March 2
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WATCH OUT FOR FRAUDS!
16 Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Take care that no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding firmly 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 2:16-19
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The following passages are referring to Paul’s reminder to the Colossians that since Christ died on the cross to free them from the penalty of sin, they need not follow the Judaic laws that he freed them from. The Jewish laws are made to bound people in rituals and the effort to make themselves appear holy and good so they will be elevated in the eyes of others. In verse 18, Paul addresses the seductions of these heresies going in in their midst. The heretics wanted to give adoration to angels, thinking that they have no right to go straight to God. It seems like a mere distraction so that the focus will not be on Jesus, but on lower beings than Him. Paul admonishes them to make sure that they keep their eyes on Jesus, rather than adhering to these Judaic laws that will keep them bound again.
Bruce comments: “It would be preposterous indeed for those who had reaped the benefit of Christ’s victory to put themselves voluntarily under the control of the powers which he had conquered.” Guzik says “The point is clear: days and foods, as observed under the Mosaic Law, are not binding upon New Covenant people. The shadow has passed, the reality has come. So, for the Christian, all foods are pure (1 Timothy 4:4-5) and all days belong to God.
Vaugh comments “That is to say, the heretics probably insisted that their worship of angels rather than the supreme God was an expression of humility on their part.”
Guzik states his point that “False humility and the worship of angels do not make anyone more spiritual. Instead, holding fast to the Head (Jesus) makes us truly spiritual.”
A lot of Christians miss out the sacrifice on the cross. Christ did it all. It is finished. We do not need to follow laws made my humans to appear good. We need to abide in Jesus so that we will not be derailed and misled in our walk in the Spirit.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it essential for us to be anchored on truth and the sacrifice on the cross?