Beware, Lest Ye be Spoiled!

Introduction

Tonight we continue our exploration into the book of Colossians, and in doing so, will finish out the first chapter of this epistle to the church at Colosse.

(Recap)

(Previous Messages in the Colossians Series)

‘For the Faithfulness of Epaphras’ - Col. 1:1-8

In that message, we looked at how because Epaphras was Faithful to serve the LORD, the gentiles there at Colosse gained:

Faith in Christ

Fellowship with each other

A Future home in Heaven

Fruit for their Labor

And Friends - that would be there & pray for them

‘Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians’ - Col. 1:9-12

Our next message dealt with v9-12 and it focused on Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians.

Paul Prayed for a Filling - of His Will, Godly Wisdom & Biblical Watchfulness

Paul then Prayed for Faithfulness - in their Manner of Life & the Mark to Strive for

Paul then prayed for Fruitfulness - Testifying of who they were in Christ

Then Paul Prayed for Favor - For God to give them Strength & Satisfaction

Lastly Paul Prayed for Focus - Upon God and His Grace

‘The Incredible Christ’ - Col. 1:12-22

Then as Paul began to get into the meat of the letter, we preached a message titled ‘The Incredible Christ’ focused on v13-22 and in it Paul is just bragging about Jesus!

He spoke of the Performance of Christ

The Pardon of Christ

The Picture of Christ

The Power of Christ

The Preeminence of Christ

The Peace of Christ

The Presentation of Christ

‘A Presentation Without Regret’ - Col. 1:20-29

Paul Spoke of:

The Peace through His Cross (v20-22)

The Presentation Desired (v22; 28; 23)

Paul spoke of the fact that everyone was going to stand before God and give account.

The Person God Utilized

Then Paul made clear that God was using him to communicate truth

Now that Paul has laid this ground work, he speaks of himself for the purpose that they would take heed unto what he had to say.

‘A Call to Stand’ - Col. 2:1-10

Paul spoke of:

A Knowledge Imparted

A Course Implored

A Fulfillment Identified

‘Understanding Our Position in Christ’ - Col. 2:11-15

Paul spoke of:

The Circumcision of the Believer (v11)

The Comparison in Baptism (v12)

The Culmination of the Work of Christ (v13)

The Canceling of Our Debt (v14)

The Conquering of Christ (v15)

Given Complete Victory - and He is a Commander to Follow

Today we’re going to speak on the remaining 7 verses in Ch.2 in the message titled: ‘Beware, lest Ye be Spoiled’

This portion of Scripture is linked to the preceeding in several ways, but specifically what is said in Col. 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Church, there’s been many a person spoiled through these things throughout history.

I. Beware the Philosophy of the Jews (v16-17)

The Inference of Paul

In these verses, Paul is directing his attention to the Jews following the Mosaic Law and the Talmud & their traditions

Now it’s interesting to note that remember - Paul was a Jew. He was an educated Jew. In his testimony he tells us:

2 Cor. 11:22 “Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.”

Php 3:4-6 “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

So Paul is most assuredly a Jew and knew the Jewish faith, and you know what he’s saying? Watch out for them!

And as we’ll see, there’s a reason why he’s telling them to watch out for them.

The Ideology Explained

Why now is Paul telling the church at Corinth to Beware? Why is he warning them that some would spoil them? He tells them specifics here:

In meat or in drink: Jews had strict dietary laws - which I will say were instituted by God. We read that God had prohibited the eating of certain things: Lev. 11:1-7 “And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.”

Now let me ask you this: God gave that prohibition right? If God gave it, then why don’t we follow it?

We’ll get to that in a moment

In holyday: In Levitical law, God gave specific dates that were to be remembered & celebrated:

Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, etc… (Lev. 23)

Read Ex. 12:1-14;

Or of the New moon, Or of the Sabbath days:

There’s a denomination called the 7th day Adventists, and ONE of the distinctions that we see in them is that they worship on Saturday. They are ‘keeping the Sabbath’. They look at Ex. 20:8-10 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:”

To the Pharisees, this was where it was at. They observed these days, the abstained from those meats - they ‘kept’ the Law of Moses - and what did Jesus tell them they were? Mat. 23:27 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”

Do you know why they were what they were? It wasn’t in the things that they did, it was in the way they viewed themselves in relation to God

So if God instructed them to do these things, yet it didn’t please God, what are we to make of all these things? Well the answer is found in v17.

The Image Understood (v17)

One thing that we must understand is that there is in essence no difference between the Old Testament and the New. What I mean is, they both tell the same story, just from a different perspective.

The OT gives us the Picture, The NT gives us the Person

The OT gives us the Shadow, the NT gives us the Substance

The OT gives us the Future in Type, the NT gives us the History in Truth

Once we get that, there is no great division between the two Testaments, for one sets the stage which the other simply fulfills it.

In the OT we have the Ark of Moses & the Ark of Noah - in the NT we have the Ark of Christ!

The Ark provided salvation for those inside from the Judgment upon them

In the OT we have Isaac - a man under the Judgment of God, but before Judgment fell, God provided an unblemished Ram to take his place!

In the OT we have God’s Judgment to fall on a multitude of people - but God supplied a remedy in the unblemished, special lamb that once killed and it’s blood applied, the Judgment was stayed - in the NT, we have ‘The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the World’ in Jesus, who WAS killed, and once His blood is applied to your account, the Judgment of God that you were under is lifted!

Paul tells us what the true purpose of the Law was - it was never meant to save sinners, but to reveal sin! Gal. 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

Everything in the OT was given for purpose, but for a higher purpose than many of the Pharisees realized. The law wasn’t given to us for righteousness, but to reveal our NEED of a Saviour!

Going back to the dietary laws, note: God gave those laws, but then we have something else happen in (Read Act. 10)

The Jews were a very uppity people. They (by & large) disdained gentiles. God’s purpose for the Jewish people was to reach the world and be a testimony unto the God of Heaven, but instead of shining their light, they became puffed up & prideful and instead of reaching the world, they thought of themselves above the world.

One of the purposes of God’s dietary restrictions was to designate that some things were clean, and some things were not. But understanding what God deems as clean & unclean are a little more complex than looking at hooves.

He wanted them to beware the Philosophy of the Jews

That’s not the only thing they were to beware of. They were also to beware of False Doctrines of the Gentiles

II. Beware the False Doctrines of the Gentiles (v18-19)

Notice the Different Warning (v18a)

Paul is not addressing the Jews anymore, for there’s another danger from another place - and that is from the Gentiles. This is not from without their community, it’s from within (as the church in Colosse is largely a Gentile church.

Secondly, notice the warning concerning the Jews - ‘Let no man JUDGE you’

He didn’t want them to be pressured to adhere to incorrect Biblical understanding.

But here, he says ‘Let no man BEGUILE you’

He didn’t want them to be tricked into following false doctrine.

These are two very distinct things that affect whether we are standing true in the faith, OR allowing others to ‘spoil’ us.

It’s a very real pressure to ‘go along to get along’. It’s a very real pressure to succumb to pressures of others.

It’s also a very real possibility for us to be deceived into following false doctrine.

I know this, because people succumb to both of these every day.

Recognize the Diverting of Attention (v18b)

This verse is complex in the way it is given to us, but broken down, this is what it says:

Let no man trick you out of your reward (because we have crowns available)

With self-induced humility (pious attitude)(Michael Scott: My biggest negative ‘I work too hard and care too much’), and worshipping of angels

By interjecting his OWN prideful & carnal thoughts

So, in a nutshell, what he’s saying is that there are some who with their own foolish doctrine are so prideful, that they will teach you to direct your attention to something else other than Christ.

Listen - it may be something good, it may appear to be holy, but if it’s not Christ, then it’s not the Bible!

(Ill.) I thought of the Catholic doctrines where they worship all these false idols - just like the Greeks in Athens. You have them in their pious robes & beautiful adornments - they appear to be holy (but so did the Pharisees), then you go to ‘confession’, seeking man’s absolution of sins, and what do they tell you to do? Say so many ‘Hail Marys!’ I looked up ‘Catholic Saints prayers’ and a whole list came up - here of which is one: Prayer to St. Andrew O Glorious St. Andrew, you were the first to recognize and follow the Lamb of God. With your friend St. John you remained with Jesus for that first day, for your entire life, and now throughout eternity. As you led your brother St. Peter to Christ and many others after him, draw us also to him. Teach us to lead others to Christ solely out of love for him and dedication in his service. Help us to learn the lesson of the Cross and to carry our daily crosses without complaint so that they may carry us to Jesus.

That is but an example of what Paul was telling us to be Wary of. He continues to explain in v19

Observe the Diagram that is Given (v19)

The Head is what gives nourishment. Without the head, the body can do nothing. Paul speaks of the body in 1Cor. 12:12-27 (Read)

The hand must not worship the eye, nor the feet the hand. Without the head, we have & are nothing. Therefore we can’t be tricked into diverting our attention to something less.

Beware the Philosophy of the Jews, Beware the False Doctrine of the Gentiles, lastly - Be Mindful of What You Are

III. Be Mindful of What You Are (v20-23)

The Condition Given

There’s a big, little word given in v20 - ‘IF”.

That’s what sets things apart. If ye be dead with Christ. Christ died - laying the old robe of flesh down & raising to new life, WE must treat our conversion in like manner.

The Condition Given

The Consideration of It

IF we are dead with Christ - then why would we worry about certain things as if we were still a slave to this world? There are some things that dead people need not worry about.

They needent worry about being popular

They needent worry about being pressured

They needent worry about what clothes they wear of what they eat… They don’t need to entangle themselves with these things.

This wasn’t the only time Paul addressed this mentality: Gal. 5:1-2 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”

We as Christians need to make sure and be reminded of what we are. We have liberty to follow Christ and His teachings without succumbing to the pressures and misleadings of others.

Conclusion

Who are you, church?