Life & Freedom

In Colossians we see Paul very concerned with the way the church seems to be heading back to the Jewish traditions.

Paul speaks of them as being 'dead' in their old way of life:
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15 NIV)
We were dead in the way we used to live and it is through Christ that we have been made alive. We are forgiven! Not only that but Jesus has taken away the Legal Code that condemned us all, he's nailed it to the cross, and triumphed over all the rulers and authorities on a cross. It's a dramatic statement to say that Jesus defeated them through an execution but that's exactly how he made a spectacle of them, they thought they were ending it but it was only just the beginning.

And so we shouldn't be judged by people:
Therefore do 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. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (Colossians 2:16-19 NIV)
Notice that it's not 'don't let people judge you for sinning' rather it is, don't be judged for not following the old Jewish regulations. Notice that Paul here doesn't condemn following them, there's a Messianic Judaism temple up the road from my current apartment, and it can be a very helpful way for people of Jewish origin to worship Christ, but Paul says that's not important. If we chose to not follow the Jewish regulations (which I suggest most of us in America & Australia do not). The person Paul describes serves as a warning, let us never be proud and boastful for any spiritual experiences that we have, they have come from God, they are not ours to boast about.

Finally Paul talks about freedom:
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2:20-23 NIV)
We must remember that the laws it tells us to not worry about is the Jewish laws, about the religious practices, that is what we have freedom from, we are free from religion. And we are free to follow Christ obediently, we're not free to just do whatever we want as Paul goes in to elsewhere, but we're free from religious demands, we can Worship God as we see fit as long as it's following him we have freedom.

We are free and alive through the work of Christ we are no longer slaves to a lengthy legal code, God has freed us, let us enjoy our freedom not to rebel from God but to serve him whole heartedly.