Disqualified. Colossians 2:18. Wrong ideas about Christian living range from “We are at liberty to do whatever we want because God is love and His grace is limitless” to “You must fast weekly, give 10% of your earnings to the church, and keep the Ten Commandments.” There is nothing wrong with self-denial and fasting, but when those who claim superior knowledge about spiritual things promote false humility, that is wrong. The worship of angels and extra-biblical revelation of spiritual truth are not of God but are the ideas of a flesh-controlled mind.
False humility mocks the genuine humility that God desires in His people, like what is in Christ's mind. Such teaching and practice disqualify those who approach God in that way. The only way God accepts us is through His Beloved Son. The rules God provides come through Him, not from false teachers. The Spirit of God confirms with our spirit when we test people's teachings against the word of God to ensure they are correct. True reality does not come from professions of humility or religious rituals made by men. Those who claim to have visions that have changed their view of the Bible, God, and sin often take a stance they believe is higher than that of other believers. Some think their intellectual training gives them a greater knowledge and higher spiritual understanding than simply reading and applying what the Bible teaches. The word of God does not allow room for imagination, philosophical ideas, or the perceived superiority of human knowledge and will over the written scriptures of truth. Any self-made religion is not from God.
A brother in Christ talks about his feelings of inadequacy and seems to believe he is worthless. He appears fixated on his own unworthiness, shortcomings, and failures. His words reflect his failures, and as a result, he feels unable to rise up, take his place, or fulfill responsibilities to God’s people. This type of self-deprecating attitude is really a form of self-centeredness disguised as humility. Such individuals think they need others to approach God for them, so they turn to men or angels to plead their case to each level above. Often, money is involved—the idea that you pay to confess your sins to one, then pay more so he can go to someone higher up. Each must go to a more important person until they reach God at the top of the ladder.
None of this is genuine humility because it is self-centered, false, and deceptive. True humility, the kind God desires, places God at the center. It involves a conscious awareness of our need for God. We understand who we are on our own but also feel grateful and thankful for who we are in Christ. Through faith and awareness of our acceptance in Christ, we know that we have been born again and are children of God—He is our heavenly Father.
The unspiritual mind of a false teacher turns people inward to focus on themselves, which exalts the individual. This false humility and worship of angels suggest that we control our lives and destiny in our own hands. The person who claims the body is evil contradicts the perfection of God's creation, for He made man in His image and declared it very good. Following such teachings and believing them to be right disqualifies a person from God's grace. Any works of the flesh polluted by sin that people think they can perform disqualify them from their reward and diminish the work of God. Ideas from men that oppose scripture's teaching have no valid foundation. Those who follow such philosophies are heading down the wrong path, leading to hell.
God's plan is clear: He intends for us to glorify Him through our bodies and spirits, which belong to Him. He has purchased, redeemed, and reclaimed us for Himself with the precious blood of Christ. We cannot transform ourselves to make holy what is sinful, such as our sinful flesh. But when a person is redeemed, we belong to God, who makes us a new creation. He has saved us by His grace and made us acceptable; now He calls us to dedicate ourselves fully to Him.
Let no man deceive you by promoting mysticism as a way to reach God. They imply that we are unworthy of God's blessings unless we show visible signs of humility outwardly. Mystics will claim you are unworthy of any contact with God unless you experience some pain through self-denial. False humility is just another way of saying I am responsible for reaching God my own way and thus denies the all-sufficiency of the Savior. True humility is awe inspired by God's greatness and His mercy. When a person's heart is filled with love for God, they will willingly submit to His purposes. Mock humility led people in Colosse to worship angels, which was false worship. True worship comes from an awareness of who God is and is expressed by honoring and giving Him the respect He deserves. Such worship is genuine because it is "in spirit and in truth."