In His Service

  The End to Fake Worship Col. 2:20-23 If you are a genuine believer, then you will be able to distinguish the fake from the real. Before Christ, did you ever follow the rules only because you were required too. And did you go with the flow, bow the knee, or the head in order to be perceived as a true believer? You aren’t the only one who faked worship. Or did you agree to do a ritual or sign a covenant in order to belong to a church?   This is Paul’s fourth and final warning against asceticism, the imposing of man-made rules as a means of gaining favor with God.  So let’s read the first portion of the text of the lesson. “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:  “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.” In this...

  El Fin De la Adoración Falsa Col. 2:20-23 Si eres un creyente genuino, podrás distinguir lo falso de lo real. Antes de Cristo, ¿alguna vez seguías las reglas sólo porque a ti también se te exigía? ¿Y usted se dejó llevar por la corriente, inclinó la rodilla o la cabeza para ser percibido como un verdadero creyente? No eres el único que fingió la adoración. ¿O accediste a hacer un ritual o firmar un pacto para poder pertenecer a una iglesia?   Esta es la cuarta y última advertencia de Pablo contra el ascetismo, la imposición de reglas creadas por el hombre como medio para ganarse el favor de Dios.  Entonces, leamos la primera parte del texto de la lección. “Ya que moriste con Cristo a las fuerzas espirituales elementales de este mundo, ¿por qué, como si todavía pertenecieran al mundo, te sometes a sus reglas: “¡No manipule! ¡No lo pruebes! ¡No tocar!"? Estas reglas, que tienen que ver con cosas que están destinadas a perecer con el uso, se basan en mandamientos ...

  Freedom Found in Christ Col. 2:16-19 Legalism has been smothered over religious life from its earliest inception. Don’t do this, do that's have plagued the lives of believers who truly are trying to live in the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ. It has added requirements and rigid covenants to the salvation in Christ and living for Christ. This was part of what Paul had encountered in the Colossian heresy, as well as the mystical element of false humility and veneration of spiritual beings and the prominence of  dreams and visions to guide their spiritual journey instead of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit connectedness to the direction and guidance of Jesus Christ as the head of the church and the body. So let’s begin with the first portion of the text, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however...