Col. 2:16, Romans 14:5-6 and Galatians 4:10-11
The hardest verses to get around in trying to convince people
that we are to keep the true Sabbath, Saturday, are verses like, Col. 2:16,
Romans 14:5-6 and Galatians 4:10-11. Could you tell me your interpretation of
these, Paul must be referring to the ceremonial, or old Jewish days that were
a foreshadowing of Christ (?), could you verify?
Thank you so much...
Melanie
Answer
DID CHRIST DO AWAY WITH THE LAW ON THE CROSS?
It's claimed by some, that in his letter to the Colossians Paul taught that
the law was abolished.
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven all your trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Paul was writing to Gentiles. They were uncircumcised and dead
in their sins even though they did not have the Law in its codified form.
Here he tells them the good news that in Christ they were circumcised
and raised to new life, having been forgiven for all their sins.
He refers to the 'blotting out' of the "handwriting" that was against "us".
Note that he says "us", purposely including both Jews and Gentiles. We can thus
gather that whatever he was writing about it was not a set of ordinances that
applied exclusively to Jews. Blotting these out, or nailing these to the cross
would not have done a thing for Gentiles.
Mark's Gospel, Chapter 15 verse 26, implies that according to custom a criminal
was crucified with his crime written on a sign and nailed to his cross. We are
told that when Jesus was crucified "the inscription of his accusation was written
above: THE KING OF THE JEWS." This sign was written in three languages
so that it served as a deterrent to as many as would read it. His "inscription
of accusation" was his alleged violation of Roman law, a crime of which he was
not guilty. He was without sin! By contrast, against humankind and
contrary to us, is a long list of valid violations of God's law. When Christ
died he took those accusations and made them his own and suffered their penalty.
The handwriting (Greek word cheirographon ) has been identified by scholars
as a term used for a certificate of debt . Dunn points out that this word was
used in an apocryphal writing to explicitly denote a record book of sins.
Understood as our inscription of accusation the "handwriting of requirements
that were against us" aptly fits the metaphorical picture that Paul is painting.
Until the death of Christ, the record of humankind's sin was a 'certificate
of debt' that could only be paid by death. It stood in the way of our
relationship with God. It was contrary to our hope for eternal life. This
record of our sin was nailed to his cross and he paid the penalty for our sin,
thus taking away our record of guilt and substituting it with blessed forgiveness.
What a wonderful Saviour!
There is yet another reason to believe that this passage is not referring to
the law. It concerns the plural word (dogmasin) which is translated:
requirements (NKJV), decrees (NASB), regulations (NIV), ordinances (KJV, ASV),
and legal demands (RSV). This word is important, for without it,
a connection to the law could not be suggested. If we examine the passage we
can see at least three things that Christ did with our 'certificate of indebtedness'.
1. He blotted it out. 2. He removed it from the midst. 3. He nailed it to the
cross. Note that Paul did not say them. All of these actions pertain to the
cheirographon (singular) not to the dogmasin (regulations) which is plural.
They should not be automatically applied to the 'regulations'. It is our debt
under the law of God which was nailed to the cross not the law itself.
The only way to get an 'abolished law' out of this passage is to confuse the
debt of our sin with the law of God itself. If we do this, the connection with
our forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ is lost (verse 13) and we make
the cancelling of the law the means by which we are forgiven.
THE ENMITY OF THE LAW ABOLISHED
Another passage that is used to support the doctrine of the abolition of the
law is Ephesians 2:14-16.
For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
In his letter to the Gentile Christians in Ephesus Paul explains that in Christ the enmity between Jew and Gentile is finished. The Mosaic laws excluding the uncircumcised Gentile from the temple-based worship of the one True God under the Levitical system are rendered powerless. In his flesh the uncircumcised are made circumcised, the unacceptable are made acceptable, and all are reconciled to God. The primary subject matter of these two verses is the broken walls of division between Jew and Gentile, and Paul only refers to a change in this specific context. Paul clearly made a distinction between "the law of commandments contained in ordinances" and the commandments of God. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:19,
Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.
It is also interesting to note that the Greek word katargeo translated "abolished" in Eph. 2:15 has the meaning to 'render ineffective the power or force of something'. The middle wall of division that was between Jew and Gentile was empowered by the racially based regulations that served to set the circumcised Jew apart from the uncircumcised Gentile. The particular laws referred to here are most probably the Levitical laws of ritual cleanliness and the traditional Jewish oral law relating to ordinances. These laws of segregation engendered enmity between Jew and Gentile and had been the cause of division in the early church. Their purpose was to preserve Israel as a distinct nation. The most significant of them was the law of the ordinance of circumcision. The Jews believed that they could not even eat at the same table as the uncircumcised because of their uncleanness. This caused considerable hostility and was a hindrance to the spread of the Gospel. (Galatians 2:11-13) But for all its disadvantages, circumcision was not completely abolished in Christ, rather, the uncircumcised received circumcision in Christ.
In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ...
The laws of physical circumcision were reduced to inactivity because their
power to cause justifiable enmity was cancelled by Christ in his flesh.
When Jesus discussed the enmity between Jew and Gentile with the Samaritan woman
at the well (John 4:20-24) he referred to a time when that enmity would give
way to the true worship of the Father - no longer the worship of God at the
temple in Jerusalem but the true worship of God in spirit and in truth. The
believing Jews and believing Gentiles could now gather for worship on the Sabbath
day as brothers and sisters in the family of God.
WHATEVER IS NOT FROM FAITH IS SIN
Another verse that is worth looking at is Galatians 4:8-11 (NIV)
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
The passage is speaking to former pagans who are in some way returning to
the bondage of weak and beggarly elements. Although the Sabbath is not
mentioned some have assumed that 'observing days' is an allusion to Sabbath
keeping.
As the letter was written to correct certain misconceptions of the role of the
law in the plan of salvation, it is argued that days and months and seasons
and years refer to the biblical holy days and weekly Sabbaths. However, those
who hold a Sunday Sabbath must reject this explanation for if Paul was berating
the Galatians for keeping the seventh day as a Sabbath, then his disapproval
of such practices would also apply to the first day of the week.
This is one portion of the letter that has a direct reference to the past pagan
practices of the Galatians. Though not often translated as such, the statement
could have been posed as a question.
Do you wish to be enslaved by them again as at first? 10 Are you observing days and moons and seasons and years?
Astrology, predictions, superstitions about days, moons and seasons were an integral part of pagan culture. Each god had his/her own special day. The seasons and their meaning were very significant in pagan religion and mythology. The Scriptures warned against such practices,
You shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. Leviticus 19:26
The letter to the Galatians counteracts the teaching that circumcision and
observation of the law of Moses are necessary for salvation. Paul saw a parallel
between the bondage of the superstitious observation of the elements of nature,
(sun, moon stars, earth, water, wind and fire) from which these Gentiles had
been delivered, and the bondage of the legalistic teaching of the Circumcision
group. If this passage is taken to mean that Paul was condemning the observance
of all Jewish customs and biblical holy days then he is no more than a hypocrite,
since Paul kept these himself. (Acts 18:18,21 KJV) His plea, "Brethren,
I urge you to become as I am ..." becomes meaningless. (Gal 4:12)
On closer examination, it is evident that Paul's criticism focuses on their
attitudes rather than to their actions. Their eagerness for the observance of
the full spectrum of Jewish ritual was an enslavement to them. They desired
to enter into favour with God via circumcision and conformity rather than accept
the sufficiency of Christ for their salvation and sanctification. Paul deliberately
reminds them of their former association with idols and superstitious observance
of times to illustrate that their present mindset was merely substituting their
faith in Christ for another set of powerless traditions. Whatever is not from
faith is sin. In their uncircumcised state these Gentile Christians had
all they needed for salvation, yet they were not content with that. They seemed
to want to walk by sight rather than by faith. Worship must come from the heart
of faith. There were times in Israel's history, when God voiced His disapproval
of the Israelites' worship when their motives were not pure.
Your New Moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates. Isaiah 1:14
As an integral part of worship the Sabbath needs to be kept out of pure motives.
A legalistic (works for salvation) attitude toward the Sabbath does not please
God. An attitude of obedience to God is what is required. Jesus
taught his disciples how to properly keep the Sabbath day. The Pharisees of
Jesus' day had turned the joy and delight of the Sabbath celebration into a
day of pedantic restrictions. As Lord of the Sabbath, Christ understood
and taught the true purpose of the significance of the day. He confronted the
Pharisees' judgement of his disciples' actions and defended their innocence.
Paul also understood Christ's teaching on the Sabbath and defended the Colossians
against those who criticised their manner of worship.
Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, Colossians 2:16
Although this verse has been used to infer that the Sabbath has been discarded, there is nothing to suggest this in the wording of the verse. Are the Colossians being criticised for the manner in which they were eating, drinking, and keeping feasts, new moon celebrations and Sabbaths or were they being criticised for their abandonment of food and drink restrictions, festivals, and Sabbaths? A clue is given in the identity of their accusers whose traits were: false humility, worship of angels, preoccupation with the supernatural world, holding man-made commandments and doctrines, false wisdom, self-imposed religion, false humility, neglect of the body. It would appear that these critics were not "Judaizers" but Ascetics who were trying to impose their oppressive rules upon the worshippers of God in the church at Colosse. Douglas R. De Lacey writes,
The 'judgment' seems to be criticism of the Christians' present practice, apparently of eating and drinking and enjoying Jewish festivals, in contrast to those whose watchword was "do not handle, do not taste, do not even touch" (Col 2:21)
ESTEEMING SPECIAL DAYS
Now let's consider Romans 14:5-6 (NKJV)
One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day (alike). Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. {6} He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.
This chapter is introduced as pertaining to doubtful things and is predominantly
about food matters. (Food matters are expressly mentioned in nine verses out
of twenty three.) There is no direct reference to the Sabbath here. In
fact a discussion of a matter as important as the Sabbath in vv 5 & 6a would
seem somewhat out of place in this chapter as a change in the observance of
the day of worship would hardly be an individual matter. It would be an issue
seriously affecting the whole church.
The discussion of the significance of certain days can be understood as part
of the discussion of food matters rather than as a digression. The observance
of "days" would best fit the immediate context if the particular days being
discussed concerned fasting. It is conceivable that the problem being
addressed was a dispute over the appropriate days for fasting. There was a tradition
among the Pharisees that they should fast twice a week, on Monday and Thursday.
This tradition was followed by the early Christian Church. As the fasting
mentioned here is a voluntary practice, Paul's exhortation, "Let each be fully
convinced in his own mind" is an appropriate response to the situation.
If Paul was referring to the Sabbath it is strange that he didn't just write,
"He who observes the Sabbath etc". The fact that Paul did not specify an actual
day could suggest that Paul was referring to a number of different days that
had significance for Jews but not for Gentiles. The Feast of Purim and the Feast
of Dedication (Hanukkah) are examples. It is evident that in addition to fasting
days, other significant days qualify as the possible subject of Paul's response.