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I have read that bank tellers are trained to spot counterfeit money, but not by studying all kinds of counterfeit currency that has been seized over the years. They learn to recognize and identify counterfeit currency by simply spending time studying genuine currency.

Beloved, you are never going to become an expert in all the fine points of the cults and false religious systems out there. You do not have to, because they all have these two major points in common: they deny the deity of Christ, and they promote good works as the means of salvation.

Along that same idea, Paul now delivers a warning to the church in Colossae as we begin in chapter 2, verse 8:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Paul writes here that human tradition—man-made religion—is tied to “the elemental spirits of the world.” This is a reference to the demonic spirits behind false teaching that ultimately denies the deity of Christ.

This deceptive teaching, Paul says, is “not according to Christ.” It does not line up with the biblical truth about who Christ is. So, beloved, when somebody sends you a pamphlet in the mail or people show up at your front door, just compare their message with what the Bible says about Christ. Do not let them, as Paul says here, “take you captive”—that is, draw you away from Christ.[1]

The apostle Paul then emphasizes who Christ is. He writes in verse 9, “In [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” This is a clear affirmation of the deity of Christ! Paul is saying that Jesus Christ is fully God, the second person of the Trinity. Yet he also affirms that God the Son is fully man. Again, he writes here, “In him [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Jesus is both fully God and fully man. And let me tell you, beloved, this is what distinguishes Christianity from every other religion and cult out there today. Somewhere along the line, they are going to diminish the deity of Christ.

Paul then writes here in verse 10, “You [Christians] have been filled in him.” Because we are “in Christ” by faith, we share in His fullness. This does not mean we are perfect, and you probably proved that already today. And it does not mean we are divine or that we are becoming little gods. Being “filled in him” simply means we are lacking nothing in Him—we have all the strength and wisdom we need to live for Him today. Why would we follow empty philosophy when we have been filled by Christ?[2]

What Paul does next is list more blessings all believers possess in Christ. First, we are freed from the power of our old, sinful nature. He illustrates this with circumcision. The false teachers in Colossae were evidently emphasizing physical circumcision; so, Paul writes in verse 11 that believers have been “circumcised [spiritually] with a circumcision made without hands.” In other words, human hands did not get you right with God; but Jesus, in essence, cut away our old unsaved life. Spiritual death has been replaced with spiritual life.

Next, Paul uses water baptism to illustrate our union with Christ. When we placed our faith in Christ, we spiritually participated in His death, burial, and resurrection. And what better way to tell the world that we belong to Him than through this ordinance of baptism by immersion? Here is the picture Paul presents in verse 12: We have “been buried with him in baptism, in which [we] were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Keep in mind as well, beloved, that water baptism also pictures the work of Spirit baptism, according to 1 Corinthians 12:13. We have been immersed by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ at the moment of our salvation.

So, these concepts of spiritual circumcision and spiritual baptism illustrated through water baptism speak of our separation from our old life and to our new life in Christ.

Paul writes in verse 13 that we have been “made alive together with him.” Then he adds that Christ has “forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us” (verses 13-14).

Your record—your debt of sin—Paul says here, was cancelled by “nailing it to the cross.” Then he writes with joy that Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” (verse 15).

Jesus not only erased our debt of sin; He disarmed Satan and the demonic world. He turned their cannons into little water pistols. They might get you wet whenever you sin, but they cannot drown you any longer. Satan’s weapons of sin and death will no longer destroy you.

The apostle then exposes the errors of these false teachers in Colossae. What we know about their teaching comes from Paul’s response to it. He notes several features of their teaching.

The first one is legalism. They were trying to draw the Christians back into the Mosaic law with all its customs and ordinances that were fulfilled by Christ. Paul writes, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (verse 16).

Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath requirements. We now find our Sabbath, our rest, in Him—and not just on Saturday, but every day of the week. We no longer observe festivals and keeps laws that pointed to the finished work of Christ. God does not hand you a list of rules; He offers you a personal relationship with His Son, the Lord Jesus.

Legalism is still with us because it is our nature. We want to gain God’s approval by doing this or not doing that. Of course, this does not mean you ought to throw out your convictions and live like the world. What it means is this: you have been accepted by God, not because of your personal convictions, but because of the Lord’s completion—He has done everything for you. You do not earn God’s love or approval; you have it already in Christ.

In verse 18, Paul warns against the worship of angels, which evidently was being promoted by these false teachers. He says that this teaching was based on false visions and “puffed up,” arrogant thinking. I have heard several false teachers these days who magnify the work of angels and expound on their own personal visions. They do not expound on Scripture at all.

Finally, Paul addresses the false teaching known as asceticism. Asceticism is depriving yourself of something in an attempt to become more holy. It is really just another form of legalism. Paul characterizes it in verse 21 by the commands, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch.” And in verse 23, he refers to it as “severity to the body.”

Even today people make pilgrimages while crawling on their knees; they fast for days or weeks, believing their sacrifice earns them a new level of holiness. Paul says that such practices are based on “human precepts and teachings” (verse 22). It is all just useless human effort.

Paul acknowledges that many see asceticism as having the “appearance of wisdom” (verse 23). It seems sincere and wise. But it is a waste of time. Just like any form of legalism, it does not change the heart.

So, let us learn to spot counterfeit religion. It denies the deity and supremacy of Christ and pins our hope on our own good works. What do we do about it? Well, let us live today in a way that does not draw attention to ourselves but draws attention to the glory and honor of our Savior and Lord.