I changed pace a little this week by taking a larger section on at one time. We’ve been going through almost scripture by scripture until this week. This works well for some sections of Colossians, but for Col. 2:11-23 I wanted to cover it all in one sermon.
In this section of Colossians, Paul sets up a great argument against a works-based and religious view of Christianity not only because it is an affront to Jesus’ work at the cross, but it is ineffective as a tool against sin. He demonstrates that attempting to please God with a system of rules devoid of Christ will not only be an offense to the cross of Christ, but it will not work as a weapon against our flesh.
We began our series on Colossians this week. I’m just taking it scripture by scripture from start to finish. I have a couple goals with this series. First, I believe the theme of the supremacy of Christ is vital to understanding our individual purposes as well as participating in the mission of the Church as a whole. Secondly, preaching this way is instructive in how to study the Bible and extract meaning within the context of the original audience and the book as a whole. Often just understanding the history around the book (especially when you are reading a Pauline letter like Colossians) is enough to clarify difficult passages.
