SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/3/2017
10:49 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Asceticism”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians
2:20-23
Message of the
verses: “20 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, 21 “Do not handle, do
not taste, do not touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)-in
accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 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.” (NASB)
“20 So if, through your faith in
Christ, you are dead to the principles of this world’s life, why, as if you
were still part and parcel of this world-wide system, do you take the slightest
notice of these purely human prohibitions— 21 "Don’t touch this,"
"Don’t taste that" and "Don’t handle the other"? 22 “This,"
"that" and "the other" will all pass away after use! 23 I
know that these regulations look wise with their self-inspired efforts at
piety, their policy of self-humbling, and their studied neglect of the body.
But in actual practice they are of no moral value, but simply pamper the flesh.”
I have just opened up my commentary from Warren Wiersbe
and so I want to quote from it on what he wrote for verse twenty as we begin
this Spiritual Diary.
“Asceticism has to do with
the rudiments of the world and not the riches of the kingdom. Earlier we saw the word rudiments (KJV) and learned that it meant ‘the fundamentals or ABC’s
of something’ (Col. 2:8). In this case, ‘the
rudiments of the world’ refers to rules and regulations about foods. As Christians, we are dead to all of this
because of our union with Jesus Christ in death, burial, and resurrection (see
Rom. 6; Col. 2:12-15). Though we are in the world physically, we are not of the world spiritually (John
17:15-16). We have been transferred into
God’s kingdom (Col. 1:13), and therefore we govern our lives by His laws and
not the rules of men.
“This is not to suggest that
Christians are lawless. A student is a
Christian school once told me it was ‘unspiritual’ for him to obey the
rules! I reminded him that Christians
always respect the authority of those over them (1 Peter 2:11ff), and that he
knew the rules before he arrived on campus.
If he did not like them, he should have stayed home! Paul was not counseling us to be rebels, but
he was warning us not to think we are spiritual because we obey certain rules
and regulations that pertain to the body.”
John MacArthur defines “asceticism” as “an ascetic is one
who lives a life of rigorous self-denial.
In a addition to practicing legalism and mysticism, the Colossian
errorists were attempting to gain righteousness through self-denial.”
In verse twenty Paul asks a question to the Colossian
believers that if they had died with Christ to these elementary principles of
the world, then why are you acting like you are living in the world? Then he gives some examples that they were
following like “do not handle, don not taste, or do not touch.” Now since all believers are in union with
Christ they are set free from man-made rules that are designed to promote
spirituality. Paul stated that if one
adopts a worldly system of religion, base on the elementary principles they are
practicing asceticism. Now I am not sure
what Dr. Wiersbe name his “be book” for Colossians, but it may be “Be Complete”
as that is the theme of what Paul is writing to the Colossian believers. Well I just looked it up and that is the name
he chose for the Colossian commentary.
We will look at verse 21 in
our next SD.
4/3/2017 11:29 PM
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