Working Through Works

LIBERTY OR LAW?

Back when I lived in Jupiter, I had grown to enjoy some strange eating habits. Now that I think about it, I still have some strange eating habits, but that’s besides the point. Anyways, there was one in particular that stands out in my mind as I think about our passage tonight: the whipped cream apple butter sandwich.

I know, I know… it tastes even better than it sounds. Imagine two slices of the whitest bread you can find… a nice dollop of ALDI’s generic brand Cool Whip… and a healthy spread of semi-organic apple butter. Delicious, right?

A lot of my friends were pretty disturbed whenever they’d find about this, but eventually they would grow to accept my shortcomings. But, some people were actually pretty bothered about it, to the point that I’d get rebuked by them from time to time for my diet!

Now, granted, I don’t think it’s good for anyone to eat whipped cream apple butter sandwiches on a regular basis. My stomach realized that after about 6 months of eating them on a nightly basis. But at the same time, diet choice is a preferential category! We are free to eat as we choose! Peter says so in .

That’s just a funny example of how we as humans can overreact or under-react to situations when Christian liberties are at play. But on a more serious note, how are we to think through the gray areas of life? How are we to think through our Christian liberties?

If this doesn’t seem like it’s a big deal, then just think about the thoughts and judgments we pass on our brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, think about why exactly we get there.

“Is she really not gonna go to college? Does she actually think she’s gonna get married anytime soon?”

Can you believe that Justin listens to Christian rap music? I knew he was worldly, this just confirms it.”

“Hey everyone, pray for the Jones family. They’re going to send their kids to public school.” Oh, the horror!

If we’re honest with ourselves, this is the stuff we say! This is what we think about! Sadly, this is a small glimpse into what we talk about with our friends! All in all, this is symptomatic of a fundamental heart issue we all struggle with: Life must be lived our way, or the high way.

You see, at the core of it, when we silently judge others because of how they apply or “seemingly” not apply Scripture to the gray areas of life, we’ve already gone too far. Why do I say that? Because we’re already guilty of adding our laws to God’s Law… our laws to God’s law.

Condemning others in life’s gray areas is a big deal. But condemning others in religious gray areas is a bigger one.

Paul addressed this issue head on with the Colossians, and my hope is that tonight, we’ll be able to gain some biblical categories on how to think through liberties we have in Christian life, especially as they pertain to life in the church.

So, here in , Paul provides us with 2 truths to keep in mind when thinking through the works that you do: no one is to judge you by them, and no one is to rob you by them.

CONTEXT

So far in Colossians, we’ve followed Paul through the first and most of the second arc of his letter to the Colossians somewhere between 60-62 AD. We walked with Paul as he introduced himself to a church family he’s never even met, before launching into thanksgiving to God for their faith and a reaffirmation of the source of that faith.

Then, we journeyed with Paul into the end of chapter 1 on into chapter 2, where he began to shift gears and expose the sharp contrast between real shepherds and fake ones. Now, here in verses 16-19, we’re nearing the climax of this contrast: At the end of the day, false teaching is just a feeble attempt to find power over sin outside of Christ.

Paul’s main point in writing our passage today, was to implore the Colossians that as a result of Christ’s saving work on the cross, they are to let no one judge them or rob them of eternal life by the deception of legalism.

Paul’s main point in writing our passage today, was to implore the Colossians that as a result of Christ’s saving work on the cross, they are to let no one judge them or rob them of eternal life by the deception of legalism.

Now with that in mind, follow along as I read, starting in verse 16.

Colossians 2:16–19 NASB95

16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

NO ONE IS TO JUDGE YOU BY THEM ()

We find the first truth to keep in mind when thinking through the works that we do in verses 16-17, which is that no one is to judge you by them… no one is to judge you by them. Look at the text for a moment:

“Therefore no one is to act as your judge...”

With this “therefore” Paul is transitioning to the final conclusion he wants the Colossians to come to based on everything he’s thus far and specifically from verses 8-15. Verse 8 - let no one take you captive. Then, verses 9-12 - why? Because Jesus is God. And, verses 13-15 - because Jesus is Savior. Now, in light of all of that, as a result of all of that, verse 16 - no one is to judge you… No one.

Now, does this mean that we are never to judge one another in the church? Hardly! Paul says quite the opposite in ! So, what exactly is Paul saying we must never allow anyone to judge us by? Look at the rest of verse 16:

“in eating and drinking or concerning festivals or new moons or Sabbaths...”

The temptation is to be confused. Don’t be. We’re going to get a bit technical here, but bear with me. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Paul was incredibly intentional with his choice of words. Here’s what I mean.

In this context, the Colossian church would’ve been one of the many predominantly-Gentile churches that sprouted up in the Roman Empire after salvation spread to the Gentiles in , starting with Cornelius. From the events of the Jerusalem Council in , we can safely assume that the integration between Jews and Gentiles in the corporate church of Jesus Christ was rocky sometimes, to put it best.

In addition to racial questions, the common questions that arose theologically were in regards to what still applies and what doesn’t. What is law? What is no longer law? What is the actual purpose of the law? Is what we’re talking about even law?

You see, the false teacher in Colossae brought a little bit of Old Testament theology into his teachings, probably in order to give his teaching some credibility and weight. Remember - at this time, the New Testament had not been completed, so Christians only had their Old Testaments and whatever writings the apostles released as the years went by.

What Paul is referring to here is the giving of the Law by God through Moses, way back in the Pentateuch, in Leviticus and Deuteronomy specifically. He picked these aspects of the Law specifically because he wanted to clear up any and all confusion about what these things actually meant and what they mean.

First - eating and drinking. In , God gives the people of Israel laws about what they are to eat and what they are not to eat! In , the exact same thing! But why though? Why ban the people from eating certain animals? Why ban the people from eating bacon? tells us!

Leviticus 11:44–45 NASB95

44 ‘For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 45 ‘For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’ ”

The whole point was personal holiness before a holy God. Jesus says so in .

Matthew 15:11 NASB95

11 “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

Second - festivals and new moons and Sabbaths. In , the Law is given to Israel for how they are to go about their ceremonies and the Sabbath day! Listen to verse 3 and verse 32 from .

Leviticus 23:3 NASB95

3 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

Leviticus 23:32 NASB95

32 “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”

Don’t miss the two key phrases from those verses: “a holy convocation”… “you shall humble your souls.” Provision, providence, and protection is all from the Lord.

But still, it’s hard from that to abandon the simple conclusion that the point of the Law was to just carry out what it says. Luckily, God made it abundantly clear to Isaiah what His thoughts are when it comes to the Law. Listen to :

Isaiah 1:13 NASB95

13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

God doesn’t care about the activity! He never did. He never will! It’s always about the heart motive. Look at what Paul says next in on this:

Colossians 2:17 NASB95

17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

They were a shadow… a glimpse. A glimmer of hope. A beacon of hope. The beacon of hope! No man can stand before a holy God unless He provides a way that we can.

Hebrews 10:1 NASB95

1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

And He did! This was the main issue Paul was addressing! He’s saying here, “Colossians! Wake up! Jesus already fulfilled the law! Why are you even considering adding burdens to your back that have already been borne?”

And He did. Through His Son, Jesus Christ. Essentially, Paul is commanding the Colossians, “Don’t let nobody judge you by your works”, because the whole point of doing them is Christ!

At the end of the day, when we think through how many church events we go to… how many Bible studies we attend… how many service opportunities we jump on… we have to remember that its not about the activity itself. It never was. The believers in Israel did the works that they did in anticipation of what Christ would do. We do the works that we do in remembrance of what Christ has already done.

And we have to ask ourselves this same question, “Why are we adding burdens to our backs that have already been borne?” I mean, think about it!

Matthew 11:28–29 NASB95

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

So why are we so prone to being restless? Eternal rest is found in Christ! Yet we make things so much more difficult than they need to be, because we refuse to let go of the baggage that we believe. We have to examine ourselves and evaluate whether our categories and convictions for and on life are legit or not.

How can we know that? Just ask this question to yourself the next time that a gray area topic comes up. “On what authority?” On what authority am I saying this? On what authority did I believe this? Understand - if we do not start taking these things seriously, then we all run the risk of muting the gospel because we’ve added to it.

At the end of the day, when we think through how many church events we go to… how many Bible studies we attend… how many service opportunities we jump on… we have to remember that its not about the activity itself. It never was. The believers in Israel did the works that they did in anticipation of what Christ would do. We do the works that we do in remembrance of what Christ has already done.

NO ONE IS TO ROB YOU BY THEM ()

The first truth to keep in mind when thinking through works was that no one is to judge you by them. The second, here in verses 18-19 is that no one is to rob you by them… no one is to rob you by them. Look at verses 18 and 19 for a moment.

Colossians 2:18–19 NASB95

18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize...”

This clause right here might be better understood like this: “No one is to rob you of the prize you desire...”

The idea for this verb here is that of condemning, or robbing. It’s the only time that it shows up in the New Testament as a whole! Basically, in this passage Paul is commanding the Colossians, “Not only is no one to judge you, no one is to rob you either!” Of what, exactly? The eternal prize you’ve been striving for!

Basically, Paul is commanding the Colossians, “Not only is no one to judge you, no one is to rob you either!” Of what, exactly? The eternal prize you’ve been striving for!

Colossians 2:4 NASB95

4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

CO

Colossians 2:8 NASB95

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 NASB95

3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Obviously, Paul isn’t talking about being on guard against getting your purse or your car stolen (although you shouldn’t just let those things happen). What did we just hear from verse 18? “the prize you desire.” This prize is eternal life! We have to be sober-minded about the reality that the road to eternal life is narrow for a reason. And, part of that reason is because there are many who are diligently seeking to take you off of that road to life and drag you down the road to death.

But also note the weapons that these false teachers are deploying in battle in verse 18:

“in humility and worship of angels...”

Most of your translations express this idea as “false humility”, or “self-abasement”, all of which are accurate. Paul wanted the Colossians to understand this reality: the humility of the false teacher was not from God, but from man.

Isaiah 57:9 NASB95

9 “You have journeyed to the king with oil And increased your perfumes; You have sent your envoys a great distance And made them go down to Sheol.

Revelation 22:8–9 NASB95

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”

But what about the worship of angels? At first glance, that might not seem like a big deal. Aren’t the angels heavenly beings? Don’t they at least deserve a little worship from time to time? Not so! Listen to what the angels themselves say in .

Revelation 22:8–9 NASB95

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”

If the stuff this false teacher is saying sounds ridiculous, it gets even better! Look at what Paul’s got to say about this!

“going into detail on what he has seen...”

Paul’s talking about visions! The entire basis for what the false teacher was teaching was on private revelation he claimed to get straight from God. Does this sound familiar at all? Sounds like a modern-day Charismatic to me!

What’s interesting though, is how he ended up there. Typically, we associate charismatic doctrine with emotionalism, and passion, etc. But this guy, he got there by way of legalism, the exact opposite end of the spectrum. What does that tell us? That legalism and lawlessness both end up in lifelessness. Listen to on this.

Deuteronomy 29:29 NASB95

29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

1 Timothy 1:5–7 NASB95

5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

This is the truth: God doesn’t need to speak to you or to me, because He said everything He needed to in His Word! A lot of times, what feels or seems like a word from the Lord is really just conviction from the Spirit about how a certain principle from Scripture should be applied in a situation.

You see, when we start taking a stand on speaking in tongues, or having a dream and meeting Jesus, we’re on a slippery slope there. If we really met Jesus in a vision, we’d be humbled, not prideful! Did Isaiah boast after seeing the Lord in or did he tremble? Did Daniel brag after seeing the Lord in or did he fall on his face in fear? Did the apostle John brag after seeing the Lord in or did he fall at His feet like a dead man? tells us that our God is a consuming fire, and we would do well not to forget it.

Back to the text. Look at what Paul says next about this false teacher:

“puffed up without cause by his fleshly mind...”

The guy has an inflated ego! But here’s the kicker: it’s inflated for no reason! There is nothing notable about him! He has accomplished nothing of notoriety, nothing of acclaim, nothing at all! Yet he’s proud. But what keeps inflating his ego? His fleshly mind! He’s worldly! He evaluates himself by the world’s standards and the world’s traditions, which at this point, included the rituals of Judaism, and according to that evaluation, he seemed pretty good in his own eyes.

With this, Paul exposes the false teacher for who he really is: a proud man who adds to God’s Word because he refuses to obey it.

Romans 8:6–8 NASB95

6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:19–20 NASB95

19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,

Galatians 5:19–21 NASB95

19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Beloved, understand this - if we build a habit or develop a pattern of disobedience when God’s Word is presented to us, then we will twist and distort what it says. This is fact! Interpretation of Scripture is a heart issue! The Spirit drives proper interpretation! What grieves the Holy Spirit and hinders His work in illumination? Unrepentant sin! If we find ourselves sinning against others in our thoughts or our actions in response to how they choose to walk out the gray areas in life, then we should be alarmed! Why? Because it means that we’ve already been twisting Scripture at the heart level! For what reason? Because it shows we have not yet crucified our idolatry of personal significance.

This is what happened to this false teacher. You see, he wasn’t always the way that he was. In fact, he started off just like you and me. Faithful. Look at verse 19.

Colossians 2:19 NASB95

19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

He was a member of the body, just like us! He would’ve been attending Bible studies just like this one. He may have even been leading one! He would’ve been there every Sunday morning, singing with us. He may have even been singing with the music team! But what happened? He did not hold fast to the head, Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:4 NASB95

4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

And in the body of Christ, the head is the source of all nutrients! Of all nourishment! Yet, this false teacher left it all behind. And for what? The sweet nothings and empty promises of the world and its religions.

The whole body of Christ, by sinews, ligaments, muscles, and tissues, is supported and held together by Christ! The imagery is so striking here. The metaphor is a reference to the workings of our own bodies. Listen to David in :

Psalm 139:15–16 NASB95

15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

The Lord knitted our human forms together, and He knitted the body of Christ together in love through our hearts, like we saw a few weeks back in . But the key is Paul’s final words in verse 19: “grows with a growth from God.”

You see, there is no growth in life outside of Christ. There is no sustaining of life outside of Christ. There is no beginning of life outside of Christ. There is only death outside of Christ. With this, Paul reveals the sobering truth behind every false teacher: spiritual distance always leads to spiritual decay.

John 15:4–6 NASB95

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

Ephesians 5:29 NASB95

29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

Romans 12:4–5 NASB95

4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

This is sobering, beloved. It could happen to you. It could happen to me. It could happen to any of us. Distance from Christ always produces decay in the Christian life. So what are we doing on a daily basis to renew our minds so that we stay close to the Head? A great way to start is by centering our lives around being a part of His body, so that others may be drawn in and we ourselves do not fall away from Him.

LIBERTY AND LAW!

So, let’s recap. We’ve seen two 2 truths to keep in mind when thinking through the works that you do: no one is to judge you by them, and no one is to rob you by them.

Our time is short, but I want us to leave with some practical tips on how to apply the truths we’ve studied tonight and work through our works.

1) GROW IN DISCERNMENT.

… grow in discernment. Not everything we hear is true! Despite what we may think.

1 John 4:1 NASB95

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John

How many things do we believe boldly and declare boldly without taking the time to consider whether or not what we’re promoting even holds up biblically? Christianese convictions are a cancer for the believer. Should I tithe 10%? Should I address my roommate’s music choice? Should I my friend that she’s not a good fit for him, or vice versa? Whatever we do in these situations and countless others, it is our duty to have a conviction that is founded on Scripture and Scripture alone. If our convictions aren’t based on Scripture, then they’re not convictions at all! They’re simply worthless opinions.

2) GROW IN DEFERMENT.

… grow in deferment. Sometimes, it’s really hard to prefer others. Especially when they don’t deserve it. But in those times, we have to remind ourselves: what do we deserve, anyway?

In light of who Christ is and what He has done, all we can do praise Him. The best way to do that and honor Him is by reflecting His sacrificial love through dying to our selves and our preferences day in and day out to consider others more important than ourselves. That’s the key to remaining in the Head, and the key to growing with a growth that is from God. And that’s something we can all get behind, amen? Let’s pray.