Colossians Part 1 Introduction I want to start this Colossians series with a very important question.

A simple question but I think its one that we need to ask ourselves nonetheless. And the question is, what is Christianity to you? When you hear the term Christian, or Christianity, what does that mean to you? And the reason Im asking that is because I think that words like Christian and Christianity have lost their meaning in certain circles. In fact because of that we dont really use the term Christian that much anymore, because its lost some of its meaning. We prefer to say Follower of Christ, which gives people a better idea of what we are, if we are Christians. I think nowadays if I tell someone that Im a Christian, they think of it as really just another religion. Its really just some organized movement, where there are these rules, which are difficult to obey. And youre part of this group that meets regularly and have religious meetings. In many parts of the western world, Christianity is seen as this conservative archaic backward thinking, living in the past group of people who have no concept of reality, who have refused to move forward with issues that the world is facing. Now I know that most of you probably dont feel that way, otherwise you probably wouldnt be here. And if you do feel that way, Im glad that youre here to be willing to listen from our perspective as to what Christianity is actually all about. But one thing that I think youll realize that if someone claims to be a Christian, their view of what a Christianity, or their view of what Christianity is, will determine their worldview. If youre someone who is a Christian, your view of Christianity will determine your identity. It will determine what you live for, how you live, it will determine your purpose. So its very important that we have a correct view of what it means to be a Christian. About 2000 years there were people who were calling themselves Christians, but they had actually lost the plot in terms of what it meant to be a Christian. There were some strange ideas going around about Christianity. Gareth touched on some of them last week. But I think this stuff that was being taught is summed in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 8. Paul says, see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. To put it briefly Paul is not knocking philosophy in and of itself, he is attacking some of the ideas about Christianity that were going around, which were no more than made up philosophies which were deceptive and based on tradition instead of Gods ideas, and based on the basic principles of this world.

And by principles of this world Paul is talking about the principles of some of the pagan religions that were around at the time. And Paul needed to say this. Because many people were buying into these ideas, thinking they were Christian ideas. So this is a warning by Paul against the ideas that were going around at the time. And as Paul says at the end of that verse (2:8), these ideas and philosophies rely on things other than Christ. I wonder if Paul were around today, if he couldnt use these exact words to describe many religious movements today. I dont know if youve noticed, but being a Christian is becoming increasingly unpopular. Because if youre a Christian, you believe the Bible, and the Bible says certain things that the world doesnt like to believe. So what were very tempted to do is to try and make the Bible more acceptable. We try and downplay some of the teachings, in fact we try and deny some of the teachings. So youll get some Christians who change their views, not because theyve been convinced Biblically, but because theyve felt pressure from the world around them. So youll have some popular preachers wholl make claims like you dont have to know Jesus to spend eternity with God. Or youll get people who dont like what the Bible says about sex and marriage, so theyll twist it to make it say what is more palatable and popular. In the words of Paul, see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ. What these popular philosophies had also done was to take the basic gospel and add to it. In other words, they would say its fine that youre a Christian, but thats not enough, you need more than that. And of course what does that do? it undermines Jesus. It tells us that Jesus isnt enough. We also see that quite a bit today dont we. Its fine that youre a Christian, but youre not a proper Christian unless (and you can fill in the blanks). A couple of years ago, when the Secret was the big thing that was being punted by Oprah and various others. It was a book and a movie. And basically it promoted this whole idea of the laws of attraction. I remember watching out of interest, when Oprah was busy promoting this whole philosophy, she had a whole panel of promoters, and one of them was a Pastor. And one lady in the audience during the question and answer time, stood up and asked, how can we reconcile this idea with Christianity. And the pastor guy stood up and twisted a scripture in order to make it agree with his philosophy. Just as the Colossians did 2000 years ago, so do we need to take these words of Paul seriously. So were not sucked in to some belief that may seem believable, but actually all its really done is made my needs and my desires more important, and made Jesus less important. So Paul writes this letter to the Colossians to bring their attention back to what it should be as Christians, and that is that Christianity is all about Christ. He writes this letter to let them know 2000

years ago, and to let us know today, that in Christ we have all we need. Christ is central to Christianity. In Christ we have everything we need. Now we may say that we believe that in theory, but havent you ever been tempted to think, is there more to this? Do I need to get to the next level? About 15 years ago, I can remember talking to someone who told me that I didnt have the holy spirit, because I hadnt had a certain experience. And he proceeded to explain to me the difference between his experience and mine. He said you can either drive on 4 cylinders or 6 cylinders. The choice is yours. And there have been days, where Ive lacked spiritual energy and wondered, am I missing something. Is there more? But I need to keep going back to scripture, which tells me Jesus is enough. Jesus is central. Its in Jesus, its in Christ, that I have all I need. So Paul writes this letter to the Colossians so that they can know this. I hope and pray that as we do this series through the book of Colossians, youll also be convinced of this. That youll grow deeper in your faith, by knowing Christ better, not by looking for something new. Main Paul starts this letter introducing himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. In other words, people need to sit up and listen to what he has to say, because he is an apostle. He writes this letter with the authority of an apostle. Hes not just some guy on a street corner shouting the odds and trying to warn people. Hes an apostle. He is someone who has been given authority by Jesus. And he has co written this letter with Timothy. And then he goes on to give the very common greeting in those days of Grace and Peace. And he then goes on to say why he is so thankful to God for this church. In fact when he prays to God, he prays very thankfully for the Colossian church. Thats quite a compliment coming from an apostle. Dont you ever wonder what Paul might say about St Matthews if he were here today? I wonder if he would pray thankfully. Ill leave that up to your imagination.

Conclusion