From The Outside In, To The Inside Out: Colossians Series # 18
In Colossians 2:20, we read, “Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using) after the commandments and teachings of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.”
Many years ago, there was a man named Jim Jones who persuaded several hundred people to follow him in suicide in Guyana. How is it that several hundred people will follow a man all the way to suicide? Well, when you study the cult, you will find that it had all the classic elements of a cult, especially in this matter of going by rules and regulations. They all had their lives very carefully regimented by Jim Jones. He made every decision for them. He told them what they could and could not do and they were willing to follow him to suicide.
I. We Have An Empowered Life
One of the key elements in all cults is the element of legalism: the idea that you can achieve a special level of spiritual life by following a series of do’s and don’ts. Unfortunately, legalism is not something that is characteristic of the cults but is also something characteristic of many people in the Christian faith.
The idea that somehow Jesus Christ, the indwelling presence of Christ by the Holy Spirit, is not enough to help you live the way you should, but you have to have a series of rules, regulations, and guidelines to help you be what you should be. Legalism is a plague on the Christian faith. Legalism turns the Christian life into a misery instead of a glorious, wonderful blessing.
I want to be very careful and help you understand what I am writing about. Legalism is the opposite extreme of license. License is the idea that because you are saved and because you are free in Jesus Christ, you can just live any old way you want to live. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re saved, you’re going to heaven, your sins have been paid in full and so your daily life doesn’t matter. I fear that there are probably more professing Christians in this category than in the category of legalism. It is the idea that our liberty is an occasion for the flesh to satisfy its desires.
Legalism takes the other approach. It is the approach that Christian character and Christian holiness are defined based on what you do and what you do not do. I do not mean by legalism that a church should not have standards for its leadership. In the New Testament, you will find that there are very careful standards for leadership. There are standards for pastors, deacons, and teachers. Also, some things are very clear cut in Scripture which are forbidden by the word of God. There are some very clear statements and scripture about several things about which there can be no doubt. For instance, it is wrong to lie, steal, gossip, and commit sexual immorality. We are not talking about clear-cut matters of right and wrong. We are talking about legalism. We are talking about something that has plagued the Christian church since its very inception. We pick it up all through the ages of church history.
In the Middle Ages, some of the monks turned the Christian faith into a system of legalism. They would sleep on hard beds or sometimes no beds at all. They would whip themselves, and go for long periods without saying a word or eating anything. In fact, it got to one point that they began to believe that you were worldly if you bathed or took care of your body. They thought that if you did anything for your body, it was legalism. Because of that, they acquired a little colony of lice. As they walked around, if some lice fell off of them, it was considered a sign of special holiness. They turned the Christian faith into a legalistic system.
Today, some people have a little list of rules and some things that you’re not supposed to do. If you do those things, it makes you a worldly Christian and you’re not as spiritual as you should be. Of course, as you move from one Christian group to another Christian group you will find that they have different sets of rules.
Many Christians have rules, and you go by them, but they are the things that they don’t do. There are some Christians who believe it is worldly to go bowling. In some Christian circles, the ladies are not to wear makeup. It’s considered worldly if you put any makeup on at all. I am talking about turning the Christian life into misery instead of a joyful, exciting Christian experience God intends for it to be.
There are four basic elements of cults that can creep into the Christian faith. We have these four elements in Colossians 2: The first one we dealt with was intellectualism: the idea you can think your way to God; The second one is ceremonialism or ritualism: the idea that you can observe your way to God; The third one is mysticism: the idea that you can arrive at a relationship with God through a series of mystical experiences.
The fourth one is that you can earn God’s favor and be the kind of person you ought to be by observing a set of rules and regulations. That’s what Paul mentions in Colossians 2:20-23. He puts it in contrast to legalism, which is a way based on outward regulation, and Christianity which is life based on inward transformation.
Outward regulation is imposing rules and regulations on your life. That is what is referred to in verse 20, “the rudiments of the world,” that is the elements of the world, the ABCs of the world, the lists of rules of the world. At the beginning of verse 20, it reads, “If you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances.”
Today, some people have a little list of rules and some things that you’re not supposed to do. If you do those things, it makes you a worldly Christian and you’re not as spiritual as you should be. Of course, as you move from one Christian group to another Christian group you will find that they have different sets of rules.
Many Christians have rules, and you go by them, but they are the things that they don’t do. There are some Christians who believe it is worldly to go bowling. In some Christian circles, the ladies are not to wear makeup. It’s considered worldly if you put any makeup on at all. I am talking about turning the Christian life into misery instead of a joyful, exciting Christian experience God intends for it to be.
There are four basic elements of cults that can creep into the Christian faith. We have these four elements in Colossians 2: The first one we dealt with was intellectualism: the idea you can think your way to God; The second one is ceremonialism or ritualism: the idea that you can observe your way to God; The third one is mysticism: the idea that you can arrive at a relationship with God through a series of mystical experiences.
The fourth one is that you can earn God’s favor and be the kind of person you ought to be by observing a set of rules and regulations. That’s what Paul mentions in Colossians 2:20-23. He puts it in contrast to legalism, which is a way based on outward regulation, and Christianity which is life based on inward transformation.
Outward regulation is imposing rules and regulations on your life. That is what is referred to in verse 20, “the rudiments of the world,” that is the elements of the world, the ABCs of the world, the lists of rules of the world. At the beginning of verse 20, it reads, “If you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances.”
Why are we now confining ourselves to a set of rules? What he is saying is that Jesus Christ has delivered you from the bondage of this world. This world has its rules, regulations, and guidelines by which you are supposed to live. They tell you that if you are going to live, you got to do this or that. Paul is raising the point that if Jesus has delivered you from one prison, why are you putting yourself into another prison? The latter part of Colossians 2:20 reads: “you are subject to ordinances.” What he is talking about here is the whole idea of rules as a definition of a true Christian life.
It puts the Christian faith into a straitjacket. It turns your life into a straitjacket. You are always checking to see if you are going by the correct rules. A legalistic church is a miserable experience. I feel sorry for people who belong to legalistic churches. There is no joy there, no victory, and the whole Christian faith is based on a series of things that people don’t do. Paul is saying if you let Jesus take you out of one prison, are you letting Him put you in another prison?
Notice Paul discusses a little bit about what legalism is in verse 21: “(Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using)…”
A good paraphrase says, do you take the slightest notice of these purely human prohibitions? Don’t touch this, don’t taste that, and don’t handle the other. This and that and the other will all pass away after use.
Do you notice the negative there? Don’t touch this, don’t taste this, don’t handle this, don’t, don’t, don’t. It defines Christianity as a series of negatives. It emphasizes the negative instead of the positive.
Many people think Christianity is about a lot of don’ts. That is, just a series of negatives and defined based on what you do not do. That turns Christianity into a life of avoidance. You spend your life trying to avoid things all of the time. The focus is on the negative aspects of life. You are not defined based on things that you do not do. Legalism puts the focus on the negative rather than the positive.
Legalism also puts the focus on the passing instead of the lasting. In verse 22 it reads: “which all are to perish with the using….”
In the New Testament in particular, one of the big deals was this matter of different foods and what foods you could and could not eat so people were all caught up in that. What Paul is saying here is that these things are just passing. He said once you eat them, they are gone.
In the opening part of Mark 7, Mark talks about some of the traditions of the Jewish people at that time and the washings. In Mark 7:6, it reads:
“Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honored me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. However, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups; and many other such things ye do.
And he said unto them, full well you reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
Human rules and regulations are just that. They come from human understanding rather than what God says.
Paul says in Colossians 2:22 that they “are to perish with the using.” It’s so easy for Christians to get hung up on things that ultimately do not matter. People are getting all hung up about things like that when we are in a culture where we are facing drug problems, teenage pregnancy, and things that are of real concern, and some elements of the Christian elements get hung up on these little side issues that don’t matter.
Notice what Paul says in verse 22: “…after the commandments and doctrines of men?” Legalism focuses on human rules and regulations. The human rules and regulations become more important than what God says in the Word. He talks about legalism in this verse. Legalism should be rejected as shown in verse 23: “Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body…”
He says here that legalism should be rejected because it leads to pride, “a show of wisdom,” a pretense of wisdom, “in will-worship.” A person who can get rid of some things in his life if he’s not very careful will be proud of his willpower. He’ll get proud of the fact that he doesn’t do certain things and that he’s strong enough not to do those things.
A paraphrase of this passage is, “I know that these regulations look wise with their self-inspired efforts at piety, their policy of self-humbling, and their studied neglect of the body.”
Another paraphrase, “These rules may seem good for rules of this kind require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body.” It leads to pride. Convictions are those matters that God gives to a believer deep within his soul. It is one thing to have rules and regulations imposed on you from the outside, it is another thing to have convictions developed in your heart by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. It is an altogether different matter.
If we develop spiritual convictions from within, it doesn’t harden you and turn you into a Pharisee. If you go by outside rules and regulations and they are imposed on you from the outside, then you become a very hard, proud Christian. Some Christians get so proud of what they don’t do. They say, “Look at me. I’m sprouting wings. I’m so holy. I’m so spiritual. I’m such a great Christian.” Don’t spend much time on what you don’t do; just go on and live your Christian life. People will find out. They’ll observe your life. You don’t have to go around bragging about where you don’t go and what you don’t do. Live your convictions out of your heart as a conviction that God has given to you. That way you’ll be a blessing and you’ll draw people rather than drive people away. Some Christians grow and others swell.
Legalism should also be rejected because it lacks power. It has no power to make you be what you should be in your heart.
The last part of verse 23 reads: “…neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.”
A paraphrase of this passage is, “But in actual practice, they are of no moral value but simply pamper the flesh.” Another paraphrase, “They only make him proud, have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires.” An outward remedy cannot deal with inward problems. Physical solutions do not solve spiritual problems.
It’s one thing to give up something because somebody puts pressure on you and it’s another thing to allow the Holy Spirit to deal with you about your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and you should take care of your body and not neglect it. It’s just according to which direction you’re moving, from the outside in or from the inside out. The negative is only one-half of the Christian life. There is a positive. There are some negatives. There are some clear-cut things that the Bible says that you should not do such as abstain from fornication. The emphasis is not to be on what you don’t do. It is on the positive and what you do for the Lord, Jesus Christ. Legalism is the way of outward regulation.
I. We Have An Empowered Life
Christianity on the other hand is the way of inward transformation, an inside job. Christianity is not being inhibited by rules. It is being inhabited by a ruler.
Again we read in Colossians 2:20, “Wherefore, since you are dead with Christ…”
Paul is pointing out that it took place in the past. We died with Christ some 2,000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ…”. When did that happen? Some 2,000 years ago I died. The Christian faith has a death, burial, and resurrection. Positionally 2,000 years ago you died with Christ. Personally, that death became effective in your life when you received Jesus as your personal Savior. Baptism is the beautiful picture of the salvation experience. The baptized people are lowered into the water and come up out of the water. When you came to Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, and rose again for you, you died and were buried. Your sins were buried and you are dead with Jesus Christ. If you are dead with Jesus Christ and crucified with Jesus Christ, that means that your eyes, hands, and feet are dead.
For example, if a man dies, speeding laws do not affect him. He can’t speed because he is dead. A dead man is impervious to the allurements of the flesh, the enticement of the world, and the temptations of the devil. If you go over to one of the funeral homes, you’ll note a person in a casket; he’s dead. I don’t know why people say, doesn’t he look natural? No, he doesn’t look natural, he’s dead! We have been crucified with Christ. He says that since you’ve been dead with Christ, why as the living in this world, are you subject to ordinance?
In Colossians 3:1, we read, “Since you then, be risen with Christ…”
Not only have you experienced a death with Jesus Christ, but praise God, you have raised a resurrection with Jesus Christ. You have a brand-new life. The new life in Jesus Christ is far better than the old life of sin. It’s wonderful to be alive in Jesus. It’s wonderful to come alive in Jesus Christ. I have a brand-new life, joy, victory, and happiness.
In Colossians 2:20 He says, “why, as though living in the world…” You don’t live in the world anymore. The good news of the Christian faith is that not only are you living in the world, but somewhere else.
In Galatians 5:25, we read, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
We live in the world but somewhere else. We live in the atmosphere of the Spirit. We have a brand-new life. We are living in the world but in the Spirit. We are in the atmosphere of God. We are in the Lord. We begin to live this life not based on laws from the outside but based on life on the inside. We live on the basis not of the old law, but by the new law, love.
It’s wonderful to see how the Holy Spirit transforms a person’s life. Somebody gets saved. Somebody comes to Christ in our fellowship and there are things in their lives that should not be there. You see it and everybody else sees it. They get in their Bible. They get into a Bible study to hear the Bible taught. They are in the services and listen to the Word and in their own daily life they begin to study the Scriptures. They begin to look at other Christians who model the kind of Christian life that God wants us to live in front of them.
As they begin to grow in the Christian faith, God begins to work on the inside of their lives dealing with those things that should not be in there. God works on getting rid of those attitudes and dispositions that are displeasing to the Lord. A wonderful thing occurs as there is change on the inside, there starts becoming a change on the outside. The next thing you notice is a beautiful, happy, consistent, victorious Christian life.
I challenge you to slow down and make a list of the kinds of thoughts you currently have in your life. I am not suggesting you write down every thought, but the kinds or categories of your thoughts. Afterward, study it carefully because it is where you are now and is demonstrated by your daily actions.
Next, make a list of the kinds of thoughts you need to incorporate into your Christian life to move you in the upward direction the Lord has for you. As you move forward, begin to replace the old with the new. When the old thoughts appear, replace them with the new thoughts. As the inward transformation takes place, you will see how life grows in the grace and knowledge of Christ.
We have moved from the legalism of the outward into the liberation of the inward out. Our Christian life has a root, shoot, and fruit!
