Have you ever been deceived? Fraud and scams are all around us these days. They come in the form of phone calls, false advertisements, deceitful labelling, etc. Some deceivers are so clever that it is difficult to detect their lies. The best way to detect a scam is to know the truth exceptionally well.

Transition

In this section, Paul warned the Colossae believers and us of three things that may deceive us if we do not know the truth well.

Do not be deceived by shadows (v.16-17)

1. “Therefore” refers to the previous section.
   1. Christ gave us many Spiritual Provisions.
      1. He gave us a new circumcision (v.11-12)
      2. He made us alive and forgave us (v.13-14)
      3. He defeated the devil to give us victory (v.15)
   2. Therefore, these provisions from Christ are all that we need for salvation. Christ DID all that God required. He left nothing for us to do except to repent and believe.
   3. Peter Pett states, “Paul now stresses that because of the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross all ritual requirements have been done away.”
2. False teachers were adding to Christ’s provisions.
   1. They insisted that the Christians keep OT ceremonial rules about meat and drink offerings, holy day feasts, new moon festivals and Sabbaths.
   2. In the Old Testament, God gave the Jews these ceremonial rules to help them focus on their sin and need for cleansing.
   3. Paul states here that they were only a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. A body casts a shadow, but the shadow has no substance. Only the body is real. The O.T. ceremonies helped the people look into the future for salvation in the Messiah. Now that Christ has provided our salvation, we have the real thing (the body). We have no more need for the shadow.
   4. Pett comments, “Requirements such as these had their purpose, but they have now been done away (see Heb 8:5; Heb 10:1). They are no longer binding. Now [that] Christ is come, shadows fade into the background.”
   5. Do not be deceived by those who insist on rules as part of salvation. They are only shadows; Christ is the real thing.
   6. Paul was not talking about God’s moral laws or separation standards. Such a claim is a misapplication of the passage.

Do not be deceived by spiritual thieves (v.18-19)

1. First, note God’s warning to us.
   1. Let no man beguile you! The word “beguile” means, to decide as umpire against someone; to cheat someone of the victor’s prize; or to declare one unworthy of a prize.
   2. What is the reward?
      1. The reward may refer to salvation through faith in Christ alone. By adding works to God’s plan of salvation, a person actually makes himself unworthy to receive God’s salvation. Salvation is not of works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.“
      2. The reward could be a reward in heaven. (Philippians 3:14) “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.“
      3. This reward could be a crown received in heaven for faithfulness to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 9:25) “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.“
      4. Whatever the reward, Paul did not want the Colossian believers to be unworthy to receive it.
2. Next, note the heretic’s false teachings.
   1. They required a voluntary humility, which was a delight in or wish for humility. Humility is not something that we do. It is something we are when we have a proper fear of God and a right perspective of ourselves.
   2. The “worship” of angels may have been using them as intercessors to God. Lightfoot states, “There was an officious parade of humility in selecting these lower beings as intercessors, rather than appealing directly to the throne of grace.” Warren Wiersbe wisely states, “In bypassing the Word of God and the Spirit of God, they were opening themselves to all kinds of demonic activity – because Satan knows how to give counterfeit experiences to people (2 Cor. 11:13-15).”
   3. Trying to reach God through anyone other than Jesus is idolatry. (1 Timothy 2:5) “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” We are not to pray to angels, to Mary, or to anyone other than to God.
   4. These false teachers were vainly puffed up by the flesh of their minds. The false humility that moved them to worship angels was puffing them up in their flesh. Their false humility was nothing but fleshly pride that would lead to their destruction.
   5. Since we have Christ, we do not need a religious experience, a vision or a revelation. What we need is an intimate communion with Christ. We need a close fellowship with God.
3. These heretics failed to hold the Head (v.19)
   1. A physical body has many joints and ligaments and is supplied and joined together by God, but if it is missing its head, it cannot live.
   2. These false teachers had a lot of outward show, but Christ was not their Head. Without Christ as their Head, their religious teachings were dead.

Do not be deceived by false ordinances (v.20-23)

1. True Christians are dead to the world.
   1. The word dead speaks of separation. At physical death, the spirit separates from the body. At spiritual death, the soul separates from God eternally.
   2. At salvation, a believer dies with Christ to the rudiments or basic elements of the world. Christ separates him from the world. He is no longer part of that system.
2. We are not saved by keeping the world’s religious rules.
   1. Ordinances, whether OT ceremonies or man-made rules, have nothing to do with our salvation.
      1. Jewish ceremonies may have included washing of hands, limited Sabbath travel, lighting a candle on the Sabbath, etc.
      2. Religious rules today may include confession to a priest, baby baptism, confirmation, praying to Mary, making the sign of the cross, speaking in tongues, etc.
   2. These are not required for salvation, nor do they keep us saved. Jesus only saves and keeps us.
   3. The false teachers at Colossae were insisting that their followers obey ceremonial rules about what they touched, tasted, and handled.
   4. Such rules had an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, yet they provided no solution for the temptations of the flesh. Only salvation through faith in Christ alone can cleanse us and give us victory over the flesh.
   5. NOTE: We must not confuse these legalistic, ceremonial requirements for salvation with separation from sin and godly living after salvation. Separation is for sanctification not salvation (cf., 2Co 6:17; 7:1; 1Pe 1:14-16; 2Pe 1:5-7).

Conclusion

If you have repented of your sin and trusted Christ alone to save you, your salvation is complete. There are no ceremonies or rules you must keep to aid your salvation. Jesus paid it all!

If Christ has saved you, He has given you a new life. Yes, there are many things you must put off and put on as you grow closer to Christ, to walk in the Spirit and to stay in His sweet fellowship, but they are not part of your salvation. Do not be deceived by false teachers.

Song: Jesus Paid it All, 125
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Beware of Deception!
25 June 2023 PM – Colossians 2:16-23 – Col23 – Scott Childs