Colossians 2:20
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Colossians 2:20 belongs to a treasure house of encouragement for the believer, holding rich, full, abundant and assuring promises of God to be received, and it is to be read prayerfully and carefully for understanding. To be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world is to be dead to the world and no longer to live as though belonging to the world. This death to the world is one of the walls of separation that divide the heavenly from the earthly, describing the difference between those who belong to the world and those chosen out of it as elect and precious. It marks the contrast between children of light and children of darkness, whose calling, character and prospects are peculiar and at variance with the world in spirit and practice.
As the close of time nears, the demarcation expressed in this death to the world becomes more and more decided. Those who have died with Christ are not to submit to human-made religious requirements as though still living in the world, for voluntary acts of self-humbling such as groveling when God has not required it are not Christian duties or tests of faith and have no sanction in His Word. The verse warns against the danger of false religion marked by voluntary humility and self-made worship. Such outward displays do not prove that a person is led by the Holy Spirit, since pride, harshness, jealousy and hunger for attention contradict the Spirit's fruits. This kind of religious pretense can mislead believers and become a means by which Satan endangers Christ's people.
Being dead with Christ calls believers to true service that is self-denying and self-sacrificing, keeping individual holiness and consecration in view so that through sanctification of the truth they abound in works of benevolence for the uplifting of others. Turning from Christ to humanity for help and guidance is folly, for when Jesus is appreciated His people see the salvation of God and have power as His helping hand, but when the Saviour is treated indifferently and the door is closed against the divine Helper to look to man there is no power. Those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord are to walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, abounding with thanksgiving, and this work has been neglected. When the heart is filled with gratitude its treasure of love and thanksgiving flows forth to refresh others, little grievances are not noticed, larger difficulties are met in the spirit of Christ, the heart goes out in prayer for patience, perseverance and forbearance, and when the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard for tried, tempted souls.