Dying to "the elemental spirits of the world"

The more we try, the more we fail. The more rules there are, the more opportunity arises to break them. God's covenant with us is not based on rules and regulations, but on his grace poured out to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, Paul writes to the church in Colossae, "See to it that no 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" (Colossians 2.8). In the original Greek, "the elemental spirits [ or "elementary principles"] of the world" is a military term for a strict, orderly code of conduct. Paul is not discounting the need for rules and regulations in establishing boundaries and parameters, but he is saying that such codes of conduct are, in and of themselves, void of any spiritual power. Human beings are incapable of saving themselves by following rules because human beings are incapable of following rules.

The law served its purpose in revealing to human beings that they are fallen creatures who cannot, by their own effort and strength, live a life that is pleasing to God. The only way the requirements of the law could be fulfilled was for God, the Author of the law, to become man and submit to the law's righteous requirements on man's behalf. The way to reconciliation with God, therefore, is through Christ and Christ alone. To die with him "to the elemental spirits of the world" is to surrender our will to his and to let go of any and every claim to righteousness based on our own effort.

Legalism leads to judgmentalism, and Paul warns the Colossians to discount those who claim to be superior in their faith and, through their overindulgences, have become severed from "the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God" (Colossians 2.19).

All who have died with Christ "to the elemental spirits of the world" are one body and share one faith. Being vitally connected to "the Head," they grow together toward the perfection that God desires for them; to be like Christ in every facet of their lives and to be transformed into his perfect image and likeness. Such growth into Christ requires mutual accountability and nurture. Arrogance and spiritual superiority are obstacles which are to be avoided on the journey to perfect holiness.

The Law is Not About You

In our fallen human condition, we are oriented toward seeking that which is best for ourselves. We scoff at God's commandments and reject his ways as unjust. It is a perspective that is upside down and backward, for in the end, we will destroy ourselves with the worldly pleasures of self-indulgence. Only when we turn from our self-centered ways and surrender to God will we begin to understand that obedience to his commandments is the way to true freedom.

The lawyer who questioned Jesus (Luke 10:25-37) was right in his summation of the law. It is all about loving God "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He should have stopped there. But he went a step further, "desiring to justify himself."

For all his knowledge of the law, the lawyer remained a self-centered person. He saw the law as being all about himself. He wanted to reverse the order. From his perspective, justification under the law began with love of self, then love of neighbor, then love of God. His question, "And who his my neighbor?" was overflowing with a misdirected love for himself. "Who is my neighbor, so that I can love him as I love myself, for then I can also love God?"

Read it all at Columbia Faith and Culture Examiner.

The False Gospel of Legalism

Legalism is a pointless and self-defeating exercise in self-righteousness. On the outside, the ritual of following rules and regulations may give one, as Paul says in his letter to the believers in Colossae, the "appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body" (Colossians 2:23), but it accomplishes nothing in the way of transforming the inner life of one whose mind is set on indulging the desires of the flesh. Outward appearances mean nothing when God peers into the inner depths of one's soul and finds only corruption and carnality. All the boasting about "asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions" is not the fruit of a life surrendered to Christ but, rather, the outward manifestation of the inward orientation of a person who is "puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind" (Colossians 2:18).

The superficial phonies who promoted this kind of self-centered legalism were a constant source of antagonism for Paul and a constant obstacle to the growth in grace of all those to whom he proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. There was nothing life-changing or transformational about the alternative (false) gospel they proclaimed. It was merely a rehash of dead Jewish legalism; a feeble attempt by the party of the Judaizers to impose upon the Gentiles the same rules and regulations which had proved so burdensome for the Jews. Paul insists that such human-centered tradition is not only unnecessary, but also obsolete because of Christ. To continue to observe such outward practices was to walk not according to Christ, but according to the flesh. By his death on the cross, Christ "cancel(led) the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands" and "disarmed the rulers and authorities," those demonic forces which seek to oppress us, "and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Colossians 2:14-15).

Why, then, Paul asks,would anyone want to diminish the triumph of Christ by reverting back to the rituals and practices which were only "a shadow of the things to come" (Colossians 2:17)? Now that Christ, to whom belongs "the substance" to which all else was only a shadow, has appeared and triumphed over sin and death, the purpose of the law has been fulfilled. The life of the believer is not defined by outward appearances, but by the inward presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit, working to perfect the whole person in holiness; a holiness that cannot be achieved through outward ritual, but by the filling of one's whole being with him in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9).

Read it all at Columbia Faith and Culture Examiner.

Mike Huckabee and the Other "L" Word

Mike Huckabee is a fast rising candidate for President of the United States. But seventeen years ago, he was president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention and, in that capacity, wrote the following article for the July 19, 1990 issue of the Arkansas Baptist News. Although he was addressing an issue specific to his convention at the time, his thoughts resonate across the years--and across denominational and sectarian lines.

The ‘L’ word that may characterize our greatest threat is not liberalism but legalism. If all the liberals in Arkansas Baptist churches held a meeting, they could meet in the corner booth of a Waffle House and still have room for guests.

Legalism is the reduction of the whole of the Bible to a rather limited system of ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ that the one espousing already lives. By carefully limiting ‘right and wrong’ to those beliefs or practices one already adheres to, the legalist is able to always be right and never wrong. Convenient system to be sure. It requires no struggle of conscience, no agonizing soul-searching, no brokenness. Others aren’t judged by the character of Christ, but by the behavior of the legalist.

Legalism is not limited to the theological camp of the conservatives, moderates or anyone in between or beyond. Like a worthless weed, it grows in whatever soil it is planted and is capable of choking out anything that gets in its way without ever producing fruit of value.

Biblical faith is sure about God, but never so sure about self. Legalistic faith is sure of self, and may or may not be as sure of God and His Word. A legalist questions everyone else’s motives and mission, but never sees a need to question his own. A strong Christian is not only interested in believing right, but living right. A strong Christian should want others to be more like Jesus, not more ‘like me.’

We do not live under ‘Lord Law,’ ‘Lord Tradition,’ ‘Lord Religion’ or even ‘Lord Belief.’ We are saved when we confess ‘Lord Jesus.’ When He is Lord, we learn a new ‘L’ word – love. Jesus said that the world would know we belonged to Him not because we worship the same, believe the same or even live the same, but because we love one another.”

HT: Wade Burleson