Colossians chapter 2. Paul had said in chapter 1 and
verse 28, speaking of the Lord Jesus, he said, whom we preach,
warning every man. And today we come to some of
these warnings that Paul is speaking about as we preach Christ. He
said in Colossians 2 verse 8, he said, beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, after the law, and
not after Christ. That's the touchstone whereby
we can determine if what we hear is
the truth or not. If it's not after Christ, if
it's not giving him all the glory and giving man no glory, we're
not hearing the truth. If it's giving Christ all the
glory, it's after Christ. If it's pointing us to man, to
the man's will, man's works, some goodness in man, it's not
after Christ. It's anything but the gospel. Now look at the next word in
verse 9, 4. Here's why that's so. Because
in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye
are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power. He's speaking to believers here. And he said you're complete in
him. You're complete in him. And here's why. We saw this last
time. We're going to review a little
bit. On the cross, Christ circumcised his people. Our body of sin died
in Christ on the cross. That's so for all that God gave
to Christ in divine election. We died in Christ and we arose
in Christ. Our old man died and our new
man arose in Christ. Let's read it, verse 11. He said,
in whom also you're circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, immersed
in God's judgment, wherein also you're risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God who has raised him from the
dead. So that's Our old man died under
the justice of God. Justice is satisfied toward each
of God's elect in Christ. And we arose in Christ, brand
new, eternally alive, eternally one with God in Christ. And then,
through the preaching of the gospel, he circumcised us in
the heart. He came through the spirit and
separated the new man, created a new man within us, separate
from the old man within us. That's what true sanctification
is. He said, verse 13, and you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with
him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary
to us, and took the law out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. And now we come to our text,
and we'll take this just a little bit at a time here. Verse 16,
he says, let no man, that's what I titled this, let no man, let
no man therefore judge you, trouble you, condemn you in meat or in
drink, or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon or of
the Sabbath days. Let no man judge you. Let no
man condemn you and trouble you, telling you you need to be observing
these days and eating certain things and abstaining from certain
meats and all of that. And here's why. Verse 17, those
things were a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Those things were types, they
were shadows in the old covenant law, but the fulfillment of those
things is the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus fulfilled all
the law, and all those things were types and shadows of him.
Now, let's take this thing of eating and drinking. eating and
drinking. He says here, let no man therefore
judge you in meat or in drink. Now, in the law of Moses, God
put a difference between clean and unclean animals. The ones
God said were clean were clean. The ones God said were unclean
were unclean. God did that. He did it, gave them this law. Before he gave that law, there
was no distinction between them. There was no difference in any
animals. God gave that law, and when he
gave it, God put a difference between them. And that was the
difference that God made between Israel and the Gentiles. Natural
Israel and the natural Gentiles was they had this law, the Jews
had this law that God gave. Well, that foreshadowed Christ,
and here's what it was teaching. When God gave that law, you can
go read this in Leviticus, when he gave it, he said that you
might know it's God that sanctifies you. It's God who makes you to
differ, sanctified you, separated you from others. God our Father
did that in Christ. He chose his people in Christ,
so the Father separated us, sanctified us when he chose us in Christ.
And then by what Christ did, what we just read, that Christ
accomplished on the cross and in our hearts, he sanctified
us. He separated us. He made his
people holy. And that's the point of it. God
did it. God did it. But just like the
carnal man does with all the law, the carnal man took the
law that God gave and said, by eating certain things and not
eating certain things, They made themselves holy. The whole point
of it was to show God makes his people holy. God did it. You know, whenever the Lord was
sending Peter to Cornelius, the Gentile, he let down that sheep. Peter saw this vision of a sheep
let down. It had all these clean and unclean
animals in it. And the Lord said, arise, Peter,
kill and eat. And Peter said, not so, Lord.
Nothing unclean or common has ever touched my lips. I won't
do it. And the Lord said to him, what
God hath cleansed, what God hath cleansed, what God's made holy,
what God has sanctified, what God hath cleansed, call not thou
common. And here's the point. Go with
me to Acts 15. You know, later, these Judaizers, came down telling
the Gentiles that had been called by God, given new hearts by God,
believed on Christ, holy and righteous in Christ and by Christ.
These Judaizers came down and told them that they had to be
circumcised, they had to keep the law of Moses or they could
not be saved. And look what Peter said right
here. Acts 15.8, he told the story of how God did all this,
sent him to Cornelius and he preached the gospel to him. And
he said in Acts 15.8, and God, which knoweth the hearts, and
here's what we're talking about, a heart work, a heart work. God, which knoweth the hearts,
bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did
unto us, and he put no difference between us and them. That is,
he didn't regard us because we had the law. That's what Peter
was talking about. They didn't have the law, these
Gentiles. He didn't put a difference between
us based on the law. That had no bearing on it. But
here's what he did, purifying their hearts by faith. That's
what the whole thing of this clean and unclean animals was
picturing, how God purifies the hearts of his people by faith. He came, and in faithfulness,
the Lord created a new heart in his people, a holy heart in
his people, And he made us to differ. He made us holy by what
he did, sanctifying us in the heart. And look what Peter said,
now therefore, why tempt ye God? That's strong. You're tempting God by trying
to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples. By bringing them
back under the law, you're tempting God. and put this yoke upon the
neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were
able to bear. But we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus, us Jews shall be saved, even as these
Gentiles." These Gentiles didn't have the law. Who made them holy? Was it because they ate certain
animals and didn't eat other animals? Is that what made them
holy? No. God did in their heart what he was picturing through
that law. He made them holy. What God has
cleansed, call not thou common. God made them holy. That's what
the law of clean and unclean was given to show. It's God who
made a difference between his people and all others. Only God. Only God. What about the Sabbath
days? Well, the Sabbath days pictured
Christ our rest. Christ our rest. Brother Greg and Sister Martha,
they got some experience in this. When the Lord reveals to you,
Christ is our Sabbath. He's our rest. He's our rest,
not the observance of a day. It's Christ who is our rest.
That's what all the Sabbath days typified. The Lord provided everything
that they needed on the Friday before the Sabbath Leading up
to the Sabbath, he provided everything they needed, double amount, everything
they needed, so that on the Saturday, they could rest, and all their
servants could rest, and all their animals could rest, and
do no work whatsoever. And what did men do? What does
Carnal Mind think about that? They turned the Sabbath rest
into a work, and said, you're not holy if you don't observe
this day. You can't be saved except you observe this day.
That's not what it pictured. It pictured Christ, our rest. In Christ crucified, God has
provided all that his people need for acceptance with God
so that you can stop working to try to find acceptance with
God. You can believe on Christ, rest in him, and you have acceptance
with God. That's what the Sabbath day pictured.
Christ, our Sabbath rest. Christ is our wisdom. our righteousness,
our sanctification, and our redemption. That's what you got to have to
enter into glory. And Christ is all. He's all.
He's all. Go with me to Hebrews chapter
4. They so corrupt this passage in Hebrews. Actually, this is
how blind we are by nature. I've heard men use this chapter
which is declaring Christ is our Sabbath rest, the whole point
of the Hebrew letter is to tell them don't go back to the law
to try to make yourself righteous or holy. Christ is our righteousness
and holiness. That's the whole point of the
Hebrew letter. They just ripped this chapter out of context and
try to support the observance of a day when that's exactly
opposite of what this chapter is teaching. When God finished the works of
creation, He rested on the seventh day. Why did he rest? Because the works were finished.
They were finished. There was nothing else to do.
He rested. The works were finished. When
Christ entered into glory, into the true holiest of holies, he
sat down. He did something no earthly priest
ever did. He entered in and he sat down
because he finished the work of redemption. He redeemed his
people, made us righteous in himself, redeemed us from the
curse of the law, and he sat down. And now here's what the
chapter's teaching us, Hebrews 4.9, there remaineth therefore
a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into Christ's
rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God did from
his. If you want to say that's Christ,
he that's entered into his rest. Christ has entered into his rest
and he ceased from his own works just like God did when he finished
the works of creation. But for the believer, when you
enter into Christ's rest, you believe on Christ, you cease
from all your works of trying to find acceptance with God and
you rest in Christ. The works are finished. That's
what these things pictured. So back in our text now in Colossians, The Spirit of God is teaching
us, let no man condemn you, don't let a man trouble you about keeping
these laws about days and months and all of these things. They
all typify Christ. He's the fulfillment. And when
you've been brought to Christ, you've been brought to the end
for which God gave that law, to bring his people to Christ,
to rest in him, to find your true meat, your true drink in
him. to find all your holiness, all
your righteousness, everything in Christ. He's the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, and Christ is
our sanctification who's made us holy in heart by his faithfulness. The kingdom of God is not in
the outward observances of meat and drink and all these things.
The kingdom of God is internal, spiritual. It is righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. This is all of God. Now secondly, believer, let no
man put anything between you and Christ. Colossians 2.18,
let no man beguile you of your reward. Our reward is Christ. Our reward is free, welcome access
to Christ Jesus. And through Christ the mediator,
our reward is we have free welcome access into God's presence in
the holiest of holies. That's your reward. He's your
inheritance. He's all to his people. Let no
man trick you, beguile you, deceive you from that reward. In a voluntary
humility, that is in a false humility that's of man, in worshiping
of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen,
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head,
from which all the body by joints and bands, having nourishment
ministered and knit together, increaseth with the increase
of God." Deceivers in that day, they do the same thing in this
day. Deceivers pretending to be humble, pretending to be humble,
claiming falsely, that they were so sinful that they just could
not come to Christ. They couldn't come directly to
Christ. They would teach sinners that you had to come to angels,
and angels would present you to Christ, and you couldn't approach
him because you're too sinful. Now, that might sound good, might
sound humble, that I'm so sinful. You hear people say things like
that, so sinful, Oh, I just can't, I can't come worship with you
all, I'm just so sinful. That's just a bunch of pride
is all that is. They put the, today people put
Pope between the sinner and Christ, they put preachers between sinners
and Christ. There's a lot of Protestant preachers
that like to speak out against the Pope, but Protestant preachers
try to make themselves Popes just as bad as the Pope does. People, you know, I pray for
you, and if you ask me to pray for you, I will pray for you,
but when somebody asks me to pray for them, one of the things I usually tell
people is, you can go directly to him. You go to him. You don't need me, you go to
him. But here's the problem, verse 18, vainly puffed up by
his fleshly mind. See, it's pride, vainly puffed
up by his fleshly mind, not holding Christ ahead. From him, all the
body, from Christ they had all the body, by joints and bands,
having nourishment ministered, knit together, increased with
the increase of God. So any preacher or anybody who
puts anything between the sinner and Christ, he's vainly puffed
up by his fleshly mind. He's not beholding Christ the
head. Not beholding Christ the head.
Christ has finished this work of redemption. He was made a
curse for us and for all his people, and he redeemed us from
that curse. He made us perfect before God.
We complete in him, and he's the head, over all things to
the church. Look over to Ephesians 1, Ephesians
1. Listen to this, Ephesians 1,
when the Lord raised him up, he put all things, verse 22,
he put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of
him that filleth all in all, and here's an example, and you
hath he quickened who were dead in trespassing and sin. From
Christ our head, his elect who he renamed, who he purchased
with his blood, or his body, and it's from Christ the head
that the gospel is sent to us, it's from Christ our head that
the Holy Spirit is sent into us, and it's from Christ our
head He makes the word effectual, that he reveals that he is our
salvation. That nourishment's ministered
from Christ, our head, into each member of his body. And he knits
us together, he unites us together. We're held together by Christ,
our head. And he makes us to increase with
the increase that's of God. That includes when he brings
new members into a local assembly and gives them hearts to believe
and unites them with brethren and includes us individually
as he grows you in the grace and knowledge of him. It's all
from Christ the head. It's all from Christ the head.
He gives his people this. So don't let anybody put anything
between you and Christ. Nothing. You come to Christ come
to Him directly, and He's the mediator. He brings us into God's
presence, and everything that we need, we're getting it directly
from the Lord Jesus. Through the Spirit, through the
preaching of the Word, He's doing it. This is the means He's chosen
to give us this nourishment that we need, feeding us, Christ our
head. Now, if we truly believe that
we're dead, if we believe Christ has saved us, and we believe
we're dead to the law, then the Spirit says here, then let us
not act as if our eternal life depends upon us being subject
to the law or to anything, any commandments of men. If we truly
believe Christ is our life, then let us not act as if our life
is in this world by things we do and don't do. That's what
he said, look at verse 20, Colossians 2.20. Wherefore, if you be dead
with Christ from the rudiments of the world, from the law, why,
as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances,
touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish
with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men? The rudiments
of the world is the law. The elements, he calls it sometimes,
the elements of the world, the rudiments of the world, it's
the law. And the law of touch not, taste not, handle not, God
used it to teach us we're sinners. He gave the law to give the knowledge
of sin, to declare us all guilty, to show us our need of Christ,
and he gave the ceremonies to picture Christ, foreshadow Christ. And when he's brought you to
see your sinfulness and your guilt, and he's brought you to
Christ, the law has served its purpose. That's what the law
was given for. That was the purpose. And then
now, you're united with Christ, you're under the rule of Christ,
and it's Him ministering to you and teaching you and leading
you and guiding you and making you to increase in grace and
knowledge of Him. So if we don't go back to the
law, once we come to Christ, we continue to follow Christ.
Go with me to Galatians 4. Galatians 4. Let's begin in verse one here.
Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing
from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is under tutors
and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even
so, we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements
of the world. Same thing Paul says in Colossians. We were under the rudiments of
the world. But when the fullness of thee time was come, God sent
forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons. And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a
servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. How be it? Then, when you knew
not God, You did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that you have
known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to
the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to
be in bondage? You see that? Those rudiments, those elements
were the ABCs to teach you your need of Christ, to bring you
to Christ. Now that you come to Christ,
he said, Why you wanna turn back to that law and be unbonded again?
You've been freed from that. He said, you observe days and
months and times and years, I'm afraid of you, lest I have bestowed
upon you labor in vain. Look back there at Galatians
3. Let me see here. Look at verse
22. Galatians 3.22, the scripture
hath concluded all under sin, Now let's read verse 21. Is the
law then against the promises of God? God forbid, if there
had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded
all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law. Shut up unto the faith which
should afterwards be revealed. wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we're no longer under a schoolmaster,
for you're all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There's neither Jew
nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free, there's neither male
nor female, you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you're Christ,
then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
You see, the law was that rudiments and elements, speaking of it
being like the ABCs and the one, two, threes, it's how you were
taught in need of a redeemer. Now you brought to him, you don't
have to go back to that law. You go through the scripture
sometime and see how many times in the New Testament, You read,
Christ say, follow me, follow me, abide in me. And then you
hear the apostles tell the brethren, follow Christ, follow Christ.
Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. Follow Christ. He's the one we're following.
Now going back to Moses, we're following Christ. God's elect
died in Christ under the justice of the law. That's what the law
demanded of us. And we died. We really died. Justice has nothing else, law
has nothing else to say to us, we're dead to it, and our life
now is in Christ at God's right hand. So, if you're dead with
Christ, verse 20, Colossians 2.20, if you're dead with Christ
from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world
are you subject to the law, to ordinances? That's just following
the commandments and doctrines of men. That's what religious,
mainly religious men teach. But if he's given you faith in
Christ and you see you've died in Christ and you're risen in
Christ, then we no longer act as if our life's in this world.
Our life's not in what we eat and drink. Our life's not in
what we do, period. Our life is Christ. And if what
we do is our life, we think about eating and drinking certain things
and works that we do, If we think that's our life, he said here,
when we die, that's gonna perish with us. Our works and our hope
will all perish because it's not in us, it's Christ above.
It's Christ above. That's will worship. Worshiping
the will is what that is. It's works religion. Look here
in verse 23, Colossians 2.23. Which things have indeed a show
of wisdom, vain show. Remember Paul said to the Galatians,
many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, it's a vain
show of wisdom in will worship. It's false humility and neglecting
of the body, but it's not in any honor to the satisfying of
the flesh. It's not doing what it claims
to do. It's not mortifying the flesh
at all. It's puffing up men more, puffing
it up more. So what's a believer to do? How
is our flesh mortified? Colossians 3, 1. If you then
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth, for you are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall you appear with him in glory.
If God's given you faith in Christ, you believe on Christ, you trust
him, he's all you hope. He's your life. Your life is
in Christ at God's right hand. It's not in this earth, it's
not in anything you do or don't do. That's why when you die,
you won't die. You'll be with Christ. You'll
close your eyes in death and open them in Christ's presence
because he's our life. And when he comes again, he's
gonna raise these bodies incorruptible and we're gonna be with him,
perfectly glorified new man with Christ. And that's so of everybody
he's given faith in him. You are dead, and your life is
hid with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.
Go with me back to Galatians. I think I wrote this down wrong. Galatians. Galatians 3, I'm sorry, Galatians 2. Here's
what I want you to see right here. This is so of all who God's
given faith in the Lord Jesus. Verse 20, this is just what he's
saying in Colossians 3, in those verses I just read. Galatians
2.20, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I. but Christ liveth in me, Christ
liveth in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, the same one
who loved me and gave himself for me, abides in me, I live
by him, but my life is Christ. I'm with him at God's right hand
and he's in me, guiding me, directing me, all the increase comes from
Christ the head. He's my life. I do not frustrate
the grace of God. How do you do that? By going
back to the law, by going back to touch not, taste not, handle
not, and acting as if your life's in those things. That's frustrating
God's grace. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. This is the hope of everybody.
God is saved. Our life is Christ. Our righteousness
is Christ, our holiness is Christ, our wisdom is Christ, our redemption
is Christ. As Spurgeon used to say, as long
as your head's above water, your body's not gonna drown, and our
head's above all. He's at God's right hand, and
he's gonna save his people. Let's go to him, brethren. Father, we thank you that you've
trusted this work into the hand of your son, And we're thankful
you revealed your son in our hearts. And we pray, Lord, that
you would forgive us for so often looking to ourselves and looking
to our works and acting as if we either have life by them or
that we're going to perish because of our sin. Lord, help us to look completely
away from ourselves in this world to Christ above. Make us to see
him and know him. And we ask our dear Savior to
minister to us from our head. Minister this nourishment to
us. Root us and ground us. Make us walk by faith looking
to you alone. Lord, we pray for Brethren, that
you're bringing to you right now that you're just teaching
this gospel to that are struggling and don't fully see and understand. We pray, Lord, and as you teach
them and grow them, that you will cause them to repent from
all vain works and from trusting in anything about themselves
and cause them to cast all their care upon Christ. For us who
do know You, Lord, we need You to do the same thing for us.
Keep doing for us what You did for us in the first hour. Keep
turning us to Christ and growing us up into Him. And we pray,
Lord, that You would be with our brethren who are sick and
troubled and bitter and have all kinds of fleshly overcome
by the flesh trouble of this world. Lord, bring them through
it, bring them out of it, lift them up, keep them for Christ's
sake. We thank you, Lord, for what
you've given us here. Lord, you blessed us with riches
that truly are unsearchable. The world doesn't see us as anything,
but you have done for us things that are so valuable that we
can't even put a price on what you've done for us. Lord, we
thank you. We pray for our brethren everywhere,
wherever you've established the gospel today, we pray, Lord,
you'd bless it to the hearts of your people. Be with our brethren
who are suffered through these storms that you've sent and help
them now and use us, Lord, if we can be a help in any way.
Thank you for all your mercy, for all your grace. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.