Condemnation of Ritualistic Observances and Ascetic Severities
T. Croskery. Colossians 2:16, 17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:… The apostle draws a practical inference from the view he had just given of the work of Christ. "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day, or of a new moon, or of a sabbath day: which things are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's." I. THE PROHIBITION. It is twofold, respecting first the distinction of meats and drinks, and then the observance of times. 1. The distinction of meats and drinks. (1) This distinction was made in the Mosaic Law as to things clean and unclean. There was no prohibition as to drinks, except in regard to Nazarites and priests during their ministration (Leviticus 10:9; Numbers 6:3). It is probable that the Colossian errorists, like the Essenes, forbade wine and animal food altogether; for they imposed a rigorous asceticism upon their disciples. (2) The distinction is abolished by the gospel. (a) Our Lord hinted at the approaching abolition (Mark 7:14, 19). (b) There was a formal annulment of the distinction in Peter's vision (Acts 10:11, etc.), where the distinction between those within and those without the covenant was being done away. (c) The abolition is implied in Hebrews 9:10, where the rule as "to meats and drinks" is said to have been "imposed until the time of reformation." (d) It is also implied in the action of the Council of Jerusalem, and in the language of Peter respecting "the yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear" (Acts 15:10). (3) The attitude of Christians towards this distinction. "Let no man.., judge you in respect of" them. (a) Christians are not justified now in making such a distinction or in imposing it upon others. Thus the Roman Catholics are condemned for their distinction of meats: "Commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:3). It is not "that which teeth into the mouth that defileth the man" (Matthew 15:2, 11). (b) Christians in apostolic times had a liberty in these matters which they were to exercise for edification. (α ) It was allowable for a believer neither "to eat flesh" nor to drink wine "so long as the world standeth" (1 Corinthians 8:13). (β ) It was allowable in the transition state of the Church, while, it consisted of two diverse elements - Jews and Gentiles - for liberty to be exercised in these matters, with a due regard to the rights of conscience (Romans 14:2). (c) But we in our different circumstances must resist any attempt to impose upon us a distinction of meats. "Let no man.., judge you in meat, or in drink." It is not in man's power to make that a sin which God has not forbidden. "It is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment" (1 Corinthians 4:3). "Why dost thou judge thy brother?" (Romans 14:3, 10). Besides, we must remember the spiritual nature of Christianity: "The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17). We must "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made his people free" (Galatians 5:1). 2. The observance of times and seasons. "Or in respect of a feast day, or of a new moon, or of a sabbath day." The apostle said to the Galatians, "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years" (Galatians 4:10). (1) There was a provisional and temporary discretion allowed likewise in the matter of days. "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind" (Romans 14:5, 6). The apostle leaves the matter of days an open question. (2) Yet no man was to be taken to task for refusing to observe them. The times were entirely Jewish. (a) The "feast day" referred to the annual festivals, like Pentecost and Passover. (b) The "new moon" referred to the monthly festival. (c) The "sabbath day" referred to the Jewish sabbath, which was always observed on the Saturday. "But does the apostle not seem to strike at the obligation of maintaining the observance of one day in seven for the worship of God, and sunder the connection that exists between the Jewish sabbath and the Christian Sunday?" We answer that: (α ) The observance of the Lord's day never came into question in apostolic times. It was universally observed from the beginning both by Jews and Gentiles. It cannot, therefore, be affected by anything said as to "days" in Romans 14:1-6 or in this passage. (β ) The devotion of a seventh part of our time to God rests on considerations as old as creation, for the sabbath was made for man even before sin entered the world. (γ ) The sabbath of the Jews was typical, and therefore was abolished in Christ, and therefore, as well as for other reasons, the Lord's day, which took its place from the beginning of the gospel dispensation, was changed from the last to the first day of the week. The sabbath day was so long and so deeply associated with the stated feasts, the sabbatical year, and the jubilee year of Judaism, that it partook of their typical character, and thus passed away with the other institutions of Judaism. But this was not the original aspect of the sabbath, which had nothing in it typical of redemption, for it began while there was no sin and no need of salvation. Thus, just as baptism is the Lord's circumcision according to ver. 11, the Lord's day is the sabbath of Christian times. II. THE REASON FOR THE PROHIBITION "Which things are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's." They were useful as shadows before the Substance came, but after it they were useless. 1. The shadow. The word implies: (1) The dimness, the unsubstantiality of these Jewish ordinances or institutions. The light they projected forward into Christian times was obscure. (2) Their temporary nature. The shadow disappears when the substance is come. 2. The substance. "The body is Christ's;" that is, belongs to Christ. The reality is verified in Christ and the benefits of the new dispensation. The blessings they prefigured are to be realized by union with Christ. - T. C. Parallel Verses KJV: 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: WEB: Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,