Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings

RED HERRING #1 “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day...” Colossians 2:16 Colossians 2:16

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -“You aren’t spiritual unless ritual observance is central to your worship of God.”

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -“You aren’t spiritual unless ritual observance is central to your worship of God.” RELIGIOUS CALENDARRELIGIOUS CALENDAR LITURGICAL WORSHIP SERVICESLITURGICAL WORSHIP SERVICES PRIESTS, ALTARS, INCENSE, VESTMENTS, ETC.PRIESTS, ALTARS, INCENSE, VESTMENTS, ETC.

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “Many worshippers... seek an ‘experience of the holy.’ They come looking for awe & reverence, mystery & transcendence. Furthermore, many of their sensory faculties need to be engaged: Their senses of sight, sound, touch, & smell are powerful avenues of communication. One glance at the Old Testament directions for orchestrating temple worship will remove all doubt that this is our task...”

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “... Fire, incense, tapestry, and gold joined with ritual activities that reminded the worshiper of the reverent awe demanded of them. Bells and breastplates provided a visual feast evoking images of God's presence... Evangelicals need to reclaim their Old Testament heritage...” Gary M. Burge, "Why So Many Are Rediscovering Worship In Other Traditions," Christianity Today, October 6, 1997, Vol. 41, No. 11, p. 20. Gary M. Burge, "Why So Many Are Rediscovering Worship In Other Traditions," Christianity Today, October 6, 1997, Vol. 41, No. 11, p. 20.

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” Colossians 2:16,17

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” Colossians 2:16,17

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism focuses on the past shadows instead of the present substance

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism focuses on the past shadows instead of the present substance “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE”

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism focuses on the past shadows instead of the present substance “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE” PICTURES OF CHRIST’S DEATH FOR OUR SINS

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism focuses on the past shadows instead of the present substance “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE” PICTURES OF CHRIST’S DEATH FOR OUR SINS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism focuses on the past shadows instead of the present substance “For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:18,19 Hebrews 7:18,19

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE” 100’S OF PRESCRIBED RITUALS

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE” 100’S OF PRESCRIBED RITUALS 2 PRESCRIBED RITUALS

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE” DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO OBSERVE

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM “SHADOWS” “SUBSTANCE” DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO OBSERVE LITTLE INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO OBSERVE

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism is not only unnecessary; it is actually spiritual regression

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM -Ritualism is not only unnecessary; it is actually spiritual regression “But now that you have come to know God... how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? For you observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.” Galatians 4:9-11

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #1: RITUALISM Have you established a personal relationship with God by receiving Christ?

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2 “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self- abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen...” Colossians 2:18 Colossians 2:18

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -“You aren’t spiritual unless you have visions or other dramatic spiritual experiences.”

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -“You aren’t spiritual unless you have visions or other dramatic spiritual experiences.” DREAMS & VISIONSDREAMS & VISIONS GUIDANCE FROM SPIRITSGUIDANCE FROM SPIRITS TECHNIQUES TO INDUCE TRANCE-STATESTECHNIQUES TO INDUCE TRANCE-STATES ECSTATIC UTTERANCESECSTATIC UTTERANCES INTUITIVE INSIGHTINTUITIVE INSIGHT

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM “The truly imaginative experience is defined therefore as an intuition of the real. It is an acknowledgment of objective realities in their transcendent, unseen dimension. It is that which, when received, enlarges and completes us, for it speaks to and unites some lonely facet of our own being. All true worship, knowledge, and art come out of this...”

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM “... (Making a mental picture of Christ on the Cross) opens us to meaning. Meaning streams to the deepest reaches of the unconscious through it. Thus, in that one symbol the entire theology of the Cross has come together with experience (and reception) of its grace.” Leanne Payne, The Healing Presence (Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1989), pp. 140,146.

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -Mysticism makes you vulnerable to spiritual deception

A PERSONAL EXAMPLE: Fritz Harding

A PERSONAL EXAMPLE: Fritz Harding

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote “... inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.” Colossians 2:19 Colossians 2:19

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote Build your relationship with Christ on his WordBuild your relationship with Christ on his Word “... inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.” Colossians 2:19 Colossians 2:19

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote Build your relationship with Christ on his WordBuild your relationship with Christ on his Word “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you... If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love... These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:7-11)

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote “... inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.” Colossians 2:19 Colossians 2:19

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote Allow other Christians to speak God’s truth to youAllow other Christians to speak God’s truth to you “... inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.” Colossians 2:19 Colossians 2:19

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM -The antidote Allow other Christians to speak God’s truth to youAllow other Christians to speak God’s truth to you “We are no longer to be children... carried about by every wind of doctrine... but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies... causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:14-16)

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #2: MYSTICISM Are you building friendships that prioritize sharing God’s Word with each other?

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?” Colossians 2:20-22

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM -“You aren’t spiritual unless you follow our group’s list of rules and prohibitions.”

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM -“You aren’t spiritual unless you follow our group’s list of rules and prohibitions.” FOOD & DRINKFOOD & DRINK ENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENT FASHIONFASHION

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self- made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” Colossians 2:23 Colossians 2:23

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM -Legalism breeds external self- righteousness rather than internal moral change “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self- made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” Colossians 2:23 Colossians 2:23

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM -Legalism breeds external self- righteousness rather than internal moral change “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.” (Matthew 23:25,26)

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RED HERRING #3: LEGALISM -Legalism misrepresents God & needlessly alienates people from him

Colossians 2: Spiritual Red Herrings RITUALISMMYSTICISMLEGALISM

NEXT WEEK: NEXT WEEK: Colossians 3:1-4 Dynamics of Authentic Spirituality Part 1

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