Colossians Series # 2
Jesus the One and Only
Accept No Substitute
Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:2-8
INTRODUCTION: Last week we looked at Colossians chapter 1 where Paul talked about the Supremacy of Christ. In Chapter 2, Paul warns the Colossian church about some teachings that are actually Counterfeits for Christ. Now, how can you tell if something is counterfeit?
Look at the screen and see if you can spot the Counterfeit dollar bill. … Of course, counterfeits are not usually that easy to spot, but the principle is the same. You always compare the counterfeit with the REAL THING.
On the screen now you can see the corners of two 5 dollar bills. One is real and the other is counterfeit. Can you see any differences? The counterfeit is a good copy, but it is not as distinct in its lines. It’s faded where the genuine bill is sharply defined. The only way to know a counterfeit is to hold it up next to the real deal.
Paul wanted to warn the Colossians against Spiritual Counterfeits. So the first thing he did was to hold up the “real deal” … which is Jesus Christ. In Colossians chapter 1, Paul laid out 4 TRUTHS about Jesus.
JESUS is …
The Image of the invisible God
The Creator and Sustainer of everything
The Head of His Church
The Savior of all who believe
Then in chapter 2, Paul describes 4 COUNTERFEITS: Philosophy, Ritualism, Mysticism, and Legalism. Paul puts those Counterfeit next to Christ and says, “Look! Can’t you see the difference?!”
Christ Counterfeit
The Image of the invisible God Human Philosophy
The Creator and Sustainer of everything Ritualism
The Head of His Church Mysticism
The Savior of all who believe Legalism
1. Philosophy Colossians 2:8-9
In Paul’s day, the Romans were Philosophy Collectors. They liked to debate Greek, Pagan, and Religious philosophy. They loved to mix different philosophies together. To some intellectuals in the 1st century, Christianity was just one more Philosophy they could add to the mix.
It’s possible that some early Christians had that same attitude. That’s why Paul warned them: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8
The word translated “take captive” is the same terms used for a prisoner of war. Paul knew that godless Philosophy could do serious damage to these new Christians. Now, don’t misunderstand. The Apostle Paul was not anti-intellectual or anti-education. Paul was highly educated. He had studied the Philosophies of his day and could debate with the best of them.
Paul saw the LIMITS of human philosophy. The weakness of human philosophy is that is centers on human speculation. It can sound wise, but in practice it eventually leads to its followers into a moral, ethical, or pragmatic ditch.
Most of today’s Philosophy is based on a worldview that’s been labeled “postmodernism.” Postmodernism is hard to pin down. I found this definition in an Encyclopedia: Postmodern philosophy is an eclectic and elusive movement characterized by its criticism of modernism..
That didn’t help me much, but it was better than this explanation from a German philosopher named Martin Heidegger: He explained that in postmodernism … “It is in the naming that the things named come into their ‘thinging.’ By Thinging, they unfold the world, in which ‘things’ abide, and so are abiding ones.”
(hmmm) Well, I THINK that means: there’s no such thing as a thing. In other words, there is no such thing as reality --- my reality may not be your reality … and so on and so on.This may work in a classroom, but it doesn’t do much for us. It doesn’t make any sense in real life. I’ve heard it said that philosophy is always searching but never finding --- yet, ironically, getting a PHD for merely looking.
Well, I’m going to leave behind the College Philosophers and go to Mr. Rogers instead. Most of you probably know that Mr. Rogers was everyone’s favorite neighbor on the children’s T.V. show called Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. He was also a Presbyterian Minister. Here’s how Mr. Rogers he summed up the problem with Philosophy. He said, “Life is simple and deep. What the world gives us is shallow and complicated.”
So we could ask, What is the alternative to human philosophy? The only real alternative has to be philosophy based on something higher than human understanding. And that is what we have in Jesus Christ! Jesus is the image of the invisible God. His teachings are not speculation. His words are Divine Revelation. Paul explained that in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Colossians 2:9:
Jesus knows the real meaning of life because he is both God and man. He alone is able to teach true Philosophy. Anything else is nothing more than Counterfeit.
2. Ritualism Colossians 2:16-17
Paul goes on to describe a second COUNTERFEIT in verse 16: 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. Colossians 2:16
This may not make much sense to us since we don’t have the same rituals that they had in the 1st century. Religious festivals and New Moon celebrations referred to rituals of the pagan culture. Back then many people believed the movement of the stars, moon, and sun dictated the events on earth. (Today, we call that astrology --- and it is just as foolish today as it was back then.)
Sabbath day referred to Jewish rituals. So whether the rituals were pagan or Jewish, Paul was saying that both were Counterfeits of the real thing. There’s a funny thing about Religion. Give it a chance and it will invariably devolve into Ritualism. Before long, people will be bowing and chanting and lighting candles and repeating mantras without any idea what the rituals even mean.
Ritualism is Symbolism over Substance. It’s no more than a shadow of the real thing. That’s why Paul said: These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:17 Reality is found in Christ because Jesus CREATED reality. In Chapter 1, Paul showed that Jesus is the Creator of everything --- whether visible or invisible. Only in Jesus do we find TRUE reality --- what is Really Real. Empty Ritualism is a poor substitute.
3. Mysticism Colossians 2:18-19
People may try to SUBSTITUTE man-made Philosophy or Rituals for Jesus Christ, but Paul named yet another COUNTERFEIT in verse 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. Colossians 2:18
Mysticism is all about MY experiences and MY wisdom and MY inner power. This kind of pseudo-spiritualism exalts SELF, not CHRIST. In Paul’s day many people believed in angel worship and goddess worship. The also believed in occult practices like clairvoyance and mediums and witchcraft. Even Christians were in danger of being drawn in by this Counterfeit for spiritual truth.
It’s not all that different for us today, is it? People who should know better can be pretty gullible when they hear about some amazing manifestation. Recently, I heard in the news about a tree in someone’s back yard here in San Antonio that had water flowing out of a hole in the trunk. Now this was a strange site, but what astounded me was that right away people assumed this was a miracle tree. They decided the water pouring from it must have healing properties. People started coming from all around to drink the amazing miracle water. Finally, San Antonio Water System took a look and found that a leaky water pipe was forcing water through the hole in the tree. People were far too eager to see the supernatural in a purely natural event.
Recently the Princeton Religious Research Center conducted a survey of Christian belief in the occult. They reported that ... "Many who consider themselves good Christians nonetheless have engaged in practices that seemingly are counter to the teaching of their church.”
• Roughly half of all Americans say they believe in extrasensory perception.
• 30% of Roman Catholics and 22% of Protestants say they believe in clairvoyance,
• while 48 % of Catholics and 44 % of Protestants say they believe in psychic healing.
• The poll indicates that 25 % of both groups believe the movement of the stars may help govern the affairs of men and women. Christianity Today, February 10, 1992.
Why would a Christian wander off into the astrology? Why would a Christian get caught up in cults or the occult? Why would a Christian accept Counterfeit spirituality?
Paul explains why in verse 19: He 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. Colossians 2:19
In other words, Christians get led astray when they lose connection with Jesus Christ --- who is the Head of the Church. Any churchgoer who is not connected to the Head of the Church will be easily fooled. Without connection to Christ, they will wander off into any Counterfeit that comes along.
The other lesson here is that we need our connection with each other. Notice that Paul said the body is supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews. We need our connection with Christ, but we also need our connection with each other.
• Our connection with Christ gives us life.
• Our connection with each other gives us accountability and protection from false teachings.
That’s why it’s important for all of us to meet together. We need to make time in our busy schedules for Pueblo Groups or a Sunday school classes or some other small groups where we can connect with Christ AND other believers. That is our best defense against the many Counterfeit teachings that are all around us.
Paul’s last warning to the Colossians was against the Counterfeit that seems to fool more Christians than any other…
4. Legalism Colossians 2:20-23
You can sense the frustration in Paul’s tone when he writes: Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Colossians 2:20-22
Legalism was threatening to sap the life out of the Colossian church. Paul KNEW the power of Legalism. As a highly educated Jew, he cut his teeth on the Jewish law. And Paul knew that Law had no power to save. The law only condemns. It is Christ who saves.
This quote from a Christian school back in the 2nd Century shows the hold Legalism had on some early Christians:
A young man asked the school master, "I am in earnest about forsaking ’the world and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?"
The Christian school master answered, "You must forsake colored clothes, for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and don’t eat any more white bread. You cannot, if you are sincere about obeying Christ, take warm baths or shave your beard. To shave is to lie against Him who created us, to attempt to improve on His Work."
That sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn’t it? I don’t know why it is, but if you put folks together long enough, pretty soon they’ll make up a big bag of rules for everyone to follow. Back when I went to Christian College (never mind what college that was) we had a lot of rules to keep --- at least compared to most colleges in the ‘60’s. We had strict curfews and a dress code. It was the days of the long-haired hippies, so for guys our hair couldn’t come down over our collars. And we actually had to measure the length of our side-burns (no longer than half-way down your ear.)
Now, I’m sure they had their reasons for those rules, but let me tell you --- as soon as I got out of school, you’d better believe I grew those side-burns as LONG as I could get them! (PPT picture) Lookin’ good, huh?
Well, that’s where Legalism will get you. It just makes you really want to break those rules!
If that was the only problem, it wouldn’t be so bad. But Legalism is dangerous for the Church. Legalism leads to false pride. It drains life of all its joy. Legalism takes the focus off our Savior --- our One and Only hope of salvation.
Paul explained it to the Colossians this way: Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Colossians 2:23
Paul is saying, Don’t you get it yet? The whole point is that ONLY Jesus can save us from the power of sin. Jesus is the Truth --- the Real thing --- the One and Only. Accept no Substitute!
CONCLUSION:
Remember the $5 bills we compared at the beginning of the sermon. You can’t really spot a counterfeit sitting far away and looking at a picture on the screen. If you’re trying to spot a counterfeit, you have to study the genuine article at close range.
The same thing is true with Spiritual Counterfeits. It’s not enough to know about Jesus at a distance. We need a close connection. If we are reading His Word and talking with Him every day, there’s no way we’ll be fooled by any Counterfeit Christ --- whether it’s Philosophy or Ritualism or Mysticism or Legalism. Lord, preserve us from the Counterfeits! And let us shout aloud the supremacy of Christ, our Savior --- the One and Only!
Lets read together the Truth about Jesus Christ:
We believe in Jesus Christ ---
• The Image of the invisible God
• The Creator and Sustainer of everything
• The Head of His Church
And the Savior of everyone who will place their faith in H
