Colossians 2.16-The Mosaic Law Does Not Apply to the Christian
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 24, 2016
Colossians: Colossians 2:16-The Mosaic Law Does Not Apply to the Christian
Lesson # 57
Colossians 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. (NASB95)
This verse is the direct result of an inference from Paul’s teaching in Colossians 2:9-15, which communicates the various reasons as to why the faithful Christians in Colossae must continue to obey the command he issues them in Colossians 2:8.
“No one” is the indefinite pronoun tis (τις), which refers to those men in the area of Colossae who were teaching false doctrine and Paul’s teaching in Colossians 2:8-23 would indicate that they were the Judaizers and specifically the Essene branch of Judaism.
“Is to act as your judge” is composed of the following: (1) negative particle me (μή) (me), “no” (2) verb krinō (κρίνω), “is to act as judge.”
The verb krinō means, “to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong,” and by implication, “to pass judgment upon someone or something as evil or wrong after weighing the evidence and without reservation,” hence, “to condemn.”
It refers to declaring these faithful Christians in Colossae as “reprehensible, wrong or evil” based upon the fact that they do not observe the various prohibitions and commands prescribed in the Mosaic Law.
Here the word’s meaning is negated by the negative particle me which denies the idea expressed by the word it is modifying.
These two words have the force of a general precept which really makes no comment about whether the action is going on or not.
However, the present imperative form of the verb krinō is a customary present imperative whose force is for these faithful Christians in Colossae to simply continue making it their habit of not permitting the Judaizers to condemn them as guilty and evil by means of the misapplication of the Mosaic Law.
The present imperative is a command for action to be continued, action that may or may not have already been going on.
It is often a character building command to the effect of “make this your habit,” “train yourself in this, discipline yourself.”
This is the use of the present imperative in general precepts.
The present imperative of krinō means, “continue to make it your habit of” not permitting the Judaizers to condemn them as guilty and evil in relation to the misapplication of the Mosaic Law.
The present imperative of the verb is not an ingressive-progressive imperative implying that these faithful Christians in Colossae were not doing this and Paul wanted them to begin again to do this since this epistle clearly implies that they were already doing this.
It does not contain the idea of a cessation of an activity already in progress.
If you recall, in Colossians 1:3-5, the apostle Paul informed these faithful Christians in Colossae that he gave thanks to the Father in prayer for them after hearing about their faith in Jesus Christ and that they were practicing the love of God with one another.
Then, in Colossians 2:5, he asserts that he was rejoicing over the fact that they were disciplined and specifically their dedication which was produced by their faith with regards to their union and identification with Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:16 Therefore, continue making it your habit of not letting anyone condemn any of you as guilty because of food or because of drink or because of a particular feast or new moon or a Sabbath. (Author’s translation)
The prohibition Paul issues the faithful Christians in Colossae is the direct result of an inference from his teaching in Colossians 2:9-15, which communicates the various reasons as to why the faithful Christians in Colossae must continue to obey the command he issues them in Colossians 2:8.
Now, here in Colossians 2:16, Paul orders the Colossians continue to make it their habit of not letting anyone of the Judaizers condemn any of them as guilty because of food or drink or because of a particular feast or a new moon or Sabbath.
The reference to food and drink is a reference to the dietary regulations of the Mosaic Law.
The reference to feasts is speaking of the seven great feasts the Lord prescribed in the Mosaic Law for Israel to observe, which were Passover, Unleavened Bread, First-Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles.
The reference to the new moon is speaking of the monthly Jewish celebration held in connection with their lunar calendar.
The new moon designated the beginning of a new month of the Jewish calendar.
Israel was told in Numbers 28:11 to offer sacrifices on the first of the month of worship, faith and gratefulness to the Lord.
The Sabbath reference is of course speaking of the seventh day of the Jewish week which served as a ceremonial day of rest in Israel which today in our culture would be Saturday.
This day began at sundown on Friday and ended at sunset on Saturday.
Everything that Paul mentioned here in Colossians 2:16 is related to the Mosaic Law.
Therefore, in Colossians 2:16 Paul is commanding the Colossians to continue to make it their habit of not letting any of the Judaizers condemn them as guilty before God because they did not observe the various prohibitions and commands prescribed in the Mosaic Law.
When he speaks of the Judaizers condemning the Colossians as guilty because they do not observe these various things in the Mosaic Law, he is referring the Judaizers making them feel guilty before God because of not observing these things in the Law.
Paul could not keep the Judaizers from condemning these faithful Christians in Colossae but he could keep the Colossians from feeling guilty because of the Judaizers seeking to impose the Mosaic Law on them.
What Paul is addressing is the legalism of the Judaizers.
Legalism refers to someone seeking to impose rules and regulations upon a Christian which are the result of misinterpretation and misapplication of the Bible.
The Judaizers were misinterpreting the Mosaic Law and misapplying it to both the Jewish and Gentile Christian.
This prohibition in Colossians 2:16 and the one in Colossians 2:8 seek to address this problem with the Judaizers in Colossae.
Satan and his kingdom were behind this legalism since Paul teaches in Colossians 2:8 that the teaching of the Judaizers was promoted by the cosmic system of Satan.
Now, we must compare this prohibition in Colossians 2:16 with his statements in Colossians 2:9-15 which the present the reasons why the faithful Christians in Colosse must continue to obey his command in Colossians 2:8 since this prohibition is an inference from Paul’s statements in Colossians 2:9-15.
Therefore, Paul wants the Colossians to continue to make it their habit of obeying this prohibition because the teaching of the Judaizers’ originated with men and Satan which stands in stark contrast to Paul’s gospel which is the teaching of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God.
Thus, they should obey his prohibition in Colossians 2:16 because his gospel originates with Jesus Christ who is God and the Judaizers’ teaching does not.
Also, the Colossians must obey his prohibition in Colossians 2:16 because they were identified with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection through the baptism of the Spirit as a result of being declared justified by the Father through their faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
They should also obey the prohibition because the sins of the Jewish Christian which they committed prior to their conversion to Christianity were forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross eradicated the condemnation the Jewish Christian was under prior to their conversion because of not keeping the 613 commands of the Mosaic Law perfectly.
The implication is that the Colossians must obey Paul’s prohibition in Colossians 2:16 and reject the teaching of the Judaizers because keeping the Law never solved their problem with sin and the condemnation from the Law but Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross did.
Lastly, the Colossians must obey Paul’s prohibition in Colossians 2:16 because the Father defeated Satan and his kingdom through His Son Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
If you recall, Colossians 2:8 teaches that the teaching of the Judaizers originates with the cosmic system of Satan.
Therefore, the Colossians must obey Paul’s prohibition in Colossians 2:16 because the Father defeated Satan and his fellow fallen angels through His Son Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and the Judaizers’ teaching originates with Satan’s kingdom.
In Romans 7:1-6, Paul taught the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome that Jewish Christians are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law because they are identified with Christ in His death on the cross and thus Gentile Christians are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law as well.