Who’s the Boss?
Opening Prayer
Give thanks to the Lord for the freedom from legalism that you have in Christ.
Read Colossians 2:16-23
[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. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What does Paul say about unnecessary rule keeping?How the physical body was viewed was a central principle of Gnosticism. It was believed that matter (which included bodies) was evil and that spirit was good. This led to the thinking that, because bodies were evil, they had to be treated harshly, that salvation involved escaping from the body, and that either Jesus only seemed to have a human body or that his divine nature arrived at baptism and departed before the cross. This aspect of the heresy seems to be what Paul is counteracting here. He condemns those who delight in “spiritual” experiences as being “puffed up with idle notions” (18). He warns strongly against any dictatorial commands about eating, drinking, and festival practices (16) that treat the body harshly but don’t actually prevent indulgence (23). It seems to me that the clue to avoiding extremes of behavior in any respect is the reminder that Christians have died with Christ (20). It’s only his authority that we submit to in all aspects of our lives, and it’s only his judgment on our behavior that we acknowledge and respond to.
Apply
How have you been influenced by off-base religious beliefs or misguided standards or behavior?
Closing prayer
Lord, teach me to obey all that You want me to do. And help me to resist unnecessary restrictions.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.