Colossians 2:16-23

The following is a Bible study originally posted on our Bible Study Group.

Today we're going to finish chapter 2 of Colossians and also conclude our
study of doctrine. Next week we head into some practical, "where the rubber
meets the road" issues.

Today's verses are Colossians 2:16-23, which say,

"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a
new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the
substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight
in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which
he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast
to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints
and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

"Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world,
why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to
regulations-- "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," which all concern
things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and
doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in
self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of
no value against the indulgence of the flesh."

Last week we made the point that we are dead to sin and that Christ now
lives within us. Many times we judge ourselves and others, determining how
"good" of a Christian someone is by how well he or she follows the "rules."
The Bible does indeed have guidelines for Christian living that we should
follow, but these verses in Colossians help us determine which rules are the
world's rules (to which we have died) and which rules are from Christ.

First, the world's rules are outward. In other words, if I follow the
world's rules, you'll know it -- because it will be a physical action that
you can observe. You'll be able to measure my Christianity. Often, these
rules sound like this:

- how often you attend church.
- what you wear.
- how you speak.
- how eloquently you can pray.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with attending church, wearing modest
clothing, being careful what you say or praying in a gathering of believers.
However, if your outward actions "have an appearance of wisdom in
self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body (v.23)," they
are really no indication at all of new life in Christ! In fact, worldly
rules don't work! Following the "commandments and doctrines of men" will
not make you spiritual, which is sad considering how many people try so hard
to follow these rules.

In contrast, God's rules are inward. They are matters of the heart.
Chapters 3 and 4 of Colossians will lay out some definite rules God wants us
to follow. These rules are often not visible to those around us. For
instance, setting your heart on things above (Col. 3:1-4) isn't visible,
because no one can see what your heart is set on. You can even make it
appear that your heart is set on things above when it isn't! But God isn't
fooled. The same is true of not lying, or of putting away lust, or of
clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility and more (discussed
in the next chapters). Notice that these are all inner virtues.

God's rules also can't be faked over a lifetime. Developing the virtues of
the heart that God wants to see in us takes an entire lifetime and won't be
completed until we see Jesus someday. Why? Because, as we said last week,
we aren't capable of being "good" in our own power. As Colossians 2:19
says, any increase we see is from God. True Christianity requires daily
dying to self and submitting to Christ -- and that's not easy! We won't
feel proud, but rather we'll be continuously reminded of our own failures
and flaw -- and that hurts!

However, unlike when we follow the world's rules, God's rules bring about
authentic change. What a unique concept that is! One of the biggest
struggles I face when sharing Christ with my friends is the reaction I get
when they find out I'm a Baptist. "You're a Baptist?!? Yeah, I went to
Sunday school at a Baptist church when I was little. They kicked me out cuz
I didn't wear a skirt." Immediately I find that a wall goes up and that
people don't want to hear about Christ.

Baptists aren't the only ones who struggle with rules. However, it's very
refreshing to find a believer who has NOT lost connection with his Head, who
is Christ (v. 19). His or her life is truly unique, wholly founded in God.
He or she is pleasing to be around!

I challenge you to take the time to read God's rules in Colossians 3 and 4
sometime this week. You can do it right now by going to
http://bible.gospelcom.net. We'll be discussing each topic for the rest of
this year, but if you read it all right now, I'm hoping you'll have a deeper
understanding of how God wants us to die to our old lives and move aside,
allowing Him to become our new life.


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