BIG IDEA:
UNION WITH CHRIST HAS FREED US FROM THE BONDAGE AND
CONDEMNATION OF THE FALSE ISMS
(WHICH CLAIM TO BE THE PATHWAY TO SPIRITUALITY)
INTRODUCTION
Follows along with theme introduced in vs. 16 -- “See to it that no one takes you captive”
“Therefore” – points to what has been covered in the previous verses where the basis for our
freedom has been shown to be all that Christ has provided for us in His death and Resurrection:
- forgiveness of sins
- resurrection life
- victory over our enemies
Christ’s complete sufficiency; The gospel is Christ + nothing
I. (:16-17) FREEDOM FROM THE BONDAGE AND CONDEMNATION OF RITUALISM
Def. of Ritualism: adherence, insistence, dependence on the observance of prescribed religious
acts and observances
Our society is so freedom-oriented and “anything goes” that we don’t see much ritualism;
cf. the importance of the sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church
A. Bondage of Condemnation
“let no one act as your judge”
Truly it is a bondage:
- “a yoke upon the neck” – Acts 15:10
- “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” – Gal. 5:1
B. Particulars of Ritualism – most of these have an OT Jewish flavor (difficult for us to identify
with)
1. Dietary Laws – clean vs. unclean – Do’s vs Don’ts – Rules and Regulations
a. Eating
b. Drinking
(some crossover with asceticism and legalism here)
2. Religious Observances – structured around the calendar
a. Annual: festival (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles)
b. Monthly: new moon.c. Weekly: Sabbath day
- Jewish legalism involved here – false teachers urging the believers to go back and submit themselves to the OT law in various areas; but these prohibitions go beyond the Jewish law in some regards
- external regulations vs. internal
- promote self-righteousness and pride
C. Contrast Between Shadow and Substance – between Type and Reality
1. Shadow – “things which are a mere shadow of what is to come”
Gal. 3:24-25
What were these rituals foreshadowing? How did Christ constitute the reality?
2. Substance – “but the substance is Christ”
cf. the Book of Hebrews for good commentary here
“the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming” – Heb. 10:1
II. (:18-19) FREEDOM FROM THE BONDAGE AND CONDEMNATION OF MYSTICISM
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” – Wiersbe
A. Bondage of Condemnation
“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize”
Athletic image – like a soccer ref giving you a red card and disqualifying you from the competition for breaking the rules of the game
2 Possibilities:
- Christian losing his reward
- false professor of Christianity being exposed for not even having saving faith and being disqualified from the prize of eternal life
Vaughan: “Let no one deny your claim to be Christians.”
B. Particulars of Mysticism
1. Physical Self-Denial -- “Delighting in self-abasement” (or false humility)
Vaughan: “the heretics probably insisted that their worship of angels rather than the supreme God was an expression of humility on their part”
2. Spiritual Meditation -- “worship of angels”
are these first 2 viewed as 2 different items or as a combined unit?
3. Experience Oriented – “taking his stand on visions he has seen”
C. Contrast Between Personal Prideful Intellectualism and Corporate Spiritual Growth
1. Personal Prideful Intellectualism
“inflated without cause by his fleshly mind”
2. Corporate Spiritual Growth
a. Submission to the Head
“and not holding fast to the head”
b. Corporate Body Life
“from whom the entire body, being supplied and
held together by the joints and ligaments”
c. Spiritual Growth from God
“grows with a growth which is from God”
III. (:20-23) FREEDOM FROM THE BONDAGE AND CONDEMNATION OF LEGALISM
Legalism: “a spirit which fails to recognize that God’s grace has made us acceptable to Him, and
human works have no part in it” – Kent
A. Bondage of Condemnation
1. Live as those who have died with Christ
“If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world”
Vaughan: “to order life by ascetic rules is to revert to an inferior state supposedly abandoned at the time of conversion.”
2. Live as those who are no longer of this world
“why, as if you were living in the world”
3. Live as those who have been freed from the law
“do you submit yourselves to decrees”
B. Particulars of Legalism
1. Itemized (as relating to the physical senses): Externals (not Spiritual)
a. “Do not handle”
b. “Do not taste”
c. “Do not touch”
2. Characterized (as relating to their final destiny): Perishables (not Imperishable)
“(which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)”
3. Identified (as relating to their source and authority): Human (not Divine)
“in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men”
C. Contrast Between Appearance of Wisdom and Real Spiritual Value
1. Appearance of Wisdom
“These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom”
a. Worthless Religion -- “in self-made religion” – Self originated
b. Worthless Humility -- “and self-abasement” – Self afflicted
c. Worthless Asceticism -- “and severe treatment of the body” – Self destroyed
2. Real Spiritual Value
“but are of no value against fleshly indulgence”
How is real holiness achieved? How do we get closer to God and grow in spirituality?
Not by the bondage and condemnation of the ISMs
* * * * * * * * * *
DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS:
1) What are the implications of this passage for Christian “sabbath-keeping”? Is the Lord’s Day
to be set aside and observed in a special sense in a way parallel to the Jewish sabbath?
2) How can some “good” Christian practices (devotions, Bible memorization, attendance at services, etc.) degenerate into legalistic exercises? What is the spirit of our Christian fellowship.– oriented around grace or legalism?
3) What is the secret to combating “fleshly indulgence”? If ritualism, mysticism, ascetism (and
legalism) all fail, how does our union with Christ provide the power to live according to our new
nature?
4) How should we respond to others who try to judge and condemn us in these doubtful areas of
food, drink, religious observances, etc.?
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