Let No One Pass Judgment on You

Introduction

Think of Maria, a Christian believer, who recently had her annual performance review.

Her supervisor told her, “You met every requirement. You did everything we asked.”

She felt relieved—until he added, “But if you really want to be considered top‑tier, there are a few extra things you’ll need to do.”

None of them was in her job description.

None of them was required of anyone else.

These were unwritten expectations—attend optional social events, use certain “culture” phrases, project a specific personality.

Suddenly, Maria realized: her completed work wasn’t enough.

She needed add‑ons to be fully accepted.

That’s exactly how Christ‑plus religion works.

Christ has already fulfilled every requirement.

Your acceptance is secure in him.

But false teaching whispers, “Yes, Jesus… but if you really want to be a serious Christian, you also need this rule, this ritual, this identity marker.”

Paul is warning the Colossians about false teachers who were adding religious requirements—dietary laws, Jewish calendar observances, and ritual practices—as if Christ was not enough.

Paul’s message to the Colossians is clear: If Christ has completed the work, no one gets to add new requirements.

Scripture

Let’s read Colossians 2:16-17:

16 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. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Lesson

Colossians 2:16-17 teaches us that because Christ is the substance of our salvation, believers must not submit to man-made requirements that add to Christ’s finished work.

Let’s use the following outline:

We Must Reject Legalistic Condemnation (2:16)

We Must Recognize the Limitation of Shadows (2:17a)

We Must Rest in the Lord of Substance (2:17b)

I. We Must Reject Legalistic Condemnation (2:16)

First, we must reject legalistic condemnation.

Paul writes in verse 16, “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.”

Paul now seems to address some of the false teaching directly.

Paul is confronting legalism.

What is “legalism”?

Legalism is treating anything other than Christ’s finished work as necessary for salvation, acceptance, or spiritual completeness.

The false teachers seem to be suggesting that Christ was not enough.

A person needed Christ plus something to have right standing with God.

The false teachers said that one had to follow certain dietary laws regarding food and drink.

They also taught that one had to observe certain religious days.

Paul refutes all of this.

He will go on to say that these were a shadow of the things to come.

They have been fulfilled in Christ.

Therefore, believers are now free to obey the moral law.

Believers no longer follow the civil and ceremonial laws, as they have been fulfilled in Christ.

Legalism always adds requirements that God never gave.

Imagine you have a doctor’s appointment.

You sit in the waiting room.

45 minutes after your scheduled appointment, the nurse calls your name.

You go in through a door, and the first thing she asks you to do is step on a scale so that she can get your weight.

You put down your purse or wallet.

You empty your pockets.

You take off your shoes.

You get rid of everything that can add even a pound to your weight.

Imagine your shock when the scale reads 600 pounds!

You panic!

But then the nurse says to you, “Oh, that scale is broken. It always adds about 500 pounds.”

Legalism is a broken scale.

It adds weight that Christ never intended for you to carry.

So, what modern legalisms does false teaching present to us?

“Real Christians don’t drink alcohol.”

“Real Christians don’t smoke tobacco.”

“Real Christians don’t go to the movies.”

“Real Christians don’t associate with those who do these things.”

Friends, remember that I said that legalism is treating anything other than Christ’s finished work as necessary for salvation, acceptance, or spiritual completeness.

The difference between legalism and true faith is that a legalist obeys God’s laws to earn salvation, acceptance, or gain spiritual completeness.

In contrast, a faithful Christian obeys God’s laws because he knows he already has salvation and God’s acceptance.

Let me suggest some points of application.

First, reject any standard of righteousness that is not grounded in Scripture.

The ancient Jews had the Moral Law in the Ten Commandments.

To avoid violating the Ten Commandments, they added additional rules designed to help people.

The thought was that you might violate a rule, but not one of the Ten Commandments.

The problem was that people became bound up in all kinds of legalism that made for a frustrating life.

Second, refuse to let others bind your conscience with preferences, traditions, or cultural expectations.

Dr. Albert N. Martin died about two weeks ago.

He is often regarded as one of the most powerful preachers of the late 20th century.

When he preached, he would sometimes say, “What I am saying now is a suggestion that can help you. I am not trying to bind your conscience.”

He would then offer some advice.

On other occasions, he would say, “This is what Scripture says. You must obey God and his word. I am trying to bind your conscience to the word of God.”

Third, examine your own heart: Do you measure others by artificial standards?

When you assess whether other people are doing right or wrong, what measure do you use?

Do you judge by your preferences or standards?

Or do you use the word of God as the standard by which you measure others?

And fourth, rest in this truth: No one gets to condemn those whom Christ has justified.

Probably my favorite verse in all of Scripture is Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

As a new Christian at nineteen, I was so grateful for the truth of this verse as I thought about all my sins against God.

Because I was now a new creation in Christ Jesus, there was now no longer any condemnation for me.

Incredible!

And just as there was now no longer any condemnation for me, I must not condemn those whom Christ has justified.

So, let me assert: we must reject legalistic condemnation.

II. We Must recognize the Limitation of Shadows (2:17a)

Second, we must recognize the limitation of shadows.

Paul writes in verse 17a, “These are a shadow of the things to come….”

Paul said that a religion founded on eating certain kinds of food and drink while abstaining from others, and on the observance of certain days, is only a shadow of true religion.

The Old Testament had a sacrificial system.

There were ceremonial laws.

There were civil laws.

There were festivals that the faithful believers observed.

There was the Sabbath rest that faithful believers observed.

All of these pointed forward to Christ.

All of them found their fulfillment in Christ.

They were anticipatory, temporary, and incomplete.

Friends, these are shadows that were fulfilled in Christ.

Some today want Christians to observe certain rituals.

They want us to eat only kosher food.

They want us to observe Jewish festivals.

They want us to follow some Old Testament ceremonial laws, such as what we wear and what we eat.

They want us to use only Hebrew names for God.

They want us to practice the Sabbath in a Mosaic, not Christ-filled, way.

We are blessed to have several moms in our church family who are expecting a baby.

Often, the first public announcement of a baby is an ultrasound image of the baby in the womb.

Many of them will post the photo on Facebook.

They may carry a photo of it on their phones.

They pull it out and show it to anyone who will look at their precious new baby.

It is fascinating to see the baby's face, hands, legs, and body as it grows in the mother's womb.

Once the baby is born, however, do they continue looking at the ultrasound photo?

Of course not!

They are now snapping dozens of photos—unless it is baby #3 or later.

Then there are far fewer photos.

The ultrasound photo was precious—but it was never the point.

Paul’s point is: Don’t cling to the photo when the Person has arrived.

When I was a new Christian, I remember visiting different churches.

I was looking for a place where I could worship, serve, and be discipled in my newfound faith in Jesus.

One church I visited had all kinds of regulations for those who wanted to be part of the church.

There were certain dietary rules, observance of certain days for religious purposes, and so on.

When they saw that I did not embrace their teaching without question, they shunned me.

Believers today should always check a church’s teaching against Scripture.

Let me suggest several points of application.

First, beware of elevating spiritual habits or traditions to the level of gospel essentials.

Political identity markers, educational choices for children, or health, diet, and lifestyle practices can be wrongly elevated to gospel essentials.

Second, don’t confuse helpful practices with saving realities.

Daily quiet time routines, emotional experiences in worship, and spiritual disciplines and rhythms are just some practices that can be confused with gospel essentials.

Third, ask yourself, “Am I trusting in shadows—my routines, my disciplines, my traditions—more than in Christ?”

Some people spend time reading God’s word, praying, serving, and going to worship services because they are trying to earn God’s favor.

Regarding obedience, I remember hearing Dr. Bryan Chapell once say, “The rules don’t change, but the reasons do.”

Dr. Chapell argued that Christian obedience does not become less demanding under grace, but that the motivation for obedience is entirely transformed.

We obey not to earn God's favor.

Rather, we obey because we already have God's favor in Christ.

And fourth, appreciate the practices under the Old Covenant, but refuse to return to what was temporary.

The Old Testament pointed us to our need for Christ.

The Old Testament showed us in dramatic form our inability to save ourselves.

The Old Testament taught us to long for something unchanging and permanent.

We appreciate the Old Covenant and are grateful for Christ and the New Covenant.

So, we must reject legalistic condemnation.

Second, we must recognize the limitation of shadows.

III. We Must Rest in the Lord of Substance (2:17b)

And third, we must rest in the Lord of substance.

Paul writes in verse 17b, “…, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

Christ is the fulfillment of every Old Testament shadow.

The shadow is the Passover Lamb.

Christ is the true Passover Lamb.

The shadow is the Sabbath rest.

Christ is the true Sabbath rest.

The shadow is the Tabernacle.

Christ is the true Tabernacle.

The shadow is the Temple.

Christ is the true Temple.

The shadow is the Sacrifice.

Christ is the true Sacrifice.

The shadow is the High Priest.

Christ is the true High Priest.

The shadow is the Feast.

Christ is the true Feast.

Everything in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in Christ.

Christ is not an addition to the shadows.

Christ is their destination.

When I was a little boy, about five or six years old, I sometimes got afraid at night.

I would start crying and call for my Mom.

The light in the hallway was on.

Before she arrived in my room, I waited to see her shadow walking towards my bedroom door.

At some point, I saw her shadow.

Do you think I was comforted by my Mom’s shadow?

Or was I comforted when she actually came into my bedroom and took me in her arms?

The shadow was only the sign of her coming.

Once she arrived in my bedroom, the shadow was no longer the point.

Paul is saying, “Why cling to the shadow when the Savior himself has come?”

During the Reformation, believers were burdened with man-made rules—fast days, feast days, penances, rituals, and so on.

Martin Luther used to say that these were “the shadows of the Christ who is already present.”

John Calvin wrote that these ceremonies “vanish when the body appears.”

The Reformers weren’t rejecting holiness.

The Reformers were rejecting anything that obscured the sufficiency of Christ.

Let me suggest some points of application.

First, rest in Christ’s finished work—nothing needs to be added.

Scottish minister Horatius Bonar (1808 - 1889) wrote the hymn, “Not What My Hands Have Done.” Here are the first two stanzas:

Not what my hands have done Can save my guilty soul; Not what my toiling flesh has borne Can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do Can give me peace with God; Not all my prayers, And sighs and tears Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin Thy blood alone O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within. Thy love to me O God, Not mine, O Lord, to Thee Can rid me of This dark unrest, And set my spirit free!

Second, let Christ—not your performance—be your righteousness.

Every person in the world is religious.

Did you know that there are at least 4,000 religions in the world?

Of these religions, 3,999 believe that you must do something to have eternal life.

Your performance is essential to receive an eternal reward.

You may be required to pray, observe certain rituals, perform certain practices, obey specific laws, and so on.

Only Christianity does not require your performance for your salvation.

Christianity says that the Father accepts Christ’s work.

The Father does not find your work—your performance—acceptable at all.

That is why you must let Christ—not your performance—be your righteousness.

And third, worship and serve Christ with freedom, joy, and confidence because the substance is yours in him.

Freedom in the Christian life is not the absence of obedience.

It is the absence of condemnation.

You are not trying to earn the Father’s approval.

You already have your heavenly Father’s approval, and so you can serve him with freedom, joy, and confidence.

Conclusion

When Jesus died, the massive veil in the Jerusalem temple—thick as a man’s hand and sixty feet high—was torn in two from top to bottom.

For centuries, that veil had preached one message: “You cannot come in. You are not clean enough.”

Every sacrifice, every festival, every ritual was a shadow pointing forward to someone greater.

But the moment Christ finished his work, God himself tore the veil apart.

The Holy of Holies stood open.

The shadows had done their job.

The substance had arrived.

It was as if heaven declared:

“Do not let anyone rebuild what I have torn down. Christ is enough.”

That is Paul’s point in Colossians 2:16–17.

The rituals were the veil.

Christ is the One who tore it down.

So we don’t live in the shadows anymore.

We live in the light of the Son. Amen.