A Hostage Situation
Grand Central Station, New York City - 10/29/23, 9:44am
The main terminal is absolutely packed with people going about their business. There’s a mom trying to get her kids to listen and not run away, next to two guys in suits who are reviewing the business section of the New York Times, while a teenager rushes by them with a red bull in one hand and his I-phone in the other hand with his head down and only glancing upward when he takes a drink from the can. There’s a group of high school students in baseball uniforms returning from a tournament on one end of the platform, while a drunk is staggering about on the other end of the platform annoying everyone with his loudness. It’s a standard Saturday. Everyone is doing what they thought they would be doing when they arrived this morning, and everything is going according to how they thought their time in Grand Central would go. They will get on their next train, or cab, or back in their car and head off to their home, or office, or next stop and carry on with their agenda for the day. Now the scene changes, and we are in the security office of Grand Central Station, there is a sinister tone in the air. The people on the closed circuit security camera monitors are not people, but dots. They are not recognizable by their clothing, their demeanor, their attitude, their gender - they are either a red dot or a green dot. The security team is monitoring the green dots suspiciously closely, but there are only a handful in all of thousands of dots on the screen. They watch them, and act like they are intentionally trying to derail their plans, slow them down, put obstacles in their path. It’s like they are trying to hinder these green dots from their business, and limit any interaction between the green dots and the red dots. An alarm bell rings, and all the heads in the security room quickly pan to the monitor, a green dot and a red dot have gotten too close at the coffee stand near the east entrance. It’s unclear what transpired, but the red dot flickers on the screen and turns green. Chaos erupts in the security room. Keyboards are frantically pecked at, video footage is rewound and rewatched and analyzed. Printers begin churning out page after page of notes and analysis, and high up the room a “tick” echoes down, as all the heads rise and look up. The large analog counter has gone down by 1. It now reads “1,544,321 hostages”. The security team is rightfully panicked. Thats the first hostage they have lost in the past month and the boss has only one rule - never lose a hostage. He has several rules actually, but thats the one printed in huge letters on the wall at the front of the room, underneath the security force mantra that they all recite every day - “Steal, Kill, Destroy”.
The other day my wife texted me about a dream she had where she was being held hostage in Grand Central Station. In about 3 seconds, the above story is was burst through my mind. She recounted it to me, explaining how she was there with a huge group of people and she was a hostage. “So you were all hostages and didn’t know it”, I asked? No No, she corrected me, I was a hostage, but no one else was. I said “well shoot, thats way less interesting.” However, as I thought about it, I started to see the scary truth in my misunderstanding. We are (or were) all hostages to sin. Satan has held us captive with our fallen nature and we all go on about our business like nothing is wrong, and this is how things are supposed to be. Paul says that we “were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world” in Galatians 4:3, and when Jesus entered the tabernacle and the Rabbi in charge asked him to read for those gathered that Sabbath day, Jesus says “he (God) has anointed me to preach.. deliverance to the captives” (Luke 4:18). What is happening is there’s a world full of ignorant hostages and the rescue mission is underway. Lets flesh it out.
Flesh It out
Elemental Things
“Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.”
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ”
There are those in bondage and there are those who are free. There are those who think their hope, joy, contentment, and fulfillment are in more things, more stuff, more adventure, more promotion, more success, less weight, less stress, less anxiety; and there are those who have found the source and means of all contentment, having shed the chains of the captors and ran to Christ. The “elemental things of this world” are tried and true. Satan’s initial focus group of Adam and Eve proved his theory correct, that if he can turn the image bearers of God’s attention away from God and have us look inwardly we lose our focus and our way. When we begin to try and produce our own joy and happiness apart from God we fall short of the grace of God in our lives. Satan will use any pleasure, possession or source of pride to enslaves us and hold us hostage. The scary part is most people have no idea.
The apostle John said it like this: For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16)
Pleasure. Possessions. Pride.
The Greek word translated in Galatians 4:3 as “elemental” is stoicheion, which is defined as “any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite whole take their rise, an element, first principal”. Satan has been using these things to keep us in the bondage of sin, since the very first sin. These “elemental things of the world” are so woven into our culture and identity that most of us don’t see them as chains keeping us from our potential that we were made for, but as the actual goal itself.
Lets looks at the origin of the elemental things:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
The very first sin, the fall of man, was a trifecta of the elemental things of pleasure possession and pride. It worked like a charm. She “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food”, it was “pleasing to the eye”, and “desirable for gaining wisdom.
Pleasure. Possesions. Pride.
Satan went back to his bread and butter again as its recorded after Jesus’ baptism, and subsequent 40 day fast in the desert around Judea:
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
If you are the son of God, tell these stones to be come bread…. Pleasure.
If you are the son of God, throw yourself down… Pride.
All this I will give you… Possessions.
This time he was not so lucky, this time his plan failed. The issue was he was trying to take hostage the one who had come to set the hostages free.
New strategies
While Satan certainly has a modus operandi, he has other strategies as well that are even more cunning. Jesus calls the devil the “father of lies” in John 8:44. You may have heard it said that the best lies are the ones wrapped around a core of truth. Michael Scott said this in his book, “The Magician” - not the same Michael Scott that was regional manager of a small to mid-size paper company in Pennsylvania, but he too was just as quotable, and a magician!
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul is instructing him on dealing with false teachers, or “opponents” as he calls them. These “teachers” were arguing over words and focusing more on “godless chatter” than on the basics of the faith and encouraging the local believers in the “solid foundation” of God. These men were popular enough to be called out by name by the greatest preacher ever. Paul wrote 13 of the 66 books of the Bible, and these guys got mentioned by name. They were a big deal. Hymenaeus and Philetus. Just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? I say all that to point out that they must have had a following. Their teaching “will spread like gangrene” Paul says. Mayo Clinic says “Gangrene can lead to serious complications if it's not immediately treated. Bacteria can spread quickly to other tissues and organs. You may need to have a body part removed (amputated) to save your life. Removal of infected tissue can lead to scarring or the need for reconstructive surgery.” The effects of the false teachings of these men, and those like them, have the affect of scarring the soul, requiring reconstructive surgery, with a long road back to functioning as intended.
Paul concludes his warning:
“Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
People who teach bad theology are actually being held hostage by Satan and doing his will, without knowing it. What is the devil’s will? That the gospel would be confusing, muddied, veiled, burdensome, legalistic, and most importantly, ineffective. Instead of being able to find the truth, people fall victim to philosophical ideals or empty promises that allow them to feel good about their situation but don’t provide any solution to the real problem they face, but that they can’t see, their sin.
These false teachers are promoting a gospel that doesn’t save, but satiates. It tickles ears, and tranquilizes unsuspecting, but inquisitive souls, into a lack luster existence of luke warmness. They think they are no longer captive, because there has been some slack put in their chain by their captor. The ignorant deceivers are inviting people into the church, putting chains around their wrists and shackles around their ankles as the people take their seat. These unknowing captives look around and wonder what all the fuss is about because this sure sounded better than being outside, they heard something about freedom from something or other, but it doesn’t feel any different at all. The promise of “rest” and an “easy burden” was a smoke screen. This invite was click bait and now they are still enslaved, and even more confused, as they seek out freedom.
Paul warns the church at Coloasse about the effects that these opponents to the gospel, these false teachers, will have on the community:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. ”
It’s a pyramid scheme of captivity. The false teachers are getting their ego’s stroked by the big crowds, and the big crowds are hearing a message that is uplifting, empowering, inspirational and completely void of discussions about how they are enemies of God if they are living with unforgiven sin. The sermons have enough out of context scripture to appease folks expecting a bible verse, but are barren of the true gospel of Jesus and why it matters. They hear things about their best life now, about how God wants to pour blessings on them if they would contribute to the fundraiser, about inclusivity and loving everyone, how we are ALL children of God and how there are many ways to Heaven. These messages have similarities to the truth, but its akin to fake money. It looks fine, feels fine, seems familiar enough unless you are used to handling the real thing. The FBI trains their counter-fit experts by letting them sort through millions of dollars worth of real money for weeks on end, only to sneak in one fake bill well into the training. The agents are so engulfed and engaged with the real thing, that as soon as a fake pops up, they know it’s not right.
Satan’s counter-fit gospels work the same way, in that they seem fine to the untrained eye. When you don’t have the time in the truth, then the almost truth’s seem to be right.. aren’t they? As hostages ourselves to bad theology, we lose any effectiveness at telling people they are hostages of sin. When those people come to hear more about how their sin is holding them captive, they don’t get the actual truth they need to be set free, they get the 92% truth that makes them THINK they are freed, but are actually even worse off. They are trapped by bad theology, held hostage by false teachers claiming to preach freedom as they spew lies on how to be free from sin. It’s through works, it’s through effort, it’s through being good enough.. but it’s never through Jesus.
The Rescue Mission
The facts of the matter are that we were all at one time hostages to sin, enslaved to sin in the language of the new testament authors. We are all born of the seed of man, decedents from Adam, and have inherited his fallen nature. This nature is sinful, unholy, and unable to be in relationship with God as God created mankind to be. Knowing that we could not redeem ourselves from ourselves, he sent Jesus to free us from the bondage we were in. To free us from our captor.
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
By Jesus redeeming us, we move from slaves to sons. From captive to kin. We are adopted into a new family. No longer in the lineage of Adam per say, but into the lineage of Christ. We receive a new spirit. No longer the spirit of Adam within us, but the Spirit of Christ. We are given a new inheritance as well. No longer do we inherit the sin nature of Adam, we have a new nature, that of Christ. We inherit the wealth and possessions of our Heavenly Father.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
In the words of Stephen Armstrong, “If the Holy Spirit is the downpayment, imagine how good the actual inheritance will be”.
So Jesus has come to free us from the sins that hold us hostage, and it’s in his teachings that we find freedom:
“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”
Freedom comes from truth. Satan is the “father of lies”. Knowing truth comes from learning from Jesus. Satan wants us to be prideful, not teachable. To learn from Jesus we must study and meditate on his words. Satan is the master distractor. Jesus calls us to be disciples, or students, because its the only way we can successfully navigate the minefield of pleasures, possessions, and pride that Satan has laid for us in an effort to take us captive, or keep us captive, or draw us back into captivity. Jesus instructs us to “continue in My word” so that we are so familiar with the truth, that the fake stuff makes us cringe, just like the FBI.
Paul echoes this idea of freedom being found in obedience to Christ:
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ”
We can stay hostages to sin, captured by Satan, which leads to eternal separation from God who loves us so much that he sent His own son as the rescue mission, or we can become “slaves to obedience”.. which leads to eternal intimacy and relationship with God. We are either obeying the flesh that is pushing us towards sin, towards falling short of God’s grace in our lives, or we are obeying our new Spirit which is guiding us into righteousness.
The freedom Christ brings is not so that we can be let loose to find our own path and discover our own truth. Rather its like a lion rescued from a circus cage, and released on the Sahara. We are rescued from our cage to be released and fulfill the purpose for which we were made. Our freedom from the eternal consequence of our sins allows us to fully inhale because the weight is off our chest. We are no longer chained to what we once thought brought us purpose, meaning, joy, happiness, contentment… we are now filled with it. Christ. His saving us, was not only to release us from sin, but to empower us to live lives that honor Him and point other hostages towards the Rescuer. His plans and purpose for our lives are only achievable when we put our faith in Him to save us from our sins and then live in the empowering grace He gives us.
“To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
Here we see the Holy Trinity at work in rescuing us captives. Believers are chosen by God to do two things, through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives: #1 Obey Jesus. #2 Be sprinkled with His blood. Your freedom was bought by Jesus so that you could live a life that honored God (obedience) and spend eternity with God because you have been restored to holiness (sprinkled by Christ’s blood).
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ”
Obedience to Christ stands in opposition to our “Former lusts” and seeks holiness. We don’t try to avoid our former lusts, and not get too close, or cross a line that may lead to us stumbling into our old sinful habits. We want to be so close to Jesus we cant even remember what those old sinful habits and former lusts were at all. As you grow in your knowledge and understanding of who God is and what he did and does for you, you would so much rather be seated at His feet than have your nose pressed up against the fence of Heaven looking out and longing for your old ways. Thats the development that comes from the “sanctifying work of the Spirit” - a continual growing in your knowledge of who God is and how much he loves you.
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Obedience to Christ is a direct evidence of the Holy Spirit living in you, and as Paul notes, those who are disobedient have the spirit of the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Satan) at work in them. Our rescue came while we were “dead in our transgressions”, unable to even recognize the chains around us. Our rescue saves us from those “Trespasses and sins” and invites us to fulfill the purpose for which we were made. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. He saves us so that we can do we he made us to do and he then empowers us to do it. We are no longer a red dot going about our busy distracted lives looking for that next fleeting pleasure to help numb the pain, the next milestone to be proud of only to realize there’s more to achieve, or that next possession to show off only to be outdone. We are a green dot. We are freed from the tyranny that anything but the Creator is worthy to be worshiped by the created. Freed from the conveyor belt of pleasure, pride, and possessions that Satan hangs in front our noses promising they will give us the purpose we so desperately want. We have found freedom in Christ.
Fleshed out
The Matrix comes to mind. Morpheus offering Neo the choice.. take the blue pill and go back about your life, or take the red pill and the veil is lifted and the truth of our existence is exposed. Have you ever considered you are or were a captive. Have you ever felt like there HAS to be more to life, but you just don’t know where to look? May I suggest the Cross. Jesus offers a restful, abundant, spiritually satisfied life. He warns against running after the fleeting pleasures, but to store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven. Satan wants to confuse you, obstruct the truth from taking root in your life, and keep you chained up and lunging towards that next milestone assured it will provide purpose. It won’t. You have fallen for that promise how many times now? How many times has it come through?? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Try Jesus. Ask God to reveal himself to you, and I promise he will. James 4:8 - Draw near to God and he will draw near to you..
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ”