Jesus Plus or Just Jesus? (Part 2)

Introduction

Have you ever had someone come up to you and say this, “I have good news, and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Which do you usually want to hear first? Usually we want to hear the bad news first and the good news last so that there is a positive taste in our mouths afterward and so we can get the bad news over with. Good news, and bad news. The bad news of the situation that we find ourselves in as human beings is that we often struggle with a desire for more. The millionaire who is jealous of their billionaire competitor desires more money. The aging adult who looks back at their life with regret over wasted years desires more time. The student who is running for class president desires more friends and votes. The homeowner looks at his neighbors truck or boat and desires more than what he currently has. As humans we have a heart that craves more. More money. More time. More possessions. More status. More!

Sadly, this mentality and hunger can move from the mental to the spiritual as many people, those who grew up in church and those who might be new to church, crave more than what we find in God’s Word. We see this in the progressive church as people crave more revelation from God - the “God Told Me” stuff. We see this in the American “church” as many crave more ways to heaven than what Scripture teaches. We desire more. More of this, more of that… and many desire more than Jesus. The bad news is that we desire more in life… are you ready for some good news? Jesus is sufficient. Jesus is all that we need. This morning as we continue walking through Colossians, we’re going to see the danger our legalistic views onto Jesus and the danger of seeking emotional experiences with Jesus. In a world that desires more, how we must be content with Jesus.

Colossians 2:16–23 CSB

16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ. 18 Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind. 19 They don’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God. 20 If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. 23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.

It’s all about Jesus. Whenever we add to Him, this will lead to problems! Whenever we rest in Him, we find freedom and assurance. Let’s ask Him to help us find true rest in His Gospel this morning.

In Jesus, There is Freedom From Mysticism (16-19)

The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, shared that there is nothing new under the sun. The more we study the past, the more we realize that modern beliefs truly are just repackaged beliefs from thousands of years ago. One modern belief that is really picking up traction with the next generation is what some call the New Age, or New Age Beliefs. The “follow your heart”, “you are god”, “speak things into existence”, and “universalism” or everyone goes to heaven beliefs that we hear in our world aren’t entirely new things. Even back in the 1st century, we see Paul address some of these very things in Colossians 2. Ascetic practices, worshiping angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Adding Jesus to other beliefs or systems. There have been many people over the years who have treated and continue to treat Christianity as a sort of mysticism - that word simply means an inner religious experience that strives for unity with the divine. It’s all about this experience. It’s all about feelings. In fact I heard a pastor years ago share this statement, “People will forget what I say, but they won’t forget how I make them feel.” We live in a feelings first world and billions live each day trying to be true to their heart and follow it because they believe that their heart will never lead them astray. Even inside the walls of churches, things like this are taught as people seek to follow their feelings and pastors and churches strive to create spiritual experiences for people to crave, almost like a drug. What does Paul have to say about this type of thing? These people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind. In our world people flock to these spiritual retreats and outings, some pay over $10,000 for them! People flock to churches that generate entertainment. Do you know why music matters so much? Music bypasses much of the logical, thinking part of our brain. If you can “suck” someone in via music that sounds cool, you can deliver a message that is loaded with error and some of the largest, wealthiest, trendiest churches are guilty of this exact thing that Paul condemns!

Instead of creating this mystical experience where people lose themselves, our worship times are supposed to be centered on Christ. Friends, our feelings aren’t God. In fact, our feelings lie regularly. There are days that we may not “feel” it - but every day is a gift. There are days that we may feel distant from God… but God hasn’t moved, and if you’re a believer, He is with you! Our feelings are an awful barometer and a deadly weight. In the world in which we live where feelings are the driving force behind much of our world, we have something better. We have the facts of God’s Word which will never change. We are the most depressed, anxious, worried, and angry generation in the history of our planet. We have more information available at our fingertips than ever before… yet, we’re more afraid, worried, and medicated than ever before. Has it dawned on you that maybe in a fallen world, our fallen hearts are leading fallen people astray? What is the solution? It’s not more emotional manipulation. It’s not more seeker sensitive feelings based events. As Paul shares in our text, the solution is Christ! Not a shadow, but the substance.

Hebrews 10:1 CSB

1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

Shadows aren’t bad things, although they can be scary at times when we are little. If you see a shadow, it means that there must be something that causes that shadow in the first place.

Imagine a dog carrying its bone proudly on a hike and eventually coming to a pond. The dog is thirsty, but doesn’t want to put its bone down… but then the dog looks at the pond and what does the dog see? Another bone! Its tail wags. It’s excited about not one but two bones. It drops the bone out of its mouth in order to grab the one that it sees in the pond. But what happens? There is no bone in the pond because the bone it saw was its own reflection. Now the dog is left with no bones. This is what happens whenever people live for the shadow and not the substance. When people think that Jesus isn’t enough and that we need to add to Him. This was a few decades after Jesus walked the earth and people were struggling to see the centrality and sufficiency of Jesus - we shouldn’t be surprised to see these same struggles today!

We live in a world dying under the weight of follow your heart spirituality. There is something better, though. There is hope. There is life. There is connection. And that all starts with being connected to Jesus Christ - the head of the body.

John 10:10 CSB

10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Mysticism and Emotionalism and Secularism and Feminism and Idealism seek to steal, kill, and destroy. They are cheap imitations at best and eternally disastrous distortions at worst that will keep you looking at the shadow of law instead of the substance of grace. We must stop living under its bondage. We must seek Jesus and find life and connection in Him.

Some of these Colossian Christians were tempted to return to the old rules of Judaism. To the law. To the shadows of the past. This is foolishness! South Gate, there is freedom in Jesus Christ! Just because you might not have the experiences that a friend has had, don’t lose your confidence in Jesus. If you are saved, you are eternally secured in Christ. There is freedom from mysticism and emotionalism. When your head hits that pillow, you can be fully confident in the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is freedom from the shadows of mysticism.

In Jesus, There is Freedom From Legalism (20-23)

Just as there were some who wanted to prioritize emotional experiences and worship false gods, just as people do in our world today, there is another danger that is well entrenched in the church - legalism. How many of us have heard the word legalism before? This is a word that many of us in church life are familiar with to some form or another, and these Christians 2000 years ago were familiar with the idea as well. While it’s not legalistic to say that there are things that we should do as Christians like read our Bible, spend time in prayer, come to church, use our spiritual gift, and prioritize worship in our lives… there are many things that are truly molehills that people turn into mountains, and they are ready to fight and die on those molehills. This is the problem of legalism. Look at the list of legalistic things that Paul mentions in verses 16-17, what is his point?

Jesus fulfills these things. He fulfills the Old Covenant. He fulfills these rituals. They are completed in Christ… and Paul is making the argument that to continue in them, to continue in the festivals, celebrations, rules, dietary regulations, and all of these things for the sake of salvation is wrong. In other words, if there was a Jewish individual who repented of their sin and placed their faith in Christ and was in this congregation in Colossae, they could certainly still observe these things… but understanding that they are a shadow of what is to come. These Jewish believers used to celebrate 7 feasts and a monthly celebration of the new moon. There were sacrifices and offerings offered regularly! Paul isn’t saying that these things can’t be celebrated… but to understand that there is no longer a need for a sacrifice to be offered because of the cross of Christ! To realize that all of those OT sacrifices pointed to the cross as the better blood was spilt during the better sacrifice that was offered by the better priest, Jesus Christ. In other words, Paul didn’t want these believers to go back to Judaism and the sacrifices and at the same time to not try and bring a Gentile convert into the feasts and festivals of Judaism as a means for salvation. There was a group called the Judaizers who did exactly this - let’s say that you want to be a Christian and the local church is made up of predominantly Jewish Christians. The Judaizers would say that in order to be saved, you are required to follow the OT dietary laws and customs. You had to be circumcised. You have to eat these things. You had to celebrate these dates. In other words, it was Jesus plus keeping these Old Testament laws. This system didn’t die in the 1st century - it is roaring back in our world today as there is a growing number of people who want to go back to the Jewish ceremonial and dietary laws and believe that everyone should do this. Everyone should keep these Old Covenant regulations. Can I share with you some awesome news?

Jeremiah 31:33 CSB

33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Hebrews 8:6 CSB

6 But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.

There is a New Covenant that Christ brings about. Physical circumcision isn’t necessary to be saved. Celebrating Old Covenant festivals and sacrifices isn’t necessary to be saved. The way to be saved is faith in Jesus Christ! Notice again what he says in verse 17 - all of these things, food, festivals, and the Sabbath, they are shadows… not the substance. This means that Jesus towers over them. Jesus reigns and rules supreme! All of these shadows were pointing us to Jesus - the law was preparatory to help God’s people see their need for something greater… Look at the 10 commandments and what do you and I see? We see that we don’t measure up. Ray Comfort is great at evangelism conversations with people and he starts with the law. He’ll ask people “Do you think that you’re a good person?” What does everyone say to this? Of course, I’m good! Then Ray Comfort starts with the 10 commandments.

Have you ever told a lie?

Have you ever taken God’s name in vain?

Have you ever disrespected your parents?

Have you ever hated someone or looked upon someone with lust?

The point being that we break God’s commands. We stand guilty. The wages of sin is death. We aren’t as good as we think! The law brings about condemnation and leaves us stuck in our sin with nothing that we can do about it. It’s pointing us to the reality that we not only need a little help, we need divine rescue! We have rebellious hearts and the solution is not more laws. The Pharisees took these initial 10 commandments and by the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had 613 commandments that they kept. They were strict to follow the letter of the law and they were sure to tell you if you were not! Do you know that there are some weird laws in our world today? In Portland, Oregon it used to be illegal to wear roller skates in public restrooms. In Berkley, California, it is illegal to whistle for a lost canary before 7am. In Halethorpe, Maryland it was illegal for a kiss to last more than 1 second. These are strange laws! The Pharisees had some strange laws as well. Did you know that one of them was that it was illegal to spit on the Sabbath because it would disturb the dirt and you would be guilty of plowing the ground. It was illegal to swat a fly on the Sabbath because you’d be guilty of hunting. It was illegal to pluck a gray hair because you’d be guilty of doing work. Do you see the lengths that they went to in order to keep the letter of the law? But what did they miss? The heart of the law! The law is pointing to the Law-Giver - and these same legalistic pharisees missed that part entirely! As RC Sproul once shared, “The legalist isolates the law from the God who gave the law.” This is tragic… but it still exists today.

People continue to miss Jesus today in favor of these types of extra laws and regulations. We know some of these legalistic beliefs that exist in the church in the 21st century just as they did in the 1st century - in order to be a Christian, you can’t do x, y, or z or you have to do x, y, and z. Think of the modern legalist like the person who only drives the minimum speed on the highway. We know that there is a speed limit, but there is also a speed minimum that is usually around 40 mph. This person drives 40mph all the time, no more and no less… have you ever seen someone do this? This might be find sometimes… but what about when there is a serious rain storm? The minimum speed doesn’t change on the sign… but the circumstances change! Other people might drive 20 mph because they can’t see well, but this individual continues to drive 40mph and this places them as a danger not only to themselves but also to those around them. This is the peril of legalism - obeying the external while being removed from the heart. Hell will be filled with people who never broke the speed limit. Who didn’t smoke, didn’t cuss, and even those who were baptized… because none of these things save you! To suggest they do is legalism.

How have churches and Christians embraced legalistic practices? We do it all of the time, usually with things that we chalk up to tradition.

You have to do all 5 verses of every song in Church

You have to have a choir anthem and special music in every service

The sermon has to be less than 30 minutes (sorry!)

You have to offer an altar call after every message

Men can’t have a beard

Women can only wear dresses down to their ankles

No drinking caffeine

We can list even more! Legalism is a cancer as it adds to the Bible and it creates a burden on people that they cannot bear themselves! Legalism is the enemy of Grace as it tells people that they can earn God’s favor. It leads people to jealousy and hardens hearts. It adds requirements to the cross of Christ. These individuals were so focused on the outside that they weren’t focusing on the heart, which Jesus cared about the most. What the legalist needs to remember is that it is possible to appear clean on the outside while remaining dirty in sin and distant from God on the inside.

Matthew 23:25 CSB

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Aren’t we guilty at times here? Looking good on the outside. Wearing our good church clothes. Putting on our Church smile. Talking the church talk. Looking the part! But inside there are some issues. This is what was going on in Colossae as there were people adding to the Gospel and looking good on the outside but crumbling on the inside, Paul shares that this is a distortion of the Gospel.

Galatians 1:6–7 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Legalism, the idea of adding extra rules to being a Christian, is a distortion of the Gospel. It says that you have to perform up to a certain standard in order to “make it.” Legalism says, “You can’t touch this, you can’d taste that… do, do, do.” Remember, church, the Gospel is marked by the word “DONE” not the word “DO.” Legalism is another Gospel because Legalism is worldliness that assures us that we have done enough to earn our standing. We have to remember that God’s love for us doesn’t depend on our performance, but upon Christ taking our place!

Yes, there can be wisdom in rules and regulations… but if you are in Christ, you don’t have to live as a slave to the law. There is freedom in Christ and Paul talks about this in Romans 14.

Romans 14:1–3 CSB

1 Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him.

We have different consciences as Christians. Who here likes meat? In the ancient world, meat was a delicacy that was expensive and something people rarely ate unless it was a special occasion. Because meat was so expensive, there was a large market for discounted meat. Many temples would offer animal sacrifices, and many of the churches that Paul planted were in large cities with pagan temples where this was common. Following the animal sacrifice, the priests from these temples would sell the meat from these sacrificed animals. Because they had been used in these sacrifices, the meat would be significantly cheaper and many people would buy that meat instead of the one straight from the farm… but for the Christian this was a serious concern. The meat was used in a pagan sacrifice. Is the meat ok to eat or not?

Some said yes, and others said no. What do you think happened at times? The person who said that they couldn’t eat it was tempted to say that NO ONE should eat it. And the person who said that they didn’t have a problem eating it was tempted to say that the person who couldn’t eat it was a WEAK Christian. This is Legalism. These rules and regulations don’t change the heart - keeping them doesn’t bring about salvation. It is Jesus who saves. It is the Gospel message that changes the heart. The grace of Jesus Christ offers freedom from the weight of legalism as we remember that none of us can earn our own way in the first place. The grace of Jesus Christ offers freedom from the false humility that legalism brings to our lives as we puff ourselves up at the expense of viewing our brothers and sisters in Christ as lesser. The grace of Jesus Christ provides us with freedom as we remember that we are equal at the feet of the cross. Church, we don’t need more human commands and false doctrines. We need God’s Word and we need wisdom as we seek to live a life that brings God glory and honor. What we don’t need is to judge other Christians over matters of Christian Liberty.

Do we seek to obey God and honor Christ or to obey rules?

In Jesus, There is Freedom For Evangelism (20)

Before Christ, we lived under these man-made regulations. We followed our heart. We tried to keep up with the Jones’, whoever they are!

What are you willing to die for?

During the month of October, people celebrate lots of different things. Some celebrate the beginning of fall as the weather cools down and the leaves change color. Others celebrate bonfire season with hayrides and s’mores. Others celebrate different holidays, good and bad… but as Christians many of us celebrate something called the Protestant Reformation. We celebrate God using Martin Luther to spark a movement that would eventually lead to denominations just like ours. Have you ever read church history books and read about where we came from as the Church? We read of men like Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and John Wycliffe 500 years ago who were willing to die for their faith. Going back further, we read of the earliest followers of Jesus and we read of people being crucified upside down (Peter), being stoned, being stabbed, sawed in half, impaled, and thrown into gladiator pits to die. Millions of Christians have lost their lives for the Gospel of Jesus Christ… but that didn’t stop the church from growing - in fact, an early Christian leader named Tertullian said that, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church!” In other words, Christians could continue to be persecuted, mocked, and even killed… but they kept on sharing the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why have Christians been willing to die for the Gospel message that they were proclaiming? Are you ready? Because they had already died once. Friends, as Christians we are invincible until God says otherwise and calls us home. Colossians 2:20 tells us this - we have died with Christ. We don’t belong to this world any longer! There is freedom in Jesus Christ. Freedom from legalism. Freedom from mysticism. Freedom from atheism. There is freedom because we were created to know and glorify Jesus Christ and we won’t experience that freedom until we turn from this world and turn to His Word. We must die to self and find life in Christ

Romans 6:11–12 CSB

11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires.

As those who are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we have a message to share. A message of life to a world that celebrates death. A message of light to a world blinded in the darkness. A message of hope to a world that is hopeless. A message of grace to a world that desperately wants to boast about self. Whenever we talk about salvation we usually think about what we are saved from - we are saved from eternal separation from God. We are saved from the punishment of our sins. But we are also saved for something - we are saved to glorify God. We are saved to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus, there is freedom from false gospels and false worldviews and there is also freedom for evangelism. We are not saved to sit, we are saved to serve and part of serving in God’s Kingdom is sharing God’s Gospel!

Because of the Gospel, we are no longer slaves to sin… this world is no longer our master. We are in Christ. He is our Master. We are safe and secured eternally in Him and we desperately want others to join us in experiencing this freedom! Have you experienced this freedom today? Have you come to realize the emptiness of this world apart from Christ? All the things this world says to chase lead to a deeper pit of despair and emptiness. Money doesn’t buy everything. Popularity is fleeting. Possessions get old. Jobs change. Even family isn’t everlasting. What do we need? We all need Jesus. A Savior whose blood buys our salvation. A Savior who doesn’t leave us. A salvation that truly changes us. A family that is eternal. We all need Jesus… just plain old Jesus, not Jesus plus. Not Jesus plus our works. Not Jesus plus this action or belief. Not Jesus plus philosophy. Not Jesus plus rituals from the Old Covenant that have been fulfilled in Christ. Not Jesus plus extrabiblical worldviews. Salvation is, in the words of Martin Luther, “Solo Christo” only through Christ.

Because the Gospel is Just Jesus, we don’t need to be controlled by or consumed with the applause of man… we must be motivated by the approval of our Savior!

Because the Gospel is Just Jesus, we don’t need to add to Scripture, we must stand on the Scripture God gave us!

Because the Gospel is Just Jesus, we don’t work for our salvation, we work from our salvation!

There is good news and bad news… the bad news is that our works cannot earn our favor with God. Legalism places a burden on the shoulder of people by telling them they have to do this and that in order to earn God’s approval… the good news is that this has already been given to us through the cross of Christ. Jesus has already redeemed, delivered, and reconciled us to the Father! Disciplines like reading the Bible, spending time in prayer, and coming to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ are great things, in fact they are commands… but they don’t save us. They can’t save us. They help us grow as those who are already saved.

They can’t save. Religious shadows can’t save… Jesus can. Reject the shadows of a godless world and Gospel-less preaching and cling to Christ. If you have not yet turned to Jesus, if you’ve lived your entire life thinking that you can earn your own way, friend lay that boulder of a burden down at the feet of the cross today and experience the freedom and life that Jesus alone can provide you with. In a moment we’ll pray, and I’ll be standing up here, and I’d love to pray with you and share how you can be changed by Jesus today.