Wao! Can you hear this, yet people are still allowing themselves to be deceived despite the fact that God’s word spelt out everything out for us! Paul has given the Colossians several warnings in this chapter and here, in verse 18, is another one. J.B. Philips translates it in this way: ‘[Don’t] let any man cheat you for your joy in Christ by persuading you to make yourselves “humble” and fall down and worship angels. Such a man, inflated by an unspiritual imagination, is pushing his way into matters he knows nothing about, and his cleverness forgetting the head.’ Some commentators believe one aspect of the heresy threatening the Church at Colossae was the veneration of angels –the idea being to seek out mediators in addition to Christ. If so then it is another indication of the existence of beliefs similar to those of second-century Gnosticism. Paul has no intention of allowing the false teaching to rob those who are ‘in Christ’ of their prize, and characterizes the individuals concerned in this way: ‘Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen [in visions], and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.’ Here we see the root of the trouble: those advocating the worship of angels were puffed up with pride. They claimed to have inside knowledge but really they had found a ‘spiritual’ way (so called) of drawing attention to themselves. When talking to Christians with strange ideas about the faith, I have found that often the underlying motivation is to be noticed. They have little or no sense of identity, and as aligning themselves with others is not enough of a boost for them, they go in the other direction. Thus they are different. The root of all this is, as Paul discerned, pride. William Law put it well when he said, ‘Pride must die in us or Christ cannot live in us.’ Pride and Christ cannot stay together!

Now let us read Colossians 2:17-23; 17 Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit, 19 And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as] 21 Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them], 22 Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines. 23 Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]

The apostle Paul has been in the midst of describing to the Christians in Colossae what makes Lord Jesus so great. Paul concludes this section with a grave warning. He is very concerned for the spiritual condition of these Christians. He does not want them to be swayed by the teachings of others that will pull them away from the simplicity and sufficiency of Christ. Our Lord Jesus is sufficient for salvation and is all that we need. Paul’s concern is that Christians will become disqualified (2:18). Whenever the Scriptures warn us concerning disqualification, we must sit on the edge our seats with great concern so that we do not fall into disqualification ourselves. As we study Paul’s warning, be sure to observe the various principles and teachings that will disqualify us from having a relationship with our Lord. Table of Contents; Old Testament Regulations (2:16-17), 16Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day".17 Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ. Mystical Experiences (2:18-19), “18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit, 19 And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as].” Message: now let handle these step wisely,

The first warning of disqualification concerns teachings that tell Christians that they need to go back to the Law of Moses to be in obedience to the Lord. Paul declares that the things found in the Law of Moses, that first covenant given at Mount Sinai, were only a shadow of the things to come. The things that you read about in the Old Testament were all foreshadowing or pointing to someone who would come. The person the Law of Moses was pointing to was Christ. The laws concerning sins and sacrifices were all needed to teach the people and get them ready to understand why Christ needed to come and die for our sins. When we go back to the Old Testament and bind the laws and regulations that were commanded to the people of Israel we are disqualifying ourselves. This is not to say that the Old Testament does not have value. We cannot understand the substance which is Christ until we properly understand the shadows that God revealed through the Law and the Prophets. Paul is not contradicting himself when he taught: For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope. (Romans 15:4). We learn key principles and concepts from the Old Testament. But we err if we go back to the Old Testament and import the laws from that covenant into the new covenant of Christ. People were teaching the Colossian Christians that they needed to keep the food and drink regulations of the old covenant. People are still doing this today. There was a book that came out in 2002 called What Would Jesus Eat? The author, Don Colbert, M.D., states, “If you truly want to follow Lord Jesus in every area of your life, you cannot ignore your eating habits.” Other authors have used the example of Lord Jesus to promote the eating of fish. My book with that title would have a one sentence answer to the question, What Would Lord Jesus Eat? He would eat anything He wants. We disqualify ourselves if we think that we are in obedience to the Lord by obeying the food and drink laws of the old covenant. 8 Now food [itself] will not cause our acceptance by God nor commend us to Him. Eating [food offered to idols] gives us no advantage; neither do we come short or become any worse if we do not eat [it]. (1 Corinthians 8:8) 18 And He said to them, Then are you also unintelligent and dull and without understanding? Do you not discern and see that whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot make him unhallowed or unclean, 19 Since it does not reach and enter his heart but [only his] digestive tract, and so passes on [into the place designed to receive waste]? Thus He was making and declaring all foods [ceremonially] clean [that is, [h]abolishing the ceremonial distinctions of the Levitical Law]. 20 And He said, What comes out of a man is what makes a man unclean and renders [him] unhallowed. (Mark 7:18-20) Eating is not godliness. Abstaining from certain foods does not commend us to God. The world is getting food religious. You are more holy and more moral and more righteous if you drink wheat grass. Vegetarians and vegans are considered a divine way of eating. Food is not the only place where many go back to the Old Testament laws and bind them on Christians. Most go back to the Old Testament command for tithing, the giving of ten percent. Many teachers will command their Churches to give ten percent to receive a blessing from God. The tithe is not found in the new covenant of Christ. The new covenant commands us to give according to our ability (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:3, 12). Some religious groups use a special class of priests. However, a special class of priests is found in the Old Testament. The new covenant of Christ teaches that all Christians are priests before God (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6). Some religious groups teach the keeping of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was commanded to the people of Israel in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 5:14-15). The Sabbath is no longer commanded in Christ. Paul even mentions in Colossians 2:16 that we are not to be judged concerning Sabbaths. Friends, Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. The use of mechanical instruments was commanded in the Old Testament for temple worship, but is not commanded of Christians. The only instructions given are to sing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). We will be disqualified if we look to the regulations and laws of the Old Testament and import them into the Law of Christ. Mystical Experiences (2:18-19); Rather than holding fast to Christ, we want to find shortcuts in getting to know God. A few weeks ago we noted the fascination that people had because of the book, The Shack. Rather than learning about God for ourselves, people want to read a book that will give you special insight into the nature of God. Things do not change. Paul warns about the teachings that would disqualify these Christians in the first century were of the same nature. Exercising pious self-denial, false humility, claiming to have seen visions, worshiping angels, and puffing one’s self up with special knowledge. For some reason we think that we are missing out on something we start seeking mystical ways to be approved by God. We will see people today also claim to have special visions from God. Paul warns us to not believe them. Do not listen to what they are saying. People will claim to have special experiences and feelings. Others claim to have special miraculous gifts. People will claim to have Holy Spirit experiences. Everyone wants to have a spiritual experience and many claim to have such experiences. People will continue to teach that they have a higher spirituality because they have something or experienced something that you do not have. Society has only accelerated this nonsense making the mundane things in life a religious experience. You are more godly if you bring your own bag to the grocery store now. In many places you will be looked down upon with disdain for not bringing a bag. We need to eat organic. We must drive small cars. We need to read self-help book, practice yoga, get in touch with your inner self, take homeopathic medicines, and wear shirts made from hemp. Is this not the spirituality of today? If you are Pious in driving, Oprah watching, hemp wearing, bag bringing, yoga exercising vegan, you have reached the highest spirituality! If you enjoy doing anything of these things, that is certainly your choice. But do not think that your activity is bringing you any closer to God. Do not believe that you are more spiritual or that you are gaining any divine favor through your actions. All of these things are used to suggest that these activities make us closer to God. Paul tells us that these things are human precepts and teachings (2:20-22). Godliness is not obtained through keeping these various regulations that people come up with today. Many of these things will even have the appearance of wisdom. We get pulled in because the arguments and reasoning sound good. However they are promoting self-made religion, not God. They are of no value in our pursuit of true holiness and godliness (2:23).

“Experiences” never trump Christ and His word. We do not need to be intimidated by people who claim to have experiences. Accept what the word tells you that you have. You have everything in Christ. You are not lacking anything when you are His true disciple. Enjoy what you want in this life bound by the regulations given through Lord Jesus as found in God’s holy word. Do not accept the regulations of the world and human teachings. I know the problem. It seems so boring to receive the word of God and nothing more. We want to have some special experience. We want a Holy Spirit intervention. We want to see a vision. We want to believe that someone has received secret knowledge that we must learn. We want to read a book written by a guru who will give us the secret to life. Those are exciting things. So we want to believe in faith healers, tongue speakers, ghost seekers, and other secret abilities. Paul’s point is that you have all you need when you have a relationship with Christ. You know all that you need to know when you know God’s holy word. Here is our warning: if we listen to these teachers who claim that they have received something more or that we need to do something more, we have become disqualified. Human teachings, even binding regulations from the Old Testament, do not bring us near God, but separate us from God. All you need is in Christ and His holy word. So let us live a life that enables Christ to indwell us and live in our heart, also let us try to be a true embodiment of God’s word and truly practice God’s word in your daily living both at home and in the society!