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In Colossians, the Apostle Paul has been given a stewardship by God to “make the Word of God fully known” (1:27); to proclaim Christ (1:28), and to help believers grow into maturity (1:28). This maturity is nothing less than Christlikeness; God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This is the goal of the Christian life. 

One of the things he mentions that will bring about this maturity is clear mindedness. He says in Colossians 2:2-4, that he is struggling on their behalf in order… 

“… that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”

Paul wants them to have an assured (confident) understanding and knowledge of Christ. Why? In this case, because in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Why is this important? Because it will help prevent the Colossian believers from being deluded by “plausible arguments.” If you know the truth, it’s harder to swallow a lie.

Spurgeon said something along the lines of discernment not being telling the difference between the truth and a lie, but between the truth and almost the truth. It’s not the obvious lies that will take most Christians out. Most of us are smart enough to identify the heretic when it comes to core doctrines. We mark and avoid the one who denies the Trinity, or the virgin birth, or the atonement, or the authority of Scripture. 

However, I wonder how good we are at noticing the plausible arguments? I wonder how good we are at noticing that which is almost the truth and rejecting that just as surely as we reject obvious heresy. For Paul, it’s not just the obvious heresies that are deadly; it is also the plausible ones. These are able to delude the Christian, even to take them captive (Colossians 2:8). And here’s the truth of the matter: little lies are more dangerous than big ones because we don’t realise we’re believing them. Little twistings (“Did God really say?”) are far more dangerous than obvious falsehoods. 

Paul’s antidote to this threat? To be clear minded. To grow in our knowledge and understanding of Christ. In other words, we have to know the truth well enough to be able to identify the lie. This is why you should bring your Bible to church, to make sure that the one who stands in the pulpit is genuinely standing under the authority of the Word of God. 

For more on this passage from Colossians, you can watch the full sermon on YouTube or listen to our Spotify podcast.