NO MORE EMPTY RITUALS

Why do we do the things we do? As a child, we may do things out of fear: I don't want to be spanked… so I will listen to what my parents say and not punch my little sister. We may do things out of duty… We meet deadlines because we have to. We do things out for no good reason at all.

I recall reading a book by author Joshua Harris titled Boy Meets Girl, in it he tried to shed some light on the ins and outs of “Christian" courtship. He wrote this book as a follow up to his previous book entitled I Kissed Dating Goodbye. This book blew the minds of Christian young people everywhere. The problem arose when people starting thinking in terms of dating vs. courtship. In feeling that courtship was the more Godly approach, many people starting following strict rules, blueprints, in their relationships. The author noted that while we should avoid fleshly immorality we should also avoid legalism.

If we think of our lives as a car ride down a straight road, we are avoiding driving our cars into the gutter. On one side we have the gutter that is lawlessness. On the other side we have legalism.

Lawlessness and legalism are not only seen in our earthly relationships, but they also affect our relationship with Christ. This morning we will take a look at legalism in particular and see how it hinders us from experiencing the fullness and blessings that come along with having a relationship with our Lord.

The effects of legalism are seen vividly in the Colossian church. Paul addresses their heresy in teaching that in order to have salvation you must be subject to the law and uphold it. The main problem here is that this shifts focus away from Christ, our only means of salvation.

I. Do Not Feel Guilty on the Account of Human Tradition (v. 8)

In the book of Colossians, we see a church, the majority of which is comprised of Gentiles. When the church first started in the book of Acts, Christianity was seen as one of many sects of Judaism. While they believed in Christ, their practices were rooted in Judaism. We notice that in Colossae, it was being taught that in order to be true Christians these traditional laws must still be upheld. These included laws on diet, circumcision, and holidays.

What is the point of the law?

1.To become aware of our sin:

Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

2. To Point Us to Christ:

Galatians 3:23-24 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[a] that we might be justified by faith.

Do not focus on shadows. (v 16-17)

We are essentially settling for less when our focus is on human practices. The same goes for us today in how we conduct our church services. While worship through music is an excellent tool for softening one's heart in order to be more receptive in experiencing Christ, if the focus falls solely on the act of playing and listening to music, we are definitely missing out. This is because the purpose of the tradition of playing music as a form of worship, even the purpose of the laws referred to in Colossians, is to point us in the direction of Christ. These things are shadows while Christ is the fulfillment.

Colossians 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

II. Dangers in Legalism

Colossians 2:19 He has 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.

Paul paints us a picture of one who is legalistic. Sure, he is growing in a sense, learning and upholding rules and regulations, but sadly, he is growing apart from God. When it is through Christ alone that we grow more mature. Growing apart from him causes incompleteness within us.

Colossians 1:28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

Legalism Leads to False Humility.

Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

Legalism went hand in hand with asceticism, which is the depravation and abstinence from worldly pleasures. Yet the motives seen here are to elevate one's self by saying, “Look how humble and spiritual I am for acting the way I do!" They say they are pleasing God, but in fact, they are really praising themselves for their ability to please God.

In Philippians 3:3-11 we are reminded that there is no confidence in our flesh.

When we think about the "car ride" scenario again, we remember that the gutters on both sides are lawlessness and legalism. In order to keep driving and moving forward we must remain focused and rooted in Christ. We will fall into these gutters when we focus on ourselves. We fall into the gutter of lawlessness when we focus on our own flesh. We fall into the gutter of legalism when we focus on our own actions and begin to think that it is up to the individual to work for salvation. This means we stray away from the truth that salvation was given freely when Christ died for our sins.

Legalism Does not Focus on the Heart.

Legalism being centered on rules, is more focused on how a person is acting, and thus more focused on how one is being presented. This fails to have any real impact in showing people how to be saved because if a person needs to follow these given rules, we have completely avoided the real problem: a sinful heart. Colossians 2:23 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.

Laws cannot change anyone heart… Laws cannot break our bondage from sin… Only Christ can.

III. Do not Forget We are Rooted in Christ

Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

It is because of this that we should not let anyone judge us. (verse 16)

It is because of this that we should not feel guilty, because along with our sin, Christ as also removed our guilt. We will never be perfect. So the law ends up being a curse that plagues us. We should remember that the righteous that live by faith rather than the law. (Galatians 3:10-11)

The law reminds us of what we deserve due to our sins. But we fall under the grace of God and should be more reminded about the grace we are given, which we would never receive if worked for it ourselves.

No longer do we have to focus on our empty rituals because we have something beeper in our connection with Christ. Jesus shattered the need for rituals when He dies on the cross. He gives us the ability to connect with Him directly rather than focus on things that, at best, merely lead to Him.

Instead we should celebrate and be thankful because we have deeper connections:

Exalted Position:

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Effective Position:

Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

This is the fullness we can experience when we focus on the connection we have with Christ. When we do the things we do for Jesus, or even the people that surround us, because we feel it is a rule we need to uphold, we end up serving out of duty. Just as a wife does not want to be given gifts because a husband feels it is his duty, Christ in the same way wants to be served out of the love and gratitude that we have for Him.