Faith and Trust Part 7 Sunday October 27, 2013 Colossians 2: 16-23 Beware: Don t go there When you hear the word beware what thoughts come to mind? What feelings rise up inside of you? Is there a sense that you need to pay more attention? Do you recognize that something is happening that you need to be aware of? Do you find yourself exercising more alertness? Is there a heightened sense of caution, perhaps even anxiety? Just stop and consider how often we encounter the word or thought these days. Everything from food recalls to internet scams are communicated to us almost daily as things to be aware of. Travel advisories, warnings about bears in the area, sexual predators that move into our community, the side affects of prescription drugs, black ice, weather warnings and economic indictors all come with a beware label. In fact we are told everyday to beware of so many things that it becomes something we don t even recognize. The problem however is this: we need to beware because at times our lives and the lives of those we love depend on it. What is true about our need to beware to protect ourselves and those we love is just as true regarding our need to protect our faith and the faith of those we love. The simple truth is that there should be a warning label that comes with some faith teachings and experiences. The problem is that many of us don t believe it. We have been so conditioned by our core Canadian values of acceptance and tolerance that we feel if anyone even hints at the need to beware, that person is judgmental and dangerous to be around. In fact we put the BEWARE label on those warning us to beware and not where it should be, on those deceiving us. That is exactly where I stand today. I am about to warn you of some dangerous patterns and practices and I am going to tell you to beware. Before I even begin I know that there will be those who will refuse to hear me and have already written the entire warning off. They believe in tolerance, acceptance and inclusivity more then any other value and as such they feel that any warning is dangerous. I am going to tell you what the Bible says anyway. I am going to ask you to beware of dangerous practices and tendencies that rob us of our faith and our ability to trust God. You see Paul wanted the Colossians to understand what an incredible gift they had received in their faith and relationship with Jesus. He repeatedly made the point that in Jesus is everything
they need and their faith the act of trusting Christ and the beliefs and practices that go with it does not need any upgrades or customization. So he turns a corner as sure and as certain as a traffic sign that says right turns only. He summarizes everything he has said in one word: Therefore (V 16) and begins to unpack some of the implications of the incredible gift of faith that they and we have received. We are going to read the passage but before we do I want us to stop and pray. What we are about to talk about is so contrary to every part of our lives as Canadians it is easy to write it off before we even begin. At the same time, we hear so many warnings every day that this warning is just one more that can easily fade into the background noise. I believe we have to really take these words to heart. Our faith and the faith of those we love and lead depends on it. So let s stop for a moment of silent prayer. Let s ask our LORD to speak clearly into our lives so we will beware of the things that can undermine our faith. Colossians 2:16-23 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. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have 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. Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 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. In essence this passage is urging us to beware of three things that can undermine our faith: 1. Beware of those who want to judge you (V 16-17) 2. Beware of those who want to disqualify you (V 18-19) 3. Beware of those who want to deceive you (V 20-23) There is far more in this passage then we can possibly unearth in one sermon but there is one overarching message that we need to take to heart: Beware. Paul tells them right up front: Do
not let people do certain things to you and he repeats it in hopes that they will really get the message (V 16 and 18). The first warning has to do with a type of legalism (V 16-17). Those who teach that if you were really a Christian, it would be seen in what you drink, eat and observe. He is probably referencing some hyper type of Judaism here which has gone beyond the O.T. law to now prohibit drinks as well as specific foods. In addition O.T. religious holidays - annual, monthly and weekly - were apparently used as a benchmark of how serious you really are in your faith. It is exactly like any number of conversations that usually begin with: I thought you were a Christian but I see. And then proceeds to comment on some observable measurable form of legalism. Things like: real Christians don t drink alcohol; or real Christians don t have tattoos; or real Christians always hold a worship service on Christmas Day. Such statements have very little to do with real Christians and everything to do with some external form of legalism that in theory measures how strong you are in your faith. Just as many homes have a wall or a doorway where we measure the physical growth of our children, legalists likewise have a checklist that we are measured against to see how serious we really are in our faith. They both forbid and demand: forbid food and drink and also demand observances and rituals. The point that Paul makes is very simple: all those legalistic laws were shadows pointing to Christ. Recently I spent some time sitting high on hill watching the sun rise. All of a sudden I noticed movement below me and I scanned and scanned the area looking to see what caused the movement only to find nothing there. Then I noticed a shifting shadow and looked up to an eagle flying overhead. The shadow of the flying eagle was what caught my attention and pointed to an even greater beauty: the sun rise. That is the point Paul makes here: don t settle for legalism and don t let people judge you by the stuff of shadows. The shadow indicates something greater the sun rise notice its beauty, not the shadow. So beware of those who want you to live in the shadow of legalism and instead focus on the reality and beauty of Jesus Christ. Paul continues on with his second warning: Beware of those who want to disqualify you. (V 18-19) These two verses are complex and challenging to translate from the original language which is why so many translations treat these verses so differently. 1 The word behind disqualified occurs only here in the N.T. and is best understood as an athletic term. Literally it means don t let someone call you out! The self declared umpire of your soul cannot declare you out of the life of faith. In other words he cannot tell you that you really aren t a Christian. 1 The Expositors Commentary calls these two of the most puzzling verses in the N.T. The Greek expression for disqualify you can be rendered many different ways including: beguile, cheat, rob and defraud. See The Expositors Biblical Commentary Vol 11 (Zondervan Pub) pp 205.
These umpires of the soul are described as having a false humility; worshipping angels; focused on idle notions (very speculative); and are primarily focused on what have they seen, possibly in a vision. The bottom line though is this: they have lost sight of and connection to Jesus. That is the point Paul makes in his phrase: lost connection with the head. (V 19) The head of the church is Jesus. 2 These spiritual umpires are focused everywhere except on Jesus Christ. They apparently have visions and conversations with angels but are proud and puffed up with their experiences. They talk about what they have seen and what the angels have told them not about Jesus. That is the clue that we should pay them no attention, at all. They do not have a connection with Jesus so ignore them. Don t listen to them and whatever you do don t let them declare you out of the life of faith. Beware of those who try and disqualify you. Which brings us to the third warning and the third thing we are to beware of: Beware of those who want to deceive you about what really works in your faith. (V 20-23) The belief that the false teachers started with is that anything physical was evil. They believed that the human body with all of its needs was a monster that had to tamed and controlled by increasingly harsh self abasements. It may appear wise but in reality it had no real value. (V 23) We cannot control our appetites and drives by keeping busy or trying to rigorously distract ourselves or deny ourselves. There is absolutely no lasting power in such supposed wisdom to reduce our temptations. It simply doesn t work. Even more, it is based on a false assumption that we can avoid sin and evil by rules like, do not touch, do not taste and do not handle. (V 20) In reality those rules are things that we have already died to by virtue of our relationship with Jesus. So don t submit yourself to such silly logic and rules. Our faith does not need any additions to be effective and real. We don t need the teachings of asceticism that tells us we must beat our bodies into alignment with our faith. Rather we need to simply trust in the very core of our faith: Jesus Christ. All three of the warnings to beware are rooted in the same basic assumption: Our faith must be upgraded. Either through the law, or through spiritual experiences or through extreme asceticism we must refine our faith to make it really work. All three efforts lead us to the same place a self made religion. Paul says BEWARE: don t go there. Don t fall for these faith schemes. Recognize the dangers, beware and instead focus on Jesus Christ. 2 See Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church.
In very broad terms this is what we need to recognize: The Danger: The Answer The Truth Legalism The law is a shadow The reality is in Christ Spiritual experiences Don t let anyone disqualify you Christ is the head Asceticism Don t be deceived Died with Christ When we receive Beware notices most of the time they come with a description that helps us identify the potential danger. Food recalls will tell us what brands and dates to watch for. Financial scams will tell us what phrases to listen for. We are given physical descriptions of scam artists and molesters; etc. I am sure you get the point: we are given a simple and hopefully clear description of what to be aware of. We have the same thing here in these verses which are intended to help us recognize who and what we should stay away from and encourage others to do likewise. The simple reality is that false teachers never advertise themselves as such and in fact may even believe they are the only bastion of truth left. Nevertheless they are misleading many and therefore we need to recognize a few key things. 1. Beware of those who will judge us by rigid religious standards. Those who forbid and demand will rarely talk about grace but instead will insist we need to follow the law if we are really serious about our faith. The reality is in Christ, not the law. 2. Beware of those who talk more about their visions and messages from God then they talk about Jesus. Speculative theology is dangerous; so keep the focus on Christ. 3. Beware of those who teach that sin can be passed on by simple contact and relationship. As Jesus said, sin is not outside of us waiting to get in; it is inside of us waiting to get out. 3 4. Beware of those who try and defeat the power of sin in their lives through extreme self effort. Our victory is in Jesus not in our efforts. Please don t let this warning to beware fade into the background noise of your life. Your faith is too precious and the faith of those you lead is too important to put this on the pile of things to think about someday. If you are on any of these paths right now please stop and recognize your faith doesn t need upgrading or customization. All you need is Jesus. So beware and don t go there. Benediction: Romans 15: 5-6 3 Mark 7: 20-23
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen