Colossians 2:16: "Being Judged by Man"
"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 meaning of this verse is: "since you have thus been delivered by Christ from the evils which surrounded you: since you have been freed from the observances of the law, let no one sit in judgment on you, or claim the right to decide for you in "Christian" matters. You are not responsible to man for your conduct, but to Christ; and no man has a right to impose that on you as a burden from which Christ has made you free of."
Paul warned the church not to allow any man to sit in judgmnt of them requiring them to observe the rituals of the Mosaic Law. He warned them not to become entangled again with doctrines of men, and not to become burdened down again by what men singularly or represdenting any religious group or dogma may say about the way they now worshipped God and followed Jesus Christ. Christ made you free from the Law, that is you are saved by grace and not by observing the Law. Paul reminded that they were now accountable to Christ and not to the Judaizers or any other Gnostic group.. Paul remind them that Christ is the Lord of and over their lives. They were not accountable to any religious sect that claimed to be representatives of God under any circumstances. The church's responsibility is to Jesus Christ and the adherence to the Holy Bible, not to the adherence to any man made teachings. Paul warned against the new converts allowing any of these "haters" to impose an ordinance, neither be responsible to man for their personal conduct. Paul’s warning pertaining to what they should observe or not to observe covered these following issues:
I. Don't allow the Judaizers to chastise you about what you eat or drank. The Mosaic Law teachers claimed that the Law given by Moses the Israelites in times past were just as binding now and was irreversible. The Judaizers claimed the church was obligated not to eat anything deemed unclean by the Law. Paul explained to the church that the observance of avoiding unclean meats and drinks was a “foreshadow” of things to come through Jesus Christ. Since Jesus came, fulfilling the Law, observance was no longer necessary because we are saved by Grace. It was also because God had promised to do a “new thing” and forming the church was an integral part of God’s plan. It is God that determines what is clean and what is unclean.
II. Don't let the false teachers decide for you what days are considered “holy” or how these days were to be celebrated. Because they were Christians and not Jews, the "church" and not "an extention of or another temple", the Judaizers had no right to impose the celebration of any Jewish festival or holiday on them. Neither did they have the right to condemn the church if they didn’t observe them. The reason this is so is because Jesus himself did away with these observances when he died on the cross at Calvary, thus fulfilling the Law.
III. Don't allow the Jews to impose the celebration of the festival of the “New Moon upon you.” According to the observance of this festival, any Hebrew who observed this festival had to offer up to God 2 bullocks, a ram, and 7 sheep, as a meat offering. This offering was to be given in addition to their daily offering they routinely made to God. Christ also did away with this festival on the cross, so there was no longer any moral obligation for anyone who followed Jesus Christ to observe this festival anymore.
IV. Don't allow them to impose “Sabbath” day rituals upon you. This was not to say that the Sabbath day was not holy anymore, because before the fall of man God rested on this day, blessed it and hallowed it. Since the fall of man however, God has not rested in his quest to redeem man from the penalty, power and presence of Sin. Paul was not in any way denouncing the significance of the observing “holy” days as such, but at the same time he reiterated that the Law was a “foreshadow” of better things to come through Jesus Christ. So to hold someone to a charge of keeping “strict adherence to a Sabbath or a holy day would plunge the church back into living under the Law rather than under grace.
"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 meaning of this verse is: "since you have thus been delivered by Christ from the evils which surrounded you: since you have been freed from the observances of the law, let no one sit in judgment on you, or claim the right to decide for you in "Christian" matters. You are not responsible to man for your conduct, but to Christ; and no man has a right to impose that on you as a burden from which Christ has made you free of."
Paul warned the church not to allow any man to sit in judgmnt of them requiring them to observe the rituals of the Mosaic Law. He warned them not to become entangled again with doctrines of men, and not to become burdened down again by what men singularly or represdenting any religious group or dogma may say about the way they now worshipped God and followed Jesus Christ. Christ made you free from the Law, that is you are saved by grace and not by observing the Law. Paul reminded that they were now accountable to Christ and not to the Judaizers or any other Gnostic group.. Paul remind them that Christ is the Lord of and over their lives. They were not accountable to any religious sect that claimed to be representatives of God under any circumstances. The church's responsibility is to Jesus Christ and the adherence to the Holy Bible, not to the adherence to any man made teachings. Paul warned against the new converts allowing any of these "haters" to impose an ordinance, neither be responsible to man for their personal conduct. Paul’s warning pertaining to what they should observe or not to observe covered these following issues:
I. Don't allow the Judaizers to chastise you about what you eat or drank. The Mosaic Law teachers claimed that the Law given by Moses the Israelites in times past were just as binding now and was irreversible. The Judaizers claimed the church was obligated not to eat anything deemed unclean by the Law. Paul explained to the church that the observance of avoiding unclean meats and drinks was a “foreshadow” of things to come through Jesus Christ. Since Jesus came, fulfilling the Law, observance was no longer necessary because we are saved by Grace. It was also because God had promised to do a “new thing” and forming the church was an integral part of God’s plan. It is God that determines what is clean and what is unclean.
II. Don't let the false teachers decide for you what days are considered “holy” or how these days were to be celebrated. Because they were Christians and not Jews, the "church" and not "an extention of or another temple", the Judaizers had no right to impose the celebration of any Jewish festival or holiday on them. Neither did they have the right to condemn the church if they didn’t observe them. The reason this is so is because Jesus himself did away with these observances when he died on the cross at Calvary, thus fulfilling the Law.
III. Don't allow the Jews to impose the celebration of the festival of the “New Moon upon you.” According to the observance of this festival, any Hebrew who observed this festival had to offer up to God 2 bullocks, a ram, and 7 sheep, as a meat offering. This offering was to be given in addition to their daily offering they routinely made to God. Christ also did away with this festival on the cross, so there was no longer any moral obligation for anyone who followed Jesus Christ to observe this festival anymore.
IV. Don't allow them to impose “Sabbath” day rituals upon you. This was not to say that the Sabbath day was not holy anymore, because before the fall of man God rested on this day, blessed it and hallowed it. Since the fall of man however, God has not rested in his quest to redeem man from the penalty, power and presence of Sin. Paul was not in any way denouncing the significance of the observing “holy” days as such, but at the same time he reiterated that the Law was a “foreshadow” of better things to come through Jesus Christ. So to hold someone to a charge of keeping “strict adherence to a Sabbath or a holy day would plunge the church back into living under the Law rather than under grace.
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