Destroying Speculations
and Every High Thing Setting Itself up against the Knowledge of God
For walking about in flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful for God, toward the demolition of strongholds; destroying speculations [or: ‘reasonings’] and every height setting itself up against the knowledge of God, and taking captive every thought into the obedience of Christ. and in readiness having to punish every disobedience, whenever your obedience may be completed. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
On this site, we sincerely hope to increase that knowledge of God for this makes for Eternal Life (cp. John 17:3). This is our goal, for only in the knowledge of God can one truly discern what is good and what is evil, what pleases God and what is displeasing, what leads to life and what leads to death.
The objective of our teaching follows that of the dear apostle Paul:
As I urged you on my departure for Macedonia, to remain on at Ephesus, in order that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor yet to be heeding myths and endless genealogies any of which are affording speculations rather than the administration of God which is in faith. But the purpose of the teaching is love out of a clean heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith, from which some, having missed the mark, have turned aside to fruitless discussion. 1 Tim. 1:3-6
This is a crushing indictment the majority of Christendom who are obsessed with world figures and worldly matters, whether personal achievement and advancement of what is pleasing individually, or in fruitless speculation on the shape of things to come. Quite frequently believers engage in banter regarding the president, selection of supreme court justice, and many other matters which fly in the face of Colossians 3 which exhorts all believers to
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Col. 3:2
And again it is the ‘traditions of men,’ not the Word of God, which misleads people to ignore the God’s healthful teaching through the apostles, and to listen to self-appointed leaders who claim that the governance of the world is the business of the Church, His body.
How can that be? The Lord Himself declared “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Paul wrote about not becoming entangled in worldly matters. John’s greatest disciple Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, forbid involvement in the politics of the nations.
How is that we have come to this place where Christians no longer value the word of the apostles as much as the word of prophecy pundits, and prophets-for-hire, who are motivated by greed to sell their books and lead the blind down the primrose path to losing their faith.
When Jesus castigated the Pharisees, it provided a teaching moment for all time, for Christendom has fallen into a similar pitfall and ignores God’s Word and thus hearts are far from Him. (Matt. 15:7)
You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. (Matt. 15:7-9, cp. Isaiah 29:13)
And we cannot simply limit this to anaphora, and other micro-details of law-keeping and the legalistic mind-set. There are numerous “doctrines of demons” which were cultivated out of the Hellenistic milieu, and out of the exile at Babylon, so that now rather than finding love out of a clean heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5) there is really a game of intellectual seeking which finds its ears tickled by kabbalistic knowledge, myths generated from Greek mythology, pathways of Torah lifestyle, and a whole assortment of human traditions which bypass the teachings of Christ. These lead away from life and toward the chambers of Sheol, the realm of the Shades, spirits without form and substance. It is the darkness of separation from the fellowship with God and His creation, life outside of the Light and Life of God’s Presence. To counteract that flow requires:
Obedience of the Faith
So very simply:
Do What is Pleasing to God