to recognize when anyone is setting himself up as the effective head of the church in place of Christ. You need to recognize when anyone is encouraging you to set yourself up in the place of Christ, or to set yourself up in authority over the Word of God.

Our Gratitude to God for You

As I write these words, it is the day before the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. On this occasion, Christians are often grateful to God for many material things. That is as it should be. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). But let us be thankful above all for the spiritual - the truth as it is found in Christ Jesus - not only one day in the year, but every day. We have no greater gift than God's own Son, who is Himself "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6).

We praise God for the privilege of proclaiming the truth and standing for it without apology. We pray that God will guard our hearts and minds and keep us faithful to the truth. We praise Him for your stand with us in prayer, financial support, and friendship. May Christ continue to richly bless you, and may you be rooted ever more deeply in His truth, "abounding in it with thanksgiving."

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