Colossians 2:18
The Apostle gives us this warning,
"Let no man beguile you of your reward," reminding us that these
persons are very likely to beguile us. They will beguile us by their character.
Have I not often heard young people say of such and such a preacher who
preaches error? "But he is so good a man." That is nothing to the
point. "Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." If the
life of the man should be blameless as the life of Christ, yet if he preach to
you other than the gospel of Jesus Christ, take no heed of him; he weareth but
the sheep's clothing, and is a wolf after all. Some will plead, "But such
and such a man is so eloquent." Ah! Brethren, may the day never come when
your faith shall stand in the words of men.
What is a ready orator, after all,
that he should convince your hearts? Are there not ready orators caught any day
for everything? Men speak, speak fluently, and speak well in the cause of evil,
and there are some that can speak much more fluently and more eloquently for
evil than any of our poor tongues are ever likely to do for the right. But
words, words, words, flowers of rhetoric, oratory--are these the things that
saved you? Are ye so foolish that having begun in the spirit by being convinced
of your sins, having begun by being led simply to Christ, and putting your
trust in him--are you now to be led astray by these poetic utterances and
flowery periods of men? God forbid! Let nothing of this kind beguile you.
Then there will be added to these
remarks that the man is not only very good and very eloquent, but that he is
very earnest--he seems very humble-minded. Yes, and of old they wore rough
garments to deceive, and in the connection of the text we find that those
persons were noted for their voluntary humility and their worship of angels.
Satan knows very well that if he comes in black he will be discovered, but if
he puts on the garb of an angel of light, then men will think he comes from
God, and so will be deceived. "By their fruits ye shall know them."
If they give you not the gospel, if they exalt not Christ, if they bear not
witness to salvation through the precious blood, if they do not lift up Jesus
Christ as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, have nothing to do
with them, speak as they may. "Let no man beguile you of your reward."
Though it should happen to be your relative, one whom you love, one who may
have many claims on your respect otherwise--let no man, let no man, however
plausible may be his speech, or eminent his character, beguile you of your
reward.
Recollect, you professors, you lose
the reward if you lose the road to the reward. He that runs may run very fast,
but if he does not run in the course, he wins not the prize. You may believe
false doctrine with great earnestness, but you will find it false for all that.
You may give yourself up indefatigably to the pursuit of the wrong religion,
but it will ruin your souls. A notion is abroad that if you are but earnest and
sincere, you will be all right. Permit me to remind you that if you travel
never so earnestly to the north, you will never reach the south, and if you
earnestly take prussic acid you will die, and if you earnestly cut off a limb
you will be wounded.
You must not only be earnest, but you must be right in it.
Hence is it necessary to say, "Let no man beguile you of your
reward." "I bear them witness," said the Apostle, "that
they had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, but went about to
establish their own righteousness, and have not submitted themselves to the
righteousness of God." Oh! may we not be beguiled, then, so as to miss the
reward of heaven at the last!
But I must pass on, especially as
the light fails us this evening; I hope it is prognostic of a coming shower.
Here is a second rendering which may be given to the text:-
II. LET NO MAN DOMINEER OVER YOU.
This rendering, or something
analogous to it, is in the French translation. One of the great expositors in
his commentary upon this passage refers it to the judges at the end of the
course, who sometime would give the reward to the wrong person, and the person
who had really run well might thus be deprived of his reward. Now, however
close a man may be to Christ, the world, instead of honouring him for it, will,
on the contrary, censure and condemn him, and hence the Apostle's exhortation
is, "Let no man domineer over you."
And, my brethren, I would earnestly
ask you to remember this first as to your course of action. If you
conscientiously believe that you are right in what you are doing, study very
little who is pleased or who is displeased. If you are persuaded in your own
soul that what you believe and what you do are acceptable to God, whether they
are acceptable to man or not is of very small consequence. You are not man's
servant, you do not look to man for your reward, and, therefore, you need not
care what man's opinion may be in this matter. Be just and fear not. Tread in
the footsteps of Christ, follow what may. Live not on the breath of men. Let
not their applause make you feel great, for perhaps then their censure will
make you faint. Let no man in this respect domineer over you, but let Christ be
your Master, and look to his smile.
So not only with regard to your
course of action, but also with reference to your confidence, let no man
domineer over you. If you put your trust in Jesus Christ, there are some who
will say it is presumption. Let them say it is presumption. "Wisdom is
justified of all her children," and so shall faith be. If you take the
promise of God and rest upon it, there will be some who will say that you are hare-brained
fanatics. Let them say it. They that trust in him shall never be confounded.
The result will honour your faith. You have but to wait a little while, and,
perhaps, they that now censure you will have to hold up their hands in
astonishment, and say with you, "What hath God wrought?" Your
confidence in Christ, especially, my dear young friend, I trust does not depend
upon the smile of your relatives. If it did, then their frown might crush it.
Walk with your Saviour in the lowly walk of holy confidence, and let not your
faith rest in man, but in the smile of God.
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