The Dress Code in Hell
Colossians 2:6-23

In the early 1970’s Marshall Applewhite was recovering from a heart attack, during which he claimed to have had a near-death experience. He came to believe that he and his nurse, Bonnie Nettles, were “the Two”, that is, the two witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelation (11:3) in the Bible. After a brief and unsuccessful attempt to run an inspirational bookstore, they began traveling around the country giving talks about their belief system. As with some other New Age faiths, they combined Christian doctrine (particularly the ideas of salvation and apocalypse) with elements of science fiction, particularly travel to other worlds and dimensions.

Applewhite and Nettles used a variety of aliases over the years, notably “Bo and Peep” and “Do and Ti”, and for a number of years they called their group HIM (Human Individual Metamorphosis). The group re-invented and re-named itself several times and had a variety of recruitment methods. Marshall himself believed he was directly related to Jesus Christ, meaning he was an “Evolutionary Kingdom Level Above Human”.

Group members gave up their material possessions and lived a highly ascetic life devoid of many indulgences. The group was tightly knit and everything was shared communally. Seven of the male members of the group, including Applewhite, voluntarily underwent castration as an extreme means of maintaining the ascetic lifestyle. They believed that the planet Earth was about to be recycled (wiped clean, renewed, refurbished and rejuvenated), and that the only chance to survive was to leave it immediately.

On March 19, 1997, Marshall Applewhite taped himself speaking of mass suicide and asserted “it was the only way to evacuate this Earth”. The group was against suicide but they believed they had no choice but to leave Earth as quickly as possible. After claiming that a space craft was trailing the comet Hale-Bopp, Applewhite convinced 38 followers to commit suicide so that their souls could board the supposed craft. Applewhite believed that after their deaths, a UFO would take their souls to another “level of existence above human”, which Applewhite described as being both physical and spiritual. This and other UFO-related beliefs held by the group have led some observers to characterize the group as a type of UFO religion. A year earlier, the group purchased alien abduction insurance to cover up to 50 members at a cost of $10,000.

The thirty-eight members of the Heaven’s Gate cult, plus group leader Applewhite, were found dead in their home on March 26, 1997. The suicide was accomplished by ingestion of cyanide and arsenic mixed with applesauce or pudding, washed down with vodka. Plastic bags were secured around their heads after ingesting the mix. Authorities found the dead lying neatly in their own bunk beds, faces and torsos covered by a square, purple cloth. Each member carried a five dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets. All 39 were dressed in identical black shirts and sweat pants, brand new black-and-white Nike Windrunner athletic shoes, and armband patches reading “Heaven’s Gate Away Team.”

I suspect that most of us remember this tragic event. I know I do! The night after I heard this story on the news, I went out to my backyard and looked at that comet with a pair of binoculars. Unfortunately for the Heaven’s Gate cult, I didn’t see any spaceship.

I think stories like this cause most people to ask, “Who in the world would be dumb enough to be deceived by one of these groups?” You might be surprised to learn that there are between 3,000-5,000 cults in America. A cult can be defined as a religious group that has departed from the historic orthodox teachings of Christianity and uses authoritarian leadership to manipulate and control the lives of its adherents. With the rapid growth and destructive power of cult groups, it is clear that the church is facing a pervasive cult problem on an international scale.

So, what should we do about this problem? How should the church respond? How can we ensure that we don’t fall into one of these cults? How can we avoid spiritual deception?

Well, the apostle Paul answers these questions for us in today’s text. The Colossian church was facing the same problem—a cult group of false teachers rose up in the town of Colosse and was trying to lead the church astray. Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians to teach them what to do about this problem. His words also ring true for the church today. In this passage, he advocates 3 strategies for avoiding spiritual deception and the kingdom of the cults. Let’s take a closer look!

1.) Continual Growth in Christ (6-7)

There is an old cliché in football that says, “The best defense is a good offense.” It means that if your offense is good enough to hold onto the ball for long periods of time or score a lot of points, the defense doesn’t have to do a lot of work. Well, Paul employs this same strategy here. In verse 6, he tells the Colossians that the best defense against false teachers and the kingdom of the cults is to continue to grow in Christ. Just as they had received the message of Jesus Christ from Epaphras, so Paul wanted them to continue to grow in that faith. The more they grew in the truth, the better they would be able to recognize and repel false teaching.

He uses 4 metaphors to describe the manner in which he wanted them to grow in Christ. The first one is “rooted”—a horticultural term that denotes depth of faith. The second one is “built up”—an architectural term which stresses formation of the faith. The third one is “strengthened”—which emphasizes continual strengthening of the faith as braces might be added to a building after it is constructed for extra durability. The forth one is “overflowing”—which pictures a cup of water running over. Growth in Christ includes an overflow of thankfulness. When these metaphors are taken together, they form a picture of a person whose faith is so strong and secure.

If we continually live and grow in our relationship with Christ, we won’t be susceptible to false teachers, cult heresies, or deceptive philosophies. Are you growing in your relationship with Christ? Are you being rooted in the truth of the gospel? Is your faith being built up and strengthened? Is your heart overflowing with thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for us?

2.) Awareness of Deceptive Philosophies (8, 16-23)

Another defense against spiritual deception is to be aware of deceptive philosophies. The phrase in verse 8 “see to it” can actually be translated “beware,” which introduces a warning. Paul wanted the Colossian church to guard itself against the deceptive philosophies. These philosophies were hollow and deceptive at their core—that is, they were empty and lacked substance to make sense of the world and would lead them away from the truth. They were rooted in human tradition rather than divine revelation—human-centered rather than God-centered. They originated from the sinful world rather than the sinless Christ. In verses 16-23, Paul identifies at least two of these hollow and deceptive philosophies—legalistic living and mystical experience.

Living in Legalism (16-17, 20-23)

The false teachers were propagating a form of legalism that measured spirituality by how strictly the people observed codes of behavior. As is indicated in verse 16, the particular codes of behavior here surrounded diets (what you eat and drink) and days (religious festivals, New Moon celebrations, and Sabbath days). The false teacher proclaimed that the truly spiritual people were the ones who most strict in their observance of these things. Paul calls this legalism and says that it is a direct contradiction of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Just like the Colossian church 2000 years ago, the deceptive philosophy of legalism plagues the church today. Max Anders says, “Legalism—measuring your own or someone else’s man-made rules—is a rigid, confining, and lifeless way to live. It is always easy because all it requires is a list of rules coupled with dutiful compliance. Wisdom or the skillful application of biblical principles to life’s situations is unnecessary. Just comply! Legalism is not only rigid and lifeless, but it also fosters hypocritical pride. A focus on conformity to a code can cause one to forget things like arrogant pride, smug judgmentalism, anger, and a host of other dark sins that never seem to make the list.” (Anders 308)

I love the church I attended when I first became a Christian, but unfortunately, it had some legalistic tendencies. For instance, your spirituality was judged by how you looked. Women had to wear dresses and keep their hair pinned up. Shorts were immodest and body piercings were considered cardinal sins. All alcoholic beverages were called “the devil’s brew.” (Because we all know that shorts, tee-shirts, pony-tales, earrings, and a bottle of beer in your right hand is the dress code in hell.

The dear woman who led the children’s sermon taught the kids a little song called “Touch not! Taste not! Handle not!” The words of the song were pasted to a six-foot high cardboard cutout of a beer bottle. She used to say, “The Bible says about alcohol, don’t handle, taste, or touch.”

While she was technically correct by saying these words came from the Bible, she completely misapplied them. Paul wasn’t advocating this philosophy, he was liberating us from it. He says that these legalistic philosophies will perish because they are based on human commands and teachings. These regulations have an appearance of wisdom and humility, but they lack any value in restraining sensual desire.

This is why, in verse 20, Paul emphasizes our freedom in Christ. Since we died with Christ to these principles of the world, we do not have to submit to legalism. Paul warns us against falling into this trap.

Mystical Experience (18-19)

Paul also wanted the Colossians to be aware of the false teachers’ deceptive philosophy of mystical experience. They were engaging in angel worship and bragging about their visions and spiritual experiences, but Paul says that their experiences were actually unspiritual and their minds were puffed up with idol notions and false pride. They were so consumed with these esoteric experiences that they could not see Jesus for who he really was. They separated the Head of the church from the Body of the church. I call this decapitated theology.

Unfortunately, this is another deceptive philosophy that has infiltrated the church today. Some churches focus so much on the emotion of the worship experience that they actually forget about the object of worship. They are so confounded by all the dreams and visions they supposedly receive that they forget all about the revealed Word of God. True spirituality is not measured by the height of the experience, but by the depth of the commitment to Jesus Christ.

3.) Focus on the Fullness of Christ (9-15)

The third and climactic strategy for avoiding deceptive philosophies is to focus on the fullness of Christ. In verse 9 Paul launches into a beautiful exposition of Jesus Christ. He emphasizes who he is and what he has done. He begins with one of the clearest affirmations of the deity of Christ in the whole New Testament—“For in him all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Jesus who is God stepped out of eternity and into time through his incarnation. Joan Osborn sings, “What if God was one of us?”—God is one of us. Jesus lives in bodily form!

Jesus is also supreme over every power and authority. We don’t worship false gods because Jesus is the Second Person of the one true God. We don’t worship angels because Jesus is above the angels. We don’t worship saints because Jesus is above the saints. We don’t worship any human being because Jesus is above everyone. Our fullness is found in him and him alone.

Why? Because Jesus gives us total salvation! The Jews taught that physical circumcision was necessary for salvation, but Paul says that spiritual circumcision by Jesus is the only way to put off the sinful nature. This is what happens when we respond to Christ in faith. Baptism signifies being buried with Christ and rising with him.

In verse 14, Paul speaks of a written code with regulations, which stands against us and is opposed to us. The word Paul used here refers to a signed certificate of guilt. We are all guilty of breaking God’s law, but he has canceled our debt by nailing our guilt to the cross. Jesus died in our place and took the punishment that we deserved.

Being fully God, Jesus is the only one who lived a sinless life and could atone for our sins. Being fully man, Jesus was an appropriate representative to die for the sins of the human race. He is the only one who offers us full atonement for our sins. He is the only one who offers us freedom from the law. He is the only one who offers us complete salvation.

Listen to this stanza from John Donne’s beautiful little poem “Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness”:

We think that Paradise and Calvary,
Christ’s cross and Adam’s tree, stood in one place ;
Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me ;
As the first Adam’s sweat surrounds my face,
May the last Adam’s blood my soul embrace.

When we reflect on who Jesus really is and what he has done for us, our souls are satisfied. When we realize that Jesus is the only way to God because he is God, we don’t need to look any further. When we focus on the fullness we have in Christ, we won’t be susceptible to the deceptive philosophies of the world.

So, how do we avoid spiritual deception? We avoid it by continual growth in Christ, awareness of deceptive philosophies, and focusing on the fullness of Christ. And just remember, there isn’t really a dress code in hell!