Newsletter December 2020 Part 1
Complete in Jesus Christ
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:6-10)
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul admonishes them not to move away from the faith they have received. It is through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross that they have been saved and they must not lose sight of this simple truth. Like we today, these believers were bombarded by a variety of belief systems that were distracting some of them from what they had originally been taught. They lived in a world of idolatry and values that were incompatible with their faith, but, again like today, it was relatively easy to draw the line between the world out there and their faith. The confusing messages that were making their way into their own circles were much harder to identify and resist.
The Christian faith has always been plagued by false teaching both on the nature of Jesus Christ and on Christian values and conduct. Over the past century, however, the focus has moved increasingly away from God’s sovereignty and justice to the human-centredness that defines our world. We have put our own human needs and desires before His purpose to reveal Himself to a world that has turned away from Him. In doing so, we have in fact repeated the sin of Eden to be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5) rather than depending on God and finding out what matters to Him. We have built our own towers towards heaven and sought to make a name for ourselves. (Genesis 11:4)
Much of our Christianity has been about what God can do for us and how we can gain the respect of others rather than about His purpose. In order to get God to do what we want, we have developed principles of faith and strategies for success by which we can manipulate God into doing what we want Him to do. Even our prayers often sound more like magic spells than like the call of a trusting child to a faithful Father in dependence on His grace and submission to His will. In effect we have created a new form of ‘works’ religion, not realising that we are cheating ourselves of the true life-transforming power of God.
Paul observed the church of his time making this fundamental mistake by reverting to legalism and observance of particular days and seasons. Rather than embracing the simple truth of the gospel, they were taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen ... and not holding fast to the Head of the body, Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:18-19)
As we approach the end of another year, admittedly a rather unusual one, and prepare to celebrate another Christmas let us make the most of the difficult situation we find ourselves in. In many ways, this Christmas will be very different: we won’t be able to meet with many of those we would normally meet. We may have to cut back on our spending due to the increasing economic pressures; we may have the money but simply not the time to do the usual Christmas shopping; some may have to work more than ever as colleagues are ill or self-isolating.
This could be a Christmas, even a whole year that we simply want to forget, to put behind us as we hopefully return to some kind of normality. Yet this could also be a time to remember: at this point of crisis and uncertainty we could meet with the One Christmas is all about in a new and powerful way. After all, God chose a time of crisis and uncertainty to come into this world. Jesus was born into a world of oppression and injustice, of depravation and fear.
Just like today, people at the time of Jesus’ birth were speculating why they were suffering, why God didn’t seem to answer their prayers and deliver them. Some tried to fight their oppressors to achieve freedom, others believed that they could move God to act through their works of righteousness, lamenting the fact that the rest of the nation were not godly like them. While all these people were preoccupied with themselves and trying to find their own answers and solutions, the Son of God came virtually unnoticed.
Due to the inconvenient and seemingly irrational rules imposed by the government at the time, Jesus ended up being born in a distant stable rather than in the relative comfort of the family home in Galilee. God’s purpose was fulfilled and the Saviour was born in Bethlehem, just as the prophets had foretold. As the world continued with its busyness, an angel appeared to a group of shepherds out in the field, announcing to them, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Where will you be this Christmas? What will you be doing? What questions will you be asking? What worries will be occupying your mind? Open your ears; let the angel of God point you to the One in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Him you are complete. (Colossians 2:9-10) In Him alone you find peace in the midst of the storm, rivers in the desert, and life in the face of death.
There is nothing we can add to His grace, for He has wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14) Rather than worry about what isn’t, let us, like those shepherds, come to Jesus in simple faith with thanksgiving (Colossians 2:7) and worship Him.