In the previous article, we talked about expanding fellowship beyond the limits given in the Scriptures. As we noticed in that article, if we are too loose in our fellowship, we can end up jeopardizing our fellowship with God. However, there is a danger in swinging too far in the other direction and being too strict in our fellowship. This happens when we impose rules upon others that are in addition to the instructions found in the word of God, and then refuse to have fellowship with those who do not conform to our rules. These rules may have been created with good intentions – trying to stay “on the safe side” and keep as far from the line of sin as possible. There is nothing wrong with this on a personal level, but it is dangerous when we try to enforce these rules on others.
Paul addressed this problem of adding rules in addition to what the Lord required in his letter to the church in Colossae.
“If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Colossians 2:20-23).
Paul questioned these brethren about why they were submitting to rules that were imposed upon them by others – “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch” (Colossians 2:21). These were not rules given by employers, civil authorities, or anything like that. Instead, these were religious rules. A little bit earlier in the chapter, Paul wrote, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” (Colossians 2:16). Whether they were related to Jewish or pagan religion, Christians were under no obligation to submit to these rules. Paul described them as “self-made religion” (Colossians 2:23) because they were man’s rules, not God’s rules. They were not according to God’s will as revealed in the gospel.
As Paul explained, these rules fell under the category of the “elementary principles of the world” (Colossians 2:20). He used this phrase earlier in this chapter: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). These rules – some of which may have seemed harmless – brought them into captivity. This was why Paul opposed the Judaizing teachers who were trying to compel Gentile Christians to be circumcised. By binding a rule that the Lord did not require, they were attempting to “bring [them] into bondage” (Galatians 2:3-5).
Christ came to set us free from such things. By opposing these false teachers, Paul was trying to preserve the “liberty which we have in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 2:4). These brethren in Colossae had “died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world” (Colossians 2:20). They had been made free – not just from sin (cf. Romans 6:7, 18), but also from any obligation to submit to man’s rules in religious matters. However, it can be tempting for us to create or enforce these types of rules upon others. We will notice the reasons for this as we continue.
Why would this be seen as “safe”? These rules could be put in place to help us (or others) avoid anything “questionable.” They may be made in an attempt to stay further away from sin. This has the “appearance of wisdom”; but as we will see, these rules ultimately are “of no value” (Colossians 2:23).
Why This Is Tempting
The Lord has already given instructions for us to follow. Why, then, is it tempting to add more rules on top of these? There are a few reasons for this.
It has the appearance of wisdom – When people choose to do something, they typically believe they have a good reason for doing it. Paul said that the addition of rules that went above and beyond what were required by the Lord had “the appearance of wisdom” (Colossians 2:23). However, not everything that seems like a good idea is actually good. The wise man said, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). Paul said this “appearance of wisdom” was actually “self-made religion” (Colossians 2:23). Creating our own rules to add to God’s word and require that others submit to them is in line with “the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8, 20). The “wisdom” in it is not from God, but is of the world.
It elevates us above others – In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against “practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them” (Matthew 6:1). This is a common problem for humanity, not just in religion. Jesus condemned the Pharisees and scribes for doing this: “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men” (Matthew 23:5-7). In an attempt to present themselves as being more pious and holy than others, these individuals would act, dress, and position themselves in such a way that others would look up to them as being more pious and holy. In addition to this, they had another way in which they could make themselves appear “better” than others: “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger” (Matthew 23:4). They would impose religious rules upon others that were difficult or impossible to carry out. They did not keep these rules themselves – they only had to put on a good show. But they condemned others for failing to live up to this standard while positioning themselves as the defenders of what was holy and right, with the result that they assumed a higher status religiously than others.
It is not necessarily “wrong” on a personal level – Suppose it was a violation of God’s law to eat apples on Sunday (it is not, I am just using a ridiculous example to illustrate this point). Someone might decide that they are going to throw away all of the apples in their house on Saturday so there is no chance of being tempted to eat an apple on Sunday. As a personal choice this is fine (ignoring principles of stewardship), but it would be wrong to condemn others for not throwing out their apples on Saturday. After all, one could keep his apples on Saturday but not eat any until Monday and still comply with the law. Yet someone who wants to demand that others stay “on the safe side” as he is becomes wrong when he imposes his personal rule on them. Paul made a “rule” for himself regarding the support he would receive for preaching the gospel. He told the church in Corinth: “We did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hinderance to the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:12). The “right” to which he referred was the right to be financially supported in his work of preaching the gospel. He knew that if he received such support – at least from Corinth because of the attitude of some in that church – it could cause a “hindrance to the gospel.” However, even though he made this decision, he knew he could not impose this “rule” upon others. Why? He wrote, “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). By God’s design, those who devote their lives to preaching the gospel should be financially supported for that work. Paul’s reason for not accepting support from Corinth (even though it may have been a good reason in that case), did not nullify what “the Lord directed.” So we may make different decisions on a personal level regarding various matters that, as long as they do not violate the word of God, are fine; yet we cannot impose them upon others and condemn those who do not follow our rules.
Why This Is Dangerous
If these extra rules are just a way to be careful not to violate God’s law, why are they a problem? Again, it is not necessarily a problem on a personal level (as we noticed in the last point); but there are a few reasons why it is dangerous to add rules to God’s word and expect others to follow them.
It is “self-made religion” – The King James Version uses the phrase, “will worship.” In other words, when we add rules to God’s word, our religious service or worship is now according to our will rather than God’s will. This means that anyone we convert will be converted to us and our way of thinking rather than to the Lord. Jesus said that this was what the scribes and Pharisees were doing by imposing their rules upon others: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). It is not easy to convert others in the first place, and it is even more difficult to convert them to a system of religion that is stricter than Christ’s. Yet if they are converted to our “stricter” religion, it will be more difficult to convert them to Christ. This is why Jesus said the Pharisees’ converts became “twice as much a son of hell.” It is not that they were twice as condemned as they were before; instead, it is because it will be harder to convert them to the truth than it would have been previously.
It makes our worship worthless – Again, holding personal opinions is not the problem; rather, the problem is when we bind our opinions upon others. The Pharisees did this when they condemned Jesus’ disciples for breaking “the tradition of the elders” by “not [washing] their hands when they eat bread” (Matthew 15:2). By imposing such man-made rules upon others, they rendered their worship worthless before God. Quoting from Isaiah, Jesus said of them, “But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men” (Matthew 15:9).
Eventually, we will not be able to tell the difference between our rules and God’s – To the Pharisees, the “tradition of the elders” (Matthew 15:2) was equal to the law of God and they zealously defended it. Yet at the same time, Jesus pointed out where they had not carefully followed God’s law; thus they “invalidated the word of God for the sake of [their] tradition” (Matthew 15:6). When we can no longer tell the difference between our rules and God’s rules, one of two things will happen. Either we will condemn others for not following the rules we have added or, once we see that we are cut off from nearly everyone because they do not follow our opinions, we will swing in the opposite direction and begin accepting into fellowship those who are not following God’s word [we discussed this in the previous lesson]. Regardless of which one of these happens, it is dangerous for us to not be able to tell the difference between God’s word and our opinions.
What to Do Instead
Once we understand that we are not at liberty to impose our opinions upon others – no matter how wise they appear to us – what should we do instead?
Rather than inventing our own rules, we need to follow God’s will – Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21). Our entrance into His eternal kingdom is dependent upon us doing God’s will. Yet He said that there would be “many” who would claim to do things “in [His] name” who would ultimately be told to “depart” because they were actually practicing “lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22-23). The Pharisees prided themselves as being ones who were carefully and strictly following the law, yet Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Following man-made rules will not save us; we need to follow God’s instructions.
Rather than worshiping in vain, we must worship in spirit and truth – This is what the Lord desires. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). This includes worshiping Him in the way He has instructed us to worship Him. Paul wrote, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17). For our worship to be acceptable to God, our worship and everything else we do needs to be done by the authority of Christ.
Rather than elevating our rules to the place of God’s, we need to allow for personal opinions – Paul said we are to “accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions” (Romans 14:1). While we all need to faithfully follow the word of God, there will be other matters about which God has not spoken. We may have different opinions on such matters. Paul used the example of one who would eat meat and another who would eat only vegetables (Romans 14:2). Since God did not require one or the other, they were to accept one another and not judge each other based upon their opinions (Romans 14:2-4).
Conclusion
In our fellowship, being “too loose” [which we discussed in the previous article] and “too strict” are related. Both elevate our thinking to the level of God’s. Let us maintain our respect for God and His word so that we faithfully follow Him without binding our opinions upon others.
