In Him Ministries:

Seventh-day Adventism Refuted: The Book of Colossians and the Christian’s Record of Debt.       Our debt to God is far more immense than anyone can know. What you see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg! Whether we admit it or not, we all sin every day in thought and deed. First John 1:8-10 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” We have a debt to God that we can never repay. But that is not the end of the story, God intervened to save us from our debt to Him by sending His Son in human flesh to redeem us from the curse of the law. To redeem something was the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing of a debt. Colossians 2:13-17 says, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. 16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (ESV) “The Bible refers to sin by using a variety of Hebrew and Greek words because of the different meanings attached to each word. Sin appears in many forms, from deliberate wrongdoing and moral evil to accidental failure through weakness, laziness or ignorance (Exodus 32:30; Proverbs 28:13; Matthew 5:22,28; Romans 1:29-32; James 4:17). But the most common characteristic of all sin is that it is some kind of violation against God (Psalm 51:4; Romans 8:7). It is the breaking of God's moral precepts. It is lawlessness and rebellion against God's absolute holiness (Isaiah 1:2; 1 John 3:4). Literally it means, the 'missing of the mark', that 'mark' being the perfect standard of God’s will (Deuteronomy 9:18; Romans 3:23). It is unbelief because it rejects God’s revealed truth (Deuteronomy 9:23; Psalm 78:21-22; John 3:18-19; 8:24; 16:9). It is ungodliness which makes a person guilty before God (Psalm 1:5-6; Romans 1:18; James 2:10).” [1] Because we were all sold into slavery because of our sins, God took the initiative to buy back our freedom so we could be a peace with Him and have eternal life. There are many passages in the New Testament that refer to Christ's sufferings on our behalf as the ransom, or price paid for our redemption by His death. Christ secured, or purchased our redemption with His own blood on the cross (Acts 20:28; Romans 1:1; 3:24-25; 6:18-23; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14-17; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 5:9). What is our record of debt in the book of Colossians? In the Greco-Roman world, the “record of debt” (Greek: cheirographon) was a written note of indebtedness. The Mosaic Law put us in debt to God because of our sin, and because of that, we are all under the sentence of death (Romans 3:23; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10; Matthew 18:23-27; Romans 6:23). God in His mercy resolved this problem for everyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ by taking our note of indebtedness and nailing it to the cross (Ephesians 2:1-5; 5:14; Luke 15:32; John 5:21; 1 John 3:14; also: Luke 9:23; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:23; Isaiah 53:4; Ephesians 2:11-16; Hebrews 9:28; 12:2; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:2; Romans 4:25). Christ purchased our freedom from bondage to sin and death, and the Old Covenant law with His own blood (Galatians 3:13; 4:5). The Colossian Church had some false teachers who were insisting that believers had to bind themselves with the outward observances of Judaism, such as the Jewish dietary restrictions and Holy days. Sabbatarians argue that since Paul calls the Sabbath "a shadow of things to come" in Colossians 2:17, he could not be referring to the Seventh-day Sabbath of the Decalogue. Shadows are not solid or permanent, they only exist because some real object has cast the shadow. The Old Covenant ceremonies were merely shadows of something else, Christ is the substance (Hebrews 8-10). Now that He has come, the Old Covenant ceremonies have no further use (Colossians 2:16-17; Romans 14:5-12; Hebrews 8:5-13; 10:1). We are warned not to judge anyone over those issues. The phrase "a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day" refers to the annual, monthly, and weekly holy days of the Jewish calendar (1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 31:3; Ezekiel 45:17; Hosea 2:11). The weekly Seventh-day Sabbath is clearly meant because Paul had already mentioned the ceremonial festivals and new moons and would have no reason to repeat himself. The Jerusalem Council: The Mosaic Covenant and the covenant sign of circumcision were discussed in Acts 15 and deemed unnecessary (Acts 15:1-5; 15:28-29). The Apostles said that forcing the Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Covenant would be like placing a yoke of bondage around their necks (Acts 15:10; Galatians 5:1). Sabbath-keeping was not discussed because it was not a requirement for Christians who live under the New Covenant. The New Covenant made the Law of Moses obsolete. In Romans 10:4, Paul tells us that Christ is the end of the Law. Galatians 3:17 says the law came 430 years after the promise was made with Abraham, and that it was added to the Abrahamic Covenant of circumcision. John 1:17 says, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." It is wrong when people say the laws of God can never change. The Old Covenant law was only meant to last until the "seed should come." In Christ, the seed has come (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16). According to the Book of Hebrews, the law had to change before Christ could establish a new priesthood (Hebrews 7:18-22). The law that had to change and come to an end was the law of commandments, written on stone tablets (2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Romans 7:1-8 ). Each covenant had its own legal code. The New Covenant is clear, Christians are not under any of the laws of the Mosaic Covenant (Acts 15:1-28; Romans 6:14-15; 7:1-6; 2 Corinthians 3:4-18; Galatians 3:15-4:7). The only laws Christians are required to keep are the laws given in the New Covenant, not a mixture of laws from both the Old and New Covenants. Everyone owes God an unplayable debt for violating His laws, the record of debt that stands against us (Romans 2:14-15; 6:23; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10; Matthew 18:23-27). Christ died in our place to pay off our record of debt so that our sins could be forgiven and we could have peace with God. All you have to do to have eternal life is accept Christ's offer of forgiveness to be reconciled to God. If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there is no better time than the present. (For further study: "Food and Drink" Leviticus 11; Romans 14:3, 10, 13, 17; Hebrews 9:10; "Feasts and Festivals" Leviticus 23:2; Deuteronomy 16:1-17; Nehemiah 8:9; Psalms 42:4; "New moon celebrations" Numbers 28:11; “Sabbath days” Leviticus 23; Exodus 20:9; 31:17; Romans 14:1-12; Galatians 1:6-9; 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Ephesians 2:11-16; Hebrews 4:1-12).   References: 1. See: The AMG Concise Bible Dictionary: Sin. “Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible" "Used by permission. All rights reserved.” ESV Text Edition: 2016 Seventh-day Adventist Resource Page Links to Helpful Websites, Books and Videos on the SDAs The Seventh-day Adventist Church: (Beliefs and Errors) Learn more about our beliefs Read more Local Ministries Available Serving Denver, Colorado and the Front Range.