Text: Colossians 2:8-16

Topic: Why Christ is superior to humanist, New Age religion

Introduction:

• There is nothing "new" about New Age philosophy, or any other humanist philosophy currently on the market.

• Humanist philosophies teach that you only need yourself to achieve personal salvation; the Bible teaches that you cannot do it without Christ.

• Illustration: May quotes lyrics by musician Jewel to illustrate the humanistic notion that people are basically good and sin is inconsequential.

• We have all sinned and fallen short of the mark (Romans 3:23); and though sin is not without consequences, God has provided a way of dealing with sin that destroys its stronghold on our lives once and for all.

• Colossians 2:8

• Big Idea: Everything we need we have in Christ.

• Illustration: May quotes several prominent thinkers and varying religions to illustrate the muddled confusion of humanism's god.

• Paul described our relationship with God in simpler and more straightforward terms.

• Colossians 2:9-10

• All you have to do—all that you can do—to experience the fullness of God in your life is connect with him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, because Christ is the fullness of God.

• When you have a relationship with Christ, you have all that God has to offer.

• Illustration: Again, May quotes musician Jewel, but this time pointing out that she is right in singing, "To believe in forgiveness, we must first believe in sin."

• Illustration: May recounts a married couple's argument about forgiveness to illustrate the point that when forgiveness is offered (as God does), it implies there must have been offense.

• Romans 3:23

• Illustration: May tells an old preacher's tale about a preacher that tricked a congregation into admitting they were a bunch of "liars and thieves."

• Colossians 2:13

• Admitting that we have a problem with sin is admitting that we need a savior.

• Illustration: May quotes the anti-Christian Ted Turner—"I don't need anyone to die for my sins"—to illustrate that being forgiven requires we acknowledge our sinfulness.

• When we fall short of the mark, we can rest assured that God, in his mercy, will forgive us completely, through Christ.

In Christ we have freedom from the law.

• Colossians 2:14

• Through Christ God has done with away the "written code" that only served to condemn us, and he has given us a new law to live by: the law of love.

• The law is no longer a threat; it is now a goal.

• 1 Corinthians 6:12

Conclusion:

• In Christ we have everything we need.

• All the things that "worldly philosophies" try to promise, God has delivered.