Colossians 2:8-23
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could sit in any church or listen to any preacher/teacher and know that what is being taught is the truth? I think all of us would relish that type of “unity of the faith” among all the people that profess to be followers of scripture as their final authority for faith and practice. Occasionally, I’ll hear someone blame the “disunity of the faith” as his/her primary reason for walking away from the church and/or the Christian faith. Others use the differences among professing Christians as their excuse for rejecting Christ and Christianity altogether. Any conclusion of these types is tragic and potentially has eternal consequences.
Some of the things that differentiate us as Christians/churches are of a secondary nature, as it concerns orthodox Christianity. There are areas of honest, but good-natured disagreement among fellow believers that involve the interpretation and application of particular texts and traditions. However, these areas of disagreement don’t affect the core tenants of what it means to be Christian. Throughout history people have taken some of these unique interpretations/traditions and organized around them to form denominations and/or Christian associations. However, these distinctions alone don’t mean they aren’t Christians and/or not part of the one body of Christ. Unfortunately, in holding to our positions on some secondary issues, those of us within the body of Christ have at times been quick to use our differences as an excuse for treating other believers with less than the respect and love they deserve. God forgive us when/where we have been guilty of these errors.
The real problem arises whenever preachers/teachers and/or churches take doctrinally aberrant views of the core tenants of the Christian faith, compromise the clear truths of the Bible by altering their obvious meaning, and/or add to the scripture something that is not clearly defined within it’s pages. Doctrines such as the inspiration of scripture, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the Trinity, the vicarious death of Christ, Christ’s bodily resurrection and ascension back to Heaven, salvation by grace through faith alone, Christ’s second coming, as well as other core teachings, cannot be compromised or altered without ceasing to represent the Christian faith accurately.
My point is that there will always be some diversity within the body of Christ that is centered around differences of understanding in secondary matters. This doesn’t necessarily make one right and the other wrong; they are simply distinctions that fall acceptably within the Christian tradition we all hold dear. No one in this world possesses all of the mind of Christ perfectly and not until we reach Heaven will we know fully all that we think we know now.
The thing we have to take into consideration is that while there are some things about which we may differ and still be within the evangelical Christian tradition, there are doctrines/teachings that are patently false and must be rejected by all Christians, at all times, and at all cost.
Jesus was clear (cf. Matthew 24:24), as was Paul (cf. Acts 20:28-32), that there will always be false prophets and false teaching in our present world. These aberrant forms of doctrine must be forcefully confronted and repudiated by everyone that seeks to be true to scripture and the Christ they love. No one should ever blindly follow another person’s teaching. We must be like the Bereans who were commended for searching the scriptures daily to see if they were being taught the truth of God (cf. Acts 17:11).
False doctrine is rarely overt, but rather it is most often insidiously covert. The well-known preacher and author of the 20th century, A.W. Tozer said, "So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are constantly being mistaken for each other. It takes a sharp eye these days to know which brother is Cain and which is Abel."
Listen to the words of scripture about the presence of false teaching and teachers in every age.
29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. (Acts 20:29-30)
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:13-14)
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1)
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. (1 John 2:19)
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude vs. 3-4)
In Colossians 2:8-23, the Apostle Paul defines for us the core issues related to the error that threatened the Christians in that region. These points of heresy can be summarized in four specific words: intellectualism (of a particular sort: “philosophy” - 2:8), legalism (2:16-17), mysticism (2:18), and asceticism (2:20-23).
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The Greek word for “philosophy” (2:8) literally means “the love of wisdom.” However, Paul was not denouncing all forms of philosophy, but rather a specific kind of philosophy that sought wisdom apart from Christ and tried to pass itself off as intellectualism.
William MacDonald writes, “It [philosophy] is not evil in itself...Here the word is used to describe man’s attempt to find out by his own intellect and research those things which can only be known by divine revelation (1 Cor. 2:14). It is evil because it exalts human reason above God and worships the creature more than the Creator. It is characteristic of the liberals of our day, with their boasted intellectualism and rationalism.”
When philosophical thought comes unhinged from the truth concerning Christ, it becomes a loose impediment blown about by the tornadic winds of false prophets and is deadly, if it strikes an unsuspecting person’s mind. Unless you properly grasp the biblical teaching about the person and work of Christ, your philosophy of life will always miss the mark!
J.B. Phillips’ translation of 2:8 makes this point powerfully: “Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high sounding nonsense. Such stuff is at best founded on men’s ideas of the nature of the world, and disregards Christ!”
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“Legalism” (2:16-17) has two aspects, both of which are dangerous. The first concerns salvation: if someone teaches that faith alone in Christ alone is insufficient alone to save a person from eternal hell and adds any kind of works (man-made or OT Law) to faith...that is a legalism that cancels out God’s saving grace. The second concerns sanctification: if someone teaches that faith alone in Christ alone is sufficient to save a person from eternal hell, but adds a list of rules as the means to being spiritual, that is also a heretical form of legalism.
Everything about the Christian life is by the grace of God. We are saved by grace! We are kept by grace! We live daily by grace! We give grace away to others!
The “checklist mentality” (I did this...check. I don’t do that...check) of what it means to be spiritual is the surest way to Phariseeism simply because it deals with a person’s actions and not his heart.
Living for Christ and following His Word should be properly motivated by the grace of God. The grace attitude says, “I want to please my Father because He has given me what I did not deserve and I could not earn (salvation)!” Spirituality isn’t conformity to a list of rules and regulation. True spirituality is transformation by the grace of God in the inner man so that he becomes like Christ from the inside out.
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age… (Titus 2:11-12)
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“Mysticism” (2:18) refers to a kind of esoteric (i.e., understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge), ethereal knowledge or understanding that can only be reached as we get in touch with ourselves and/or those to whom the “secrets” have been revealed.
Dr. John MacArthur’s definition of Mysticism is helpful, “Mysticism...is the belief that spiritual reality is perceived apart from the human intellect and natural senses… This...approach is the antithesis of Christian theology. (John MacArthur, Colossians & Philemon, p. 120)
The false teachers at Colossae claimed to have contact with a higher knowledge through angelic intermediaries and visions. And, you could only know these “hidden” secrets through them and their special rites and rituals.
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Finally, asceticism (2:20-23) deals with living a life of stringent self-denial for the purpose of meriting God’s favor and increasing in righteousness. Because the ascetic understands the body as being evil he has to deny it of all its desires and refuse its appetites. He sees his body as something to be punished and treated as his enemy. That’s why the errorists in Colossae embraced rules like, “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.” (2:21)
Examples of this kind of asceticism are found throughout church history. “According to the church Father Athanasius, Anthony, the founder of Christian monasticism, never changed his vest or washed his feet (Life of Anthony, para. 47).” (John MacArthur, Colossians & Philemon, p. 123)
Another early ascetic spent the last thirty-six years of his life atop a fifty-foot pole so he could withdraw from the world and buffet his body with the elements. Roman Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Friday and many churches require abstinence from certain types of food during Lent. And, Mormons teach that their members should not drink coffee or tea.
There is nothing inherently wrong with denying yourself certain things (Christian missionaries deny themselves things to follow God’s call), unless you believe that doing so will gain you some measure of righteousness or spirituality with God. And, that’s what the errorists in Colossae were teaching.
So egregious were the teachings of these heretics that Paul spoke of them in the strongest of terms to denounce them. Listen to these different descriptions of the forms of heresy that were encroaching upon the Christians in the city. He called them, “the tradition of men” (2:8), “the basic principles of the world” (2:8, 20), “the worship of angels” (2:18), “regulations” (2:20), “the commandments and doctrines of men” (2:22), and “self-imposed religion” (2:23).
And, in addition to these statements there are other indicators of the insidious nature of these errors. He calls them “empty deceit” (2:8), “false humility” (2:18, 23), “intruding into those things which he has not seen” (2:18), “vainly puffed up” (2:18), “neglect of the body” (2:23), and having “no value” (2:23).
In light of these doctrinal heresies (and others like them today...secularism, humanism, atheism, ceremonialism, spiritism, etc.), Paul gave four strong admonitions.
A. Don’t let anyone capture you! (2:8)
The Greek word for “cheat” (συλαγωγέω) literally means “to gain control of by carrying off..., make captive of, rob someone.” (Louw Nida 37.10)
It is the image of someone that has been captured and carried away from the truth into the bondage of error.
False teachers are often charismatic personalities that can craft persuasive arguments built on unbiblical reasoning. They can make the irrational and unbelievable sound rational and intellectual. But, if it denies or compromises the truth of Christ and His Word, it is nothing more than shifting/sinking sand.
Remember the words of Paul earlier, “4Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.” (2:4) Don’t let yourself be caught off guard so that you are captured by thinking that has come unhinged from the incomparable Christ!
B. Don’t let anyone condemn you! (2:16)
“Judge” means to “pass an unfavorable judgment upon, criticize, find fault with, condemn.” (BDAG)
It is impossible to stop people from “judging” you, if they chose to do so. But, you don’t have to yield to their guilt by association and/or accusation. Legatists are masters at making people feel unworthy through the shame they continually heap on them...not unlike the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.
As followers of Christ, we should always desire that the conviction of the Holy Spirit would correct us when we are living in a manner that can harm us or our Lord’s testimony. But, we should never allow others to pile on guilt by enslaving us to their legalistic systems and standards that are devoid of the grace of God. People who are constantly defining your every action through regulations and intimidation are seeking to conform you to their image...not Christ’s. Just remember...man-made rules don’t make Christlike Christians: God’s grace makes us Christlike!
It is not only important that we reject guilt that is directed at us by others, it is also important that we don’t place guilt on others, either. Our natural tendency is to condemn anyone that is different to us while failing to extend grace to them in the fashion God extended grace to us. If people around you feel like you are always “sizing them up” as to whether they are acceptable or not, you are acting like a Pharisee, not Christ. Don’t forget that some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed to the Pharisees of His day. If your attitude stinks towards others...ask God to fix it before you go any deeper in your OWN heresy!
C. Don’t let anyone cheat you! (2:18)
Here the word “cheat” is a different Greek word than the one used in 2:8. The word here (καταβραβεύω) means “to judge as a referee that someone is not worthy to receive a prize—‘to disqualify...to deprive of a reward.’ (Louw-Nida 30.121)
The picture is that of the heretics standing as judges and disqualifying people that failed to follow their specific rules. Every time we surrender to false teaching we surrender something God intended for us to enjoy (“reward”). The only person the false teacher is concerned about is himself. He isn’t concerned about your best interest or what you are losing in the process of adopting his heresy. It’s all about him and his self-absorbed ego.
Staying true to Christ and His Word is where we find the freedom He has purchased and the rewards He desires to give us. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are disqualified because you didn’t follow their made-up rules. They have no right to deprive you of all that God has done for you and given to you!
D. Don’t let anyone control you! (2:20)
Sadly, some of the Colossian believers were subjecting themselves to the demands of the heretics and following their rules...at least some were leaning in that direction. Paul wants them to “resist” and not yield to their unbiblical requirements. Sometimes the fights we have to wage are with religious people that want to enslave us to their own form of heresy (cf. Jude vs. 3-4).
Conclusion:
The reason we should never allow ourselves to become captives or voluntarily surrender to any of these erroneous belief systems is because Jesus came to set us free and to give us liberty in Him. Liberty is not a license to sin, it’s freedom to serve out of the joy of knowing Him as your Savior!
To drive home the benefits of Christ to us, Paul points out five things that we enjoy by way of His sacrificial death and resurrection.
1. We are complete in Him. (2:10)
Not only does all the fullness of God dwell in Christ, all believers are filled with the fullness of Christ. In other words...there is nothing lacking in our relationship with God. We need no extra blessings or additional experiences to be right with Him. We have HIM and that’s all we need!
2. We are free in Him. (2:11) -- circumcision...an OT illustration
When we put our faith in Christ, He cuts away (renders inoperative) our sinful nature so that we might live according to our new nature (cf. Romans 6:6).
3. We are alive in Him. (2:12-13) -- baptism...a NT illustration
Baptism vividly portrays the death and burial of the believer’s sinful way of life. When Christ died, our old nature died, too (was rendered inoperative).
The Greek words in 2:12 are very expressive and indicate that we are co-buried, co-raised, and co-made alive with Christ. We died with Him, we are raised with Him, and we have new life because of Him.
4. We are forgiven in Him. (2:13-14)
Paul uses two illustrations concerning the forgiveness of our sins. The first comes from antiquity where a handwritten ledger (referring to our sins) was kept on parchment that could be washed off so the writing was removed. The second refers to an ancient practice of nailing the written evidence of a canceled debt in a public place so as to notify everyone that the creditor had no more claim on the debtor.
Jesus took not only our sins to the cross, He also took the OT Law and nailed it there, as well. The Law was against us and was opposed to us because all it could do was point out our sinfulness (cf. Romans 7:7).
5. We are victors in Him. (2:15)
After the Roman army won a victory against an enemy, they would bind their foes together and march them single file back to Rome where thousands of Romans would line the streets to watch this “public spectacle.” At the front of the parade would be the conquering General. Following him were the soldiers who had acted heroically in battle, with the rest of the army following them. At the rear of this procession were all of those who had been conquered in battle.
This is the image of Jesus turning all of our captors into captives so that He might transform us from victims into victors!
Application:
1. Be a student of the scripture and become grounded in your faith.
2. Don’t be enslave by self-conceived religious systems using shame/guilt to control you.
3. Enjoy the grace of God that has set you free and share it freely with others.
--Jesus told His disciples, “...Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
