Episode 5 Danger from creepers inside the life of the Church of Lord Jesus Christ.

The Pirates of Christian Faith

Episode 4 part 2

4. Devaluation of Supremacy of Christ. 
   1. The Christ Jesus is not the Supreme Divine Savior but a secondary god man. This supremacy of Christ was challenged by the opponents. (1:15–20; 2:2–3:9).
5. Hidden and secret knowledge. 
   1. The Gnostics boasted of this (2:18). The mysteries and secrets are revealed only to a few of them. To KNOW Supreme Being is Impossible. Only the Gnostics and mystics have the secret knowledge with them. Believing Christ is a foolishness. He does not exist anymore, so He can’t explain Mysteries to them. 
   2. Gnostics have obtained that mysterious knowledge, and by following their teaching, they can please Heavenly beings and bodies to avoid calamities and troubles. Paul’s emphasis is on Christ, and it shows that “in Him” (Christ Jesus) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom”. (2:2–3)
6. Dependency on human wisdom. Philosophy. 2:4,8.
   1. It is the love of wisdom the Philosophy. It the tradition of wisdom passed on to the wise men and they are authorized to give it to those who hold on to their teachings and traditions. So the Christians at Colossae must not ignore the Human Wisdom which had a long tradition unknown to the time. 
   2. Paul’s teachings and Tradition were new and known to many. Moreover, the mainline Jews did not support Jesus of Nazareth as the Heavenly Messiah. They didn’t accept His teachings or vicarious death. Rather Jesus denounced their Traditions created by the Jewish Sects as anti-Moses and therefore not divine.
   3. Looking at this, the opponents forced new Christians to accept the human wisdom and philosophy of the time. Most likely, this philosophy had emerged as the syncretistic teachings of the Greco-Roman and Jewish thinkers. 
7. Authoritarian human tradition. 2: 8 
   1. Tradition is what the culture and society had passed on to the existing society from the past. The past dies but its traditions live. The proponents were asking the new Christians to reconsider their emergence as a society. Their roots were the same as others. They had the language and the culture of the same stock of people. What changed was the faith they had put in Christ Jesus. 
   2. The opponents wanted the new Christians either follow the traditions with them or face the consequences like ostracizing and social degradation. And if they still refuse to follow the tradition as governing element of faith and practice, they could face more severe penalty of not obliging to the demands of the traditions which are from the long historic past. They wanted Christians either to follow them or face consequences of it. 
   3. Traditions show the society the way to appease gods and divine forces and to break them is inviting anger of them. If there emerges any troubles, epidemics and wars etc. then the Christians are to be counted responsible for those calamities. 

Conclusion: Paul encourages the church to hold on to the Faith and the Teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. He had abolished all those on the Cross making a foul public show of them. The church must be aware of the traps of the Pirates and stay strong in Faith and Teachings of the Apostles. Paul was sent by Jesus as an ambassador of these teachings to all nations. They must not allow Pirates to loot the TREASURES. The Church must preserve this heritage because there are rewards and crowns waiting for them in heaven for the victors.