Introduction and Rootedness Illustration

Speaker 1 0:02

Good morning church . We're going to be in Colossians , chapter 2 . If you have your Bibles , you can turn there . Colossians , chapter 2 . This is our fourth week in the book of Colossians in a six-week series , which means we better get moving if we're going to go from Colossians 2-6 through the end of the book . But we will , and that was all planned and you saw that on the handout cards that we gave out and there's still some there at the beginning .

Speaker 1 0:34

Today we're picking up here in verse 6 of Colossians 2 , and we're continuing looking at this theme of rootedness . Now I'm going to use an opening illustration here that I'm just going to say this up front I try not to be the preacher that gets up and always gives illustrations about sports . I understand not everybody likes sports . I understand that some people don't know what I'm talking about when I talk about certain sports , and I'm going to reuse the exact same illustration I used the last time I preached to an extent , and it was a sports illustration . So I'm sorry for that , but it doesn't really have anything actually to do with sports . Instead it has to do with rootedness . So if you remember , the last time that I preached I talked to you about what has been my baseball team , that I rooted for the oakland athletics and that they use this slogan for a number of years , trying to say hey , you , we are a worthy place to to kind of lay your foundation , you can invest in us , you can buy jerseys , you can do all of these things because we are here . And so they used the phrase rooted in Oakland , and that was their promise that hey , we're not going anywhere , we're going to build a stadium here , whatever it takes . And , as you may not know if you're not a sports fan , they are no longer in Oakland right now . They're playing in Sacramento . They don't have a , they don't have a city at all attached to their name , they're just the athletics , and they are planning to move to Las Vegas . Now here's where the illustration picks up , because where we were , it was like , hey , they weren't actually rooted and we talked about what it means to truly be rooted .

Speaker 1 2:23

But but what's happening now is they're actually playing a series against the Giants , who are here in the Bay Area . They're in San Francisco and the Giants did something yesterday . So did anybody ? Does anybody know what I'm talking about before I say it ? Nobody knows . Okay , cool .

Speaker 1 2:38

So the Giants did this . They put this giant banner on their stadium as all the fans walk in . Because , if you don't know , like every year for the last several years , as interleague play has become a thing , the giants and the a's play each other every year and what has been called the bay bridge series , but obviously it's broken now because they're not across the bridge from each other . So the giants had this giant banner made that basically on one side it said you know , like welcome fans from the 415 . That's the , that's the area code for the phone numbers in San Francisco . It said that on one side , in orange . And then it said and also fans from the 510 , which is here where we are , it's Oakland , it's the East Bay . And they made this giant banner and they caused kind of a scene because they were basically poking fun at the fact that , hey , if you're a Bay Area baseball fan , you should be a Giants fan because we're rooted here for you and in social media and all of that stuff . They made a whole scene about it . That stuff it made a whole . They made a whole scene about it .

Speaker 1 3:46

But the thing is , this is what this is . This is why I'm the reason why I'm reusing this illustration , or adding to it with this current event , is because today's text , I'm calling the sermon Rooted , not Robbed , robbed . Rooted not robbed , because in this text what you have is another call to be rooted . In fact ,

Colossians 2: Remain Rooted in Christ

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in the book of Colossians , in the overall flow , really , this text , chapter two , verse six , is where the body of the letter starts . So this is where the instructive teaching , the do this , the instructive teaching , the do this , do this , do this portion of the book happens . Everything up to this point has served to be a part in some way of Paul's greeting and introduction . He was connecting himself to them and kind of showing his prayer of thanksgiving for them and all of that .

Speaker 1 4:42

But now we have a series of commands and instructions that Paul is giving in light of the specific issues that the Colossians are facing , and so he starts out with this teaching to them to again be rooted and the reality of what was happening in the church of Colossae . We've talked about this a little bit . I'll try not to get too deep into it . But the Colossian church , though they had come to faith , though they had had good teaching , though they had , in the words of this text , received Christ , received his gospel , the good news , though they had believed that , though that was true of them , they were in danger because they were following after counterfeit teachings , false teachings . They were being drawn into legalisms , they were being drawn into asceticism , they were being drawn into syncretism and I'll just briefly kind of explain what was going on here . But they were being drawn away from the gospel with the intent of adding to Christ .

Speaker 1 6:05

But what Paul is writing to them to tell them here is that , no , just you need to be rooted in Christ , because if not , these things will come in claiming to add to Christ , but what they will in fact do is actually rob Christ from you . Meaning that these counterfeit gospels might feel good , they might feel like what you think your faith , your religion is supposed to look like , but in reality they are robbing the truth , the power of the gospel , that in Christ we are complete . And so , with my opening illustration , sure , they were not rooted . And so now , hey , why don't you just switch ? Why don't you just come over here ? Why don't you just root for us ? I don't know what I'm going to do , because it's just baseball . It's not my faith , but I think that it serves as a good illustration for actually what Paul is specifically writing to these Colossians about .

Speaker 1 7:23

So just to give you a brief overview and there is some debate about the specifics , there's some debate about the specifics of what is sometimes referred to as the Colossian heresy involved . But I would just propose to you this that there seems to be that there seems to be a desire to bring in Jewish customs , like Sabbaths , in a legalistic framework , into the Christian faith . There seems to be a desire to bring in some mystical elements as a requirement for faith , such as the worship of angels and certain experiences , and perhaps even some syncretism or some blending of pagan worship elements into worship . And there also seems to be some amount of a teaching that there was some kind of secret knowledge , some deeper level of knowledge that you could acquire . And so Paul is writing this letter to the church in Colossae , a church he's never been to , that was planted by Epaphras , and he's writing to them to give them this instruction , to let them know that they need to be rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and not incorporate these other elements . So I want to give all of that as framework as we read this text . So I'm going to read the text in Colossians , chapter 2 , starting in verse 6 , and we're going to go through the end of Colossians , chapter 2 . To verse six and we're going to go through the end of Colossians , chapter two .

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Therefore , as you received Christ Jesus , the Lord , so like , in that same way that you received him , so walk in him , rooted and built up in him and established in the faith . Just as you were taught no secret knowledge , you've already been given all the knowledge , just as you were taught . Abounding in thanksgiving it results in thanksgiving , verse 8, . See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition , according to the elemental spirits of the world , and not according to Christ , for in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in Him , who is the head of all rule and authority . In him you were circumcised , with a circumcision made without hands . This is a symbol of faith , meaning hey , this is something that's been done on the inside , not on the outside , by the putting off of the body of flesh , by the circumcision of Christ , having been buried with Him in baptism , in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God , who raised Him from the dead and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh , you , god , made alive together with him , having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands . This he set aside , nailing it to the cross . He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open . Shame by triumphing over them in him . Open shame by triumphing over them in him .

Speaker 1 11:31

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 . These are a shadow of the things to come , but the substance belongs to Christ . 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 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 . 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 , do not handle , do not taste , do not touch , referring to things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings . 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 . May God add his blessing to the reading of his word , his blessing for the reading of his word .

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There's

Don't Move Past the Gospel, Grow Deeper

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a lot in this text . There's no way to cover it all , but hopefully , as we go through this text and work through it , hopefully you can see from the truths that are given to us , of who we are in Christ , of the forgiveness and freedom that we have in the gospel , how Jesus is enough . I'm going to start us off with a kind of a one sentence big idea to start us off with a kind of a one-sentence big idea . Sometimes we use this phrase big idea . This is what you go home with , this is what hopefully you go home with , this is hopefully what you take away from this text and as we continue on , we'll come back to this and everything will revolve around .

Speaker 1 14:02

This idea which I'm going to propose to you is the main idea from the text for us today , and it's this Remain rooted in the all-sufficient Christ . Don't let empty religion rob you . Remain rooted in the all-sufficient Christ . Remain rooted in the all-sufficient Christ . Don't let empty religion rob you . First off , starting with this idea of remaining rooted in Christ , we'll see it in the first two verses , and these two verses are pretty crucial for not just understanding this text but , honestly , for understanding the book as a whole . So in this first section verses 6 and 7 , we're going to say remain rooted in Christ just as you received him , or , in other words , don't move past the gospel , grow deeper in it . You see , we often associate the gospel with the moment of conversion , which obviously it's super relevant . It's core , it's central , it is the message by which we come to faith . But it's not just there . And then now we're in and we do something else , and we do something else .

Speaker 1 15:51

Even this phrase , I have an aversion . I'm going to say this . Some of you may be like why would you not like this ? I don't like this phrase receive Christ . It's in the text . It's a good phrase , right , it's in the text . And people will say , well , when did you receive Christ ? Or when did you receive Jesus ? Or something like that . And I don't like the phrase because of a variety of ways that it can be used , but I want you to notice how it's used in the text . That's actually using it . It's not using it to just refer to this one-time thing .

Speaker 1 16:26

What does this say , therefore , as you receive Christ Jesus , the Lord , so in that same way , in the same way that you came to faith , walk in him . So the same way you came , meaning , hey God , I am not capable , I am insufficient , I am a sinner , but Jesus has done it all . That same way . That's how we live our daily life . As you receive Christ Jesus as Lord , so walk in him . And what does that look like ? It's looks like this rooted and built up in him . He keeps using the example of rooted . Um , you , you kind of have several metaphors here . You have this rooted metaphor . Like implies a stability , a grasping of a foundation . Roots grab the ground . They keep trees from falling over . If the ground fails , that's when trees fall . But when the ground is strong , when the foundation is strong , trees stand . We have the idea of walking , this daily movement by grace . We also have this idea of being built up . He says built up , which has the idea of construction upon that gospel foundation , that we stay rooted and by being rooted we grow . We had this talk in that first sermon about what that growth looks like , that there's this cycle of knowledge that leads to faithfulness , that leads to mission , that kind of goes full circle that leads to more knowledge , which continues to be built up , and then you have this idea of being established or being secure in faith , that as you live this , as you walk a life in the gospel , as you walk that life , you become secure in your faith , not shaky , and this ultimately leads to something . The phrase at the end of these two verses abounding in thanksgiving . In thanksgiving , what does a life walking in the gospel lead to ? It leads to a life not of striving , not of exhausting effort , but a life abounding in thanksgiving .

Speaker 1 19:28

I think we look at a text like not just these two verses but this whole text today , and we think , well , we don't have the Redeemer church heresy . We've got it all figured out . We have 2,000 years of church history . There have been conf years of church history . There have been , um , uh , confessions of faith made , uh , where we have , we have all of these there . There have been all of these errors and mistakes made by the church , but , but , but we've , you know , the God corrected through the reformation and they're all all these steps and and we have a right belief we don't . We don't have the Redeemer church heresy . And we look at this text and we're like so is it relevant to us ? How is this relevant to us ?

Speaker 1 20:20

Well , I would say , whether or not we have all the beliefs checked off on the box , I think we still struggle with the very same types of things that are in this text . And when we get into those struggles , when we get into the next two points because we have three points I hope we'll see that . But this first point is so foundational because it is the power by which we don't give in to that kind of religion , that kind of way of exercising our faith , a way that gives into legalism or secret knowledge or whatever it may be . So let's not just jump right past this opening idea of remaining rooted in Christ in the same way that we received him through the gospel , namely not moving past the gospel but growing deeper in it . You see , the Christian life is not about graduating from grace , it's about remaining in it . It's not like we one day on this earth have then put away all sin and we've somehow managed to achieve perfection in life . That's not something we can achieve and that's not our goal . Yes , a goal should be generally not to sin . I'm not saying , don't have a goal of not sinning , but the understanding that , hey , we are still utterly dependent on the good news of Jesus , in the same way we were when we first came to faith . We still need him just as much . That's what it means to remain in grace . And so , as you think of your own life and what you are rooted in , as you think of your own faith , what is your faith rooted in ?

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You're here . This is Sunday morning . We're here at church . Why did you come ? Did you come because you have a job to do , so you came . Do you come because this is just what we're supposed to do ? It's sunday , okay , just hold on to that .

Speaker 1 23:05

What else does your religion ? I'm using that word on purpose what else does your religion look like ? What does it look like tomorrow ? On Monday , maybe you read the Bible , maybe you don't . Maybe you have a dedicated prayer time . Maybe you pray throughout the day . Maybe you talk to people about Jesus , maybe you don't . What does it look like on Thursday ? On Saturday ? What does it look like on Thursday ? On Saturday , what does it look like ? I would say it looks very different for each person in this room .

Speaker 1 23:36

Right , I'm not up here to tell you what it ought to look like , but what I'm asking you right now is what is feeding your roots right now , as you live your life ? What is giving you spiritual nourishment ? If it's just this , if this is the extent of your faith , well then I'm going to say you're malnourished and starving . If you're saying , well , it's not even this , it's this other thing , well , there is a coming and obviously you're here . So this is a little bit of preaching to the choir , but yes , gathering with Christians is an essential part of what the Christian life needs to look like . But let's rephrase it a little bit differently . Let me say it this way Is your walk with Jesus rooted in grace or are you striving after something ? I don't mean to say that pursuing that striving is bad , but I'll say it this way If your Christian walk has become a list of do's and don'ts , of checking boxes , and if you look at your Christian life and you see an intense pressure to perform in order for you to feel good about your faith , rather than being fueled by the thanksgiving that comes , like we see here in verse 7 , well then I think you're missing a piece , and the piece is the gospel . It's pretty central .

Christ is Fully Sufficient, Needs No Additions

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We're going to look at the next section , verses 8 through 15 . In this section , the point in this next section , I'm calling it this don't let anyone rob you by adding to Christ . In other words , christ is fully sufficient , so he needs nothing to be added . Here is the tricky part . Normally , if someone tells you , hey , I'm going to give you more , I'm going to give you something , you don't think , oh , I'm being robbed , right . But what we find here in this text is that the church in Colossae has been given already the gospel . They have received Christ , they know Him and they are now being given more on top of Christ . They're being given more and what is happening is they are essentially , by accepting these things , they are giving up the very good news that they came to faith . With . What does it say ?

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Verse 8 , see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit . You see , the Roman world was a world where there were philosophers . There was all these ideas . It was easy to see the wisdom and try to incorporate that into your faith . Try to incorporate that in what your following Jesus looks like . Don't be taken captive by philosophy or empty deceit according to human tradition , according to the elemental spirits of the world , and not according to Christ . Why ? Because in Jesus , verse 9 , the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him verse 10 .

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This is a profound statement and it's important for a lot of reasons . Obviously , this is a theologically weighty statement , but the theological weight of teaching that Jesus is fully God though , yes , certainly taught here is not the point of this passage . It's not why Paul includes it here . It's a statement of a theological truth and fact that basically is saying hey , because he is fully God and he has been , because he is in you , because you are filled in him , there's no room for anything else . Jesus is your all , he's the whole thing .

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Verses 11 through 13, . Your identity is secure . You are spiritually circumcised Circumcision was the mark in the Old Testament of being a covenant member of the family of God and he's saying , hey , you have the covenant mark on your very own soul . It's not a physical thing . And then , even through baptism , you are buried and raised with Christ . And then , in verses 14 through 15 , your record of debt is canceled and the spiritual powers , your accusers are disarmed , there is nothing left to fear or to prove what a profound truth it is that your record of debt , my record of debt , is canceled . What did you owe ? What did I owe ? Well , we're not good people . We don't . We're not good people . We don't profess to be good people . Our debt that we owed was everything , our whole life . It was a debt to give our life to die , and not just to die physically , but to forever be separated from God , eternal death . Yet the debt that we owed by Christ is canceled . It's nailed to the cross with him , and so we don't have anything to fear or to prove . And so we don't have anything to fear or to prove Now , in this text , there's so much here , but I want to ask you what do we like to add to the gospel today ?

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What do churches add to the gospel ? You can probably think of some things . They can look different ways at different times . We like to add rules . We like to add rules like oh , a good Christian looks like this , they dress this way , they listen to this kind of music , they do this kind of thing , they don't do these things . Rules that aren't in scripture , but we like to add them anyway . That's what you might call legalism . We like to add mysticism to the faith , the idea that , hey , your faith needs to look this certain way . If you don't have this emotional reaction , well , there's something wrong . Your faith isn't as deep as mine .

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We like to add tribalism . We like to say , oh well , I'm a part of this group , I'm this kind of Christian or I'm that kind of Christian , I'm a part of this group , I'm this kind of Christian or I'm that kind of Christian . And all of a sudden , the true believers that are in another tribe . There's something wrong with them . Like , okay , well , they might be Christians , but we're going to keep them at arm's length . We like to give in to legalism , mysticism , tribalism . Those are just a few ways . And what all three of those do , what all three of those ultimately do in the life of a Christian when you let them in , is they turn your religion the outward and physical and mental exercise of your faith , your religion . They turn it into a performative faith , a performative action , rather than rooted in Christ .

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The final point in verses 16 through 23 is this Don't let anyone disqualify

Don't Let Others Disqualify Your Faith

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you for holding fast to Christ . So in that section we just came out of you really had these ideas that people were struggling with , the asceticism , the philosophy , the empty deceit , these kinds of things . And he's saying , hey , hold fast to those truths , to the truth of Christ . And now he's saying and then , when you do that , people are going to not want to accept your faith . Because well , let's put it this way , if you're giving in to tribalism and you're saying , well , I'm not going to do that , well , you've just potentially put yourself outside of the tribe and now you're the target of them . Or I'm not going to give in to legalism , well , then the legalists might say , oh well , you have a problem .

Speaker 1 34:47

And what Paul is writing to them here is saying and what Paul is writing to them here is saying , hey , don't let anyone disqualify you for doing what I am teaching you . In other words , don't let others make you feel like you're missing out spiritually when you're actually rooted in Christ . When you're actually rooted in Christ . Therefore , let no one verse 16 , pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath . Are all of these things bad ? Is Paul saying all of these things are bad ? No , he's not saying all of these things bad . Is Paul saying all of these things are bad ? No , he's not saying all of these things are bad . What he's saying is bad is when they become now , the standard by which you judge , when they become the faith , when they become the religion .

Speaker 1 35:48

And ultimately , he gives this reason in verse 17 . These are a shadow of things to come , but the substance belongs to Christ . What does that mean ? Well , what does it mean when you see a shadow ? When you see a shadow , that means there's something there , right , like something is blocking the light and creating a shadow . What , in this verse , is creating the shadow ? What's blocking the light ? Well , jesus , jesus is the substance . And so don't get so fixated on the shadow that you lose sight of the one who is standing in the light . But that's what can happen .

Speaker 1 36:46

Let no one disqualify you verse 18 , for insisting . Let no one disqualify you , insisting on asceticism , basically making your life your own life difficult , punishing yourself not enjoying life , your own life difficult , punishing yourself not enjoying life or worship of angels , going on in details about vision puffed up without reason by a sensuous mind not holding fast to the head from which the whole body nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments , grows with a growth that is from God . Basically , people are going to Christians professing Christians are going to elevate things , make standards out of things that they ought not to do and then hold people to it . Don't let your faithfulness become a way that you get disqualified oh , you're not going to be this , you're not going to be that . Well , no . Instead , stand firm on Christ . Speak truth .

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Verse 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 ? Do not handle , do not taste , do not touch . We give in , we allow these rules to rule over us . These rules might look wise Verse 23, . They have the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion , but despite the fact that these rules can look wise , they ultimately cannot and do not stop sin . They are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh . See legalism , mystical experiences , harsh self-discipline , tribalism , these types of things . They might sometimes give you the appearance of holiness , but they don't make you holy . In fact , they hold you back , they hinder you . And so the question is your walk with Christ alive , or is it just an empty form that you do .

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Earlier in this sermon , I asked you to kind of think through your life ,

Empty Religion vs. Life in Christ

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why you do what you do . I've used the word religion off and on . We all have a religion , despite the popularity of the phrase , I have a relationship , not a religion . Despite the popularity of the phrase , I have a relationship , not a religion . We all have a religion and it's not bad to have religion , meaning a patterned and intentional outworking of your faith , but it's empty religion . That is the problem . And no matter what we do , we are tempted to give in to empty ritual , empty religion , just doing the things we're supposed to do . Sometimes it goes more deep , sometimes we can feel superior , but also sometimes we can feel made inferior .

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I'll give you a couple examples . I'll give you a couple examples . I'll give you a couple examples . I'll ask you these questions .

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And all of these things are things that , um , people have told me oh , I feel judged because of this , or I feel , you know , I don't , they don't feel good or whatever . So do you ever feel looked down on for your parenting choices , the way if you have kids , the way you raise your kids , the way you school them , the way you disciple them ? Have you ever . Now , if you don't have kids ? Maybe you don't , but maybe you have . Even though you don't have kids , maybe you have strong opinions about what that ought to look like . How about political thoughts I think we've all seen this that , like certain political parties become the only viable Christian option , or they become like oh , you have to vote the way I vote , and if you didn't vote the way I voted , if you're not just as upset as I am , if you're not just as excited as I am , well , clearly there's something wrong there . But no , how about the way you choose to take care of your health ?

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I've been told Christians sometimes struggle with feeling judged about these kinds of things . These are , in one sense , these seem like smaller , less religious parts of our lives , but they're ways that this type of thinking wedges its way in our hearts and we create all of a sudden standards of legalism , of tribalism , that infiltrate the church . None of these issues are black and white spiritual issues . They are all issues that have nuance . They're all issues that are case by case . They're all issues that are difficult , that are case by case . They're all issues that are difficult , but as we seek to live a life rooted in Christ , we need to remember that Christ is indeed all sufficient .

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We cannot let empty religion rob us of the freedom , the joy , the life that we have in Jesus . You don't need a spiritual upgrade , you don't need to grow more in order to be close with God . No , instead , you need to remain in Jesus . He is enough . Your sin , your sin , is nailed to the cross , your debt is canceled . You are full in Christ , if indeed you are in Christ , if indeed you are in Christ .

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So don't drift , don't be fooled , don't let empty philosophies draw you away , because they are there , and they're not just in the world . They're in the world , but they're also in the church . And so , just like the church in Colossae was being robbed of the grace that they had through Christ , the church today can be robbed of the grace that we have in Christ , of the life that we've been given . So , stay rooted in him . He is your source , your substance , and he is your savior . God , thank you for this text , thank you for Jesus and that through Jesus we have life . Help us , god , to be and remain rooted in him and , just as we came , allow us to continue in the goodness of his grace . In Jesus' name , we pray .