Pastor David Koop

If we want to walk in the riches God has for us we will need to set our hearts on Him, this may mean we need to reset our presets.

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In Paul's letter to the Colossians we see that false teachers had come in and were trying to take them captive by telling them they had some great secret spiritual power and a spiritual diet of rules (legalism) would give them eternal life.

Colossians 2:2
Because they are united in love, I work so that they may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of Christ. He is the mystery of God.

A proper knowledge of Christ enriches us. When we see the riches we have in Christ we don't need to settle for cheap knockoffs.

Paul knew if they would stay rooted in Christ they would not be lured into the deception of legalism. There is nothing wrong with rules, standards or laws in themselves. They tell us our limits. They give us boundaries. But something very dangerous happens when we use rules to measure our relationship with God.

Observations about legalism:

1. Legalism is the human attempt to gain salvation or prove our spirituality by keeping a list of religious 'do's' and 'don'ts'.
2. Legalism is being more concerned about the rules than the living relationship with Christ.
3. Legalism focuses on performance not the heart.
4. Legalism produces judgment and condemnation. We tend to think others are legalistic, but that we're not.
5. Legalism is highly contagious. Jesus reserved some of His harshest criticism for religious legalists. (Mark 7:6-8: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.')
6. Legalism can take a vibrant faith and make it dull.
7. Legalism is narrow and divisive.
8. Legalism makes it difficult for people to see Jesus living in us.

First Paul addresses legalism by encouraging the people to remember their legal position God gave them. (Colossians 2:9-15).

1. We are complete (9-10). 'For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.' The phrase, 'in Him' shows us that Jesus is the center of God's saving activity. If you want to know what God is like, then look at Jesus.
2. We are alive in Christ based on a relationship not a ritual (11-13a). When we put our faith in Christ, Jesus spiritually circumcises, or cuts away, our sinful nature in order to prove that we belong to Him. It's important to keep in mind that just as the physical act of circumcision did nothing to change someone's heart, so too, water baptism itself does not save anyone. It is a wonderful picture of an inner reality. When we go under the water, we are symbolizing our burial with Christ. Water speaks of death to us because we cannot live in water. When we come up, we become a picture of what it means to be raised with Christ. We are raised up and have victory over the flesh by the strength of another.
3. We have our sins are canceled (13-14).
4. We have victory (15). Evil no longer has any power over you because Christ has stripped Satan's weapons from him. The only power Satan has is what we give him when we allow him to deceive us and create fear in our lives.

Second Paul urges them to resist being legalistic. (Colossians 2:16-23)

Galatians 3:2-3 (Philips):
'I shall ask you one simple question: Did you receive the Spirit of God by trying to keep the Law or by believing the message of the Gospel? Surely you can?t be so idiotic as to think that a man begins his spiritual life in the Spirit and then completes it by reverting to outward observances!'

1. Refuse to judge by externals (16-17). Since Jesus has done what was necessary for our salvation, don't let other people evaluate your spiritual life by their external standards.
2. Reject false authority that is not rooted in scripture. (18-19).
3. Refuse religious rules (20-23). Fleshly desires can't be curbed by religious rules. As I embrace Christ bad habits will fall from me, my appetite for them dries up. Verse 23 states that regulations, though they may look and sound good, 'Lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.'  As we read in Romans 8:13, 'For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.'

Once grace is understood and embraced, it will lead to commitment. But, required commitment and rule keeping leads to legalism.

Titus 2:11-12:
'For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ?No? to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.'