Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 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: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. – Colossians 2:14-17
Many use this text to try and prove that the moral law was nailed to the cross.
Some Christians sincerely believe that the whole law, including the Sabbath, came to an end with Jesus’ death.
Is there danger in this belief? “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19
Which of these two are you?Note: Just because you are called “the least in the kingdom of heaven” doesn’t mean you will be in heaven!
When in doubt we should ask, “what did Jesus do?”
Please pray for guidance from God to understand this study.
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:12-15
Should we do away with the Old Testament? “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Jesus quoted from the Old Testament often: “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Deuteronomy 8:3
These people that believe the whole law (including God’s 10 Commandments) were nailed to the cross always point to the widely misunderstood verses in Colossians 2 as evidence: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; … 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: Which are a shadow of things to come” (verses 14, 16, 17).
Hebrews 9 speaks of the ‘shadows’ which were imposed only till the time of reformation – Till Christ came.
“Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.”Hebrews 9:10
Grouping the moral law and the ceremonial law together is not God’s intention. Getting rid of the moral law is a reckless and dangerous thing to do. The first four commandments define our responsibility to our Creator. The last six are the foundation of all human civil law. If the moral law were rescinded, there would be no safe place on earth for anyone.
Speaking of the moral law Paul says, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Romans 2:13). He also adds, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (7:12).
So what do the verses in Colossians mean? There are two primary laws taught in Scripture: the moral law of the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial law contained in ordinances. One was written by God’s finger on stone and the other by the hand of Moses on parchment.
Notice how Deuteronomy 4 distinguishes between the two:
Moral Law: “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone” (Deuteronomy 4:13).
Ceremonial Law: “And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it” (Deuteronomy 4:14).
Colossians 2:14 tells us that the law that was nailed to the cross was the “handwriting of ordinances,” not the finger writing. And which law was that? “They will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses” (2 Chronicles 33:8, emphasis added).There is a clear distinction that the laws are separate!
The law nailed to the cross in Colossians 2 was written on paper and “against us.” (Plus, it is very difficult to nail stone tablets to anything.)
“Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee” (Deuteronomy 31:26, emphasis added).
The Ten Commandment law, written by the finger of God on tablets of stone, was inside the ark; the ceremonial law, written by the hand of Moses, was placed in a pocket on the side of the ark.
So we can see that Colossians 2 is speaking of the ceremonial laws and annual sabbaths (feasts) that were nailed to the cross. That’s why when Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn (Matthew 27:51).
Annual sabbaths (feast days) are not the weekly Sabbath of the (4th Commandment)
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.” Hebrews 10:1
Sadly, most of the Jewish nation was so engrossed in types and shadows that they failed to see the fulfillment of those Messianic symbols in Jesus. Even the Christian church had a hard time separating the shadow and the reality.
Some Jewish Christians required all the Gentile converts to observe all the Jewish ceremonies that pointed to the Messiah. Somehow they didn’t yet see the big picture-that the coming of the Messiah had done away with the need for those types and shadows. This is why the Apostle Paul exhorts the Colossian Christians to not allow anyone to judge them in respect of the sabbath days (annual feasts), “which are a shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:17).
” He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” 1 John 2:6
An inspired writer wrote:
Those who follow Christ will deny self, take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience to all His commandments. No soldier can be said to follow his commander unless he obeys orders. Christ is our model. To copy Jesus, full of love and tenderness and compassion, will require that we draw near to Him daily. O how God has been dishonored by His professed representatives (Letter 31a, 1894)! {7BC 949.3}
#1 by Ramone Romero on July 23, 2010 - 12:07 AM
Hi Darrell,
Thanks for your comment on my “Why I Left Adventism” post. I added a reply to your comment way down at the bottom below yours: http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com/2006/08/why-i-left-adventism.html
But I’ll paste it here, too:
*****
Friend, I don’t think you know where I’m coming from, but God bless you anyway!
Rather than answer your comments (texts, prooftexts, SDA arguments, etc.), I thought I’d post up two notes I’d put on Facebook and have just now moved to this blog…
About “commandments”, especially in Revelation: Identifying the ‘True’ Church
http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com/2010/07/identifying-true-church.html
And about trying to change one’s motivation to do the law “out of love”, etc.: What’s Wrong With Legalism?
http://fulfilledinjesus.blogspot.com/2010/07/whats-wrong-with-legalism.html
#2 by Darrell on July 24, 2010 - 8:44 PM
Ramone, I think you are missing the mark my friend. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
Listen to the audio message near the bottom of this post. http://www.darrellbaudoin.com/law-grace/
#3 by Ramone Romero on July 24, 2010 - 11:04 PM
Hi Darrell,
I moved your last comment to another blog and replied to it here: http://formeradventistjapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/whats-wrong-with-legalism.html
About “commandments”, read the earlier link: http://formeradventistjapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/identifying-true-church.html …in the books of John, “commands” is immediately linked in context to “Love one another as I have loved you.” There is nothing about holy days, food or drink there, because they were shadows of Christ. But you’re using Christ’s command to judge other Christians because they don’t keep the same holy day you do. If you stop twisting Christ’s words, then you’ll stop fitting the description of the people Paul was talking about.
Moreover, are you interested in getting to know the Christians you’re trying to convert? Do you want to love them and know who they are? Will you care about them and love them whether they convert or not? Or is your primary interest in getting them to convert? Are you thus loving as Christ loved you?
Ramone Romero´s last [type] ..Tatami Gallery – 54
#4 by Darrell on July 25, 2010 - 12:09 AM
I understand the point you are trying to make. Do you realize that it was actually Jesus’ own finger that wrote the 10 Commandments on those tablets, with the Father’s guidance I’m sure. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made John 1:3. Please understand that I’m not trying to make anyone keep anything Ramone. I’m only pointing out a mistake that people are making. Satan is blinding the eyes of many people now more than ever because he knows his time is getting short.
You are my Christian brother. We are told that we are to be our brother’s keeper. The Bible says “Judge not lest you be judged”, Jesus says this in Matthew, then He goes on to say, “If you judge, judge a righteous judgment”, John 7:24 and so there it seems like He’s telling us it’s okay to judge but if you’re going to do it, do a righteous judgment. And the word ‘judge’ here, when He says, ‘judge not’, it means ‘do not condemn’.
Do we show God how much we love Him by NOT doing what He says? A true Christian knows that we cannot be saved by keeping the law.
“By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” Romans 3:20. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9.
No one can be saved by keeping the law. Salvation comes only through grace, as a free gift from Jesus Christ, and we receive this gift by faith, not by works. The law serves only as a mirror to point out sin in our lives. Cleansing and forgiveness from that sin come only through Christ.
Contrary to popular belief, in the Old Testament days salvation came only by faith through grace, as a free gift from Jesus Christ who was yet to come. Not by keeping the law as many believe. Every service performed, every animal sacrificed, every drop of blood sprinkled in the tabernacle, every special meat or drink offering taken was a means of pointing out the true Messiah to come. These things were the shadows of the cross; all pointing the way to Christ.
Do you see, the animal and the special feast days were mere shadows of the true Messiah, mere figures of the true Saviour, the only Saviour.
Jesus’ death on the cross then became a fulfillment of every animal slain from Eden to the cross.
My own “born again” experience started before I even knew what was happening. The “change” that took place within myself was something that I didn’t have to “try” to do. It was a gradual change. I began to like some things I never liked, and began to dislike other things I used to like.
At our former Churches I noticed many people that sang worship songs, danced in the isles, held their hands in the air worshiping God (putting on church faces) weren’t living godly lives. I didn’t mention this to anyone. Many were rude, many were living in adultery, lying, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there were also devoted Christians there also.
This fake christianity began to bother and really scare me. Something just wasn’t right. The Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart. The time is coming when many good Christians will be deceived. We don’t need all truth to be saved, all we need is Christ. But, my prayer was to learn the biblical wisdom & truth no matter the cost, as to not be tricked by satan and his imps. The Holy Spirit began working in my studies.
I eventually quit going to Church and just studied at home. At that time, I wasn’t part of the SDA Church. I began to study the Book of Revelation in depth and was curious about why the dragon would be so angry with the woman “Church” which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. One thing I did notice when I began going to the small SDA Church here, was that they don’t just preach God’s Word, they actually live it.
We don’t keep His commandments to be saved, we obey because we are saved. He is first place in our lives. Our love for God is even before our love for family, friends, and neighbors. However, they run a close 2nd.
Revelation 12:17
Revelation 14:12
Revelation 22:14
I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10
Please listen to the first audio message concerning this important subject above. It’s called Justification and the Law and is explained in detail.
As for Jesus’ two “new” commands you speak of I have a post concerning that here.
If you’d like to talk about this in a more private setting, contact me here.
In Christ,
Darrell B
#5 by Ramone Romero on July 25, 2010 - 12:08 PM
Hi Darrell,
Haha, actually, I’ve noticed the exact opposite as you. I was born and raised in the SDA church not far from the General Conference headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. I attended one of the largest Adventist churches on the east coast of America, something of a flagship church in the seat of the nation’s capitol. And yet I’ve seen countless affairs, lying, cheating, divorces, fighting, etc. etc. In contrast the “lifestyle” of Christians I’ve met in mainstream Christianity has been much, much better and more pure than in Adventism. With the added bonus that the Christians were a lot more happy and had a lot less pressure. Being under grace instead of law was teaching them not to sin day to day, in addition to saving them for eternity.
Of course, to be fair, I think there are going to be immoral and fake folks just about anywhere. What I’ve noticed, though, is that the stricter people bring out the law, the more people go into hiding. Having gone through years of Adventist schooling, well, *lol*, where do I begin to say all the stuff that went on at “academy”? In my graduating year, the fad that seemed to sweep the school was “sex” (school staff even discovered condoms in an igloo someone made after a blizzard in 1996). The previous year’s fad seemed to have been alcohol. And before that, drugs. Before that, smoking. And on and on and on, etc. At my previous academy, I knew of teachers who were cheating on their spouses (some of which were pastors). One of the surprising things that many former Adventists have found is that after they leave Adventism and go into Christian churches, they are often surprised by the integrity and honesty of the people they meet in Christian churches and schools. (They’re also surprised at the higher standard of academics that are demanded of their kids, even at public schools.)
But personal anecdotes aside, the lawbreaking in SDA is actually somewhat systematic. A pastor/professor at my old SDA university once told us how he had discovered a certain SDA high school teacher had been sleeping with a female student, pressuring her and just basically messing her up in every way. The pastor reported it to the school principle and the conference …and they moved the teacher to another SDA school in another state or location! Years later the pastor found out that the teacher had molested students at his second school, and had been moved from that one still to another school, and then another school, etc. Finally the police caught up with him and he was jailed.
What’s disturbing is that the pastor/professor who told this to the whole class was talking about the way the SDA system basically works, and he said it all with a smile on his face as if these kinds of kinks in the system were an irony we could just chuckle about. The pastor/professor is a well-known name in Adventist intelligensia.
Aside from that horror-anecdote, the systematized lawbreaking in SDA is also apparent from the practice of abortions at SDA hospitals. My ex-SDA Catholic friend Teresa mentioned that briefly here: http://arthurandteresabeem.blogspot.com/2010/07/remnant-who-keep-commandments.html and more extensively here: http://arthurandteresabeem.blogspot.com/2009/05/ten-commandments-and-abortion.html
This is a long way of saying that, sorry, SDA just doesn’t look any more righteous than any other church out there. If anything, less.
Consider the financial scandals that rocked SDA years ago.
Consider the problems with EGW’s plagiarism (she almost got sued by the authors of “Life of Paul” because she nearly plagiarized the whole book… no, it was *not* okay even back then!).
Consider that the White Estate air-brushed a picture of Ellen White to remove a pearl necklace from around her neck! (LOL)
Okay, I had better digress and go to bed.
I’ve already written about how “commandments” in John’s writings always refer to “love one another as I have loved you”, and are spelled out in detail in 1st John 3:23. I don’t know if you read the note I linked to earlier, but it hits on everything you just mentioned from Revelation: http://formeradventistjapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/identifying-true-church.html The “issue” at the end is not an obscure commandment from the Law of Moses. It’s simply Christ and His love. Displaying His grace was enough to get the religious authorities to call for His crucifixion. In the end it is the same: who Christ is and the radicalness of His call to love each other with His love will be enough to make the people of those days flaming angry, angry enough to persecute people filled with Christ and His love.
On a completely separate note, but yet connected to your original note above, here’s “Sabbath in Colossians 2″ for your reading enjoyment: http://formeradventistjapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/sabbath-in-colossians-2.html
Bless you in Jesus,
Ramone
Ramone Romero´s last [type] ..Tatami Gallery – 54
#6 by Ramone Romero on July 25, 2010 - 12:11 PM
P.S. Your application of the two great commands to the Ten Commandments is addressed in notes #6-7 on the “Sabbath in Colossians 2″ page: http://formeradventistjapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/sabbath-in-colossians-2.html
Ramone Romero´s last [type] ..Tatami Gallery – 54
#7 by Darrell on July 25, 2010 - 4:54 PM
Ramone,
The Holy Spirit will never contradict God’s Word. God’s Word is forever. Still many will follow their feelings, even though those feelings don’t agree with the Bible.
“He that trusts in his own heart is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26)
I believe God’s Ten Commandments are:
1. Eternal, meaning they will not change or be erased. “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever” (Psalm 89:34).
2. They are perfect as they are. “The law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19). If they were perfect, would their function or purpose need to change?
3. We’ll die if we break them. “He poured out his life unto death … [bearing] the sin of many.” (Isaiah 13:9). Satan was first to convince a human otherwise.
4. It is our job to obey them. “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
5. Breaking them is still wrong. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).
6. Humanity still needs them. “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law said, Thou shall not covet” (Romans 7:7).
7. Obeying them is still a sign of loyalty. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
8. They are still eternal. “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17). Jesus exalted them! God established the law with His own voice; might it need Jesus’ voice to do away with them? Yet He never does, before or after His death!
9. They are still perfect. “Think not that I come to destroy the law … but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17, 18). Jesus did not change any part of them, even if many people think He did. They are written in our hearts.
I believe Christians are a reflection of Christ and should follow the moral law just as Jesus followed them. This isn’t a burden, but a blessing. This world would be a totally different place if even only Christians obeyed.
Think about this, if we break a 10 Commandment we automatically break the greater commandments! (If you break the law that forbids lying, you have broken both of the greatest commandments. How? By lying, you cheat another human being. And you also show you have little faith that God can handle your crisis with truth.)
In this post, Two New Commandments, I speak about Jesus’ Two Greater Commandments and the 10 Commandments are really one in the same. What Jesus really did was hang more details onto the 10 Commandments.
You can find this in Deuteronomy 5:6 where the Ten Commandments are repeated. In the very next chapter, Deuteronomy 6:5 is the Scripture Jesus quoted as a NEW Command. The other passage that Jesus quoted is from Leviticus 19:18 “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”
This may not apply to you, but many Christians avoid the 10 Commandments & hide their disobedience behind these two great commandments. Men and women on their own define what it really means to commit adultery, what it really means to steal, what it really means to bear false witness, what it really means to honor the Sabbath, and what it really means to murder. Without the 10 specific Commandments, it is much easier for “God’s people” to do terrible things in His name.
Euthanasia, legalizing illegal drugs, homosexual marriage, and abortion are the results of people who have lost sight of God’s eternal principles. By doing away with the 10 Commandments the world has lost site of the standards of right and wrong. Because they rely on their feelings, and not God’s written law, to ensure morality.
God wrote His Commandments, which are called eternal, for a reason: that there would be no doubt in our minds and hearts what it meant to obey Him.
I left the Assemblies of God Church, as well as a non-denominational Church, and the Catholic Church because they were deviating from the Bible and teaching “traditions of men”. I will not hesitate to leave any Church and continue to study at home if I find the teaching of traditions instead of the plain teaching of the Bible.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that there will be people of EVERY Christian denomination within the Kingdom as well as on the outside. Every person will be judged on the basis of revealed truth, and how he obeyed what he knew. I also believe that the more Biblical truth one has, the more he is held accountable to follow that truth. We are also accountable to seek that knowledge and truth.
God loves us and has mercy. I am aware of my sinful condition, but I’m sure that He is willing to forgive and that He will complete His work in me (Philippians 1:6). But I also believe He has a big problem with those who willfully break His Commandments and pick and choose the details they will follow. Can God allow someone into heaven who continues to recklessly defy Him? The Holy Spirit tries to work in everyone’s life, but if we keep pushing Him away during our whole lifetime, will result in committing the unpardonable sin. I think God would never want us to just say that we love Him so much that we won’t worry about keeping His eternal Commandments.
The Jews had the laws posted everywhere except in their hearts. If all Christians obeyed the 10 Commandments by their actions, it wouldn’t matter what the rest of the world did, because even unbelievers would be touched dramatically.
People mistakenly believe that God’s grace is a license to sin. Jesus said, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. Not what we say, but what we do will be the final test. I think they believe that the standard was lowered after Jesus came, but the standard is actually higher.
Every Christian may soon have to choose between God’s law (The Big Ten) and man’s law (A National Sunday Law). Even if this Sunday law is passed worldwide in the name of God, it will be in conflict with the same Commandments that we are talking about now. There’s not that many differences in the many Churches now except for small disagreements in doctrine.
That will change if the National Sunday law is ever forced. Christian leaders, TV evangelists, politicians, etc. are among the people focusing on this idea. In my opinion this won’t be an issue until after a major catastrophe happens worldwide. This will in turn cause the majority to turn to God and worship. That’s the kind of issues the Holy Spirit is opening to me.
I wonder how God would feel, if the same people who hate His Holy day and change the other 9 to fit their needs, follow this new man made law. They may even try and combine the many different Christian denominations to a “one size fits all”. They will say ” as long as we all have love towards one another. The government has no business in religious matters, that’s why this Country of the United States exists today.
I will always be afraid to stand with the majority. Remember this my friend, in religious matters, the majority was (usually) always wrong. So as it was in the day of Noah. So as it was in the days of Lot. So as it was in the day of Jesus. God’s people are promised that He will bring us through the times ahead. We can be sure that many of us will be treated like Jesus and His disciples.
“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth into life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14)
The plain truth is that more people won’t make it than will make it. It’s in the Bible. Many will be some of our own family and friends. I believe there will be many tears shed before God wipes them all away.
Either way, the wheat and the tares must grow together until the last day. It’s not our job to pull the tares out, Jesus will separate them.
The rest of the world is getting bad and America is no better. I’ve heard this said, “If God doesn’t judge America, He will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”
In Christ,
Darrell B