:sermons:
Colossians 2:11-23

11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. 20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations– 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using–according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh

Be careful about both abusing grace and human requirements. Baptism is a symbol of submission to Christ, of accepting His Lordship. The question is this: are we doing what God calls us to do?

A Christian, by Christ, moves:
from guilt to forgiveness
from defeat to victory
from requirements to relationship

Failing to use the power of Christ is like pushing a car rather than turning the key and letting the car carry you.

The point of the sermon was that “checklist Christianity” is not going to give us the power of Christ, that we must move from the requirements to the relationship. When we accept His Lordship, it will give us a circumcision of the heart, and this will lead us beyond the legalism.

I apologize for the scattered nature of today’s sermon notes. For one thing I was very tired and had a hard time both listening and taking notes. Secondly, I was tired, and had a hard time both listening and taking notes. Yes, I know both reasons are the same. I said I was tired.

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