Sermon Tone Analysis
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Lets Read
Pray
From the flashing red signals at a railroad crossing to the skull and crossbones on a bottle of rubbing alcohol, warnings are a part of daily life.
Children must be taught to heed warnings, and adults must be reminded not to get too accustomed to them.
Warnings are a matter of life or death.
Pray
From the flashing red signals at a railroad crossing to the skull and crossbones on a bottle of rubbing alcohol, warnings are a part of daily life.
Children must be taught to heed warnings, and adults must be reminded not to get too accustomed to them.
Warnings are a matter of life or death.
The spiritual life also has its dangers and its warnings.
Moses warned the Israelites to beware of forgetting the Lord once they got settled in the Promised Land ().
The Lord Jesus often used the word beware (; ; ).
Paul had already warned about the false teachers ().
In this section of his letter, Paul gave three warnings for us to heed if we are to enjoy our fullness in Jesus Christ.
“LET NO ONE JUDGE YOU” (2:16-17)
This warning exposes the danger of the legalism of the proto-gnostic teachers in Colossae.
Their doctrines were a strange mixture of Eastern mysticism, Jewish legalism, and a smattering of philosophy and Christian teaching.
Apparently, the Jewish legalism played a very important role.
This is no surprise, because human nature thrives in “religious duties.”
The flesh is weak when it comes to doing spiritual things (), but it is very strong when it comes to practicing religious rules and regulations.
Somehow, adhering to the religious routine inflates the ego and makes a person content in his self-righteousness.
In discussing this problem, Paul presented three important truths.
The basis for our freedom (v.
16a)
It is found in the word therefore, which relates this discussion to the previous verses.
The basis for our freedom is the person and work of Jesus Christ.
All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him ().
On the cross, He canceled the debt and the dominion of the law ().
As believers, we are under grace as a rule of life and not under law (.).
The believing Gentiles in Colossae never were under the law of Moses, since that law was given only to Israel ().
It seems strange that, now that they were Christians, they would want to submit themselves to Jewish legalism!
Paul had the same problem with the Gentiles in the churches of Galatia, and he refuted Jewish legalism in his letter to the Galatian believers (.).
The person who judges a believer because that believer is not living under Jewish laws is really judging Jesus Christ.
He is saying that Christ did not finish the work of salvation on the cross, and that we must add something to it.
He is also saying that Jesus Christ is not sufficient for all the spiritual needs of the Christian.
The false teachers in Colossae were claiming a “deeper spiritual life” for all who would practice the law.
Outwardly, their practices seemed to be spiritual; but in actual fact, these practices accomplished nothing spiritual.
The bondage of legalism (v.
16)
Let no one tell you otherwise: Legalism is bondage!
Peter called it a “yoke upon the neck” ().
Paul used the same image when he warned the Galatians: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” ().
These legalistic regulations had to do with foods and with eating and drinking (partaking or abstaining).
Under the Old Testament system, certain foods were classified as “clean” or “unclean” (see ).
But Jesus made it clear that, of itself, food was neutral.
It was what came out of the heart that made a person spiritual or unspiritual ().
Peter was reminded of this lesson again when he was on the housetop in Joppa (.) and when he was rebuked in Antioch by Paul (.).
“But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” ( NIV).
It is likely that God’s instructions about foods given through Moses had physical reasons behind them as well as spiritual.
This point that Paul brought up is a different matter.
If a man feels he is healthier for abstaining from certain foods, then he should abstain and care for his body.
But he should not judge others who can eat that food, nor should he make it a test of spiritual living.
and 15 is the key passage on this subject.
But the legalistic system not only involved diet; it also involved days.
Once again, this was borrowed from the laws given through Moses.
The Old Testament Jew was commanded to keep the weekly Sabbath, which was the seventh day of the week ().
It is wrong to call Sunday “the Christian Sabbath” because it is not so designated in the New Testament.
It is “the Lord’s Day” (), the first day of the week (; ), the day that commemorates the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (, , ).
The Jews also had their feast days () and their special “new-moon” celebrations (see ).
Their religion was tied to the calendar.
Now, all of this had its proper function under the old dispensation, but it was not meant to be a permanent part of the faith under the new dispensation (see ).
The law was a schoolmaster that helped to train and discipline Israel in the childhood of the nation, preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah.
Now that Jesus had come, the schoolmaster was no longer needed to perform the same functions ().
Does this mean that the Old Testament law has no ministry to New Testament Christians?
Of course not!
The law still reveals the holiness of God, and in the law Jesus Christ can be seen ().
“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly” ( NIV).
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.
The blessing of grace (v.
17)
The law is but a shadow; but in Christ we have the reality, the substance.
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming” ( NIV).
Why go back into shadows when we have the reality in Jesus Christ?
This is like trying to hug a shadow when the reality is at hand!
People who religiously observe diets and days give an outward semblance of spirituality, but these practices cannot change their hearts.
Legalism is a popular thing because you can “measure” your spiritual life–and even brag about it!
But this is a far cry from measuring up to Christ ()!
“LET NO MAN DISQUALIFY YOU OF YOUR PRIZE” (2:18-19)
2. “LET NO MAN BEGUILE YOU OF YOUR REWARD” (2:18-19)
The word translated “disqualify” here means “to declare unworthy of a prize.”
It is an athletic term: The umpire disqualifies the contestant because he has not obeyed the rules.
The contestant does not cease to be a citizen of the land, but he forfeits the honor of winning a prize.
A Christian who fails to obey God’s directions does not lose his salvation.
But he does lose the approval of the Lord and the rewards He has promised to those who are faithful ().
It is a gracious act of God that He has promised rewards to those who serve Him.
Certainly He does not owe us anything!
We ought to be so grateful that He has saved us from judgment that we would serve Him whether or not we received a reward.
Most of God’s servants probably obey Him out of love and devotion and never think about rewards.
Just as there are degrees of punishment in hell (), so there will be degrees of glory in heaven–even though all believers will be like Christ in their glorified bodies.
The Puritan Thomas Watson said it perfectly: “Though every vessel of mercy shall be full [in heaven], yet one may hold more than another.”
There is, then, the danger that our lives today will rob us of reward and glory tomorrow.
The peril Paul had in mind here was Eastern mysticism, the belief that a person can have an immediate experience with the spiritual world, completely apart from the Word of God or the Holy Spirit.
The false teachers in Colossae had visions and made contact with angels.
In bypassing the Word of God and the Spirit of God, they were opening themselves to all kinds of demonic activity–because Satan knows how to give counterfeit experiences to people ().
ἐμβατεύων (embateuon)
The word translated “detailing” was the technical term, ἐμβατεύων (embateuon), and literally translates as intruding into.
It was used by the mystical religions of that day and meant “to set foot in the inner shrine, to be fully initiated into the mysteries of the religion.”
No Christian has to go through any initiation ceremony to get into the presence of God.
We may have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” ().
We may “come boldly unto the throne of grace” ().
And as for worshipping angels, they are our servants!
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