Outward symbols of Worship

Colossians 2:16-17

Having grown-up in Corpus Christ, Texas on the poor side of the tracks, we were taught manners, like taking your hat off when entering a business or church, to always say yes-ma’am and yes- sir to anyone older, but when it came to etiquette, like how to act in a formal setting, we missed that teaching.  You might say the Rice clan was not endanger of being embarrassed at a formal gathering, because most of us who lived on Liberty Drive would not be on the guest list.  

Our family went to church with others who shared our values and social standing and in those small Baptist churches you were in no danger of being embarrassed at the church picnic on etiquette, only the fast and the bold got the white meat of the chicken.  With that background I maybe a little short on knowledge in the area of formalism.

In the verses listed above the apostle Paul is warning the church against formalism and mysticism.  Because I had little exposure to anything close to formalism, I follow the advice of my friend Tommy Martin and looked up the word.  Formalism can be defined as “a strong or excessive emphasis on outward appearance of form instead of content or meaning.”   

It seems as if humans have always like to be religious, and religion can put on a great show, in fact religious people want to draw attentions to their actions.  The prophet Isaiah had this to say about religious folks, “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” (Isaiah 29:13)  There is great danger in wanting others to see your good works, but in your heart being distant from God.

Paul was telling the people in Christ at Colossae not to get hung-up with these outward symbols of worship but to focus on setting Christ apart in your heart.  Colossians 2:17 states, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Once again I know you understand the word substance, but if it belongs to Christ, then we must have a clear understanding of the word.  Substance is a particular kind of matter or material.  It is also defined as the unchanging essence of something.  If you have a New King James and go to Hebrews 11:1, it states that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It is going to require faith to believe God formed the universe, look at Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”  My prayer is that each of us will take time each day to be still and look at the creation, and understand that only God can let us see the unseen, and the amazement of all that we pass by each day. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice