One of the prominent messages of the Protestant Reformation was that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from any works, ritual or merit on the part of sinners. As we read in the Bible: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
But ever since the promise of the Incarnation in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15), Satan has sought to either hinder (Romans 15:22; Galatians 5:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:18) or confuse the clear message of salvation by grace alone (Galatians 1:6-9; Colossians 2:16-23). That is the essence of what Paul is writing about in Colossians 2. Until the church is in glory, there will always be those people who will speak enticing words (Colossians 2:4) to promote worldly philosophies and traditions (Colossians 2:8) that are not only contrary to, but are actually hostile to the gospel of the grace of God.
The devil is constantly seeking to overthrow the simplicity that we have in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3), so beware of those pseudo spiritual, heady, and philosophical messages that tell us that it is fine to believe in Jesus, but there is “more” than that. Really? In Jesus we have “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3) In Jesus is the full expression of God in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). In Jesus repentant, redeemed man is complete (Colossians 2:10). This means that the gospel of the grace of God is a message of full assurance (Colossians 2:2) worth contending for (Jude 3,4).
