Lesson 12: Concept Study: Guarding Christian Freedom!

New King James Translation: Colossians 2:16-23

  1. Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths,
  2. which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
  3. Let no one defraud you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
  4. and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase which is from God.
  5. Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—
  6. “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”
  7. which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
  8. These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Notes:

● Read from The Word of the Lord Grows by Martin Franzmann, “The Letter to the Colossians—Occasion of the Letter,” pages 122-124.

Verses 16-17

● Paul rejects the “faith plus” formula for salvation proposed by the false teachers trying to subvert the faith of the Colossians. He urges the Colossians to refuse to allow anyone to sit in judgment of their faith and so remove their Christian freedom by suggesting that restrictions of their diet or the celebration of certain religious observances on specific days was necessary for their salvation. To suggest that submission to such demands was necessary for salvation undermined the gospel of grace and God’s free gift of eternal life for Jesus’ sake.

The People’s Bible observes: “Within the sinful heart of every human being there lurks a spiritual pride that refuses to admit that he is totally helpless spiritually and totally incapable of contributing anything to his own salvation. Human pride stubbornly insists on believing that sinners can do something, however, small and insignificant it may be, to earn favor with God and to help save themselves. This pride leads sinners to disregard the real purpose of God’s law and to regard an outward keeping of the law as a means for salvation” (pages 157-158)

Paul identifies the Old Testament religious practices contained within the law as “a shadow of things to come” (cf. Exodus 31:13; Hebrews 10:1). They were not, nor were they ever intended to be a means for obtaining eternal salvation. Rather the “substance” or “reality” regarding our salvation is found alone in Jesus Christ—His redemptive work and our faith in so far as its object is Jesus Christ!

Discussion: Identify and discuss as many ways as you are able to show how modern man takes a “faith plus” approach to salvation.

Verses 18-19

● Paul goes on to encourage the Colossians not to allow the false teachers to impress them with “false humility” (apparently forms of asceticism) or the “worship of angels” (apparently a mixture of Jewish and non-Jewish speculations concerning the spiritual world)—both of which these false teachers maintained were essential for salvation. To fall into such a trap would indeed deprive the Colossians of the blood-bought salvation of their Savior! Rather, Paul says, they should “hold fast” to their Savior—their “Head” through whom they had grown and would continue to grow just as a body grows strong as its head makes good decisions! Note Paul’s final comment that any increase we experience as believers is the result of God’s work within us (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:7; Philippians 2:12-13).

Discussion: People remain interested in the “spiritual” today. Identify and discuss some of the false ideas people in our day have regarding angels and the occult.

Verses 20-23

● Paul concludes this appeal to safeguard Christian liberty by asking a penetrating question: “If you (by faith) died with Christ from the basic principles of the world (self-autonomy and work-righteousness in all of its forms), why as though living in the world, do you subject yourself (notice the self-subjection as opposed to God’s liberation) to regulations—‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?” Sin promises freedom, but always enslaves. God’s plan for our salvation is intended to liberate individuals and give them new spiritual life resulting in genuine freedom and lives of moral excellence—lived not in the vain hope of appeasing God and gaining His favor, but rather in calm confidence and thankfulness for gifts already given by grace!

● Paul grants that these attempts at imposing conditions on our salvation have “an appearance of wisdom,” for they appeal to man’s natural instincts. In reality they “are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” Genuine sanctified living proceeds from a heart filled with faith in a loving God, who for the sake of Jesus has forgiven us our sins and bestowed upon us the sure and certain gift of eternal life. Such sanctified living is tied directly to the gospel and finds its complete motivation in grateful appreciation of God’s love. Any other reason proceeds from fear, selfishness, or the law.

Discussion: If the gospel declares our salvation and motivates our sanctification, what role does the law rightfully play in the life of the Christian?