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I heard a story about a man who decided that he wanted to live a good life. He set his mind to developing healthy habits. He read every book he could find that laid out the path to a long and productive life. He never smoked, drank, or overindulged at the table. He ate fresh fruit and vegetables and stayed away from anything with preservatives in it. He exercised every day and got his eight hours of sleep each night. He lived in the country and avoided going into the city with its smog and high incidence of crime and disease. He visited his doctor regularly and he was set to live to be 100 years old.

I am told his funeral was last Wednesday. He was only 53. He is survived by eighteen specialists, four health institutions, six gymnasiums, and numerous manufacturers of health foods and drugs.

If only the secret to a long and happy life was that easy. We can follow all the rules and still come up short. No one has all the answers. Yet we keep looking for them. Just check out the shelves of the local bookstore and you will find best-selling books by modern day gurus telling us how to please God, live long, and prosper. We may think it is a modern phenomenon but things haven't changed over the centuries.

Even in Paul's day there were people who made their mark in the community by selling people on the idea that if you did certain things you could earn God's favor and live prosperous lives. In our text today, Paul addresses this situation head on. He calls these spiritual profiteers false teachers and tells the Colossians that what they are hearing from them is hollow and deceptive philosophy, which is based upon human tradition and follows the principles of this world. He goes on to encourage them to compare what they are hearing to the truth that they received when they became one in Christ.

You see, the Colossians were being told that if they followed a strict set of rules and regulations they could be assured of being accepted by God as pure and holy. The Colossians were being told that their future salvation depended on what they did and how they lived their lives. These teachers went so far as to say that the only way one could be saved was by a strict adherence to the law.

It is easy to look at the situation from our vantage point today and wonder how the Colossians could forget the fact that in Christ their sins had been forgiven and that they were a new creation. But think about it for a minute.

There have always been rules set down to serve as boundaries for all of our human interaction. Rules govern how we behave at work, at school, in our homes, and even at church. The rules allow us to live together in an orderly society. If you want to take it a step farther, just look at the Old Testament and you will see a myriad of laws (rules) that regulated every aspect of life for the Israelites. The laws regulated relationships between husbands and wives, merchants and consumers, masters and slaves, and everything else.

Almost from the beginning of their walk with God, the Israelites had asked for a list of rules so that they might know how to find favor with God. That's where the Ten Commandments have their roots. The people wanted to know exactly what God expected of them and how far they could go and still remain in his favor.

I heard a cute story about one pastor who told his congregation that there were 700 different sins listed in the Bible. That afternoon he received three dozen requests for the list. Everybody wanted to know what they were missing out on!

Paul tries to turn this whole thing around and calls the people to forget the notion of rules and to simply begin living in relationship to Christ. Paul tells them that rules have no ability to change the heart, but a life that looks to Christ will soon turn around and reflect his glory.

Paul uses several images to make his point. He begins with the image of being "rooted in Christ." In other words, we are to be like a tree that puts down deep roots in order to find nutrition and find stability. Jeremiah 17:7-8 comes to mind where the prophet says, "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit."

When we go deep in Christ, we will find all the resources we need to find joy in life and remain confident even when trials and seasons of difficulty come our way.

Paul continues with the image of building on the foundation we have received in Christ. With this construction image, Paul lifts up the idea that with Christ as the cornerstone, the life we are building rests on the most solid foundation. Jesus holds everything together in a way that nothing else can. Today, a lot of people throw around the saying "What would Jesus do?" You may think it is trite but when we begin to look to Jesus and build our lives on his words and actions, we begin to find joy in everything we do.

Paul continues by saying we must be students of the scriptures. I think the reason that so many people in Paul's day, and in our own, get confused about the Christian life is that they have stopped studying God's Word. If you do not know what the Bible says about God then you can be easily misled. We need to be in worship and Bible study, discussing and praying over the scriptures. We need to be talking about our experiences in Christ so that we can learn all that he has to teach us. If we are rooted in Christ, then study will be second nature.

Think about a person in your life that you care deeply about. Haven't you made it a point to learn all about them? Don't you want to spend time with them, listening to what they have to say? It is natural to want to be with the one you love and know all about them. So it is with Christ. When you stop wanting to know all there is to know, you better watch out. It is a sign that the embers of love are beginning to burn out. Paul reminds us that if we want to find out what pleases God, then we need to be sitting at his feet.

Paul has often been accused of being blunt when he addresses his audience. He makes statements that seem a bit presumptuous. But you see, Paul believes that when you invite Christ into your life you will change. He says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that, "if anyone is in Christ, there is new creation...." He firmly believes that a transformation is in process and that if we go along with it then we no longer need to look to the old ways to know what we are called to do. It will become second nature.

We know that Paul is right, don't we? Something has changed inside of us. We don't need the old laws to tell us how to please God. Our sins have been forgiven. Our hearts have been filled with Christ. We have been given a new life and the promise of a home in eternity. So now we can begin to live a life that pleases God simply out of our gratitude and desire to please him. We can live a good life simply because we want to.

A friend of mine sent me a story that Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, used to tell about the transforming power of love.

It seems that there was this woman who was married to a tyrant of a husband. She could never please him no matter how hard she tried. He didn't like the way she kept house. He didn't like the way she did laundry. He didn't like the way she ironed his clothes. He didn't like the way she dressed. He didn't like the way she conducted herself in public. He constantly criticized her for everything.

Early in their marriage, he handed her a list of 25 rules for her to follow. She hated it and she hated him. You can imagine how frustrating it was to her to have to constantly check her list to see if she was pleasing him -- and to stay out of trouble. But, she usually failed miserably -- and each time, she got a tongue lashing from him -- he made her feel miserable and small.

Then one day, much to her great joy, the abusive husband died. Soon, she fell in love with and married a wonderful, loving man. They loved each other very deeply. She practically broke her neck to please him. She wanted to do everything for him. She even brought him breakfast in bed.

One day as she was busy cleaning up, she ran across that old list and the feelings of anger and inferiority returned. As she looked at the list, something happened within her and she began to laugh! She realized that she was now doing all of these for her new husband and many more. And she did these tasks now with great joy because she loved this man.

Love makes all the difference in the way we live and serve. This is what Paul is trying to tell the Colossians. They are free from the law now. They are free to live and love Christ with all their hearts. They have been released from their sins and can now start life over. Now they are truly alive and able to live to the glory of God.

I want to close with a story I heard about a man named Jeff. He was an Atlantic fisherman living on the coast of Rhode Island. He was a tough guy. He had to be to in order to survive the severe weather and the cruelty of the sea. The job demanded long hours and cramped quarters. He often would be away from home for weeks at a time. He never married and wasn't much for relationships. One Sunday though, something prompted him to attend the local church.

All heads turned when he walked in the door. He was quite a sight with his rugged skin and long hair. He had on a plaid shirt, a pair of jeans, and workman's boots. He looked totally out of his element.

As the service began, he fumbled with the hymn book and tried to read along with the scripture. When the preacher began to speak, he appeared to be distracted and did not look at him once. If you looked at the fisherman you might have thought he wasn't paying attention. No one would have guessed that when the invitation was given, that this big man would come forward with tears in his eyes and give his life to Christ.

The next week the fisherman was back again. This time he was clean shaven and dressed in his Sunday best. When the preacher commented about his appearance the man simply said, "Jesus changed me on the inside and I want people to know it. So I changed the outside."

Has Christ changed you on the inside? Then claim that new life today. Forget about trying to follow rules and regulations. Simply let his love flow through you so that the world can see it and live to the glory of God. Amen.