Paul's Epistles – Colossians - Part 6:
Freedom from Human Rules
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
SERMON INTRODUCTION
Paul’s letter (Epistle) to the Colossians
was a letter to correct Heresy.
Heresy is having an opinion which is in
opposition to true doctrine. In other words, the Colossian church had, as many
other early churches, fallen prey to false doctrine.
THE COLOSSIAN CHURCH
We see a mixture of Judaism, Gnosticism,
Asceticism, Angel worship, etc.
Judaism would
be the adherence to Old Testament teachings while ignoring the completed works
of the cross.
Gnosticism is the
belief that “secret” knowledge existed, specifically that the world was created
by a lesser divinity, and ruled by an emissary of the remote Supreme Being.
This belief system, which was carried over to Christianity, placed God the
Father as the Supreme and Jesus as the lesser ruling divinity.
Asceticism is the
severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for
religious reasons. The
doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by
practicing self-denial, self-mortification (embarrassment
and shame – “mortified”) and the like. Rigorous self-denial; extreme
abstinence; in a severe nature.
It is obvious why this is false doctrine,
and has no place in a Christ following church.
The heresy, destroyed the Supreme lordship
and sovereignty of Jesus Christ, it dethroned Him, destroying the mediator-ship
of Christ, making Him only 1 of a multitude of mediators, (such as the Hindu belief in avatars, a manifestation of a
deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher.)
However, we know
Jesus is so much more than that, He was, is and always will be God.
TODAY’S SERMON
Paul’s Concern about the False Teachings
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE Colossians 2:16-23
Therefore
do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard
to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.17 These are a shadow of the things that were to
come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false
humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also
goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle
notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They
have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole
body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as
God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental
spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the
world, do you submit to its rules:21 “Do
not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?22 These
rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with
use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom,
with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh
treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual
indulgence.
The overall
message of this epistle to the church is;
“The Supreme Glory, Deity and Dignity of
Christ Jesus”.
I. THE OLD
(TESTAMENT / COVENANT) WAYS WERE A FORESHADOWING OF CHRIST
a. Who is now
here, and to whom you belong
i. The New Testament / Covenant
ii. So don’t let others judge you for not keeping the
Old Ways
b. What you eat,
drink, the festivals, celebrations or the Sabbath Day
i. These were all a shadow of things to come
ii. The Law with all of its observances was only meant
to point Christ, the One who was to come)
c. All of these
are found in Christ
i. What you eat and drink
1. Acts 10:9-16 “About noon the following day as they were on their
journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He
became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being
prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a
large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all
kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice
told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I
have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time,
“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
2. Mark 7:18-23 “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from
the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into
their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all
foods clean.)
20 He went on: “What comes out of a person
is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that
evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed,
malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these
evils come from inside and defile a person.”
ii. The festivals and celebrations (Jewish Feasts)
1. Passover
a. (Leviticus 23:5) – Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover
lamb (1 Corinthians
5:7) whose blood would
be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the
Passover at the same hour that the lambs were being slaughtered for the
Passover meal that evening (John 19:14).
2. Unleavened
Bread
a. Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6) – Pointed to the Messiah's sinless life
(as leaven is a picture of sin in the Bible), making Him the perfect sacrifice
for our sins. Jesus' body was in the grave during the first days of this feast,
like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.
3. First Fruits
a. (Leviticus
23:10) – Pointed to the
Messiah's resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was
resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to
him in 1 Corinthians
15:20 as the "first fruits from the
dead."
4. Feast of Weeks
(Pentecost)
a. Weeks or Pentecost (Leviticus
23:16) – Occurred fifty
days after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and pointed to the
great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and
Gentile, who would be brought into the kingdom of God during the Church Age
(see Acts 2). The Church was actually established on
this day when God poured out His Holy Spirit and 3,000 Jews responded to
Peter's great sermon and his first proclamation of the gospel.
5. Feast of
Trumpets (Rapture)
a. (Leviticus 23:24) – The first of the fall feasts. Many
believe this day points to the Rapture of the Church when the Messiah Jesus will
appear in the heavens as He comes for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is
always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians
15:52).
6. Day of Atonement
(Judgment)
a. (Leviticus 23:27) – Many believe this prophetically
points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth.
That will be the Day of Atonement for the Jewish remnant when they "look
upon Him whom they have pierced," repent of their sins, and receive Him as
their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36).
7. Feast of Tabernacle
a. (Leviticus
23:34) – Many scholars
believe that this feast day points to the Lord's promise that He will once
again “tabernacle” with His people when He returns to reign over the entire
world (Micah 4:1-7).
iii. The Sabbath Day
1. Matthew 12:1-8 “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through
the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of
corn and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said
unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the
sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read
what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God,
and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for
them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that
on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are
blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place
is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I
will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the
sabbath day.
II.
DO NOT LET OTHERS DISQUALIFY YOU (with false
teachings)
a. Those who
delight in false humility
b. Those who
worship angels
i. This pertained to the Gnostic teaching that man could not go directly
to God through Christ, but must reach God through successive grades of
intermediate beings, such as angels.
c. These people
are puffed up (prideful / arrogant) with idle notions by their unspiritual mind
i. Claiming things such as seeing things outside the revealed world
of God
ii. Their unspiritual mind refers to the mind of man
and its imaginations
1. For although they knew God, they neither
glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile
and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans
1:21
2. Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:5
III.
SINCE YOU DIED WITH CHRIST TO THE ELEMENTAL
SPIRITUAL FORCES OF THIS WORLD;
a. Though you still
belong to this world (physically)
i. Do not submit to its rules
b. Do not handle,
do not taste, do not touch
i. These rules which have to do with things that are all destines to
perish with use are based on HUMAN commands and teachings
ii. Meaning there is NO SALVATION in anything taught by
men, rather only in Christ Jesus
c. Such
regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom
i. Worship devised and prescribed by men has an appearance of wisdom, but
are only for show
ii. For the time will come when people will
not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears
want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3
CONCLUSION – Such regulations indeed have an appearance of
wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their
harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual
indulgence.
Words, teachings, instruction of men;
Have
an appearance of wisdom
Self-imposed
worship
False
humility
Harsh
treatment of the body (neglect under the guise of piousness)
However they lack and value in restraining sensual
(physical / the flesh) indulgence…meaning SIN.
The Sadducees and Pharisees did this, modern churches, cults and false
religions do this.
Man’s wisdom cannot save, self-imposed rules and
regulations of men cannot save, false humility cannot save, and ascetic
observances cannot save These may appeal to men as indications of superior
wisdom and piety; they hold no value as remedies against sin. Only Christ
forgives, only Christ fulfills, only Christ empowers you through His Holy
Spirit, to make it possible for you to repent, and walk in the Spirit.
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