It is not my purpose in this post to teach that we must obey the law for salvation. This post is not about obedience to the law in order to be saved. Obeying the law will not save us. Only faith in Jesus Christ by the grace of God will save us. This post makes the point that people who obey the law in order to be saved are deceiving themselves. The article also teaches that once we are saved, we should do good works, and obeying the law is a good work, but ONLY after we are saved. Before we are saved all of our works, including obeying the law are as filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa 64:6). When I write of the law I mean what Jesus taught in Mat 22:37-40, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” We do not have to obey the ordinances that are a part of the old sacrificial system. Paul lists the laws that were nailed to the cross. They are, physical circumcision, the food laws (clean and unclean foods), the yearly festivals, the new moon (monthly) festivals, the yearly Sabbaths, the weekly Sabbaths, and the clean and unclean ordinances (touching dead bodies, the diseased, unclean people, or things, etc.). In other words, these are the liturgies of the old sacrificial system. But we still should honor our mother and father, not murder, not steal, not commit adultery, not lie, not covet, etc. We obey those things because we are saved and because we seek Spiritual maturity. Please read the entire article to get the correct understanding of this subject.
In this age of grace, many teach that it is perfectly acceptable to disregard the law because we are under grace and not under law. This is the doctrine of antinomianism1, or dismissal of the law. The word antinomianism comes from the Greek word, nomos, which means law and the Greek/Latin anti, against. Jesus made it abundantly clear that the law is still in force:
Matthew 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. {18} For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Paul also tells us that we should obey the law:
Romans 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”
Romans 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”
Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? {2} God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
We cannot be saved by obeying the law. Yet after salvation, we are to strive to obey and walk after the law because salvation by the Grace of God does not exempt us from striving to obey the law. Striving to obey the law is a good work that Christians do AFTER we become saved. However, it is impossible to for a human being to obey the law perfectly. If we disobey, or transgress the law, we sin. The wages of sin is death. Failure to keep the entire law results in a death sentence because the law condemns us if we do not keep the entire law. Yet it is impossible for mankind to keep the entire law. The Bible teaches that one sin or transgression causes us to break the entire law: James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” If we break or transgress one law, the entire law condemns us. One can see how impossible it is, then, to obey the law. Break one and you have broken them all. There are no exceptions. If you steal one paper clip from work, you have broken the eighth commandment, thus breaking the entire law. If you disobeyed your parents one time as a child, you broke the fifth commandment
In fact, let us discuss all ten of God’s commandments. If you put other things, like your job, your money, your family, etc., before God, you have made an idol of those things and have broken the first commandment. If you have your own idea of God that differs with the Bible, you have made God in your own image thus breaking the second commandment. If you have ever said “I swear to God that I will do so and so,” and you did not do so and so, you have taken God’s name in vain and broken the third commandment. If you do not attend regular fellowship with other Christians, you have broken the fourth commandment. If you have hated another in your heart, then Jesus said in the Bible that you have committed murder in your heart and you have broken the sixth commandment. If you have lusted after another person in your heart, besides your spouse, Jesus said you have committed adultery in your heart and your have broken the seventh commandment. If you have lied about another person or gossiped about him or her, you have broken the ninth commandment, which says, do not bear false witness. Have you ever strongly desired to have the possession of another such as a car, boat, house, clothes, his wife, etc.? If so, you have broken the tenth commandment, which says, do not covet.
Obeying the law is not a requirement for salvation. Nevertheless, the keeping of God’s commandments is a good work. Furthermore, Christians should strive to do good works. Thus obeying the law should not be a burden for Christians. In the old pharisaical system of hundreds of minute laws, obedience to them was a burden. It was such a burden that it was nearly impossible to live life. Keeping all those minutiae of laws was impossible. But a true Christian should have no thought at all about keeping the Ten Commandments. It is not a burden but a joy to keep them. Let us see how they are joyful.
Commandment 1. Exodus 20:2-3 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. {3} Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
God brought us out of bondage to sin. He is God and there is no other. If that is so, then we should put Him first and keep Him in that position. He is the Lord of our lives. We should rejoice in that and joyfully keep this Commandment.
Commandment 2. Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: {5} Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; {6} And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Just like we should serve no other gods and we should keep Him first in our lives, we should never worship or bow down to anything but God, including images. This includes statues, relics, memorabilia, paintings, shrouds, writings, holy sites, black rocks, crystals, cards, zodiacs, devices, insignia, rings, jewelry, etc. A born again Christian has no problem avoiding these things. He does so as a matter of course.
Commandment 3. Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Let us expound this commandment. Taking the Lord’s Name in vain is not limited to using his Name as a curse word, though that is taking His Name in vain. Anything we do in Jesus’ Name that returns to us empty is vanity. Vanity is emptiness. If we “swear to God” that something is true, it had better be. Otherwise we have taken His Name in vain. If we swear or take an oath in God’s Name and break that oath, we have taken His Name in vain. If we swear to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth “so help me God”, and lie, we have taken the Lord’s Name in vain. Uttering or writing the words “O my God!” or the initials OMG and its variations, unless you are praising Him, quoting scripture, preaching, teaching, or witnessing to the unsaved, is taking the Name of the LORD in vain. Saying or writing those words or initials as an expletive is taking His Name in vain.
Christians cheerfully live by the truth. We gladly try not to do those things mentioned here. We really do not wish to offend our loving Lord. Therefore we happily refuse to take God’s Name in vain. We enjoy pleasing God.
Commandment 4. Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: {10} But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: {11} For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Now the Sabbath days have been nailed to His cross and we are not required to observe the weekly (or any) Sabbath, that is, to worship on Saturday. But the desire of God is that we meet regularly in fellowship. In Hebrews chapter 10 (especially vss. 16-25), we are told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Since that days of the early church, Christians have been assembling regularly on the first day of the week for worship. Yes, Paul went to the synagogues on the Sabbath to preach the Gospel, but the habit of the church was to meet on Sunday (John 20:19, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2). Millions of true believers willingly, not grudgingly or burdensomely, meet for fellowship weekly on Sunday. Meeting regularly on a day other than Sunday is acceptable as well as long as it is regularly, but most worship on Sunday. Worship on Saturday, the Sabbath is OK as well as long as it does not become a requirement for salvation as it is in some denominations. Christians pleasurably meet for worship regularly.
Commandment 5. Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Even the unchurched do this willingly. There are exceptions, but society, as a rule, instills folks to honor their parents. Christians readily and without compunction, honor their parents. We do so merrily.
Commandment 6. Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. [murder]
Christians certainly do not wish to murder. It is no burden to not murder someone. It is, in fact, the opposite. It is a blessing to not murder someone.
Commandment 7. Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Christians do not wish to be adulterers. Yes some are, but they would very much prefer not to be. No Christian considers this law to be demanding. They find it refreshing not to commit adultery.
Commandment 8. Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
Christians do not consider this law to be demanding. No Christian wishes to be a thief.
Commandment 9. Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
This includes lying about a neighbor in a court of law, or lying about him in any other venue, to include gossip. The main way we bear false witness against our neighbor is to lie. This commandment is an indictment against deceit. The belt of truth is one of our defensive weapons against the fiery darts of the Evil One. The Gospel is truth. Without truth there is no hope or salvation. A Christian’s hope is based upon the truth of the Gospel. It is behooving of a Christian to be truthful. Christians should be joyously truthful. Being truthful is no inconvenience for a true Christian.
Commandment 10. Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Adam Clarke said, “Covet signifies to desire or long after, in order to enjoy as a property the person or thing coveted. He breaks this command who by any means endeavors to deprive a man of his house or farm by taking them over his head, as it is expressed in some countries; who lusts after his neighbor’s wife, and endeavors to ingratiate himself into her affections, and to lessen her husband in her esteem; and who endeavors to possess himself of the servants, cattle, etc., of another in any clandestine or unjustifiable manner.“2
I can hardly do better at explaining covetousness. Christians know that God provides their needs. Mature Christians pleasurably accept that fact. When it is accepted that God is our Provider, then it is not in the nature of a true Christian to practice covetousness. No Christian willingly covets. No Christian considers it any worry whatever to refrain from covetousness.
Jesus said that these Ten Commandments are summed up by two:
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Christians wish to follow their Lord Jesus. He commanded us to love God fully and then to love every other person as we love ourselves. Commandments one through four are about loving God and Commandments five through ten are about loving others. Christians cheerfully obey the commands of our Lord Jesus, therefore, obeying the Ten Commandments is not a burden at all to Christians.
The fact is there is no one that has kept all of these commandments all of his life. We are all transgressors of the law. Therefore, the law condemns all of us because “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {11} There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {12} They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12, Psalm 14:3, 53:3).
Without grace, we are all condemned. Consequently, we must have God’s grace to forgive us when we sin or transgress the law. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice at Calvary is the only way we can be saved. Our own works are all filthy rags, but our faith in Christ allows God to impute, or credit, His righteousness to our account.
Nevertheless, after salvation, even though we were saved by grace and not by law, we are still commanded to obey the law. A sin is still a sin, and a transgression is still a transgression and if we transgress the law, we sin. Sin is either transgression of the law or missing the mark or standard God has set for us. If we disobey the law, we are sinning. If we do not measure up to the standard God set for us we are sinners. That standard is perfection and Jesus Christ is our benchmark. If we do not measure up to His perfection, we are sinners. That makes us all sinners because none of us is perfect. Yet, though we are saved, and though we are still in our flesh, which still has the propensity for sin, we are still commanded not to sin. We must still strive for the sinless perfection of Christ though we will never attain it in this life. No, we are not yet perfect, and yes, we still sin, but that does not absolve us from seeking the perfection of Christ daily.
1 John 2:1 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”
The context of this verse is that John has been telling us how there is no sin in Jesus and that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He then goes on to say that Christ was a propitiation for all of our sins. Jesus told the crippled man He had healed and the woman taken in adultery to, “sin no more.” When we receive the gift of salvation, we are to stop sinning. Of course, as sinners in the flesh, we will fail and sin, but if we confess our failures to God, He will forgive us. The admonition to sin no more is Christ’s command to us. We are not to be antinomians. We are to strive not to sin and therefore we are to strive to keep the law.
However, there is an opposite of antinomianism3. It is just as insidious as antinomianism. It is called legalism. The Bible tells us about the Judaizers who taught that to be saved we must obey all of the laws including the food laws, circumcision, etc. in addition to belief in Christ. This is the opposite of antinomianism because it teaches the full obedience of the law as a prerequisite for salvation, which is completely opposed to the truth. That truth is that Jesus paid the price of our sins and no work we do, good or bad, can save us. The law condemns us because it is impossible for us to obey the law. Only through Christ’s work at Calvary can we receive salvation. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines Judaizers:
A party of Jewish Christians in the Early Church, who either held that circumcision and the observance of the Mosaic Law were necessary for salvation and in consequence wished to impose them on the Gentile converts, or who at least considered them as still obligatory on the Jewish Christians.4
Any teacher that teaches there is something else you must do in addition to your belief in Christ, is a false teacher. There are several web ministries that teach that you must do something else besides belief in Christ to be saved. I have visited sites that required that you abstain from certain things, like caffeine, in order to be saved. Some ministries teach that you must worship on Saturday or you do not have salvation. Some teach that you must not say the word Jesus; you should say Yeshua instead in order to possess salvation. Some teach that if you disobey the law written in Leviticus 18:19, you cannot be saved. Each of these sites, and there are many more, is wrong. Their teachings make the shed blood and broken body of Christ of no effect. Apparently, His work at Calvary was not quite enough and one must do something else in order to ensure salvation.
Paul spoke and wrote against this practice, saying it was unnecessary. He even got into a sharp disagreement over this very practice at the Jerusalem Council. There are laws that Christ fulfilled and are no longer in effect. Paul has given us a guideline that tells us which ordinances were fulfilled in Christ and do not apply to Christians. We are to keep the law with the exceptions Paul noted in Colossians.
Colossians 2:6 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:”
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus“…or, “Since you have believed, do the following.” Paul did not say that you should do these things to be saved. He makes the case that those that are already saved are to do these things after salvation.
To walk in Christ means to strive to obey Him to become like Him. We are to follow His teachings, one of which is that the law will not pass away until heaven and earth pass away at the end of this age. The Psalmist puts it succinctly: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful,” (Psalms 1:1). In other words, do not act like the ungodly, do not enter into agreement with the ungodly, and do not be unequally yoked with them.
Colossians 2:7 “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
We are to be rooted in Him, meaning that He is our foundation and we are not to forsake that foundation, which is the Gospel. We are to be established in our faith, that is, we are to be stable and unwavering in our faith as Jesus and the Apostles taught us. We are to be overflowing in our thanks to Jesus for His work and for our faith.
Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
This is a warning. BEWARE! Men who teach these things may sway us. Philosophy is defined as a system of beliefs. In this context it is a system of beliefs different from what the Gospel teaches. Vain deceit can also be expressed as ‘empty lies.’ These are lies with no basis for truth. They are delusions.
The traditions of men lay aside the commandments of God. They make them void. Which is better, to follow God or to follow men? The rudiments of the world are the principles and rules of the world, in other words, they are worldliness. These things, philosophy, vain deceit, the traditions of men, and the rudiments of the world, are not, I repeat NOT of Christ.
Colossians 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
If they are not after Christ, then they are not after God the Father, for the fullness of God is in Christ, that is, He is equal with God. Christ is Divine. Albert Barnes says, “the fullness of the divine nature became incarnate, and was indwelling in the body of the Redeemer.” Jesus was and is divine, even in His incarnate (flesh or human) body.
Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”
We are complete in Christ, Who is Divine. We need no one else, nor is there any one else, Who can save us and bring us to perfection. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords and we are His. He will protect us from all evil-even the evil of all the powers of hell and earth. Satan and his minions are powerless to take Christ away from us. Christ will protect us from all these things. As Paul said in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “
Paul explains how this in manifest in us:
Colossians 2:11 “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:”
We are circumcised but not in the flesh. Circumcision was the mark that proved the Israelites were God’s people. Our circumcision is of the heart. Our heart is tender and open to Christ. The old tough flesh that kept Christ out of our hearts has been cut away. This circumcision is of the Spirit. Men’s hands were not involved. We no longer need man’s circumcision, the circumcision carried out by Christ’s Spirit is enough. Physical circumcision may have medical soundness, but it does nothing for our salvation.
Colossians 2:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
In baptism, we become dead to our sins and our old life and become alive to righteousness and Christ. Water baptism is the outer acknowledgment of the inner actions of the Spirit. Spiritually, we are buried with Christ and have arisen to new life in Him. Our submission to water baptism signifies this to the world and it seals it in our minds.
Colossians 2:13 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”
Sinners are condemned to the lake of fire. The wages of sin is death. Without Christ, we were all dead in our sins and we were all uncircumcised, that is, not circumcised in our hearts. Some were physically circumcised but still spiritually uncircumcised. Nevertheless, having been saved by faith in Christ, He has quickened us, that is, He has given us life and life eternal. He has forgiven all of our sins and trespasses.
Colossians 2:14-15 “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; {15} And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
How has He quickened us? By forgiving our sins. Additionally, Christ fulfilled the religious ordinances. Those ordinances were encoded in the law, but when He died, Christ nailed all of those written ordinances to the cross. He took them all out of our way. We are no longer obligated to perform those ordinances. Paul lists them in the next few verses. He started by saying that we did not need circumcision performed by men’s hands, but we needed circumcision of the heart.
Christ also spoiled Satan’s power over us. By His death, burial, and resurrection, he triumphed over the power of Satan and that triumph is imputed to us upon our salvation.
Colossians 2:16 “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 food ordinances said we could only eat certain animals and foods. They are listed in the handwritten ordinance in the Law of Moses. Now Paul says that we should allow no man to tell us what we should eat or drink. We have the freedom in Christ to decide for ourselves what to eat. The food laws no longer bind us. They were nailed to the cross.
We are no longer bound to follow the holy days, that is the Old Testament festivals such as the Day of Atonement, the feast of Trumpets, etc. They were nailed to the cross. We are no longer obligated to observe the New Moon festivals. They were nailed to the cross.
We are no longer obligated to observe the Sabbath days. The Sabbath days refer to the weekly Sabbaths as well as those Sabbaths associated with the annual festivals. That means that Sunday worship in lieu of observing the Saturday Sabbath is acceptable. The Sabbath is a day of rest. We have our rest in Jesus Christ, Who is our Sabbath rest. Therefore we no longer need observe the Saturday Sabbath or the yearly Sabbaths. Refer to Hebrews Chapter 4.
In fact, the Holy Spirit Himself laid out these requirements for Gentile believers: they should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. The Spirit said if they do that they will do well.The Spirit inspired the Jerusalem Council to send a letter outlining these things to the Gentile churches. Please note that there is no mention of obeying any other laws (Acts 15:29–read the entire chapter 15)
Colossians 2:17 “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
These things were fulfilled in Christ, as we will see in the age to come. Hebrews tells us that the temple and its sacrificial system were only earthly approximations of the true temple in Heaven. The Body of Christ, the church, is where God dwells today. Since Christ has come, those shadows are no longer necessary.
He fulfilled the food laws by showing the difference between the sheep and goats, the wheat and tares, and the clean and unclean. The unclean foods represented sinners and the clean foods represented those saved by Christ.
Each holyday was a representation of Christ. Passover showed the death of Christ, the Lamb of God. Firstfruits showed His resurrection. Pentecost looked forward to His ascension and the harvest of sinners unto salvation, as did Jubilee. Trumpets showed the coming of the New covenant in Christ. The Feast of Unleavened Bread showed Christ’s forgiveness of sin. The Day of Atonement showed Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Tabernacles showed Christ dwelling among us.
The Sabbath Days, which included the weekly Sabbath, festival Sabbaths, and the Sabbath years, looked forward to gathering of the church to Christ as well as the coming of the New World Age when Christ will reign.
Colossians 2:18-19 “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, {19} And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.”
Do not be taken in by those who would trap you into the obedience of these things. Do not follow those who worship angels or those who are convinced that they know what is truth even though they have never understood what is true and what is not. These teachers do not follow the sound doctrine that Christ gave to His body, the church. Nourish yourselves on what the scripture says and not what these vain babblers say. Going to a church that teaches what the bible says is the way to accomplish this. We are nourished by the body of believers when we fellowship with each other.
Colossians 2:20 “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,”
Being dead with Christ we are raised with Him to new life, which is not the worldly life we left behind. It is new life in Christ in which we were saved by His blood. We, as Christians, are no longer subject to worldly desires, or worldly wisdom. We are subject to the Spirit and the things of God. In other words, we are no longer subject to worldly principles. If we are not subject to worldly principles then why should we be subject to those ordinances fulfilled in Christ? We should not be. We are not subject to them. If you are following these things, why are you? You are, quite frankly, wasting your time. Stop subjecting yourself to those ordinances that Christ nailed to His cross.
Colossians 2:21-22 “(Touch not; taste not; handle not; {22} Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?”
We are not subject to those ordinances that tell us what to eat, what to taste, and what to touch or not to touch. For example, people under the Old Covenant would become unclean if they touched a dead body or a person with a disease. Those ordinances were nailed to the cross; they died with Christ and were not resurrected. Thus, we are not subject to them. Since the law condemns us, then so do those ordinances. We will perish if we rely on those ordinances for our salvation
Colossians 2:23 “Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.”
Following those ordinances gives the appearance of wisdom. After all, they are very religious. Yet, this is only an appearance. Doing those things leads to death. Following those ordinances that were nailed to the cross is self-ordained worship that is opposed to God-ordained worship. He does not ordain the handwriting of ordinances against us because they were fulfilled in Christ. Subjecting yourself to such things shows false humility. There is no humility in trying to look humble when you are actually arrogant. The arrogance comes in presuming to know more than God by trying to continue in those things He said not to. They are of no value in preventing fleshly sins, thus, they are of zero value, period.
All of the blood sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ. Here is a quick list of those ordinances fulfilled in Christ that were nailed to the cross according to Paul in these verses:
Circumcision (which is a blood sacrifice)
Food laws
Yearly Festivals
New Moon (monthly) Festivals
Yearly Sabbath
Weekly Sabbath
Clean/unclean ordinances (touching dead bodies, the diseased, unclean persons or things, etc.)
These basically include all of the religious and temple ordinances involving the worship of God before Christ. They were all fulfilled in Christ and no longer need be practiced because Christ has negated the need for them. We, as Christians, are the true temple of God. His Spirit indwells each believer.
Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? He is going to return to the world soon. Are you ready? When He does if you do not know Him as your Savior, you will join all those who do not know Him in “Outer Darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mat 22:13-14).
Footnotes
- Antinomianism is from a Greek word meaning without law or lawless. It is a doctrine that asserts that Christians are under no obligation to obey the laws and precepts of God. This stems from the false belief that Christ has done away with the law, which He has not (Matthew 5:17-18).
- Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Whole Bible – note on verse seven of Exodus 20
- ref:1
- The Catholic Encyclopedia Copyright © 1907-1914 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
