COLOSSIANS 2:16-23
COLOSSIANS 2:16-23
New International Version
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.
COLOSSIANS 2:20a
If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world?
REFLECTION
There are three main elements that Paul rebukes in this passage: worshiping angels, false humility, and legalism. All three of these practices were common in the church of Colossae as an attempt to become “more spiritual.” These attempts were all in vain, though, and these practices contradict what scripture says. As Paul has already emphasized in previous passages, our only responsibility as believers is to be faithful and obedient to God. Christ did the rest of the work at the cross, so striving to meet a made-up ideal negates what He accomplished for us.
RESPONSE
It can be easy to try to take matters into our own hands, even when Christ has already accomplished everything we need. Are there things you do in an effort to be “more spiritual” that are not founded in scripture?
Think about the early days of your faith. Are there any false teachings that have informed your way of thinking, even subconsciously? Ask God to reveal any beliefs you have that are not founded on truth.
