Not Judged Colossians 2:16

Paul the apostle refuted the false teaching of the Gnostics and began to address the heresies of the Judaizers as he wrote to the church members in Colosse. After declaring who Jesus was to the Colossians and what He had done for them, Paul the apostle continued his reasoning with the church members in chapter two and verse sixteen of his letter where he wrote:

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:

The verse begins, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink,” Paul began with the word “let” which means “allow, permit, approve, esteem or prefer” “no man” which includes “any person or certain person” “therefore” or “in conclusion, then, accordingly, consequently, these things being so” “judge” or “to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, or choose” “you in meat” which is a reference to “eating” “or in drink” which is drinking. As a conclusion to the fact that Jesus did all that was necessary for the salvation of the Colossians, there was nothing else needed to do. The Judaizers were attempting to make “Jewish” all the Gentiles who were accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. These false teachers were telling the Colossians along with other Gentile people that if they were to be truly saved, they would not only have to believe in Jesus, but also follow their ceremonial laws such as: circumcision, eating and not eating certain foods, and drinking and not drinking certain drinks. Paul told the Colossians not to allow these false-teachers to judge them in this manner.

The verse goes on to say, “or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:” In addition to “eating and drinking”, Paul adds “in respect of an holyday” which was a reference to “the feast or fasting days which the Jews followed”. Paul added “or of the new moon” which was “the Jewish festival of the new moon” and “or of the sabbath days” which referred to “the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work”. Jesus' work was so complete on the cross that the Jewish laws of holydays, new moons and sabbath days would not add anything to the salvation that was available to the Colossian Gentiles.

As we reflect upon these words of Paul, it is interesting to note that the same Greek word “krino” is used for the word “Let” and “judge”. The idea in both is that the person reading or hearing this passage will make a judgment based upon the content within it. The Judaizers are similar to those who are “legalists” today because they believed their salvation was based upon their works and not Jesus' completed work on the cross. As we ponder these things, perhaps it would help us to examine our own “law-setting” in these different areas. Do people “judge” us in “eating, drinking, holydays, new moons or sabbath days”? If so, let us hear the words of Paul who wrote “let no man therefore judge you”, and may the Lord Jesus grant us the wisdom to know how to accomplish His will for us.

Next time Paul writes about the “shadow” of these things, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.