Colossians 2:6-10, 16-19
Accept No Substitutes
(Outlines in MS Word are available if needed; e-mail me at kerry.n.haynes@gmail.com)
Paul lived in a time--much like today--when there was a lot of interest in spirituality. Some people were into worshipping angels. Others were coming up with creative theories about Jesus, stating he was just God and not man, or just a man and not God. Some people--called Judaizers--were saying, “Sure, become a Christian, but you need to get circumcised, and obey the Sabbath law, and observe all the feasts and festivals; basically become a super Jew who also trusts Jesus as Messiah, and then and only then you can become a Christian.
In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul kept it simple. He advised to...
1. Build your spiritual life on Christ alone.
Listen again to verses 6 and 7: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
In other words, Paul said, “Remember how you first believed in Christ Jesus? How you made him Lord of your life, as he came into your life and forgave all your sin? Just keep doing that, day after day. Get to know Jesus better and better. Be like a tree putting down deep roots in God’s word as you get to know Jesus, and he will strengthen you in the faith. And oh yeah, keep being thankful. Let it overflow in your life!”
So, according to Paul, you can build your spiritual life on Christ alone. You don’t need horoscopes. You don’t need a thorough knowledge of all the world religions. You don’t need to meditate--unless it’s on a scripture verse; that could be helpful--but not to empty your mind. Keep cultivating that relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and everything else will work itself out. The great reformer, John Calvin, said, “Whoever is not satisfied with Christ alone, strives after something beyond absolute perfection.” To summarize all the reformers, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, unto the glory of God alone, according to the Scriptures alone.
Build your spiritual life in Christ alone. And at the same time, know what to watch out for and what to stay away from. Paul’s advice still holds true today. So our second point is,
2. Reject any other way to God.
As you focus on Christ, know that any other way to God is going to be counterfeit. You’ve heard how Treasury agents recognize counterfeit bills: they study the real so much, that the forgery stands out like a sore thumb. Paul talks about watching out for spiritual forgeries starting in verse 8, then verses 18-19:
8 ”See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ ... 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have 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.”
Remember from last week, Jesus is head of the church. When you stay connected to him--the real deal--you’ll recognize the counterfeit. Local pastor and author Max Lucado writes, “Followers of Christ do not become sidetracked by the insights of religious cults or modern philosophies. Only one person warrants our allegiance and trust—Jesus.”
There is one word that describes all counterfeit religions, and it’s the word “legalism.” Legalism says, “It’s too good to be true, that I could have all my sins forgiven. I have to do something in addition to giving my life to Christ or instead of that. I have to do something to get God to love me.” Do you sense the pride behind legalism? Like, what Jesus did for us on the cross was not enough? In verse 14, which we did not read, Paul said that God took all the legal charges against us (for our sins against God) and nailed them to the cross. We can’t do anything to earn our salvation. Jesus has already done it! Washington, D.C. Pastor Mark Dever puts it this way: “Every other religion in the world is the religion of ‘do,’ but Christianity alone is the religion of ‘done.’”
Stay connected with Christ--spending time with him daily in prayer, scripture, and time with other believers--and you’ll spot the counterfeits a mile away. And then lastly,
3. Pay no attention to judgments over non-essentials.
What are the non-essentials? Anything that takes away or tries to add to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Anything that is not essential to your salvation. All the things that Christians usually like to fight about. Those are non-essentials. Paul put it like this, 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.”
We have entire denominations founded on what day is the right day to worship. That’s ok. God loves variety. Nothing wrong with people worshiping on Saturday or Sunday...as long as they don’t say it’s essential for your salvation which day you choose. If they go down that lane, that’s a problem! Some Christians like to have a drink of alcohol. If you can do that in moderation, without becoming drunk, go for it. If you tend toward abuse of alcohol, stay away from it. And don’t judge others for whether they drink or not, or what foods are ok to eat. Some are strict vegetarians; some like a great steak; some avoid pork. It’s all ok. Don’t judge, and don’t let others judge you. Some speak in tongues as a prayer language. Some don’t. Some baptize with sprinkling, some with dunking, some not at all. Some read the King James, some the Message paraphrase. Don’t worry about it. Don’t let these non-essential differences keep you from loving people who love Jesus and just differ over something that is not really that important in all of eternity.
All of our denominational squabbles remind me of that old joke about a man arriving at the gates of heaven. St. Peter shows him around and informs him that heaven is made up of many rooms in which reside each of the various denominations. Peter takes him down a hallway upon which the man hears beautiful choral singing. “Who’s in that room?” the man asks. “Oh, those are the Methodists. This is how they choose to praise God.” Peter takes the man a little further down the hallway and all of sudden the man hears clapping and tambourine music. “These are the charismatics,” St. Peter explains. After several more such rooms, Peter takes the man to the last room at the end of the hallway. Peter places his finger over his mouth and warns the man to be very, very quiet. “Why?” the man asks. Peter answers, “Because this is the room for the Independent Baptists, and they think they’re the only ones up here.”
Someone once said all of our denominational labels are going to burn off on the way to hell or peel off on the way to heaven. What matters most and what only matters ultimately is Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us pray.
Thank you, Father, for the reminder of how simple our walk with you can be, through your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to recognize the temptation for substitutes and to be able to reject it, as we grow deeper in Christ daily. And help us to avoid meaningless squabbles and judgments over non-essentials. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
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Welcome time:
This old joke is attributed to Emo Philips:
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump. I ran over and said: “Stop. Don’t do it.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.
“Well, there’s so much to live for!”
“Like what?”
“Are you religious?”
He said: “Yes.”
I said: “Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist or Muslim or Jewish?”
“Christian.”
“Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“Me too. Are you Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, what?”
“Baptist.”
“Wow! Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”
He said: “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915.”
I said: “Die, heretic scum!,” and pushed him off.
Colossians 2:6-10, 16-19
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
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. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have 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.
