Dead to the World’s Rules: Understanding Colossians 2:20–23

 

Dead to the World’s Rules: Understanding Colossians 2:20–23

“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle’…?” (Col. 2:20–23, NKJV)

The Flow of Paul’s Argument

Colossians 2 is about one central truth: Christ is enough.

Earlier in the chapter, Paul reminds believers that:

• We are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10).

• The “handwriting of requirements” was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14).

• Christ disarmed principalities and powers (Col. 2:15).

Then in Colossians 2:16–17, Paul mentions judgments regarding food, drink, festivals, new moons, and sabbaths—things connected with the ceremonial system that pointed forward to Christ.

By the time we reach verses 20–23, Paul is confronting a mindset: returning to religious regulations as if Christ had not already accomplished salvation.

Not About the Weekly Sabbath

The passage is not addressing the weekly seventh-day Sabbath established at Creation (Gen. 2:1–3). Instead, it concerns:

• Ritual purity regulations

• Festival observances

• New moon ceremonies

• Annual sabbaths tied to feast days

• Sacrificial requirements

These were part of the ceremonial framework fulfilled in Christ (Heb. 10:1).

Paul’s concern is not obedience rooted in love for God. His concern is reliance on external rituals as a means of spiritual advancement or salvation.

“Do Not Touch, Do Not Taste, Do Not Handle”

These phrases point to ascetic and purity rules—many of which went beyond Scripture itself.

During the time of Christ, the Pharisees had developed layers of traditions. Jesus directly confronted this in Gospel of Mark 7:6–8, saying:

“You lay aside the commandment of God, and hold the tradition of men.”

Some examples of Pharisaical man-made rules included:

• Elaborate ceremonial handwashing rituals before eating.

• Strict Sabbath travel limits beyond biblical instruction.

• Detailed classifications of work not specified in the Law.

• Rules about contact with certain objects or people deemed “unclean.”

• Expansions of dietary laws beyond what Moses commanded.

These traditions were later preserved in writings like the Mishnah, but they were already influential in Jesus’ day.

Paul calls these “commandments and doctrines of men” (Col. 2:22). They had an appearance of wisdom—self-denial, humility, strictness—but they did not transform the heart.

The Real Problem: False Spirituality

Notice Paul’s description:

• Self-imposed religion

• False humility

• Neglect of the body

• No value against the indulgence of the flesh

In plain terms: external rule-keeping without inner transformation doesn’t produce holiness.

You can restrict behavior and still have pride, envy, lust, and bitterness ruling the heart.

Christ changes the inside out. Legalism tries to change the outside in.

A Modern Mirror: Our Own Man-Made Rules

We need to be honest. Churches today are not immune.

Some congregations enforce unwritten codes such as:

• Certain musical styles automatically being labeled “sinful.”

• Dress expectations treated as measures of righteousness.

• Cultural preferences elevated to moral law.

• Extra-biblical lifestyle standards presented as salvational requirements.

Modesty and reverence matter. Worship principles matter. But when cultural standards become tests of salvation, we are repeating the same mistake Paul condemned.

The Pharisees didn’t wake up one day trying to replace God’s law. They started with “good intentions”—protecting holiness. But they ended up binding consciences where God had not spoken.

That’s the danger.

The Core Issue: Where Is Your Confidence?

Paul’s message is direct:

If you died with Christ, why return to systems that treat spirituality as rule compliance?

Salvation is not:

• Food regulations

• Festival observance

• Ritual purity

• Self-denial for its own sake

• Church-enforced cultural codes

Salvation is Christ crucified and risen.

Obedience flows from relationship, not from fear-based regulation.

A Balanced Conclusion

This passage does not abolish God’s moral law. It does not dismiss reverence, modesty, or order. It does not attack sincere obedience.

It confronts this mindset:
“If I follow enough external regulations, I will secure spiritual standing.”

That mindset died at the cross.

Christ fulfilled the ceremonial system. He exposed man-made religious control. He freed believers from bondage to human regulations disguised as holiness.

The question for us is simple:

Are we building faith in Christ—or building fences around people that God never commanded?

Because Paul is clear:
Rules made by men may look spiritual.
But only Christ makes us alive.

The Nature of Christ: The Baker Letter from Ellen G White

 

The Nature of Christ

The Baker Letter - Ellen White

Letter 8, 1895 in 13MR 18-20 (Written to Brother and Sister W. L. H. Baker).

(William Lemuel Henry Baker (1858-1933) was an evangelist, conference administrator, and Bible teacher in the United States and Australia.)

Be careful, exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. He is the second Adam. The first Adam was created a pure, sinless being, without a taint of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of sin, his posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God. He took upon Himself human nature, and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned; He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity. He was assailed with temptations in the wilderness, as Adam was assailed with temptations in Eden.

Bro. Baker, avoid every question in relation to the humanity of Christ which is liable to be misunderstood. Truth lies close to the track of presumption. In treating upon the humanity of Christ, you need to guard strenuously every assertion, lest your words be taken to mean more than they imply, and thus you lose or dim the clear perceptions of His humanity as combined with divinity. His birth was a miracle of God; for, said the angel, "Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the Highest; and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his Father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing that I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." [Luke 2:31-35]

These words are not addressed to any human being, except to the Son of the Infinite God. Never, in any way, leave the slightest impression upon human minds that a taint of, or inclination to corruption rested upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to corruption. He was tempted in all points like as man is tempted, yet He is called that holy thing. 

It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet be without sin. The incarnation of Christ has ever been, and will ever remain a mystery. That which is revealed, is for us and for our children, but let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human, such an one as ourselves: for it cannot be. 

The exact time when humanity blended with divinity, it is not necessary for us to know. We are to keep our feet on the rock, Christ Jesus, as God revealed in humanity.

I perceive that there is danger in approaching subjects which dwell on the humanity of the Son of the infinite God. He did humble Himself when He saw He was in fashion as a man, that He might understand the force of all temptations wherewith man is beset.

The first Adam fell: the second Adam held fast to God and His word under the most trying circumstances, and His faith in His Father's goodness, mercy, and love did not waver for one moment. "It is written" was His weapon of resistance, and it is the sword of the Spirit which every human being is to use. "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me"--nothing to respond to temptation. Not one occasion has been given in response to His manifold temptations. Not once did Christ step on Satan's ground, to give him any advantage. Satan found nothing in Him to encourage his advances.

As teachers we need to understand that the object and teaching of our Lord was to simplify in all His instruction, the nature and the necessity of the moral excellence of character which God through His Son has made every provision that human agents should obtain, that they may be laborers together with Jesus Christ. This God requires, and to this end the ministers of the gospel should work, both in their education of the people, and in the ministry of the word.

There are many questions treated upon that are not necessary for the perfection of the faith. We have no time for their study. Many things are above finite comprehension. Truths are to be received not within the reach of our reason, and not for us to explain. Revelation presents them to us to be implicitly received as the words of an infinite God. While every ingenious inquirer is to search out the truth as it is in Jesus, there are things not yet simplified, statements that human minds cannot grasp and reason out, without being liable to make human calculations and explanations, which will not prove a savor of life unto life.

What is the Seal of God?

The Sabbath, Circumcision, and the Seal of God

Few subjects generate more confusion than the relationship between the Sabbath, circumcision, and the seal of God. Scripture speaks clearly about each—but it does not use these terms interchangeably. If we want biblical truth, we must let the Bible define its own language.

The Sabbath: A Sign Between God and His People

The Sabbath is explicitly called a sign in Scripture.

“Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a **sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13).

“It is a **sign between me and the children of Israel for ever” (Exodus 31:17).

Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord repeats this:

“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them” (Ezekiel 20:12).

The Sabbath is a covenant sign. It identifies the Creator (Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 20:8–11). It points to sanctification. It reminds us who God is and who we are in relation to Him. But Scripture never explicitly calls the Sabbath the seal of God. It calls it a sign.

A sign identifies. A seal authenticates and secures.

Those are not the same thing.

Circumcision: Also a Sign

Circumcision is described in nearly identical covenant language.

“And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you” (Genesis 17:11).

The apostle Paul clarifies its meaning:

“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11).

Notice carefully: circumcision itself was not righteousness. It was not salvation. It was a sign and a covenant marker. Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised. The outward sign testified to an inward reality.

Paul later explains that true circumcision is spiritual:

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly… But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit” (Romans 2:28–29).

So circumcision, like the Sabbath, functioned as a covenant sign. But neither the physical act nor the observance itself was the saving power of God.

What Scripture Calls the Seal of God

When the New Testament speaks plainly about the “seal,” it identifies it clearly: the Holy Spirit.

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22).

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13).

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

These verses do not leave room for speculation. The seal is not presented as a day, a ritual, or an outward observance. The seal is the indwelling Holy Spirit given to believers after faith in Christ.

A seal in biblical times signified ownership, authenticity, and protection. When a king sealed a document, it bore his authority. When God seals a believer, it signifies divine ownership and security until the day of redemption.

Revelation and the Seal

In the book of Book of Revelation, we read:

“Hurt not the earth… till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:3).

The forehead symbolizes the mind—conviction, loyalty, allegiance. But Revelation does not redefine the seal apart from the Spirit. Scripture interprets Scripture. The only explicit New Testament identification of God’s seal is the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit writes God’s law in the heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). Obedience, including Sabbath-keeping, flows from that inward transformation—but obedience itself is the fruit, not the seal.

The Proper Relationship

Let’s put it plainly:

• The Sabbath is a sign of God as Creator and Sanctifier.

• Circumcision was a sign of covenant identity.

• The Holy Spirit is the seal of God upon the believer.

Signs point.
Seals secure.

The danger comes when we confuse the outward sign with the inward sealing. Paul consistently warned against trusting in external markers while neglecting the heart (Colossians 2:16–17; Galatians 5:6).

The foundation of salvation is Christ alone. The seal is received by faith in Him. The Spirit produces obedience, love, and loyalty. The Sabbath then becomes a joyful sign of relationship—not a substitute for the Spirit’s sealing work.

Conclusion

Biblical truth demands precision. The Sabbath is holy and a covenant sign. Circumcision was a covenant sign. But Scripture explicitly teaches that believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

If we elevate a sign to the place of the seal, we misrepresent the order of salvation. God seals hearts by His Spirit. From that sealed heart flows obedience—including reverence for His commandments.

The seal is not something we perform.
It is Someone we receive.

And where the Spirit dwells, Christ reigns. 

It is also important to remember that the Sabbath was created on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:2–3), long before Sinai, long before Israel existed as a nation, and long before Scripture ever speaks of sealing believers. If the Sabbath itself were the seal of God in the salvific sense described in the New Testament, then logically God would have gone thousands of years without placing His seal upon His people prior to its formal covenant identification in Exodus 31. That creates theological tension the Bible itself does not create. Furthermore, we must be careful not to equate God’s sealing work with the mechanical practice of earthly kings stamping wax onto documents. While Scripture uses the term “seal,” it defines it spiritually—through the indwelling Holy Spirit—not through ritual observance. God is not limited to human administrative analogies. His seal is living, personal, and relational: the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer.

John 6:27 "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."

If the Sabbath was the test of loyalty to God, the Jews would be saved without Christ. The rich young ruler would not need to follow the instructions given him by Jesus. He kept all commandments.

Commandments of Men: Man-Made Faith vs. Christ’s Finished Work

 Uniting Heaven and Earth

Christ in Philippians and Colossians 

Complete in Christ

Lesson 10 - Thursday 

Commandments of Men

Read Colossians 2:20–23.

Paul asks a piercing question: “If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations?” (Col. 2:20). Then he lists them: “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.” These were humanly constructed rules—religious restrictions that appeared spiritual but were rooted in what he calls “the commandments and doctrines of men.”

To understand this passage, we have to read it in the context of the whole chapter. In Epistle to the Colossians 2, Paul has already pointed us to the sufficiency of Christ. In verses 11–15, he describes how Christ canceled the record of debt against us and triumphed over principalities and powers at the Cross. Salvation, he insists, is something Christ accomplished for us. It is objective. Historical. Finished.

So when Paul comes to verses 20–23, he is not attacking obedience. He is attacking man-made systems that pretend to produce holiness while bypassing the Cross.

He says these regulations have “an appearance of wisdom.” They look serious. They feel disciplined. They may even impress others. But he bluntly concludes that they are “of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” In other words, external rules cannot transform the heart.

That’s the key. Rules invented by men cannot cure sin. They can restrain behavior for a time, but they cannot cleanse guilt. They cannot change motives. They cannot reconcile us to God.

Paul’s warning fits with everything else in the chapter. Earlier, he cautioned believers not to let anyone judge them regarding food, drink, festivals, or other ceremonial matters (Col. 2:16–17). Those were shadows pointing to Christ. Now he goes further: don’t let anyone enslave you to religious systems that promise spiritual advancement apart from Christ’s finished work.

This is where we must be careful.

It is possible to be deeply religious and yet subtly shift our confidence from Christ to ourselves. We may affirm that Jesus died for us. But in practice, we begin to measure our acceptance with God by our performance, our standards, our self-denial, or our visible discipline.

That is exactly what Paul is confronting.

The foundation of salvation is not what Christ does in us. It is what Christ has done for us—outside of us, in place of us.

When Christ died, He bore our sin. When He rose, He secured our justification. This happened before we ever performed a single act of obedience. Our standing with God rests entirely on His substitutionary sacrifice. We contribute nothing to that foundation.

Now, does Christ work in us? Absolutely. He sanctifies. He transforms. He empowers obedience. But that inner work flows from salvation; it does not create it.

If we confuse the two, we will either become proud or discouraged. Proud when we think we are succeeding. Discouraged when we see our failures. In both cases, our eyes have drifted from Christ to ourselves.

Here is how we guard against that drift:

1. Keep the Cross central. Remind yourself daily that your acceptance with God is anchored in Christ’s righteousness, not your progress.

2. Examine your motives. Are you obeying out of gratitude and love—or out of fear that God might reject you?

3. Refuse spiritual comparison. Man-made standards often thrive on comparison. The gospel humbles us all at the foot of the Cross.

4. Let obedience flow from identity. You obey because you died with Christ and were raised with Him—not to earn that reality.

Paul’s message is freeing. You are not saved by touching or not touching, tasting or not tasting. You are saved because Jesus took your place. Full stop.

Once that foundation is secure in your heart, obedience becomes joyful. It becomes relational. It becomes the fruit of grace, not the currency of salvation.

And that changes everything.

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Prayer

Father in heaven,
We thank You that our salvation rests completely on what Jesus has done for us. Forgive us for the times we have trusted in our own efforts, our own standards, or the approval of others. Keep the Cross at the center of our faith. Help us to obey not to earn Your love, but because we already have it in Christ. Guard us from the commandments of men and root us deeply in the finished work of Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.

Shadow or Substance? Christ, Not Symbols

 Uniting Heaven and Earth

Christ in Philippians and Colossians 

Complete in Christ

Lesson 10 - Wednesday 

Shadow or Substance?

Colossians 2:16–19

In Epistle to the Colossians 2:16–19, Paul confronts a serious spiritual danger. Believers were being pressured to measure their faith by external religious practices. He highlights disputes over food and drink, and over festivals, new moons, and sabbaths—elements deeply rooted in the Jewish ceremonial system. These practices were real. They were biblical. But they were never meant to save.

Paul calls them a “shadow of things to come.” A shadow is not the reality. It points beyond itself. The substance, he says, belongs to Christ.

The Jewish-Christian influences troubling the church were insisting that Gentile believers adopt ceremonial observances as a mark of spiritual maturity. But Paul is firm: these practices were fulfilled in Jesus. They foreshadowed His sacrifice, His priesthood, and His redemptive work. Once the Substance has come, clinging to the shadow as a means of salvation misses the point.

This is not a rejection of God’s moral law. It is a rejection of using ceremonial observances as a ladder to heaven.

Paul also warns about asceticism and the “worship of angels,” pointing to a kind of mystical spirituality that appeared humble but was actually disconnected from Christ. He says such people are “not holding fast to the Head.” That Head is Jesus. Growth only comes from Him.

Jesus Himself confronted this mindset. In Gospel of Matthew 15 and Gospel of Mark 7, He rebuked religious leaders who elevated human tradition above God’s commandments. They were meticulous about ritual purity but neglected the weightier matters of the heart. Christ did not condemn obedience. He condemned substituting outward performance for inward transformation.

Now, regarding the Sabbath: the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, rooted in Creation, is not the ceremonial shadow Paul is addressing here. The yearly festival sabbaths tied to the sacrificial system are in view. But here is where Paul’s counsel still cuts deep for us.

Even when we are right about doctrine, we can be wrong in spirit.

“Let no one judge you,” Paul says. That principle matters today. Faithfulness is important. Convictions matter. But we must guard against becoming spiritual auditors of everyone else’s experience. If someone is growing in Christ, holding fast to Him, and walking in the light they understand, our role is encouragement—not condemnation.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we value obedience, health principles, and the Sabbath. Good. But those things must flow from Christ, not replace Him. When practice becomes a measuring stick for superiority, we have drifted from the Head.

The real question is simple: Are we clinging to shadows, or are we holding firmly to the Substance?

If Christ is central, obedience becomes joyful. If Christ is central, humility replaces comparison. If Christ is central, growth is organic—like a body nourished from its Head.

Stay connected to Him. Everything else finds its proper place.

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Prayer

Father in Heaven,
Thank You for sending Jesus, the Substance to whom all shadows pointed. Keep us from trusting in outward forms or measuring our worth by performance. Help us hold fast to Christ as our Head, our righteousness, and our life. Guard us from judging others harshly, and give us hearts that reflect Your grace and truth. Root us deeply in Jesus, that our obedience may flow from love and not pride. In His name we pray, amen.