Sermon: Wolves in the Midst by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: August 25, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Colossians 2:8-23
Sermon Notes:
Spiritual Dangers (verses 8-10)
When Christians evangelize, they go out and tell the lost about Christ. They seek out those who do not believe in Christ or may have never really heard about Christ, and they share about the story of Jesus Christ with them. But that is not what false teachers do. False teachers don’t go seeking the lost. Rather, false teachers go after believers. Their “converts” are people the sit or used to sit in church on Sunday mornings. They seek to destroy the church from the inside.
How do false teachers infiltrate a church? I am sure they have many strategies that they use. But one simple reason is, because we let them. Christians let false teachers in, and then their false teachings spread. Churches who succumb to false teachings do so for three main reasons. First, they have become complacent. They think they are safe and no longer stand watch. Second, they choose to follow preachers or leaders that tell them what they want to hear. They want to be comfortable with their choices, and so they don’t want to feel convicted or want to change. Third, they have become lax with the Word of God. They do not know the Bible as well as they should. Biblical literacy is being lost. So, false teachers could come in and say they that Bible says you must do this, but it actually does not. They have twisted the Scripture around to make it mean what they want it to mean. And the Christians cannot confront or correct the false teachers, because in their ignorance of the Word of God. It is this last one that Paul is warning the Christians in Colossae.
The false teachers in Colossae were clever. They were not asking the Christians to deny Christ. They were asking them to make Christ a part of a system of belief. They were denying Christ’s preeminence and fullness. However, they did it in such a way that they weren’t taking anything from Christianity, but merely adding to it and mixing it with other religions.
Christ’s Victories Define Us (verses 11-15)
This Gnostic legalism infiltrating the church in Colossae was a bit different than the Jewish legalism we saw infiltrating the church in Galatia. The Judaizes and their Jewish legalism insisted that everyone had to live under obedience to the Law and be circumcised in order to get salvation. The Gnostics, however, saw practicing elements of the Law, such as circumcision, the food laws, and observing Holy Days, as making one more spiritual. The goal for the Gnostics with the Law was not achieving salvation about become more spiritual, the spiritual elite.
In Colossians 2:11-15, Paul stated 4 aspects of our identity in Christ that refuted the Gnostics teachings. First, there was a physical circumcision and a spiritual one. Of course, the physical one was an outward sign, but it could never convey grace or salvation. That is why throughout the Old Testament, there is talk about a circumcision of the heart. We need to turn away from our sins and cut sin out of our lives, turning back to God. This dependence on a spiritual ritual for salvation detracts from the fullness of Christ. Christ is the only place we get salvation. Rituals and practices should not be elevated to the same place as Christ. Second, we are alive in Christ. We are the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the body. He is the source of life.
Third, we are freed from the Law because of Christ’s death on the Cross. In Bible days, financial records were kept on parchments. However, the writing could be washed off. That is what is meant when we talk about being washed in the blood of Christ. He paid our debt in full on the Cross with His death. This does not mean that we are lawless. The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us, and our relationship with Jesus Christ fosters obedience out of love rather than obedience out of fear.
Fourth, Jesus is the victor and had 3 great victories on the Cross. Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities of Satan and his armies. Then, Jesus made a public spectacle by rising from the dead. Through His resurrection, Jesus exposed Satan’s evil deeds. Finally, there was the triumph. When a Roman general won a victory on foreign soil, it was traditional for there to be a parade. Paul alludes to the triumph because of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances. Jesus did not just die and go to Heaven. He came back to life and then hung out with His friends for a bit.
Paul is reminding the Christians that Christ is who can offer salvation. He is all we need, and Christ is over all things. Satan no longer holds sway over this world. Paul is saying, “Don’t forget who Christ is and who you are in Christ.”
Warnings (verses 16-23)
Paul lays out the problem of the false teachers. Then, he tells us the solution, which is Jesus Christ. But then, he closes this section with some warnings in verse 16-23.
First, Paul warns the Christians to never let anyone judge them. The basis of our freedom and salvation is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Christians that if a false teacher judges them for not maintaining Jewish laws, then that person isn’t even judging the believer, but Jesus Christ Himself. Because basically, the false teacher is saying that Jesus didn’t finish His work on the Cross, so we have to “add” things to make us more spiritual so we can be saved. This is FALSE. That false teacher is saying that Jesus is not sufficient for all our needs. This is FALSE. Jesus is ALL we need.
Second, legalism is bondage. Food is just food. There is no food that will make you more or less spiritual. It is what is in your heart that matters. The food instructions in the Old Testament that God gave could very well have had physical reasons behind them, such as live healthy and take care of yourself. But what a person eats or does not eat should not become a test of spiritual maturity or living. The same goes for observing Holy Days and other legalistic thinking traps.
Does this mean that we are just all lawless or the OT Law is meaningless? No and no. The Law still reveals the Holiness of the God and the sins of Man. It warns of the consequences of those sins. However, the Law cannot offer salvation. Only Christ can.
This brings us to Paul’s third warning: don’t let anyone trick you into thinking that you are not worthy to come to God. I have had people in my life that have told me that they have done too much stuff that God wouldn’t accept or want them. That is false teaching. Anyone can go to God directly. Some of the Colossians were engaged in angel worship and communicating with the spirits. BUT, Paul says we don’t need any mediators, because Christ is our only mediator. Again, everything goes back to Christ.
When someone tries to impose a rule or regulation on you in a church or in a denomination or in your spiritual life, did that rule come from God or did some man make it up? Does the Bible support that Rule? We will only know the answers to those two questions if we study the Bible. But remember, as Paul keeps emphasizing in his letter to the Colossians. Christ is over all things, seen and unseen.
Christ is all we need.
Challenge: Read Colossians 3 every day this week.
Date: August 25, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Colossians 2:8-23
Sermon Notes:
Spiritual Dangers (verses 8-10)
When Christians evangelize, they go out and tell the lost about Christ. They seek out those who do not believe in Christ or may have never really heard about Christ, and they share about the story of Jesus Christ with them. But that is not what false teachers do. False teachers don’t go seeking the lost. Rather, false teachers go after believers. Their “converts” are people the sit or used to sit in church on Sunday mornings. They seek to destroy the church from the inside.
How do false teachers infiltrate a church? I am sure they have many strategies that they use. But one simple reason is, because we let them. Christians let false teachers in, and then their false teachings spread. Churches who succumb to false teachings do so for three main reasons. First, they have become complacent. They think they are safe and no longer stand watch. Second, they choose to follow preachers or leaders that tell them what they want to hear. They want to be comfortable with their choices, and so they don’t want to feel convicted or want to change. Third, they have become lax with the Word of God. They do not know the Bible as well as they should. Biblical literacy is being lost. So, false teachers could come in and say they that Bible says you must do this, but it actually does not. They have twisted the Scripture around to make it mean what they want it to mean. And the Christians cannot confront or correct the false teachers, because in their ignorance of the Word of God. It is this last one that Paul is warning the Christians in Colossae.
The false teachers in Colossae were clever. They were not asking the Christians to deny Christ. They were asking them to make Christ a part of a system of belief. They were denying Christ’s preeminence and fullness. However, they did it in such a way that they weren’t taking anything from Christianity, but merely adding to it and mixing it with other religions.
Christ’s Victories Define Us (verses 11-15)
This Gnostic legalism infiltrating the church in Colossae was a bit different than the Jewish legalism we saw infiltrating the church in Galatia. The Judaizes and their Jewish legalism insisted that everyone had to live under obedience to the Law and be circumcised in order to get salvation. The Gnostics, however, saw practicing elements of the Law, such as circumcision, the food laws, and observing Holy Days, as making one more spiritual. The goal for the Gnostics with the Law was not achieving salvation about become more spiritual, the spiritual elite.
In Colossians 2:11-15, Paul stated 4 aspects of our identity in Christ that refuted the Gnostics teachings. First, there was a physical circumcision and a spiritual one. Of course, the physical one was an outward sign, but it could never convey grace or salvation. That is why throughout the Old Testament, there is talk about a circumcision of the heart. We need to turn away from our sins and cut sin out of our lives, turning back to God. This dependence on a spiritual ritual for salvation detracts from the fullness of Christ. Christ is the only place we get salvation. Rituals and practices should not be elevated to the same place as Christ. Second, we are alive in Christ. We are the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the body. He is the source of life.
Third, we are freed from the Law because of Christ’s death on the Cross. In Bible days, financial records were kept on parchments. However, the writing could be washed off. That is what is meant when we talk about being washed in the blood of Christ. He paid our debt in full on the Cross with His death. This does not mean that we are lawless. The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us, and our relationship with Jesus Christ fosters obedience out of love rather than obedience out of fear.
Fourth, Jesus is the victor and had 3 great victories on the Cross. Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities of Satan and his armies. Then, Jesus made a public spectacle by rising from the dead. Through His resurrection, Jesus exposed Satan’s evil deeds. Finally, there was the triumph. When a Roman general won a victory on foreign soil, it was traditional for there to be a parade. Paul alludes to the triumph because of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances. Jesus did not just die and go to Heaven. He came back to life and then hung out with His friends for a bit.
Paul is reminding the Christians that Christ is who can offer salvation. He is all we need, and Christ is over all things. Satan no longer holds sway over this world. Paul is saying, “Don’t forget who Christ is and who you are in Christ.”
Warnings (verses 16-23)
Paul lays out the problem of the false teachers. Then, he tells us the solution, which is Jesus Christ. But then, he closes this section with some warnings in verse 16-23.
First, Paul warns the Christians to never let anyone judge them. The basis of our freedom and salvation is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Christians that if a false teacher judges them for not maintaining Jewish laws, then that person isn’t even judging the believer, but Jesus Christ Himself. Because basically, the false teacher is saying that Jesus didn’t finish His work on the Cross, so we have to “add” things to make us more spiritual so we can be saved. This is FALSE. That false teacher is saying that Jesus is not sufficient for all our needs. This is FALSE. Jesus is ALL we need.
Second, legalism is bondage. Food is just food. There is no food that will make you more or less spiritual. It is what is in your heart that matters. The food instructions in the Old Testament that God gave could very well have had physical reasons behind them, such as live healthy and take care of yourself. But what a person eats or does not eat should not become a test of spiritual maturity or living. The same goes for observing Holy Days and other legalistic thinking traps.
Does this mean that we are just all lawless or the OT Law is meaningless? No and no. The Law still reveals the Holiness of the God and the sins of Man. It warns of the consequences of those sins. However, the Law cannot offer salvation. Only Christ can.
This brings us to Paul’s third warning: don’t let anyone trick you into thinking that you are not worthy to come to God. I have had people in my life that have told me that they have done too much stuff that God wouldn’t accept or want them. That is false teaching. Anyone can go to God directly. Some of the Colossians were engaged in angel worship and communicating with the spirits. BUT, Paul says we don’t need any mediators, because Christ is our only mediator. Again, everything goes back to Christ.
When someone tries to impose a rule or regulation on you in a church or in a denomination or in your spiritual life, did that rule come from God or did some man make it up? Does the Bible support that Rule? We will only know the answers to those two questions if we study the Bible. But remember, as Paul keeps emphasizing in his letter to the Colossians. Christ is over all things, seen and unseen.
Christ is all we need.
Challenge: Read Colossians 3 every day this week.
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