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Right; wrong. Good; bad. What to do; what not to do.

These have their bigger fulfillment in the question: How do we please God?

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (CSB)

That’s what our sanctified hearts want to do. We want to know how to act in a way that is godly.

For that we look to Scripture.

But that can be confusing, too.

The bible has a lot of rules and statutes that are unclear, confusing, or may even seem contradictory – especially when we look at some in the Old Testament. Are we, “New Testament people” supposed to keep those, too?

These were issues the early Church faced, too. Some – especially those who were Jews – were saying that those Gentiles who became believers had to fulfill those Old Testament rules, too.

Paul is having none of it!

Not because they were bad or wrong. Far from it! They were from God so they were (and are) good!

But they have been fulfilled now in Jesus. Those things pointed to the coming of God’s chosen Christ. Jesus took care of all of them on our behalf, so they would no longer stand over us; accusing us; condemning us.

We are now free in Him!

Free from the rigidness of the rules of the OT Sabbath. Free from the laws on what constitutes clean and unclean foods. Free from so many of those things that were meant to being us closer to God but ended up being things that we broke and pushed us away from Him instead.

But does freedom in Jesus mean freedom from to sin?

Absolutely not!

So the question remains: what do we do to please God?

First, if not addressed and repeated in the New Testament, it’s likely not something that must be done. Often, though, even those aspects that are repeated and addressed differently. “do not murder?” is strengthened to “don’t even hate!” “Do not commit adultery” to “do not look lustfully.”

The easy way to get at things is to see that “love God with all your heart, mind, souls, and strength and your neighbor as yourself” still holds. But the dictums of how those play out are more flexible.

Second, we should see our freedom as a means to seek how we can serve Him and others better. Freedom to serve, not be served.

Third, we should take a look at those rules and laws God gave – even in the Old Testament – and ask why God gave them and if doing them would still be good and pleasing to Him. Not of mandate, but of desire in seeking His heart.

Serving God is easy when we do so from a stance of freedom and joyful response, rather than dutiful obligation.

We are free in Jesus!

We are love and serve Him and others in all we do joyfully!

That’s the heart of it!

“That You, Jesus, for fulfilling every point of the Law perfectly and completely for us and for our salvation! Send us Your Holy Spirit so that our heart rejoices at the opportunity to respond to this great gift in loving service to You and others. Amen.”

Scriptures

• Colossians 2:17-23

Being connected to Jesus is not something we usually think about a lot.

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (CSB)

We think about believing in Jesus. We think about emulating Jesus. We thank Jesus for saving us. We love Him, but we don’t often think about being united with Him in His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension; that being baptized with Him, being buried with Him, having all of those intimate connections with Him means that we are truly dead to sin.

When we are alive with Him, being united with Jesus also means that we should live like He did by putting off sin, putting off our sinfulness; cutting off that which infects us, which drains us, which pulls us away from God. When we are rooted in Him we can withstand all the winds, all the rains, all the slings and the arrows, all of the things which come against us in this world. We can stand firm because when we’re rooted in Him, He is firm; He is unmovable; He is unchanging; He is steadfast through it all – and because He is and we are united with Him, then there was no other philosophy, no other tradition, nothing else that anyone else can share with us that can compare to that; that can stand up to that. No matter how bad things get; no matter how difficult things are; sin is dead to us because Jesus died to conquer sin. Sin is dead to us because we are united with His conquering of sin – and now all of those things which try to tear us down, which kill and destroy – through faith in Jesus, through uniting with Him, through being rooted in Him; we are now alive with Him, alive in Christ – forever.

“Lord, thank You for suffering, dying, and rising for us; and thank You for letting us be united in You. You, in whom the fullness of the deity dwells; You through whom all of creation came into existence; You who was not satisfied with sin and death and so conquered it for us forever – for all. Thank You, Lord! Help us to act as the rooted ones we are in You. In Your name we pray; amen.”

Scriptures

• Colossians 2:4-15

The “Toys -R- Us” song said, “I don’t wanna grow up. I’m a Toys-R-Us kid.”

Indeed, there are many times we may not like being a “gown up.”

Sometimes we say in our family, “adulting is hard.”

As a kid we didn’t have to be concerned with things like work, food, housing, cars, taxes, finances, and so many other things. We didn’t have to be responsible or provide for others. We didn’t have to be “mature.”

A lot of Christians act like children in their faith, too. They do all they can to avoid suffering in the Faith, even if it helps us grow in it. They don’t take the time to read and learn Scripture. They don’t make prayer a way of life. They do what they want in areas of sex or gossip or. They come to church with other believers when they want or it’s convenient instead of as God commands. They cuss and swear at others, who are made in the image of God. They keep a tight grip on their finances, not giving to His Church for His purposes; or do so grudgingly. They lie when it suits them. They help others sparingly. They don’t give evidence of their Christianity or the God they attest they follow.

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (CSB)

Childish. Immature. Wrong.

The mystery of the Gospel has been lifted; it is Christ and His suffering, death, and resurrection on the cross. And we, as believers in Him, are going to suffer for Him and other believers. That is part of the calling of every Christian! That means growing up and being mature in our Faith, in our walk, in our words, and in our actions. It means we should not shy away from suffering and serving but rather step into them and even rejoice in them!

Jesus did.

So must we.

Not to be saved.

But because we are saved.

We want to go before the Lord as ones who are holy, blameless, above reproach, mature. We want to suffer and serve for the sake of Christ so that the saving Gospel might be proclaimed to the world; not just in words, but in our very flesh – like Jesus.

There will be a time when this creation passes when suffering will be no more.

That’s not today.

Today we will rejoice in our sufferings because Jesus saved us through His.

It’s time to “grow up,” brothers and sisters.

For Christ. For the Church. For the sake of the Gospel for others.

“That You, Lord Jesus, for suffering and dying for us; for not avoiding the easy way, but taking on the hardest way for us and our salvation. Grant that we “grow up” in our Faith and act in mature ways, including rejoicing in our suffering for the sake and furtherment of the saving Gospel. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.”

Scriptures

• Colossians 1:24-2:5

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (CSB)

Jesus is preeminent. In Jesus “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19). Jesus reconciles “to Himself all things…by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). Through Him all things were created. In Him all things hold together.

Jesus.

No one else.

Jesus.

Not Jesus “plus.”

Just Jesus.

Some try to detract from what Jesus did. Some try to add to what Jesus did.

Both make Jesus insufficient.

He’s not.

He is all-sufficient. He is the only One who is sufficient.

For all our needs; here and beyond.

Jesus.

Always and only, Jesus.

“That You, Lord, for creating us; for sustaining us; for saving us; for loving us. Thank You for being the One and only for us and everyone. Grant that we look to and see You for all our needs, for in You we hold together. Keep our eyes on You in times of struggle and times of thanksgiving. Always and only, on You. In Your previous name, Lord Jesus, do we pray. Amen.”

Scriptures

• Colossians 1:15-23

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (CSB)

This is what St. Paul is doing in our Scripture today.

Sometimes when loved ones are being led astray, they need to be reminded of the Truth and of who they really are. But it needs to be done in love and with gentleness.

He let’s them know that he thanks God for their faith, for their love for other believers, and that heaven is theirs.

That’s a great start!

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.

Colossians 1:3-4

He also reminds them of the love and faithfulness of their teachers, like Epaphras and himself.

He is setting the groundwork for them for what is coming and reminding them that, unlike others who are teaching them falsehoods and heresies, they already know and have the Truth about Jesus and the Faith. The false teachers are not like the faithful ones. The false teachings are not like the faithful ones.

St. Paul want them to know – in a very loving, pastoral way – that they already have what they need, like the forgiveness of sins in Jesus. While false teachers try to say more is needed, St. Paul is reminding them of the Truth: false teachings re a part of the “domain of darkness” and they already know and have “the kingdom of [God’s] beloved Son, in whom [they] have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

That is the Truth! That is all-sufficient! That is the reminder needed for their true identity; found in Jesus alone!

That’s something for us to remember, too!

“Thank You, Lord, for faithful servants who taught us the faith in Jesus and remind us of our salvation in Him alone; especially when we are tempted to listen to and follow the voices and teachings of false teachers. Keep us steadfast and grateful – always. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Scriptures

• Colossians 1:3-14

A pastoral letter to a congregation he didn’t start to discuss big issues and heresies they were facing. That’s what we see in the book of Colossians.

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (CSB)

St. Paul writes this letter to the congregation because they were being led astray. The “Colossian Heresy” is not specifically identified, but we see some of the teachings that St. Paul is addressing. They include (based from the reference at the bottom):

1. The inferiority of Christ // That Christ was not “all sufficient” // The He may not have been fully divine
2. The elevation of “philosophies” not built on Christ.
3. Legalistic observation of Jewish traditions as well as dietary and festival laws.
4. Worshipping of angels and other lesser spirits.
5. Asceticism and the view of the physical body as “evil.”
6. Claim to special insight to truth rather than the apostles of Scripture.

St. Paul wasn’t going to let that go.

What God says in His Word is for a reason. He gave us His precious Words for us to know and follow. Pure doctrine matters. We don’t get to pick and choose what we like. We don’t get to follow the teachers we like, regardless of if they are being faithful to Him and His Word.

Sound familiar?

There is much to hear, learn, digest, live, and teach here for us, just as for our brothers and sisters in Colossae.

Today we will look at some of the background to this important letter and book and see why the issues St. Paul brought up with that congregation apply to us as well.

“Lord, forgive us when we do not take Your precious, inerrant Word and Will to heart and compromise what You say in our hearts and lives. Help us to mind our doctrine and teaching closely as ones who want to follow You fully and truly. Thank You for the all-sufficient love and sacrifice given to us through Your Son, Jesus. It is in Him only we have salvation. In His precious name do we pray; amen.”

SEE: Martin, M. (2003). Colossians, Letter to The. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (pp. 319–320). Holman Bible Publishers.

Scriptures

• Colossians 1:1-2