THE POWER OF FAITH (4 OF 7)
by Craig Smith
Scripture: Colossians 2:8-23
This content is part of a series.
The Power of Faith (4 of 7)
Series: The Image of the Invisible
Craig Smith
Colossians 2:8-23
I. introduction
So I want to talk to you today about what’s wrong with religion.
Now I know some of you are new to Mission Hills and you may be thinking, ‘‘Hang on a second. Isn’t this a church? Isn’t this a religious institution? Isn’t this a religious service? Aren’t you a religious leader?’’
And the answer is, it depend on what you mean by religion. If you mean beliefs about who God is, who we are and what happens next, then yes, we’re religious. But I think when most people talk about religion - and as we’re going to see today, often when the Bible talks about religion - it’s not about belief, it’s about behavior. I think when most people talk about religion, religion = rules for behaving that result in belonging. Let me say that again, as most people think about it, a religion is a set of rules for behaving that result in belonging. In other words, if you behave - according to the rules - then you belong, both with God and with His people.
And today we’re going to talk about what’s wrong with that. If you want to follow along in your own bible, we’re going to be in Colossians 2:8.
If you’re just joining us, let me get you caught up real quick. The book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul to a group of Jesus’ followers living in the Roman city of Colossae. And he was basically writing to tell them to stay focused on Jesus. And the reason he was writing to tell them that was because there were some other people telling them, ‘‘Hey, Jesus is great, don’t get me wrong...Jesus is great...but, if you really want to belong to God and if you really want to be close to Him, there are some rules you have to follow and some rituals you have to participate in.’’ And Paul is basically writing to tell them - and to tell us, today - yeah, no...that’s not true. The truth is that everything you’re looking for is already yours in Jesus.
So he says:
...
Series: The Image of the Invisible
Craig Smith
Colossians 2:8-23
I. introduction
So I want to talk to you today about what’s wrong with religion.
Now I know some of you are new to Mission Hills and you may be thinking, ‘‘Hang on a second. Isn’t this a church? Isn’t this a religious institution? Isn’t this a religious service? Aren’t you a religious leader?’’
And the answer is, it depend on what you mean by religion. If you mean beliefs about who God is, who we are and what happens next, then yes, we’re religious. But I think when most people talk about religion - and as we’re going to see today, often when the Bible talks about religion - it’s not about belief, it’s about behavior. I think when most people talk about religion, religion = rules for behaving that result in belonging. Let me say that again, as most people think about it, a religion is a set of rules for behaving that result in belonging. In other words, if you behave - according to the rules - then you belong, both with God and with His people.
And today we’re going to talk about what’s wrong with that. If you want to follow along in your own bible, we’re going to be in Colossians 2:8.
If you’re just joining us, let me get you caught up real quick. The book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul to a group of Jesus’ followers living in the Roman city of Colossae. And he was basically writing to tell them to stay focused on Jesus. And the reason he was writing to tell them that was because there were some other people telling them, ‘‘Hey, Jesus is great, don’t get me wrong...Jesus is great...but, if you really want to belong to God and if you really want to be close to Him, there are some rules you have to follow and some rituals you have to participate in.’’ And Paul is basically writing to tell them - and to tell us, today - yeah, no...that’s not true. The truth is that everything you’re looking for is already yours in Jesus.
So he says:
...
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