Posted in A Father's Love, Creation, Devotions, Holiness, spiritual warfare, The Gospels, wisdom, worship

Colossians 2 Part 2–It’s Not About the Rules, Its About the Relationship

Paul was obviously frustrated by the ease that the Colossians fell back into a checklist mentality.  He had literally traveled the world preaching the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection. He had been imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten for preaching the Gospel.  So to hear that one of the churches had fallen prey to the deceitful knowledge and works mentality spread by the gnostics and the traditionalists, was almost more than he could bear.  So Paul reminded the Colossians that when one accepts Christ Jesus as Lord, they are no longer judged by what they eat, what they wear or even what they do.  Instead, they are saved by their relationship with God that was made possible when they accepted the free gift of Salvation.  In short, Gifts simply cannot be earned.
 
In our day and culture, everything is competitive. Income, family size, achievements at work or school all help to define our success and our standing in the community.  As with the Colossians, however, God reminds us that our eternal salvation is not a competition, it is a faith journey started with a free gift.  His chosen simply have to trust and follow the Lord. He will do the work of forgiving, restoring and preparing us for Heaven.   Christians must not fall into the trap of believing that their feeble attempts at “Doing the Christian life” will ever be sufficient to win favor with God or earn some sort of salvation bonus.  We are completely forgiven and completely saved from sin and death.  We can simply rejoice in the true grace the Lord provides and follow God’s lead as we continue on this Amazing Journey.
 
God Bless You

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[b] was put off when you were circumcised by[c] Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[e]

Freedom From Human Rules

16 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. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 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. 19 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.

20 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: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 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.

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This is an amazing Journey. I hope you will hear from the Lord, as you seek Him with your heart. Matthew 6:33

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