“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).

This verse literally means, “Be careful that you are not made rotten by high-sounding nonsense.” Any knowledge that would take us away from our firm faith in the Word of God is nothing more than high-sounding nonsense.

We are warned in Scripture of the things that will spoil us. For example, Colossians 2:4 says, “And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.” So often in the world of religion we hear a lot of sweet words because people want to have their ears tickled. We all like to hear something good about ourselves, but we ought not to be led into thinking too highly of ourselves (Romans 12:3). We are just sinners saved by the grace of God!

In Colossians 2:18, another warning is flashed at us. This is regarding our worship. “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” The first commandment tells us that we are to worship the Lord our God and Him alone. Anyone who tries to lead you into saint or angel worship is not your friend, whether it is the worship of Joseph Smith, Mary, or one of the so-called “saints.”

We need to learn how to keep from being spoiled. We need to remember that we are God’s children, that our citizenship is in Heaven, and that we serve the living and the true God. We must learn to seek and to do God’s will from the heart, to seek the things which are above and to give wholehearted service to our precious Lord. We should constantly pray, walk in wisdom, and behave like a child of God.

As we reflect upon our position in Christ and see ourselves as crucified with Him, buried, and risen with Him, we will find ourselves not desiring to become involved in that which spoils. The question we must ask ourselves is this, “Are we following the tradition of men, or the Word of God?” Remember, God’s Word will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Word of God.