nailed to the cross

Colossians 2:13-15

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 bycanceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

We were all dead in our sins, then God made us alive. Dead things can’t just decide to become alive – God made us alive. Our sins have been forgiven and the “written code”, the laws, the regulations that  stand against us , were  all nailed to the cross. We are free from the law, we don’t have to follow any sort of protocol or procedure for Jesus to keep loving us. 

That “disarms” the devil, he can’t come to us and say “look what you’re doing, you’ve really crossed the line that time, God doesn’t like you anymore”. That tactic has been exposed and triumphed over by Jesus on the cross. 

When we recognise that, we want to follow Him and obey Him. We can do that in freedom, with no shame or guilt from sins that we commited yesterday or years ago - they were nailed to the cross

tradition

^{Colossians 2:8-10}

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Some human traditions and philosophies are directly opposed to Christianity, others aren't. Traditions, philosophies, ideas, routines and principles need to be evaluated in terms of how they help us to follow Jesus. Certain traditions may be helpful in our worship of God, but the focus is God, not the maintenance of the tradition.
We don’t want to miss out on God because we’re saying “come Holy Spirit and fit into this format which we feel most comfortable in”. Traditions and philosophy are there to serve us, not for us to serve them. They can help us to worship and follow Jesus but they can never become something that we worship and follow themselves – that’s idolatry.

Jesus didn't come to just give us the best philosophy or the best traditions or the best way of doing things. He wasn't just the best teacher or spiritual guru there has ever been. He was (and is) God - "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body" v9 NLT. Everything is under His authority, everything is under His rule, anything else is secondary.

jesus plus

Colossians 2

1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ,3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Paul "struggles" in prayer for the Colossians, and the focus of his prayer that they would continue to grow in understanding ad knowledge of Jesus. There's no bigger focus for Paul than seeing more of Jesus, because all the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are found in Him. Paul says this so that "no one may delude [them] with plausible arguments" (v4). It's not impossible, but it is unlikely that we would deluded by arguments that are not plausible or that sound ridiculous. The danger is from things that sound right, ideas that seem appealing, things that take the truth and twist it very slightly.

The "plausible" arguments that we face probably come down to Jesus plus something else. Jesus plus material prosperity is what will make you happy. Jesus plus certain moral behaviour will save you. Jesus plus karma is a sensible way to look at the world. Or maybe it's even Jesus minus something. Jesus as a good teacher minus the bits where He says He is God. Jesus minus the teachings we find challenging or don't like.

Paul is reminding the people that it is not Jesus plus anything. It's just Jesus. They recieved the news about who Jesus is and what He has done and that's not something that they move on from, it is how they continue to walk in Him, it's what they put their roots down into and how they become established in the faith (v6-7). Not Jesus plus. Just Jesus.