Colossians 2:13-17 says the law was already abolished...?

Question

so, is it ok

a. to have other gods?
b. to have a different holy day (aside or in exchange of the seventh-day Sabbath?
c. to dishonor parents?
d. to commit murder?
e. to bear false witness?
f. to take another one's wife and properties?

James 2:10 says we should regard them as a whole. If we take one..we stumble with the others.

Furthermore, how do you reconcile Col 2:13-17 with Matthew 5:17-19?

Answer 1

Bear in mind that during the Israel’s time they had these laws: “ceremonial laws”, “moral law”, “hygienic laws”, and “civil laws”. When we read the word “law” in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, we must see to it that we properly use which of these law is being discussed by the verse contextually..or it may be combination of them or the whole of it.

For this topic, let’s have a closer look with the regards to the “ceremonial” and “moral” law.

Moral law is the one wherein if we disobey we will sin, such as dishonoring parents. Ceremonial laws are those rituals or formal procedures (PROCESSES) being done by the Israelites AFTER they committed sin, such as sacrificing of lamb.

So, when we read from the Bible that the “law” was abolished (Col 2)..which “law” is that? Obviously, it cannot be the Moral Law. If so, it means its ok to kill somebody now. But if we interpreted it as the ceremonial laws..evidently it is..and you can be sure of that based on the context of the verse since Jesus is our Lamb now.

To let us differentiate more the two, here are some verses:

MORAL LAW (or the 10 commandments):
-is called the “royal law”. James 2:8
-was spoken by God Himself. Deut 4:12, 13
-was written with the finger of God on tables of stones. Exodus 31:18, 24:12
-was placed IN the ark. Exo 40:20, I Kings 8:9, Heb 9:4
-is perfect. Psalm 19:7
-is to stand fast forever and ever. Psalm 111:7-8
-was not destroyed by Christ. Matthew 5:17
-was to be magnified by Christ. Isaiah 42:21
-must be considered as one. James 2:10-12
-gives knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20, 7:7

CEREMONIAL LAW:
-is called the law..contained in ordinances. Ephesians 2:15
-was spoken by Moses. Leviticus 1:1-3
-was the handwriting of ordinances. Colossians 2:14
-was written by Moses in a book. 2 Chronicles 35:12
-was placed BESIDE the ark. Deut 31:24-26
-made nothing perfect. Heb 7:19
-was nailed to the cross.. taken out of the way by Christ Colossians 2:14
-was abolished by Christ. Ephesians 2:15
-was instituted in consequence of sin. Lev 3-7

Now, let’s have another application of this. Say in Romans 7:12, Paul said that “the law is holy, just, and good”. Which law is this? Let’s read another verse written by Paul again, Eph 2:14, “having abolished…even the law of commandments contained in ordinances”..again which law is this?

You cant abolished a law which is holy, just, and good. So, reading from the whole context, it must be the law “contained in ordinances” which was abolished, which is the ceremonial law. Paul had utmost reverence to God’s law. He knew the meaning of “perfect” in Psalm 19:7 and the phrase “stand fast forever and ever” in Psalm 111:7-8.

Now, let’s see what will happen for those who don’t understand the distinction between ceremonial and moral law. And you can see these too from the answers above by our fellow answerers here.

James 2:10—“that you cant take away one law from the other”.
Confused: “yeah, that’s true!”

Col 2:16—“that the laws were abolished”.
Confused: “yeah, that’s from the Bible. It must be also true”.

NotConfused: “Does it mean we can worship other gods, etc..without sinning since it was abolished?”
Confused: “of course not..those laws are still binding. Jesus preached those things and you can read that from the NT.”

NotConfused: “but you agree from Colossians 2:16 that the law was abolished..so its not binding anymore, right?”
Confused: “Uh..there are some provisions or principles that needs to be kept."

NotConfused: "Exactly! we should keep it in spirit (principle). So it's still binding, right?"
Confused: "Uh..only the fourth one which is keeping of seventh-day Sabbath was taken away from the 10 commandments.”
NotConfused: “but you agree from James 2:10 that we cant take away one precept from the rest?”

Something’s wrong with the Bible? Absolutely, not.

Before I end, I just want to give some comment to the answer above by somebody (there’s no name written below his avatar). He said…

“Still others, notably the Seventh Day Adventists, insist that a person must keep the Sabbath in order to please God.”.

I am an SDA and I think your phrase “in order to please God” suggests something that I heard being said over and over again by those who want to tell others that we are too legalistic. Don’t put your words in our mouth.

Our God is not a God who needs to be pleased..He does not requires good works (obeying) for us TO BE saved us..faith is enough just what the Bible says. But then why do good works..charity?

It automatically comes out from within ONCE (or AFTER) God’s gracious saving mercy bestowed upon you. So, you do good works (and that’s keeping the Moral Law including the seventh-day Sabbath) because God saved (past tense) you.

One more, the seventh-day Sabbath is part of the Moral Law. You cant take it away from the Ten Commandments (James 2:10). And, yes, there were sabbaths that were nailed to the cross..abolished..and those were the sabbaths from the ceremonial laws. We must be aware that there are ceremonial sabbaths also (Leviticus 23; Numbers 28, 29).

He also said that…

“Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT, with an important distinction—they are not given as law (with penalty attached), but as training in righteousness for the people of God (2Ti_3:16 b).”

Do we need to act like a spoiled brat and be legalistic to the point of finding the “penalty attached” for each precept of those nine in the NT? Were the “penalty attached” from the Old Testament not enough for you? Or you just have this idea of separating the whole Bible into two by not accepting the OT?

How about 1 John 3:4, “..for sin is the transgression of the law”. Can you see the penalty for transgressing the law here? And you don’t need to take away the fourth commandment or else you are violating James 2:10.

Furthermore, he said that…

“The one commandment not repeated is the Sabbath law: Christians are never taught to keep the Sabbath (i.e., the seventh day of the week, Saturday).”

Do we need to be retold for something that we are actually already been doing? You cant see from the writings of the Apostles reprimanding Christians to observe the Sabbath because there’s no violation of it..they’re doing it.

Beginning from God Himself (Gen 2:2-3) to Jesus (Luke 4:16) to the Apostles (Acts 16:13-14, 17:2-4, Acts 18:3-4)..ALL OF THEM ARE SABBATH KEEPERS. Are we not suppose to follow them (1 Peter 2:21)? Are their examples not enough..or we need to be retold letter by letter just to do it?

Answer 2

Colossians 2:13 refers to the ceremonial law, and it is ceremonialism that is abolished.
Matthew 5:17-19 is exactly as it says. James 2:10 is a further confirmation of the 10 commandments and the stressing of keeping free from sin, see Christs words on this (Mark 10:19)

Answer 3

What it says in Colossians is that God has forgiven all the laws we have broken. It doesn't imply the law no longer exists. verse 17 is saying that Christs sacrifice is what all the animal sacrifices in the law were foreshadowing. Paul does not contradict Jesus or James, he just puts the law in it's proper perspective. " And the law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded even more." Romans 5: 20.

Answer 4

It's essential to read a letter from the beginning. Before you get to Col 2:13, you read Col 2:6, "... just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him...". Verses 13-17 are for those who have received Jesus as Lord and continue to live His way. His way is the way of love for His Father, shown by unconditional obedience.
Life in Jesus is a higher standard than mere laws - it's a life of love for God. Christians live to love God better day by day. This way, they both reach a higher standard than any legal system and automatically meet legal standards (Matt 5:20).
Those who live in Christ have recognised that they are sinners and have surrendered to God: they live by faith. James tells us about a life of faith (James 1:2-4). The passage you quote is against favouritism, about not neglecting the poor. The life of faith is a life of love without favouritism. That's his point. Favouritism is defiance of love and therefore defiance of God.

Answer 5

In 2:14 Paul now goes on to describe something else that was included in the work of Christ. Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. The handwriting of requirements that was against us describes the law.

In a sense, the Ten Commandments were against us, condemning us because we did not keep them perfectly. But the Apostle Paul is thinking not only about the Ten Commandments, but also about the ceremonial law that was given to Israel. In the ceremonial law, there were all kinds of commandments with regard to holy days, foods, and other religious rituals. These were all a part of the prescribed religion of the Jews. They pointed forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus. They were shadows of His Person and His work. In His death on the cross, He took all this out of the way, nailing it to the cross and canceling it as a bill is canceled when the debt is paid.

By the death of Christ on the cross, the law which condemned men lost its penal authority, inasmuch as Christ by His death endured for man the curse of the law and became the end of the law.

Paul's language here very likely refers to an ancient practice of nailing the written evidence of a canceled debt in a public place as a notice to all that the creditor had no more claim on the debtor.

2:16 Once again the Apostle Paul is ready to make the application of what he has just been stating. We might summarize the foregoing as follows:

The Colossians had died to all efforts to please God by the flesh. They had not only died, but they had been buried with Christ and had risen with Christ to a new kind of life. Therefore they should be done forever with the Judaizers and Gnostics, who were trying to draw them back to the very things to which the Colossians had died. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths. All human religions place men under bondage to ordinances, rules, regulations, and a religious calendar. This calendar usually includes annual observances (holy days), monthly festivals (new moons), or weekly holidays (sabbaths). The expression “Therefore let no one judge you” means that a Christian cannot be justly condemned by others if, for instance, he eats pork, or if he fails to observe religious festivals or holy days. Some false cults, such as Spiritism, insist on their members abstaining from meats. For centuries Roman Catholics were not supposed to eat meat on Friday.

Many churches require abstinence from certain foods during Lent. Others, like the Mormons, say that a person cannot be a member in good standing if he drinks tea or coffee. Still others, notably the Seventh Day Adventists, insist that a person must keep the Sabbath in order to please God. The Christian is not under such ordinances.

2:17 The Jewish religious observances were a shadow of things to come, but the substance (or body) is Christ's. They were instituted in the OT as a pre-picture. For instance, the Sabbath was given as a type of the rest which would be the portion of all who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that the Lord Jesus has come, why should men continue to be occupied with the shadows? It is the same as being occupied with a picture when the very person pictured is present.

MT 5:17, 18 Most revolutionary leaders sever all ties with the past and repudiate the traditional, existing order. Not so the Lord Jesus. He upheld the Law of Moses and insisted that it must be fulfilled. Jesus had not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. He clearly insisted that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law until it was completely fulfilled.

Jesus believed in the literal inspiration of the Bible, even in what might seem small unimportant details. Nothing in Scripture, even the smallest stroke, is without significance.

It is important to notice that Jesus did not say that the law would never pass away. He said it would not pass away till all was fulfilled.

A common question in a discussion of the believer's relation to the law is, “Should I obey the Ten Commandments?” The answer is that certain principles contained in the law are of lasting relevance. It is always wrong to steal, to covet, or to murder. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT, with an important distinction—they are not given as law (with penalty attached), but as training in righteousness for the people of God (2Ti_3:16 b). The one commandment not repeated is the Sabbath law: Christians are never taught to keep the Sabbath (i.e., the seventh day of the week, Saturday).

The ministry of the law to unsaved people has not ended: “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (1Ti_1:8). Its lawful use is to produce the knowledge of sin and thus lead to repentance. But the law is not for those who are already saved: “The law is not made for a righteous person” (1Ti_1:9).

The righteousness demanded by the law is fulfilled in those “who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom_8:4). In fact, the teachings of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount set a higher standard than that set by the law. For instance, the law said, “Do not murder”; Jesus said, “Do not even hate.” So the Sermon on the Mount not only upholds the Law and the Prophets but it amplifies them and develops their deeper implications.

Answer 6

Please note it "says" the ordinances" NOT laws, when in Matthew 27:51 the temple vail was torn from top to bottom that ended the services in the temple which you brought a lamb or two doves, those "ordinances" that spelled out what you brought was spelled out in A "book of the law" spelled out in Deut 31:24 and onward, but the ten commandments were put IN the ark Deut 10, and in Exodus 31:18 we are told GOD HIMSELF [Jesus] wrote them with HIS OWN FINGER, they DO NOT change, find out much more free bible lessons www.itiswritten.com bible questions www.bibleinfo.com talk to me also [e-mail] God bless

Answer 7

no silly, the law of moses, the veil was wiped away, Jesus summed all 10 commands in two, love the lord you God with all your heart mind boday and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.

what was abolished was legaistic religion, not faith and obediance. read it more carefully

they already fit together, james was speaking of sin as a whole, if you obey god in all ways except the fact that you sleep with your neighbor wife, your a law breaker, breaking one or breaking five, your still a law breaker.

Answer 8

Briefly!
The Law Covenant was meant to lead us to Christ, being a tutor. The way this functioned, Paul stated, was by making sin
more abundantly and obviously sinful. Since the Law Covenant stated that those who did it perfectly would live by it, and those breaking any one of its laws would die, this proved to every Jew living since the Law's institution that they were unable to thus earn their right to life!!!!! Thus all longed for the prophesied Messiah to come to save them.

It is not that God's requirements have changed; however, now the new Law is the Law of faith (see below's quotation) Thus we go by the kingly laws; the ones that Christ said were fulfilling the whole law covenant. When we fail perfectly - because we are sinners - to obey it, Christ is in heaven next to his father and (Hebrews 7:25 25) ". . . is able also to save completely those who are approaching God through him, because he is always alive to plead for them."

This is where the Law of Faith is superior to the Law Covenant, because though the Christian must purify himself and obey, he sins and is forgiven if he doesn't practice sin.

Thus Christians do not earn the right to life through works by means of the Law Covenant; they get the right to life through faith in Christ's ransom. This still demands works! Works of faith! James 2:17 . . .Thus, too, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself.

When you look at Paul's application of things from the books of Moses, you can see that he applies the principles directly!

Example: Hebrews 13:5 5 Let [YOUR] manner of life be free of the love of money, while YOU are content with the present things. For he has said: "I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.. . .

This Paul quoted from Deut 31:31:6 & 31:8

If as Christian you return to the Law Covenant and require it to be kept absolutely, you're in big trouble 1. since then you abolish salvation by faith. 2. Also, you have no way of observing the Law Covenant as it ought to be observed since the temple and the priesthood has been destroyed and their way of worship vanished by God's will when the Roman's destroyed it in 70CE.

Remember Paul's words:

Galatians 4:9-11 . . .how is it that YOU are turning back again to the weak and beggarly elementary things and want to slave for them over again? 10 YOU are scrupulously observing days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for YOU, that somehow I have toiled to no purpose respecting YOU.

Romans 8:3 For, there being an incapability on the part of the Law, while it was weak through the flesh, God, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,

Hebrews 7:18 Certainly, then, there occurs a setting aside of the preceding commandment on account of its weakness and ineffectiveness.