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HOW TO REALLY MESS UP OUR FAITH
COLOSSIANS 2:16-23
 
Pastor Stephen Muncherian
March 21, 1999

Years ago there was the television game show, “Let’s Make a Deal.” Do you remember it? All those people dressed up in silly costumes yelling, “Monti! Monti! Monti!” - the name of the show’s host. All those people hoping to make a deal - a trade - for all kinds of prizes - like a trip to Hawaii or a new car - or the big deal of the day.

Time after time Monti Hall would invite them to trade in everything they had for what Jay had in the box - or what was behind Carol and curtain number 2. Time after time they’d make the trade - betting valuable merchandise or cash. And the curtain opens and there’s a chicken standing on a bale of hay - or something equally worthless. They’d give up true riches and come away with nothing.

Why would anyone do that? Trade a sure thing - something of great value - for the uncertainty of what’s behind door number 2?. And yet, we Christians are constantly tempted to do that with our relationship with Jesus Christ.

This morning we’re considering, “How to really mess-up our faith.” To commit spiritual suicide - to trade in our valuable relationship with Jesus Christ for something worthless. I invite you to turn with me to Colossians 2 - and we’re going to start at verse 16.

Time and time again we hear about children - or adults - who have grown up in the church - and then they trade in everything to join some cult. Or they get carried away into some weird Christian sect. Even in mainstream Christianity - our mainline churches and denominations - within the Armenian church - its very easy to give up what God has given to us in Jesus Christ - for a worthless alternative.

Paul is writing to the Christians in Colossae - almost 2,000 years ago - and warning them - because even though they were faithful Christians - they were in danger of giving up their faith for a cheap alternative.

Paul writes, Colossians 2:  Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.  These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.  Let no one disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.  If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and doctrines?  These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh.

There are three specific dangers to our faith that Paul warns about:

1. LEGALISM  (verses 16,17)

Rituals without meaning.

Right now we’re in a period we call Lent - this 40 day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. During lent we’re suppose to fast, and perform acts which show repentance from our sins, and give special donations to the poor, and avoid certain activities that are fun. And many people do all this because they think it will help their relationship with God. And yet, its interesting how many people joke about “giving something up for Lent” - because for them its a religious ritual without real meaning in their lives.

In verse 16, Paul writes about the ceremonies and rituals of the Old Testament - what was okay to eat and drink and what was not okay to eat and drink - dietary laws. Paul writes about rituals and religious ceremonies that took place through-out the year. And he warns that simply going through the motions of all these can destroy our faith.

In verse 17 - Paul writes that all these things are a “shadow of what is to come” - Jesus Christ.

In my office I have pictures of Karen and the boys. There are times when I stop what I’m doing and look at their pictures - they remind me of my family. And you say, “Well, that’s pretty neat.”

But, you’d probably think I’d lost it if I put pictures of Karen and the boys up in the office or at home - and spent time talking to them and trying to have a relationship with the pictures. And, you’d be right.

More than loosing my mind - I would have lost touch with the people that the pictures represent. The pictures taking the place of the people.

That’s what Paul means by shadows. If we put a greater value on the shadow - the religious act - than the person of Jesus Christ - then rather than the act leading us closer to Jesus - it carries us farther away. It becomes a ritual - a legalism - an empty thing we do to be Christian.

We sing the Hayr Mer - but how many of us really think about the meaning of the words? Or the doxology?

When I look out at all of you - you all seem to be listening. But we have to be honest - that’s not always true. I remember giving a sermon - in another church - and during the message someone started talking in their sleep. Our minds drift. And that’s natural. Sometimes where our minds drift to may be more interesting than the sermon.

But, if that’s the habit we make for ourselves - if we just go through the motions on Sunday morning - singing the hymns - listening to the pastor pray - hearing the choir - we’re performing a legal service without any real meaning - a shadow. We’re in danger of having our faith really messed up.

The worst part of this legalism is that we loose touch with the reason why we should come here in the first place. What Paul calls the substance - Jesus Christ. Just go through the motions and church becomes really boring. Church becomes focused on us - the worshippers - rather than on Jesus - the one to be worshipped. At that point we loose touch with Jesus - His power - His presence in our lives - our relationship with Him becomes empty and worthless.

Second, in verses 18 and 19. Paul warns about:

2. MYSTICISM  (verses 18,19)

Putting a greater emphasis on spiritual experience rather than on the Word of God.

As Paul is writing to the Christians in Colossae - he’s writing about a teaching which was later called “gnosticism” - today it goes under the name of the New Age Movement. At the center of the teaching is the idea of the oneness of all things - and how we can be a part of that oneness by a deeper spiritual knowledge of the universe.

When Paul warns about, “the worship of angels,” in verse 18, he’s talking about the occult - and people that are trying to tap into a higher plane of reality - to help us all to this universal oneness. Today there are people like Shirley MacLaine - astrologers - and “psychic friends” who will help us to realize god in us - to get in touch with this oneness.

Go into any book store - and look at the religion section - or the self-help section - and it is amazing how many books are written which claim spiritual insight which is completely opposed to what God has revealed about Himself. And people today are sold out to all this - even people claiming to be Christians.

Paul warns Christians to stay away from all this. In verse 18 he says, “Don’t let these people disqualify you. Don’t let these people lead you away from your faith.”

But, even in the church we struggle against this - looking to spiritual experience to lead us deeper in our relationship with God - rather than the Word of God being our guide.

Just recently there was a movement called the "Toronto Blessing" - where - at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church they experienced “holy laughter” - people rolling all over the floor laughing uncontrollably.

That may sound strange to us - but people came from all over North America - and other places - to go to Toronto to get this blessing. Then they would travel back to their own churches and people would start laughing uncontrollably. They said that this was a powerful new movement of the Holy Spirit and God was bringing a great awakening. You have to experience this if you were going to grow deeper in your relationship with God.

One Sunday morning I watched a church service - here in San Jose - where Richard Roberts - son of Oral Roberts - was preaching. And Richard was telling the congregation about what was happening in Toronto - and how laughter was the way to go.

He kept going on and on about laughter - urging the people to let go and experience the laughter that the Holy Spirit would give. Finally, one lady in the front row started laughing. Everyone else just sat there and watched. I kept thinking - where in the Bible is the justification for this - where does God say that I have to roll on the floor and laugh if I’m going to have growing and complete relationship with Him.

Churches have come apart - because individuals will each claim a special revelation from God - a spiritual insight - and rather than subjecting it to the Bible - and seeing if it fits to what the Bible says - or handling the situation and the individuals involved according to scripture - each side claims that their revelation is to be followed - and so the church comes apart. There’s a tremendous danger to our faith when we allow spiritual experience to take the place of God’s revelation - the Bible - and to take the place of the Head of the Church - Jesus Christ.

In verse 19 Paul reminds us that everything we do as a church and as Christians must be subjected to the Headship of Jesus Christ. If we want to stay on track spiritually we must follow what God has revealed to us in His Word.

Third, Paul warns about:

3. ASCETICISM  (verses 20-23)

Disciplining ourselves to reach a deeper relationship with God and to live lives pleasing to God.

In verses 20 to 23, Paul calls this discipline “regulations” - “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.” Regulations - he says - which on the surface appear wise - which appear to keep us from evil - but in the long run really have no value.

Not very long ago - Armenian Evangelicals were taught that there were things that Christians must always avoid - and if you observed all these regulations you were pleasing God - never drink alcohol - never dance - never smoke - never go to movies - never play cards - and on it went. When I was in Bible college we had a saying, “I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t go with girls who do.”

Now, somebody’s probably thinking, “Well, isn’t there some value to these things? What’s wrong with these?” On one hand - refraining from some of these things would help us to be more disciplined in our relationship with God. But the regulations by themselves miss the point of what knowing Jesus is all about.

Some people say, “If the Bible doesn’t say we can do it - we won’t.” But, a Biblical Christian looks at life and says, “Everything is right unless the Bible says its wrong.” So many people - even children of believers - have been turned away from Jesus - so many Christians have washed out spiritually - because all they saw in Christianity was what we don’t do.

Chuck Swindol, in his book, “The Grace Awakening,” writes this: One of my favorite stories comes from a man who used to be in our church. When he was a youth worker many years ago in an ethnic community, he attended a church that had Scandinavian roots. Being a rather forward-looking and creative young man, he decided he would show the youth group a missionary film. We're talking simple, safe, black-and-white religious-oriented movie.

That film projector hadn't been off an hour before a group of the leaders in the church called him in and asked him about what he had done. They asked, "Did you show the young people a film?" In all honesty he responded, "Well, yeah, I did."

"We don't like that," they replied. Without trying to be argumentative, the youth worker reasoned, "Well, I remember that at the last missionary conference, our church showed slides....” One of the church officers put his hand up signaling him to cease talking. Then, in these words, he emphatically explained the conflict: "If it's still, fine. If it moves, sin!" You can show slides, but when they start movin', you're gettin' into sin.

Paul writes in verse 20, “If you have died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to regulations?” The bottom line is our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Christianity is not a religion of regulations - and ways to deny ourselves things - Christianity is a living relationship with Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean that once we come to know Jesus we can do whatever we want. It does mean that what controls our lives comes from within - the regulation doesn’t come from a list of don’ts - but from a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.

If we really want to mess-up our faith - then we need to perform rituals that have no meaning for us - seek guidance from our spiritual experiences and not the Word of God - and base our relationship with Jesus on a list of don’ts.