The Lord is the strength of His people. While it is true that we are called to do our part, God must add the necessary strength to accomplish the work.
The idea of the word respect is that an individual looks at two things and chooses to look at one of them a second time demonstrating favouritism.
Tradition robs men of the blessings only derived from one’s obedience to the truth. The word spoil is a term used during wartime meaning that one side in a battle breaks forth into the territory of the other side and takes their valuable possessions. According to scripture, philosophies and deceit based upon the traditions of men rob the saint of God of the benefits offered by merely accepting the truths of the word of God. The price of spoiling is high. For the lost, they can be spoiled of their eternal life by accepting the traditions (false gospels) and philosophies (evolution) of men. For the saved, they can lose some eternal rewards by the acceptance of traditions contrary to the plain truths of scripture.
Sometimes a deep chasm exists between the doctrines, traditions, and commandments of men and those that are God-ordained. Perhaps no passage better identifies this contrast than Mark chapter 7. The religious leaders of Christ’s day held “the tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:3, 5), “the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8), and their own “tradition” (Mark 7:9, 13). In doing so, they rejected “the commandment of God” (Mark 7:9). This clearly displays the critical importance of identifying whose traditions one willingly receives and accepts. If traditions are truly of the Lord, they are to be accepted and implemented into the believer’s life (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Yet, those man-made, unscriptural traditions are to be rejected altogether.
As already discussed, the word salvation is used throughout the word of God, but depending upon the context, the intended meaning varies. Failure to understand the different usages has led many to espouse some of the most egregious false doctrines. It is important to understand that the foundational meaning of the word salvation refers to deliverance. The vast majority of occurrences in the word of God actually refer to physical deliverance rather than a soul’s salvation. The word salvation can often be found within the context to describe the time when someone received deliverance from a specific trial or a threatening enemy. The most common usage today among believers relates to spiritual deliverance offered through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
When one side defeats another in battle, to the victor goes the spoils. This means that the victor enters the camp of the defeated and takes its valuable possessions (including women, children, material goods, etc.). With this truth in mind, the apostle Paul warned the believers at Colosse to be on guard, knowing that men would seek to spoil them through philosophy and vain deceit. In other words, accepting the philosophies of men, or false doctrines, is likened to losing a battle and allowing the enemy to rob the believer of his most valuable possessions. It is important to understand that although a believer can never lose his salvation, he can be robbed of his stability, growth, peace, and joy.
Throughout history, millions of people have been deceived by the influence of wine and strong drink, including many Christians. These multitudes have been duped into thinking that they have the power to start and stop their consumption at will. All of them underestimated the power and the control of alcohol. Alcoholic consumption at the first seems to pose no threat to the individual, but as man continues to give himself to it, he discovers its deadly side. This is confirmed in Proverbs 23:32 where the Bible says, “At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” A man who submits himself to wine or strong drink eventually discovers that partaking in these substances turns to his own demise. He will lose his God-given self-control and find himself at the mercy of the unmerciful strong drink.
The believer’s relationship with God is twofold consisting of a positional relationship and one of practice. Positionally, the believer enjoys Christ’s imputed righteousness (Romans 4:6-8). In this position, the believer has been forgiven of all trespasses (past, present, and future) (Colossians 2:13). John confirmed this truth as he wrote to believers saying that their sins were already forgiven (1 John 2:12). Because of God's complete forgiveness, sins can never and will never affect a man’s position in Christ. However, man must also consider his practice (his daily walk before the Lord).The sins that cannot harm a man’s position in Christ can adversely hinder his fellowship with the Lord. Though all our sins are forgiven, we still should daily confess our sins to the Lord in order to keep our fellowship right (1 John 1:9).
Though despicable in the eyes of God, humility can be feigned or faked. Colossians 2:18 touches on this principle. The saints were admonished against demonstrating a “voluntary humility” while being “vainly puffed up” by their fleshly minds. Humility and being “puffed up” are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Yet, these believers pretended to be humble, while they were, in reality, puffed up. Colossians 2:23 reveals a second clear proof that humility can be false. Here the Bible speaks of things having “a shew” of “humility.” In other words, people can “shew” humility while being overtaken with pride. False humility can sometimes convince and satisfy others, but rest assured that God clearly knows the difference.
