Paul is writing to a church he has never visited but he has heard of some troubling teaching in this church, and he sets out to provide these believers the correction we find in this epistle.

It seems there were those who entered into the young church in order to influence believers into a life of religion, or a way of rule keeping on the surface as opposed to cultivating a heart that seeks to listen to God’s spirit. It is so common, for there will always be those gospel gunslingers that seek to put another notch in their belt when they can influence one more soul into their way of minimizing the Christ and maximizing their way of life. With that said, let us consider the passage below, and see if it has any relevance to the “Conditional Security” teaching that we are discussing in this series.

Colossians 2:4-8

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

First, let us all agree that Paul is addressing believers, and not just any believers, but that are firm in their faith in Christ. They are solid, and depending how long they had been following Christ when Paul writes this, may be considered mature believers. They had received Christ Jesus the Lord in the past. Sometime in the past, they had entered into life by confession of sin, repentance and faith in the crucified One.

Paul then provides some teaching, even a command for these believers to follow.

So walk in Him. Does Paul provide any guidance on the way to walk in Him? Yes of course, for we are to walk in Him in like manner that we entered into life with the Son. By confession of sin, repentance and faith.

You know I was very surprised when I performed a study years back, a study on the word repentance, and I sought to find out all I could about the term. Although I am convinced that repentance is fundamentally a “change of mind”, this “brain switch” brings about a life change inevitably. What shocked me in my study was that the preponderance of times repentance was preached, it was directed to those of the community of faith. Not to ordinary dirty sinners! What? Sinners are to repent, and they will upon their realization of who God is and of His authority. But so much repentance preached to those of faith!

Yet the Word seems to emphasize the need for the faithful to repent of sinful attitudes and actions. I understand that when Paul says to walk in Him, he is directing us to a life a repentance and submission to Him, and that is how we “So walk in Him”.

Have you went through a period of repentance towards God in some attitude or action recently? A life of repentance is a life of holiness, realizing the dominance of sin in your life, and a life of humility, realizing your utter dependency on the Savior.

So, Paul says, as you have received Him, so walk in Him. This action of walking speaks of a day to day experience, a continuation of that initial seed of faith.

It was of concern to my previous OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) way of thinking that after he speaks of faithfully walking with the Messiah, Paul mentions the danger of being taken captive. The term captive speaks of being taken away as booty, to be lead away from the truth.

Now I don’t want to make too much of this term, for I know some consider this phrase as describing the believers condition as being restricted from his full potential, even held back from living the true life, of being held under the sway of bad teaching.

As the mind goes, so goes the life!

Nevertheless, the term does speak of the one deceived as being led away as a captive, even as a slave. Might the implication be that the ownership has changed? To become a slave implies an ownership exchange.

No that can’t be what Paul is teaching, for then he would be in error, because (as I used to think) the Bible teaches OSAS, and any verses that may seem like a challenge must be ignored, or at least understood under the OSAS teaching.

Dang – It sure was easy when I let a man tell me what to believe!

What think ye?

Might Paul be hinting around, warning these mature believers, those who are firm in their faith, that they may need to consider their standing before God? He has been of this concern before with some in his churches…

1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

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