March 1, 2020
Evening Service

This morning, Paul continued to explain how it is that we are complete in Christ.  First he told us that we are completed in Christ by the circumcision of our hearts.  The change is not physical, but spiritual.  Baptism is the sign of our entrance into a covenant with God.  In obedience, we experience our spiritual death, burial and then we arise from the water to “walk in the newness of life.”  We are ‘made alive together with Him” having our “old man crucified with Him.”  Our spiritual records have been wiped clean with the blood of the Lamb of God; “disarming all principalities and powers triumphing over them.”  We are no longer slaves to sin, but now we serve a new Master who has made us “a new creation” in Him.  He makes us complete.  We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated we are reborn anew. We have been given a heart transplant by the Master Surgeon and it is no longer what we do that matters, but what He is doing in us.  We are complete in Him.  Paul now returns to the fact that we no longer are faced with any condemnation or judgment.

Col 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, (17) which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

        Many of the believers Paul was writing to were of the Jewish descent.  They had grown up with the Law of Moses.  The Law went into great detail about what foods, were clean to eat, the festivals to be celebrated, the offerings to be given and the importance of the Sabbath.  These rituals distinguished (even defined) them from their pagan neighbors.  They had become a source of pride of making them to appear “holier than thou.”  The false teachers were also teaching this same idea.  Their faithfulness to these rituals were what they were judged upon and what they judged others by.  Their righteousness was defined by their strict obedience to the Law.  They felt they were made complete through their actions. 

            Paul here is setting the NT church free from all that legalism.  No longer are we to be judged by the things we eat, the festivals we celebrate, the offerings we give, or even what day we choose to set aside as the Sabbath.  It is no longer about the things we do, “but the substance is of Christ.”  It is not about us, but about Him.  My commentary explained it well by saying all the OT rules and regulations are only a shadow of the truth.  It is Jesus that is the “substance” of it all; the One who is casting the shadow.  “All things are created through Him and for Him.” (Col. 1:16) We answer to Christ and His commands alone and He has set us free from judgment over these things.  Paul touched on this in the Romans letter.

 

Rom 14:1-12 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.  (2)  For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.  (3)  Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.  (4)  Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.  (5)  One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.  (6)  He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.  (7)  For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.  (8)  For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.  (9)  For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.  (10)  But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  (11)  For it is written: "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD."  (12)  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

        Each of us are to “give account of himself to God.”  We are bound to follow our heart and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in everything that we do.  This includes our diet, the way we choose to worship, and the even the day we choose to do it.  Verse 5 sums up this by saying “let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”  He means that we are to judge for ourselves if the choices we are making are lining up with what Jesus wants us to be.  When my generation grew up being a Christian seemed to be defined by whether you smoked, drank alcohol, or went to the movies.  Christian brothers would judge you harshly if you partook of any of these three activities.  None of these three will keep you out of heaven, but they may get you there sooner.  The point is it is up to us to “be fully convinced in our own mind” that we are justified in doing these and a lot of other things.  The clothes we wear, the way we spend our money, the food we eat, the hobbies we enjoy, and the things we watch on television all need to line up with what we believe Christ has planned for us.  Through our perspective of being a Jesus follower we are to judge our own choices.  Each of us have our own personal convictions that we feel we need to follow, but not all of them will apply to everyone else.  Be ready to explain that to a brother, but do not judge him for not applying your convictions to his life.  We must grasp within ourselves that it is all about Christ, not about us.  Being complete in Christ means He is in control of every aspect of our life.  “If we live, we live to the Lord and if we die, we die to the Lord.  Therefore, if we live or we die we are the Lord’s” Paul now returns to addressing some of the false teaching the church was facing.

 

Col 2:18-19 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, (19) and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

        The Gnostics were teaching a false set of humility, much like the Jewish strict followers of the Law.  They allowed their strict obedience to become a false source of pride.  They also were teaching that the worship of angels was the best way to draw closer to God.  Angels are defined as servants of God and are not to be worshipped.  This, along with the worship of Mary, have us to lose our vision that it is Christ that is the Head of the church and He alone is worthy of our praise.  We are set free from man’s rules of worship and are free to worship Christ alone.

 

Col 2:20-23 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—  21) "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," (22) which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?  (23)  These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

        To become complete in Christ does not hinge on our obedience to a set of rules of self-denial, observing rituals, or practicing religion.  We cannot follow a set of rules to earn our salvation, that comes as a free gift from God.  The change in our lives calling us to obedience of Christ’s commands comes as a result of our salvation.  As our “roots grow deep within Him” we naturally become more like Him, not because we have to but because we want to.  We do it to please the One that we love who has given His all for us and now we want to give our all for Him.  We follow Christ and line up with His commands by our own free choice.  It is up to us to read and study our Bibles, rightly dividing the Word of God, to feel confident that we are on the right path that leads us closer to Him.  We are made complete in Christ and set free from following a set of rules to be found worthy.  Christianity is not a religion, it is about a relationship with our Creator and Savior.  We simply have given Christ our whole heart and now allow it to lead us to Him.  We follow Him because we love Him.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to be made complete in Christ.  Please help us to always place Him first in the choices we make in our lives.