In Colossians 2:1-10, Paul attacked the false teachings of the Gnostics who had infiltrated the church at Colosse with erroneous views of the deity of Jesus Christ. The Colossian church had been overrun with Jewish legalism and Greek philosophy and attempted to mix their teachings with the doctrines of Christianity. Epaphras, the founder of the church at Colosse, had traveled to see Paul in a Roman prison where he hoped that the apostle could provide some encouragment and direction in cleaning up the church’s beliefs. Paul had many strong words of challenge to the readers of this letter: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught.” (Colossians 2:6-7) Paul warned them not to stray from the principles which they were taught at the beginning of their faith; in other words, he did not want them to buy into some new teaching. Turning his attention from Gnosticism, Paul now deals with the Jewish legalism which had also become a problem in the church. At its’ core, legalism is a man-made system of rules and regulations which supposedly bring salvation and favor from God. Legalism focuses on the external and places much emphasis on what I do, not who I am. The Pharisee of Jesus’ time were the best documented legalists. Ultimately, those involved in legalism are more concerned with their outward actions than they are with their heart…Jesus was concerned with both! One of the major characteristics of those in a system of legalism was their belief in circumcision as necessary for salvation. Paul contests this immediately by saying that the Colossians “were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ.” Circumcision initially was exclusive to the Jews and really carried many health benefits, but God meant for it to be a symbol of the cleansing of the heart. Jews, over the course of time, viewed circumcision as a necessary action for salvation, but this was never God’s plan. Just as the sacrifice of an innocent lamb could not take away sin, circumcision had no power to remove sin. Jesus Christ is the only one with the power to offer forgiveness of sin (2:13). In fact, through His death and resurrection Jesus “wiped out the handwriting of requirements…having nailed it to the cross.” All of the rules and regulations were never meant to bring us victory over sin, but rather reveal our sinfulness and need for someone to bring forgiveness.
Dear God, thank You for not relying on me for salvation because I know I could never attain it on my own. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin!
