Poor Substitutes for Christ

Poor Substitutes for Christ Colossians 2:15 November 10, 2019 substitute -- noun def. a person or thing acting or serving in place of another. THE BIG IDEA: If we do not accept the supremacy of Christ, we will seek substitutes for Him or we will embrace spiritual “additives” to supplement who He is and what He has done. Christ is Supreme and Sufficient and should be the sole focus of the Christian’s life and spiritual growth. Colossians 2:16-23 (ESV) 2 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. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. 20 3 Terrible Substitutes for Jesus Legalism: keeping religious rules to be accepted by God. The problem: rules deal with externals and miss the heart; rules appeal to our pride; rules become a way of judging others. The solution: recognize that all of the Law points to Jesus and is satisfied in Him. To continue to keep the Law as a means of being accepted by God is to say that Christ’s work on the Cross came up short! Mysticism: seeking religious experiences to be closer to God. The problem: shadows are real but don’t exist on their own; experiences can be powerful, but we should never chase an experience more than we chase Jesus; remember we are commanded to have “no other gods” The solution: stay connected to Jesus [John 15:4-5] Asceticism: giving up pleasures to be holy like God. The problem: the body is not evil and material things are not inherently ungodly; life is full of suffering but we do not have to create suffering as a means of being holy. James 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:17 The solution: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – submit our bodies to the rule of Christ, 1 Timothy 4:1-4 The Bottom Line: Legalism, mysticism, and ascetism all address spirituality through externals, while the Bible teaches that the basic problem of man is the heart. [Matthew 15:10-20] And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, Colossians 1:21–22 (ESV) 21