September 15, 1999
LIFE & WORK SERIES:
Angels are nice, but God
is focus of worship
___Colossians 2:16-19
___By Brett Younger
___Lake Shore Baptist Church, Waco
___Angel pins, angel trees, angel earrings, angel hair clips, angel hair pasta, angel art (often an oxymoron), ceramic angels, "Touched By an Angel," "Johnny Angel," "Earth Angel," Anaheim Angels, Blue Angels, "Charlie's Angels," "Angel of the Morning," Los Angeles, angelfish, angel food cake and even the fools rushing in where angels fear to tread fill our lives with hints of haloes. Angels are hotter than, well, uh, they are really, really hot. Booksabout angels (including "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels"--available in paperback) describe how powerful angels make everything all right (and make the authors lots of money). Television shows portray beautiful, sensitive angels who make everything all right (and get good ratings).
___In most ways the widespread popularity of angels seems harmless and quaint, but when angels (or anything but grace) become the focus, faith becomes centered in shallow sentimentalism rather than the love of God. Silliness always is a threat to genuine faith.
___The church at Colossae had to deal with serious silliness. Paul severely criticizes the false teachers. Some were advocating a return to the Jewish food laws and sacred calendar. Paul says the Colossians should "not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day" (2:16). These added rules and regulations miss the point. They are only "a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ" (v. 17). "False humility" (v. 18), translated "self-abasement" in the New Revised Standard Version, refers to the ascetic regulations (which may include fasting) that were being stressed. The "worship of angels" (v. 18) gets in the way of the authentic Christian life. Some in Colossae thought angels were their guides to spiritual maturity. According to Paul, those who insist on seeking the help of angels are "bursting with the futile conceit of worldly minds" (v. 18, New English Bible).
___The leaders of the misled add ideas to the Christian faith. The shadow is easily mistaken for the substance. A religion which is centered on rules about eating and drinking certain kinds of food and drink and abstaining from others, a religion which is founded on Sabbath regulations, or a religion which is consumed with angels and the like is a lifeless shadow.
___Preoccupation with secondary ideas obscures the centrality of God's revelation in Jesus Christ, the Head of the body. God, and not the foolish ideas that gather around religion, is the source of life and strength. The church's best response to peculiar ideas is to turn our attention to what's most important.
___It is ironic that angels would ever be the focus of attention. The Greek and Hebrew words translated angel mean "messenger."
___In scripture, the message of God's love is always the point. If we keep our focus on God's grace, we'll be on the side of the angels.
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