You can listen to the full audio of the message here: Lives Hidden With Christ - Appearance
How do you really know that you are walking with Jesus? How do you know that you are truly saved and following the narrow path? This is a hard, essential question.
For many of us, the answer we grew up with was a list of rules—explicit or implied. Don’t dance, don’t drink, don’t chew, and definitely don’t associate with those who do. We internalize these boundaries, believing that obedience to the rules equals authentic Christianity.
My father-in-law often tells a story about a preacher who made him feel that everything he enjoyed—playing cards, having an occasional drink, even slipping up and saying a bad word—was a sin. The message was clear: if you were having any fun, you couldn’t be a true Christian.
We crave assurance. We want to know that we are following Christ’s way, and to get that feeling of security, we create rules.
Paul’s Argument Against the Rules
The Apostle Paul spoke directly against this impulse in his letter to the church at Colossae. Some people were telling the Colossians, who were new in their faith, that to have a “full” relationship with God, they had to follow a specific set of man-made regulations: worship in a certain way, acknowledge certain days, and submit to harsh disciplines.
Paul’s response is a powerful corrective. Let’s look at Colossians 2:20-23 (NIV):
“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."
Understanding “Elemental”
Paul uses the term “elemental spiritual forces” (or stoicheia in Greek). Some imagine this refers to mystical forces of nature, but the meaning is far more basic. It’s the same idea as elementary.
Paul is saying, “You have died with Christ to the elementary. You’ve died to the childish, foundational basics.”
- It’s the 2+2 and ABCD of life—the things you learned in “kindergarten,” like “Do unto others” and “Be nice.”
- These basics are good and make society work, but they are common to all people, regardless of faith.
In Christ, we have transcended the elementary. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered and moved past the world’s basic power: death. In following Him, we move beyond the world’s basic moral codes and rules.
The Problem with an “Appearance of Wisdom”
Paul says these self-imposed rules have an “appearance of wisdom." They look good on the outside. They appear disciplined and righteous, but they are rooted in a false humility and ultimately lack any value.
Why?
1. Rules Often Do the Opposite
Rules can be counterproductive. When I see a sign that says, “Do not throw rocks into the water,” my first instinct is to find the biggest rock or the flattest skipping stone. Rules simply define the boundaries we are tempted to cross. As Paul says elsewhere (Romans), we wouldn’t even know what sin was if it weren’t for the law.
2. Rules Cannot Change the Heart
Imagine a loving relationship where one person hands the other a list of ten rules and says, “If you do these ten things, I’ll know you love me.” Eventually, doing those things rings hollow. Following rules doesn’t change your heart. If you break one, you feel guilt, and the relationship becomes about what I do, not who we are together.
An authentic relationship with God is not rooted in “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"
The Heart of the Question: How Do I Love?
The only way to move beyond the elementary is to grow in wisdom and discernment. This growth isn’t about getting a more complex set of rules; it’s about answering a deeper, harder question:
How do I love in this particular situation?
Jesus told His disciples, “The world will know you are my disciples because of your love.” He didn’t say, “…because you follow the rules.”
Jesus modeled this love by constantly crossing boundaries:
- He hung out with tax collectors and “sinners.”
- He befriended prostitutes and gluttons.
- He spoke to a Samaritan woman alone at a well—a violation of every cultural and religious rule of the day.
Jesus looked at all the rules that had the appearance of wisdom and He crossed them for the sake of love.
When we rely on rules, we eliminate the difficult question of love. We substitute an easy checklist for the messy, sacrificial work of following Jesus to the places He goes. Rules free us from the harder question of “What does it look like for me to love?" and replace it with “Am I following the rules?"
Reflection: What Are Your Rules?
We have been united with Christ; we have died to the elementary. If we are walking with Him, we must constantly ask, “How do I love in the way that Christ would love?”
My challenge to you this week is to identify your rules.
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What are the rules you put on other people? (This is where the real problem starts.)
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What are the unwritten “Christian” assumptions you carry?
- A real Christian wouldn’t vote for…
- A real Christian wouldn’t drink…
- A real Christian wouldn’t wear…
Try to identify them, hold them out in front of you, and evaluate them: Do these rules look like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, or self-control?
More often than not, these rules simply allow us to be self-righteous. We become like the older sibling who changes the rules of the game so that they always win. We set up rules for ourselves that we can manage, and then we hold everyone else to them.
The Freedom to Transcend
We have the freedom to jettison anything that is not leading us down the road of sacrificial love.
Rules and laws have an appearance of wisdom, but they are not the foundation of our faith.
What is real is:
- The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
- The work of the Holy Spirit.
- The reality that our lives are hidden with His.
We are called to live lives that demonstrate sacrificial love to a watching world. As Paul says in another letter, against such things—the Fruit of the Spirit—there is no law.