Have you ever kept score on yourself? Not on a footy field or a Monopoly board, but in the quiet places of your life: how much you've done, how much you know, how well you're going compared to the people around you. Most of us have a scoreboard running somewhere in the background, telling us whether we're winning or losing.
And for a lot of people of faith, that scoreboard follows us into church. Did I pray enough this week? Read enough? Serve enough? Am I the kind of Christian who really "gets it"?
This week at One Church, Jesse Morgan took us into Colossians 2 in the second part of our four-week series on Colossians. Jesse opened by confessing something about himself: he is, in his own words, overly competitive. From insisting on being the banker in family Monopoly games to heated four square arguments that ended in detention, he admitted he has always tested how far the rules could stretch. Underneath it all was a belief that his identity was defined by how he performed, and that the scoreboard told him who he was. You can watch the full message in the video above, or listen to the audio version below.
A letter to a church under pressure
Last week Linda looked at Colossians 1 and showed us that Jesus reveals God to all, redeems us, and is still king today. This week Jesse turned to chapter 2, where Paul writes to a young church being told that their standing with God depended on what they did and didn't do, how well they kept traditions, and what spiritual experiences they'd had.
Paul likely wrote the letter from prison in Rome, around 60 AD. Colossae had once been a busy trade hub but was being overtaken by neighbouring towns. Interestingly, Paul never visited the church himself. It was planted by Epaphras, who was probably converted under Paul's preaching in Ephesus and went on to pastor churches in Colossae and the surrounding cities. Even so, Paul's heart for this church was huge. He writes that he is "contending" for them, that though he is absent in body he is present in spirit, and that he wants them to know Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
Jesse pointed out that reading Colossians is a bit like eavesdropping on one side of a phone call. We can work out a lot from what Paul says, but we don't hear the whole story. Scholars still debate exactly what the main problem in Colossae was. The best guess is something syncretistic: different cultures, religions and philosophies blending into a new hybrid system. The church was young, sitting in a melting pot of cultures, and feeling pressure from every direction.
And the more Jesse studied it, the more familiar it sounded. As he put it, "We may as well be reading Melbournians rather than Colossians."
What was pulling at the Colossians
Jesse walked us through the different pressures Paul seems to be addressing across the chapter:
Philosophical elitism (verse 8): a respected teacher suggesting that without their special lectures, you couldn't really understand the depths of scripture.
Elemental spiritual forces (verses 8 and 20): possibly earth, air, fire and water, or powers, spirits and stars believed to govern human fate. New believers might have "covered their bases" with charms, rituals or sacrifices when a loved one was sick.
Jewish customs (verses 11 and 16): in a mostly Gentile church, confusion over whether circumcision, food laws and festivals were still required.
Visions and angelic worship (verses 18 and 19): perhaps a teacher claiming special heavenly experiences, telling others they hadn't yet seen the full riches of Jesus unless they followed his disciplines.
Harsh self-denial (verses 21 to 23): abstaining from food, drink, pleasure, or even certain people, in a way that created an air of superiority.
In each case, the message underneath was the same: you need something more.
If Paul wrote to Melbourne
Then Jesse did something brave. He imagined what Paul's "Melbourne Letter" might warn us about.
Instead of philosophical elitism, maybe personality frameworks, wellness retreats, the belief that our careers will give us true purpose, chasing the dream house and perfect family, or leaning on self-help books, experts, and even Christian influencers and pastors. Instead of elemental spirits, maybe horoscopes, retrogrades, tarot, crystals and manifestation culture, or in the church, a fear-based fixation on the end times.
Our version of arguing over Jewish customs might be Christians bickering over the "right" Bible translation, whether to send kids to Christian or public schools, or whether to drink, or turning healthy rhythms like Sabbath into badges of honour. Our angelic worship might be chasing the next spiritual high, the next big worship night because Sunday "doesn't cut it" anymore. And our self-denial might be strict diets, cold plunges, digital detoxes, purity cultures that shame people, or a hustle culture that leaves us burnt out at both ends.
Jesse could see people making mental notes as he went. And then he was very clear: these things aren't necessarily bad. Some of them are great. The problem is what happens when we add them to our personal scoreboards to measure how good a Christian we are.
Shadow and reality
Paul uses a powerful image in verses 16 and 17. Festivals, food laws and Sabbath days "are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."
None of these practices were wrong. Some were directives from God himself. But Jesse described the Colossians as still staring at a shadow on the wall when the one casting it had walked into the room. The practices pointed ahead to something. Now that something, someone, had arrived.
The whole point of the chapter, Jesse said, is Paul pushing back against the idea that to really receive what Jesus has done, you need more. More knowledge, more programs, more books, more fasting, more serving. More, more, more.
"For Jesus to accept you, you don't need to do anything. You don't have to jump through hoops. No prerequisites you need to obtain. There is no Jesus plus subscription."
In verses 13 to 15, Paul describes what Christ has actually done: made us alive when we were dead, forgiven all our sins, and cancelled the charge of our legal debt by nailing it to the cross. Jesse compared it to being arrested, tried and found guilty, only to watch the judge take off his robes, pay the fine himself, and set us free.
Remembering our freedom
Knowing many of us hear this most weeks, Jesse paused the sermon and invited everyone to close their eyes, breathe, and let the busyness of life fade for a moment. Then he read the passage again, slowly, and spoke it over the room: you were dead, and you have been made alive. Jesus was sent for you.
"When was the last time you remembered that freedom? When was the last time you lived out of that freedom?"
That freedom is for everyone, Jesse said, but it's also meant for you personally. You are known, seen and loved, and the decision to send Jesus was made with you in mind. For some, it may have been a long time since they last felt it. For others, it might be the first time they've heard it.
Christ is enough, and in Christ you are enough
This is the heart of Paul's message: Christ is enough, and in Christ you are made enough. Jesus didn't live, teach, suffer, die and rise again just so we'd have to retrace his steps and make the same sacrifices to earn our place. His journey finished at the cross so that ours could begin at the foot of it.
Jesse quoted Tim Keller: "Religion operates on the principle, 'I obey, therefore I am accepted by God.' The gospel operates on the principle, 'I am accepted through what Christ has done, therefore I obey.'" Before a goal is kicked or a point is won, the game has already been won.
Paul's issue was never the practices themselves. It was customs over Christ: people replacing their experience of Jesus with religious activity.
"Jesus is not a program, a church service, a sermon, a worship song. We cannot add to Jesus. He is the answer in full."
Jesse pointed to verses 9 and 10, where Paul uses the same Greek word, pleroma (fullness), twice. In Christ the fullness of God lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. Your cup is overflowing. As Jesse put it, a full cup cannot become fuller.
(He then joked that, having told us we don't need to come to church, he'd better give us a reason to come back next week for Darren's sermon.)
So why gather, give and serve at all? Because as we rest in what Jesus has done, our hearts are transformed, and out of that transformation we start to want these things. We don't gather to earn anything. We gather because we're one body. But the moment church becomes a chore, or we'd rather doom scroll than go to small group, or we go on a silent retreat for what people will think of our faith rather than for our faith itself, that's our cue to come back to the cross and remember what God has done.
Who sits at the centre?
Jesse finished with a simple picture. Imagine a circle with you at the centre, and the things you care about around you. The closer something sits, the more it shapes your identity. When work goes well, you feel great about yourself. When it falls apart, so do you. When you let the world dictate your understanding of self, the world changes you.
But the more we understand how full we are in Christ, the more our identity is shaped by him, and the more we "flip the script": instead of the world changing us, Jesus changes the world through us.
Jesse came back to his competitive streak. He still plays soccer on Saturdays and still wants to win. But now he tries to be the most encouraging teammate on the field, to support teammates off the field, to shine a light for those who don't know Jesus, and not to beat himself up over his mistakes ("which is most games"). He doesn't always get it right. But he knows he can try again, because he's freely forgiven.
"Sport isn't why I'm here, Jesus is."
For those whose lives are driven by performance, whether that's how much they earn, serve or know, Jesse's invitation was simple: there is no scoreboard. You're defined by God's love alone. For those who have been searching for answers in self-help, experiences or tradition, the invitation is to meet Jesus himself. And for anyone who thinks they've blown it, there is no outstanding balance to pay. The slate is clean.
One way to live it out this week
Draw your own circle. Put yourself in the middle and write down the things that sit closest to you: work, family, achievements, church commitments, health routines, whatever shapes how you see yourself. Then look at each one and ask, "Am I doing this for Christ, or to keep my score up?" Pick one thing you'll either do this week as a thank you to Jesus, or let go of for a while so you can notice what he's doing in you.
A prayer for your week
Heavenly Father,
thank you that there is no scoreboard,
and that in Jesus the game is already won.
Forgive us for the ways we try to earn what you've freely given.
Help us to rest in the fullness we have in Christ,
and to live, serve and love out of that freedom.
Amen.
Personal Reflection
Where in your life do you feel like you're keeping score, and what does that scoreboard say about you right now?
Jesse asked, "When was the last time you lived out of that freedom?" What would living out of freedom look like for you this week?
If you drew your own circle, what sits closest to you? How much of your sense of self rises and falls with those things?
Small Group Discussion
Jesse opened with stories about his competitive streak. Where does your own "need to win" or need to measure up show up in life?
Read Colossians 2:16-17. Jesse described the Colossians as staring at a shadow when the real thing had walked into the room. What are some "shadows" Christians today can end up focusing on?
Looking at Jesse's "Melbourne Letter" list (self-help, wellness culture, Bible translation debates, diets and detoxes, worship highs, hustle culture), which one stung the most? Which one do you want to push back on?
Jesse said many good practices aren't the problem; it's what we use them for. How can you tell when a healthy habit has turned into a badge of honour?
"There is no Jesus plus subscription." Do you find that idea freeing, or does part of you resist it? Why?
Jesse admitted his message could sound like "you don't need to come to church." If church isn't how we earn God's acceptance, what is it for? What keeps you coming back, or what makes it hard?
Have you ever been through a season where church, serving or small group became a chore? What helped you, or what might help now?
Spend some time praying for one another, especially for anyone in the group who feels like they're losing on their scoreboard or who believes they've "blown it."