Colossians: God's Final Answer to Political Correctness

True Christianity

The church in Colossae was like many religious groups today in that they practiced religious syncretism. “Syncretism” = The blending of two or more belief systems into one new religion.” The problem is that when this is done you debase (make impure) the original. Today we are going to look at several things that these early Christians wrongly added to their faith.

I. Christ + ____________________ = False Religion, (Colossians 2)

A. Philosophy and Traditions , (vs. 8-10)

1. ( v. 8 ), “See to it that no one take you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world,
rather than according to Christ.”
a. “Philosophy” = the love of wisdom. But this assumes that there is a true wisdom outside of God.
1) ( I Cor. 1:20-23 ), “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message
preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews seek for signs and the Greeks search for wisdom; but we preached Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
2) So many people are not satisfied with Christ alone! Yet that is our message.

b. Even in Jesus day, the traditions of the religious came between them and a right relationship with God!
1) ( Matt. 15:2-3 ), “‘Why do your disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.' Jesus answered and said, ‘Why do you yourselves transgress the commandments of God for the sake of your own tradition.”
2) Anytime people insert their “tradition” into their religion and make it a doctrine – it's wrong!
3) Traditions:
a) Various baptisms; sprinkling, pouring, immersion – but the Bible says,
“There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” ( Eph. 4:5 ).
b) Frequency of communion; annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly,
daily? But the Bible says, “On the first day of the week when the
disciples were gathered together to break bread…. ( Acts 20:7 ).
Since each week begins with a “first day,” the approved example we have in the Bible is a weekly observance of communion.

2. The sufficiency of Christ, ( vs. 9-10 ), “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, & in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.” 3 reasons why philosophy & tradition are unnecessary…
a. First: Jesus is 100% God and requires no additions to “make Him better,” or to improve on Him!
1) ( Quote Jn. 5:17-18; Phil. 2:6 ).
b. Second: We are made complete in Him alone! Philosophy/traditions deny the sufficiency of Christ!
1) ( II Cor. 9:8 ), “God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything may have an abundance for every good deed.”
c. Third: Jesus commands what we are to do & not to do in matters of faith!
1) ( Quote Matt. 28:18; Rev. 22:18-19 )!
d. Thus, the philosophies & traditions of men are not part of the TRUE CHRISTIANITY!



B. Old Testament Law , (vs. 11-15)
a. ( vs. 11-12 ), “…and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him
through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
1) In the O.T., circumcision brought a boy into a covenant relationship with God.
2) In the N.T. we are all brought into a relationship through faith & baptism,
( Gal. 3:26-27 ), “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
3) For in baptism it is not a removal flesh (by hands of men) but a removal of our sins (by God).
4) So “True Christianity” is not about our working for God, but our faith in God's work in us!

b. ( vs. 13-14 ), “And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees
against us and which was hostile to us; He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
1) Sin causes us to be spiritually dead, ( Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1 ), “For the wages of sin is death…,” – “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”
2) Sin occurred when we violated God's O.T. law, ( Rom. 3:20; I Jn. 3:4 ),
“…for through law comes the knowledge of sin.” – “Whever practices sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”

3) Forgiveness of sins is what brings us back to spiritual life, ( Acts 22:16 ), “And now, why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins calling on His name.”
4) “Debt” = what we owe God after violating His laws, ( Matt. 6:12 ), “Forgive us our debts….”
5) So God not only removed our sins but the source of them – His Law. He replaced the system of law (as a means to come to Him) with a system of faith, ( Gal. 3:23-25 ), Before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith that was later to be revealed. Therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor [i.e., the law].”
6) ( Eph. 2:15 ), “By abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two [i.e., the two groups of people he has been talking about; Jews and Gentiles] into one new man [i.e., a Christian], thus establishing peace.”
7) Therefore, seeking to come before God through the O.T. law is not only NOT“True Christianity,” it will cause you to lose your soul, ( Gal. 5:4 ), “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

C. Spiritualism , (v. 18-19)

1. ( v. 18 ), “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his
fleshly mind.”
a. Many people seek to magnify themselves or impress others by visions, or by“religious experiences” which they have had.
1) They believe in a two-tiered relationship with God; “special people” (them), everyone else!
2) But Jesus only talks about one correct group of people, ( Matt. 7:21-23 ), “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast our many demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, ‘Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness; I never knew you.'”
b. What these “spiritualists” are doing is…( Colossians 2:19 ), “…not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and
ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”
1) Jesus, the “head,” is going to grow His entire body/church – and not just a select few.
2) Therefore, He is the one who makes us special – and not some “spiritual” or mystical experience!

C. Man-Made Teachings , (vs. 20-23)

1. ( v. 20-22 ), “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you are living in the world, do you submit yourselves to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do
not taste, do not touch!' (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using) – in accordance to the commandments and teachings of men?.”
a. Basically there are two sources of authority by which we can live; God's or man's.
1) We can't take a little of each and be right with God. We have got to make a
choice.
2) ( Matt. 21:23-27 ), “While Jesus was teaching in the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to Him, and said, ‘By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you this authority?' Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing also, which if you answer Me, I will also then tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from
which source, from heaven or from men?' And they began reasoning among themselves saying, ‘If we say, “from heaven,” He will say to us, “Then why did you not believe him?” But if we say, “From men,” we fear the multitude; for they all hold John to be a prophet.' And answering Jesus, they said, ‘We do not know.' He also said to them, ‘Then neither will I tell you by what
authority I do these things.'”
3) Man-made rules do not bring us closer to God – but keep us away from Him,
( Matt. 15:9 ), “In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”

2. ( v. 23 ), “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against
fleshly indulgence.”
a. Man-made rules don't work.
1) ( Gen. 2:16-17 ), God said, “And the Lord commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'”
2) Yet the man added to what God had told him, for Eve (who had not yet been created when God gave His command to the man) said, ( Gen. 3:3 ), “…from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it , lest you die.'”
3) The man added to what God said, yet we see that man-made rules do not protect from “fleshly indulgence.”
4) Only when we have Christ in our lives and follow His words are we safe!!!

CONCLUSION: “True Christianity” = Jesus and His teachings + 0 (nothing!)

•  Yet in Colossae, like many places today, the people added “a little of this & a little of that”!

•  They may have created a religion that pleased them – but as we have seen it didn't please God!

•  So by way of review, what are some of the things people added to Jesus… (review main points).

Jesus + His Teachings (alone!) = True Christianity!!!

So how about you? Are you in a proper covenant relationship with God?!
(Galatians 3:26-27), “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ.”