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Do you have somebody in your world who seems to live his/her life daily on a treadmill of self-imposed rules, almost as Tarzan swings from one vine to another? These people swoop from one regulation to another rule, to another regulation, in an attempt to maintain control and safety in their lives. They travel by self-imposed boundaries that probably aren't necessary to a fulfilling life. Consider our 45-year-old suburbanite named Jim.

Jim is a doctor. He is educated, affluent, and insightful. He reads widely and observes others accurately, but he has some quirky habits. One of these self-imposed habits is revealed whenever he goes out to exercise. Jim always sets his computerized trip meter that tells him how far he's gone on a bicycle. He'll go out for a 25-mile bike ride, come back in, and if it says 24.6, he will not stop there. He will not go in, get his Gatorade, say hi to his wife, and thank God for the beautiful day in the mountains. He will ride around in a little one-tenth of a mile circle until that odometer registers 25.0. He runs his life this way.

Some like to keep their garages so clean that they could actually eat off the floor. Folks even line up their pantries by putting the canned vegetables and soups in alphabetical order, labels facing out, shorter toward the front, larger toward the rear. It's not just individuals, is it? It's institutions.

Five years ago in the city of Montrose, Colorado, the IRS clamped down on the Rainmaker Sprinkler Company because their accountant was filing "inaccurate" quarterly tax estimates. As he was completing the estimates, as is allowed by the IRS rules, he rounded a penny down to the nearest fraction. But, the IRS on the Western Slope said, "That's not good enough. We want the penny."

Well, this turned into quite a tussle. The owner of the Rainmaker Sprinkler Company ended up contacting his state representative, Scott McInnis. McInnis fired off a letter to the IRS and asked if they were crazy. "There are people who haven't even filed their income taxes or paid them and you want a penny." And then he took a penny, taped it to the letter and sent it to the IRS. He got a cold note back saying that they were not going to pursue the matter further.

We struggle with certain rules, don't we? We know that rules have to be a part of our lives because we do need boundaries. But our relationship with rules is like driving down an isolated bit of highway. It hasn't had the opportunity to be inundated with traffic. People take that highway because it's scenic. It's wide open. There's not a bunch of cars. There are not a lot of traffic lights. But what is the speed limit on most of these highways? That's right, 55 miles per hour.

Does it make any sense to go 55 m.p.h. on this highway? Did they do that on purpose? Our relationship with rules is like our drive on this highway. We know that there have to be limitations, but we grumble and ask ourselves, "Okay, how much do I get for a ticket if I'm only going nine miles over the speed limit?" We tend to want to push that envelope a little bit.

What rules actually do is bring out in us what we know we shouldn't be doing. There's almost a knee-jerk reaction saying, "Well, I'll show you, Mr. Rule." Then we want to push it, like predicting our chances for getting a ticket. Luckily when we talk about faith, it's not about a set of rules God calls us to obey. Christianity is not about rules. It's not about regulations. It's about a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In this text from Colossians we are going to be looking at three ideas which support how Christianity is all about our relationship with Christ. The first thing that we are going to explore is doing the basics of faith well. Second, we are going to see how we can't fall for false teachings. Third, we need to ensure that we don't make rituals into regulations.

In 2:6 Paul says, "So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, and abounding in thanksgiving." When Paul says we are to "continue to live in him," he is using a part of speech called a participle. Grammar is not exciting for a lot of people, but here it is important because the word "rooted" means it happens one time. Those roots go down once. If you've said yes to Christ once for salvation, if you've been baptized once, you've sent down those roots. That happens one time, but notice where it says, "Built up in him, strengthened in the faith, and overflowing with thankfulness." Those participles are in the present, active tense, which means these are things we have to continue doing if we want the roots to go down deep. These are the ABC's of faith. It's basic stuff.

At age forty, Tom learned the basics of life. His sister called up when he was helping his daughters brush their teeth one night. She has worked in a dental office for over nine years and knows a lot about teeth, so she inquired how long the girls were brushing their teeth. Tom had a long day, it was late at night, and he really had not been in the habit of timing this regular evening event. She let him know that everyone should be brushing their teeth for at least three minutes. It wasn't the amount of toothpaste on the brush that mattered, but the time they took in doing the chore at hand. At forty years of age, he learned one of the basics -- how to brush teeth properly!

Another health basic is washing hands. Kevin and his son had been sick with some sort of virus. They both went to the local clinic to get a check up and whatever medicine was available to help them get over the bug that was going around. As Kevin sat there talking to the doctor about his misery, he asked what could be done so that he wouldn't get a cold or virus again soon.

The doctor let him know that it was really basic: just wash your hands. Kevin knew this was a no-brainer. But the doctor let him know that there was a proper way to do this simple hand washing. Proper hand hygiene washes not only fingers and palms, but goes between each one of them and makes sure fingernails are scrubbed too. The wrists also need to be washed each time. Hands and teeth -- basic stuff.

We need to master the basics of faith, and to do them well. That's what Paul is talking about in verses 6-7. One has to do the basics well, like prayer.

After many years of premarital counseling, a pastor always asks every couple he meets if they pray together. Not one couple in their premarital sessions has said that they have prayed together regularly. Could this be a basic to help in providing for a strong marriage? When the couple is lying in bed at night, they can embrace and take that time to talk to God. It is a basic.

As Christians we can say that there are only two groups of people on this planet. There are people who have received Jesus Christ the Lord, and there are people who have not received Jesus Christ the Lord. It would be comforting to say that there is a third class of people, the sincere, the "nice," and that these good folks are bound for heaven. This assumption is not found in the New Testament. There are only two groups of people: those that have received Christ and those that have not received Christ. Leading people to a relationship with Christ is a basic calling for the church.

George Barna is extremely influential in Christian leadership. He has written a book called User Friendly Churches. Barna noted two denominations that are leading the way with the least number of people who have received Jesus Christ as Lord sitting in their midst. One of these was the Presbyterian Church (USA), the other the Episcopalian Church. That tells us that there are some very sincere, nice people sitting in the pews each week who have not received Christ. If Barna is accurate, there are people each week in worship who don't know what it means to receive Jesus Christ the Lord.

A pastor asked one woman who attended a Presbyterian church about being a Christian. She was shocked that the pastor asked her this. Her response was even more of a shock to the pastor. She stated that she was a Christian because she was born in America. That is what she equated Christianity with -- being an American citizen. This was an eye-opener for the pastor. It cemented in his mind how much misunderstanding there is in what it means to receive Jesus Christ the Lord.

Paul said in Romans 10:9, "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It is a free gift. It is basic to the understanding that Christianity is Christ.

There is also a second idea Paul identifies in this text, that we are not to fall for false teaching. He says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ" (v. 18). Paul is concerned about faith anchored in something other than Christ.

Many people, even Christians, read their horoscopes in the newspaper each morning. But, horoscopes have their roots in astrology and the occult. Glancing at the horoscope is not evil in itself, but what if an individual bases spiritual decisions on the horoscope? Is that not "empty deceit, according to human tradition"?

How many have read the book by Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? Is this hollow and deceptive philosophy? Well, Paul says that "all things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial" (1 Corinthians 6:12). A horoscope contradicts historic, Christian teaching; therefore, it is hollow and deceptive philosophy. Nowhere does Stephen Covey's book contradict the historic, Christian faith. It is complementing that faith. Therefore it is lawful. The book is not going to lead anyone to salvation, but it is certainly beneficial. So, one has to be discerning, especially when it comes to matters of faith.

We know that the Mormon faith is booming. They are planting new churches all over the world. The Mormons are on the move. Did you know that before they break ground, all of their buildings are completely paid for?

Now, we don't want to blast the Mormon people. They are good people. They care about their families. They care about their communities. They care about each other. But, if one was to get on the Mormon web site, every paragraph that you can look at contradicts the historic, Christian faith. The whole thing started when Joseph Smith went to his backyard, led by the angel Moronie, and dug up some gold tablets. Those tablets were linked to another revelation from God.

In Galatians 1:8 Paul says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed!" Mormonism contradicts rather than complements the Protestant teaching. Paul would agree, and put it in the false teaching camp.

Smart families are being drawn to this empty deceit because the Mormons know what they are doing. They're savvy. What can really break one's heart is that Mormons are willing to do for false teaching what we educated, affluent, mainline Protestants will not always do for the truth. We have Jesus Christ. We have "the way, the truth, and the life." Yet, all seven of American mainline churches have been in thirty years of decline. That leads us to conclude that we are not doing the basics well, while many are falling for false teaching.

Do we need to do some soul searching? Maybe what Paul writes in verses 16-19 is on target for our struggling denominations. We can't let rituals become rules or regulations.

At one church this legalism played itself out with Walt. He was a World War II veteran and had served his church faithfully for many years. He was at the church early on Sunday morning regulating the thermostat. He wanted the platform to be "presentable."

The church was beginning to go in the direction of a blended service. This meant that a keyboard and singers would now be on the platform. Electrical cords had to be placed on the platform to accommodate all the microphones and a keyboard. This in turn meant that the flags had to be moved from the front to the back of the stage.

Walt came in to get the sanctuary ready and was livid. He stomped up to the front of the church, demanding to know why the flags had been moved. It wasn't protocol. They were to be set in a particular arrangement on the stage. He proceeded to ream out the pastor in front of the singers without a willingness to look around to see why they had been moved. These singers were shocked at this outrage. They were new to the congregation and didn't know Walt and this side of him.

Even after listening to the explanation of why the flags were moved and trying to work out some mutual agreement, Walt stormed out of the room. The flags had been moved to a corner up front, but not in their original spot. Walt did come back later and apologize, but the damage was done. His credibility with the singers and the pastor was hurt. All because of flags, which are not even mentioned in the Bible as a necessity for the worship.

Walt had taken the flag placement and made it into a ritual. Walt's church membership at one point had been 500. It had hemorrhaged down to 75 with many young families leaving. It was now on the rebound with an average attendance of 200 people. But all he could see was that the flags had been moved.

This is exactly what Paul is saying here: "Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (vv. 16-17). Christianity is not about making rituals into requirements.

What is Christianity about? Christianity is about your relationship with the living Lord. It is not about where the flags sit on the podium. It is also not about the rules we impose on ourselves. Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you have that relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you know him as Lord? Could you face death with confidence, not in your own goodness, not in living by the Golden Rule, but by faith in someone who has done for you what you could not do for yourself?

Jack is a tough, old bird, a labor-relations lawyer. He goes to the mines in Nevada and negotiates between the two sides in labor disputes. He enjoys risky sports like riding river rapids. One day as he was talking to a family member, he mentioned that he had to attend church that Sunday to "pay his fire insurance." Jack proceeded to define what he meant. If he goes to church, Jack believes that somehow God is going to wink at him because he is doing what he ought, he is "punching the clock," and doing his bit to appease God. Someone shared with him that Christ had already paid that "fire insurance."

Clock punching is not what faith is about. Church is not a place that we go to out of ritual. It is a place that we go to for relationship with God and God's people.

A t-shirt shows a pair of gymnastic shoes in the front center. At the very top of the shirt in big, bold, pink letters is the saying "Gymnastics is Life." At the bottom in small print it says, "Everything else is details." That's true in biblical faith as well; Christianity is Christ -- the rest is details.