WARNING AGAINST FALSE TEACHING AND WORSHIP Colossians 2:1-22

MEMORY VERSE “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Warnings are signals or notice which points out an existing or potential danger. We are usually warned so that we can avoid bad or unpleasant things that might come up in the future. Our lesson today focus on warning against false teaching and worship, this is because God does not want us to be victims of false teaching and worship now and in the future.

There are true teachings and true worships also there are false teachings and worships.

Point 1: SOURCE OF FALSE TEACHING AND WORSHIP Colossians 2:4,8,14,15; Revelation 20:10,15; Genesis 3:4,5,23,24 Satan is the source of every form of false teaching and worship. He started this in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve to eat the fruit of life. He said to Eve “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

Point 1 cont. Satan also tried to make Jesus to worship him, he said to Jesus “… All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matthew4:9).

The goal of Satan is to make all friends of Jesus miss heaven; hence he uses a lot of things including false teaching and worship to tempt children of God.

All those who allow Satan to deceive them will be separated from God like Adam and Eve and then spend eternity in hell fire with Satan (Rev 20:10).

Point 2: EXAMPLES OF FALSE TEACHINGS AND WORSHIP Colossians 2:8,16-23; 2 Timothy 3:1-8 The following are examples of false teachings that we must avoid. The false teacher teaches that: 1. There is neither hell nor heaven. Jesus told us of a place of torment, burning with unquenchable fire, where the worms do not die, a place called hell fire (Mark 9:43-48). Heaven is the throne of God, where Jesus has gone to prepare mansions for us (Matthew 5:34; John 14:2).

Point 2 cont. 2. Nobody is sure of true salvation; this is not true because the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit when we receive salvation that we are the children of God. Therefore, anybody who repents of his/her sins and confesses them to God, trusting that Jesus died for him/her, receives forgiveness and cleansing from sin.

3. Those who die in sin will go to a place called purgatory, where they will suffer for a while before they go to heaven. This is not true, the rich man in Luke 16:22-26 died in his sinful way and went straight to hell.

4. Jesus is not the only way to God. This is false 4. Jesus is not the only way to God. This is false. Jesus said in John 14:6b “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. In Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”. Do not allow Satan to deceive you.

5. The way you dress and behave does not matter since you have confessed your sins and accepted Jesus. This is not true. The Bible says that by their fruits you will know them. We are commanded to be holy in all manner of conversation and conduct (Matthew 7:20; 1 Peter 1:15,16). Our dressing and general lifestyle should honor God.

False worship includes; Bowing or kneeling before statues, like the statue of Mary. Calling on angels or Mary to pray for you. . We are to pray in the Name of Jesus and worship God alone Burning incense, use of candles, holy water or anointing oil to pray. Use of prayer book and other forms of exercise that are not profitable to proper worship.

Jesus Christ alone should be the centre of our teachings and worship Jesus Christ alone should be the centre of our teachings and worship. Anything outside this is false.

Point 3 HOW TO AVOID FALSE TEACHINGS AND WORSHIP: Colossians 2:1-7,9-15; Ephesians 5:1-8,11,12; 1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 10:25 To avoid falling into the error of false teaching and worship, you must:

Spend time to talk to God daily in prayer. Point 3 cont. Things you must do to be rooted and built in Christ are: Daily studying the word of God. Be regular in fellowship and attentive to the teachings of the word of God. Spend time to talk to God daily in prayer. Preach the gospel Be careful where you go, the things you, watch and listen to and the friends you keep.

1. Who is the source of false teachings and worship? __ __________________________________________________ 2. State at least two false teachings and one false worship that are common among the people of the world _____________________________________________. 3. State (a) two things you must do to avoid false teachings and worship. (b) five things you must do to be rooted and built in Christ _______________________

LESSON Being rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith is the sure way of recognizing and avoiding false teachings and worship.

REFERENCE http://www.waggonermedia.com/Fellowship/index.html https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328903579022109899/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgytEJrJFEY https://chongsoonkim.blogspot.ca/2013/11/you-must-be-born-again.html http://real-life-villains.wikia.com/wiki/Hell https://revitlink.blogspot.ca/2016/09/warning-revit-wish-ahead.html https://zephdaniel.podbean.com/e/be-warned-trish-daniel/ http://loyaltotheword.synthasite.com/that-old-serpent.php http://englishfinals.weebly.com/temptaion-of-jesus.html