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.
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
chapter 11.
So,
the first book in the Bible
is Genesis,
then it's Exodus,
and then it's Leviticus.
Leviticus chapter 11,
verse 45.
I'll just give you
a moment
to find it there.
Leviticus chapter 11,
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,
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
outside of
the world
but on
the outside
of God.
But pursue
Christ
and you
will find
all you
need in
him because
his way
is always
right and
best.
The message
of the
gospel is
Christ will
satisfy you
and fulfil
you.
He summarises
his whole
teaching,
look in
verse 23.
Such
regulations,
all this
teaching that
we've been
looking at,
such regulations
indeed have
an appearance
of wisdom
with their
self-imposed
worship,
their false
humility,
their harsh
treatment of
the body,
don't taste
this,
don't do
that,
but they
lack any
value in
restraining
sensual
indulgence.
It can't
capture your
heart in
the way of
bringing you
to God.
It can't
change you
or transform
you.
Religious
tradition,
spiritual
experiences,
worldviews,
they can't
change us.
What we need
is Christ.
In Christ
we are no
longer judged,
but we're
forgiven.
In Christ
we're no
longer
disqualified,
but we're
welcomed.
In Christ
we're no
longer
disillusioned
or disappointed
because in
Christ we
have all
that we
need.
He is in
us and
we are
in him.
He alone
will satisfy
you.
So we
don't need
to follow
the ideas
of man.
We need
to trust
in the
revealed
word about
Christ.
He is
sufficient
for you
and for
me.
So let's
not be
judged by
those who
are legalists
saying,
meet my
standard.
Don't be
disqualified
by mystics
who say,
oh you
have to
have this
experience.
And don't
be tempted
away by
secularists
who say,
it's your
life,
live as
you please.
no,
we turn
to Christ
where we
have our
security
and our
sufficiency.
Follow
him.
Let's
pray.
Amen.
our
Father God,
we thank
you for
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
Thank you
that he
is enough
and his
work is
sufficient
for us.
thank you
that he
has saved
us and
rescued us.
Thank you
that we
have been
qualified,
that we
have been
welcomed in
and forgiven.
Thank you
that no one
and nothing
can ever
push us
out.
So we
pray,
Father,
help us
that we
will get
alongside
one another
and that we
would continue
to support
each other,
pointing each
other to
Christ.
and not
to ourselves.
Father,
help us
that we
would never
lose
connection
with the
head,
but we
would grow
in him
every single
day.
So thank you
that you
are sufficient
and that in
you we
are secure.
In Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.
Well,
we're going
to sing
together.
What is
our hope
in life
and death?
Where do
we turn?
It's not
to tradition
or experiences
or the
world's
views,
but we
turn to
Christ alone
who is
our hope
in life
and in
death.
Let's
stand
together
as we
sing.
Amen.