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The Old Covenant has
come to an end! All its types and shadows
have been made plain in Christ Jesus. All
the sacrifices, Holy days, feasts, new moon
celebrations, cleanliness laws, and dietary restrictions have
been fulfilled and brought to an end by the
New Covenant, including the weekly, seventh
day Sabbath.
Much of the
Mosaic Law (the Law of God) were ceremonial
laws to make a distinction between Israel
and the nations that surrounded them.
Colossians 2:14-17 says those things were
“shadows” of what was to come. The much
superior New Covenant includes all races and
nations of people.
The issues of food
and drink and Sabbath observances that many
Adventists and their friends get so
concerned about are irrelevant now, and
Christians need not ever worry about them
again. They belong to the Old Covenant,
which we are not under.
Colossians 2:13-17
says, “When you were dead in your sins and
in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,
God made you alive with Christ. He forgave
us all our sins, 14 having canceled the
written code, with its regulations, that was
against us and that stood opposed to us; he
took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15
And having disarmed the powers and
authorities, he made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by
what you eat or drink, or with regard to a
religious festival, a New Moon celebration
or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of
the things that were to come; the reality,
however, is found in Christ.” (NIV)
Regarding Colossians 2:15-17, the Bible
Knowledge Commentary says this;
“By
fulfilling the demands of the Law, Christ
disarmed the demonic powers and authorities
(cf. Col. 1:16; 2:10), triumphing over them
(cf. 2 Cor. 2:14). As a result believers are
delivered from these evil powers which
inspire legalistic rules about foods and
festivals. No one should judge you by what
you eat or drink because Christians are free
from the Law’s legalistic requirements (such
as those in Lev. 11; 17; Deut. 14). God does
not condemn those who eat everything (Rom. 14:1-4). In fact, God says that all foods
may be eaten since they were “created to be
received with thanksgiving by those who
believe and who know the truth” (1 Tim. 4:3).
The teaching that forbids this, Paul
wrote, is “taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1)
whom Christ has disarmed (Col. 2:15). This
liberation of believers pertains also to
festivals such as a New Moon celebration or
a Sabbath Day (cf. Gal. 4:10).
Those who
would bring Christians under the bondage of
the Law make artificial distinctions between
the “ceremonial” and “moral” law, and so
they say the Sabbath has not passed away.
That this is false can be seen from the
following: (1) The Sabbath command is the
only one of the Ten Commandments not
repeated in the New Testament. (2) The early
believers, following Christ’s resurrection
and appearance on Sunday (Mark 16:1; John 20:1),
met on Sundays (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).
(3) The Bible nowhere distinguishes
between the so-called “moral” and
“ceremonial” laws (this distinction was not
made before the 13th century A.D.) (4) This
Colossian passage explicitly condemns those
who command Sabbath obedience. (5) As Paul
put it, the Old Testament Law (including the
Sabbath) was only a shadow of the things
that were to come. The reality or
“substance” (sōma, lit., “body”), however,
is to be found in Christ (cf. Heb. 8:5; 10:1).
What the Old Testament foreshadowed,
Christ fulfilled (cf. Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:3-4).
A “shadow” (skia) is only an image
cast by an object which represents its form.
Once one finds Christ, he no longer needs to
follow the old shadow.”
The
Colossian heresy was a mixture of legalistic
Jewish ceremonial laws of the Old Testament
and an early form of Gnosticism. In the Book
of Galatians, Paul had to deal directly with
the Judaizers and legalists.
Galatians 1:6-9 says, “I am astonished that
you are so quickly deserting him who called
you in the grace of Christ and are turning
to a different gospel— 7 not that there is
another one, but there are some who trouble
you and want to distort the gospel of
Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach to you a gospel
contrary to the one we preached to you, let
him be accursed. 9 As we have said before,
so now I say again: If anyone is preaching
to you a gospel contrary to the one you
received, let him be accursed.”
And
then Paul wrote later in this same letter, “You
observe days and months and seasons and
years! I am afraid I may have labored over
you in vain.” (Gal. 4:10-11).
If
you teach others to keep the Old Covenant
laws - you are teaching the same false gospel
the Galatians were being warned about.
Galatians 5:1-4 says, “For freedom
Christ has set us free; stand firm
therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke
of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that
if you accept circumcision, Christ will be
of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to
every man who accepts circumcision that he
is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You
are severed from Christ, you who would be
justified by the law; you have fallen away
from grace.” (cf. Acts 15:10).
Christ has set us free from the Law
to live by His Spirit.
Galatians 5:5-6 says, “For through the
Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait
for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision counts for anything, but only
faith working through love.”
Paul had
to warn the Galatians and encourage his
readers not to turn to the Law for salvation. Paul said that those
who pursued the Law as a way of salvation
were really placing themselves under a yoke
of slavery. The salvation that Christ offers
us can’t benefit anyone who trusts in the Law
for their redemption.
“The Greek word for
“severed” means “to be separated,” or “to be
estranged.” The word for “fallen” means “to
lose one’s grasp on something.” Paul’s clear
meaning is that any attempt to be justified
by the law is to reject salvation by grace
alone through faith alone. Those once
exposed to the gracious truth of the gospel,
who then turn their backs on Christ (Heb. 6:4-6)
and seek to be justified by the law
are separated from Christ and lose all
prospects of God’s gracious salvation. Their
desertion of Christ and the gospel only
proves that their faith was never genuine
(cf. Luke 8:13, 14; 1 Jn. 2:19).”
[1]
The only thing that matters is
our faith in Christ, “working through love”
(Gal. 5:6).
“Christians are forgiven people who have
begun to be changed by the Spirit into
people of love and goodness (Gal. 5:22) but
who realize we are far from perfect (Phil. 3:12-14).
Thus, we hope for a time when we
shall be fully transformed into people of
righteousness and love. We are confident our
hopes will be fulfilled (Phil. 1:6), for the
very presence of the Spirit within us is a
guarantee we shall arrive at our true
destiny.”
[2]
Christ has set
us free from the Law to be justified by
grace!
Some say that the books of Colossians
and Galatians are talking about what they
call ceremonial Sabbaths and not the weekly,
seventh day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments.
The Old Testament makes no
distinction between the Law of Moses and the
Law of God. The Law of Moses is the legal code for the
Mosaic Covenant (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called
“the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8; 4:44; 17:18;
Deut. 17:19; 27:3; 27:8). It is
called the “book of the law of Moses” (2 Kings 14:6;
Isa. 8:20), and the “book of the law of God” (Josh. 24:26). It was the
legally-binding constitution for the
theocratic, nation of Israel.
The New
Testament books of Colossians and Galatians
are talking about the entire yearly cycle of
worship contained in the Law of Moses (i.e.
the Law of God), which Includes the weekly seventh day
Sabbath.
Some important
points to consider:
1.
Colossians 2:16 contains the Old Covenant
pattern of referring to Jewish Holy days in
a yearly, monthly, weekly sequence as in 1 Chronicles 23:31;
2 Chronicles 2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Nehemiah 10:33; Ezekiel 45:17; Hosea 2:11 (see
chart below).
2. The Greek word “sabaton”
translated as Sabbath in Colossians 2:16 is
in the plural, and it refers to the weekly
Sabbath day, just as it does in Matthew 28:1, Luke 4:16,
Acts 16:13, Exodus 20:8; Leviticus 23:37-38
(Septuagint).
3. In Colossians 2:16,
the lack of the definite article before the
word “Sabbath” in the Greek can refer to the
weekly Sabbath, just as it does in Matthew 28:1, and
John 5:9, 10, 16.
4. Why is
the Sabbath the only one of the Ten
Commandments said to be “throughout your
generations”, when that is the usual phrase
that indicates it was a temporary,
ceremonial requirement for the nation of
Israel alone?
[3]
5. The New
Testament Greek word “sabbaton” is
translated to mean “Sabbath” 59 times.
Seventh-day Adventists agree that it means
the weekly, seventh day “Sabbath” in 58 of those
instances. The only time they change its
meaning is in Colossians 2:16-17. They have
to change its meaning there for their
system of theology to work.
Notice how the same yearly cycle of
worship is described in the Old Covenant in
both ascending and descending order.
1 Chronicles 23:31
says, “and whenever burnt
offerings were offered to the LORD on
Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days,
according to the number required of them,
regularly before the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 31:3
says, “The contribution of the king
from his own possessions was for the burnt
offerings: the burnt offerings of morning
and evening, and the burnt offerings for the
Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed
feasts, as it is written in the Law of the
LORD.”
Ezekiel 45:17 says, “It shall be the
prince’s duty to furnish the burnt
offerings, grain offerings, and drink
offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and
the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of
the house of Israel: he shall provide the
sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt
offerings, and peace offerings, to make
atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.”
Nehemiah 10:33 says, “for the showbread, the
regular grain offering, the regular burnt
offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the
appointed feasts, the holy things, and the
sin offerings to make atonement for Israel,
and for all the work of the house of our
God.”
Hosea 2:11-12 says, “And I will put an
end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new
moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed
feasts. 12 And I will lay waste her vines and
her fig trees, of which she said, ‘These are
my wages, which my lovers have given me.’ I
will make them a forest, and the beasts of
the field shall devour them.”
Now see how Colossians and Galatians
describe the same yearly cycle of worship in
the New Testament.
Colossians 2:16 says, “Therefore do not let
anyone judge you by what you eat or drink,
or with regard to a religious festival, a
New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”
(NIV)
Galatians 4:10-11 says, “You observe days and
months and seasons and years! I am afraid I
may have labored over you in vain.”
As you can see,
the Old Covenant tells us of
a system of “days, months, seasons and
years” just as do Colossians 2:16-17 and
Galatians 4:10-11. This sequence represented the entire cycle of
Jewish Holy days throughout each year. It
was a yearly cycle that pointed to the work
of the messiah and would only stop once the
true messiah came.
Sabbatarians say it
doesn’t include the weekly Sabbath but this
is false. It is the ongoing cycle from days
to months, feast to feast on through to the
Day of Atonement when the cycle starts all
over again.
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The Yearly, monthly, weekly, pattern in Colossians proves it was the weekly
Sabbath
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Yearly
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Monthly
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Weekly
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1 Chronicles 23:31
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feast days
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new moons
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Sabbath
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2 Chronicles 2:4
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appointed feasts
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new moons
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Sabbath
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2 Chronicles 8:13
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annual feasts
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new moons
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Sabbath
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2 Chronicles 31:3
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appointed feasts
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new moon
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Sabbath
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Nehemiah 10:33
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appointed feasts
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new moon
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Sabbath
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Isaiah 1:13-14
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appointed feasts
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new moons
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Sabbath
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Ezekiel 45:17
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appointed feasts
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new moons
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Sabbath
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Ezekiel 46:1-11
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appointed festivals
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new moons
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Sabbath
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Hosea 2:11
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appointed feasts
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new moons
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Sabbath
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Galatians 4:10-11
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seasons and years
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months
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days
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Colossians 2:16-17
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festivals
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new moon
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Sabbath
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(English Standard Version) |
References:
1. The MacArthur Study Bible:
Galatians 5:4.
2. The Disciple’s Study
Bible: Galatians 5:5.
3. See:
Sabbath-keeper Stumper Questions.
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