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The Law on the Cross
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Colossians 2:13-23 (NKJV)
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 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.
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--
21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Here we approach the thorniest part of the study of Colossians.
Paul discusses here a literal matter of spiritual life and death. To keep straight on what is happening here we need to remember one thing, always. Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
There have been endless books and papers and sermons on Colossians attempting to define what the law is, what the (s)abbaths are as opposed to the Sabbaths. What are the commandments and doctrines of men?
I can make a good argument that only the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross and blotted out. I can also make an argument that the entire law was nailed to the cross in that we cannot earn our salvation by observing the law outside of the death of Jesus on that same cross, when he fulfilled the law.
He fulfilled it by living the fullness of the law, and by suffering death at hands of the law. A death that we deserve. We need to understand that the law was nailed to the cross in the body of Jesus Christ. The law and the lawgiver cannot be separated.
Having scared all of you to death about your pastor's theology, let's get back into the text.
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us......
Following up with the last message, circumcision reveals the realities of the flesh. That circumcision makes us see how hopeless we are by exposing our guile. This is necessary because we cannot move on in our Christian experience until we know that we, of ourselves, cannot move on. We are trapped in a vicious cycle of works, sin, more works, more sin.
But we saw how the freedom of knowing that we are forgiven allows us to live a more, and more victorious life as we comprehend the gift that we have been given.
The handwriting of ordinances that was against us, contrary to us, is any law that we try to keep to earn our salvation. The harder we try on our own, the more desperate we become. We are trapped in our own web and cannot get out.
14b ....And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Again, Jesus takes care of the sin problem by:
1. Forgiveness
2. Substitution.
In his body he nailed the laws to the cross.
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Now this is a very interesting statement. And what it is saying to me is this: Jesus wanted there to be no doubt as to the reality of what he was doing on the cross – Never doubt that He was in control, not the Romans. He chose the time of his death. He chose the manner of his death. He chose the place of his death. And he chose the spectacle of his death.
Combining all of this, Jesus died in Jerusalem, as the Passover lamb was being slain, after being condemned by his people, with the declaration of his kingship over his head, with a large number of the religious leaders and political leaders watching what was going on. Jesus swung the cross like a mighty sword and raked it though the gates of hell, trashing demons and deceit, taking the bite out of death, and making victory possible for those who love him. And he did it publically, openly, and with a cry of victory.
The Psalm that Jesus quoted from as he was dying was Psalm 22.
Psalm 22:1-2 (NKJV)
1 To the Chief Musician. Set to 'The Deer of the Dawn.' A Psalm of David. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.
At first reading that might sound like a lament. But the Jews would often use a few words to represent the whole Psalm. We understand that today, because we hear people say, "I am going to say an 'Our Father.'" They of course mean the whole Lord's Prayer.
So the Psalm goes on to describe the feelings of hopelessness brought on by the situation.
Then we get to the last verses.
Psalm 22:21-31 (NKJV)
21 ..... You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S, And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.
Note particularly these verses:
27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S, And He rules over the nations.
Jesus cry on the cross was not a cry of defeat, but a conquering trumpet call of victory for the Christian.
The Law Giver nailed all law to the cross in his body so that the ends of the world would remember and turn to the Lord. The kingdom is His, and he rules because the law that he is, is resurrected and now operates in perfect holiness, mercy, and true justice. This is possible because every possible penalty that could ever be suffered was imposed upon and met as the law giver hung on the cross.
Again, he did this on time, in the place forecast, by the people prophesied, in the place it was supposed to happen.
Now, the question is how do we live knowing all of this? How should I live knowing that I am no longer accused, knowing that there is nothing that I can possibly do to earn my salvation.
Now stay with me. Follow me closely, because I believe a radical interpretation of this passage.
You may disagree with me if you wish.
As I look at this amazing passage, here is what I see. Paul is telling the Colossians, "You can never come up to the letter of the law. The more you try the more frustrated you become, and the more regulations you will add. That does not bring you closer to Christ."
"However, as you reach for and follow the fullness of Jesus Christ and focus on him, you are freed from following the letter of the law and now are able to live in the spirit of the law (law giver)."
Let's look.
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
Now let me assure that I believe that Paul is speaking of the ceremonial laws here. My reasoning? Festivals, new moons and sabbaths plural. Shadows.
Ceremonies, celebrations, sacrifices, offerings, special days, types of diet, drink restrictions, as in Nazarites. None of those are part of the 10 Commandment moral law. I am clear on that. But interestingly enough Paul does not say "Don't keep them."
He says "Let no one judge you."
I think that Paul would say, "Don't even judge yourselves." Is that not legalism?
As a matter of fact, Paul himself fulfilled a ceremonial vow that he made after he was converted and preaching the gospel himself!
And he let the church leaders in Jerusalem influence him!!
He does go on to say that these things are shadows. The reality is Jesus Christ.
But I don't for a minute think that Paul saw that as earning salvation.
I think that Paul would say, "If you want to go ahead and observe these things, don't let anyone be the judge of your spiritual experience."
Then he urges the Colossians not to be cheated out of their reward?
What is the reward they were looking for?
Heaven.
So how could they lose this reward?
By being deceived into believing that your salvation came from anything outside of Jesus Christ.
Notice the problem areas. Delight in humility. Ever known anyone that was proud of their humility?
I had a church member that would always come to communion service dirty. Deliberately. He wanted to test his humility and that of the congregation.
The worship of angels was an issue with the Christians. There were those who were in the beginnings of Gnosticism. And that belief included 300 plus levels of angels, some of which you worshipped and some you did not. And humans could climb the levels of angels until they became gods.
This belief brought about the situation that Paul called "puffed up."
Hot air windbags. Who were operating with the uncircumcised fleshly mind.
He then elaborates as to what brings on this type of behavior.
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
If you do not remain attached to the head, you are dead meat. Flesh.
21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
The greatest indulgence of the flesh is legalism. By using the ceremonies, the humility, the added activities, the neglect of the body, and whatever other doctrine of men that there is, a person is trying to live above and/or outside of God. My working definition of legalism simply defined is living outside of the mercy and grace of God.
His solution?
Colossians 3:1 (NKJV)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
You were circumcised in the heart. Your sin was exposed.
You died with Christ in baptism and were resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ. A life that can be lived in freedom from the penalty of the law. That life is joyous and free. But then, you turn around and say, "Jesus, your salvation is not good enough. What kind of works can I do to make myself feel better."
What is the look on Jesus' face?
NO. NO WAY!
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Which way do you choose today? Are you good enough to make it on your own? Or do you need a Savior? I know I do.....
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