In my last blog, The Unholy Union, Social Justice and the Church—Part 2, I displayed the philosophy of socialism/social justice and how it has taken many captive in the Church. This philosophy stems from the perception that blacks are being mistreated. In this blog, we are going to take a look at the three points Paul pointed out in writing to the Colossian Church and observe how they are in operation today:
- Human Tradition
- Elemental Spirits
- Not According to Christ (Gospel)
Human Tradition
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition…”
When it comes to what Paul was referring to in regards to human tradition in his day, Scripture gives us some clues:
- When Jesus rebuked the Jews, they proclaimed, “Our father is Abraham” thus affirming the Abrahamic tradition (John 8:33).
- Paul wrote to the Philippians the following,
“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6).
In the above text, Paul was arguing that his human heritage/tradition could compete with the best of them. He seemed to be responding to the Judaizers who were putting confidence in the flesh by presenting circumcision as a means to salvation in addition to Christ. Paul counted his heritage as dung in comparison to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Ironically enough, within the black community, there are groups that emphasize the importance of knowing your ancestral roots. Some celebrities such as Beyonce, in her movie, Black as King, suggest the practice of ancestral worship. Patricia Cullors, co-founder of BLM and and Prof. Melina Abdullah, chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter openly had a discussion involving ancestral worship by calling on the spirits of the deceased. Others, have argued that history shows that whites come from blacks which results in black supremacy. While others claim they are a god because they are black.
All of these are elements of human tradition that contribute to the philosophy of BLM. As you can see, it’s very similar to that of what Paul was experiencing in his day. Placing confidence in the flesh, whether through circumcision, or skin color, will always fall short of salvation and the righteousness of God. Moreover, for those who elevate there ancestral blackness with roots back to Africa or ancestral whiteness as Nazi Germany, and attempt merge it with the Christian faith, will indeed, invite corruption and pervert the very faith they proclaim (Gal. 1:7).
Elemental Spirits
According to the elemental spirits of the world…
As I stated, in Part 1 of this series, Paul described these “elemental spirits” as “stoixeíon” which has a twofold meaning. On one hand, it speaks of the fundamental principles of the world especially in regards to pagan religion. On the other hand, it speaks of demonic spirits, potentially, in the rank of rulers and authorities (see verse 15). The Old and New Testament usually describe evil spirits in regards to there torment (i.e. deaf and dumb spirit, spirit of infirmity, lying spirit, spirit of antichrist, spirit of error, spirit of fear, etc). These seem to be all elemental spirits. However, in addition, they are fundamental principles that also describe human functionality.
As I mentioned above, the leaders of BLM, call on the spirits of the dead. The spirits they are contacting are not the spirits of the dead; rather, they are contacting that of evil spirits.
The Bible clearly prohibits contacting the spirits of the dead and participating in divination and sorcery:
“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God.” (Lev. 19:31)
“Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.” (Lev. 20:6)
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or familiar spirit, or inquires of the dead.” (Deut. 18:10-11)
Although the prohibitions are explicit, the leaders of BLM openly embrace and promote occult activity. Patricia Cullors openly admits that she practices “Ifa”, an ancient Nigerian religion, which is a form of divination. In addition, she believes that engaging the spirit world is very important to her work and that BLM is not merely a political movement but a spiritual movement.
Why would any church or church leader yoke themselves to a movement that openly confesses allegiance to the occult? Some will state, “They don’t support the organization but they support the notion black lives matter.” While I agree black lives matter, I think the above statement is disingenuous.
Firstly, as being a preacher of the gospel, and understanding that this group is openly declaring they are working under the auspices of Satan, we do not merely say “we don’t support the movement”. We are to preach passionately and denounce such a movement! Secondly, those who are leading this movement are under the influence of demonic power. We are to passionately petition heaven to ask the Lord to judge/destroy the demonic spirits that are influencing those who are calling on them to help with “there work” (Satan’s work). Thirdly, we should be praying for those to be delivered from Satan’s influence and led to repentance in Christ (Acts 26:18).
Furthermore, BLM, is not an entity unto itself. Much of the social justice movement flows from this organization. The ideology that is touted by BLM and its counterparts flows from the same source: demons.
Remember when Paul states, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).
If Paul was alerted to the influence of demons through the teaching of Jewish philosophers in his day, how much more should we be alerted of demonic influence of the social justice movement through BLM in ours?
In short, BLM and the social justice movement is influenced by demonic power and Christians should distance themselves from it and take a non-compromising stand against it.
Not According to Christ
And not according to Christ.
The issues that Paul was challenging were certainly religious in nature; however, they were not in step with the Christian faith. Indeed, this point can be harmonized when Paul uses the term paralogízomai (v.4) which means “deceive close-beside” (delude). We get more understanding of what the issues were when Paul writes,
“If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:20-23)
The external behaviors of the Judaizers seemed to have an appearance of wisdom; yet, were lacking in true spiritual substance. To a large degree, this religious expression is a counterfeit to that of the gospel of the kingdom.
Satan has not changed his strategy, he has just adapted to our culture by applying the same principles. The religious connotation is present within BLM and the social justice movement, but it is not in accords with Christ.
Christ does not need any help from BLM, Antifa, the Democratic Party or even the Republican Party. Christ has given us His Church. His bride. We have been given the timeless message of the Gospel, been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, empowered to preach the gospel, pull down strongholds, move mountains, cast out demons, and heal the sick.
The world doesn’t need social justice being spearheaded by Satan’s ministers (2 Cor. 11:12-15). The world needs people regenerated by the Spirit of God passionately pursuing the kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33), and expressing the treasure that God has deposited within us (2 Cor. 4:7). By doing so, true biblical justice that is magnified by the cross of Christ, will be the very means to bring healing and unity to our nation that will eclipse any effort pursued by the counterfeit social justice movement.
