WEEK 4
Colossians 2:8-15 Paul continues his warning not to turn away from Christ and seek after meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in human philosophy. The problem is not that philosophy is intrinsically wrong. After all, philosophy is simply the “love of wisdom.” The issue is the type of “wisdom” which is being loved! The problem with the philosophy that Paul is warning against is that it is based on human traditions and ideas rather than on Christ in whom are found all the treasures of wisdom (vv.3, 8). The Greek word translated elementary principles of the world refers to things that are lined up in a row: simple, basic, childish concepts. Human philosophy bases itself on surface issues: appearances, feelings, impressions, and opinions rather than on the profound, eternal realities found in Christ. The one who has been united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection has already been made complete in Him. Our former lost, empty, and guilty condition has been replaced with Christ’s fullness (vv.9-10). Sin no longer defines us nor can it require us to pay for it in hell. Why? Because Christ fully paid the debt of our sin. In verse 14, Paul has in mind the practice of nailing a sign above the heads of crucified criminals stating the crime(s) for which they were paying (Mark 15:26). It was a certificate of debt which would become void once paid. In Jesus’ case, Pilate could not find any charge to write so he wrote a title instead! However, there was indeed a certificate of debt nailed to Christ’s cross: ours! Now that it has been paid, it can no longer lay claim to us any more than a paid bill can lay claim to a person’s money. There is no condemnation left for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). Hallelujah! LifeStep Take out a sheet of paper and make a list of those specific sins for which you have trouble feeling forgiven. They may have been committed years ago but they still haunt you. Now cross them out by writing “Paid by Jesus Christ!” over them all. You are forgiven. Live free today! Colossians 2:16-23 In today’s text we encounter three forms of the most universal and deadly error in all of human experience: self-made religion (v.23)! This is the idea that we are capable of “making it” on our own and meriting everything we receive from God. It constantly intrudes into our walk with the Lord. Though we agree that Christ paid our way to heaven and that His merits alone are the basis of our standing before God, we are nonetheless easily drawn to the notion that we can and therefore should merit God’s approval. The first and most obvious form this takes is legalism, the religion of human works (vv.16-17). Legalism is not the use of rules for any reason. Rules can be a good thing in helping to realize certain goals but when we use rules to try to attain godliness and to merit God’s approval without God’s help, we have fallen into a trap. Rule-keeping not only fails to curb sin (v.23), it actually leads to pride and comparison with others. The second form is mysticism: the religion of subjective human experiences (vv.18-19). This is the pursuit of spirituality through emotions, intuition, or personal sensations and results in trusting one’s own experiences rather than God’s Word. The third form is asceticism, the religion of self-denial (vv.20-23). This can be very subtle. It’s reflected in the idea that the more you do without, the more worthy you become of God’s approval. All of these are attempts to access God through means other than Christ. They appear wise and even spiritual (v.23) but they cannot make us one bit more acceptable to God. That’s why we needed to be saved in the first place! LifeStep What is the source of your confidence in approaching God? Is it rule-keeping, experiences, sacrifices? What would change if you received a letter from God telling you that you’ve already been fully accepted by Him because of Christ? You have such a letter and you just read from it. How does that change how you feel and how you will act today?
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