Colossians 2:16-23, "Freedom from Religion”

On Thursday, a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation posted a news story on their website under the headline, “FFRF protects Illinois schoolkids from religious indoctrination”. The dangerous religious indoctrination from which the schoolkids needed protection? “Gum Drop Kids, a southern Illinois nonprofit, provides snacks to low-income children at Adams School every Friday, and two of the snacks this year contained proselytizing messages. For instance, a Valentine’s Day card said “Jesus loves you!!” with a Latin cross drawn at the bottom. Another snack was accompanied with a bookmark with the same religious message as the Valentine’s Day card.” (https://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/43593-ffrf-protects-illinois-schoolkids-from-religious-indoctrination)

There is a certain segment of our society that sees religion as a dangerous thing that must be resisted. It might be a surprise to hear that I and the Apostle Paul agree. But not in the way the Freedom From Religion Foundation means. (I think everyone should be told the gospel that Jesus loves them.)

There is another segment of our society that believes that what we need is more religion, especially in the schools. That would fix everything.

So, what is the value of religion, and how does it relate to the gospel of Jesus? Or a related question, how do we grow in our relationship with God without becoming proud, prudish people that are more dangerous than good?

When someone asks you if you are religious, how do you answer?

Paul is going to say in our passage today, “Don’t let anyone judge or condemn your freedom in Christ from religious rules and experiences. Holding fast to Jesus will make you grow more holy without becoming horrible.”

Paul is writing to a church of new believers in Jesus Christ. He is encouraging them to continue to grow in the gospel. And he warns them of the dangers of turning away from the gospel of salvation by grace alone in Christ alone. One of these dangers is religious people who want to add a list of religious rules and practices that will enslave you instead of help you grow.

There were the “Judaizers” who insisted that to be a good Christian you had to keep all the rabbinical traditions and rules. Then there were the Greek religions that focused on growing in virtue through denial of physical desires. Paul says those might have an appearance of wisdom, but are of no value in overcoming sin and nourishing your soul like communion with Christ will do. He says in both cases, “Let no one judge or condemn you.”

Legalistic Religion is a Shadow; Christ is Reality

Paul starts with the religion he knew the best, Judaism. He says,

Colossians 2:16 (ESV)

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

Religious people judge those who don’t keep their rules. Paul’s referring to what we call kosher and ceremonial laws. He says these were only a shadow of Christ.

Colossians 2:17 (ESV)

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance/reality (lit., “body”) belongs to Christ.

If you have ever been walking down a street and saw a shadow come out from behind a building, what do you expect? You expect to cross paths with the person casting that shadow. And if you don’t slow down, you will collide with that person because they have a body. A shadow is nothing in and of itself. It is signifying the substance of the person nearby.

Paul is saying the Jewish festivals, and commandments about the bodies of animals you can eat and the bodies of animals you can’t eat to be clean before God, you realize after a while that they all point forward to Jesus Christ. His body was offered as our sacrifice to cleanse us of sin and He was raised to give us new life lived in holiness. Continuing to practice the purity laws after Christ has come would only make sense if they are a celebration of Christ and help you to grow in knowing Him. If you choose not to keep them because you are abiding in Christ and He is helping you grow in loving God and loving others, don’t let anyone judge you.

Most of us don’t live in a Jewish context, but we still know people who have their own laws for religious purity. What are some that you deal with in your relationships?

Paul goes on to talk about another group that might condemn our freedom in Christ. Don’t let anyone condemn you if you haven’t shared their spiritual experiences.

Colossians 2:18 (ESV)

Let no one disqualify (condemn) you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, (the mind of flesh)

These people had similar rules to the Jewish rabbis, but focused on a more general list of rules. Paul says they insisted on asceticism. A good example were the Cynics, like Diogenes. They would live in big clay pots used for doghouses. They wouldn’t eat or drink anything that brings pleasure. They wouldn’t live in families or have sex or use money or wear comfortable clothes or satisfy desires of the body in any way. You could also picture a Hindu or Buddhist guru sitting on a mountain.

Some even claimed that if you kept these rules, an angel would come to you and reveal some secret knowledge. They insisted on these rules and condemned those that didn’t follow them.

What are some spiritual experiences people in your life insist everyone should have?

Paul uses graphic words in verse 18

Colossians 2:18 (ESV)

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

to describe the person that condemns others for not having the same spiritual experiences. “Puffed up”, you can picture someone who sticks their chest out and uses grand gestures to appear bigger as they recount the visions they received as they fasted in the woods for a week. He also says they have a sensuous mind, or literally “a mind of flesh”. It’s not pure at all. It’s corrupted by fleshly desire. But how can that be? If these religious rules and experiences are supposed to make me more pure, less bound to my flesh, why don’t they work?

Paul says these approaches lack any substance. Their rules are nothing more than,

Colossians 2:21–22 (ESV)

“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?

These spiritual paths really only discard things we will shed one day anyway. Food, clothing, money. You’ve only rearranged the meaningless pieces of our lives, what he calls the “elemental spirits” (because the Greeks believed the elements that make up the universe are spiritual in nature). You haven’t received new life. Paul says this demonstrates that these approaches to religion and spirituality are only human in origin.

When you think about it, every group has their own list of rules about what you can and can’t touch, eat, drink, do, whatever. they can only come up with the things humans can think of. If it was really from God, wouldn’t they all agree, and wouldn’t it look more like things we can’t do, like love our enemies and forgive without keeping track?

So, Paul comes to this conclusion about religious rules:

Colossians 2:23 (ESV)

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Religion, with its lists of rules and regulations, will not actually help you become less enslaved to the flesh or more spiritual. They only feed the flesh and its pride. Religion measures spiritual progress by human achievement. You become judgmental and condemning and a greater sinner than before. So, what should we do? Paul says it’s very simple. Live and die.

Live in Christ and Die to the World

Paul says if we want to grow, we need to hold fast to our Head. Live in Christ.

If we think about Christianity more as the body of Christ and less as a religion, we see that no body can live without its head. In the same way, it is not a list of religious experiences that helps us grow. It is connection with the Head of the body of Christ, Jesus Himself. When I find my life in Him, holiness will grow in me. But other things too. Love, grace, mercy, generosity, kindness, and peace.

Colossians 2:19 (ESV)

and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

When we all hold fast to Christ, we become much more absorbed in Him and His achievement than we are in ourselves and our achievements.

C.S. Lewis said, “Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good - above all, that we are better than someone else - I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether…

“The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble - delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life. He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are. I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort, of taking the fancy-dress off - getting rid of the false self, with all its ‘Look at me’ and ‘Aren’t I a good boy?’ and all its posing and posturing. To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert.”

When we are so consumed with Jesus that our gatherings become worship for what He has achieved, that our conversations are about what He is doing in us to give us new life and overcome our temptations and fears, and that our relationships consist of encouraging one another to grow in our relationship with Him, we won’t think much about all the rules of things to avoid. We will grow with a growth that is from God. We will be truly nourished. Not with empty approval from men. He will fill our lives with opportunities to love our neighbor.

If we live in Christ, the second part comes easy. Paul says its already done.

Colossians 2:20 (ESV)

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—

If you are united to Christ by faith, you have already died to the religious ways of rearranging the elements of your life. You are dead to the world and its self-made religions. Don’t submit to its regulations. You have a new life in Christ. It is so much more substantial.

What are some examples of ways Christ makes us more substantial spiritually that religious rule-following can’t do?

How do we grow in holiness without becoming horrible? We hold fast to Jesus Christ. We celebrate His achievement.

Communion

Questions for Discussion

What are some human achievements that are truly remarkable? What is the main difference between these and the achievements of Jesus Christ?

What are some religious practices you were taught that you still value? What are some that you have found you don’t need in your walk with Christ?

What do people seek from religion and spiritual endeavors? In what ways is Jesus the substance of what they seek?

Are there ways our church has judged or condemned others that haven’t done things the way we would do them spiritually? Are there ways we can grow more focused on the substance of Christ in our spiritual endeavor?

How does the gospel help us understand pure religion as God intended it to be?

What has Jesus Christ done so that we can grow together with a growth that is from God? Can we measure that growth? If so, how?

How will you respond to this passage this week?

Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?