Moments to Ponder

Episode 156: It Sounds Right...But Is It True? (Col. 16-23)

• Betsy Marvin • Season 16 • Episode 156

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In this episode, we trace how confident-sounding rules and secret knowledge can pull us from the center of faith, then anchor ourselves in Colossians 2 where Paul calls us back to Jesus as the true source. We explore legalism, licentiousness, spiritual disciplines, and practical steps for discernment shaped by Scripture and the Spirit.

• the pull of persuasive but inaccurate teaching
• Paul’s warning to the Colossians about shadows vs Christ
• legalism defined and contrasted with grace
• licentiousness as abusing God’s grace
• practices as disciplines, not requirements for worth
• how to test teachings with Scripture, counsel, and conviction
• the Spirit as wisdom and the church’s growth from the Head
• courage to resist spiritual bullying and walk in freedom

If you'd like to dive deeper into this teaching, I encourage you to download the Companion Guide Part 2. It's designed to help you ponder and discover more from God's Word. 

Companion Guide: https://betsymarvin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/colossians-companion-guide-without-transcripts.pdf


0:03 Welcome & Purpose

0:28 The Danger of Confident Misinformation

2:29 False Teachers in Colossae

3:55 Shadows Versus Christ

5:15 True Source and Eyewitness Authority

7:30 Legalism, Licentiousness, and Grace

10:22 Spiritual Disciplines Without Legalism

12:26 Discernment, Conviction, and Wisdom

14:58 Blessing & Companion Guide

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SPEAKER_00:

Hi friends, I'm Betsy, and I want to welcome you to Moments to Ponder. This podcast is designed to help you spend a few moments in God's Word and take away something to ponder. It's my prayer that you will find encouragement and insight as we spend time together today. I was recently chatting with someone, and as he talked, it hit me. He really didn't know what he was talking about, but he sure thought he did. Have you ever been in that situation? It's a bit of arrogance mixed with unawareness. I can remember truly believing I knew how to be a parent. And then I had kids. Anyway, this young man spoke like an expert trying to bring me to his belief about something that happened during World War II. I was curious about where he was going, so I asked some questions. As he talked, I realized that his facts weren't exactly accurate. For instance, he put a 1917 revolution in Russia in the middle of World War II, which happened many years later, among other things. And when he took a breath, I told him I majored in history in college with a focus on World War II for my senior thesis. This stopped him for a moment, but he pushed on, assuming my education must have missed something. I realized he wasn't going to hear anything I might have to say or have knowledge of because he was convinced that his internet research was completely true, even in the face of hearing facts. How did I know that my information on World War II was accurate? Well, I had spent time talking to an eyewitness to prepare my thesis. She had graciously had me in her home and shared with me her experiences in Germany during that time. So why tell you that story? Because there will always be people that think they know everything about something. They'll be adamant about it, and they actually don't. They can be sincere and convincing and refuse to look at sources that might contradict them because, well, they're right. This is a situation with the Colossian Church. There were two groups in Colossae that were adamant that they knew the best way to connect to God. Well, they refused to acknowledge Jesus. One group were the Gnostics. The other, interestingly, were the Jews. Gnostics denied Jesus was God, and the Jews denied Jesus was the Messiah. Both groups had their own beliefs. Gnosticism had knowledge, and the Jews had their rules and rituals taken from Old Testament teaching. Judaism, with its defined rules, was enticing to the Colossian people. The don't do this and don't eat that, and you'll be more holy, brought them a sense of accomplishment. And just like my friend, who really wanted me to realize my misguided understandings, the Jews most likely had good intentions. We we just want you to know that you're wrong. But Paul was an eyewitness to what the Spirit could do, and he also knew the eyewitnesses that had been walking with Jesus, his disciples. When you've witnessed truth, you are not swayed by false arguments. This is what we find Paul addressing as we step into Colossians 2, 16. So why would you allow anyone to judge you because of what you eat or drink, or insist that you keep the feasts, observe new moon celebrations, or the Sabbath? All of these were but a prophetic shadow and the evidence of what would be fulfilled. For the body is now Christ. Don't let their pretend sincerity fool you as they deliberately lead you into their initiation of angel worship, for they take pleasure in pretending to be experts of something they know nothing about. Their reasoning is meaningless and comes only from their own opinions. They refuse to take hold of the true source. Paul is reminding them that Jesus won the victory over sin and death. The old law of rules and sacrifices is no longer relevant because of what Jesus has done. So, therefore, don't let others judge you. Walk in what you know to be true. Paul isn't saying that the Sabbath or celebrations are bad. He's reminding them that those things aren't the point. Jesus is. Rules and rituals aren't what build our relationship with God. Our relationship is built on time and connection with God Himself. Sure, there are practices and boundaries that help us grow, but they are an outward element to enhance our walk. They're not required for approval from God. And just as my friend was sincerely trying to change my mind to his enlightened thinking, I had spent hours interviewing a woman who lived in Germany during World War II. I had a true source, but he didn't even let me get those words in. So I needed to walk away, knowing that I wasn't going to change his mind, and he definitely wasn't going to change mine. So when it comes to faith, Paul wants to remind us that we have a true source, God's word, and in this source we can find a solid foundation when we're judged or told we're wrong. He continues in verse 19. But we receive directly from him, Jesus, and his life supplies vitality to every part of his body through joining the laments, connecting us all as one. He is the divine head who guides his body and causes it to grow by the supernatural power of God. Paul is calling out their misguided worship and opinions. Every part of Christ's body, which is the church, grows together, not just a special few, we all can receive directly from Jesus. This is why it's so important to read the Bible for yourself, to know the true source of faith and connect to Him personally. Then, when fine-sounding logic or arguments arise, you're not taken in by false teaching. If I hadn't interviewed a person who served in the Nazi youth during my senior thesis, if I hadn't studied so much around World War II, I might have been drawn into the argument of my friend. But I did know a true source. Someone that lived it saw it, and thus I wasn't drawn into his misguided information. The more we know Jesus, the more we know his word, the more we receive directly from him. Verse 20. For you were included in the death of Christ and have died with him to the religious system and powers of this world. Don't retreat back to being bullied by the standards and opinions of religion. For example, their strict requirements, you can't associate with that person, or don't eat that, or you can't touch that. These are the doctrines of men and corrupt customs that are worthless to help you spiritually. For though they may appear to possess the promise of wisdom in their submission to God through the deprivation of their physical bodies, it's actually nothing more than empty rules rooted in religious rituals. Paul is speaking directly against Judaism here, against requirements and the religious system that they created. Now, I tend to be a rule follower, at least most of the time. There is safety in following rules. It gives an element of control. And if you're like me in this, I want to be clear. Paul is not saying that following rules is bad. He's stating that following rules will not bring salvation. Along with rules, there are also those that would say there are certain practices we have to do in order to be more spiritual, more holy. And while there are disciplines that can deepen our walk with Jesus, we need to be aware of the focus of the practice. Christianity focuses on Christ's work, while human religions focus on human effort. When our faith walk is more about what we don't do than by what we do, we're walking in a legalistic religion. In his book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader, Pete Schizero says that legalism can be defined as relying on our own obedience to gain acceptance from God. The Jewish leaders were so caught up in the laws they missed Jesus. We need to learn from them and not do the same. Obedience for the sake of gaining acceptance won't do the transforming work that we all need. It's in the realization that we are accepted because He loves us that the work begins. If we took this to the complete other side, because God loves us and forgives us, we can do whatever we want. Well, that isn't so legalistic as it is licentiousness. Schazero also says in his book that licentiousness is the abuse of God's grace by completely disregarding his commands. So when we say I can do whatever I want because God will forgive me, we're abusing his grace. For example, skipping weekly worship because we have better things to do, knowing that God doesn't take attendance, right? Or he'll forgive us because he loves me. But then where does that leave us in our walk with Jesus? That's why Paul says all of these, meaning the laws of the past, were but a prophetic shadow of the evidence of what would be fulfilled, for the body is now Christ. This is the key. Jesus said there are two commandments: love him, love others as yourself. All the sacrifices and rituals and prophecies are fulfilled. They're complete in him. If we look back at verse 23, he wrote, These are the doctrines of men and corrupt customs that are worthless to help you spiritually. For though they may appear to possess the promise of wisdom in their submission to God through the deprivation of their physical bodies, it sounds so good, even wise, to deprive our bodies in order to honor Christ, like to fast, or to deprive ourselves of finances and give, or our time, or just attend church. And these are good things. And when we think we have to have them in order to have worth, then we're becoming misguided. It's us trying to justify ourselves to God by keeping a list of rules. Christianity following Jesus is about God reaching down to us in love through Jesus and justifying us to himself. But there are practices called spiritual disciplines, which involve fasting and prayer and giving and resting and taking a Sabbath, so how do they fit? Because aren't they rules? The short answer is no, they aren't rules. They are practices that can help us learn how to become more like Jesus. It's a posture of the heart, this way of discipling ourselves to become more like him. And we discipline ourselves to do that, and that makes all the difference. I wonder if the Church of Classe then thought, so then how do we know what's true? Yes, Paul, you know Peter and James, but how do we know what's true? This is a question we still ask today. And here's what I found. When you aren't sure if something is from the Spirit, tread softly. Wait, listen, use Scripture as your guide, and seek wise counsel. In our next episode, we'll discover more about how to live into this truth. Dear one, we are more connected to ideas, opinions, and teachings than ever before. A great communicator or writer can bring us into their train of thought fairly easily, and if we aren't careful, we could believe something that actually isn't true. One question I've asked myself lately when I hear a strongly worded opinion that feels like fact is should I believe that? And then I listen. And I ask the Spirit to help me discern the truth. And if I'm still wondering, I seek counsel from those who are wiser than me. A word we don't hear much today is the word conviction. Conviction is the inner feeling of unrest that causes us to pause. It's that time when something that is said doesn't quite sit right with the truth that you do know. Or it's that feeling of unrest within you because you have done something that doesn't sit right with you in the truth that you know. And we need to listen to that. That's the spirit within us helping us evaluate new ideas and beliefs against what he would tell us through scripture and those who also know him and are wise. The Holy Spirit is called wisdom in Scripture. In Proverbs 3, 5 and 6, we are encouraged to not lean on our own understanding, but to trust in the Lord and He will guide our path. Oh, may God guide your heart. May He guide your heart against those that would seek to lead you away from Him. I pray your heart is sensitive to His truths, leaning into the Spirit to help you hear what He has for you in your life so that you can walk in confidence of faith. And may you dance with abandon, knowing that His Word is good, without judgment, and full of grace. Amen. If you'd like to dive deeper into this teaching, I encourage you to download the Companion Guide Part 2. It's designed to help you ponder and discover more from God's Word. There's a link in the show notes, or you can find it on my website, Betsymarvin.com, under resources. And it's a free resource. Thank you for joining me for today's episode.