Rules Cannot Replace a Changed Heart — Colossians 2:20–23

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Scripture • World English Bible

Colossians 2:20–23

WEB

²⁰If you died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,

²¹“Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”

²²(all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?

²³These things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, humility, and severity to the body, but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain

Reflection

Paul confronts believers who, though identified with Christ and set free from the elemental spirits of the world, still submit to rigid human ordinances. The list—“Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”—represents external prohibitions that may look wise and austere yet cannot cleanse or transform the heart. These practices "perish with use" and, when relied on, can become a substitute for the gospel, fostering spiritual pride and self-dependence.

Colossians insists that the true remedy is not lawlessness but being rooted in Christ and dependent on the Spirit. The passage warns against systems of human precepts that promise control but lack power over the flesh. Our confidence must be in Christ’s sufficiency: his reconciling work and the ongoing Spirit-led process of sanctification. Faithful obedience to Christ—shaped by the gospel, empowered by the Spirit, and grounded in Scripture—produces real growth, while rules that replace relationship only mask the problem.

Putting Faith Into Action

On several occasions, intentionally replace one rule-driven habit (for example, a checklist of appearances, dietary strictness, or performance-focused regimen) with a Christ-centered practice such as Scripture reading, prayer, worship, or serving another person. Choose a duration that fits your life (5–20 minutes) so it’s sustainable.
Confess to a trusted believer one area where you tend to rely on rules for assurance; ask them to pray with you and encourage you toward Spirit-led growth and faithful obedience to Christ rather than performance-based shortcuts.
Before adding a new do-or-don’t rule, pause and ask: 'Will this point me to Christ and dependence on the Spirit, or is it likely to foster self-reliance and pride?' If it leans toward the latter, evaluate it with a mentor or pastor and choose a Christ-centered practice (Scripture, prayer, service, repentance) as a healthier means toward holiness.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we confess how easily we slip into reliance on human ordinances and precepts. Thank you for your death and resurrection and for the patient work of your Spirit in us. Give us wisdom to recognize empty religion and discernment to distinguish helpful practices from empty regulations. Grant us ongoing grace to live from hearts being renewed in you, pursuing faithful obedience rather than mere rule-keeping. Help us show humility and love rather than false piety. Amen.

Memory Verse

Colossians 2:20 — If you died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, (WEB)

“If you died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,”

Keep Going Continue to Part 9 Set Your Mind on Things Above Colossians · Colossians 3:1–4 Read the next devotional →

Bible Context

Read all of Colossians 2

Colossians 2

World English Bible • WEB

¹For I desire to have you know how greatly I struggle for you and for those at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

²that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

³in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

⁴Now I say this that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.

⁵For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

⁶As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,

⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.

⁸Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elemental spirits of the world, and not after Christ.

⁹For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily,

¹⁰and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power.

¹¹In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ,

¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

¹⁴wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.

¹⁵Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

¹⁶Let no one therefore judge you in eating or drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,

¹⁷which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

¹⁸Let no one rob you of your prize by self-abasement and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

¹⁹and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s growth.