Passage: Colossians 2:16-17
The Big Idea
You are complete in Jesus. So don’t let anyone judge your spirituality by food, drink, festivals or special days. Those Old Testament practices were shadows pointing to Christ, and He is the real thing. Legalism is a red herring that pulls us off the scent of the One we’re really pursuing.
Complete in Him
Paul has been teaching us everything Jesus has done for us, and it all comes down to this: you are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).
It can’t be said too many times. You are totally and forever complete in Jesus alone. If you have Jesus, you have everything you’ll ever need in this life and the next.
That’s not complicated, is it? But it can seem complicated. So many voices saying different things. Different rules. Different ways.
How can we know what true spirituality is? Is Jesus really enough? Don’t I have to do something? How do I prove I’m good, that I measure up, that I deserve heaven?
The Bible gives one simple answer, always the same and always consistent: Jesus. He is God. He is good. He loves you. And He is sufficient. His grace is all we need. We can never deserve heaven or measure up. Yet Jesus gives everything to every undeserving person who puts their faith in Him alone.
Three Faith Killers
Over the next few studies, we’ll look at three things that can ruin your faith and spiritual life, and how we’re safe from them when we cling to Jesus:
- Legalism
- Weird spirituality
- Holier-than-thou self-denial
All three are really just pride wearing different outfits.
The Text (Colossians 2:16-17)
So don’t let anyone judge you about what you eat or drink, or about festivals, new moons or Sabbaths. These were a shadow of what was coming, but the substance, the reality, belongs to Christ.
The time for shadows is over. The real thing has come.
Who Falls in Love with a Shadow?
Throughout The Lord of the Rings, there’s talk of a coming Shadow. Something real was out there casting it, but it hadn’t been fully revealed yet.
(What do you call a gangster hobbit? Yolo Swaggins. His crew is the Fellowship of the Bling.)
As Christians, we need to understand that the Old Testament Law works the same way. It was all shadow. The reality that cast the shadow is Jesus.
So who ever falls in love with a shadow?
Imagine I come home from a long trip. My wife has been waiting by the window, longing for me to come home. When I pull up, she runs out of the house with reckless abandon, great zeal and sincere commitment. But as she reaches me, she ignores me completely and starts hugging and kissing my shadow.
(I wouldn’t trust my shadow anyway. He’s a shady guy.)
Why give your attention and affection to a shadow when the real thing is standing right there?
Shadows and Substance
Paul says that because we’re complete in Jesus, the real thing, we don’t need the shadows anymore. But people keep going back to the shadows when they can’t see the real thing or aren’t connected to Him.
The laws, rituals and traditions of the Old Testament are the shadows:
- Food: special diets.
- Drink.
- Festivals: special celebrations.
- New moons.
- Sabbaths: weekly or special holy days.
All of these pointed to Jesus, which means they were good. But they all became obsolete when Jesus came. So no one should enforce them as rules for being spiritual.
“I’m a Christian!” Great, tell me about it.
- “I eat these things and not those.” Nope.
- “I drink these things and not those.” Nope.
- “I celebrate this way. I keep this special holiday.” Nope.
- “I go to church on this particular day and keep it holy.” Nope.
That all misses the point. None of it makes you a Christian. Christians are people who have a real relationship with Jesus through humility and faith. Not magical practices, and not legalistic rule-keeping.
Why It Matters: Pride
The heart behind all legalism is pride. Pride that refuses to admit its spiritual bankruptcy.
“I can follow this rule! I can do that. I can be this. I can impress. I can, I can, I can. I, I, I.”
But legalism chokes out true spiritual life, because spiritual life doesn’t come from “I.” When we say “I do _” and “I have done _,” we’ll never experience the life-giving grace of Jesus. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
So instead of giving life, legalism steals it and puts us in handcuffs. We’re stuck. In bondage. Paralyzed.
Sadly, many genuine believers live under some form of this yoke, thinking, “If I just do this or that, I’ll be more acceptable to God.” They might not say it out loud, but their actions show it.
What are we hugging? What are we loving? The shadow or the real thing?
Look around:
- Some people give up certain foods or pleasures for a season, believing that will improve their standing with God.
- Some try to become more acceptable to God by wearing special clothing.
- Some keep strict food laws without even knowing why. “It’s just part of our religion.”
- Some groups say you can’t be in good standing if you drink certain beverages.
- Some insist you must keep a particular day to please God.
Paul says don’t let anyone judge your spirituality by these shadows, because you have the substance, Christ Himself, living in you, your hope of glory.
Food and Drink
We’re not talking about gluttony or drunkenness. Neither leads to more spiritual life; they’re just waste.
What we’re talking about goes deeper. Legalists want us to believe that not eating or drinking certain things will make us more spiritual or impress God, as if it’s the vehicle to a better life with Him.
But Jesus takes both food and drink and shows us the real substance that casts the shadow: Himself.
Jesus said He is the bread of life. Whoever comes to Him will never hunger, and whoever believes in Him will never thirst. Their ancestors ate manna in the wilderness and still died, but He is the living bread from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread He gives is His own flesh, given for the life of the world. Whoever feeds on Him abides in Him and will live because of Him (John 6:35-58).
So we don’t need less eating. We need more! Taking His life into us as a free gift.
To the woman at the well, Jesus said that anyone who drinks ordinary water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water He gives will never thirst. It becomes a spring inside, welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-14).
We don’t need to stop drinking. We need to drink from the right fountain, the free one, found only in Jesus.
All eating and all drinking are pictures of our life with and from Jesus. He nourishes us. He supplies everything we need for life.
Festivals, New Moons and Sabbaths
Do parties, special days or special church services make us spiritual? No. Jesus does.
Paul tells the Corinthians their boasting isn’t good. A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. So get rid of the old yeast and be a new batch, as you really are. Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed, so let’s keep the feast, not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
Keep the feast? Celebrate Him. Only Him.
We can’t glory in anything of our own. That’s pride, and pride is a yeast that spreads through the whole loaf. But in Him we’re pure, through His sacrifice for us. So celebrate Jesus. Not days, or anything we do or have done.
Do days of rest make us spiritual? Self-care? No. Jesus is our rest (Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4:9-10). We rest in Him and don’t need to look anywhere else for relief.
The Red Herring
Not everything that looks spiritual is.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “red herring.” One popular story says it comes from training hunting dogs. Once the dogs were following the right scent, trainers would drag a smelly smoked fish across the trail. At first the dogs would chase the fish smell. They had to learn to ignore it and stay focused on their real target.
A red herring is anything that pulls our attention away from what we should be pursuing.
Legalism is a red herring.
Paul’s whole point is that the key to authentic spirituality is pursuing Jesus Christ and nothing else, because He alone is the source of true spiritual life. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
All His life is ours as we relate to Him in humility and faith. All of it a free gift of grace.
Grace Takeaway
Don’t hug the shadow when the Substance has come home. Food laws, holy days and religious rituals all pointed to Jesus. Now that He’s here, chase Him, feed on Him, rest in Him. You are complete in Him.
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