Do Not Leave Jesus Christ Behind

When we ask people today what is the center of their religion, they will offer various good sounding subjects. Things like living right or serving the church. These are good but they should not be the main thing in our life. Jesus Christ, our crucified and resurrected Lord is the absolute need of our life. We know this because His Spirit came back to earth specifically to live in the body of a Christian. When we allow our focus to be on anything, other than Christ, we run the risk of leaving Jesus out of our daily life. Many Christians have drifted away from the fold while dedicating their time to some good work. They have forgotten that their own life depends on Jesus living in them. We must stay in Christ continually. Our Church today is sometimes called the Laodicean Church because of what Jesus said about them:  I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! Rev 3:15 (NLT) The only way for us to stay “Hot” is to allow Jesus to control us. It is every Christian’s job to stay alert and with the help of Jesus we will not become lukewarm.

The world around us will go to great lengths to distract Christians from their focus on Jesus. Remember that Satan attempts to deceive every Christian with something worldly. When Paul was in prison he wrote this: I want you to know how much I have agonized for you (Colossians) and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. Col 2:1 (NLT) Why did Paul agonize for the Laodiceans and those of us that never met him? He was worried that we would leave Jesus behind by mistake. This can happen if we become involved with the worldly church today. Here is his warning: 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. Col 2:8 (NLT) Paul gives us two things that will delude our dedication to Jesus and make us lukewarm. These are our natural reasoning and the spiritual powers that are not of God. These two things are very devious and deceitful. Many times people who are captured by them are not even aware of it.

Our natural reasoning will never work in the plan of God. Paul mentions more than once that our old nature is no good and that we are to reckon it as dead, after we are living in Christ. This is why he condemns the empty philosophies of natural men. Sometimes their words may sound as if they are leading toward God but it is an illusion that misleads people who do not stay in Jesus continually. Christians have been raised above all human thinking just as surely as Jesus was raised up out of death. All the spiritual powers that are against God tried to keep Jesus in the grave but could not. Many religious experts in the church will attempt to take away our freedom in Jesus. Paul said: 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. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Col 2:16-17 (NLT) Many times in our history, religious leaders have tried to substitute rules in place of Jesus living in us. Today there are people who rely on church teachings to take them to Heaven.

Paul warns Christians about another subject that has drawn many people away from placing Jesus as the center of their life. It may sound a little odd at first but here is what he said: 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. Col 2:18 (NLT) This is the worship of “fallen” angels and today we call it mysticism. Today people can develop their own spirituality while ignoring Christ. There may be more female spiritualist because of their extra sensitivity to the spirit-world. This spiritually can include the zodiac studies and anything that does not focus on Jesus to fulfill our spiritual needs. A male, on the other hand, is more likely to dedicate himself to pious self-denial. There are many kinds of so called “holy men” in the world who believe that they deserve Heaven because they have denied some things of the world. Some men in our churches today will deny themselves a TV for example and think they deserve Heaven. This can be a mild form of self-denial. Whether we use celestial exaltation or self-denial the answer is the same. Jesus must be the center of our life if we want to please God.  

Only as we yield every moment of our life to Jesus will we be pleasing to our Lord. When we allow anything to distract us from our new life in Christ, trouble will follow. Our own pride will always show its ugly head without Jesus. Paul finished his warning about these things by saying: sinful minds have made them proud, 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. Col 2:18-19 (NLT) Our pride in any form will separate us from God. We have all seen what pride will do to the body of Christ; it tears it all apart.  So every Christian must humble themselves in order to take their place in the body. By putting all our attention on Jesus, the things that please God will come naturally to our new life. We must guard against philosophies, false spirituality, or various religious rules being brought into our churches. Any spiritual powers that draw us away from making Jesus central in our life automatically becomes a sin that is fatal to us. It is vital that we do not leave Jesus behind as we travel life’s road.