Don’t Be Disqualified

Colossians 2:16-23

Thank you for joining us as we study God’s Word together. No matter where you come from or what you have been through, we are confident the Bible speaks to you right where you are. The Holy Spirit, through God’s Word, can speak to you and guide you. It is on us to have a heart that is in tune with God’s heart, and with God’s help, this will happen as we study Colossians today.  

Bible teacher J Mark Horst will teach from Colossians 2 on “Don’t Be Disqualified.”  

Rules or qualifications constrain many things in life. Failure to observe and obey the rules leads to disqualification. Many things have varying degrees of importance, but one area of life where you and I must be sure we’re not disqualified is our faith journey with Jesus Christ. Disqualification in our spiritual journey has eternal consequences!  

Our previous message focused on our being “Complete in Christ.” In Colossians 2:8 to 15, Paul explained the essential reasons that reassure us of this completeness: the person of Christ, the power of Christ, and the provision of Christ.   

However, some did not agree with Paul’s teaching. They established their qualifications for what was required of Christ’s followers, including extra-biblical requirements. Because of his love for them, Paul clearly warns about the false teachers and their influence. So, let us study together Colossians 2:16 to 23 under the title “Don’t Be Disqualified.”  

¹⁶So let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,  

¹⁷which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.  

¹⁸Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,  

¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase from God. 

²⁰Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—  

²¹“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”  

²² which all concern things that perish with the use—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?  

²³These things indeed appear as wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. 

In these verses, Paul sets forth several possible WAYS in which we could be disqualified from our relationship with Christ and His church.  

The First WAY is, 

By Deception 

Paul begins verse eighteen, saying, “don’t let anyone deceive you and cheat you out of your reward.” These false teachers said, “If you don’t follow our guidelines, then you are unworthy of your reward.” They said, “You need Christ – plus – what we’re telling you.”  

But Paul had stated earlier in verses 13 to 15 that the Mosaic law had been completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The record of debt that stood against us with its formal decrees had been cancelled! It was a judicial act. Jesus nailed it to His cross.  

Paul begins this section by reminding us that since the handwriting of ordinances has been cancelled, we mustn’t let anyone belittle our position in Christ. Food, feast days, and keeping the Sabbath were no longer the criteria by which one measured their devotion to God.  

Those dietary and ceremonial guidelines of the law were only a shadow, pointing toward Christ. Now that Christ has come, we have the substance; we see exactly what God is like and His intentions. He is our holiness because we are in Him!  

These false teachers were sitting in judgment over those who rejected their additions to the Gospel. Verse 18 gives us some of the things they were promoting. The first thing Paul mentions is “a false humility” or asceticism.  

There’s nothing wrong with a Christ-follower practicing self-denial in pursuing a holy life. But when self-denial is made a requirement for salvation, for acceptance with God, that is unbiblical. So, these false teachers wanted people to be impressed with their piety and false reverence for God.  

In addition, they worshipped angels. Their reasoning went something like this: Because human beings are made of matter, and matter is evil, human beings couldn’t approach God directly because He is perfect. They rejected Christ as the Son of God, so they invented a need for angelic mediators to reach God.  

Paul says these additions to the Gospel were conceived in minds still controlled by their sinful natures. They were “puffed up” or proud of the things they created. Their goal was not to bring people to freedom in Christ but to bind them to their belief system. So, don’t let anyone deceive you into believing there are things you must add to Christ to be saved.  

Before leaving this warning about adding things to Christ for salvation, let’s not think our choices and behavior as reborn Christ-followers aren’t necessary. One may fall into two ditches here: first, adding requirements for salvation, and second, promoting the mistaken teaching that once you are saved, it doesn’t matter how you live.  

The Next WAY (we could be disqualified from our relationship with Christ) is, 

By Desertion 

The false teachers were deserting Christ as the Head of His Church. Paul warns the church not to fall for this teaching. They praised Christ as a good person but rejected Him as God’s Son.  

What is the consequence of deserting Christ as the Head? When you think about the human body, how important is the head? The head is the control center for the rest of the body. Without the head, the other body parts aren’t able to function.  

Paul says the whole body is “nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, [so that it] grows with a growth from God.” This is true in human biology and the Church. Paul reminded them they would be disqualified as genuine believers if they deserted Christ as the Head. When you remove Christ as the Head, the Body has no cohesion or direction.  

These false teachers prevented genuine spiritual growth by substituting angels for Christ, the Head. Removing Christ from His exalted position left them without spiritual direction and discernment. All they had left was their imagination and the reasoning of their fleshly minds. Scripture is very clear about where the unconverted mind will take you. 

We see this in the church today, with leaders embracing and promoting philosophies and behaviors that God calls an abomination. All the while, they tout their superior spiritual knowledge and all-inclusive love. I tremble because it will not end well for them personally or for those under their supposed spiritual care.  

So, remember, if you desert Christ as the Head, you disqualify yourself from a relationship with Him and the true Church. He is the only source of salvation and the Head of the Church. 

The Final WAY (we could be disqualified from our relationship with Christ) is, 

By Digression 

To digress is “to step or turn aside; to swerve; especially, to turn aside from the main subject of attention.” In Paul’s argument, Christ is the main subject of attention.  

In verse 20, Paul begins a question that spans the following three verses. The fundamental question is this: “In light of what Christ has done for you, why are you turning aside from Him to pursue the very things from which you were set free?”  

Paul states that their death with Christ has occurred in the past. Since we have, figuratively, come out of the grave with Christ from His death, we must not live as though this never happened! We must not turn aside to pursue the things Christ has set us free from.  

In verse 21, Paul mentions that the ordinances, or the Law, contained prohibitions. But those prohibitions were all concerning things that disappear with use: foods, drink, the ceremonial washing of hands, etc. All of those things were done away with in Christ. Now, he asks why you would return to those prohibitions, “handle not, taste not, don’t even touch?”  

Notice the progression here. Handling, as it is used here, is superficial and mainly sensory. Taste is self-explanatory. As used here, touch means to fasten oneself to something or cling to it.  All these prohibitions perish with use because the things themselves are consumed. 

The false teachers at Colossae were trying to distract the people from Christ. Their regulations appeared to be wisdom, but man’s wisdom, not God’s. They rejected God’s guidelines for worship and substituted the things created by their unregenerated minds.  

Paul closes this section by saying that these prohibitions, while they appeal to men as indications of superior wisdom and piety, have no value as remedies against sensual indulgence. Denying oneself the legitimate pleasures of life without a corresponding change of heart doesn’t bring about a life that brings forth fruit to the glory of God.  

I pray that you will not allow yourself to be disqualified from your relationship with Christ and His church. Don’t be deceived by the many smooth talkers who claim to follow Christ today. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing there are things you must add to Christ to be saved. Embrace the substance, not the shadow. 

Further, don’t desert Christ as the Head. Christ’s headship is the keynote of this letter to the Colossians and the heart of the Gospel. Deserting Christ as the Head will leave a leaderless and out-of-control church, and we’re seeing that today. 

Finally, don’t turn aside from Christ to return to the bondage of the things from which you were set free. You have died with Christ and been raised with Him into glorious freedom. Don’t allow anyone or anything to disqualify you from your relationship with Him!  

We just heard J Mark explain three ways we could be disqualified. It is a sobering reminder to take life seriously; our choices have consequences. Thinking about the first deception, I was struck again with how insidious deception is. If we knew it was happening, we would correct it, but it typically happens gradually. In Thessalonians, Paul gives us what I believe is the best way to guard against deception. He tells us to love the truth. Truth is in Jesus, hearing directly from Him and others who know Him. Then I realized this is also a great guard against desertion and digression, and I love the truth. If you love Jesus, you won’t turn away or turn aside from following Him, and you will hear His truth spoken to you through His Word and His people.   

If you have any questions about today’s teaching or want to contact us for any reason, here are a few ways to reach us. An easy way is email; our email is [email protected]. You can also message us online; our website is heraldsofhope.org. Once there, click “Contact Us” on the top right.  And of course, there is always a pen and paper. Our address is Hope for Today, Box 3 Breezewood, PA 15533. We look forward to hearing from you soon.  

Thanks again for being with us today. In closing, I leave you with the verse I mentioned from II Thessalonians 4, “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.For this reason,  God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” Let’s go now and love the truth.   

*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.