“Thus all these things being dissolved, what sort [of persons] ought you be in holy livings and godlinesses?”
There’s actually one more observation I want to make before I dive hard into applications of this passage. As I noted in the last post, this verse poses what I believe is “the question” which ought to follow all Bible study: “How Should We Then Live?” “How should this truth affect my daily life?”
I also noted in the last post that too often people presume to teach the Bible when they really haven’t studied. Others presume to teach when they themselves really haven’t thought through how to apply it. There is actually one more danger that must be recognized: By-Path Meadow. One may have studied. One may realize they should make applications. But are the applications themselves valid? Are they Biblical? My proposition for the day is that there are always lots of By-Path Meadows and we must passionately avoid them.
What do I mean? In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian and his companion (was it Faithful?) were traveling down the Path to the Celestial City, when they saw another path running right alongside the Path. It appealed to them, so they climbed the stile and followed it – only to end up in the Dungeon of Despair. That’s what I mean. There are always a lot of choices – which path we’ll follow, which way we’ll go, how we’ll apply these Scriptures. As Robert Frost said, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I, I chose the path less traveled by – and that has made all the difference.” Of course in God’s infinitely variegated universe, there are a million legitimate applications of any truth, yet still there are those applications which are valid and those which are not, those which lead us on down the Path, and those that are unfortunately By-Paths that will sooner or later leave us disappointed.
The Lord warned us of this: “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” (Col 2:8). Beware which way people lead you. Beware of what others may call “truth.” Make sure what you choose to believe is really truth. Many are quick to assert this very thing about what they “believe” but is it not equally true in how they apply what they say they believe? Are the two not inseparable?
Probably my greatest regret in my Christian life has been letting other people tell me what to believe and, in particular, what the Bible “means” – how it should affect my life. At too many important junctures in my life, I actually knew what the Bible said yet let people tell me, “Oh, that means this” or “Oh, no, it doesn’t mean that.” I wrongly said to myself, “Well, they’re a lot more mature than me. I’d better listen to them.” By-Path Meadows. And every single time I did that, it led me ultimately to the Dungeon of Despair. To this day, the decisions I made are my deepest regrets. They cut my heart. They cost me years of progress I could have made. They distracted me from the real Truth. They robbed me of the kind of life the Lord would have had me live. But the worst part of it all is that it was my choice. I knew what Col 2:8 said. I’d memorized it. What I should have said each of those times was, “Oh, yeah? Explain that to me.” And I should not have “followed” their advice until I was confident that was really what the Bible said. No more. God help me – I am determined the rest of my life I will never again let anyone tell me what the Bible “says”. I will sit under their sermons, even listen to their counsel, but I will do what I sincerely believe the Bible says. If I’m wrong God or my good friends will correct me. And I’d rather be wrong doing what I sincerely believe the Bible teaches than to ignore the Lord’s warning in Col 2:8 and end up in the Dungeon of Despair.
It’s my choice.
Lord, help me to follow Truth, to spend my energies pursuing real “holy livings and godlinesses” and not to be distracted by By-Path Meadows.
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