READ
THE PASSAGE SLOWLY AND STRATEGICALLY
So
don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating
certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are
only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship
of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds
have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the
body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and
it grows as God nourishes it.
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of
this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are
mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules
may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and
severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s
evil desires.
COLOSSIANS 2:16-23 NLT
EXTRACT
GOD’S MAIN THOUGHT OR POINT
Self-righteousness is as much a sin
as is no righteousness at all
Their
sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ… COLOSSIANS 2:18-19 NLT
For if you are
trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut
off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. GALATIANS 5:4 NLT
Forced
commitment rarely leads to grace, but grace often leads to deeper commitment
Legalism
does the devil’s work for him
But
they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. COLOSSIANS 2:23 NLT
And
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s
love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither our fears for
today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate
us from God’s
love. ROMANS 8:38 NLT
APPLY
TO MY LIFE
How
do I avoid legalism?
BE REAL
For these rules are only shadows of the
reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. COLOSSIANS 2:17 NLT
Real with Self
You have died with Christ, and he has set
you free from the spiritual powers of this world. COLOSSIANS 2:20 NLT
Have you died with Christ?
Real with God
… and they are not connected to Christ,
the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and
ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. COLOSSIANS 2:19 NLT
Are you connected to Christ?
Real with Others
Their sinful minds have made them
proud…These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious
self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in
conquering a person’s evil desires. COLOSSIANS 2:18,23 NLT
Are you keeping people from Christ?
LET IT OUT