As we’ve learned over the past number of sermons, the purpose of Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae was to warn them of the danger of being derailed in their relationship to Christ. So in our text, Paul gives us warnings of three dangers that we need to be aware of.

• Legalism
• Mysticism
• Asceticism

Where we once saw the shadow of what was required to fulfill the law, now we have Jesus who is the substance of the shadow. He fulfilled the law, and now we no longer need to look to the shadow; we have the substance. What food you eat and what day you worship doesn’t determine your access to or acceptance before a holy God. God looks at the heart.

What do we take away from this? Be careful how you judge. Be careful how you worship. Be careful how you think. Be careful how you live.

There are no second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. You have Jesus, so you have everything you need. We stand on the word of God alone as the revelation of God for our lives. We’re all equal at the foot of the cross.