Day 13 – June 3
Colossians 2:16-23
16 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. 18 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.
20 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.
Questions
- From this passage what were the specific manifestations of the dangerous teaching or ideas that threatened the church in Colossae?
- On what grounds does Paul show all of these to be mistaken, useless and harmful as means of salvation?
- What are some particular ways in which the kinds of temptations mentioned here are manifested and pose a threat to the church today?
- Vs 19. How should recognising this need inform our understanding of the priorities in Christian worship and fellow