Beware of the Drift – Week 5
Big Idea: Staying anchored to Jesus will keep your belief systems from drifting.
Colossians 2:6-15 (NLT)
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
– Beware of the drift into human-centered philosophy.
Colossians 2:16-23 (NLT)
16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. 18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
– Beware of the drift into man-made legalism.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NLT)
7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.
How do we stay anchored to Jesus?:
1. Get to know Jesus through his Word.
2. Recognize Christ is in you and you are in Him.
3. Guard your influences.
4. Stay connected to the body of Christ through a local church.
COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING OUTLINE
Where your faith intersects with real life!
Reconnect:
Each person shares a recent high and low from their life.
Explore:
Review the message notes.
Big Idea: Staying anchored to Jesus will keep your belief systems from drifting.
Consider:
Choose one or two questions for your Group to discuss as time allows.
▶ Read Colossians 2:6-7. Paul calls us to continue to follow by letting our roots grow deep, so our faith can grow strong. What are some practices you have used to be rooted in God’s word and keep from drifting?
▶ Read Colossians 2:8-15. Which of the common human-centered philosophies have you seen as prevalent in your circles? Find yourself, be your best self, follow your heart, you deserve to be happy, you do you, I’ll do me, or there is no absolute truth- we each have our own truth. Are there any others you can think of?
▶ Read Colossians 2:16-23. Which side of legalism do you more naturally swing toward – condemning yourself or judging others? How is that actually a drift from what Jesus offers us?
Activate:
Spend a moment in silence to consider your response, then share your decision with the Group.
Read Colossians 2:8. Take a personal inventory and ask God if there are any influences you need to be more aware of, and how you can consciously guard against the drift toward human philosophies or any form of legalism?
Prayer:
Thank God for the highs and lift up the lows.
Pray for our church as we make an effort to guard against the drift together.