Let No One
Disqualify You! (Colossians 2:16-23)
A truism in Christian life is when you really start
living for Christ, the enemy will try to take you down. Satan is content to have you be a carnal
Christian, but if you start to be on fire for the Lord, watch out! Jesus promised his disciples that they would
face persecution for their faith (cf. John
Coming off the heels of arguing for the sufficiency
of Christ, Paul draws four logical conclusions from that. Three of them appear in the form of warnings
(cf. Colossians 2:8). Paul is concerned
not only we know the sufficiency of Christ, but that we don’t let anyone come
along to draw us away from that faith.
1. Let No One Disqualify You Through Legalism (vv.
16-17).
On way Satan tries to trip up
believers is through legalism. We
discussed this previously during our study of Galatians. Legalism is the addition of man-made rules to
the commands of Scripture. Paul lists
four examples of things legalists use to trap unsuspecting people. First is food and drink. This is a big thing, and continues to trip up
believers. Some Christians still look
down on others for what they eat and drink.
Now, before I get accused of promoting license, I think there is wisdom
in watching what you eat, and I think there is great wisdom in abstaining from
alcohol. However, these are things each
believer must have their own convictions about (cf. Romans
The next two things Paul mentions (festivals and
new moons) are things specific to Jewish ceremonial rituals. While they may mean little to us, they are
not without modern day application. Some
Christians get worked up about what holidays are celebrated (Easter, Christmas,
New Year’s, etc.). The biggest
controversies come up over whether or not Christians should engage in Halloween
activities. Again, this is a decision
that each Christian should come to a conviction about, but don’t judge others
based on your convictions!
The fourth thing Paul mentions is Sabbaths. The modern day application for this would be
the issue between Saturday or Sunday worship.
I can’t believe the amount of hot air expended battling this issue. If you feel in your heart Sunday is the only
day for a Christian to worship, great!
If you feel Saturday is the only true Sabbath, great! Once again, this is not an issue in which to
judge one’s spirituality. Why? Verse 17, “these are shadows of the things to
come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Arguments on legalism are arguments of
shadows, and they’re missing the substance of Christ!
2. Let No One Disqualify You Through Asceticism (v.
18a).
Paul next warns us to watch out for
those who want to disqualify you through asceticism. Asceticism is the man-made attempt to produce
holiness through self-denial. This is
the road to holiness the medieval monks tried to travel. The monks thought they could become holy by
denying the flesh, so they took three vows:
A vow of celibacy (abstaining from all sexual activity); a vow of
poverty (abstaining from owning any material wealth); and a vow of silence
(abstaining from saying anything evil).
There is some wisdom in denying the flesh (Romans
3. Let No One Disqualify You Through
Mysticism (vv. 18b-19).
Paul moves from asceticism to
mysticism. In a nutshell, mysticism is
the addition of mystical experiences (e.g., visions) to the finished work of
Christ. Paul lists two broad categories
of mysticism in v. 18b: Angel worship
and visions. Angel worship was a big
deal for the first century Jewish mind, but it doesn’t pose a problem for the
modern day Christian…or does it? Roman
Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church still engage in the practice of
praying to saints. One would pray to the
patron saint of whatever it is they need at that time. This is not Biblical; I say this to point out
the truth, not to disparage anyone’s religious tradition. In Revelation
The second category of mysticism Paul
points out is visions. This is a broad
term that can be used to include all kinds of mystical experiences. You see this mostly in Charismatic or
Pentecostal churches. There are teachers
within the Charismatic movement who claim to have visions or to have received
special revelation from God (none of which can be verified). Paul says this form of false teaching can
lead to one being “puffed up without reason.”
The error the Charismatic movement falls into by embracing mysticism is
the creation of a spiritual underclass.
Those who don’t receive special visions or speak in tongues have not
received the “second blessing” of the Holy Spirit. The end result being with so many people
having visions and revelations (many of which contradict each other) it leads
people away from the “Head (Christ) from whom the whole body…grows with a growth
that is from God” (v. 19).
4. Let No One Disqualify You…Christ
is All You Need (vv. 20-23).
Paul closes this passage of Scripture
with an argument whose logic is airtight.
In our last study, Paul stated that Jesus Christ is sufficient for all
our spiritual needs. In our current
study, Paul has been warning us not to let anything rob us of our sufficiency
in Christ. So Paul concludes with v.
20. The “if” in v. 20 is better
understood as a “since.” Paul is arguing
from the fact that his readers have already died “to the elementary spirits of
the world.” What does it mean to be dead
to the “elemental spirits of the world?”
It’s a picture of our union with Christ.
Jesus died to the things of the world when he died on the cross. The flesh now no longer influences him. Our identification with Christ also puts us
in the position of being “dead” to the things of the world (cf. Romans
6:2). Paul’s argument is that since
we’re dead to these “elemental spirits,” why are we allowing ourselves to be
led astray by them? In other words,
since Christ is all-sufficient, why are we messing around with legalism,
asceticism, and mysticism, why are we adding to the finished work of Christ?
Paul goes on to say that all of these
things are according to “human precepts and teachings” (vv. 21-22). This is the thing that always puzzled
me. Why isn’t God’s word enough? So many so-called Christians think that
they’re so sophisticated; they have grown beyond the Bible and its message as
if their puny, finite minds can compare to God’s infinite mind. Either that, or they want to add more rules
to God’s word, or they want to add their subjective visions to God’s word. As Paul says in v. 23, these things may appear
wise, but all they do is promote “self-made religion.” And religion can never replace a relationship
with God. Finally, these silly, human
additions have “no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”
Application Time.
Look back at v. 20; this is such an
important verse. The Bible pictures our
lives before Christ in several ways. One
really poignant picture is slavery.
Before Christ, we are slaves to our sin; we couldn’t help not
sinning—that was our default position.
Christ redeemed us from our slavery to sin and set us free! Paul’s argument is since we’ve been set free
from our slavery, why would anyone want to return to it? Can anyone think of a Biblical example that
reflects this? How about the Israelites
Moses led out of
Are you a legalist? Do you come to convictions about something,
and then judge others based on your convictions? Are you an ascetic? Are you trying to pursue holiness by
self-denial? Are you into
mysticism? Do you have a puffed up mind
because you have had visions or some other quasi-spiritual experience? I exhort you to return to the sufficiency
Christ provides! Stop playing around in
the shadow land and embrace the substance found in Christ Jesus.
Bottom Line.
“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…according to human precepts and teachings?” (Colossians 2:20)
Have a blessed day!