What pleases God? Have you ever attempted to answer that question? Does the message you're preaching to yourself line up with what Scripture teaches about that concept?
I have the opportunity to officiate at many funerals during the course of a year. I have officiated for the funerals of most of my grandparents and many other family members. I have officiated for the funerals of friends, church members, and other pastors. I have also officiated for the funerals of people I didn't even know. And whenever I officiate or speak for a funeral, I inevitably discover what some of the people in the room believe will please God.
Tragically, in my experience, I have noticed that most people seem to believe the fruit of their labors, the ways they have treated others, and the things they've avoided (at least publicly) will earn them points in God's scoring system. Some are also convinced that the suffering they've endured might work in their favor in God's economy as well. It's a belief in effort.
Admittedly, when I was growing up, I had the impression that salvation might essentially come down to the last thing you did on this earth. I was convinced that if you smoked, drank, swore, or if the last action you took on this earth was sinful, you were out of the kingdom.
So how is God pleased? He is pleased when He is trusted. Scripture makes it clear that genuine faith pleases Him. Not faith in our efforts and avoidances, but faith in Jesus Christ who graces us with His righteousness when we trust in Him. Genuine faith in Christ will bear all kinds of good fruit. It will bear the fruit of worship. It will bear the fruit of better relationships with others. It will also bear the fruit of joyful obedience to the Lord's instruction.
But it's a hard thing to convince some people of that. In fact, there is a large faction of humanity that is convinced that beating themselves up in one way or another will earn them extra credit with God, and that's a very unbiblical concept. In fact, that's an issue Paul directly addressed in Colossians 2:16-23.
I. On what basis do you think you're better than anyone else?
““Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” ”
It's interesting to observe just how concerned Paul was with false teaching during the days of the early church. It was clearly a problem, and it was something Paul wanted young believers to be on their guard against because it would impact their life and faith in drastic ways.
One of the fruits of false teaching is a smug attitude. If you are convinced that you possess secret knowledge or wisdom that isn't available or accessible to someone else, you might actually begin to think you're better than them. That appears to have been a problem when it came to some of the legalistic teachings that were prevalent in the culture of Paul's day. It's still a problem today as well, and often gets disguised as being Christian in nature, even though it isn't.
Have you ever personally experienced someone thinking they were better than you? Has that ever occurred in a faith context? I still remember being asked to speak at a church years ago that was without pastoral leadership. When I arrived, a member of the staff started asking me a bunch of questions but then realized I wasn't a member of their denomination (a group that has been known for being painfully legalistic). He froze and wasn't sure what to do. He didn't really want to allow me to speak, but felt stuck because the service was about to begin so he reluctantly said, "I guess it will be OK?" It was awkward, and I was definitely made to feel like I was a lesser Christian.
In Colossae, it appears that there were some people who had a habit of looking down on others who didn't share in their practices. Some of these young believers were being treated in a condescending way because they didn't observe some of the same festivals or eat in a way that aligned with the beliefs of those who judged them.
This experience was demonstrating something very consequential about the faith of those who made these believers feel somewhat diminished. Their faith was in checklists and arbitrary rules. In some ways, you could say their faith was in creation not the Creator. And because their faith was in their own righteousness, their actions demonstrated that they weren't filled with the Spirit of God. Instead of building others up, they tore them down. Instead of making the lives of others better, they thought of themselves as better than others.
II. How much pain do you think you need to endure to earn God's favor?
““Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” ”
There's a lot of debate about the nature of the false teaching that was prevalent in Colossae, but some of the clues as to what it included are referenced in these verses. For starters, it involved some forms of asceticism which involves treating the body in an overly harsh manner for supposedly religious reasons. It also involved the worship of angels, which Scripture clearly forbids, and the holy angels themselves reject. It also seemed to involve supposed religious authorities boasting about visions they had seen and then using those claims as a means to gain authority or influence.
Are you convinced that you need to inflict some form of pain upon yourself in order to gain the favor of God? That's something many people in this world are presently attempting to do.
In the Philippines, there are people who volunteer to be nailed to crosses at Easter time.
Some traditions insist on celibacy and dietary requirements for their religious leaders.
I have read stories of monks who tied themselves upright to poles to prevent sleep.
Some religions have traditions that insist their leaders avoid bathing.
Some practice complete seclusion and abnormal periods of silence.
In Hinduism, there used to be a practice of staring at the sun until you became blind.
Other traditions have included forms of personal torture like self-laceration.
Is this what really pleases God? Why have so many become convinced that it will? Mankind spends so much time trying to impress God with our suffering, and trying to be acknowledged by Him for it when we should be thanking Him for the suffering Jesus already did on our behalf and acknowledging that Christ's suffering was sufficient to atone for our sin.
Jesus is the Head of the church. As Paul reminds us in this passage, it's through Christ that we are knit together as a body and spiritually nourished. Torturing ourselves will never earn the favor of God. God's favor is graciously shown to undeserving people through Jesus Christ who already suffered on our behalf. Hold fast to Jesus.
III. Are you living a new life or a different version of the old one?
““If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?” ”
Sometimes, it can be easier to go through the motions than it is to stand your ground. We see examples of this in our own lives in all kinds of contexts. In fact, I'm convinced that most people would rather put up with ridiculous things than risk standing up for themselves and receiving the criticism or conflict that might result from doing so.
Can I share an example of this that played out in my own life when I first started reading the Bible? In Matthew 6:7, Jesus told us not to use meaningless repetition when we're praying. Then He gave us an example of prayer in what we commonly call the Lord's Prayer. When I read that I thought, how ironic is it that we've turned that prayer into a recitation that we repeat without meaning a word of what we're saying. So I stopped reciting it as a teenager in my home church and I committed to only repeating it if I could pray it genuinely. Would it surprise you to know that my decision didn't sit well with some people?
In the case of the Colossians, there was pressure to go through the motions of religious exercise to convey an outward appearance of religious devotion, whether or not that conduct was truly biblical. There were rules about what could be handled, tasted, and touched that gave the impression of being godly, but really had more to do with the praise and attention of others than honoring or worshipping God.
Here's the thing. God saves us in order to give us a brand new life in Christ. He isn't saving us so we can keep going through the motions of the mistaken understanding we once had about issues of faith. Once your eyes are opened to the truth of Christ's gospel, start acting on that truth. Don't drift right back to the vain or meaningless practices you embraced before you understood the nature of genuine faith.
IV. Do you want what looks good or what is good?
““These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” ”
The other day, I made a comment about a political leader to my wife. It wasn't someone from our country, so don't assume I'm speaking about an American politician (even though this would be true of some of them as well). I said to her, "That politician strikes me as the kind of guy who looks good and might be effective at winning popularity contests, but he has no idea how to actually lead people through tough moments. He doesn't inspire. He doesn't enlighten. He forces his will and bristles against demonstrating humility. He may look good, but he isn't good at what he's being called to do."
Many supposedly religious activities operate the same exact way. They look good, but are they? And if you're actually serious about growing as a Christian, do you want what looks good or what is good?
I want what is good. Life is too short to spend it going through the motions. Self-made religion and asceticism may appear to help us overcome our temptations to sin, but they don't actually work. They actually just mask our sin and provoke even more of it.
If you're trying to overcome temptation in your life, start with trusting Christ and continue with preaching His gospel to your heart. Remind yourself of His sufficiency. Tell yourself that He is the one your heart is longing for. Seek His power in the midst of your weaknesses, and trust that He will supply everything you need to overcome the things of this world that are trying to drag you back to what your life was like before you learned that you can rely on Jesus.
© John Stange, 2022
