What's Quietly Pulling Your Attention Away From Christ?

There’s a funny story in the Old Testament about a King who didn’t like to hear bad news. King Ahab ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC. He wanted to go to war to retake the important city of Ramoth-Gilead, which was then under the control of the king of the nation of Aram, so he consulted the king of the southern kingdom of Judah, a man named Jehoshaphat. We know from archeology and ancient writings that King Ahab was a well-known king in the ancient world, but he was not very wise. We read about this story in 1 Kings, chapter 22.

Jehoshephat agreed to help King Ahab but only if they first “sought the counsel of the Lord.” King Ahab commanded 400 of his prophets to come forth and prophesy over the upcoming campaign, and their verdict was unanimous: “Go! For the Lord will give it into the King’s hand.” Jehoshephat’s reply is comical: “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord we can inquire of?”

Apparently, all 400 of Ahab’s seers were false prophets, and the King of Judah knew it. Ahab reluctantly mentioned that there was ONE GUY who still served God, but Ahab HATED him because he never had anything good to say about him. The prophet Micaiah was summoned.

The servants of Ahab pleaded with Micaiah to just go along with what the other prophets had said. Give good news! Make us look good! Make the king happy! Micaiah responded, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.” Micaiah refused to tickle the king's ears with what he wanted to hear. He told Ahab that God had set Himself against him and that if he went out to battle, he would be killed and his army would be scattered.

For his honest warning, Micaiah was thrown in prison until the king returned…which he never did. Ahab listened to the soothing words of his prophets, he went to war against the king of Aram, died in battle, and his army was scattered just as the true prophet had foretold.

Christ should be our focus

But what does an ancient story from a faraway kingdom have to say to us today? 2 Timothy 2:3 says, “For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.” People hadn’t changed in Paul and Timothy’s day. They haven’t changed in our day, either.

In fact, the Apostle Paul had to remind the church at Colossae, Laodicea, and the surrounding region that all the wisdom and knowledge we need are found in the mystery of Christ. He writes in Colossians 2:1-5:

“For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable. For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.”

In the first century AD, the city of Colossae was rife with different beliefs and cultures, many of which had stealthily made their way into the thinking of many believers there. At that time, Jewish legalism, pagan folk-beliefs, asceticism (extreme self-denial), angel worship, etc., were commonplace. The danger Paul is addressing isn’t the obvious problem of some converting from Christianity to some foreign belief system. The danger was mixing in false beliefs with the truth. This idea, known as Syncretism, was causing some Christians to accept teachings that were not true and add them into their personal a la carte theology.

How could solid Christians, taught by the Apostle Paul or those sent by him, be led astray into accepting and mingling in false beliefs? The Scripture warns the people not to be deceived by “arguments that sound reasonable.” In other words, some believed lies that sounded good.

Paul’s goal in writing to the Colossian Christians was to encourage them in heart and unify them in love so that they could have TRUE understanding, which is only found in Christ Jesus. In the mystery of the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the God-Man, Jesus, lie “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul is warning believers to be on guard against cheap knock-offs and focus on Christ.

American Colossae

If that doesn’t stir something in you, maybe try another espresso shot! It’s not just ancient kings who listen to false prophets that tell them what they want to hear. It’s not just first-century home churches that are being deceived by false teachers. The Church in 21st-century America (that’s what I know) is struggling with this too. I struggle with this personally! We are the American Colossae!

In the age of the internet, TikTok, the prosperity gospel, secular humanism, progressive Christianity, and legalistic fundamentalism, WE need to heed the Word of God as much as anyone. How often do we find ourselves getting caught up in pursuing financial success, “adjusting” our moral beliefs to fit in with culture, getting wrapped up in conspiracy theories, trying to check all the boxes of a good spiritual life, and losing track of what really matters?

I need to remind myself today, and every day, that God calls us to have “all the riches of complete understanding” but that this is not found anywhere but in Christ. He is the “image of the invisible God.” He is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” We all want to be accepted, loved, filled with wisdom, transformed in our character, used greatly by God, and given the right to become children of God. All these things are found in Christ alone.

Read your Bible. Study the word of God. Memorize it, meditate on it, and ask God to illuminate it for you. God’s word transforms, builds up, and inoculates us against the lies of the evil one. Seek God through His revelation to us, the Bible. Pray earnestly that you would be conformed into the image of Christ. Pray that He would keep you in His Truth.

My encouragement to you is to be on guard against fine-sounding arguments that lead you away from Jesus. I want you to be filled with courage to live out your faith in a secular culture, be unified with the family of God in the love of God, and to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God that is found in Jesus Christ alone.