Colossians 2:16-23
Notes
Transcript
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
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Intro:
Paul told the church in Rome...
That every single person… has missed the mark of holiness… has missed the bullseye of perfection… has… - sinned- / And, because they have sinned, they have fallen short of the glory of God.
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What that means is… that every person has put themselves in a position, where they are unable to bring pleasure, happiness, honor, respect or true worship, to God… because God demands and deserves… those things which are appropriate for His glory.
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In the eyes of God… we were dead.
Here in Colossians 2, Paul has already given us two reasons:
We were dead, because of our trespasses… our behavior, our deeds, our… sins.
We were dead, because our lives were wrapped up, and motivated by… our flesh.
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Dead!
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We define death, as being that point where our physical body ceases to function… our physical consciousness is separated from our body, and from the world around us.
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To us, life is temporary, and death is eternal.
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But God defines it differently. With God, death isn’t the separation of consciousness from the body… it is, rather… the separation of us… from Him.
To Him… life is eternal… and death is eternal.
You are either alive… or you are dead.
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With God… death is having, a record of debt that we cannot pay… and having a legal demand that we cannot meet.
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With God… death, is to live under the dominion of wicked rulers and authorities.
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So, last week, we talked about this kind of death, in that… JESUS HAS CONQUERED IT. - Where we fall short, He fills the void and perfectly succeeds. Where there are trespasses, He forgives. Where we were once driven by the flesh, He makes us alive spiritually. Where we had a record of debt, He canceled it...
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And… where we lived under the dominion of wicked rulers and authorities… - He stepped in,
-He disarmed them.
-He put them to open shame.
-He triumphed over them.
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Now… the reason we have to start today’s message by going over all of this… is because the first word in vs. 16… is ‘therefore’.
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We were once under wicked spiritual rulers (vs. 15), living according to the flesh (vs. 11), in great debt to God, and guilty of trespass (vs. 13)… -
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Because we were once DEAD - and then, IN CHRIST, we were MADE ALIVE…
THEREFORE.... BECAUSE OF THIS…
We should no longer submit to concepts, ideas, religious applications, and philosophies that people who are dead, put upon other people who are dead.
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We are alive… - So we don’t have to religiously deceive ourselves, by way of works, into feeling like we are alive, like we once did… when we were dead.
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That’s what today’s passage is telling us.
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You’re alive...
Therefore… let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
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This links back to a message that Paul had for the church in Rome. - But in Rome, the issue is mostly in reverse.
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Here… they are being told… - Don’t succumb to the pressure that people put on you, to engage in the extra, legal religious stuff. - But in Rome, he’s telling the believers who know such freedom… to not cause those who practice the extra religious stuff to stumble… with that freedom.
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13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
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Paul clarifies with the Romans… ‘nothing is ‘unclean’ in itself… but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it’s unclean.
15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
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and then… in vs. 20
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.
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The issue isn’t a matter of making people observe rules on food or drink… or making people ‘not observe rules on food or drink’… the issue is something bigger.
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Rom. 4.13 said, ‘let us not pass judgment on one another’
Col 2.16 said, ‘let no one pass judgment on you...’
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In regards to what? food, drink, festivals, new moons, or a Sabbath.
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the passages we just looked at in Rom 14 were about food… what does Paul say to the Romans about these festivals and these sabbaths?
Well… same chapter… earlier verse.
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5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
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If you think it’s important to eat kosher, or be a teetotaler, or observe the Jewish feasts, or rest from Friday at 6pm till Saturday at 6pm… and you observe things things with good conscience, and you are fully convinced in your mind… then you are accountable to the Lord in your observance.
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If you think it’s ok to eat pork chops, drink a little wine, celebrate Christmas and Easter, and take a sabbath whenever you want to take a Sabbath… and you are fully convinced in your mind… then you are free…
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Paul does say, in regard to these practices that might cause others to stumble… Rom. 14:22 - the faith that you you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
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So many folks want to fight over these issues… They want to fight over the behavioral trinkets of this life. We should eat kosher… we don’t have to eat kosher… we should observe the Jewish feast holidays… we don’t have to observe the feast holidays…
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And when they fight over them… they totally miss the point that Paul is making on this very issue… both here in Colossians 2, and in Romans.
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The point is - Just stop judging one another over these issues.
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In vs. 17… Paul gives us more perspective on the food rules and the festival rules… - THESE ARE NOT SUBSTANCE -
… This isn’t the thing that saves you. You do not have an eternal relationship with Kosher food. No Sabbath ever conquered sin and death on your behalf.
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They are not substance… they are merely shadows.
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When the sun comes up in the east… its light reflects upon the eastern side of that tree, and casts a shadow to the west. When you look to the west of that tree, you see an outline… a stencil… a shape… - It looks like a tree. But it’s not a tree.
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It’s just, the shadow… - you can’t grab it, climb it, break off its branches or burn it. You can only see it… and when you do see it, you are reminded… that this shadow is only here, because the tree is standing just a little bit to the east.
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And that shadow will change throughout the day… because, there’s nothing to it...
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But the tree will not change. It is the real thing… it has substance.
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No shadow was ever been milled to build a house. No shadow was ever cut down to stoke a fire. No ship was ever built of a shadow. - The shadow, has no substance.
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But… things like the shadow… religious practices, w/o substance… are still important to people. People put stock in the observance of Passover, or the eating of Kosher food… or the Sabbath. Their relationship with God, is wrapped up in these things…
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For some folks, these things are practiced with great conviction, and God is honored in their observance…
But
For some folks… they are just empty religious observances.
There is no relationship with God. There is no substance… just the shadow of meeting out a religious obligation...
Why? So they can feel like they did something, to make them feel alive.
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Paul reminds the believers in Colosse… you are alive… therefore, when you don’t eat according to the religious rules.. or you don’t observe the day just right… - Don’t let anyone judge you for it.
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The shadow did not give you life… the substance did.
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18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
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Let no one disqualify you.
This also means… ‘let no one decide as an umpire against you’
Metaphorically, this means, ‘don’t let anyone deprive you of your salvation’.
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This word speaks of people making judgments, that they are not qualified to make. They have no authority to disqualify you.
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Basically… this is not a ‘justice’ word.
This is a word which speaks of accusation and unjust proclamation.
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The Bible has another word for disqualify… which is used in 2 cor 13, 2 Tim 3:8, and 1 Cor 9… and it speaks of something that has genuinely been tested and proven to be untrustworthy, or proven to be phony. It’s a word they use to confirm whether a gemstone is legit or not.
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That is, a justice word… this one here, in Colossians 2… is not a justice word.
What’s the difference?
The difference, is the standard… the rule… the canon to which a person is held, to determine their qualification.
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In today’s passage… the standard has to do with extra-biblical disciplines and observances..
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Asceticism… - this word means, ‘humility’… and every time it is translated as humility, the context of the teaching makes it a ‘good thing’.
Acts 20… serving the Lord with all humility...
Eph 4… with all humility and gentleness...
Phil 2… but in humility, count other as more significant…
1 Pet 5… clothe yourself with humility towards others..
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But three times in Colossians… it uses the word asceticism… and every time, it speaks of a discipline, an exercise in humility which does not have positive implications. - It spoke, uniquely and directly, to something that was going on in this Greco-Roman culture…
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This speaks of self flagellation.. this speaks of a religious rule… this speaks of acts and behaviors that declare a picture of humility… the clothes you wear… the way you cut, or don’t cut your hair, the food you eat, your living situation… and so on.
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Asceticism might be something that someone might pursue in a monastic sense… out of personal conviction… but it is not something that should be imposed upon other believers..
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And from here… things move into the sensationalistic realm… worship of angels… making a big deal of visions… Having a puffed up pride that is rooted in feelings and sympathies rather than reason.
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The context of all of this… is religion.
And specifically… within the realm of Christianity.
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As Christians… we might face those who tell us we need to observe more laws. We need to be more Jewish. We need to dress better. We need to perform better. We need to listen to different music. We need to cut our hair. We need to follow more rules… - why? Because if we follow these rules, we will earn God’s favor.
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But sometimes, we face those who say… we need to feel more. The Spirit isn't moving here because nobody spoke a word of prophecy, nobody spoke in tongues, nobody fell on the floor and shook like a fish. We need more sensational stuff to make us feel like we are having a spiritual experience…
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Interestingly… sometimes these are the same people.
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Most people I know, in the Hebraic Roots movement… that is, the movement that says we should all live like Jews, observe the feasts, wear tassels and speak Hebrew.. - Were originally in a hyper-charismatic movement.
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Why? Because some folks are wired to identify their spirituality, in the things of Colossians 2:16, or the things of Colossians 2:18. - It was apparently this way in the days of Paul… and it is still this way in our current world.
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But Paul says… that one group embraces the shadow over the substance… and the other group embraces sensationalistic experiences, which are contrary to ‘holding fast to Jesus’..
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The contrast becomes clear in vs. 19
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
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Jesus is called, ‘the Head’… indicating and emphasizing His authority, and our need to submit. -
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In the context of this passage, who is not submitting to His rule in their lives? - Those who would rather follow a path of sensation… new prophetic revelation… those who would rather hear the visions of their leader, than the teachings of Scripture… Those who would rather follow religious practices that feel good, and make them feel superior.
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This is a struggle...
In the church, we need to strive to embrace the truth. We need to search the scriptures, we need to constantly re-adjust and correct our doctrine.
But, when we correct it… and use our new truth as a platform to elevate ourselves over other Christians… -We are missing something.
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We should endeavor, in humility, to help others grow in their faith, and embrace a better understanding of scripture.
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We should not, lift ourselves up, by putting other down, because our doctrine is better than theirs.
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When I was 12, major changes in life led to a change in church. I grew up, Lutheran. Not a serious Lutheran… my family wasn’t real committed… but we went, and I almost made it through confirmation.. - But then we made a jump to a very fundamental Baptist church.
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And boy, was it different.
I got saved in that season of my life… I was impressed that the people who were there, were faithful, committed, and loving to one another…
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But you didn’t have to wait too long, till you realized… that they were more correct than my past Lutheran church.. and way more correct that the Charismatic churches. I heard about it all the time.
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When I went to Bible School, I ended up with a serving opportunity at a very charismatic church. It was an eye opening experience, and I learned a lot… But I also learned… that they were better than the traditional churches, like my Lutheran churches… and they were better than the Baptist church who denied the gifts of the Spirit… - they had a better truth, because they had sensationalistic experiences every week..
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But then, I found Calvary Chapel, and they taught verse by verse, and really took a simple approach to understanding the Bible. They didn’t let ancient church doctrine influence their hermeneutic, and they didn’t promote any doctrine that couldn’t be clearly derived from the scriptures.
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But, it didn’t take too long, to discover, that Calvary Chapel did not have a problem promoting its correctness over my traditional Lutheran church, or my fundamental Baptist Church, or my sensationalistic Charismatic church.
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This is just something we do… we diligently pursue truth, and when we find it, we look at others who aren’t seeking it, and put them down.
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I’ll confess… that some people are such blatant heretics… that we are responsible to point them out and warn people about them. I have a short list of people that I will gladly point out as being charlatans..
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But sometimes, people with genuine faith in the Gospel… simply have different views and practices on doctrine… - We need to know the difference between a charlatan, and a Christian… one, we can call out… the other, we do not judge.
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In the mean time, w/o judging…
Yes… in humility, we should encourage one another to grow in sound doctrine...
But we shouldn’t pass judgment.
And personally, I confess… this is hard.
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Especially when I am right, and so many people are wrong. :)
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Let’s move on.
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
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Paul links back to vs. 8 by talking about the elemental spirits of the world…
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
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Paul reminds us… we have died to the way the world does things. We are not bound to do… what dead people do, to deceive themselves into thinking they are alive.
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Yes… they appear to be wise.
Yes… they promote a sense of religion, though it is self made, and not according to Jesus..
Yes… they produce an outward display of humility, which lends credibility to the eyes of the world.
Yes… they display bodily discipline…
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But Paul concludes by saying… in spite of the rules… in spite of the religion… in spite of the humility… in spite of the self deprivation.. - The flesh is still indulged.
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What part? The part that is bigger than the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes… - the big daddy of all fleshly indulgence thrives in this kind of behavior.. - THE PRIDE OF LIFE.
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What does pride do? It convinces self… that self is better than other people… because of what self does. - I dress better, so I am better. I observe these outward displays of humility, so I am better. - I don’t watch tv or go to movies… so I am better… I don’t play cards, unless it’s Dutch Blitz… because I am better.
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I’ve lived in the environments where strict religious and behavioral rules were in place. And, when I was 18, I needed those rules… - But, when we live in those environments, we face a challenge.
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We can kick against them.
We can humbly submit, and learn from them.
Or… we can develop a sense of pride and identity in them.
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Unfortunately, people often embraced the pride / identity option.
They followed the rules… and immersed themselves in them… to what avail? To show the world around them, that they were better. They were better because they were poor. They were better because they worked hard. They were better because they only listened to Christian music. They were better.
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And as a result… a lot of these folks, had a hard time connecting with a local church… because the church was full of normal people, that they were better than. People who made a living . People who drove nice cars. People who went to movies.
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Human nature is a crazy thing.
It will find a way to turn our devotion into sin, if we let it.
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Our devotion, if it’s not rooted humbly in the Gospel, will have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
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That’s the end of chapter 2…
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And what a challenge this passage is… to church as a whole, and to us as individuals.
For we think, we we only devote ourselves all the more to the disciplines of God, then we will fully crucify the flesh and the desires there in...
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But with the devotion, comes a sneaky, deceptive fleshly indulgence. The Pride of Life.
Apart from a daily humility restoring dose of the Gospel… these practices will have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh…
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close.