Freedom in Christ

August 16, 2009    Colossians 2:16-23 

We have been working our way through the book of Colossians using the theme: “Living as Disciples…Facing Opposition.” This letter is all about standing firm in the faith you have in Jesus as your Savior. Paul’s letters typically included words of encouragement and instructions in the Christian faith, and Colossians is no different. So far we have considered:

• Thankfulness and Prayer
• A Picture of Jesus
• A Picture of Christ’s Servants
• Rooted in Christ
• And today we come to Freedom in Christ

Colossians 2:16-17 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.

In last week’s message we talked about the false teachers adding extra requirements on salvation, telling people that to be saved you must believe in Jesus AND do good works or believe in Jesus AND be circumcised. Paul continues his arguments against those false teachings by saying that you don’t have to worry about religious food laws or celebrations or even how and when you worship – none of these things determine whether or not you are saved.

The reason Paul needs to address this is that everyone has in them the idea that we must contribute something to our salvation. Sinful human nature has a hard time believing we can be saved totally by what God has done for us in Christ, so we convince ourselves that what we do helps us be saved, whether it is the money we put in the offering plate or how often we attend worship services or even what we wear to worship! It is a pride thing. We want to take part of the credit for being saved. We tell ourselves that because we are trying hard to live a good life, that makes us better people and earns us something from God.

This gets taken to the next step when we take our cherished Christian traditions and customs and elevate them to the status of law. We try to impose them upon others, dictating what is the “proper” way to worship and what constitutes a real worship service. We start to believe that the traditions we have are the only true and correct ones.

Through Isaiah, the Lord lamented

Isaiah 29:13 “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

Jesus quoted that passage in His ministry. Part of the opposition we face in living as disciples of Jesus is getting over ourselves. When we say we believe that Jesus is our Savior, but then we try to rely on ourselves to be saved. We get caught up in all the rules taught by men. We need to remember what Paul told us last week:

Colossians 2:10 …you have been given fullness in Christ…

Jesus gives us everything we need. God did not intend for His laws about food or festivals or ceremonies or Sabbaths to be the way to salvation. Paul tells us these were only shadows of what was to come, which was the Savior, Jesus Christ. If the sun is behind someone, the shadow will arrive at the destination before that person will. The shadow heightens the anticipation, but once the person arrives, why look at the shadow any longer? It served its purpose. Jesus, the bread of life, the perfect sacrificial lamb, the Savior of all people has come. Every Old Testament law, ceremony and shadow has been fulfilled.

There is nothing wrong with observing customs and following traditions. But if you start making those things requirements for salvation, you’ve gone against the message of Jesus.

Colossians 2:18-19  Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. ¹⁹ He has 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.

We don’t really know what “false humility and the worship of angels” Paul refers to here means. No doubt the original audience understood what he was talking about, and it was another example of a human opinion that said Jesus alone was not enough. Anything that tells you that faith in Jesus is not enough for your forgiveness and life and salvation must be rejected. People who teach such things have lost their connection to Jesus, the head of the church.

When you are connected to the Head, you know that you have been set free from the laws and rules and regulations that others try to impose upon believers. We have freedom because Jesus took care of the Law and the judgment that stood against us.

Colossians 2:20-23 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ²¹ “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²² These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on 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 question Paul asks you to consider is this: “Why would anyone who has been set free in Christ go back to the law as the way to be saved?” Or “Do you really think regulations about food and clothing and religious festivals will get you the victory over sin and death?”

Any self-imposed rituals may have an appearance of wisdom, but that is all they have. The problem is they lead people away from Jesus, not toward him. They have no value in overcoming sin. True Christianity is not something that can be reduced to a set of rules. It is not something that flatters sinful human pride. True Christianity is being rooted in Christ, connected to Him by faith, buried with Him and raised again with Him. True Chrisitianity is rejoicing in the forgiveness and life and salvation that God gives to you for Jesus sake without any merit or worthiness in yourself.

You have been set free from the law by Jesus.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that laws or customs or traditions save you. They are useful only insofar and as long as they point us to our Savior. And when you are pointed to Jesus, connected to Him as the head of the body, you will understand the freedom that you have in Him. I am free to do whatever I want to do, but in gratitude to Jesus for what He has done, I choose to live as a disciple. His Spirit empowers me to live for Him, knowing that I am not saved by what I do, but by what God has done for me. I live in that freedom.