Substitutes

Colossians 2

“You must never allow anyone to come between you and Christ. In Him is all wisdom and knowledge and all the fullness of God, and you are complete in Him. Why accept a substitute?” Apostle Paul (summarized)

Warren Wiersbe writes, “You have in Christ all that you need. Beware substitutes... Let no one deceive you!”

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” Colossians 2:1–5 (ESV)

Religious systems seem so inviting, and their leaders are so persuasive. Religious systems are ever shifting, adjusting, even compromising and enabling; and if you follow them, you will substitute man’s ideas for God’s truth. You will settle for practices that are a slippery slope to unholiness, sinfulness, even dark and deadly. You will not always be in the Will of the Father.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that 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 2:6–8 (ESV)

Here the thief is man-made philosophy and tradition; a cheat, pleasing to the world but rejected by the Lord. If you have all fullness in Christ, why substitute man’s empty philosophies?

“Like mighty trees, believers are to remain rooted in Jesus, both in knowledge and in practice. That way, growth will occur and protection from false teachers will be provided.” Dr Tony Evans
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13–14 (ESV)

When a person was executed under Roman law, the sentence was attached to the accused’s cross (see John 19:19). But Jesus took our sentence away, effectively nailing our certificates of debt to his cross. He paid our penalty; he died for our guilt. God “made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”

“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. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Colossians 2:16–17 (ESV)

Legalism is the robber here, stealing your liberty in Christ and making you live by religious regulations instead of by God’s grace.

“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— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 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.” Colossians 2:20–23 (ESV)

Finally, let no one defraud you...
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“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, 19 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.” Colossians 2:18–23 (ESV)

Here the culprit is religious mysticism that replaces spiritual nourishment from Christ with empty (but exciting) religious experiences. It’s many times religious laws that seem to replace or at least quench the Holy Spirit from leading, developing and building the Kingdom God wishes to establish.

Are you accepting a substitute for Jesus and His love and grace? Are you being deceived, cheated, judged or defrauded with false gods and a false theology? Are you substituting righteous works for a growing faith in Jesus Christ who is God, who is the Way?

Know today, in Christ is found the secret to truth and to knowledge and to life; apprehending that truth leads to wisdom.
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Understand, lies can sound reasonable, but they’re still lies. The Bible is our standard for discerning truth from error. Only the full understanding of Christ can keep believers from being deceived by persuasive arguments and false promise.

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