Day 51 - Colossians

Christians have struggled for centuries with the idea of rules.  What rules are followers of Jesus supposed to adhere to? The earliest Christians were coming from a Jewish background.  They had been tought to follow "The Law", and they struggled to figure out the ramifications of their new-found faith in Christ.  Would this mean they could ignore the Law?  Would this mean they would follow the Law more fervently.  In Colossians, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that faith in Christ means that something has happened much deeper in our spirit than simply following the Law on the outside.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.


9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.


13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.


16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 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. 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.


20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 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.


1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 2:8-3:3)

We still try to make it about rules, but it's not.  Faith in Christ actually ups the ante, Paul says.  Following the Law was just about following rules, though stringent, and then kind of letting your heart and spirit do whatever they want.  It was all about the outside for these guys.  This new way in Christ is about dying to this world so that our spirits are now in tune with Christ's spirit. 

At the same time, we now have freedom that we didn't formally have.  We are not under the heavy yoke of regulations and laws.  We have freedom in Christ.  Yet, I think what Paul is saying is that we will now WANT to follow God more deeply because our spirit's align with Christ rather than simply following rules out of obligation.

We short-change faith when we make Christianity about rules.  We miss the whole point then.  It is about so much more.  It is about living a Spirit-led life that is just as concerned with what is going on inside our hearts as it is with what we're doing with our hands or what we're eating.  You don't have to follow rules to be a Christian, you just have to follow Jesus -- and that is a much higher calling.