NOV 16

Colossians 2:16-17
Memorise Colossians 2:16-17
“…let no man therefore judge you…”

Colossians 2:16-17 reads “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” A holyday is an anniversary of one of the various feasts, like the Passover. The new moon is the first day of the month (Numbers 28:11). The Sabbath days include the weekly Jewish Sabbath from Friday dusk to Saturday dusk, and the Sabbath years the 7th year and the 50th year (Leviticus 25). The false Jewish teachers insisted that Christians were to observe these ceremonies. The problem with meat and drink was that some were abstaining from meat and drink in pretence of holiness, thinking that abstinence is pleasing to God. Since Christ has come, Jewish dietary laws are no longer applicable to Christians. The word “shadow” in Greek is “skia”, meaning sketch: these ceremonies and laws are only like an outline but not the “body” or substance of the actual. They were observed to point them forward to Christ, as they looked ahead to the coming of the Messiah who would be their perfect atonement once and for all. But note Christ has already come. By continuing to observe these ceremonies, they were in effect saying that Christ had not yet come. The Passover was a type of Christ, but we believers do not need to keep it for we keep the Lord’s Supper instead, looking back at the sacrifice of Christ. Since Christians are freed by Christ from observing these ceremonies, no man has the power to impose them as a burden.

In our churches today, controversies have arisen as to whether Christians should celebrate days like Easter and Christmas. In the Bible, the only day of the week we are commanded to observe by assembling in church is the Lord’s Day. While no man can judge you therefore if you do not wish to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas or come for the Christmas Praise service, knowing the date of December 25 is not of Christian origin, the fact remains that Christmas is a wonderful opportunity for you to invite unbelieving friends and loved ones to church to listen to God’s Word preached about the true meaning of Christmas. You are certainly answerable to Christ if you skip Christmas Praise service in favour of a Christmas party elsewhere, since you are stumbling others who know you are a Christian, as you appear to celebrate Christmas no different from the way the world does.

Thought: Not being answerable to man does not mean not answering to God.
Prayer: May I glorify God in my choices.