Colossians 2:16-23 Stop Being Judged

You are listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Mattawan, Michigan I'm Don Felsick I'm the lead pastor here and I want to thank you for coming and Warm welcome to all of you and especially those of you that this is your first time here.

I'm glad that you're here I hope you have all walked this past week in freedom the freedom that Jesus provides for you

I hope that you've had some sense of joy in living with him walking with him And having him walk with you and I hope this morning we all grow in faith and community and service together

That's one of the main reasons we gather together as his people as we we need each other and we need to hear from his

Word and we need to worship him. And so that's that's part and parcel of the reason that we are gathered together

God has called us together and we grow best in community with others this morning

We're gonna dive back into the book of Colossians where Paul has been explaining so clearly that it is all about Jesus that's been kind of like the drumbeat of the book of Colossians so far is that it's all about Jesus last week

We talked about the dangers that the church that faced the church in terms of philosophies and empty deceit that that are not consistent with or according to Christ and and there's a lot of thoughts swirling around and in the media and through social media and all different kinds of avenues of Communication with us and and different thoughts that are out there and we talked about that last week

And now this week Paul moves from those mental attacks of those who would seek to damage us would seek to as the text said last

Week lead us captive and lead us away And then he's gonna move to this week talking about the specifics of the way

That those same people were having a negative impact on the church in Colossae and in reality as we look at that We're gonna contemplate and consider the way that those types of things can have a negative impact on us as well

And the irony is that we might assume that the enemy of the church Like have you have in your mind an enemy of the church somebody who would be against the church?

You probably have in your mind some kind of a notion of something you might think of somebody who does really evil things

We might think of you know You just might be moved to just think of philosophies or thinking like atheists or violent extremists or false teachers who deny the truth of God's Word But it's interesting that in our text this morning

Paul speaks at length about these enemies and he identifies the number one characteristic of these people particularly in Colossae the number one thing is that They put forward a bunch of man -made rules

Scary right? Oh terrifying. Those are the enemies of the church Those would be people who would go against Christ people who would have a lot of rules

It seems kind of counterintuitive, right? As a matter of fact, I was raised under the opposite assumption I was raised under the assumption that we have to follow a bunch of rules in order to be okay with God anybody ever heard that message before more rules the closer you are to God you have that kind of notion and Yet as I've grown in my faith and as I've read and I've studied the word and I've tried to draw close to Christ and Acknowledged him.

I've walked a few years with Jesus. I'm finding that the pathway forward is freedom in Jesus freedom in Christ It's not a long list of do's and don'ts

It's a strong connection with Jesus by faith that matters most

Here at the beginning I I want to suggest to you that you could follow two different people throughout the day and Their lives could look quite similar in speech

Quite similar in behavior quite similar in action the things that they do throughout the day

And you might not be able to tell Whether or not they are in with Jesus Christ just by observing them

I mean you notice that Are there people who aren't not connected with Christ that have a moral life that do good things?

absolutely, and I think probably everybody can get a name of a person in your mind who you know isn't connected with Jesus, but still does some pretty decent things and Does okay it seems?

But in our text Paul is going to help define the difference for us and it is this primary thing

It's a question of walking with Jesus a question of acknowledging him with your life

Are you connected to him or are you following a list of rules and just trying to be a good religious person?

and I think we've got to really do some searching in our own soul and recognize that it would be very easy to join a

Church and begin to just do what other people do around you just follow monkey see monkey do and so I'm gonna act like Everybody else around me

And I'm gonna try to blend in and that's our tendency is to kind of begin to take on the patterns and forms of people Around us to talk like them to act like them to work like them and we could do all of that without ever having a

Real change of heart without having a transformation without getting a new heart and so eternity rests in the answer to those questions

Are you walking with Jesus? Are you connected to him? This text ends pretty dramatically verse 23 trying to be good

Paul says rules Regulations man -made rules have no value in fixing your sin problem

There's no value in them No amount of washing no amount of giving no amount of attempted devotion can save your soul

Our only hope is clinging to Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross for us by faith so let's open up Colossians 2 verses 16 to 23

If you don't have a Bible or a device to navigate to a Bible just raise your hand and and Mike is back here and mark

And they can bring you a Bible We want everybody to have a copy of the Word of God on their lap as we as we dive in and go through this text

Specifically for the reading right now, but then especially afterwards as we walk through so recast

This is what God wants for us to hear this morning Colossians 16 rather Colossians 2 16 to 23.

Let's let's read together 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 These are a shadow of the things to come but the substance belongs to Christ Let no one disqualify you insisting on asceticism and worship of angels going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by a sensuous mind 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? Do not handle do not taste do not touch referring to the things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings

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

Let's pray as the band comes to lead us in worship Father we are people and from a variety of backgrounds in a variety of places in and I recognize that some of us really like Rules, we really like laws.

We really like things black and white and Yet we also have acknowledged that we have broken our own rules.

We've broken our own laws we've set our own standards and then we've we've Gone beyond those and so there's inconsistency.

There's hypocrisy in our hearts. There's a Brokenness that is in there and this text openly declares that rules do not solve that brokenness in our souls

They do not stop us from indulging our flesh. They do not stop us from Exceeding the speed limit.

They don't stop us from saying harsh words to those that we love And so father I thank you that a remedy has been provided for us in his name is

Jesus and so father from a place of a victory from a place of healing from a place of being

Constantly made more whole each day. I pray that we would worship you together as your people

Father that we would be exalting in Christ this morning Not in rules not in regulations not in laws that cannot fix us

But in Jesus Christ in his blood that has redeemed us and bought us so father from a place of Freedom in you through the blood of your son

I pray that you would move here in our midst as we worship you with songs even now in Jesus name.

Amen Thanks a lot to the band for leading us in worship I want to point out a couple of things as you're getting settled in first of all

Well Mike shirt, I want to clarify that we as a church do not endorse any political candidates

Um, so I wanted to clarify that despite the shirt. So But if Chewbacca was running that was pretty sweet Second of all, if I look a little bit nervous, um, there have been some threats

To me this week that if I make a good point during my sermon I might get doused with Gatorade and then

I then I arrive here and and this is sitting here I don't know if this belongs to anybody in here, but it is empty.

Fortunately. I'm glad to see that but I am You know, so I'll try not to make any good points. How about that?

So I will see Do keep your Bibles open to Colossians chapter 2 verses 16 to 23

Keep those open just because that's going to be what we walk through and I really think that my messages are best

Received if you have the Word of God open in front of you You can see that I'm walking through the text and then remember to just just be as comfortable as you can in here

I know that those chairs get uncomfortable So if you need to get up and stretch out in the back or you need to get more coffee to keep your focus on God's Word, whatever it is

But take advantage of that The book of Colossians as we as we've been going through it is like one big argument that Paul is making and he's and he says

One paragraph or one section and then that paragraph supports the next paragraph. It's very common

If you've read any of the letters of Paul, that's kind of the structure and the way that he thinks so he'll say this and because of this therefore this and because of this therefore this and he's basically spelling out arguments as he goes through and It can get kind of complex in his writing he writes

He's the king of run -on sentences and he likes to just thought after thought after thought and he sometimes distracts himself

I kind of think sometimes that maybe he had ADD or something because he would just like just you know Be talking about something and then all of a sudden

Oh that thing makes him think of this and then he goes on to the next thing and so Most of our sections begin with the word therefore in our starting point are therefore in verse 16

Paul is referring back to all the great things that are true of those who are trusting in Jesus Christ As their king and savior.

That's how he ended the last section last week things like um Christ has canceled our debt

Christ is victorious over the force of darkness in christ. We have died in christ We've been buried in christ.

We have been raised to new life And therefore if those things are true of you then

Our text then our text if those things are true of you and then he goes on to say three points from this morning

From this text verse 16 and 17. Let no one pass judgment on you first point

Second is let no one disqualify you from verse 18 And lastly our third point is going to be hold fast to Jesus verses 19 to 23 all of those presupposing that you have a relationship with jesus christ

All of those presupposing that you're already connected to the head that you're already in him and then Let no one pass judgment on you and then let no one disqualify you and then

Hold fast to jesus once that relationship has been established and you're running with him

And in our first section paul commands those who are in christ to not allow others to tell you

What to eat what to drink what holidays you need to celebrate or how you should celebrate them or how you should participate in sabbath rest

Now it's funny how Paul is both emphatic and passive in this first command really first and second command

Let no one pass judgment on you. Let no one disqualify you um

Let no one is a strong statement We know that what comes next is something that he doesn't want us to ever let somebody do to us

Okay, but you have to consider when somebody commands you to let no one do something to you

How much control immediately is in your mind do I have over others? Right.

Do you have how much control do you have? and so it's obvious from the text and from what he's trying to communicate that he he wants us to think about this in terms of Of how we respond when others would seek to judge us think think of it this way if I say to you let no one cheer for denver

We we just can't get that done, right? Could you accomplish that today? No, of course not and some of you in here are cheering for denver.

I get that Um, but we just can't do it. It's a command, but it's passive at face value

But I believe that it's intentional because the only other way paul could say this

In an active voice would be too aggressive for what he wants to communicate He's not saying force others to drink what you drink

Or flaunt your dietary decisions or your sabbath practices before others as a matter of fact Then you'd be guilty of being like those people who would do that to you, right?

And so he's he can't really say it in that way. So he's saying just don't let others judge you don't take that to heart

It amounts to don't be stirred up about what others say about your freedom In christ about these these gray areas and these things that pertain to the temporary stuff of this world

Do you have the freedom to enjoy whatever food you would like? Do you have that freedom think about that?

Up to what scripture would indicate is an invisible boundary that I have a hard time defining for you

I hope you have some semblance of definition. That is gluttony I hope you have some kind of definition in your mind of what that word means

But up to that invisible boundary you have freedom to eat what you want Praise god one word bacon, right you

I mean, right you you have the freedom to eat What you want because christ has set us free from those old dietary laws.

What about what about drinks? Right up to the edge of your own conscience Right up to the edge of drunkenness and man -made laws that say that if you're under 21, you are not to drink

You have the freedom to drink what you want How about sabbath practices?

I grew up in a church that uh, you know, I was I when I was when I was little I don't really know this is kind of hearsay

And I mean what my mom let me hear or communicated to me or what I heard from others or overheard adults Speaking or in different things like that But I grew up in a church that would judge people who went out to eat on sunday

I actually heard that they would actually drive past and I grew up in a small town kind of like madelon But they would actually identify vehicles that were in the restaurant parking lots and then come and address people um

You know whether that was the next week or throughout the time or whatever But um, I guess they were able to they were able to kill two birds with one stone because they could judge your food

And your sabbath practice at the same time, right like um And some of you know what i'm talking about and some of you have no clue like you're like what people actually do that Yeah, they actually do.

Um But hear me carefully in case you missed this Paul does not say That there should be zero judgment in the church

This has to be said because people will take a passage like this and run with it with misunderstanding

And it's patently false that there is zero judgment in the church But we judge according to what standard?

the word of god We have a standard given to us But we

We judge according to this standard and not according to our own preferences Or additional laws that we would seek to add on top of things like thou shalt not eat on sunday.

Who came up with that one? Mankind has loved to add laws above and beyond the rules of god.

I meant eat out on sunday We love to we love to add rules, right? Have you identified that?

Maybe you're not the person who likes to add laws But you recognize that there are people who love to add rules and laws, right?

And and some of us are that way I mean it just seems to make things more crisp and clear any anybody with me on that it

Seems to make things more black and white if you give me a list I can check things off and I can tell you You know where I stand at the end of the day.

I did this I didn't do that. You know that kind of stuff but if god says Don't get drunk then someone decides for everyone else that they shouldn't drink

At all right, you know what i'm talking about? Some of you know that there are churches and there are communities that follow christ that would say you're not

Not here. Not if you're going to be a member here. You can't drink Or if god says hey bonehead quit working yourself into the ground take a day off each week to rest in me

Someone else comes along and says how many steps you can take on the sabbath like the old testament? And like they did during jesus's time where they had rules about i'm not being able to pluck a grain

Off of the head of a piece of wheat on a sunday and they added rules and rules and rules on top of rules

Someone says, you know when it comes to sabbath practice you can't can't play basketball or you can't exercise or you can't do this

And the basketball one always frustrated me when I was in high school in college I went to a bible college where they would literally close down the athletics center on sundays and I was like man

This is this is a no class day This is a chance to play some ball and some of you might Recognize like me that that's recreation like that is relaxation for you

That gets kind of some of the tension and the energy out and um, it was like well, okay I guess this is this is the rule at the school where we where I attended

So some of you can think of the rules and the things that you were raised with that you kind of go That seems kind of man -made that seems like somebody kind of just trumping this up or kind of trying to Overprotect or whatever you might think it is, but but paul is tackling head -on hear me carefully.

He's tackling head -on man -made rules And saying don't let those

Be your guide Don't let man -made rules make you feel condemned

Recognize them for what they are He says here. They're just a shadow when the true substance has already arrived in your life

Even good rules even really good rules like the dietary laws of the old testament or sabbath keeping or the monthly

Sacrifices on the new moons or the the annual jewish festivals that they celebrated were all rolled up into the coming of jesus christ

They were like signs that announced the fair is coming to town But once the fair has arrived, you don't need a sign that says the fair is coming to town because guess what?

The fair has already arrived He's already here All of these signposts that in the old testament were pointing forward to the the need that we had for a savior.

Guess what folks? He's arrived and his name is jesus christ And he has fulfilled the entire law on your behalf

Anybody excited about that? I am I would be a bloody mess right now trying to slice the slice the throats of of goats and And bulls for your sake to expiate your sin if it weren't for christ like that would be the role of pastor

I'm glad i'm not that i'm glad i'm not a priest. I'm glad we're done with that You know what i'm saying?

Yeah, that was kind of gruesome. Wasn't it? You're like, oh yuck Um, that's the way it would be that's the way it was in the old testament.

It was a mess And all of those things were signs that pointed to the coming of the messiah and paul saying

He's here. He's here Am I suggesting that the sabbath is no longer needed?

I believe that paul is about to make a case in our text that the sabbath No, the sabbath no longer is a law to us

We are not mandated to keep it But it still bears wisdom that is wrapped up in a relationship with jesus christ.

In other words You don't have to Take a rest day Not it's not law to you

But you should take a rest day Because you trust in jesus as your king and savior

And he thinks it's a super great idea that you take a day off He thinks that's great

And he loves you and he knows what's best for you So he says take a day off and you should

But in verse 17 the point is really strong Laws and rules are to christ

What shadows are to the things that cast them? You can stand by admiring all of the shadows

Or You can dive into a real relationship With the one who is casting those shadows

He's the real thing And you can play around with the shadows Or you can engage yourself in a relationship with the true

One who loves your soul and died for you So paul says don't give in to the judgment of others on issues of food

Sacrifice sabbath and all different kinds of stuff that people will make crazy silly rules about because these things don't compare to the real thing

We have available to us namely jesus christ He's the real deal

Second paul commands us to let nobody disqualify us What follows is a description of the beliefs of these false teachers in colossi that show the way that they would seek to drag christians down Remember last week paul used the phrase let no one take you captive and here he speaks of Letting no one disqualify you

There are some who would seek to disqualify you by interfering with your connection to jesus christ

I want to be clear think of disqualifying not like losing your salvation Some of you are like well, can I be disqualified the disqualified from heaven disqualified from what what would

I be disqualified from? It's not like losing your salvation but think of it like a church or even an individual member

Being sidelined because of what others think Can you imagine that like I mean we could we could get so caught up here at recast into laws and rules and regulations that we would

Eventually cease to reach out we would cease to be what we were intended to be because we're so inwardly focused and so Mired down with a lack of joy and a lack of freedom in christ

Are you getting what i'm saying in that and remember he's writing to a church. He's not writing to an individual person He's writing to colossi.

He's talking to us recast He's talking to churches and saying don't let anybody disqualify you and I would say that to you

Don't anybody don't let anybody disqualify you recast Don't let them take your joy from you and your power for ministry by Burdening you and and putting heavy yokes and heavy burdens on your shoulders so that you can barely stand up So you can barely lift your gaze to heaven and I don't know if you've ever felt that way if you've ever lived under law

If you've ever lived under a sense of burden in the weight of your own sin and that I needed to do a lot

You can hardly lift your face to god, right? You can hardly gaze upon him

You can hardly even cry out to him because the weight if you feel like you're the one who has to do it all

If you think about it Adding rules on top of the christian life as a form of leading people away from the sufficiency of jesus christ

If I believe that jesus is all I need then i'm going to be satisfied to walk with him I'm going to be rooted up in him as we talked about last week

I will dance to the beat of his drum if I am sold out for jesus

But the reality of it is there are people who like power right any of you ever Inter Get involved with somebody who likes control likes power likes authority.

Some of you are laughing a little bit But it's probably not that funny really And and one consistent way to exercise power over others in life

I don't know if you've noticed this But one consistent way to exercise power among humans is to set the drum beat

And see if you can get people to sway to your rhythm Set rules for them See if they'll jump when you say jump see if they will go through the hoops that you set up for them

Jesus has a way of life. I want to be clear He has a way of life that he desires for you to go. He has a way of life that he desires for me to go

The christian community is not just some amorphous blob of people doing their own thing We are also not to be people pleasers, but god pleasers

And the church is an organized family Who follows christ and seeks to honor him by attention to his word and obedience to his direction

I want you to think that i'm that that that the christian life has no standard has nothing to follow has no place to go

But it is not man -made rules and regulations that are going to get you there Some would seek to steal the direction that jesus is is trying to send us through the word

They would come in with heavier laws that burden the church and burden its members laws that fight against joy

Asceticism is even mentioned in verse 18. You see that there let no one disqualify you insisting on Asceticism and worship of angels going on in detail about visions puffed up but without without reason

By his sensuous mind asceticism is a type of philosophy That that attempts to beat sin out of us by by depriving ourselves of fun

Of pleasure of enjoyment and then in turn tries to minimize that for others as well

Asceticism is a is a philosophy like that philosophy that he was talking about last week It's a a system of thought that says man.

God does not want you to have fun Anybody anybody gone through seasons where you felt like that?

You felt like or that was communicated to you or you fell into a group of people who was communicating that to you

So these false teachers here in colossi were teaching the denial of joy Which if there's anything that if you read the new testament if there's anything that stands out

It is that the christian is to be joyful is to be full of joy and enthusiasm and excitement because why we've been set free in christ

We have freedom in him Joy, excitement, enthusiasm, exuberance should define the christian life

We should be the most joyful people in the in our neighborhoods We should be the most joyful people in our workplace.

We should be Saturated with joy not not just chintzy cheesy, you know

But but a deep abiding joy that even when things are tough, even when there are tears, there's still a a sense of hope with us, right

It's always hope So these false teachers were denying joy

They were also teaching the text says the worship of angels This is a phenomenon that occurred throughout church history was well known in this area of colossi

Even we have we have documents and ancient Archaeological finds that that date to about the fourth century a .d

from these churches in the area of the lycus valley where colossi is and There were letters written to angels prayers written in letters to angels in this area of turkey

So they were somehow encouraging false worship And I don't know if any of you some of you weren't even alive then

But some of you uh were uh hanging out in the 80s and you remember the 80s and the late 80s early 90s

Do you remember the angel craze back then? I think it was like whatever the run was of touch by an angel somewhere around there

But do you remember people having they got these little lapel pins? and it even got to the point where I saw some really creepy stuff at the christian bookstore that was like the names of angels that don't occur in scripture and how you can

Pray to them for certain things and stuff like that and it got got a little bit weird, right? Anybody know what i'm talking about?

Um, there was a little bit of a craze there And uh, so it's not that far removed. Um, you're like man people you would worship angels

Yeah, they would and they did even in our generation even in our time So these false teachers were encouraging false worship and they also claimed to have ecstatic visions

That they were very happy to share with others they would go on and on in detail about the way that god had blessed them with these visions of uh,

Truth and things that they could reveal to the church that were new and they would brag about these visions that god had

Shown them heaven or shown them insight or whatever and so by the end of verse 18

Paul, paul pulls off the gloves And openly declares that these false teachers are puffed up They are arrogant

They are full of pride. He says They're operating out of a sensuous mind and the word sensuous right away some for some reason in english

That sounds like naughty to me. Um sensuous, but but really it's a word that means carnal or worldly paul

Paul's picture of these false teachers are not very good. They operate out of a fleshly mind a worldly mind

They claim to be the inner circle of god's favor They live their lives by following strict rules and not having any fun and and looking down on those who might enjoy

Something from time to time so they must be really spiritual right because they don't have any fun Again, I mean, isn't that the way that a lot of people think?

They cover all their bases by even getting in close with god's holy messengers Covering all their bases and making sure that they've worshipped everything.

They they've detailed visions Um, they have detailed visions that they are all too eager to share with the church

And in these things they become arrogant which betrays the center point of their mind Which is their flesh themselves they are approaching

The church from a worldly sinful perspective This is the description of the kind of person who would seek to disqualify a church

Who would seek to add and keep on heavy burdens and loads of work for you and I? loads and loads of laws and rules to keep

And scads of hoops for us to jump through The kind of person who claims insider information with god

I find myself becoming a bit incredulous when I read this like do people really follow leaders like this?

Like sometimes I think okay paul really like you're you're going on and on about this But is there are there really are there really people who would follow this?

Would people really honor someone who is arrogant and proud boastful claiming to be the answer to everyone's problems?

Some of you are laughing Some of you have watched some debates recently Uh on both sides right both sides of the aisle and you kind of go whoa, wait a minute.

How does how does that work? Um, yeah people would follow people who are arrogant and proud and boastful and claim to be god's answer

But further in the church here in colossi there were people who would act like they were god's favorites

So people follow someone who makes lots of hoops for them to jump through Yeah, and it happens

I know people Who have come out of churches that would require their members? This is true story would require their members to ask permission of the elders

If they wanted to buy a refrigerator If they wanted to buy an appliance they had to come before the board of elders to have a review of their finances

In order to make a family purchase. I'm not talking about a refrigerator for the church's kitchen

I'm talking about for their home Or to go trade in a vehicle or to move or to leave their job and quit and go someplace else

They would come before the elders for permission for that kind of thing Anybody else just kind of shocked that kind of thing really happens

I hope you're shocked. I hope you're not like well, I could see this I could see you going there. Don. No, I Please know

I hope that you're not you're not feeling like the man if you feel like we're on that slide Let me know that is not going to happen.

I'm not going to micromanage you in that way I wouldn't even want that my goodness um, but down through the ages

Churches have disqualified have been disqualified or disqualified themselves through this type of leadership cults are real

And people turn to strange places for leadership right Turn to all kinds of places for leadership

And in verse 19 It really is the greatest indictment of this leaders of these leaders that the people particular to colossi

He says they have not held fast to the head. Who is the head? Jesus christ

They have not stuck with jesus I would suggest to you that from paul's description throughout this text that there is evidence that these false teachers were never really in with christ

They never were fully incorporated They have not accepted the sacrifice of jesus as sufficient to cover their sins

They are still working to try to pay for sins that christ died for Some of us could be guilty of sliding in that direction in our minds, right?

What are you living? What about the way that you live? What about the way that you walk? Are you thinking that man?

I I deserve this bad thing because man It would pay for my sins or it would cover that or I I have that coming.

I thought christ died for that Right He paid for it I don't think they were ever fully incorporated

Instead they have made their own religion as the text concludes here They have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self -made religion

By the way, there's there's there's not a lot of uses of the word religion in the scriptures

But it's not always good Self -made religion here the idea of trying to get to god your way

That's the definition of this And they have made their own religion and tried to attach themselves to jesus try to take what

I think and dovetail that in with jesus and and and then muddy that a little bit and attaching something new to a body

That is then in turn going to drain resources and weaken its members Doesn't sound like a part of the body to me, but I think we have a word for that in english

It's parasite Right To attach something that attaches itself to a living organism and drains it dry

Wow Paul did not have a high estimation of these false teachers in colossi

They Have used jesus christ as a tool of their own agenda But what they really want is power and authority

I dare say that most of us have a seed in our heart Of the desire for others to dance to the beat of our drum

Right if you're honest in your heart, do you recognize that? There's a little bit of a hunger to have others do things your way

And these false teachers took that and let that seed grow in their heart

That's what happened But all of us have the capacity for this kind of thing So lest we sit back and think oh, well, we could never

I mean we would never be like that Would we be cautious about what you say you wouldn't do and ask for god's grace to never be that?

They've used him as a tool of their own agenda They want power and authority Not forgiveness and salvation but in verse 19

We see my my third and final point and that is to the church in colossi to recast jesus wants you to hear this hold fast to Jesus in him we find nourishment in him.

We find unity in him We grow with a growth that comes from god interestingly by Contrast and by the words that paul uses here

He identifies that there may be some growth that doesn't come from god. Have you ever thought about that? There's a growth.

That's that's not healthy There's a kind of growth that is not from god that is not good. Sometimes cults grow faster than the church under false teachers

But I would rather have slow growth that is from god than rapid growth that is from human invention

Rapid growth that's from my creativity or your creativity or our ability to be all polished and full of pizzazz and whatever the culture is doing and do a good demographic study to find out what people want and just do that part of this verse

Part of this verse that we could easily overlook. Is that expectation that christ is the head of the church

Many christians today want to throw out the church and just keep some shell of spirituality with connection without connection to others

And so it's kind of like they just want to keep the head without the body You notice that trend in our culture?

I mean you guys you guys aren't experiencing just the fact that you're here demonstrates that you You recognize at least some level of wanting to gather together with god's people and connect

But there are a lot of people that i've talked to and in particular this millennial generation That's being raised up.

That's kind of like Church, take it or leave it right and and many of us whatever generation you are

Many of us have been burned by the church And so in that uh in that that being burned is kind of like man.

Do I really need people? How many of you know that relationships get messy they get ugly? There's frustration that comes with that man.

It'd be so much easier to just sit me and my bible my cup of coffee and jesus But you can't take the head without the body

By the way Christ wants you to be connected with others By the way, I recognize and i'll be the first to tell you it's risky

It's a risk To gather together and engage and to give of yourselves to others

That's what love is You cannot love without some risk You cannot love without handing over the knife and sticking your neck out on the block and saying

I trust you with this Because how many of you know you're good you risk being hurt the minute that you engage in relationship with another person

Those of you that are those of you that have been around a while, you know exactly what i'm talking about And so there's risk that's involved in that But in him we find unity

We find a growth that comes from god God is not calling out a people of isolation

He's not calling us to aloneness But he's calling us to unity with his body I want our church.

I want recast church to be nourished I want recast church to be unified I want our church to grow with the growth that god supplies and so The only thing

I know to do towards that end is to try to lead us to christ each week I've worked hard over the past several years to be sure that i'm not leading you to my rules

As tempting as that can be at times There are times when I when I think that I might have some ideas for you

I might have man if you just do things this way or that way that would be it would go better for you But I have a strong conviction that in my ministry i'm called to be a one -trick pony

Is to call out to jesus point to jesus Constantly lead people to him

And I think paul was that way too. I think paul was basically a one -trick pony Verse 20 he explained it this way if you all died with jesus, where is he going?

He's pointing back to jesus back to jesus back to jesus If you all died with jesus if you were all crucified with christ and your old self

That was driven by evil forces of this world if that has received a fatal blow at the cross

And your sins have been nailed there Then why be so concerned for the worldly pattern of laws rules and regulations why get ben out of shape about that kind of thing?

And it's confusing as verse 20 seems let me boil it down for us because it can be Hard at first you read it and you're kind of like what goes with what and where and especially in greek

It can get kind of confusing But those who have died with christ have little concern for rules and regulations as their source of motivation

Because the love of christ has now taken up that place of motivation It's not rules that motivate you

It is the love of christ that should motivate you The christian life isn't fueled by law

But instead is fueled by the love of jesus So when someone proposes rules for the church like do not handle do not taste don't even touch paul says chill man

Those things are all about temporary stuff. And by the way, these are man -made laws that you're holding up And i've had situations in my life where i've literally been told by one of my leaders in in pastoral ministry

That we have the right as pastors to make rules as we deem necessary as leaders of the church

This text disagrees this text disagrees You do not have the right to invent hoops for others to jump through spiritually.

You have no right And I don't have that right Neither do the elders of our church

We do have the responsibility to continually to point one another Mutually to the standard of christ and his rules for his followers as found in scripture

But let me suggest this to you. The christian is truly free to follow jesus

We gladly and willingly submit to our lord and savior jesus christ We are not free to do whatever we want

But in joy we find that what he desires of us is easy and his burden is light

He walks with us He pulls us along And he is gentle toward his people

Paul concludes by giving us a final word on man -made rules in verse 23 simply

They are worthless They have zero value in getting done what they set out to accomplish human precepts human teachings

Have the appearance of wisdom I think think for example a rule in a church that says don't drink alcohol looks wise to some right?

You can anybody anybody that could see the wisdom in that rule? Like do you see that as a little bit wise?

I mean just being honest. Nobody wants to I think I got I can see some wisdom in that I recognize because how many of you know that alcohol can cause some problems for people

Any anybody know somebody a relative that alcohol has caused some problems for so you can go Well as a church, maybe the right thing for us to do is say no more drinking

Nobody drinks and then we just we will you guys sit back and calm down. We got this one.

We'll protect you right Is that the way it's supposed to be It looks wise paul says has the appearance of wisdom

It appears to draw a solid line with a good heart to protect people Someone see the wisdom in a rule for example that prohibited everybody in the church from owning a tv

Whoa, wait a minute. We got a game to watch tonight, right? Um, all right Could you imagine a context where that would seem like a healthy rule?

Would your life be better if you didn't own a tv Maybe what? So should the elders elders are you taking notes and what rules are we going to impose

Not really Or what about mandating a fast for everybody We just said you know what we're going to mandate a fast

The in the middle ages churches did that kind of thing and it's like yeah, we were just all We're just telling everybody you can't eat food this thursday.

Whoa That'd be rough But i'm sure that you can think of a bunch of rules that would fall under self -made religion or asceticism

Or severity to the body that paul's referring to in verse 23 And one final example of the severity of the body is an ancient practice in the roman catholic church um that some people may have heard of this, uh because of the the book the da vinci code, um, and uh

Dan brown mentioned it but it's called the psyllis. Any of you ever heard of a psyllis psyllis is a uh,

It began in the middle ages and it started as just wearing itchy clothing So a psyllis can be like itchy clothing or burlap or whatever so you would wear itchy cloth under your regular clothes, um, and it would be intentionally irritating to the skin in order to Some fuzzy notion of paying back god for the wrongs that you've done

Well again, I thought that christ did that but okay, what is this about? So it was something to produce discomfort asceticism severity to the body

But it grew to an even worse practice when they upped the ante and began to make these metal bands

They'd call it by the same name and they'd make these metal bands called psyllises And they would have barbed wire basically on them and you would attach them around your thigh

And it would cut into your skin why so that you could put to death your flesh was the notion that when you were tempted you would

Tempted to sin you would um crank that baby up a turn and then you wouldn't sin anymore was the idea well sound gruesome it was

The implication is that somehow god wants you to hurt

And that this device would keep you from sinning but whether it's the psyllis Or the internet filter or rules about movie ratings or sabbath keeping

Or whatever rules you might hold others to They are of no

Value look at it again in verse 23. Do you see it there? These have indeed the 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

No Value in stopping you from a life and a heart of sin

And I want to end this message in a counterintuitive way Rather than stopping to consider who's making rules for you and then telling them to cut it out

Which could be an application, but that's a little bit weird I think we should all stop and consider where you feel like you need more rules

Backwards I want you to think about this for a second. Where do you think your life would improve with more rules

What aspect of your life what component of your life? Take some time and really think about it maybe even take some time this week to sit down with a piece of paper and write down some of these things but Contemplate and consider where in my life would

I do? I believe that rules would help Be honest you need some rules about your social media time

Do you need some rules about food? Do you need some rules about drinking? Do you think you might benefit from some rules about anger and your temper?

And now consider where your trust is currently placed for those issues that you see in your life

Will rules solve those issues of your heart? How about rules about what you watch on tv

We can make we can make rules. We could talk about ratings. We could talk about time slots i'm not going to watch tv from this time to this time you can even

I mean, you know, you can like if you get cable or you get um, uh direct tv you can actually set a password so that it shuts off and certain ratings and all of that stuff and we've got all kinds of kids safety stuff on our tv and all of that, but You can make these rules

And particularly, you know If you're watching smutty stuff And there's plenty of that you you can make a rule about stopping the watching of the smutty stuff

And does that solve the problem Say that you lock that filter down you get everything to the point some someone else a friend a relative your your spouse has the password

You can't it's locked down. You can't touch this stuff anymore. Does that solve the problem of your heart?

No, it doesn't because the problem of your heart is that you want to watch smutty stuff

Right, isn't that the isn't that the problem that I like sin? What I need is a transformation what

I need a change in my heart What I need is a better more epic vision of christ and his death for me

That's what my heart needs not more rules Not more rules to heap guilt on my shoulders because I can't keep them hold fast to jesus

If you're in with him If you've died to the elemental spirits of this world Then you do not need more rules

You need more time at the foot of the cross You need to observe his love flowing down mingled with blood

Take a moment to linger on those nails in his hands and feet Might go a little catholic here and talk about a crucifix for just a moment.

Oh, yeah christ isn't there. So we wear the cross but we There's something that's beautifully horrifying about the crucifix

There's something that's transformative about that To think about and to linger on those nails in his hands and feet that you and I deserved

Don't be afraid to take time to be there for a while Take some time maybe in prayer this week at the start of a day

And just contemplate and consider the cross And one by one bring those issues to him where you thought that rules might help come to him with them

And over each one of those issues where it'd be easier to add a rule Accept his grace Accept his forgiveness

Ask for his power and his help to overcome And i'm not promoting this this as a as a cure to your struggle with sin or the solution to all the gray areas in Your life, but I would suggest to you that this is the way of progress in the christian life

I heard it said this way this week and I think there's some just glorious truth in this statement Glance at your sin, but gaze at christ

Glance at your sin But gaze at christ fix your eyes on him

Let him be the one who fills your vision And whenever I come to the cross and lay my burdens down.

I always leave with deeper joy I practice that just this morning I do that most sunday mornings where I just I just come to the foot of the cross and I just Apologize and I say i'm sorry and I and I accept and I receive his grace and his forgiveness

Not a law It's not a rule But it's something that's beneficial. My soul needs it

And as we come to communion this morning Please only come to the table if you have asked jesus christ to save you if you're walking with him then by all means come during the song and to one of the tables and and take the

Cracker to remember his body broken for you and the juice to remember his blood shed for you And if you have asked jesus to save you then take a moment to embrace embrace his sacrifice

Recognize that you have been granted a beautiful and glorious freedom in jesus You are no longer under condemnation.

You are no longer living a list of rules But you are free to walk in the love of jesus who died for you

Feel free in christ throughout this week To enjoy your food Enjoy your drinks

And enjoy some rest Let's pray Father, I thank you for the freedom that we have in your son

And we come to this remembrance. Uh This morning is a start to our week to reflect on the the centerpiece the the centerpiece of our faith, which is christ

And his sacrifice for us Father I thank you for the freedom that we have and even though I recognize that there's all kinds of room for Misunderstanding in this message.

I pray that you would not allow anybody to leave this place confused about the glory

Glorious salvation that is available through the blood of jesus That it's only through a relationship with you that we can receive a new heart and be restored

Father for those here that are struggling with sin are struggling with all kinds of issues in their lives All of us are struggling with sin, but father in our struggle

I pray that we would turn to you not turn to our own strength and our own rules and our own legalism

But in the end we would uh reflect on the cross even during this time of communion

And contemplate and consider the glorious freedom that has been given to us and it's in your son's name that I pray.