Welcome to Bethany Bible Church

Is Christ truly above all in my thinking, my living, and my following?

You are complete in Christ. Do not trade fullness for shadows.

Colossians 2:11 – When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 

Deuteronomy 10:16 (CSB/Christian Standard Bible) – 16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer.

Colossians 2:12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

Colossians 2:13 – You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 

Colossians 2:​​13b – 14  – Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:15 – In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Colossians 2:16-17 – So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.

Acts 15:10-11 – 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.

Colossians 2:18-19 – Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

John 15:4 – Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

Colossians 2:20-23 – You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

To be complete in Christ means:

• Understanding being forgiven, not striving for approval
• Living free, not fearful
• Remaining rooted, not chasing shadows

Head / Heart / Hands – Next Steps

HEAD – Study Scripture with an eye toward recognizing the difference between biblical obedience and man-made spiritual pressure.

HEART – Ask God to expose areas where guilt, fear, or insecurity may be driving your spiritual life more than gratitude and trust.

HANDS – Release one habit, mindset, or expectation that has become more about obligation than devotion.