Do not let anyone disqualify you by making you humiliate yourself and worship angels. Such people enter into visions, which fill them with foolish pride because of their human way of thinking. They do not hold tightly to Christ, the head. It is from him that all the parts of the body are cared for and held together. So it grows in the way God wants it to grow.
Since you died with Christ and were made free from the ruling spirits of the world, why do you act as if you still belong to this world by following rules like these: "Don't handle this," "Don't taste that," "Don't even touch that thing"? These rules refer to earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. They seem to be wise, but they are only part of a human religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies, but they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self.
I. Beware of Empty Philosophies
II. Beware of Religious Legalism
III. Beware of Man-made Disciplines
II. Beware of Man-Made Disciplines (Col. 2:18-23)
How the flesh loves legalism: fasting, regulations about food, bodily disciplines. Special religious observances with their regulations make many people “feel spiritual.” “Let no man sit as an umpire in your life” (disqualify you, Col 2:18).
- What is the flipside of “Let no man sit as an umpire in your life”?
While we believe wholeheartedly that believers should not abuse their liberty and become stumbling blocks,
But be careful that your freedom does not cause those who are weak in faith to fall into sin. (1 Corinthians 8:9 NCV)we do not for one minute believe that the giving up of certain habits or pleasures automatically makes a believer spiritual. Our relationship to Christ is a living union — He is the Head, we are members of the body. A body functions through nourishment, not rules.
Who can say to his stomach, “Start digesting! Stop hurting!” How foolish! Yet people think the Christian life personally, and the church collectively, can be made spiritual by man-made rules and exercises.
We believe in standards (“Love not the world”), but we reject the idea that outward obedience to standards necessarily produces inward spirituality. We are dead to the elements of the world; we are alive in Christ, and Christ is all we need. Obeying man-made religious regulations (Col. 2:21-23) might impress some people as spiritual, but Paul states clearly that these practices cannot control or overcome the flesh. Yes, these regulations appeal to us and might seem to help us develop holiness and superior spirituality, but they are useless as far as God is concerned. The main theme of Colossians: all the believer needs is Jesus Christ. Man-made systems and regulations seem very spiritual, but they are merely worldly principles (Col. 2:20).
This is “kindergarten” living; we must graduate into a higher level of Christianity. Man-made disciplines (asceticism) are attractive, but it is impossible for the flesh to control itself, better itself, or perfect itself.
“You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish.” (Galatians 3:3 NCV)
Our union with Christ is a living union. This life cannot be controlled by man’s laws, but only by the principles that God has put into the body. Only another life can control life, and we have His life within us.
- That sounds good. But, what does that look like?
“I’m Glad That’s Cleared Up!”: The vibrant life of following Jesus Christ is not achieved by abstaining from evil, or succumbing to a false “fear of God” and doing nothing; vibrancy comes from allowing Christ to do something unexpected and impossible through you.
from Warren Weirsbe's Expository Outlines
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