Colossians Ch2v16-23 - Satisfied in Christ

A new moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

These are a shadow of the things that were to come.

The reality, however, is found in Christ.

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.

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.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,

why, as though you still belong to the world,

do you submit to its rules?

Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.

These rules, which have to do with things

that are all destined to perish with use,

are based on merely human commands and teachings.

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.

Well, let's ask for God's help.

Let's pray.

And we need his help in all that we look at together.

So let's do that.

Father, again, we thank you so much

for your many good gifts to us.

You've blessed us this morning

by giving to us musicians

and those who are leading us

and helping us to sing.

You've blessed us by giving us people

to be here with us to support and encourage.

And you've given us your word, your truth,

written down and preserved for us today

so that we can hear what you are saying

to the church.

So, Lord, give us minds that are open to you.

Give us hearts that are tuned to you.

And may we learn more of Christ.

And may we learn to understand more

what it is to be your people,

encouraging one another on

to follow Christ.

So help us now, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

For we all like to be in.

We don't like to be out.

We want to be people who are included,

not excluded.

So you know what it's like

if there's a party on

or a social gathering

and you don't get that invite,

you feel hurt.

You feel left out.

What's wrong with me?

We all like to be in the in club.

Well, if you're a Christian,

you're in like you never could imagine.

But it wasn't always like that.

Have a look back at chapter 1 and verse 21.

Chapter 1, verse 21.

Once you were alienated from God,

that is, you were outside God,

God.

You were enemies in your minds

because of your evil behaviour,

but now he has reconciled you

by Christ's physical body

through death.

We were separated, excluded.

We were on the outside.

But now through Christ,

by his death,

we've been brought into a relationship

with God.

We are now accepted.

We're included.

We are inside.

And of course,

the good news is,

everyone,

no matter who we are,

whoever trusts in Jesus

can come in.

Because God is a welcoming God.

And no one is beyond God's

forgiving embrace.

However,

it seems that in the church

at Colossae,

there was a question mark

over who was actually in

and who was out.

And people,

it seems,

were judging one another

and disqualifying one another

by certain traditions

and by certain experiences.

Now,

maybe you have felt that.

You've trusted in Jesus.

You've experienced God's welcome

and forgiveness.

But you feel judged

and you feel disqualified

by other people.

You feel as if you don't quite

measure up

to other people's standards.

Well,

not only is that hurtful,

it can actually push us away

from Christ

altogether.

Something,

I think,

was happening

in the church

at Colossae.

So,

if these sorts of things

were happening then,

well,

it can happen today.

So,

three big things

we're going to look at

as we look at this text

this morning.

Don't let religious tradition

judge you.

Don't let spiritual experience

disqualify you.

And don't let the world's views

tempt you.

So,

we're going to look at

religious tradition,

spiritual experiences,

and the world's views.

So,

here's the first one.

Don't let religious tradition

judge you.

Look at verse 16.

Therefore,

because you have been

welcomed in by God,

because you are in Christ

and you have a relationship

with God,

therefore,

do not let anyone

judge you

by what you eat

or drink

or in regard

to religious festivals

or a new moon celebration

or a Sabbath day.

Well,

tell me,

what on earth

has the food you eat

and the religious festivals

you attend

got to do

with anything?

Well,

keeping

or not keeping

these particular traditions

was a sign

of whether you were in

or whether you were out.

And to help us

understand this better,

we need to go back

to the Old Testament.

So,

keep a finger in Colossians

and go back with me

to Leviticus

Leviticus 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

So,

the first book in the Bible

is Genesis,

then it's Exodus,

and then it's Leviticus.

Leviticus chapter 11,

Leviticus 11:45

verse 45.

I'll just give you

a moment

to find it there.

Leviticus chapter 11,

Leviticus 11:45

verse 45.

And here God

is speaking

to his people

about particular

food laws.

What you can eat

and what you can't eat.

We'll pick it up

in verse 45.

God says,

I am the Lord

who brought you up

out of Egypt

to be your God.

I'm the God

who rescued you,

who saved you

out of Egypt

when you were there

under the tyranny

of Pharaoh.

I brought you out

to be your God.

Therefore,

be holy

because

I am holy.

You belong to me,

says God.

I'm your God

and I want you

to be set apart

for me.

Well,

how would they show

that they belong

to God

and that they were

set apart

to God?

Well,

it was all to do

with the food

they ate.

Look at verse 46.

These are the regulations

concerning animals,

birds,

every living thing

that moves

in the water

so the fish

as well

and the creatures

that move

along the ground.

You must distinguish

between the unclean

and the clean,

between living creatures

that may be eaten

and those that may

not be eaten.

And if you go

through Leviticus,

you'll get

a whole long

kind of list

of certain foods

you could eat

and certain foods

you couldn't eat.

Let's go back

to Colossians.

Now,

all of that

may seem

very strange

and odd

and foreign

to us,

but under

the old covenant,

the food you ate

marked you out

as belonging

to God.

It was almost

a mark of identity.

Just as today,

if we talk about

people who love

pasta,

they're from

Italy,

yes?

Or people who love

rice,

they're from China,

or, well,

those who love

their spuds,

well,

they're the Irish.

That's it.

So,

it may seem

strange to us,

but this was

a mark of identity

that you belonged

to God.

And it was the same

when it came to,

as we look at

verse 16 again,

not just food,

but what you drank

and the religious

festivals.

There were certain

things you could

not drink out of

and there were

certain festivals

you had to

participate in.

So,

the food you ate,

the drink you had,

the festivals

that you attended

was a sign to

all the other

nations around you

that we're different.

We belong

to God.

And if you kept

these laws,

you were in.

But if you broke

these rules,

you were most

definitely out.

Now,

the thing about

these laws,

they were all

outward,

weren't they?

And they were

meant to reflect

an inward change.

However,

over time,

the outward

became more

important than

the inward.

The physical

became more

important than

the spiritual.

And so,

people began

to use these

laws as a

means of

judging

one another

to see who

was in

and who

was out.

Well,

there was a

word for

that kind

of attitude

and we

know it

today as

legalism.

In other

words,

what counts

is your

outward

performance.

And it

seems that

in the church

at Colossae,

people were

importing,

were bringing

in these

old laws

into the

life of the

church.

And they

were saying,

look,

if you don't

follow them,

you're out.

your

performance

isn't up

to scratch.

Now,

we today

mightn't have

any worries

about the

kind of

food we

eat or

have any

troubles about

new moon

celebrations,

whatever they

were,

but we do

have a way

of judging

people,

don't we?

We have

our own

little

traditions

that we

expect other

people to

meet.

It's called

the standard

of me.

So as long

as people

meet my

standard,

well then

you're in.

But if you

don't meet

my standard,

you're out.

So as long

as you have

the same

level of

commitment

as me,

you're in.

But if you

don't get

involved like

I do,

if you don't

attend meetings,

if you're not

here at

ten o'clock

in the morning

on Sunday

helping set up

and talk

to people,

if you don't

pray the

way I

pray,

if you

don't serve

the way

I serve,

then you're

no longer

in.

You're out.

If your

performance

doesn't match

my performance,

well then

you're kind

of on a

lower level

to where

I'm at.

You see,

this outward

show can

become more

important than

an inward

change.

It's called

legalism.

You see,

these legalists

that were

active in the

church with

their religious

traditions

were really

missing the

point.

Look at

verse 17.

These laws

are a

shadow

of the

things that

were to

come.

The reality,

however,

is found

in Christ.

You see,

the law that

God had

given to

his people

way back

in the

Old Testament,

they were

good.

They were

given by

God.

They were

right.

And they

were there

to help

people express

their loyalty

and devotion

to God

as reminders

every single

day when you

sat down

to have your

breakfast,

or as you

picked up

your cup

to drink,

or the

festival that

you went

to,

it was a

reminder to

say,

I belong

to God,

and I need

to live

a holy

life,

a different

life.

However,

all these

laws that

they had

could never

actually change

the inward

heart.

And no

amount of

laws or

traditions that

we apply to

ourselves can

change our

hearts.

We need

something

better.

We need

someone who

is greater.

Do you see it

there in

verse 17?

The laws,

they were

shadows.

They were

shadows of

the reality,

or they

were shadows

of the

substance

that was

to come.

So picture

with me a

dad on a

sunny day,

outside with

his toddler

daughter.

There they

are playing,

and the

daughters are

way off

there in

the distance,

and behind

the dad is

the sun

shining,

shining,

and it

casts a

great big

shadow of

the dad all

the way in

front of him.

And he

calls for

his young

daughter to

come.

She looks

up, she

can't see

because the

sun is so

bright, but

she keeps

her head

down, she

sees the

shadow, and

she keeps

following the

shadow until

she reaches

her dad and

embraces him.

well, that's

exactly the

purpose of

the law.

It's to

lead us to

Christ.

The law is a

shadow, not

the reality.

The shadow

is to lead

us to a

greater substance,

which is

Christ himself.

You see,

legalism is

just playing

with religious

tradition.

It's just

grasping at

shadows, and

well, have

you ever

tried to

grasp a

shadow?

It's

nothing, isn't

it?

It can't do

anything for

you.

What we

need is to

embrace

Christ.

Look at the

end of verse

17.

It tells us

that the

reality is

found in

Christ.

You see,

we're never

accepted on

the basis of

our performance.

We are

welcomed in

and included

in by the

performance of

Christ.

You see,

Christ is

our reality.

He's the

one who we

look to.

He's the

one we

depend upon.

He's the

one who

obeyed the

law perfectly

for me.

But more

than that,

Christ dealt

with my

disobedience

for me.

He died in

my place

for me.

So as I

trust in

Christ,

he takes

on himself

my failed

performance

and gives

me his

perfect

performance.

Or in

the words

of chapter

1,

verse 22,

have a look

over there

with me,

chapter 1,

verse 22

at the end,

he presents

you now,

because we're

trusting in

Christ,

as holy

in his

sight,

without

blemish,

and free

from accusation.

The law,

tradition,

can never do

that for you.

Only Christ

can do that.

So look,

instead of

judging

others,

we need

to turn

all that

around and

look inward

at our

own hearts.

Because

Christ is

the standard

for my

life.

Not me,

and not

you.

And only

Christ can

achieve the

standard that

God has set

for us.

So as we

trust in

Christ,

we become

secure

in Christ.

we're trusting

in his

life for

me.

Which means

no one

can judge

you.

No one

can mark

you and

say,

you're now

out.

Once in,

always in.

You are

secure.

So first,

don't let

religious

tradition

judge you.

So the

second big

thing we're

going to

look at

is don't

let spiritual

experience

disqualify

you.

So verse

18,

do not

let anyone

who delights

in false

humility

and the

worship of

angels

disqualify

you.

Well,

I have to

tell you

this.

Last

night,

after fasting

and prayer,

my goodness

Jesus,

me,

I was

just

there,

and all

these

angels

came around

me.

It was

amazing,

and I

just got

caught up

worshipping

as I looked

around my

room.

All these

angels were

there.

It was

amazing.

It was

like I

was entering

into heaven

itself.

Cursed

you,

you should

really

experience

this.

Well,

you could

imagine,

couldn't you,

how people

felt if they

never had

that kind

of experience.

experience.

That's what

was going

on in the

church at

Colossae.

They were

made to

feel like

you were

some sort

of second

rate

Christian.

I mean,

you weren't

meant to

worship angels.

Worship was

for God

alone.

And those

who had

these

spectacular

visions

of angels,

well,

you were

in.

But if

you didn't

have one

of these

visions,

if you

weren't

caught up

with the

others,

you were

most

definitely

out.

They were

disqualified.

Now,

there's a

name for

all of

this kind

of

visionary

stuff.

It's

called

mysticism.

In other

words,

it's all

about your

personal

spiritual

experiences

that you

have.

If you

have an

experience

and it

feels

right and

it's

good for

you,

well,

that's

okay.

Well,

don't be

fooled by

such

notions.

Look at

the end

of verse

18.

Such a

person also

goes into

great detail

about what

they have

seen.

And they're

puffed up.

They've got

a big

head with

idle

notions by

their

unspiritual

mind.

They just

go on and

on about

these divine

encounters that

they have,

which are

nothing more

than wild

imagination

stirred up

by their

unspiritual

minds.

Now,

people claim

to see

all kinds

of things

today,

don't they?

All sorts

of visions.

I know

someone who

told me

that in

their church,

in the

middle of

the sermon,

the pastor's

beard turned

into silver.

Maybe I

should grow

a beard.

And not

only that,

but in

the middle

of the

service,

they were

encouraged to

look around

and see all

the precious

jewels that

were all

scattered on

the floor

between the

people.

Johnny,

you must

experience

this.

Well,

I asked

him,

I said,

can you

pick them

up and

put them

in your

pocket?

No,

he said,

you couldn't

touch them

and,

well,

the pastor's

beard returned

to its

normal hair

and its

normal colour.

You see,

people say,

well,

if you've

experienced

it,

well,

it must

be true.

How can

you say

it's not

true?

Well,

such talk

is just

another form

of mysticism,

a personal

puffed-up

idle

notion.

And we

need to

be careful

of these

kinds of

things.

this kind

of puffed-up

talk is

dangerous

and damaging.

Look at

verse 19.

They have

lost

connection

with the

head.

Now,

a body,

your physical

body,

if you

don't have

a head,

you're

brown

bread,

you're

dead.

Well,

Christ

is the

head

and the

church

is the

body.

That's

what we

have here

in verse

19.

They have

lost

connection

with the

head,

who is

Christ,

from whom

the whole

body,

the church,

is supported

and held

together by

its ligaments

and sinews

and grows

as God

causes it

to grow.

So it

seems there

were those

who were

going on

and on

about these

wonderful

personal

experience

that they

have,

but they've

actually

decapitated

themselves.

They've

become

disconnected

with the

head.

Rather

than

depending

and

growing

in

Christ,

they're

now

delighting

in

visions

and

all

wrapped

up

in

that.

Maybe

you know

people who

claim to

have had

divine

experiences

through

visions.

They tell

you things

that they've

seen,

messages

that they've

received.

Well,

if it's

just about

the

experience,

if that's

the

priority

and the

focus,

they're

not

actually

growing,

they're

dying.

Verse 19,

they've

lost

connection

with the

head.

Rather than

being drawn

closer to

Christ,

they are

being led

away with

their idle

notions.

So it's

not our

experiences

that count,

but trusting

and walking

with Christ

who is

the reality

that counts.

You see,

true

spirituality

is grounded

on the

fact of

what God

has done

for me.

Have a look

back at

chapter 1

verse 12

as we

think about

who is

qualified,

what makes

us qualified,

chapter 1

verse 12,

give joyful

thanks to

the Father

who has

qualified you

to share

in the

inheritance

of his

holy people

in the

kingdom of

light.

How did

he qualify

us?

Verse 13,

he rescued

us from

the dominion

of darkness

and brought

us into

the kingdom

of the

son he

loves,

in whom

we have

redemption,

the forgiveness

of sins.

You see,

we're qualified,

aren't we,

on the

basis of

what God

has done

for us

in Christ,

not on the

basis of

my experience

or things

that I may

or may

not have

seen.

And if

God has

qualified you,

you're in.

Nobody can

ever say

you're out.

Now,

please don't

misunderstand

me.

I think

we should

all seek

to experience

God more

and more.

But the

way we

do that

is not

by idle

notions

that are

unspiritual.

We grow,

verse 19,

by maintaining

our connection

to the

head.

We're in

Christ.

Our

confidence

is not

in wild

notions,

but in

the revealed

word of

God that

tells us

who Christ

is and

what he

has done.

This is

where our

experience is

in meeting

Christ in

his word.

So don't

let people

with their

spiritual

experiences

disqualify

you.

It is

God who

qualifies

you once

and for

all.

The third

thing,

then,

is don't

let world

views

tempt

you.

Now,

I want

you to

imagine

with me

for a

moment.

We're

going to

go back

2,000

years,

and here

we are.

Let's

pretend that

we're

sitting in

the church

at Colossae.

And there's

Alexander.

He's a

member of

Colossae

Christ Church,

but he's

struggling.

Sitting to

his left

is Archippus,

the legalist,

who is

pestering him

with all

kinds of

questions.

So,

Alexander,

what did

you have

for your

breakfast

this morning?

Sausages?

Pork?

Oh,

well,

you can't

eat pork,

can you?

You're not

meant to

do that.

Remember

the laws?

And,

Alexander,

are you

going to

the

Sabbath

celebration

in the

afternoon?

It's

most

important

that you're

seen to

be there.

Well,

he turned

away and

looked to

his right,

and there

he was

sitting

beside

Nympha

the

mystic,

who just

couldn't

help

herself.

I mean,

she told

everybody

she'd

seen

as she'd

come in.

Let me

tell you

what I

experienced

in my

prayer time

last night.

My goodness,

all those

angels,

would you,

Alexander,

have you ever

seen these

angels?

Would you

like to

see them?

Well,

poor

Alexander

was just

getting

confused.

He felt

judged by

the religious

group,

he didn't

fit in

there,

he was

being

shunned

by then.

He felt

disqualified

by those

who had

had all

these

visions

and,

well,

he didn't

get on

there either,

he felt

pushed out.

He was

wondering if

he was a

Christian at

all.

Maybe he

thought,

I'll just

give up

and do

my own

thing.

So

Alexander

stopped

going to

church and

went back

to his

old life.

Well,

as he

wandered

the street,

he met

a friend

from church.

Look at

verse 20.

Hey,

Alexander,

since you

died with

Christ to

the elemental

spiritual

forces of

the world,

why,

as though you

still belong

to the

world,

Alexander,

do you

submit to

its rules?

Do not

handle,

do not

taste,

do not

touch?

Why are

you going

back to

the world's

way?

That's not

a solution

to the

problem

you're

facing.

Now,

do you

see in

verse 20

that little

phrase,

the elemental

spiritual

forces of

this world?

You might

have a note

at the very

bottom of

your Bible

which says

it can be

referred to

also as the

basic

principles of

this world.

In other

words,

what it is,

it's the

current

wind of

teaching

that is

most prevalent

in the

culture

that people

begin to

follow,

and it

blinds

people

from the

truth

of the

gospel.

So it

seems that

Alexander,

our imaginary

friend,

has been

listening to

the wind

of teaching

that was

happening at

the time.

And it

seems that

in the

first century

the current

view was

self-denial.

Verse 21,

don't handle,

don't taste,

don't touch,

don't do this,

don't do that.

It was

just another

way for

people to

measure who

was in

and who

was out

as far as

the world

was concerned.

Just follow

the world's

view of

your culture

and you'll

be fine.

Well,

there was a

word for

that,

and we

know it

as

secularism.

You don't

need God.

You don't

need religious

tradition.

You don't

need spiritual

experiences.

You just

follow your

own path.

Just do

your own

thing.

Now,

back then,

it may have

been self-denial,

don't touch

and don't

taste,

but for us

in our age

today,

it's the

complete opposite,

isn't it?

It's touch

what you like

and taste

what you like.

In other

words,

as long as

you enjoy

it and

it's good

for you,

do whatever

you like.

That's the

message of the

world today.

It's not

self-denial,

but self-gratification.

It's your

life,

it's your

body,

so you

just do

it.

Sounds

very appealing,

sounds

very tempting,

doesn't it?

But be

careful,

verse 22.

these rules

which have

to do

with things

that are

all destined

to perish

with use

are based

on merely

human commands

and teachings.

You see,

the source

of world

views,

the current

wind of

teaching that

we hear being

pushed in

social media

and everything

else,

well,

where does it

all come

from?

It comes

from the

thoughts and

ideas and

speculations

of other

people just

like us.

And anything

that has its

source in

humanity

will inevitably

be selfish.

Live the

life you

want to

live the

way you

want,

because,

well,

as long as

it pleases

you and

you're happy,

that's okay.

Well,

we need to

be careful,

because,

as they

won't tell

you,

verse 22,

they are

all destined

to perish.

The things

that we

invest in

or encourage

to invest

in,

well,

they're all

going to

pass away.

The things

of this

world that

we look

to for

our

comforts,

the desires

that we

chase,

it's like

the morning

mist,

it's suddenly

there,

but one

minute it's

gone.

Well,

one day

all these

things

will be

gone.

the problem

is,

these

elemental

spiritual

forces,

this

teaching

that

blows

through

our

culture

and

through

our

society,

blinds

us from

the truth.

The world

views of

today are

very tempting

because it's

all about

me,

and if it's

all about

me,

well,

I'm always

in,

and I'm

never out.

so what

would you

say to

an

Alexander

who was

drifting

from

Christ?

What do

you say to

your own

hearts

today is,

as we

all,

myself

included,

we feel

the pull

of the

world's

views to

do our

own thing

and live

our own

kind of

life?

What do

we say

to each

other?

We need

to go

back to

Christ,

don't

we?

verse 20,

since you

died with

Christ,

since you

trusted in

him and

put the

past behind

and trusted

Christ to

live for

him,

why would

we ever

go back

to something

that never

ultimately

satisfies?

The things

of this

world are

all temporary,

they won't

last,

they'll

perish.

Pursue

this way

of life

and we

will remain

on the

outside,

not the