In every way, God is greater than man. A man would have to be a thief to claim equality with God. Yet, Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
When man shuns God’s word, he passes up his only hope for knowing what sin is and how it affects him both now and for all eternity.
Most people do not understand or recognize that the law and grace are polar opposites. The law emphasizes man’s responsibility to God, while grace emphasizes God’s efforts toward man. The law’s purpose shows man his sin and points him to God for help (Romans 3:20). Additionally, the law condemns man and sheds light upon the fact that he has no hope. Interestingly, the first five books of the Bible (commonly called the books of the Law) make no reference to the word hope. Some might ask why? Because the law simply reveals that man has no hope apart from God. As such, the Lord Jesus brought in a “better hope . . . by the which we draw nigh unto God.” Any man who places his hope and trust in what he can do or must do for God has lost sight of what God must do for him.
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.
Sobriety helps the believer “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” In other words, it keeps him grounded rather than haughty. Pride is one of the greatest destructive forces in the world. Pride led to the fall of Satan and will likewise destroy the believer’s walk with the Lord along with his testimony before others. Sobriety is a companion to gravity (1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 2:2) and causes a believer to perceive himself as he really is. The Devil fell when he began to think more highly of himself (Isaiah 14:12-14). In his heart, he thought to exalt his throne and be like the most High. If the believer is not sober, he too can begin to think thoughts of pride. Just as it was with Satan, this pride will be his downfall.
The Devil despises any praise offered toward God. Men who sacrifice to God demonstrate their valuation of Him. For this reason, the Devil longs to eliminate godly sacrifices. Daniel 9:27 references a future time known as Daniel’s seventieth week when the Devil will cause the reinstituted Jewish animal sacrifices to cease. In the present age, God has clearly shown that He has no desire for man to sacrifice animals. Instead, believers offer spiritual sacrifices to God thus demonstrating their praise and declaring their love for God. Just as the Devil will one day seek to end the physical sacrifices given to the Lord by the Jewish people, he presently works hard to keep New Testament believers from offering the spiritual sacrifices of praise to God.
As it is with all sin, rebellion originates within the heart. Long before it manifests itself in the individual’s actions, it finds life by taking root within his heart. The Lord described a rebellious generation by saying that they were “a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” A man with a wicked heart and the wrong spirit cannot enjoy sweet fellowship with the Lord. As rebellion takes root in his heart, the rebellion pushes out the desires for prayer and for God’s word. Humility is crowded out because of pride and self-will to the extent that a man justifies, perhaps even with scripture, his rebellious spirit. His once soft heart becomes hardened because of the deceitfulness of sin.
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.
During the Lord’s earthly ministry, His most malicious enemies were not common men or even the Roman government. His greatest enemies were the religious leaders charged with maintaining the spiritual purity of the people of God. How could those most religious create discord with the very One who gave them the dictates for the Jewish religion they claimed to defend? The answer is simple. It was envy! According to John 11:48, the religious leadership of Israel determined that they could not allow Jesus to continue teaching, preaching, and ministering to others. These leaders realized that all men would believe on Him causing the Romans to demote them. They would not allow this to happen. How far would they go to keep their place and nation? The Bible reveals that they would even cause the crucifixion of the innocent Son of God.
When man trusts in nothing, he receives nothing in return. That is the primary point of Job 15:31. Yet, that is not the only truth being taught. It is also true that people should not trust in anything of little to no value. This would include beauty (Ezekiel 16:15; Proverbs 31:30) and riches (Psalm 62:10). Unfortunately, many in this world have become accustomed to trust in their intellect, beauty, and riches. The end result is borne out in the entertainment and business worlds, but the seeds of this troubling problem usually begin in early childhood. Young people often hear the emphasis placed upon their appearance or education as the primary means of getting the things that these young people want most in life.
