Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith(1 Timothy 6:20-21).
The world seems full of “isms.” Humanism, pragmatism, materialism, relativism, universalism, and secularism, seem to be the major “isms” that more or less dominate the modern world.
Humanism is an outlook of thought that stresses the value and goodness of human beings rather than any divine or supernatural matters.
Pragmatism measures truth by its practical applications rather than theories or suppositions.
Materialism somewhat speaks for itself, valuing things, “stuff” above all.
Relativism is a doctrine that claims that morality and truth are directly relational to particular historical cultures or societies.
Universalism is the belief that everyone, regardless of their faith, lack of faith, or behaviors in this life, will spend eternity in heaven.
Secularism, perhaps more than any of the others, accurately describes the world as we know it, describing our current value structure and mental attitudes completely outside and set apart from any faith or religious beliefs.
Initially, the -ism suffix was applied primarily to religions — Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamism, and others. Of course, close on the heels of these were atheism and agnosticism.
We have often found that some “isms” try to worm their way into Christianity, even identifying as Christian. Universalism, for one example.
As we know, in the Garden, Satan diverted Adam and Eve by creating doubt in God’s word by means of an alternate belief system for them.
“You won’t surely 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”(Genesis 3:4-5).
We can just imagine Satan leaning against the tree as he says the words to make it all look believable.
Suddenly, their minds were attracted to something that sounded…different. Believable. He didn’t deny God, but he sort of altered God’s word. And they bought it.
Each modern-day -ism offers just enough truth or just enough of something that sounds good, sounds right, to be attractive and cause people to turn away from faith in Christ alone.
In the post-resurrection world and the new Christian movement, there existed a similar “-ism” that dominated the landscape.
That distracted believers away from the Word to another belief system. One that supposedly included some of the new Christian beliefs. Gnosticism.
1. What Is Gnosticism?
Although today, “-ism” is often applied somewhat frivolously, for the most part, of the many words in our language, an “-ism” is one that clearly defines crucial concepts — both positively and negatively.
Any particular “-isms” are not just words, but rather define some of the most impactful religions or belief systems. So, it is with Gnosticism.
Gnosticism can be a challenge to define because it appears in so many different forms or interpretations. By itself, it is not a separate denomination or religion but is a religious philosophy that assumes certain characteristics while also drawing from other beliefs.
Gnosticism is quite a blend of different religions, cultures, and schools of thought. It seems to merge together ideas — called syncretism — from Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism and even from Christianity. Some forms of Gnosticism are alive and well even today.
Gnosticism itself contains only a few core beliefs — the roots of which seem to be based on Greek philosophy. As long as those core views are observed, then Gnosticism can be blended into virtually any other belief system — including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even Islam.
The word itself is derived from the Greek word “gnosis,” which means knowledge. At the core, all versions of Gnosticism, and there are many, contend that people find their salvation and overcome the material, physical world only through attaining secret knowledge.
Gnostics claim to possess this elevated knowledge — known only to a certain, privileged few. Their knowledge is not from the Bible but rather is acquired on a spiritual, higher plane of existence. Gnostics see themselves as a very privileged class — elevated above all others by this secret knowledge of God.
Further, Gnosticism embraces a sort of dualism regarding earthly matter and spirit. Gnostics believe that matter, humans, are inherently evil and the spirit is absolutely good.
In other words, anything done in the body, even the most gross of sins, has no meaning or impact because true life exists only in the spirit realm. This philosophy thus releases its believers from guilt or shame.
2. A Heretical Doctrine
Toward the end of the first century, Gnosticism had become a threat to the true gospel message, threatening to engulf the early church.
The challenge was that Gnosticism combined certain elements of Christianity and, to an extent, sounded enough like what the apostles were preaching that it had an impact, but combined those elements with their own dogma, secret rituals, and the promise of secret knowledge that could be attained to achieve their form of “salvation,” which could be had no other way, in their view.
While Gnostics may have claimed to follow Jesus and his teachings, they contradicted the gospel at every turn.
While Gnosticism teaches salvation gained through their definition of “divine knowledge,” disciples of Christ knew, know, that salvation is achieved only through faith in him (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The gift of God — not by works and not by secret knowledge or a secret handshake — so that no one can boast. Of course, the mere existence and possession of knowledge others do not possess is in itself a boast.
The salvation offered by Jesus is a free gift offered through grace and available to everyone.
Christians believe and know that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. It is God’s written revelation and is, and never will be, replaced or superseded by the thoughts, ideas, or writings of mankind.
The Gnostics used a variety of writings known as the Gnostic gospels, claiming them to be the “lost books of the Bible.”
When so-called Christian Gnostics quote from the Bible, they often change or re-write parts of the verses in order to support their own philosophy. Of course, this practice is warned against in Scripture:
Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you (Deuteronomy 4:2).
See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it (Deuteronomy 12:32).
Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar(Proverbs 30:6).
Moreover, Christianity and Gnosticism differ quite drastically as to the person of Jesus Christ. The Gnostics believed that the physical body of Jesus was not real but only appeared to be physical.
Their claim was, and remains that his spirit descended upon him at baptism and then departed his body just prior to his crucifixion. This belief denies the Christian conviction that Jesus was fully God and fully human and of course, physically real.
The biblical view of Jesus affirms both his full deity and full humanity. Thus, his death on the cross served as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 2:14-17).
3. The Spirit of the Antichrist
Today we are witness to so many anti-Christ messages, beliefs, theories, and philosophies that it sometimes feels overwhelming. Imagine for a moment the people of the first century listening to the tenets of Gnosticism and how difficult it must have been to hold firm in their faith.
Gnosticism is based on a human, subjective, and emotional approach to truth. This tactic is found even today among the “-isms” — humanism, relativism, secularism, universalism…and so many others.
They preach a “truth” that sounds good to the itching ears of their listeners. The tactic is not new now, nor was it new during the first century. It was found all the way back in the beginning of the Garden of Eden in Genesis, chapter 3.
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world (1 John 4:2-3).
The Spirit of the antichrist was at work in the first century and is at work even today.
For further reading:
How Did God’s People Perish from Lack of Knowledge?
Are the World Religions That Different from Christianity?
Why Do False Teachings Stand Out More Than the Truth?
Should Christians Read the Gospel of Mary?
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