Appearance of Wisdom
“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.”
Col. 2:23
These things can be summed up by our carnal thoughts
that do not line up with Christ. They
are thoughts of no eternal value. Let’s
break this verse down to identify each aspect of Paul’s message, all under the
“appearance of wisdom:”
o
Self imposed
religion – not true religion, but rather what is called “will-worship.” Will worship can be defined as the actions
taken because they please the worshiper, but not the Lord. In other words, it feeds the soulish part of
the person, rather than worship done “in spirit and in truth.” It is of course all aspects of man-made
religion that come from men, not from the Lord.
o
False humility –
this speaks to the motivation of the heart and why we do what we do. True humility acknowledges the need for Jesus
Christ in all things.
o
Neglect of the
body – this refers to fasting which is done publicly or the results are shared
publicly. It can also refer to abasement
of the body. Unless called to fast by
the Lord as a spiritual discipline – fasting will have no value or impact. It isn’t the fast or isolation of a person
that has power – it is Christ in us that has power.
Note Paul’s sobering conclusion: such things “are of no value against the
indulgence of the flesh.” In actuality,
false humility is filled with self; neglect of the body is filled with self;
and self-imposed religion is filled with self.
It completely feeds the flesh, rather than applying the cross of Christ
to the flesh. It all stems from being
deceived in the mind with thoughts that are not in the Kingdom.
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