05 Finding Fulfillment: How Christ Frees You from Counterfeit Spirituality (Colossians 2:4-15)

Krisan Marotta: Krisan Marotta here, welcoming you to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. What the Bible means and how we know. This is the fifth talk in our series on the Book of Colossians. Today we'll be looking at chapter two, verses four through fifteen. If you'd like to follow along with the lecture notes, you can find them at wednesdayintheword.com slash Colossians 5. That's wednesdayintheword.com slash Colossians 5. Thanks so much for joining us. We are in Colossians 2, verses 4 through 15. Several years ago, there was a popular movement in the American church that became known as Victorious Christian Living. And one of their go-to verses was Colossians 2.6, which is in our passage today. I want to ask, were they right? And you can probably tell, I don't think they were. But they use this analogy to explain their view. They said, when you become a Christian, it's like you're issued a brand new fancy car. But most Christians push that car around rather than get into the driver's seat. They would say being saved is being given the car, and that gets you to heaven. Just having the car gets you to heaven, but by faith, you have to climb in the driver's seat and turn the key, and then you have what they call victorious Christian living. So once you turn the key, you have the power to live victoriously in life, which meant avoiding sin, growing spiritually, being successful, and so on. Having the car would get you to heaven, but you can and you can push it without ever turning on the engine, but it will be a lot harder. And they would say you're settling for something that is less than God's best for your life. So you can either access the power of the engine and live victoriously, or you can just coast along. Now, to get in the metaphorical driver's seat, you did things like pray, fast, have quiet time, meditate, and so on, very similar to what is the often called the spiritual discipline or spiritual formation movement today. And the idea was that there are things you do that cause you to grow. And the language is always, yes, you do them by faith, but when you boil it down all the recommendations, the by faith part becomes like the magic words, please and thank you. It's like this thing you just tack on the end to guarantee success. So one of their go-to verses for this viewpoint of Victorious Christian living was Colossians 2.6, which is, Therefore, as you have received Christ, Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. How is it that you received Christ? You received him by faith. Now you have this thing to do. You have to walk in him, and yes, you do that by faith, but if you really want to experience the best life God has for you to offer, you have to access the power of the Holy Spirit within by faith. You have to do something, you have to get in the driver's seat. So I want to ask the question: is that what Paul's saying? Would we expect at this point in the letter that he is going to now try to motivate the Colossians to a greater, more victorious Christian living or greater spirituality? And I'm going to say, no. Well, but I admit there's something very attractive about that idea of reaching a new level of spirituality. We all want that. I mean, we all want to be more successful in life. We'd rather be winners than losers, we'd rather be victorious. And we all recognize that there's something not fulfilling, there's something lacking in this life. So anything that promises more fulfillment is attractive. So the question is, how do we get there? Is there something I need to do to get in the driver's seat of faith? What does it take to be spilled to be filled? Are there spiritual disciplines, rules, things I must do to grow spiritually? That's the question we're going to try to answer. So just to review where we are, the Colossians are on the verge of believing a false gospel. So a heresy spreading through their church, and they're on the verge of being carried off into it, and Paul is writing to set them straight. So in 1 chapter 1 up to verse 12, he prays that they would be filled with wisdom and knowledge, and such that the hope of the gospel would change them from the inside out. In 13 through 23, he argues that Jesus Christ is absolutely central to the gospel, that you can't seek God and avoid Christ. So what is this spiritual knowledge he wants them to fully grasp and understand who Jesus was and what he did for them? So it's not the case that Jesus gives me one piece of truth and these other prophets have another piece that Jesus is missing, or other philosophies have a piece that I need to find. Everything I need to know, I find in Jesus. And then in the passage we looked at last week, he talks, Paul talks about rejoicing in his sufferings for the gospel because he is making the word of God fully known. He's trying to present every believer mature in Christ, and he urges them to hold fast to this gospel they first believe. Then the section we start today, 2-4, I think, begins the main body of the letter. He's through with his introductory remarks, and now he's getting down to his main point. And it starts the main concern of this letter. So let's look at 2.4 and 5. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. So I say this. What is this? I think that refers back to basically everything he's written up to this point. But particularly what he discussed the last two weeks, the story about Christ, this the idea that the thing we really need to grasp is who was Jesus, and the way we really know God is by looking at Jesus, that Jesus is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. So if you look at all the knowledge I might accumulate in the world, the one thing that I really need that unlocks wisdom is the story of Christ, who he is and what he did for us. And he's keeping, he's been emphasizing this stable, mature faith rooted in the cross because he's concerned that they're being persuaded away from that to something else. And so I think he says in four and five, look, just because I'm not around doesn't mean I'm not involved. I'm struggling to bring these churches to maturity. I've been called as an apostle apostle, one who's been given the authority to speak for Jesus, and he's deeply concerned about what he sees happening. So he does see signs of stability and firmness and orderliness, and he rejoices in that, but he's also concerned. And now the letter takes a decided turn to the direction of exhortation. And I think this theme has been there all along. This is what he's prayed for God to do among them, and now he tells them more specifically, this is what I need you to do. He's going to say, Therefore, here's the choice you're facing, and here's how I want you to make it. So look at 2, 6 and 7. Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. So I would understand that verse is continue to believe the same gospel you first believed. Just as you received Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, continue to believe the first gospel. Why? Because look at the phrases. As you received Christ in verse 6 is synonymous, is just as you were taught in verse 7, and it's in this context of let no one delude you with persuasive arguments from four. So the emphasis is these other arguments are trying to carry you away, but continue just as you were taught. Continue just as you received it, continue believing the gospel you first heard. And I think that's what he's saying. Just as you received him, so walk in him. You started fine, you embraced the truth of Christ. Now just remain faithful to it. Continue in that truth. Walk in Paul's usage is typically refers to living your life in such a way that it's clear what governs you. So living your life in such a way that it's obvious who your father is, it's obvious what you believe, where your values are, what you stand for. So living your life in a way that it's clear what governs you, who your father is. And he's saying, as you received Christ, as you heard and believed the gospel, synonymous with just as you were taught, continue to live your life in so it's clear that you believe those things. So the issue is what are you doing with those truths now? Are you wandering off after the latest fad, or are you remaining stable and firm in what you believe? And he gives us this metaphorical language in nine, comparing faith to the growing, to a growing plant. So the rooted is the idea that you plant the seed, that's the foundation. The roots take hold and grab on, and then they're built up. The shoots spring from those roots. They start with this basic understanding of truth, and now wisdom builds on that, and the and just as a plant starts to grow, their faith starts to grow. Established in your faith is the maturity and the fruit, and then the end result is abounding in thanksgiving, this overflowing gratitude that he talked about in chapter one. That the results of wisdom and maturity are a faith that is strong and stable, and the more we understand what how much we need God, it produces this profound gratitude for what he did through Jesus. This is what he prayed for in chapter one, that having that kind of gratitude that results from understanding the truth. So I'm when I understand the depth of my sin and what it took to pay for that sin, that produces a gratitude. If once I understand my need for a savior and the heavy price Jesus paid, then you start to understand what's so amazing about grace, and that results in this gratitude or thanksgiving. So the Spirit produces understanding, understanding produces hope, hope produces gratitude. And he's saying, how do you reach the end of that chain from understanding to hope to gratitude? You stand firm in the gospel. You don't get carried off by this nonsense that masquerades as truth in the name of Jesus. So hold fast to the gospel you first believed. Then look at 2.8. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of this world, and not according to Christ. So he's going to set in contrast what we've learned about Jesus with human tradition and the elemental spirits of this world. And the takes you captive is a it's actually an image of a pirate raiding ship. This word would be used in that context of a pirate like raiding your ship, boarding the ship, looting it, and collecting all the spoils. That's the image he's using. These spiritual pirates are out to capture you and carry you off to their side. And then he says, through philosophy and empty deception. I think the best way to understand that phrase is ask, as opposed to what? What would be the opposite of philosophy and empty deception? And I would say that would be scripture. Truth, yes, the truth found in the Word of God. The gospel as taught by Jesus and the apostles. So in contrast to that. Now, just to get on my favorite soapbox for a minute, this is why good Bible study is very important. You have to develop enough understanding of how to read and study the Bible so that you can sift through all the things that get taught in the name of Jesus and recognize this is right, this is wrong, this fits, that doesn't, this is truth, and so on. So I don't think Paul is against philosophy per se, but he's against the kind of philosophy that doesn't start from the foundation of truth, from the foundation of who was God, who is Jesus, what how do we know about God that he's been talking about? So there is a kind of philosophy that refuses to acknowledge who God is, what he did for us, who Jesus was, what he did for us, and instead makes these arguments that seem really wise, but they're in fact wrong. And why do they sound wise? Because they reach a conclusion I want to be true. I think that's the kicker. We want to think that life is easy. We want to believe there are things I can do that guarantee success, growth, smooth sailing, victorious Christian living. I want to believe that God loves everyone regardless, and that love wins and everyone goes to heaven just by virtue of being born. Because if that's true, I don't ever have to face the problem of my sin. And any gospel that tells me life is easy, you can be rich here and now, you can have everything you want, you can be have victorious Christian living. Here are the five steps to do that. I want to believe that kind of gospel. It sounds wise because it reaches a conclusion I want it to reach. And typically it minimizes the depth and problem of sin. But Paul's saying the gospel is true. There's there is a kind of philosophizing in the world that sounds compelling, seems like it's wise, but it's really just empty deception, and you should flee from it. Because how can you claim to understand reality and ignore God? It's like ignoring what the author of the book has to say about the book. Well, he's the author. He wrote it. It's his story. What he says about it goes. And if you ignore that, then you're just building on an empty foundation. So lots of people claim to be wise and sound sophisticated, but if they miss God, they miss the most important things. And how did God reveal himself? Remember back from chapter one, he revealed himself through Jesus. So any philosophy, any worldview that doesn't start from that point is missing the boat. If you want to know God, you have to know Jesus because God chose to reveal himself through Christ. So any philosophy which sounds sophisticated and intelligent, no matter how great it sounds, is foolishness if it misses Christ. And I don't think, I mean, if you could show Paul a Christian philosopher, someone who starts from the story of Jesus and the foundation of truth, I think he'd say, Amen. That's great. You're meditating on scripture, you're applying, you're starting from the right, from the right square. And I so he's not against philosophy, he's against a philosophy that's rationalizing, that doesn't start from the foundation of truth. Okay, according to the elemental principles of the world, he's going to use that phrase again later in the chapter. Elements are the basic blocks of life. So they're the starting point. The elementary things are the things you start from. So a mouse trap can be broken down into a series of elemental pieces. You have to have those basic building blocks to build a mouse trap. Elementary school is the place you start education. That's where you get the foundation to go on to graduate school. So you don't get to graduate school without first starting in elementary school. And that's the the image he's using here. The elemental principles of the world are the beginning stuff, the basics. For us, it would be God exists, God revealed himself through Christ, God is holy, we are not, all those kinds of basic things. And I a lot of commentators, I think, make this more complicated than it is. I think he's saying all those rules and regulations in the Old Testament, the rituals, all those spiritual practices, those are the elementary things. That's the kindergarten stuff. We're now in graduate school because we've seen the cross. Why are you trying to go back to those rules and regulations and rituals and all the shadows? Jesus is the real deal. He's like graduate school, so how can you think you're advancing if you're leaving graduate school and going back to kindergarten? You're turning backwards. You're replacing what's central and important to the gospel with what is elementary, what's peripheral. And then what is at the center, he's going to spell that out. He just ends with verse eighth with, and not according to Christ, for in him, nine, the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled with him who is the head of all rule and authority. So I think this is a short repetition of what he taught in chapter one, that God chose to reveal himself through Jesus, that everything we need to know about God and salvation we find in Christ. So the fullness of deity, the everything you need to know, the full picture, the entire package is in Christ incarnate. It is in him. There's no place else where you will learn the secrets of life. No other prophet has the keys to Christian living. And you have been filled with him, I think is the idea you can be made complete. Your knowledge is complete, your understanding is complete if you have faith in him. There's no other place to go to find fulfillment. All right, let me talk a little bit, I'm gonna sidetrack here just for a minute, because it's common to hear the phrase, Jesus is everything I need. And it sounds like that's what I'm saying. Jesus is everything I need, and I am, but there are two ways you can understand that. One way you can understand that is Jesus is everything I need, like a Swiss Army knife is everything I need. So it's got everything I need to survive. In this one tool, you have, you know, a screwdriver and a toothpick and a scissors and a big knife and a little knife and a lock pick and whatever else is in there. So a lot of people take that as Jesus is everything I need. He has everything. So if I need patience, he'll give me that. If I need uh more sleep, he'll give me that. If I need a parking space, he'll give me that. If I need a new job or an A on this test, or a spouse, or a true friend, Jesus will give me whatever I need. So he'll provide it for me. And that is not what I think Paul is saying. Let me give you a better analogy. Suppose I take you to a rustic cabin in the woods, and I say, this cabin has everything you need, and you look around and you go, wait a minute, wait, there's no TV. There's no internet, there's no cell phone, no hot water, no electricity, no running water, no grocery store. What do you mean this cabin has everything I need? This cabin's missing a lot of things. Well, I could reply, you don't understand, everything you need is here. That other stuff is cool, but it's not what you need. And I think Paul is saying more like my cabin in the woods analysis. Jesus is everything we need, not that he fulfills every desire on my wish list, but that what I really need is met in Christ. So he is everything I actually truly need, not necessarily everything I want. So he's not my sugar daddy, he's not my best friend in the sky who's gonna give me wealth and success, but he is the one who solves my greatest need. My absolute biggest problem is that I am going to stand guilty before a holy God. This life's not gonna last forever, and one day, whether I want to or not, I'm going to face my creator, and left to myself, I'm gonna stand there guilty and condemned. I deserve wrath, I deserve his judgment, and left to myself, there's nothing I can do about it to pass muster. And it's under that understanding that he said, I would say, Jesus is everything I need. I need to be reconciled to God, and he did that. I need my guilt atoned for, Jesus did that. I'm a slave to sin and I need to be freed from it, he did that. I need to understand what faith is all about. Well, Jesus sent his spirit to teach me. I need to know the one true God. Jesus is the way I know him. I need to be rescued from death and futility and given hope, and that's what Jesus did for me. So he doesn't give me everything I wish for, he doesn't give me everything I might want, and he doesn't promise that my life will be easy, but he does give me what I really need. So it's in that cabin in the woods sense, because what I really need is this problem of my sin solved. And I think that's what Paul's speaking to, the centrality of faith. And a lot of folks today are inclined to see the Bible as a rule book. You know, you you reach in each day and grab your promise for what you need for today. But I think Paul would say today's not really the problem, eternity's the problem. There's a there's a judgment coming that you're gonna have to face, and that's what you really need solved. So the gospel is this set of truths that center around Jesus, who he did, uh who he is, what he did for us, and that does have incredible implications for how I live my life today, but it has really also big implications for where I'm gonna spend eternity. And Paul's very concerned that we get that right, that we hold fast to the gospel and that we not walk away for it. Today I think we get pretty lax about doctrine and truths, and we think, oh, you know, everything is relevant, and I just I just need to figure out what the Bible means to me and how I feel about what it says. It's like, when did the Bible ever get to be about how I feel about the text? It's just no. Paul's attitude is there's a store, there's a coherent story here. There's a set of truths, there's a worldview that talks about this is the gospel and that is not. And if we walk away from those truths, then we are walking away from life and hope. So in nine, when he says, I think he's saying everything we need to know about God is revealed in Christ, and we can know it. We can be, we are to see all of God and all of Jesus, and if we stick with him through faith, then we will have everything we need in the cabin in the wood sense. He ends that with who is the head of all rule and authority. And the idea is that Jesus triumphs over all other voices. Any other voice you could listen to, any other ruler, any other authority, any other expert, anyone anyone else who claims to be a prophet, doesn't matter whether they're heavenly angels or they're earthly leaders. Jesus' voice trumps them. He triumphs over all of them. Now he's going to go on to talk about even if there were visions, even if you have a vision or an angel come and tell and tells you, and so a lot of people think that the false teachers in in the Colossian church were claiming, I know this is true because I had a vision, or I know this is true because an angel told me. And I think Paul is speaking to that. Jesus is the head of all of that. No matter who they are, he has triumphed over them. Whether they're earthly, whether they're divine, what he did on the cross, who he is, there's no other voice that takes priority over him. Okay, then he goes on to this in 11 to a pretty kind of an extended metaphor that can be a little hard to understand. We're going to try to boil it down. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh, by the circumcision of Christ. So then this is where he starts this metaphor. You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. And he's going to compare the physical removal of skin to a spiritual reality where God is cutting away something that needs to be taken away. So the basic point he's going to say is Christ is bringing a spiritual circumcision. He is cutting away that which needs to go, and we have to figure out what that is. It's clear it's spiritual because he says it's made without hands. There's no outward physical act that we can perform that will accomplish this. This is something done without human hands. It's an inner spiritual reality only God can perform. And I think he's emphasizing this language to emphasize the spiritual importance of what Christ has done as opposed to the physical things we can do. So the rules, the rituals, the regulations, anything we do, any physical system that sets up here's twelve keys to victorious Christian living, or five things you can do to guarantee your faith. He's saying, wait, think about that. What Christ did for you is way better than all those rules and festivals and Sabbaths and all those things that are done by our hands. And those are outward physical acts in contrast to the inward spirituality accomplished by Christ. Okay. So the basic idea he's going to challenge is that by dealing with their body, by doing something physical, they are dealing with the problem of their sin. And he's going to say that's a lie. Those outward physical acts are of no real value against the problem of a sinful nature. And especially that's going to become more clear in the section we look at next week. But the point he's going to make is the problem of this body of flesh, the problem of my sinful nature, of being a fallen person in a fallen world, that problem is solved by Christ. It is n cannot be solved by anything I do with my own hands. Okay, so let's look at how he he gets more specific in this. Let's go on. 21. In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hand, by putting off the body of flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith and the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead, and you, who were dead in your trespasses, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Okay, that it's easy to get lost in all that language. But the overall idea is that Christ's death on the cross legally freed me from my guilt and made me spiritually alive. That's essentially what he's saying. Christ died on the cross, that legally refreed freed me from my guilt. So that's the he set aside my legal demands, he nailed that to the cross language in 14, and it made us spiritually alive. That's what he talks about in 13. So we were dead in our sins, we were cut off from God, we were cut off from his life, we were living a de a kind of death in life because we were cut off from God's blessing and the source of life, and one day we would face him in judgment. What's the solution to that problem? Jesus' death, literal physical death and literal physical resurrection. That's the solution to my spiritual problem. So I'm spiritually dead, but if I die with him metaphorically, then I'm raised with him metaphorically, and it solves this problem of my sin and my guilt. Now, we are going to be raised physically one day, but that is in the future. But right now he's talking about how do I solve the problem of my sin? The issue is my guilt before the law. How am I going to solve it? Is there anything I can do with human hands? Is there any kind of circumcision or ritual or practice or discipline that I can do that will solve that problem? And his answer is no. And then he ends that with, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them again. All those other voices, anyone else who tells you other things, any other ruler, any other authority, any other so-called expert, whether they're heavenly or earthly, they were defeated at the cross of Christ. And he uses language of a triumphal victory parade of a conquering army, the type an army would make where they are victorious and they return to the city with all their captives and spoils trailing behind them. That's the language he's using here. He's triumphing over them. So remember the question is who are you listening to? Whose voice carries the most weight? How do you solve the problem of your sin? Is it through these rules and rituals and Sabbaths and things he's going to go on to talk about next week? Is it through victorious Christian living something I do with my hands? And his answer is no. Both Jesus and Paul would say no, it is through the cross. Those other authorities are, they sound wise, but they're not right. So let me try to make this a little more real, because I think it's easy to read all this theological language and think, well, yeah, I know the story of the cross. I kind of know this, but I want to take you back to the Old Testament to show you how easily we slip back into a kind of a legalistic obedience lifestyle or way of thinking. And it's the same issue. We're going to look at the Old Testament book of Haggai for a minute. So if you can find it, you know, it's kind of short, it only takes a few pages. You can turn there or I'll read it to you. But the book of Hagai is a series of four prophetic messages from God to the Jews who have returned from exile. So they were in Babylon, the Babylonian exiles ended, they have been allowed to go back to Jerusalem, they're resettling the land, and they are tasked with rebuilding the temple. And the people respond in obedience and they lay the foundation of the new temple. You can read about that in Ezra IV. And then they quickly become discouraged and they stop working. So the Lord sends Haggai to them and he says, You need to get back to work and you can work because I am with you. And the the people respond in obedience, they go back to building the temple, but now they think, well, I'm doing my part of the bargain. I'm being obedient. We're building the temple, we're doing the right thing, so now God must bless us, right? After all, when they disobeyed, God brought them drought and famine. You can read about that in Haggai 1. So now that they're obedient, now they're actually working on the temple, God must be obligated to shower them with blessings, right? In other words, we are diligently practicing our spiritual disciplines. We are diligently doing the right thing. We are being obedient. A prophet of God came to us and said, Do this, and we are doing with doing it. So now God is obligated to bless me with blessings, maturity, and growth. Or we might say, we are in the driver's seat now, so God must rain down blessings upon us. So is that what's going on? God comes in to correct that. This is Hagai chapter 2. I'm going to read you verses 10 through 14. On the 24th day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ask the priests about the law. If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy? And the priest answered and said, No. Then Hagai said, If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? The priest answered and said, It does become unclean. Then Haggai answered and said, So it is with this people and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands and what they have to offer there is unclean. So what's the theology lesson? God's saying, in the battle between clean and dirty, what wins? Dirt always wins. If my child has a cold and I kiss him, I am not going to make him well, he's going to make me sick. If my house is clean and I walk in with muddy shoes, the clean floor is not going to clean my shoes, my shoes are going to make the floor dirty. If I have sticky fingers and I touch a clean plate, my fingers don't get clean, the plate gets dirty. Disease, not health, is contagious. Dirt, not cleanliness, is what spreads. And he says, so it is with this people. If you are a sinful person, does doing the right thing make you clean? No, it makes you obedient, but it doesn't make you clean. Building the temple does not make them holy. Spiritual disciplines will not solve the problem of their sin. So obedience now does not negate prior disobedience. Being good today doesn't make me clean and holy. And I think that's Paul's point. Performing any external ritual made with human hands does not change my sinful heart. I could be 100% obedient, but if my heart is still sinful, I've still got a problem. Our real problem is not that we're disobedient, it's that we're sinful. We are dirty, and there's nothing we can touch to get clean. Except one thing. Remember the story in Mark V, as Jesus is hurrying to heal a sick child, and there's a woman in the crowd, and she's got a disease that makes her sick, so she bleeds continuously, and her illness not only makes her anemic and sick, it makes her unclean. She's an outcast. She's prohibited from taking part in the life of community, and in desperation, she touches the hem of Jesus' robe. Well, what should happen? Dirt should win. Disease should be contagious. She is unclean. She should make him clean, make him unclean as well. And yet what happens? Mark 5. It's 21 through 35 if you want to look it up. She is healed. See, that's how we get clean. Nothing we do with our hands will make us clean, but clinging to Jesus, that's what makes us clean. And that's what Paul's saying. You're tempted to go back to these rules and regulations. You were saved by grace through faith. Now continue to walk by grace through faith. There's only one way to be made clean, and it's through the blood of Jesus. So when he says, Therefore, as you've received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, I think that's what he's saying. You were saved by grace. You were saved by faith through grace. You are clean because you cling to the cross. Now continue to walk that way. God will get you there. That's part of the promise. He has promised to make you clean and he will do it. But you don't have to resort to rules and regulations and rituals. That's the elementary stuff. That's kindergarten stuff. Don't go back there. Let me pray for us. Father, thank you that you do make us clean. And that in our desperation, like the woman in the crowd, we can throw ourselves on your grace and your mercy and your love. And know that you delight in saving sinners who come to you with a broken, contrite heart. I just pray that you would make these truths real to us, that we wouldn't uh it's so quickly easy to go back to a system of do's and don'ts because we want to be good, we want to follow you, we now understand sin and want to be obedient, and just pray that we would know it's in your your will, your timing, and your way, and the power of your spirit within us, that we can trust you and rest in your work. In Jesus' name. Amen.