[Read Colossians 2:16-23]
There are some really good books out there with good intentions, but can cause some problems. It was probably about twenty years ago that I first read Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love. The main gist of the book was that God loved us with a crazy love and he deserves nothing less from us than a crazy love—a love that’s willing to do things the world thinks are crazy. That’s true and I needed to hear that at that point in my life. I had fallen into a go-along-to-get-along Christianity, unwilling to do anything that really set me apart from the rest of the world. He was calling us to be the salt of the earth and the light to the world as we live out our faith.
It was a needed rebuke for me, but I took it too far. The more I read the book and decided to live into this Crazy Love, the more I desired to become a super-Christian—a Christian who REALLY lived out his faith, not like all of the other “Christians” in the world. I wasn’t satisfied doing a “Read the Bible in a Year” devotional plan, I started doing a Read the Bible in 90 Days reading plan. I wasn’t satisfied just beginning to implement some of the spiritual disciplines in my life, I needed to be crazy in my implementation of these spiritual disciplines. I didn’t just begin to fast occasionally, I had to do a 30 day fast. And people were really impressed. They would see my bible with 12 different book marks, showing the 12 chapters I read every day, and they would be impressed and feel a little guilty about their own devotional life. They were impressed that I was doing a 30 day fast and looked to me like I was super spiritual—kinda like a modern day monk. Now, of course God worked through all of that to shape me in powerful ways. I’m thankful for his grace in all of that. But as I look back on those days, all of the “crazy” stuff I was doing wasn’t really about killing sin or becoming like Jesus Christ, it was more about proving myself to others and even to God. I wanted THEM to see how crazy I was. Really, the primary thing it ended up doing in my life was stirring up a bunch of pride.
That’s really what Paul is addressing in this morning’s passage. If you remember, he’s addressing some false teachers in the church who are presenting a bunch of plausible arguments and trying to take the church captive with empty philosophies. The core of their teaching is a Christianity Plus. There are the regular Christians, then there are the Crazy Love Christians. He’s been hinting at this for a bit, but he gets much more practical in this morning’s passage and helps us see some of the particular things they are teaching.
It’s important to recognize that when you begin to view Christianity in a hierarchical way, that there are some super-Christians out there who are better than everyone else, someone will necessarily come up with practices and steps and methods in order to become one of those super-Christians. That’s what Paul is fighting back against in this passage.
The first practice he talks about is in regard to food. He says, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink…” (Colossians 2:16, ESV). There’s a little uncertainty about what he’s exactly referring to here, but most commentators recognize that there must be some Jewish influence here. It seems like some were teaching that if you wanted to be a super-Chrisitian, you would continue to submit yourself to the old Jewish food laws. Sure, you don’t have to follow those laws anymore, but if you are a Crazy Love Christian, who is going to do “crazy” things, you’re not going to eat like everyone else, you’re going to do the hard thing and keep following those laws. That’s how you become a super-Chrisitian.
The second practice he talks about is more general he says, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). This is a broader application of what he was talking about in regard to food. Fasting, or only eating certain types of food, is a form of asceticism. Asceticism is all about depriving yourself of things—whether food, fellowship, or any of the comforts we have in this life. Many of the monks were ascetics, seeking to deprive themselves in drastic ways in order to draw nearer to God. This was the way to become a super-Christian. It wasn’t just being taught during the monastic movement, this was being taught during Paul’s ministry. Many people are impressed by this level of commitment, but Paul says don’t let anyone judge you according to these things or try to disqualify you—trying to say you’re not a “real” Christian unless you do some of these things.
I do want to step away a moment to make sure we understand a few important realities in connection with what he’s talking about. As is always the case, you can run into a ditch on either side. As I’ve been mentioning, there is a real danger of actually dishonoring God through asceticism. I typically explain this in terms of a Christmas gift from a parent. No parent gives good gifts to their child and then is impressed by their child’s unwillingness to use those gifts. It’s actually dishonoring to the one who gave the gift. In the same way, God gives us good gifts in food and drink and sleep and fellowship. He’s given those gifts to us to enjoy and to use in ways that bring praise and honor and glory to him. That’s a good and beautiful thing.
However, it’s not beautiful to use those things in a lustful, gluttonous manner. That’s not pleasing to God, either. It’s the image of the kid who gets a good gift from their parents, but is never satisfied with the gift, always asking for more, more, more. That’s not honoring to the gift giver, either. So, there’s balance in here of using the good gifts God has given us and using them in a way that he has designed them to be used for his praise and honor and glory. That’s why Paul says, you don’t become a super-Christian by rejecting the gifts God has given you. On the flip side, you don’t become a super-Christian by indulging in those gifts either.
He adds a third practice that was supposedly going to help people become super-Christians. He says, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you…with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” (Colossians 2:16, ESV). Again, this seems to have some connection with the various Jewish festivals from the Old Covenant. It seems as though people were teaching that if you wanted to be a super-Christian you needed to continue celebrating all of these old festivals and holidays. You needed to celebrate the Passover, the Feast of Booths, etc. If you weren’t doing these things, you may be a Christian, but not a very good one.
He also opens a bomb-shell by referencing the Sabbath. There have been so many controversies over the Sabbath over the years. Really, I think the controversies have all stemmed from a real desire to honor God with their life. Much of it comes down to the question of what can you do on a Sunday? Back when my dad was in high school, his church would hold a Sunday worship service at a local State Park on the shore of a beautiful lake, but you could not fish—that was not allowed on the Sabbath. There are some who say you can walk, but not ride a bike. There are some who say none of this matters anymore, do whatever you want to do. I’m not going to get into all of the fine-details of this debate this morning because I don’t have time, but also because that would begin to fall into the very trap that Paul is talking about. In the midst of all these controversies, there was a real temptation for people to say something like, “Our family doesn’t do these things on a Sunday, which means we’re better Christians than your family,” and Paul basically says: Knock it off!
Then he gives the fourth practice that would supposedly make someone a super-Christian. He says, “Let no one disqualify you…going on in detail about visions…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). There were people in the church saying that if you wanted to be a super-Christian, you needed to have these miraculous and spectacular visions. This is most likely connected to much of the ascetic practices he was talking about earlier. There are records showing that people would fast and refuse to sleep as a way of “preparing” themselves for spectacular mystical visions. If you wanted to be a super-Christian, you needed to be doing these things.
I kinda laughed as I studied this week because it brought me back to my youth ministry days. After being in youth ministry for a while, I noticed a very clear pattern that happened on every youth retreat. It’s been such a clear pattern that it has become widely known in youth ministry circles as “Cry Night” and it typically happens on the final night of a trip. And there are many youth leaders who continually look at these cry nights as being a movement of the Holy Spirit—or even try to manufacture things so that students begin to cry on these nights to “help” the Holy Spirit move. Now, I have experienced some legitimately powerful movements of the Holy Spirit over the years, but I also began to recognize that it wasn’t a coincidence that after a week of sleep deprivation, students would be worn out and emotional and it was easy to make them cry. That wasn’t necessarily a movement of the Spirit, just a physical reality.
I also want to take a moment to make sure we realize how tempting it is to see people who have these visions and mystical experiences as super-Christians. All it takes is a little searching on YouTube to find numerous people who are going into detail about their visions and mystical experiences, and you can tell right away that they are doing this in order to be seen as someone who should be listened to. People should pay attention to them because they have had these visions. What they don’t say, but is often insinuated, is that because they’ve had these mystical visions they are a little higher up the ladder than everyone else—they’re really a super-Christian that should be listened to. Paul tells the church not to fall for that.
The point being made is that there are no super-Christians. So, stop falling for those who try to lure you in by claiming they are super-Christians and stop acting like you are a super-Christian. That’s not what this is all about. Don’t let someone pass judgment on you for not being “crazy” enough in the way you live out your faith, just keep your eyes on Christ and follow him. Don’t let anyone disqualify you—or claim you’re not a true believer because you don’t do the things they think you should do. I like the way FF Bruce sums this section up by saying, “If a Christian decides to abstain from certain kinds of food and drink, or to set aside certain days or seasons for special observance, commemoration, or meditation, good: these are questions to be settled between the individual conscience and God. Concerning such questions Paul writes in another letter: ‘Let everyone be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God’ (Rom. 14:5-6).” (Bruce, 114).
I think Paul gets at the heart of it all when he says this: “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:23, ESV). They appear to have value. It seems like these things will work. It seems like in a world full of gluttony, doing a long fast will make you more spiritual and bring you closer to God. It seems like if you continue to practice all of the old festivals, and celebrate all the time, and do all of the things, that you will necessarily become a super-Christian. I could go on and on and on. All of these things SEEM to make sense, but none of them actually have any value for killing sin in our lives and bringing us closer to Christ. He says that they are of NO VALUE in accomplishing those things. None.
Actually, what Paul says is that not only do they not have any value for killing sin in our lives, they actually do a really good job of fueling on particular sin: Pride. He says that these people are “…puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). They are puffed up with pride because they’ve created—what Paul calls a self-made religion—and are the best ones at it. And because nobody else is as good at following their self-made religion, they are better than everyone else. They are the super-Christians and they know it. That’s called pride and self-righteousness.
But, most Christians know that they should not be prideful. They know that humility is part of the Christian life. So, it’s all much more subtle than that. John Calvin points out, “And observe, that those are said to be puffed up who insinuate themselves under a show of humility. For it happens, as Augustine elegantly writes to Paulinus, by wonderful means, as to the soul of man, that it is more puffed up from a false humility than if it were openly proud.” (Calvin, 198). This is what we would call today the Humble Brag. It’s a show of humility that is full of pride underneath. Here are a few examples: "I feel so convicted that I can only manage to read through the Bible twice a year now. I used to do it every 90 days, but life just gets in the way of real devotion." OR “I don't want to sound legalistic, but I just can't bring myself to do anything on Sundays except worship and pray. My family thinks I'm extreme, but how can I dishonor the Sabbath?" OR "I don't mean to criticize anyone's priorities, but our family just feels so blessed since we stopped buying unnecessary things and gave that money to Kingdom work instead.” That’s all pride being masked as humility and it’s everywhere in the church.
Paul corrects this by reminding them of one important reality. He starts off by saying, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:17, ESV). He’s reminding the church that all of the food laws and all of the festivals and all of the rituals and practices were shadows. They weren’t the end goal but were all pointing forward to Christ. That was their goal. That’s why they've been fulfilled in him and we don’t practice them anymore. We have the real thing.
When you think about it, it’s a really crazy way to view things. Calvin says, "it is the part of a madman to take hold of empty shadows, when it is in his power to handle the solid substance" (Calvin, 193). Think about it for a moment. You are out on a date with your spouse or significant other. Is it more romantic for you to spend your time snuggling with and talking to their shadow? Does that make you a super-spouse? No. The fact that you’re so focused on their shadow means that you are ignoring THEM! That doesn’t make you better, it means you’re being a fool. So, stop focusing on the shadows from the Old Covenant, and focus on Christ who is right in front of you.
Second, Paul says, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?” (Colossians 2:20–22, ESV). He’s reminding them that in Christ we died to the old world and all of its regulations. Now that we’re in Christ, we’re actually living in a new world—so to speak, or a new kingdom—with new rules and principles, new ways of living and following Him.
One commentator helps us understand this by reminding us of the point of all of the rules and regulations in the Old Covenant. He pointed out that all of the rules and regulations were about people cleansing themselves in order to enter into the temple to worship God. But we are cleansed in Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection, we don’t need those things to enter into his presence and worship Him. He’s already accomplished that for us. So, what you’re actually doing by adding all of these rules and regulations is saying that Christ’s sacrifice was not enough. You’re actually acting like the child who has been given a beautiful gift and saying, “That’s not good enough. I want something better.” There’s nothing super-Christian about rejecting, or being unsatisfied with, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins.
Instead Paul tells us to make sure we’re “holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Colossians 2:19, ESV). This isn’t about creating our own rules and regulations—creating our own ladder to climb to Christ, or building our own Tower of Babel. It’s about holding fast to Jesus Christ, trusting Him, resting in his sacrifice for you and his promise that he is at work in you shaping and molding you into his image, and keeping your eyes on him.
I also think it’s about being satisfied with the tools God has given us to mature in our faith. Throughout the history of the church these tools have been called the ordinary means of grace—because these are the ways that God ordinarily works in the life of his people. They are the Word of God and the Sacraments, some add prayer. These are the tools he has given us to use as we mature in him in this life. We don’t come up with our own. We don’t add to these as if they are not enough. We trust Christ that he has given us everything we need for life and godliness.
Finally, Paul reminds us of one important reality. He talks about how the body “…grows with a growth that is from God.” (Colossians 2:19, ESV). All of those other methods and practices are really about growing yourself in your own strength and wisdom. If you are hardcore enough, you too can be as super of a Christian as I am. Yet, it’s not about you. It’s about Christ in you, the hope of glory. It’s about God at work in you to grow you with a growth that comes from Him. This isn’t about proving yourself to those around you, or about trying to prove yourself to God. It’s about looking to him, trusting him, following him, knowing that he will take care of you and provide you with everything you need for life and Godliness.