Living Forgiven . . . Living Free, Part 2

Today, from Chuck Swindoll. Be strong in the Word of God and keep worshiping Christ. If there's one thing that you can count on in the realm of that which will lead you astray, it will always include those two things. It will move you away from a careful study of the Scriptures and also the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you ever feel ashamed when a legalist targets and calls you out? Pointing a finger at you, he criticizes the way you're training your children. Or, citing the dangers of your personal liberties, she gives you a mini-lecture on the consequences of your sinful behavior. Well, today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll teaches from Paul's liberating wisdom to the Colossians. In the second chapter, the apostle said, Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial.

Explaining what that means, Chuck describes what he calls living forgiven, living free. And we begin with prayer. It's appropriate, our Father, that we come before you and none other, for you are the only true God. You are our Creator, having made this earth and all things pertaining to it. In the magnificent heavens above us, the seas around us, and the depths and the heights, we acknowledge you, Lord, as our Creator as well. You have given us our temperaments.

You have sovereignly chosen our past. The parents you gave us, the homes in which we were reared. The siblings, our brothers and sisters, our families, how grateful we are, our Father, that you are our Creator. And you are our guide. We're never left to our own devices, but when we seek your direction, you are there to provide that. On our own, we have helplessly lost our way, but you are there as our guide to direct our steps to lead us in the paths of righteousness for your name's sake. You are the great and holy one, forgiving us of all our sins because of your Son's death on the cross. Thank you for your grace, dear Father, for demonstrating it again and again in giving us what we do not deserve, can never repay.

Thank you, Father, for being our Creator and our Director and the giver of grace. You are as well a mighty fortress. You protect us. You care for us. You watch over us. And we praise your name for that. Because of these and a thousand other reasons, we are prompted to give to you the only one deserving of our worship and our praise. Through Christ our Savior, we offer up these words and we release to you these gifts. In the name of Jesus, for His sake alone, everyone say, Amen.

You're listening to Insight for Living. To search the scriptures with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck called, Living Forgiven, Living Free. What the Colossians faced was a group of legalistic cultists named Gnostics, and they did not teach them forgiveness.

They did not teach them freedom. And so Paul wrote to them so they would understand the difference between what they were hearing from the others around them and what God has said and written ultimately in His Word. So we move from the subject of forgiveness to the subject of claiming our freedom. Look at what he says in the warnings. First, don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. So he starts by saying don't let anybody act as your judge.

That would be addressed to people who are legalists. And the next warning is in verse 18. Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels. This would be the subject of mysticism. Don't let anyone disqualify you because you do not have the visions that they say you should be having. You are not engaged in the kind of pious self-denial that they are urging you to be engaged in. That's mysticism.

And the third is down in verse 20. Why do you keep on following the rules of the world such as don't handle, don't taste, and don't touch? That would be the teaching of asceticism. And he says don't keep on following their rules that will enslave you. So Paul writes these words in the latter half of the second chapter of Colossians to help them know that they're truly free.

So let's go back and look at them. Verse 16. Don't let anyone condemn you or the word suggests the idea of judging you for what you eat or what you drink or for not celebrating certain days, new moon ceremonies, or Sabbaths.

In the ancient days, the Jews lived their lives according to a certain diet and in keeping with the responsibility of observing certain days. But when Christ came and as Christ died, he set us free from that law which he fulfilled. He says in verse 17, these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come.

And Christ himself is the reality. So living under the leadership of Christ and the influence of the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection, we are freed from the restriction on diet and the restriction of certain days. Interestingly, as a result of his resurrection, which was on the first day of the week, the day of worship was moved from the Shavat, which is Saturday, to the first day of the week, which is Sunday. And as a result, we meet to worship and to celebrate the faith on the first day of the week, not the seventh day as the Jews, for all those years did so under the law. Christ came to fulfill all of the law and in him we have a new day of worship, which we observe and we hardly think how it once was because of the change that he has brought. I observe among my friends who are living legalistic lives that there is often a kind of a joylessness about it.

There is a lot of fear connected to it. I like the way one man referred to it. We talked about the diet. He said, now I need to warn you, you eat too many Twinkies and you'll no longer be Twinkle Toes.

He says too many Snickers are not a laughing matter. So you've got to use your mind, you've got to use your brain when you think about dietary discipline, but you don't address your diet based on what is written in ancient days. You base your diet what is written in the days following the resurrection, ascension of Christ. And now that we are under grace, we don't live our lives according to what is being eaten, what we drink or the celebration of certain days.

So much for legalism. Then he turns to mysticism. Look at verse 18. By the way, I shouldn't miss this. 17, these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come and Christ himself is the reality.

Now look at the next warning. Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. One of the common teaching among the mystics is the whole idea of visions.

And you get these visions in very unique ways, often late at night or in the hours when you are alone. And these people were urged to seek that out and to follow that kind of teaching. The result, of course, is a self-made pride. See how he ends verse 18. Their sinful minds have made them proud and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body, for he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments and it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with Christ and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world.

I love that. I love the freedom in those words. Just as he said earlier, he forgave all our sins, end of verse 13. So he says in this 20th verse, he has set you free. Paul returns to that great theme of Christ. Remember we mentioned in a previous message in Colossians that anything that draws you away from Christ is spurious.

It's to be questioned. Anything that diminishes the person of Christ, anything that would place all of that under wraps or make less of it, trivialize it is the word, is to be looked at with a jaundiced eye. Christ has come. Christ is the head. Christ is our guide. Christ is the one whom we follow and we do not wait on God for visions.

We have all the directions we need right here in this book. We don't rely on him to give us middle of the night directions through dreams or visions. Such teaching will lead you astray and I warn you of that. So the focus is on Christ who is the head and all of us are joined together with him, his being the head.

And then the third subject would be the asceticism. Here he warns against that which will enslave you by trying to live in the deep and extreme disciplines of life. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world such as don't handle this, don't taste that, don't touch these things. Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These who were ascetics and encouraged such were strong on the rules of personal discipline. They are rules according to verse 23 that seem wise but they require strong devotion and pious self-denial and severe bodily discipline.

Look at that list right here. It's a series of things that he uses to analyze asceticism. They are man-made rules, not from God. They seem wise but they accomplish nothing deep within us. They only create pride or what he calls pious self-denial. And then third they fail to produce purity and victory.

They provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires. We want that which will help us, that which will deal with our old nature, that which is able to lead us into victory and those are not the things that we are able to produce in and of ourselves. So that leaves us now with the question, how? We know that we're to live forgiven, we know that we're to live free, but how do we do that? How does that work its way out in the Christian's life now living in the dispensation of the church, now living under grace and not under the law? How do we conduct ourselves in a way that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ?

Let me suggest three very practical suggestions. Number one, be strong in the word of God and keep worshiping Christ. Be strong in the word of God and keep worshiping Christ. If there's one thing that you can count on in the realm of that which will lead you astray, it will always include those two things. It'll move you away from a careful, faithful, personal study of the Scriptures and also the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God will be diminished in emphasis and the person of Christ will be demoted.

So that's why I say to begin to live forgiven and free, you need to know what the word of God is teaching and then you need to remember that our worship focuses on Christ. Here's the second suggestion. Refuse and resist all other substitutes. Refuse and resist all other substitutes. Keep choosing Christ. There is no substitute for the word of God and there certainly is no substitute for the Son of God.

Refuse and resist all other substitutes. I have been eminently blessed in my life in so many ways, not the least of which has been the joy and the privilege of serving under mentors and being influenced by those who helped shape my thinking. Every one of my mentors, every one has been strong in the word of God and a worshiper of the Lord Jesus Christ. I thought about that while preparing these thoughts for you today.

I've been blessed to have those around me and those teach me, especially in the formative years as I was learning my way, each one of those men knew the Scriptures and was a continued student of the Scriptures and second, they were strong in their faith in Christ. How grateful I am for that. Learn to refuse and resist all other substitutes.

Here's the third. Don't be afraid to risk living your life unshackled. Don't be afraid to risk living your life unshackled. Remembering that your best master is Christ. We are a bond slave to Him and to no other. I love the way Paul wrote of this in Galatians. Am I one who lives to please people or do I live to please God? Let me show you the verse. Galatians is just before the letter to the Ephesians. Look at chapter one of Galatians verse 10.

Galatians 1.10. Obviously, he writes, I am not trying to win the approval of people but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant.

Let me read that last sentence again. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. You know what I would be?

I would be a doormat to people. Furthermore, I would never know what it's like because you can never please them all. It's impossible to please everyone else. So my goal is to please the Lord Jesus Christ. And in doing so, he teaches me to be kind, to be gracious, to be loving, to be understanding, not to be harsh in my freedom, not to be proud of the fact that I am free, but to walk in humility and not use it as a tool to take advantage of others. So that verse has stood out for years in my life for reasons I'll not get into.

Now, back to my original question for you. Are you really and truly forgiven? Are you really and truly free?

The answer to both is absolutely. Because of Christ, what he has done for you and what he is willing to do within you. I came across a wonderful story that illustrates this beautifully. It took place back when Abraham Lincoln was still a lawyer, had not yet gotten into politics and had not been involved in the presidency. He was a young attorney and he visited a slave market in his community back in the days when there were slaves. He saw a lovely African American woman being auctioned off to the highest bidder. His heart went out to her. He noted the anger in her eyes and could imagine what she was thinking. And then she looked in his direction and she must have been thinking there's another white man who will buy me and use me and then discard me.

His happened to be the highest bid that day. As he walked away with his newly purchased, quote, property, he waited until they were some distance away from the slave market. And then he turned to the woman and he said to her, you are free. You are free. Yeah, she said, well, what does that mean? Well, it means you're really free. Well, does that mean I can say what I want to say?

Yes. He replied smiling, you can say whatever you want to say. Well, does that mean that I can be whatever I want to be?

Yes, whatever you want to be. You're free. Does it mean, the young woman said hesitatingly, I can go wherever I want to go?

Yes. You're free. You're really free. You can say and be and go, go wherever you want to go. Well then, she replied with tears welling up in her eyes, then I think I'll go with you.

I love the story, not only because of the surprise ending, but because how she realized here is one worth being with. Here is one who won't take advantage of me. Here is one who wants me to be truly free. I never want you to trust in Christ because you were afraid of what would happen if you don't.

I don't want fear to be your motive. I want the attraction of Christ to be his person, his death, his sacrifice for you, which is why we observe the Lord's table regularly. It is a reminder of the sacrifice he paid for us, that he has completely freed us and that explains why we want to be with him. The reason you are forgiven is because of the death of Christ on the cross. The reason you are free is because of his grace that has set you free. You may be in this room today and honestly have to say, I have never trusted in this master. I've never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. I urge you at this moment to do so now.

Don't put it off, another moment. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Remind you who know Christ, how valuable it is that you bring your life before the Lord Jesus and you claim the forgiveness that is yours. As you walk in the light, as he is in the light, you will have fellowship with him. Thank you, our Father, for the Lord, your Savior, your Son. Thank you for what he has done on our behalf. Thank you for his forgiveness and for the freedom that he provides. We worship you in a very special way as we remember his death and as we do so till the end of our days or until he returns for his own. Thank you for his body given for us and for his blood. In the name of Christ, we pray.

Amen. You're listening to the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindoll. This is Insight for Living. Chuck titled today's message, Living Forgiven, Living Free.

This represents message number six in a ten-part teaching series. And to learn more about today's study or this ministry, visit us online at insightworld.org. In addition, you'll be pleased to learn that Chuck has written a complete commentary on Colossians. In fact, this hardbound volume includes his commentary on Philippians and Philemon as well. This is the kind of book you'll likely spread open next to your Bible as you dig deeper into this satisfying letter from Paul. To purchase a copy of the Living Insights commentary on Colossians, go to insight.org slash offer or call us. If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888. In the last several months, we've heard from thousands of friends all around the world who have affirmed the value of Chuck's Bible teaching.

Many have told us they can trace their listening back 10, 20, 30 years and more. In fact, a friend left a message on our website that said, thank you very much, Pastor Swindoll, for your life sustaining messages. I've been listening to you since the early 1990s. May God's favor continue to manifest in and through your life.

I love worshiping with you every morning here in the Philippines. Well, this kind of feedback motivates us to keep forging ahead, not only here in North America, but in all 195 countries of the world. But we couldn't proceed without the support of listeners like you who financially sustain Insight for Living, either through one-time donations or by becoming a monthly companion. You can partner with us by calling us. If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888. Or to give a donation today online, simply go to insight.org-slash-donate. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll presents what he calls spot-on advice from a seasoned coach, Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Living Forgiven, Living Free, was copyrighted in 2014 and 2022, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2022 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.