The Overflow

Notes from Curt Sparks’ keynote speech – “You Have Died With Christ” covering Colossians 2:16-23 – Thursday 7PM.

• Starts presentation by playing a clip from The Sixth Sense – little kid saying “I see dead people … walking around like regular people – they don’t see each other – they only see what they want to see – they don’t know they’re dead!”
• Paul is saying the same thing in Colossians 2 – he sees people who’ve died, only they’re walking around living like everyone else not realizing they’d died to their old way of life!
• Colossians 2:12 and Romans 6:1-14  link becoming a Christian to dying to your old way of life and allowing Christ to live through you. Paul taught and modeled this (Galatians 2:20).
• The “philosophy” mentioned in Colossians 2 rejected the work of Jesus on the Cross by adding to it. Teaching “Jesus + _______” as a path to salvation rejects the effectiveness of Jesus’ dying for our sins on the cross. Jesus does not need help from another religion or spiritual philosophy to save people. In fact, to add to the message of Jesus is to destroy it.
• Working for your salvation leads to arrogance, pride, and a spirit of exclusiveness  – that is, the people doing the works will be the ones saying who’s in and who’s out (case in point: the Pharisees).
• This “philosophy” in Colossae was an approach to religion based on fear and superstition likely tied to a folk religion. The people needed to understand that Jesus had already taken care of any dark powers present and they needn’t worry about them.
• For the people in Colossae, it wasn’t the getting it (being saved) that was the issue – it was keeping it (staying saved) that was the issue. Voices were telling them “you must do x, y, or z to stay saved” – the x, y, or z was tied to folk religion or paganism.
• Things like this still occur today – denominations and faith tribes have set up “markers” – there are certain things you must teach or do in order to be deemed “saved”
• Many Churches of Christ have set up markers like this – there’s an entire platform you must carry, and if you change one point of it “you’re out!”
• “We should no longer be offended for God when God is not offended!”  (Amen to that!)
• “Living in fear of retribution does not equal abundant life!” (Amen to that too!)

Great stuff! Listen to more of Curt’s preaching by clicking here.