God Guides Us Into True Spirituality

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita

“God guides us into true spirituality” 

Colossians 2:16-23

One thing I noticed when I visit a bank is the poster on the wall giving warning to clients of the presence of counterfeit money. The public is cautioned against the use and exchange of counterfeit bills because they cause economic damage. When more paper money is circulating without corresponding reserve in the Central bank, the value of the money goes down and a lot of people will be affected. Anything that is extremely valuable will be counterfeited. Fake gems have been around for thousands of years, but as the technology for making them has advanced, fakes are now harder to detect with the naked eye.
Gem buyers today must be aware of three types of gems that are made to look more valuable than they are.

1 – Synthetic gems are lab-grown stones that closely duplicate a natural gem’s physical and chemical properties.
2 – Simulated gems are also manmade. The color of a simulated stone may be similar to that of a natural gem, but it is very different physically and chemically. Cubic zirconia is a well-known diamond simulation.
3 – Enhanced gems are natural gems altered in some way to improve their look. Color can be enhanced through heat, radiation, oils and chemicals. Other methods used to imitate or enhance the value of stones are dyeing, waxing or smoking poor quality stones to make them look richer.
Experts advise buyers to verify a stone’s value with gem-testing labs, such as the Gemological Institute of America, before any sales are final. When paying big money for jewels, you want to be very careful about getting the genuine article.
It is the same with truth. We must ensure we are not falling for heresy. Spirituality can also be counterfeited, but God liberates us from this trap.
Colossians 2:16-23, 2:16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – 2:17 these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ! 2:18 Let no one who delights in false humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. 2:19 He has not held fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? 2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. 2:23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence.”
Apostle Paul was addressing the problem of false spirituality in his letter to the Colossian believers. On the one hand, he was condemning the Judaizers of their strict rules and regulations which they imposed on their members in order to gain God’s approval. On the other hand, he was exposing the vanity of the Gnostics who prided themselves with secret knowledge which they considered as their ticket to spiritual realities. Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός gnostikos, "learned", from γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) describes a collection of ancient religions whose adherents shunned the material world - which they viewed as created by the demiurge - and embraced the spiritual world.[1] Gnostic ideas influenced many ancient religions[2] that teach that gnosis (variously interpreted as knowledge, enlightenment, salvation, emancipation or 'oneness with God') may be reached by practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty, sexual abstinence (as far as possible for hearers, entirely for initiates) and diligently searching for wisdom by helping others.[3] However, practices varied among those who were Gnostic.
There are two principles we can learn from this passage concerning true spirituality:
First, True spirituality is free from judgment. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days.”
One of the greatest blessings God’s children have in Jesus Christ is the absence of judgment. When Jesus took the penalty of our sins on the cross, there is no more condemnation to those who are in Jesus. No human being can judge our spirituality based on food and other regulations because the greatest Judge has set us free. This freedom, however, does not give us a license to do evil because it is contrary to our nature as liberated souls to indulge in acts of disobedience to the one who set us free.
In the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, fell to the Union army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city. Even though no one knew he was coming, slaves recognized him immediately and thronged around him. He had liberated them by the Emancipation Proclamation, and now Lincoln’s army had set them free. According to Admiral David Porter, an eyewitness, Lincoln spoke to the throng around him: "My poor friends, you are free—free as air. You can cast off the name of slave and trample upon it ... . Liberty is your birthright."
But Lincoln also warned them not to abuse their freedom. "Let the world see that you merit [your freedom]," Lincoln said, "Don’t let your joy carry you into excesses. Learn the laws and obey them."
That is very much like the message Jesus gives to those whom he has liberated by his death and resurrection. Jesus gives us our true birthright—spiritual freedom. But that freedom isn’t an excuse for disobedience; it forms the basis for learning and obeying God’s laws. It gives us direction in action.
Second, True spirituality is free from pride. “Let no one who delights in false humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you.”
One of the marks of Christ’s followers is the absence of pride. No believer can afford to be arrogant because his status is based on the mercy of the loving God. Disobedience is the highest form of arrogance because it defies the will of the one who gave himself for us. When a person experiences love from another person, he cannot be proud of himself because love is a gift. Many times this gift is undeserved.
When the first missionaries came to Alberta, Canada, they were savagely opposed by a young chief of the Cree Indians named Maskepetoon. But later, he responded to the gospel and accepted Christ. Shortly afterward, a member of the Blackfoot tribe killed his father. Maskepetoon rode into the village where the murderer lived and demanded that he be brought before him. Confronting the guilty man, he said, "You have killed my father, so now you must be my father. You shall ride my best horse and wear my best clothes." In utter amazement and remorse his enemy exclaimed, "My son, now you have killed me!" He meant, of course, that the hate in his own heart had been completely erased by the forgiveness and kindness of the Indian chief.
Even Apostle Paul who was given the opportunity to do great things for God and see great things from God decided that only in the crucifixion of Jesus can he take pride. Paul considered all his accomplishments as rubbish in exchange for the all surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus as Lord.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a great leader of Great Britain during the Second World War. He was gifted with the ability to speak and led the nation from potential defeat to Victory. Winston Churchill was once asked, "Doesn't it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."
When we realize that our present status is a result of mercy and grace, we can never be proud. Instead, we constantly look to the one who made this great blessing come to us. Our lives are stained deep with sin, but there is a fountain filled with the blood of the lamb that carried them all away.
In the 14th century, Robert Bruce of Scotland was leading his men in a battle to gain independence from England. Near the end of the conflict, the English wanted to capture Bruce to keep him from the Scottish crown. So they put his own bloodhounds on his trail. When the bloodhounds got close, Bruce could hear their baying. His attendant said, "We are done for. They are on your trail, and they will reveal your hiding place." Bruce replied, "It's all right." Then he headed for a stream that flowed through the forest. He plunged in and waded upstream a short distance. When he came out on the other bank, he was in the depths of the forest. Within minutes, the hounds, tracing their master's steps, came to the bank. They went no farther. The English soldiers urged them on, but the trail was broken. The stream had carried the scent away. A short time later, the crown of Scotland rested on the head of Robert Bruce.
The memory of our sins, prodded on by Satan, can be like those baying dogs--but a stream flows, red with the blood of God's own Son. By grace through faith we are safe. No sin-hound can touch us. The trail is broken by the precious blood of Christ. "The purpose of the cross," someone observed, "is to repair the irreparable."
True spirituality assures us that we are no longer condemned before the holy Judge because he already gave himself for us. In the same manner, true spirituality removes any trace of pride or rebellion knowing that it is not our strength and power that liberates us from sin but the precious blood of Jesus.
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

3. See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

4. Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.