Colossians 2:6-15

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Believers are called to a life of following Christ out of gratitude for the matchless gifts of God’s grace.  There are many false teachings that can bombard us in an effort to make us think we can be saved through our own efforts or religious rituals.  The reality is that Christ our only hope for salvation and He has set us free from our sin and provided us with blessed forgiveness and hope.

 

OBEDIENCE IS PROTECTION FROM FALSE DOCTRINE: Hypocrisy is dangerous because it leaves us vulnerable to false doctrines.  Those who receive Christ but do not walk with Him run the risk of being taken captive by all kinds of false teachings.  Walking in Christ means that He is our foundation, we are growing in Him, our faith in Him is unwavering, we are obedient to His teachings, and filled with gratitude.  If these things are not true of us, we can easily be captivated by human wisdom, be deceived by the world’s empty promises, follow man-centered traditions, and look more like the world than Christ.  It is no enough to say that we are Christians, go to church, or even read the Scriptures; we are called to obey the Word of God. 

 

CHRIST IS PROVISION FOR OUR SALVATION: Our greatest desire should be to live in conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the exact image of and full representation of God.  He became a man, but is simultaneously, eternally, and fully God.  It is only natural that we become like Him because when we place our faith in His death and resurrection, He sends His Spirit to fill us.  Christ is the ultimate authority in heaven and on earth.  His work of salvation circumcised our hearts and set us free from the lusts of our flesh.  Because we are identified with Him in His death through faith, it is only natural that we walk like the resurrected Christ in our new life.  He has set us free from sin and given us eternal forgiveness from our sin.

 

SALVATION IS PROTECTION FROM SIN AND DEATH: Before Christ we were separated from God because of our sin and had no spiritual life.  We were born in this condition having inherited our sinful nature passed on to us from Adam through our parents.  We confirm this reality of sinfulness by the acts of disobedience we all perform.  However, in Christ we gain protection from the sin nature that separates us from God because He reconciles us to God by giving us a new life.  All of our sins, past, present and future are fully and freely forgiven through Christ.  There is no condemnation or debt that we need to pay because Christ has paid it all.  The Law of God has been fulfilled by Christ and all its legal demands met through His death and resurrection.  There are no spiritual forces of evil that can condemn us or control us because Christ was victorious over every one of them.  We are victorious over every aspect of sin and are eternally protected from any condemnation our sin deserves.   

 

APPLICATION: Obey the Word of God and constantly grow in our knowledge of Him so we will not be vulnerable to Stan’s worldly attacks on us.  Understand who Christ is and be grateful for His work of salvation on our behalf.  Be motivated by Christ’s forgiveness of our sin to worship Him with our whole heart.