1 www.theoed.org COLOSSIANS POSTING NUMBER 13 Rose City College Distance Learning FEEDBACK, PARTICULARLY TO POSTING 11, RELATING TO COLOSSIANS 2:14: He forgave us our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us, he took it away, nailing it to the Cross. I cannot tell you how many times I have read through this posting, again and again. WOW! Amazing, astonishing and thrilling. - Diane A number of questions regarding this posting by pastor JCE: 1. What law was crucified? 2. Can a sinner still be charged for his sins in spite of 2 Co. 5:19 ( not counting men s sins against them )? What if he does not repent? 3. Can the believer still be charged for sinning as a Christian? 4. Is there another law that has not been taken into account beside the Mosaic or written code? Questions lead to answers: We do not want to pretend to have all the answers but will answer from our limited knowledge. We will attempt to answer them in the order given. I feel that it is important that we do not weaken the declarations of Col. 2:14. 1. On Colossians 2:14, William Hendriksen writes, This handwritten document is clearly the law (cf. Eph. 2:15), p. 120, Colossians, NTC. I cite this author since he is a recognized and reliable scholar. My reasoning is: because it was for our sins committed against the law of God for which Christ was
2 executed, thus bringing us salvation, it could not be the ceremonial law, or all the additions made by men that is at issue. God could not or would not honor the latter as having such importance. One thing that is clearly evident in comparisons between the Law and the New Covenant is that under the New Covenant the Law is written by the Spirit on hearts of flesh, whereas the Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone (Heb. 8:10, 2 Co. 3:3). 2. Jesus said to the Pharisees on the occasion of healing the man born blind, If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains (Jn. 9:41). 1 John 1:9 reads, If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. One cannot be forgiven for being good, only for one s sins. 3. A believer is accountable for his behavior to his Heavenly Father, as his child. Being a child of God increases his responsibility. The book of Hebrews teaches us about chastening, in contrast to confronting us with the wrath of God. Chastening is motivated by love, not wrath. Jesus emptied the cup of wrath at Calvary. Chastening has to do with the future while punishment has to do with the past. God cares too much about us to leave us the way we are, so he chastens us that we might partake of His holiness. This chastening may even include the physical death of a believer (1 Co. 11:30-33). The hand of God in which we are secure, often squeezes us ( thy hand presseth me sore Ps. 38:2 KJV). Our deeds done in the flesh are as wood, hay and stubble which will be burned up and that believer will suffer an irreplaceable loss throughout eternity (1 Co. 3:15). There is a difference between conviction for sin and condemnation for sin. If you are not disciplined (chastened paideia Gk child-trained ) (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are not true sons (Heb. 12:8). Some people need to check out their spiritual birth certificate! 4. There is another measurement of behavior besides the Mosaic Law. Two YOKES are set forth in Scripture, one is the Law which no one was able to bear, Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples (Gentiles) a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? (Acts 15:10). A yoke is a figure of speech drawn from the agricultural world (Lk. 14:19). Jesus called to the weary and burdened saying, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light (Mt. 11:28-30). There is an evident comparison between the yoke of OT Law and Christ s yoke. This comparison is evident: You
3 show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Co. 3:3). Jesus and Moses are compared in much of the Gospel of John following the explicit statement: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Jo. 1:17). We are not Moses disciples but Jesus disciples (Lk. 14:26, 27), so when the Apostle Paul addresses some behavioral problems in Ephesians, he does not cite relevant commandments but says that they had not so learned CHRIST (manthano, a root word for disciple (Eph. 4:20 ESV). Jesus doesn t hesitate to describe our responsibilities as my commandments. THE RELEVANCE OF THE LAW TO BELIEVERS IN CHRIST: Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the very spirit of the Law the fulfillment foreshadowed in all of its moral principles. He is our leader whom we follow, and our teacher from whom we seek to learn. There is no morality or ethic described in the Law that is not found in Him. As the Law revealed the righteous character of God, so Jesus gives a greater and complete revelation of God (Jn. 1:18; Col. 2:9). Under the Old, God is veiled and under the New, God is revealed (2 Co. 3:14-16). The Law, under the Old Covenant, was an external description of God s demands, but under the New Covenant, those righteous principles are internalized by the Holy Spirit who is writing the same law in our hearts (Heb. 8:10; 2 Co. 3:2-3). Whereas subjects are motivated under the Old Covenant by the threat of punishment, the motivation under the New is love (Jn.15:9, 10). The Old was a ministry of death and the New is a ministry of life. When we repented, that repentance was toward God. Our repentance was for our sins (for which Christ was crucified), and it was also for our dead works (Heb. 6:1 repentance from dead works ASV) in which we had trusted (our morality and rituals) in order to be accepted by Him. These dead works are particularly offensive to God since they ignore and insult Jesus saving death on the cross. They also defy the Law under which we were found guilty and sentenced to death. A proper use of the Law: We know that the law is good if a man uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for good men but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill fathers or mothers, for murders, for adulterers and perverts, for slave
4 traders and liars and perjurers and for whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine and that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which he entrusted to me (1 Tim. 1:8-11). An improper use of the law: When people refer to the Law as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, and therefore preach the Law in order to bring people to Christ they are basing this on an incorrect translation of the KJV. This passage is correctly translated by the reliable English Standard Version (ESV), which reads, The law was our guardian until Christ came (Gal. 3:24). This is evident when one compares all the preaching throughout the book of Acts. Whenever one seeks to find either acceptance by God or access to God through moral obedience or religious rituals, we are using the Law improperly. THE LAW OF GOD God s Law revealed a holy and moral God as the source of all, and one to whom all mankind must ultimately answer. When Cain killed Abel he was called into account by God. Such accountability is evident by God s dealings with mankind when God sent the flood in response to the wickedness and violence of mankind before the Law of God was given at Sinai. What has been called the Noahic covenant gave a basis for dealing with man since man was created in the image of God. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their pride, lewdness, detestable practices, including their arrogance and lack of concern for the poor (Ez. 16:49-58). Paul, in Romans, wrote of the natural law, which, when violated, carried the very seeds of judgment on the violators (Ro. 1:18-25). In all of this, idolatry is condemned, with the inherent penalty being a loss of the knowledge of God. We live in a moral universe, though its morality if frequently violated. One appreciates a moral God, when one compares the other so-called Gods of various religions. Hence, people are upset when there is no justice for people. The word, justice, is one of the frequent subjects of the Prophets. THE GOSPEL ESTABLISHES THE LAW Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the law (Ro. 3:31). The Law was established when Jesus suffered as a sinner condemned by the Law. He did not disregard it, but both fulfilled its every requirement and paid the penalty for every broken commandment. That is the New Testament faith! THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD (Ro. 1:16; 1 Co. 1:18).
5 Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised (Ro. 4:20). One might think this had only to do with his belief that God would resurrect Isaac when Abraham offered him up to God, but it also included power to make sinful Abraham righteous before God. In the overall view, making a sinner righteous far exceeds raising one from the dead. No righteousness; no resurrection! The awesome power in the Gospel is its power to justify the sinner Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39). It was called something so wonderful that you would never believe, even if someone told you (Acts 13:41; Hab. 1:5). When Jesus explained the Scriptures concerning himself (Lk. 24: 27), their eyes were opened and they recognized him (31). For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). It is simply a matter of whether one trusts in one s own behavior or is trusting in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. Address your comments and questions to either our web site or to the coordinator. Many thanks to those who have written in their comments and questions. We want to encourage you to participate! John Kennington, Coordinator 6033 N Sheridan #29E Chicago, Illinois 60660 773 769 6477 Jodake@aol.com