There are meaningless religious activities that are so seductive. They have to do with observing certain days, like a Sabbath day; eating or avoiding certain foods; also, putting yourself through self abasement through depriving yourself of comforts and other things God created.
"Avoiding the Inviting Trap of Meaningless Religious Activity"
Colossians 2:16-23
(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon)Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Turn to Colossians 2:16. Colossians 2:16-23 is our text this morning. As you are turning there, I will orient us to where we have arrived in the flow of chapter 2 coming into our text. Paul has just explained that true wisdom is in Christ, Colossians 2:3. He warns the Colossians about people who try to captivate by philosophy; human traditions, and principles of the world. Christians are the ones who have been filled and have been spiritually and positionally circumcised in the mystery. Once dead in sins, we have been made alive with Christ in His death and resurrection. We are completely forgiven of our sins. We are the body of Christ now. Unlike the deceits of the world, the body of Christ is what God wants us to understand. Christ in you, and you in Christ, answers all the religious questions. It explains the New Covenant in His blood. Christ in you, and you in Christ is enough. It is everything, because Christ is everything. This is pure truth, but the world does not know this, and so the world invents all types of theories, religions, and philosophies for how to experience spiritual achievement. All the world's methods reflect humanism. It is the religion of human accomplishment. It is the manifestation of wrong religious activity. When Paul comes to verse 16, He confronts the religion of human achievement straight on. Its various forms have been infecting the Colossian Christians and so it needs to be cut off at the roots. As we study this passage we will explore how these same types of influences can seduce the body of Christ in our own generation. Keep this in mind as we read our text together, starting in verse 16,
"16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ [Literally in the Greek, the body of Christ]. 18 Let no one keep defrauding [disqualify] you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement [asceticism ESV] and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. 20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use [as they are used])--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement [asceticism ESV] and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence." Colossians 2:16-23
Please prepare your heart to learn along with me from the preaching of God's word in this sermon titled,
"Avoiding the Inviting Trap of Meaningless Religious Activity."
[prayer]
In this passage, Paul addresses three types of religious activity. It is the seductive lure that seems so right, but is really very wrong. A lure looks like real, true, good, satisfying food for life. But, in reality, it is a deadly hook of doom and death. The Colossians know what Paul is talking about. We also need to know. The three lures are: Legalism, Mysticism and Asceticism (also called "self-abasement"). These are three doctrinal-statement-points in the failing creed of the religion of human achievement. To help us to resist these seducers, we will scrutinize each one.
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The first principle we will look at in avoiding the inviting trap of meaningless religious activity is to beware of legalism. Paul says,
"16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ [Greek, the body of Christ]." Colossians 2:16-17
There is a real mystery concerning the good news of the fullness of Who Christ is, and what He has done as our great all in all of us--particularly, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." It is the pure grace of the grace gospel summed up in Christ Himself, and so people who are not partakers of it, do not understand it. There are even Christians who are in God's grace covenant, of being in the Son, who don't understand these things very well. One huge influence that was threatening the Colossian Christians' understanding of these things, was an emerging cultic presence that can best be termed, neo-gnosticism. People who were starting this movement, were claiming to have necessary, yet secret, knowledge. Another influence was Judaism. Their claim was that you need to keep the Mosaic Law codes. They thought it was supposed to insure your salvation, make you holy, and demonstrate that you were a true follower of Messiah. Both of these influences were trying to blend with Christianity. The problem is that neither influence recognized the grace of the cross and life in the Son. Both influences focus on human efforts. Their teachings reflect the false belief of all cults: Human accomplishment is the pinnacle expression of one's spirituality. But, the good News of Christianity is our freedom, following, forgiveness, and fellowship, in Christ. The great knowledge point that unlocks this mystery, is that to attain freedom in Christ, we are not free to earn it. Freedom in Christ was earned for us through the high price of slavery. It was not your slavery, or my slavery. It took Christ,
"6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond slave, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name," Philippians 2:6-9
@1 Our great King Jesus became like a _________________ to die on a cross for sins, and then raise from the dead to be highly exalted. Philippians 2:6-9
The price paid for your freedom in Christ, was for Christ to loosely hold onto His equality with God by taking the form of an unfree bond slave to experience ultimate humbleness. Christ obeyed His own decree to suffer at the hands of His own creations, be hung above the cursed earth on a cursed cross, as a curse for those whom He saves, so that He would free you for eternity from the curse of the bondage of sin and death. This is the highest expression of spirituality, and it was done for us. This is why Paul explains in Romans 6, that sin shall not be a slave-master over you. Why? Because you are not under law but under grace, and though you were once slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart. Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Now things are different. Having been freed from master sin and enslaved to master God, you derive your benefit, resulting in separation from sin as master, and the outcome, eternal life, Romans 6:16-23. This is your declaration of freedom in the Son. We didn't get it by works of the law, or by following some short list of legalistic activities, and yet, your freedom was not attained for free. The big point is that you have been freed away from works when Christ is in you;
"Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" Romans 10:4
@2 We are not made righteous by works of the law, but rather, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who ___________________. Romans 10:4
This is the plain truth, so we are not to let anyone be our judge in respect to our freedom in Christ. Legalism is a waste of time. It puts artificial hooks into your flesh to drag you into man made bondage which drags you away from your freedom in Christ. Paul reminded the Galatians, who were entrenched in Mosaic Lawism,
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1
Now think about this:
If all this is true, then why is legalism so seductive?
Because it has you looking like you are doing something to restrain the flesh. It gives you something to spotlight, and so you can say,
"Look at that. I've done something. Obviously, you can see that what I am doing is religious. Isn't it righteous? See what I achieved. See what I am achieving."
It is something you do. But failure is something you do too. The point is that it reflects the religion of human accomplishment, which is really just pride in self. This is why it is a very inviting trap. Even non-Christians can do the same kinds of things that saved people do, and look holy. But all the activity only hides the heart. This reminds me of years ago when I traveled to Iowa and stayed with an Amish family in an Amish community. I was fascinated by the outward show of legalism. Everyone had the appearance of pious righteousness. I would observe these people from the outside, and I was thinking,"Wow, these people must be spiritual." Then one night, an Elder, shared the sordid details with me of child molestation, incest, cheating, and rampant sin of all sorts that could be found among some of the staunchest practitioners of outward legalism in the Amish community. It was hidden, but it was there. He told me with heaviness of a recent murder that had occurred at a neighboring farm as a result of an Amish husband discovering that his wife was having an affair with another Amish man. Amish are pacifists, right? The husband went and bought a gun. He shot his Amish wife. He shot the Amish adulterer guy, and then he shot his Amish self--all dead. Before this happened, everyone thought that the husband, the wife, and the adulterer-guy, were all perfect examples of pious spirituality. It all had to do with their outward appearance. What an eye-opener it was for me to hear all the stories. I got an insider's view, which was an Elder's view, of the reality of legalism, and the curse of standard bearers. He even sadly told me that many in the community have no idea what the gospel really is, and yet they appear like everyone else in their man made religious trappings. It is an inviting trap but, Paul says, it has no value in stopping the indulgences of the flesh. All it does is hide sin from the majority while victimizing the minority. Paul by God's Spirit, understood these things. He was constantly battling legalism. It is our battle too. He called it Jewish myths and commandments of mere men in Titus 1:14-15.
I want us to notice that there are five things that Paul mentions here to look out for in this particular legalism. The first two are the Judaizers Prohibitions against certain foods and drinks based on the Old Covenant dietary laws found in Levitcus 11, 17, and Deuteronomy 14. Those dietary laws were originally given specifically to Israelites as part of the Old Covenant. But the Colossians, like all who are in Christ, are under His New and better Covenant, Hebrews 7:22, 8:6, where Christ actually is the covenant, Isaiah 42:6, 49:6-8. Jesus spoke in a mystery-parable, about this very thing. He declared all foods clean, thus prophetically signifying the way it would be fully established in Himself through the cross and His resurrection in His New Covenant. Jesus said,
"'Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him; because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated? (Thus He declared all foods clean.)" Mark 7:14-19
Later, when the New Covenant is established, Paul reveals more details of the freedom and fullness in Christ in Romans,
"the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking various kinds of foods and drinks, but it is [three things] righteousness and peace and joy [and those three things are] in the Holy Spirit;" Romans 14:17
This is the same kingdom of Christ of our Colossians epistle that we are transferred into in salvation, Colossians 1:13. It is the same kingdom of our ministry that is also described in Colossians 4:11. We find our righteousness, peace, and joy in Christ the King, where the King is in us, His body, bride, subjects, and warriors. God showed Peter the same thing in unfolding revelations of the mystery, where Christ told Peter that He had lifted the dietary laws in Acts 10:9-16. Peter and Paul's revelation of this was officially confirmed by the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Paul says explicitly, that all foods may be eaten since they were
" created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth," 1 Timothy 4:3
Teachings that forbid this, Paul wrote, are "taught by demons" in 1 Timothy 4:1. Therefore no one should pass judgment on Christians in respect to food or drink.
Paul mentions three other things in our text that are an inviting trap. They are observances of days--festivals, new moons and sabbaths. A festival was one of the annual Jewish feast celebrations, such as Passover. There was the festival of Pentecost; the Feast of Tabernacles; and the Feast of Lights; Leviticus 23. The new moon observance--the first day of the month, was the time when sacrifices were offered, Numbers 28:11-14. Christ is the sacrificial Lamb of His New and better Covenant in Himself, so observing the new moon sacrifice is not needed anymore. Something we all need to understand is that there were also various Sabbath days under the Mosaic Law. There were sabbaths other than the last day of the week. Contrary to the claims of modern day Judaizers, Christians are not required to worship, or rest from work on a Jewish Sabbath day. To teach such a thing is not New Covenant Theology, but some hybrid Old Covenant theology blend that has been passed down from some confused men who tried to mix all the covenants of God into one. But they are wrong, and God says we are not to let them act as our judge. We are to reject their specious theories as traditions of men. Christ is your Sabbath rest. Sabbath days that have to do with our planet revolving around the sun, were Old Covenant holy days, and so they are not binding under the New Covenant in any manner whatsoever. The reason why the Sabbath was instituted was as a sign to genetic Israelites of the Old Covenant; Exodus 31:16-17; Nehemiah 9:14; and Ezekial 20:12. But the writer of Hebrews says we are now under the New Covenant, in the New Covenant, which is Christ Himself. The Old Covenant is obsolete. It is inferior. It has been surpassed by the new, better, and eternal covenant. We are no longer required to keep the Sabbath sign of the Old Covenant, Hebrews 8. And in Hebrews 4, we find that Christ's New Covenant actually is the Sabbath we enter into. The New Testament nowhere commands Christians to observe Sabbath days. Also, we find no hint in the Old Testament that God expected the Gentiles to observe Sabbaths. There is no evidence that anyone observed the covenant Sabbath before the time of Moses, and there aren't any commands to keep the Sabbath before the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. The Jerusalem Council, in arguing over Paul's revelation of the mystery, did not impose Sabbath keeping on the Gentile Christians; Acts 15. Paul warned Gentiles about numerous sins in his epistles, but never about breaking Sabbath days. Paul rebuked the Galatians for thinking God expected them to observe special days which includes Sabbath days in Galatians 4:10-11. Paul taught that keeping the Sabbath was a matter of Christian liberty in Romans 14:5. Paul means the same thing in our passage under study. If you want to rest on a certain day, then go ahead, but keep it to yourself as a personal thing, and not a God-mandate-thing; and absolutely do not judge your brother in respect to days based upon your bad theology of bondage, where you barely understand what it means to have Christ in you as your all in all. There are Christians who will try to make you think you need to observe Sabbath days. One of their favorite doctrinal stances on this is a contrived distinction that some people label as something they call moral laws in contrast to ceremonial Laws. Nevertheless, according to facts and not theological theories, the Bible nowhere distinguishes between so-called "moral" and "ceremonial" laws. This is why you find the Sabbath day command in the 10 Commandments engraved on stone--you know, the same 10 moral commandments that are called a "ministry of death" in 2 Corinthians 3:7? The Bible speaks of the Old Covenant Law, and other laws, like "the law of faith" Romans 3:27. Actually, this fictional distinction between something called a moral law and a ceremonial law, was not made before the 13th century A.D. In other words, the ontological distinction is a theoretical opinion not found anywhere in Scripture. It popped up in the Catholic church 1200 years after Christ in what is called the Scholastic Period.
So what is the truth?
To break God's ceremonial Law is to be immoral.
In God's view of things, a ceremonial law, is a law concerning morality, thus the 10 commandments. It is amazing how the traditions of men can eclipse this simple fact that God wants His people to understand. Christians have no compelling need to observe Sabbath days since we have entered Christ's body, and the Lord of the sabbath lives in us fulfilling the Sabbath keeping morality. Now we abide in Christ and His higher Law of Love, which is supernomianism. This is Paul's point in verse 17. Paul says that all these things "are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ." The shadow is gone. The Light has come. We are freed up in the grace place of the body, where the substance belongs to the body. The NAS, as well as the ESV, and some other translations put that all those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. They interpretively put "but the substance belongs to Christ," where the Greek states literally, "but the body of Christ." It actually reads,
"16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the body of Christ,." Colossians 2:16-17
Paul means that the spiritual reality of all those food and day things, are fulfilled in the body of Christ Himself, and so in respect to the mystery where Christ is in the body-church (Collossians 1:18, 24) it is fulfilled in us spiritually. In other words, Christ is everything good for us, and Christ is in us as His body fulfilling everything in us as our all in all. Seeing the Greek translated this way is important because the whole Colossian epistle is focused on the mystery of the body of Christ. This verse continues the exact same theme of the body in an important way. I think the reason why the translators have rendered the verse the other way is that they are trying to get across that the shadow things that Paul says that we don't need to worry about anymore are all those Old Testament day observance things that foreshadowed what is summed in Christ who is the substance in Himself. They are right, but the translation takes away from Paul's body focus. Paul's focus is that we partake of the fulfilled shadow spiritually, because we are the body of Christ. The substance is in Him, and He is in us. We get the benefit. Instead of the inviting trap of empty religious activity, Christ is that continuous spiritual reality in you as your hope of glory.
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This leads to the second principle we will look at in avoiding the inviting trap of meaningless religious activity. We need to beware of Mysticism. Paul says,
"18 Let no one keep defrauding [disqualify] you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement [asceticism] and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God."
Mysticism, as a pursuit, is to seek a subjective religious experience apart from human intellect and natural senses. This fascination and enthusiasm for mysticism is extremely dangerous. One astute observer has said concerning the weirdness and debilitating effects of mysticism; that it
"begins with a mist and ends in a schism."
In other words it starts out like a positive supernatural experience that charges you up to give you extra spiritual unction, but it ends up causing confusion, division, and stunted spiritual growth. Irrational and anti-intellectual approaches to spirituality are things that are the opposite of recognizing, learning, and teaching the riches that are in Christ according to the fullness of God's revelation. Studying, and proclaiming, the fullness of God's revelation is simply theological and doctrinal teaching that is grounded in the word. Theological and doctrinal teaching is what this Colossian epistle is. It requires the mind to ingest and assimilate its truth, and apply it by the Spirit. False teachers will use this mystical stuff to seduce you away from the simplicity of the riches of wisdom and knowledge that are in Christ, Christ in you, and you in Christ. Notice that Paul also says that these people come across like they are humble. I've met a lot of people like this. But they are delighting in fake humbleness of rigid self abasement. In their false mystical spirituality, the people that Paul is warning against were actually inflated, and without cause, by their fleshly, not spiritual, darkened minds. So what it really is, is pure pride. It is pride when you want someone to notice how mystical you are in your religious disciplines. True spiritual humbleness says, like Paul,
"I am nothing and Christ is everything." 2 Corinthians 12:11
It says this because Christ is the true spiritual standard. Evidently one of the mystical delusions was angel worship. Angel worship was a heresy that plagued that whole region for the next 300 years. It is both a bizarre fact, and fascinating to know that in A.D. 363 a church council was held in Colossae's sister city of Laodicea. Because of the problem of angel worship infecting the church the counsel is recorded as stating,
"It is not right for Christians to abandon the church of God and go away to invoke angels."
I would think that this would be an understatement. It is not right for Christians to abandon the church of God for anything. Theodoret, who was born in the fourth century, commented on Colossians 2:18, saying,
"The disease which Paul denounces, continued for a long time in Phrygia and Pisidia"
Amazingly, the archangel Michael was worshiped in Asia Minor as late as A.D. 739. But, angel worship in any way, is sin, and deception. When the apostle John tried to worship an angel, he was swiftly rebuked. John said
"I fell at his [the angel's] feet to worship him. And he said to me, 'Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God."' Revelation 19:10
Even today, there is a hyper fascination with angels. Most of the hype is based upon false representations of angels in stories, movies, and other art forms. Hollywood-angels are depicted as struggling with who they are, or as being morally neutral, or actually being immoral, or always confused, not on the task of glorifying Christ, or some sort of silly nonsense that does not remotely reflect God's holy messenger beings we see described in the Bible. Can you imagine what would happen if a Hollywood-angel looked at the camera and said what a real angel would say,
"Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is the only way of salvation. Worship Christ, and Christ alone. He is the the sacrifice for sins Who rose from the dead. Repent away from your sinful life, and turn to Him now. Worship and trust Him in faith, as King of kings and Lord of lords. Do the opposite, and you will remain lost in your sins." Now for a word from our sponsors ...
People are so deceived, including those who claim to be Christians, that if they saw such a thing, they would say,
"That can't be something like a real angel. That must be a Christian fanatic. You know--a Bible thumper. That character looks more like someone who hates people and judges people."
You know, it's the same slander that is leveled against Christians who follow God's word. Now think about this: It is a sad comment on the overall state of the church in our generation, to see that embracing the myth of fake angels is an area that non-Christians and cultural Christians blend easily with. Neither has a problem with the pseudo-angels that are depicted in stories, on the movies, and other art, coming out of the lost dark culture. The world is fine with fake angels. They just don't like the real deal; but they don't like the authentic Christ either. All of this leads us to the essence of what Paul is saying. Essentially, angel worship is really the activity of anti-christ demon worship. Paul said concerning false worship;
"... the things which the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God;" 1 Corinthians 10:20-22
@3 All the various religions in the world claim to worship God, and make sacrifices to their god, but unless they worship Christ by the Holy Spirit, they are really sacrificing to ____________________. 1 Corinthians 10:20-22
None of these things are innocent. The spiritual seducers at Colossae were also taking a stand on visions they had seen. This has been the claim of thousands of cult leaders throughout history. It is the main staple of how they get their feet into the minds of people to start manipulating them. This is the "new revelation" con game, where people use this tactic to claim support for their false teachings. They claim to have mystical visions. Of course, no one else sees the person's vision, but that is what makes it so easy to utter the manipulating details of fictional revelations. Here is the formula for this:
Whatever your imagination can concoct--just say that you received it in a mystical vision, and blinded people will flock to hear and believe what you have to say.
It is an ancient pattern of deception. Paul says that these people go on in detail about the things they claim they have seen, but they really haven't. From Muhammad, and his Islam, through Joseph Smith and his Mormonism, and all other con-man cult leaders; vision claims are the staple tactics for mind control. But, there is a reality that exists that the wicked seek to counterfeit, and the reality is important. Paul says, the spiritual revelation, the mystery, and the hidden riches are real. But, they are real in Christ. In Hebrews, we read,
"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" Hebrews 1:1-2
These people that Paul warns the Colossians about have fleshly minds where they speak from their retarded imaginations. They do not have the spiritual minds that are enlightened in the truth of Christ. There is a principle here to look at in respect to our own selves. Since the advent of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement that sprung up in the last century, multitudes of Christians every day go on in detail about the things they claim they have seen in visions. I have been involved in very personal ways with both the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. I was in those kinds of churches for 15 years. I was a youth leader in one. I taught the discipleship class in another one. Let me just give you one very profound piece of wisdom advice that will speak volumes to you if you will listen with true spiritual understanding. It comes from the Bible, like the passage we are studying. When it comes to Charismatism, and Pentecostalism, or stories about someone who received a vision out is some remote place somewhere, think one word, and you will be where you need to be to proceed with caution. The word is "manipulation." There is another word married to this one. It is called "sensationalism." But, I am mainly warning you be on guard for manipulation. When you are among these groups, you won't hear people warning you about this. But I will. You must be aware that manipulation occurs with all kinds of mystical stuff, and manipulation has relentlessly been a moment to moment danger in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles since these influences emerged in the last generation. Manipulation occurs right there in the midst of all the obscure kind of cryptic talk where words of knowledge, and "confirmation words" and all these kinds of nebulous things are claimed like you have to accept what is being said. They can manipulate you, but only if you let them. The irony is that people who are into all of this kind of thing, really think that they can not be manipulated themselves, yet they are very easy to manipulate. It starts with the delusion that God will not allow them to be deceived or manipulated because of these things. They want to believe that they have a mystical Holy Spirit sense to recognize when they are being conned. But, God never says that in His true word. All you have to say is "God told me" and these folks will instantly shake their head in agreement. I've seen it thousands of times. What I am telling you is that you need to be very careful around these people. If you should happen to walk into the realm of the unbridled, unproveable, charismatic and pentecostal claims that are expected to be respected, remember that manipulation is in the air, and it will save you from being deceived. The Spirit directs us with the word of knowledge in 1 Thessalonians,
"19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;" 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
God does not want you to quench Him, which is the Spirit. God also does not want people who utter claims to quench the Spirit either. Clearly, you and I are directed "not" to despise prophetic utterances. But notice that Paul goes on and says to examine everything carefully and hold fast to that which is good and true. This only means that you hold fast if you really know which part is good and true, and further, after your examination, if you think it may be bad and false, then you better not hold fast to it. It is manipulation when a Christian of any stripe expects you to believe whatever they say that is not specifically a properly interpreted, and applied Scripture. It is manipulation when someone claims to have had a vision, or a mystical revelation, and expects you not to examine it carefully according to your own spiritual revelation as a member of the body. I am just telling you as your pastor to guard your mind when someone talks to you about a so-called vision, or impression, that they think they have had. There is nothing in New Covenant scripture that says you must necessarily believe someone's report of a God-inspired vision, or impression, other than those of the Bible. It doesn't matter how biblical sounding, or right sounding, or liberating it sounds. It doesn't matter how much they judge you, or condemn you, or get angry with you, or call you unspiritual. I have no problem saying to you that my personal belief is that overactive imaginations create more visions, and impressions, than God. I will add that way too many so called "words of knowledge" are really words of ignorance from overly active imaginations.
This reminds me of a classic illustration in my own life that I like to share because it is so poignant. When Laura and I first got married, we were looking for a church. We visited a church near where we lived. When we arrived, the whole service was dedicated to an open microphone venue where people would come up and speak some sort of prophetic word of knowledge to everyone. There were all these men and women coming up and doing this. I heard clearly unbiblical things said. None of it was corrected. The preaching was short, and had some verses taken out of context. With all of these things in mind, when the service ended, I looked over at Laura and I said,
"We are never coming back here."
Instantly, I stood up and as we were trying to leave, in the moment after I told Laura we were never going to go back to that place, someone bee-lined straight up to us. After we shook hands, the person said to us,
"This whole time the Lord impressed me with something that I am supposed to tell you. I want to be obedient, so I need to tell you. I had this vision of you two, and I need to tell you that the Spirit showed me that you will start coming to this church."
We never went back.
Evidently, we live in a day where good Christians, and even non-Christians, will create visions without reason by their own sensuous [fleshly] minds. The problem is that all these folks really think that what they are saying is from God, no matter what it is, even those who have been proven wrong later on. But the truth is that there is no way to prove most of these nebulous claims one way or another. So, we've got all of these multitudes of Christians going around repeating these visual screen plays running through their thoughts, and then others just taking it in and running with it as if it's an authentic word from God. They act like they just received another book to put in their Bible. Listen, vision claims are easy to make, and they are fascinating to hear. That's why they are so popular. But the point that I want you to remember is that important word, "manipulation," and be careful. Spiritual manipulation comes from people who are puffed up in their carnal minds, but they will claim that it is really a spiritual mind. They won't allow you to question them. They require that you believe them. They expect that you will act on whatever they say. So my full encouragement to you is to be careful but still be open to the miraculous. But, with all of that said, there is a true vision that everyone in the body needs desperately. We all need the vision to study the word to show ourselves approved. We need the vision to be transformed by the renewing of our minds with the Bible. We need the vision of walking according to the the real word of knowledge that has been once delivered to the Saints that so many Christians are ignoring now-a-days. There is enough revelation in the Bible to keep us all busy rediscovering the truths that are getting lost and ignored in our age. What was happening in Colossae, is that the spiritual seducers who had been relying on mystical experiences, had gone beyond the teaching of the head of the body. They were puffed up without reason by their own sensuous fleshly heads. They were not holding fast to objective truth of the Head, from whom the whole body, (which is the church), grows with a growth that is from God.
Many times in Paul's writings, we are identified as physical parts of anatomy when it comes to Christ's body. Paul is saying that these people were not holding fast to the revealed foundational truth of Christ who supplies the rest of the body with its spiritual nourishment. It is a warning for all of us here to heed. There is a tendency in human nature to move from objective truth to subjectivity. What I mean is that Christians will think it is truly spiritual to say something like,
"I don't think doctrine really matters that much. The Holy Spirit is what matters."
When they say this or even just think it, the irony is that they just asserted a "doctrine" that they think matters very much. But the truth is that both the Spirit, and His doctrinal truths matter very much.
We can learn from history on this. Back in the sixteenth-century, there were mystical practitioners in the church who did everything based on believing that a kind of Holy Spirit experience is what matters most. Their emphasis was on what was called, "the inner light," as opposed to the light of God's revealed word. They were the followers of Thomas Muntzer. Thomas Muntzer, volunteered Himself to the Saxon government as a spiritual advisor as one who could spiritually interpret events in the same way that Daniel did for king Nebuchadnezzar. Muntzer and his followers were known for focusing on gifts of the Spirit and moves of the Spirit, with particular attention to mystical knowledge. The credo of this movement was,
"The Spirit, the Spirit!"
Martin Luther and other reformers opposed these people. They clung to Scriptural revelation and the centrality and sufficiency of Christ. Muntzer foolishly said of the Biblical reformers,
"... they poison the Holy Spirit with the Holy Scripture."
Three of Muntzers followers called the "Zwikau prophets," claimed to be prophets from God. They claimed that they engaged in intimate conversations with the Lord. They claimed they they relied on so-called promptings of the Spirit. Melanchton, Martin Luther's best friend, thought these guys were great, but Luther saw the bizarre tendencies that were coming about in the emerging movement and said,
"I will not follow where their [s]pirit leads."--Luther
When they finally set up a meeting with Luther, they asserted their motto,
"The Spirit, the Spirit!"--Luther
But Luther, who understood the importance of the God's word that the Holy Spirit had inspired as the foundation of thought, responded with,
"I slap your [s]pirit on the snout."--Luther
Luther went forward with the reformation's thrust of preserving scripture alone, undergirded by the Spirit alone, as the driving force behind the reformation. Luther said about God's truth that He uses by His true Holy Spirit to enlighten us to be experts in spiritual things,
"Those who are experts in spiritual things have gone through the valley of the shadow. When these men talk of sweetness and being transported to the third heaven, do not believe them."--Luther
History shows us that Muntzer and his followers' influence faded with them, but the banner of the reformation in relying upon the word of God with the Spirit indwelling us in salvation, continued the legacy that had been the staple of God's New Covenant people since the emerged church first formed in the first century.
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This leads to the third principle we will look at in avoiding the inviting trap of meaningless religious activity: Beware of Asceticism. Paul asks,
"18 Let no one keep defrauding [disqualify] you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement [asceticism ESV] ... 20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement [asceticism ESV] and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence."
Paul mentions asceticism in verse 18 and also in verse 23. Asceticism is defined as living a life of rigorous self-denial. It looks like humility, but it is really works based activity to make you feel like you accomplished something holy, which amounts to pride. The seductive danger with this is that when you add this ingredient to legalism and mysticism, you really have something that looks religious enough to convince you that you must be spiritual. The church has always had its factions who have thought that poverty and pain was a virtue. Asceticism, on the other hand, is a view of spirituality that arises out of guilt, and so you think you are going to fix it by hurting yourself with discomfort and lack, as if depriving yourself of something that God has made will make you spiritual. But the Spirit is saying that depriving yourself, and punishing yourself doesn't do anything to attain the death God requires. Paul says,
"Do you not realize that you've died to the elementary principles of the world?"
The point is that it doesn't matter if you use the things of the world.
Why?
Because the world is passing away, and so are you. Being in Christ, you can either be rich and filled, or not. The real spiritual insight is to be content in each and every circumstance while in Christ, Philippians 4:11-12. The point is that you are in Christ. All is equal anyway. Decrees like don't touch, don't handle, don't taste, are silly substitutes for true spirituality. It is empty false religion, but it's a trap because it looks so spiritual. The neo-gnostics practiced asceticism because they thought matter was evil, and they thought that the spirit was imprisoned in the body. They believed that the humiliation of their selves in asceticism would free the spirit from the body. Asceticism continued throughout church history in the form of monasticism. People would go off and live in monasteries and deprive themselves of comfort hoping that this would make them more spiritual. Martin Luther tried this, but it didn't work because it doesn't work. You and I need to understand that God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. For living the true spiritual life of Christ as his body-church, these kinds of things are useless. Paul says it all focuses on things destined to perish anyway with the using. Commenting on the futility of asceticism, the great nineteenth-century Scottish preacher Alexander McClaren wrote;
"Any asceticism is a great deal more to men's taste than abandoning self. They will rather stick hooks in their backs and do the 'swinging poojah' than give up their sins and yield up their wills. There is only one thing that will put the collar on the neck of the animal within us and that is the power of the indwelling Christ. Ascetic religion is godless, for its practitioners essentially worship themselves."--Alexander McClaren
I urge you to be mindful of all we have learned this morning. Be on guard against people who tell you that you must observe certain days, or must not observe certain days, to be spiritual and obedient to God. Remember that Freedom in Christ was earned for us already by the high price of bondage--where Christ emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond slave. Remember the scripture: "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" Romans 10:4. Don't get caught in the trap of religious dietary laws. You really are free in Christ. Watch out for the ever-popular mysticism that is infiltrating the church like floodwater. It gropes for a deeper or higher subjective religious experience apart from human intellect and natural senses. It basically tells you to put real discernment on the back burner in place of kindergarten discernment that really isn't discernment at all. Beware of the angel craze that the world embraces while at the same time, rejecting the historical Christ. Always keep in mind that you don't have to believe someone who says they have had a vision just because they say they have had a vision. I urge you to embrace God's vision, and become a student of solid New Covenant doctrine. Learn and practice the fullness of the real Biblical revelation we already have. Finally, I encourage you to remember Paul's words on true humbleness,
"I am nothing and Christ is everything." 2 Corinthians 12:11
In this way, you will understand that you don't make God happy by depriving yourself of earthly comforts, and you will be on the right track of avoiding the ever inviting trap of meaningless religious activity. Amen.
@1 Our great King Jesus became like a _________________ to die on a cross for sins, and then raise from the dead to be highly exalted. Philippians 2:6-9
@2 We are not made righteous by works of the law, but rather, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who ___________________. Romans 10:4
@3 All the various religions in the world claim to worship God, and make sacrifices to their god, but unless they worship Christ by the Holy Spirit, they are really sacrificing to ____________________. 1 Corinthians 10:20-22
