Colossians, Part 5: Deceptive Philosophies
Paul admonished the Colossians to stop letting deceptive philosophies infiltrate the church that are human-focused, not God-focused. The primary threat to the church today is the same threat that it was to the church in the first century. Truth is not found within us, but within God’s Word.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing in this message that you found particularly encouraging, beneficial, or challenging?
- What “background music” would you say is playing as you go about your daily life?
- Read and discuss Colossians 2:6-23. What are Paul’s main points and concerns here? How does he present Christ as the solution to his concerns?
- What points of practical application does Paul give the Colossians? How do these translate to our cultural context today?
- What internal and external threats and influences did the church face at the time the letter to the Colossians was written?
- What deceptive philosophies (Colossians 2:8) does the church face today? How do these philosophies use “shreds of truth” as a hook to present false solutions?
- What is the danger of basing truth solely or primarily on personal experience? How would you articulate the proper relationship between objective truth and personal experience?
- How does God communicate to us? How can we distinguish between God’s voice, the world’s voice, the enemy’s voice and our own voice?
- In what ways do you need to “pour yourself into the Scriptures”? How can those in your small group help you with this?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
What Does the Bible Say About Equity vs. Equality?
Article by Neal Hardin
Parents & Pastors, Wake Up
Article by Rod Dreher
Cultural Marxism
Video by Dr. Voddie Baucham
Reasonable Faith with Dr. William Lane Craig
Audio and video resources on apologetics
The Dangers of Critical Theory
Podcast by Dr. William Lane Craig