After preaching this sermon, a couple people mentioned their own experiences growing up with relatives or family friends who had their own rule books. These folks would criticize them for breaking some unbiblical rule or criticize their parents for allowing them to break the rule. This sparked another memory. When I was still a teen, my Sunday school teacher told about how she would sometimes visit an out-of-state friend and attend that friend's church. This church had strict rules about wearing jewelry--any jewelry--so my Sunday school teacher had to remove her wedding rings whenever she visited.
Colossians 2:20-23
Years ago in another state I knew a pastor named Tom. Tom belonged to another denomination and was what we would call a church planter.
Tom’s vision was to start a church which would minister to students at the University of Missouri at Columbia. Although his denomination had several churches in the area none of them was making a concerted effort to reach those students.
One Friday evening Tom’s fledgling church sponsored a pizza party at a local bowling alley. Several young people who had never before visited the church came. Tom felt it was a good experience.
The following Monday, the local presbytery of Tom’s denomination met for its monthly business session. During that meeting Tom was confronted by a local pastor who said, “I heard your church had a party at the bowling alley last Friday and that your young women were not dressed very modestly.”
Shocked at this charge, Tom asked, “What do you mean?”
The pastor said, “Your young women were wearing pants not skirts. We don’t think modest young women dress like that.”
Tom tried to reason with the pastor, “Well, I think our young women are very modest and when you think about it, it’s probably more modest for young women to wear slacks instead of skirts when they bowl.”
To this the angry pastor replied, “Son, I can remember when we preached against chewing gum and coffee!”
The church has more than its share of people who have rulebooks to govern every aspect of the lives their fellow Christians. It occurred to me when I was thinking about including this story that someone, perhaps from Tom’s own group, had to have reported on the event to that irate pastor. Maybe he had a spy in Tom’s camp. Perhaps, among those young people there was one who shared the older pastor’s outlook. No doubt this spy, like the pastor, could tell just how spiritual the men and women were by how they dressed, by the kind of entertainment they enjoyed, the music they listened to, and, probably, by the respective lengths of their hair.
You’ve encounters such people. They make you feel uncomfortable, judged.
Sometimes, more than our feelings are involved. You see, this pastor and others like him were able to persuade their denomination to withdraw support from Tom’s efforts to build a new church to reach a large, unreached group of people in that community.
Paul had heard that the Colossian Christians were succumbing to the arguments of those who carried around checklists by which they judged the spiritual lives of others. He saw this as a major threat to their spiritual well-being and to the effectiveness of their witness. [1]
In response, Paul held up their demands for examination, examination in the light of what Christ had done for and in each believer. In so doing, the apostle reminds us of a basic principle of spiritual growth: Growth comes, not from our outward actions, but through an inward openness to Christ’s work.
Dead with Christ
A fundamental assumption in Paul’s understanding of the Christian life says that each believer has “died with Christ to the basic principles of this world.”
You see, we are by faith spiritually linked to Christ’s death. In this case he sees our ‘death’ as grounds for declaring ourselves free from the power of rules to control our lives or shape our hope of a healthy relationship with God.
Maybe you’ve seen the Monty Python “dead parrot” skit. In it an irate customer attempts to return a parrot to a pet shop. When he purchased it he had been told that the bird was simply resting. After he got home, he discovered the bird was dead. No matter how much the clerk tried to coax the bird into saying or doing something, it wouldn’t respond. It was dead. Or as the frustrated customer put it:
'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
What was said of that famous parrot could, according to Paul, be said of the man or woman in Christ. We should be just as immune to the ploys and demands of any religious ideology which suggests we may please God by what we surrender.
When Paul speaks of “basic principles of the world,” he may be speaking of actual spiritual entities. More likely, he is using the false teachers own terminology to make clear the freedom enjoyed by the simplest believer. The God’s Word translation takes this approach: “If you have died with Christ to the world’s way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live?” The Message puts his challenge this way: “if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? ” Paul knew the Colossians had a lot more freedom they should have been enjoying.
The Appeal of the Rule Book
The great Scottish preacher Alexander Maclaren said:
“It is strange, and yet not strange, that people should think that, somehow or other, they recommend themselves to God by making themselves uncomfortable, but so it is that religion presents itself to many minds mainly as a system of restrictions and injunctions which forbid the agreeable and command the unpleasant. So does our poor human nature vulgarise and travesty Christ’s solemn command to deny ourselves and take up our cross after Him.”
Paul would agree because, although he portrays the lifestyle which makes so much of rules and taboos as a kind of servitude, it is a lifestyle which has perennial appeal.
Its appeal is rooted in the fact that it dupes us into believing that our own actions can somehow contribute to our salvation, that we can achieve a spiritual status which allows us to appeal to Christ’s sacrifice as a supplement to our efforts, not our only hope for salvation.
The names of the teachers and their followers have changed but their techniques have remained the same.
Had the false teachers at Colossae merely been repackaging the Ten Commandments to fit contemporary moral challenges, Paul would not have been distressed; he was outraged because they were attempting to make their rules do what even the Law was never intended to do.
In Galatians Paul tells us that the Law was designed to bring us to Christ. That is, the Law shows us how far we are from God’s ideal and the impossibility of our securing God’s favor through our own efforts.
The rules and taboos being taught by the interlopers in Colossae actually tended to point a person away from Christ.
Paul hints at the lengths to which the purveyors of these taboos would go in their attempt to micromanage the lives of others.
“Touch not, taste not, handle not” mimics the scolding voices of the legalists as they followed one another around during the day.[2]
They seemed to think that ordinary life is rife with exposure to sin and corruption. It’s the attitude that would create hermits or religious recluses in the centuries to come
Sadly, those who place themselves under such rules can make themselves sound so spiritual that unwary Christians are tempted to join them. Once they join these rule-makers, they quickly discover that they have placed themselves under true control-freaks. Freedom becomes a memory as they pursue a course laid down by others. No wonder Paul expresses surprise at the Colossians actions. Paul’s passion was rooted for freedom was so great he couldn’t understand anyone being willing to be enslaved. Behind this passion was his understanding of the truth about Christian growth and maturity.
The Truth of the Matter (v. 22-23)
The truth of the matter is that what appeared to be spiritual maturity was actually spiritual immaturity.
It was spiritual immaturity because it focused so much energy on what was really unimportant. The legalists had their priorities all wrong.
Look at verse 22:
Paul is saying that the matters treated with such regard will ultimately perish, so the implied question is: How can you make such a fuss over temporary things?
Paul could be saying that the things referred to in the prohibitions are intended for human use, intended to be consumed by men and women freely and without guilt. This is the more important point.
Jesus said something similar in Mark 7:18, “…Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him `unclean'? [19] For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." Jesus literally is saying, What you eat isn’t important because it’s into the stomach then into the latrine. Mark then adds, “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’”
Jesus said something similar in Mark 7:18, “…Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him `unclean'? [19] For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." Jesus literally is saying, What you eat isn’t important because it’s into the stomach then into the latrine. Mark then adds, “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’”
All the fuss over things like food, drink, clothing, and so on is a waste of time. These things have nothing to do with spirituality.
When we put so much emphasis upon externals we begin to judge others. More importantly, we begin to judge ourselves by faulty standards. We may begin to see others, who don’t share our taboos, as spiritually deficient, while we see ourselves a spiritually accomplished. And, most dangerous of all, we begin to see ourselves as having attained this lofty status through our own efforts.
We need to pay attention to Paul’s warning because this tendency to maximize the trivial may grip any of us. A few years ago a well-known evangelical writer spoke at a national WMU meeting. This man is known for his challenging messages calling Christians to a higher level of social responsibility. That’s an important challenge for all of us to hear, but when he spoke to the WMU this man said, in essence, that any Christian who drives a large, expensive car is failing to follow Christ’s example.
Frankly, I find it hard to see how this is much different from saying that coeds who wear pants are obviously immodest, yet this man’s speech won national acclaim for its unvarnished call to discipleship. We can only wonder what this author of several dozen books would say to a speaker who said, “Anyone who wants to be like Christ will give his books away.” The point is, the man probably doesn’t drive a big, expensive car, so it’s easy to decide that driving one shouldn’t be something any Christian should do.
You and I have to be continually vigilant lest we fall prey to the legalism in any of its forms.
Then, the legalist’s way to spiritual maturity was actually the way to spiritual immaturity because it betrayed an ignorance of the dynamics of spiritual growth.
Put yourself in the place of someone standing on the sidelines of the church in Colossae, someone with little insight into spiritual issues. A new Christian, perhaps.
Arrayed before you are two kinds of Christians: Over here are those who enjoy eating a bacon, cheeseburger or maybe a good medium, rare steak with a few shrimp on the side (a meal which break more kosher rules than you can keep track of). You never see these Christians praying or talking about visions they’ve had; and, while they’re faithful in coming on the Lord’s Day, they seem to ignore the other holy days.
At the same time, you see another band of Christians and they are a real contrast to the first group. You know they are so scrupulous about their diet that they don’t even partake of some food and drink which you thought a kosher diet allowed. You’ve heard they follow a stricter diet because it allows them to have a deeper experience with God during their meditation. Whatever may be the explanation for their diet, it’s clear they are committed because they observe all the holy days without fail.
Still imagining yourself a new Christian, now that you’ve seen these two groups of Christians, which one is obviously the more spiritual? Of course, the second group.
Paul would understand your mistake. He seems to understand how appearances can be deceiving. Such a legalistic lifestyle seems to reflect an inherent wisdom and suggest spiritual depth.
But, ultimately, all such practices have no value in controlling the impulses which give birth to sin.
While this lifestyle might beguile some into following it in an effort to become more spiritual, it could easily repulse others. Some would look at these rule-bound Christians and say, “How pious they are.” Others would look at them and say, “How silly they are.”
One year, while I was still serving a church in Texas, I flew to Houston to attend a meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. I flew with a fellow pastor named Sam. Sam served in a community that was even more remote and smaller than Dawn where I served. No kidding, a sign near his church said “Earth 15 miles.”
Since I had once lived in Houston, Sam thought he should stick with me. So he did. During a lunch break, Sam and I set out to find something to eat. We found a small restaurant near the convention center. A sign said it served “the best hamburgers in Houston,” a claim verified by several reviews posted on the window. We went in and got in line, a long line. The place’s popularity boded well for our meal.
We’d been in line quite a while when Sam grabbed my arm and said, “We got to get out of here.” As he pulled me to the door, he said, “They serve beer in here.” I hadn’t been planning on having a beer, but I had been planning on having one of “the best hamburgers in Houston.” Instead, I had a fast food burger that I could have bought in almost any town in America. Sam not only intended to “touch not, taste not, handle not,” he decided he would not sit near someone touching, tasting, handling. Anyone seeing us run from the restaurant probably wouldn’t be inclined to hear us witness about the freedom we have in Christ.
In verse 22, Paul is implying how real and abiding spiritual growth comes. It comes as God works in our inner being to transform us. The outward sacrifices we make don’t matter if the inner person hasn’t been changed. And, often, if the inner person has changed—by the power of the Spirit—the outward sacrifices may be unnecessary.
This is the great lesson Paul wants to teach: Growth comes, not from our outward actions, but through an inward openness to Christ’s work.
Knowing When to Toss the Rule Book
Have you composed your own rule book to help shape your pilgrimage? Are you wrong? Not necessarily.
We always have to be aware of the danger of becoming legalistic. In light of this we must always be ready to evaluate our personal rules and if necessary abandon them.
These are some guidelines to help you know when to toss the rule book.
1. Beware of any rule which cannot be rooted in the clear and consistent teachings of Scripture.
2. Beware of any rule which is not open to modification in the face of changing circumstances.
3. Beware of any rule which exacts demands more severe than those of the Scripture.
4. Beware of taking rules which might help you and imposing them on everyone.
5. Beware of rules which confound the message of grace.
6. Beware of rules which cause you to judge others in light of how they subscribe to those rules.
CONCLUSION
The rule book gives us the illusion of control. With it we can manage our spiritual growth, with it we can control the frightening prospect of our brother and sister’s living freer lives than we do, with it we can control God by establishing the circumstances in which he must bless us.
When we throw out the rule book we surrender control to God, the one who is rightfully in control. With God in control our freedom becomes a joy, not a nightmare. With God in control our potential becomes reality. With God in control we can rest.
[1] Where did these teachers come from? James Dunn suggests they may have been Jewish onlookers who were jealous of Christians, especially those from Gentile backgrounds. “Christians had taken over Jewish claims and privileges for themselves, and this would have roused their ire. The could not tolerate their claims to be redeemed by the God of Israel when they rejected the identity markers that set God’s people apart from the unwashed hordes.” Whether they were Jews or not, they had a scheme for do-it-yourself spirituality.
[2] Some believe the list hints that even sexual relations between married persons were forbidden by these legalists. Since special holidays or feasts were mentioned the prohibition may have applied only during those times.
