Do Not Turn Back
When Jesus Reigns • Sermon • Submitted
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· 18 viewsSince Christ has saved us completely, we cannot return to the things that we once looked to for satisfaction and wholeness. True freedom is found in Christ, not that we can do whatever we want, but rather that the One that we follow we can trust has the best intentions and that our hope is not based upon the perfection by which we are able to follow.
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The Purpose of Sacred Moments
The Purpose of Sacred Moments
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, 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.
Colossians 2:16-
“Therefore” is Paul’s connection to the previous passage. Paul explains in verse 15 that the powers of this world could not separate us from a restored and redeemed relationship with God so therefore, neither should anyone else.
The NIV translates the next phrase as do not let anyone judge you. The reciprical is also valid here, do not pass judgment on anyone. Paul directs us to the obstalces of the faith that were dividing the church. In the first century church, there was a clash between Gentile and Jewish believers. There were many who still held very near to the laws of the Jewish faith and sought to impose the following of those laws on to other Christians. They felt that to be a Christian one first had to be a Jew.
Paul returns the people of the source of their new found life, Christ himself. Christ is the reason for our new position before God. It has nothing to do with the practices of the day or the deeds or actions of the people.
The celebrations and sacraments are tools designed to turn our hearts to the Lord. They have no power on their own.
The Deceit of Ego
The Deceit of Ego
Colossians 2:
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.
Paul continues to call the chuch to guard themselves against things that would detract their focus on the Lord. The next area of warning is the ego.
When our ego steps in, we become the head of our lives and not Christ. Our lives become dictated by our power and ability. We cannot hope for more than what we can accomplish. We even become threatened by those around us because our position can not support their deeds.
When we become the focus of our walk with God, we will alienate others to lift ourselves up to be worthy of our salvation.
Projected Values
Projected Values
Colossians 2:20-
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged 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.