Colossians 2:16-19 Clint Meade Cornerstone Baptist Church, 9-30-2007
Along with the rest of the western world, I have been watching the events that are unfolding within Venezuela and Iran.
Those two nations are being led by two very dangerous men.
Both Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran are ruling those countries with an iron fist.
The amazing thing is…..the people of those countries have chosen to let themselves be subject to these men…..men who have pledged themselves to the destruction of democratic principles.
As I think about places like Venezuela and Iran, I find myself wondering…..why do people surrender their independence to such men?
As a free people, we can all wonder why anyone would give up their independence to live under the rules of another.
Yet, history shows that such things are nothing new.
Eccles. 1:9 ………….
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.”
As Paul wrote Colossians 2:16-19, I believe he was seeking to warn the Colossian believers not to let anyone deny them of the freedom and independence they have in Christ.
The Gnostics were there trying to do just that with their so-called “superior knowledge”.
I believe Paul’s warning to the Colossians extends to modern day Christians as well.
As I’ve studied these verses, the Lord has shown me three things that Paul was saying to the Colossians in these verses.
As with all of Scripture, I believe these verses are God-breathed.
First, I believe Paul was saying……
DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM BONDAGE.
Col. 2:16-17 ……….
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. [17] These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Paul’s warning exposes the danger of the legalism of the Gnostic teachers in Colosse.
The Gnostics thought they had a far greater spiritual knowledge than others.
Gnostic doctrines were a mixture of Philosophy, Jewish legalism, and Christian teaching. Apparently though, the Jewish legalism was a big part of it.
Of course, Jewish legalism involved a lot of dietary rules and rules about certain designated days.
Under the Old Testament system, certain foods were classified as “clean” or “unclean”.
But I remind you of the words of Romans 14:17 ………….
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”
The Old Testament Jew was commanded to keep the weekly Sabbath, which was the seventh day of the week.
The Jews had their feast days and other special celebrations too.
Their religion was tied to the calendar.
Paul wrote in Galatians 4:8-11………..
“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. [9] But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? [10] You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! [11] I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.”
The Old Testament rules and laws served their purpose, but they weren’t meant be a permanent part of the faith after the coming of Christ.
The Law was merely a schoolmaster that helped to train and discipline Israel to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the Messiah.
Does this mean that the Old Testament Law has no ministry to New Testament Christians?
No, the Law still reveals the holiness of God.
The Law reveals sin and warns of the consequences of sin ….but it has no power to prevent sin or redeem the sinner.
Only grace can do that.
As a result of the influence of the Gnostic false teachers, rules and rituals had gotten a foothold in the Colossian church.
Some believers were reverting back to rules and rituals and judging others by them.
These false teachers were diverting the attention of some believers away from Christ.
They were saying that rules and rituals were to be the focus of man’s attention and life.
They were saying that man became acceptable to God by keeping certain rules and rituals.
They were saying that man pleased God by eating and drinking the right foods and by keeping certain religious rituals and holy days.
For some reason, human flesh thrives on looking “religious.”
Somehow, keeping religious laws, rules, and rituals enables people to justify their self-righteousness.
Make no mistake, legalism of any kind is nothing but bondage.
Peter said to the Pharisees in Acts 15:10 ………..
“Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?”
In Galatians 5:1, Paul warned……
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
A lot of people think they can please God by keeping rules that discipline their body, minds, and spirit.
They think….
God will accept me if I’m trying to be a moral person.
He’ll accept me if I’m religious enough and keep certain rituals and honor certain days.
He’ll accept me if I do good things for others and give to good causes.
I’m not saying that all rules are bad things.
We have to have rules and laws to maintain order within society.
Otherwise, we would have chaos.
But when we have rules, there will always come a time when we will fail to keep them. Perhaps it is not a serious breach, but we will always fall short of keeping the rules perfectly.
We will never be acceptable to God by keeping rules or laws or rituals by our own efforts.
You see, God is perfect.
If we hope to be acceptable to God we have to be perfect too.
That presents us with a real dilemma.
We aren’t perfect.
Because we’re sinners, we cannot do anything to make ourselves perfect.
How can any man or woman come to a perfect God who demands nothing short of perfection?
The good gospel news is that in His great love, God Himself has provided the way.
You see, when we trust the righteousness and perfection of Jesus Christ, then God counts that trust in Christ as righteousness
When we are in Christ, God considers us perfect.
God accepts every person who trusts in Jesus.
He accepts no person who doesn’t.
That’s the bottom line.
Much of mankind would be troubled …even angered at those words.
Nonetheless, God honors every person who completely trusts His Son, and no person who will not.
In John 14:6, Jesus said………
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As believers, we are free in Christ. The basis for our freedom is the person and work of Jesus Christ.
All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Col. 2:9).
On the cross, He canceled the debt and the dominion of the Law (Col. 2:14).
As believers, we are under grace as a rule of life and not under Law (Rom. 6:14ff).
Col. 2:17 speaks about the old system of rules…….
“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Rules and rituals are only shadows in approaching God.
Christ is the real body that enables us to approach God and to please Him.
Jesus kept all the rules of the law and never broke a single one.
He stands before the human race as our example.
There is no way that a set of rules can permanently satisfy the human heart.
But Jesus can.
When we believe, Jesus actually lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, those who trust Christ have the assurance of being acceptable to God and of living forever with God.
God expects us to live and move and have our being in Him, following the example Jesus has set before us.
So what does that mean?
Well, when it comes to food and drink, we ought to be eating and drinking as He did…..avoiding things that aren’t good for us.
When it comes to our religion, we ought to worship faithfully as Jesus worshipped.
When it comes to our lives, we ought to be living a godly life like Jesus lived.
I could go on and on……
Jesus didn’t come to die for us so that we can have a license to sin.
Not only did He die for us, He also gave us His ultimate example to follow.
The Law is but a shadow; but in Christ we have the reality,… He is the substance.
Hebrews 10:1……………
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”
Why go back into the shadows when we have the reality of Jesus Christ?
It’s like trying to embrace a shadow when the real thing is standing right in front of you.
People who want to keep a bunch of religious rules might have an appearance of spirituality, but rule-keeping doesn’t change anybody’s heart.
Legalism pleases some people because they use it to measure their spiritual life….or even your spiritual life.
Look at Col. 2:16 again…..
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you…..” .
Instead………
DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM SUCH BONDAGE!
Secondly,
DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM FALSE TEACHING.
Col. 2:18…………
“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.”
Men tend to feel God is far off in some unreachable place.
Because we can’t see God or touch Him, many of us aren’t comfortable in our association with Him.
Sometimes men and women see God as being unapproachable to the common person. They feel too sinful and unworthy to approach God or to secure His interest and care. Therefore, they feel the need for intermediaries to stand between them and God….intermediaries who can present them and their lives and situations to God.
And so, such men tend to look and pray to lesser beings like angels or the spirits of departed saints while others turn to seeking visions or spiritual experiences in order to know God and secure His help in their lives…..that’s what was going on at Colosse.
Why would anyone want to worship angels….why would anyone feel that angels could be their intermediary before God?
Perhaps their sense of false humility (v. 18) made them feel that they couldn’t go
to the Lord directly.
But according to verse 18, such thinking is unscriptural and unspiritual.
Such a person is puffed up with idle notions.
Hebrews 1:14 says……..
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”
Why then, would someone pray to a being that was sent to serve them?
In fact, in Rev. 22:8-9 the Apostle John wrote…..
“I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. [9] But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
There are some today who offer prayers to the Lord’s mother Mary or dead saints.
Some believe that a human priest is an intermediary to God for them.
The reasoning is similar….with a false humility they seek someone else to intercede for them because they suppose they can’t approach the Lord themselves.
But the Bible says in Hebrews 4:14-16………..
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. [16] Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Trying to reach God the Father through anyone or anything other than His Son, Jesus Christ, is simply idolatry.
Jesus Christ is the one and only Mediator between God and man.
1 Tim. 2:5 ………
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
Still others seek to somehow approach God through visions and spirits.
Such spiritism focuses attention upon spiritual experiences, spirits, or visions.
Again, these things are based upon a false humility because these people are seeking another way to approach God rather than God’s appointed way to approach Him…. which is Christ.
Such a person’s mind and thoughts are centered more on their spiritual experience than on Jesus.
The Lord Jesus is relegated to a lower position in that person’s life than the spirits and visions….because he seeks to have visions or experiences more than he seeks Christ.
Romans 16:17-18………
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. [18] For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”
The false teachers in Colosse apparently had visions and sought contact with angels. They sought to introduce their teachings into the local assembly.
In bypassing the Word of God and the Spirit of God, they were opening themselves up to all kinds of demonic activity….because Satan knows how to give counterfeit experiences to people.
Jesus confronted Satan as he tried to tempt Him by saying in Matthew 4:10…..
"Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’"
There are people today who are intent on inventing their own spiritual experiences and then they expect God to put His stamp of approval upon it…. even things that are contrary to God’s revealed Word in the Bible.
There is nothing new under the sun.
2 Cor. 11:13-15……….
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. [14] And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. [15] It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
The true Christian glories in Christ, not in his own experiences.
He follows the Word,…He is led by the Holy Spirit that is revealed in the Scriptures….not the spirit of man’s own invention.
Only as a Christian abides in Christ, will he experience God’s blessing and fruitfulness.
A truly born-again believer doesn’t seek other experiences, but focuses instead on His Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
AS YOU DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM BONDAGE.
ALSO DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM FALSE TEACHING.
Simply turn away from it.
Third, then………..……
DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE TO GROW IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS
Col. 2:19……
“He (that is the one in the grip of legalism or false teaching) has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow”.
People, don’t GET disconnected!
Be connected to the source!
Our Christian independence is derived from….and nourished by…. our union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the source of all power.
Everything is under His control.
Our strength comes from Him.
Christ is the Head and we are to be perfectly united to Him and to His Church by the ligaments of loving relationship….ligaments that hold everything together and hold all of us together in Christ as we relinquish our entire being to Him.
Have you given Him control over your life?
Paul preached about Jesus to the Athenians in Acts 17:28 ………
’For in him we live and move and have our being.’ ….
Is that a description of your faith?
Does His will come first in your life?
Is He your Lord?
Somebody once said, "God does business with those who mean business."
Christ is the only way we can approach God the Father.
He is the only mediator who can stand before God and secure His approval and acceptance for man.
He is the only mediator who can stand before God and secure His love and care for man.
No other power in the universe can do what Christ can do.
Christ alone has access into God’s presence on behalf of man.
Christ alone stands before God as the representative Head of man.
True spirituality does not come by keeping laws (which are only a shadow) but by being connected with the Life (who is the reality).
You see, without a vital connection to its Head, the body of Christ cannot grow.
Stay connected!
Jesus said in John 15:5………..
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
As we are given physical life we have an opportunity to trust Jesus to save us.
Beyond that, our goal and purpose in this life should be to grow in that relationship with Jesus.
We are free to do that. ……It is our choice.
Are you declaring your independence to grow in your relationship with Jesus?
Why not sign your own personal Declaration of Independence with the Lord today!
