In Colossians 2:16-17, the apostle Paul tried to explain that—because of Jesus’ preeminent reality—the types and shadows of the old covenant are no longer necessary for Christian practice and exhortation. “Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath. These are the shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Jesus is the substance of all the Old Testament types and shadows. The types and shadows are now fulfilled in Jesus Christ, leaving no need for their implementation in practice in the new covenant era.
In Colossians 2:18-19, the apostle Paul warns against human religion having any place in Christianity. “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth that is from God.” The preeminent Christ is mandatory in spiritual life. Jesus is unswervingly the substance of the faith. In Colossians 2:20-23, Paul points out that being in union with the person who is the substance of the faith, Jesus Christ, there is no need to submit to man-made religious regulation. “Growth in the Christian life comes by walking him, not by following some ascetic regiment where certain foods are forbidden and special festival days are observed. These things are ‘shadows’ and the substance is Christ.”[1] Paul encourages a Colossian Church not to be distracted from its Christocentric focus. False teachers were leading them to other foci aside from Christ. Keeping Christ central is the only way to maintain health in the church.
When Paul addressed the church of Galatia, he had a similar admonition. The Galatians, like the Colossians, were swayed and enticed by religious practice. To them, he says: "...if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:18-20) The reality of religion is that it kills. Only Jesus can give us life. The law was meant to be a tutor lead us to Christ (Galatians 2:24), but was never designed to be his replacement. If the value of any practice or discipline begins to exceed the value of Christ himself, we are being deceived. Are you judging your Christian life based on your ability to perform? That is sin. Are you getting your worth from your ability to obey? Guess what: even our ability to obey is a gift, and you didn't earn it. We must fight to remember what we are so prone to forget: Christ in us is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), not our law-keeping or law-breaking. Have you been crucified with Christ? Stop clinging to the shadows of religion and walk in the light.
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