I ask please if you are so kind, to go with me to the letter of Paul to the Colossians, Colossians chapter 2, although this morning we're just going to be putting verses 18 and 19, we read up to verse 23 in order to make the connection;
no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things that has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and joining by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase of God. Since you died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world, you submit to regulations such as: Do not handle, not taste, touch or even (according to commands and doctrines of men), things we all are to perish with use? Such things are to indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Many people do not seem to be aware that the greatest danger to Christianity is wrapped in religious garb. When Christians have to confront those things that are openly sinful, contrary to their faith openly, can quickly be on guard against them, but when the opposition comes disguised as a religion, many believers are confused and can be momentarily diverted by doctrines that are totally contrary to Gospel of Christ, despite the appearance of piety. Well, that was precisely what was happening in this church at Colossae, Asia Minor, the Church that Paul sent the letter, which has for several Sundays we have been studying here in the morning, some false teachers were trying convince these believers, that they had received salvation through faith in Christ, was an incomplete salvation.
is why throughout the letter Paul insists that Christ is a sufficient Savior, who came to provide salvation sufficient, hence the central issue of this letter, that someone has been summarized in a mathematical formula, we have said here several times throughout this series,
Christ + nothing = All
All - Christ = Nothing
Now in this section of Chapter 2 that we began to look back a few weeks ago, in which Paul addresses directly false teachings, heresies to which these Christians were being exposed in verses 16 and 17, which was the last to consider before stopping momentarily set to the Colossians, Paul warns the brothers against legalism, Colossians chapter 2 verses 16 to 17;
no man therefore judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival, new moon or Sabbaths, all of which are a shadow of what is to come, but the body is Christ.
My brothers, later we will return to this passage, to consider the subject of the Sabbath, which is mentioned here, and its connection with the Lord's day. But for various reasons pastors thought it was best to continue to present the letter in the remainder of the year, then move to consider this issue more calmly.
What is legalism? of which Paul warns in verses 16 and 17 in the last lecture we said that "it is in trying to gain favor with God through our obedience, whether we do trying to obey the commandments of God, or commandments invented by men "as the Gospel moves us to obedience by having been accepted by God, based on the redemptive work of Christ, legalism tells us that "we must obey to be accepted." In accepting the Gospel comes first, obedience comes later, in legalism is reversed, obedience comes first, then to reach agreement, either before God, before others, or ahead of myself. It all depends on you, your obedience, your personal effort, your commitment, your merits, legalism leads man to rely on itself, while the Gospel moves us to rest only in Christ, not only in all that has to do with the salvation of our souls, but all you have to do with our spiritual growth.
But there are two dangers to which Paul warns in this section of the letter, and believe me my brothers that these two dangers are so malicious, they're so lethal on the day of today as they were in the first century of the Christian era, I refer to mysticism and asceticism. In the morning I go to see mysticism Beware! next Sunday, if the Lord lets see asceticism Beware!
What is mysticism? I hope you brothers have slept well, they are awake, and have a good breakfast, what is mysticism? good in a simple way we can define it as "the search for a deeper religious experience, through a direct and immediate communication with God, putting aside the intellect and is based more on intuition and inner enlightenment" and believe me this is the easiest way that I can say. Let me repeat again what is mysticism? "Is the search for a deeper religious experience" that we understand it right? "A religious experience deep, through a direct and immediate communication with God "that is, without intermediaries between me and God," putting aside the intellect and is based more on intuition and internal lighting "a favorite word of the mystics is John chapter 1 verse 9, where the Gospel tells us "that true light that enlightens every man coming into this world" they say "there is a true light of God in every person, and therefore what we must do is find that light within us, is to find this inner light, that's the way that we connect with God. "
A parent of mysticism in the V century, explained it this way "we must leave behind the senses and the operation of the intellect, through pure self-denial and total, to enter the bright and super-critical divine darkness "Do you want to see any other way? The same mystic says "when the spirit is stripped of everything he sees, penetrates into the mysterious darkness of not knowing" or of ignorance "there giving everything that the mind can conceive, absorbed fully in what is not perceived nor understood, completely abandoned in one who is more is all being. " If you have not understood a contemporary mystic hear this Vladimir Lossky was called, died only in 1958, he says "it is necessary to give both senses, as any work of reason, I must give to the intellect, everything that can be known by the senses of understanding, that we may be able to join in perfect ignorance of one who transcends all being and all knowledge. "
Noten my brothers as the two mystics, one from the V century, and one of the twentieth century, insisting on the same, we should try to achieve a mystical union with God, leaving aside the intellect and reason, is why the mystics resort to the use of mantras many times, not always, What are mantras? the repetition of a word, a sentence of one syllable, even sounds Why? To empty the mind of every thinking individual, and thus have a mystical experience with God. That as someone rightly said, the best is not nothing but a self-hypnotic trance, and in the worst case, a demonic experience.
remember as a teenager, before being a Christian, read the speeches of a man who had been before Theosophist, because they believed he was the reincarnation of do not know who, and this guy realized the folly that he was promoting was called Krishna Guido Murphy, and Murphy Krishna said "when you use this kind of mantra, this type of repetition, of course you find peace," and he said 'you use any words, there must be a very intricate word can be up to Coca-Cola "if you set your mind at one point, and begin to think Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola you'll forget that you light, you need the home phone, your mind is blank, and that's exactly what these people promote.
Dear Brothers, the Bible clearly teaches that no man can approach God directly or immediately, as claimed by mystics. We need a mediator to approach God, and that mediator is none other than the Son of God, the person of Christ Jesus, First Timothy Chapter 2 verse 5 "There is one God, there is one mediator between God and men "is why when we pray to God, we must do in the name of Christ. Now, taking into account the issue we are preaching here, say at the end of the sentence "In the name of Jesus" is not a mantra, is that if I come before God, and at the end of what I ask, I say the magic words, now abracadabra instead, is "In the name of Christ 'this prayer will be granted, not when I pray in the name of Christ, what that means is that I go before God, not in my own name, because my own name I have no accounts in the kingdom of heaven, is Christ who deserves everything, and I come before the Father in his name, is not a mantra, not a word miracle, is to go to God with a clear conscience that I do not deserve anything, but Christ deserves everything, and I come before the Lord, in His name.
Continued ...
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