Understanding the Meaning of Colossians 2:16-17 - Shadow of Things to Come

This post is going to take a look at Colossians 2:16-17, which is a Bible passage that is frequently misunderstood or taken out of context. We will see that this is not a license to take part in any holiday of our choice, but a reminder to those under religious oppression that they are able to take part in the Biblical holidays like Passover because of the work of the Messiah.

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." -Colossians 2:16-17

Many people believe that this verse is a license to essentially do whatever you want, not only with food, but when it comes to holidays. They believe it's up to each of us to decide what holidays to take part in and we are given a free pass to avoid judgment. This is the verse that is most frequently used whenever anyone raises objections to certain Christmas customs or Easter practices. People are quick to say whatever they are doing is okay because this verse says not to let anyone judge you.

But you can only view this verse from that perspective if you are looking through some very dirty lenses.

On this blog, we have discussed time and again why the New Testament does not teach or permit eating animals that God said were off limits. I'll link to those posts below for anyone not familiar with why that is.  

Many Christians today think Paul's phrasing here in Colossians gives them license to trade in the Biblical holidays that God commanded his people celebrate, for manmade religious holidays like Christmas, Easter, Lent and so on. Some take it to mean it's okay to celebrate anything and everything from Oscar Night to Halloween. 

But let's look at the phrasing. Colossians doesn't say, "Don't let anyone judge you for taking part in cultural holidays." God's word says, "Don't let anyone judge you for taking part in Sabbath days."

It specifically lists feast days, new moons, and the Sabbath. What's significant about this? These are all holidays and markers found in the Bible. Scripture doesn't say don't let anyone judge you for taking part in the world's holidays, it says don't worry if people condemn you for taking part in God's.

And while many translations use something like 'religous festival' we know this is referencing the Biblical holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, Trumpets, the Day of Cleansing, and Tabernacles, and not any manmade holiday that happens to be religious, such as Christmas. We know this because of verse 17. These holidays are a shadow of the things to come! 

God's Biblical holidays were designed to tell the Gospel story and speak of his promises. All of these holidays point to things yet to come and still be fulfilled. While manmade holidays can be fun and even have spiritual signficance, these were not designed by the Creator to be shadows of the ultimate story of his work.

So what Paul is saying is not to let anyone judge you for the Bible holidays you keep or for honoring the Sabbath. And doesn't this fit better with what we see today? Believers who keep the Sabbath or celebrate Passover and Unleavened Bread instead of Easter are routinely criticized by other believers. That is not a surprise to God.

This also fits better with the rest of the text and the world that Paul lived in at the time of this writing. In ancient Rome, worshipping certain gods and goddesses was considered a civic duty, and those not taking part in the customs and celebrations were often blamed for any great or small calamity in the area. So would it make more sense for Paul to encourage people to not fear condemnation from others for skipping those festivities, or for him to say, 'Don't worry what other believers tell you - God's Sabbaths and holidays don't matter'? Keep in mind, much of the New Testament shows us how hard Paul worked to set a legal precedent that believers didn't have to take part in the worship of Roman gods.

If we back up to verse 15 we can see that this fits with this understanding of what Paul is getting at, because he's talking about principalities and powers being disarmed and the Messiah having made a public spectacle over them. Paul doesn't think it's fine to ignore the Sabbath and the rest of God's calendar because ungodly principalities have been disarmed, he thinks all can now celebrate God's holy days because they are no longer held in the clutches of those powerful entities that would keep them away. 

So what are we supposed to not have people judge us about? Doing things God's way. We know that this passage is refering to both Biblical dietary commands, and the holidays and Sabbaths created by God. We see this because Paul said they are shadows of things still to come and that the substance of these things belongs to the Messiah. So don't let anyone judge you for living out your faith in the Messiah!

To recap, we know that while many pastors and Christians believe that this passage means you can ignore God's holidays and replace them with anything you want, that's not what the Bible teaches and is not what Paul intends to say here.

Colossians 2:16-17 is not about celebrating Christmas or Easter because:

1. Because it's talking about God's holidays and Sabbaths! 

2. Paul told believers elsewhere to keep the feasts, and worked to do so himself.

3. Paul worked to establish legal precedent for believers in the Messiah to not take part in Roman holidays and worship.

Related posts:
Mars Hill and Paul's Legal Precedent to Worship Jesus
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Understanding Mark 7:19 and the Messiah Declaring All Foods Clean

5 Things Christians Should Know about the Sabbath

Discover powerful Biblical truths about the Sabbath day in this post. Here we examine a few tenets of God's Sabbath day that are often overlooked by Christians. This is not everything there is to know about God's day of rest, but basics that every believer should know and learn from.

Here's what all Christians should know about the Sabbath day:

1. Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. We first see this in Genesis 2:2, "On the seventh day God rested." Verse 3 goes on to say that then "God blessed the seventh day and set it apart."

2. Nowhere in the Bible does the Sabbath get changed to Sunday. Look through the Old and New Testaments, and you will see there is no part of Scripture that says the Sabbath was switched to Sundays or that the disciples or early church did or approved of this.

3. Keeping the Sabbath holy means not working on it, not causing someone else to work, and not doing ordinary household chores. Instructions for this are in the ten commandments, and we see Jesus and the disciples honoring Biblical Sabbath laws throughout the New Testament.

4. Scripture instructs all believers to keep the Sabbath, no matter their ancestry, family traditions, or when they were born. This is consistent throughout Scripture. We have New Testament passages telling us that we are all one in the Messiah, so why would he give different instructions? Additionally, verses like Ezekiel 46:3, Isaiah 56:6 expressly say that foreigners should take part in worshiping God on the Sabbath and honoring this day.

5. The Bible says that people who keep the Sabbath are happy! Isaiah 56:2 tells us this truth and most people who have started keeping the Sabbath day will attest to the joy and peace that intentionally setting apart God's holy day to rest and worship him brings!

More posts about the Sabbath:
Did Jesus Break the Sabbath?
Why I Still Keep the Sabbath After 15 Years
What To Do on the Sabbath

What is the Curse of the Law? (Galatians 3:13 Meaning)

Here we are going to address the famous phrase, "curse of the law," from Galatians 3:13. We will look at common misunderstandings about this passage, and find out what Paul was really getting at when he used these words. We will see this from a 'covenant of vocation' perspective instead of the more common 'works contract' view of God's plan for humanity - as explained by N.T. Wright. 

"The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse on our behalf." -Galatians 3:13

Most of Christianity teaches that the curse of the law is eternal condemnation when we fail to follow God's instructions in the tiniest way. Any slip up, whether intentional or not, cuts us off from God and sends us to hell. Within this framework, God's law is believed to be so complex that we can't even know what it consists of. Therefore, many of us sin without realizing it and becoming "cursed by the law."

Tradition tells us that the curse of the law is being sent to hell when we are imperfect.

But if that was what Paul was getting at, it would make more sense for him to follow that up with something like, "so that we might be freed from sin and go to heaven." But he doesn't say anything like this. He also doesn't say that this brings us back into fellowship with God. Those are important topics, but not what Paul is addressing here.

What does Paul go on to say?

"He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to all people through the Messiah, so that by faith we would receive the promise of the Spirit." -Galatians 3:14

This ties into God's promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3, Genesis 18:18, Genesis 26:4, etc.). Having a worldwide family of his people was always part of the Creator's plan, and the Messiah's death makes that possible. Not because certain ethnicities or nations weren't 'allowed' into God's family before - but because the curse of the law had cut off many people.

The Messiah bore the curse of the law so that the blessing given to Abraham would go to all people.

Why is Paul bringing up promises made to Abraham and Sarah when he's talking about the curse of the law?

Because according to N.T. Wright the "Biblical view of what was achieved through Jesus's death has to do with the restoration of the human vocation, and Israel's larger divine purpose for the world."

The curse of the law was that human idolatry kept YHWH's people from participating in his covenant!

When we participate in covenant with YHWH we get to bear his image to the world. It becomes our job to reflect God's love and truth to the world and to care for people and steward creation. The curse of the law was that humans were unable to do this properly because of idolatry.

Wright says, "Jesus's death got rid of the roadblock between the divine promises and the nations for whom they were intended. And it opened the way for the Spirit to be poured out to equip God's people for their tasks." This understanding fits with Romans 8:28 - "God works all things together for good with those who love him." We were created to impact the world by being in covenant with YHWH. 

This understanding means that the law was not a threatening moral code that cursed us. Human idolatry - the failure to worship only YHWH - kept God's people from participating in his covenant. Breaking the law was a sign that idolatry was happening. Biblical law is given as a guideline to help us to stay away from idolatry.

What does it mean when it says Jesus became a curse?

This can be a very confusing verse. Paul is not saying the Messiah is somehow a bad thing or connected to cursing. Rather, the Messiah bore the penalty for mankind not holding up their end of the covenant. When humans broke the covenant by worshipping gods that were not YHWH, they were not punished. Jesus died in their place, even though he had not broken the covenant.

In Galatians Paul is celebrating that the reconciling death of the Messiah sets people free to take up their true vocation, and be part of the divine plan for the world.

More posts like this:
God Offers Us a Covenant of Vocation - Not a Works Contract
What Romans 8:28 Actually Means
The Three Types of Law in the Bible

How to Make a Popsicle Stick Sukkah (Easy Sukkot Craft for Kids)

This post shows you how to make a great kids craft for Sukkot and the Feast of Tabernacles - popsicle stick sukkahs! These are easy to make from simple materials and kids of all ages can be involved. This is a great way to teach children more about Sukkot and the significance of this joyful Biblical holiday!

Depending on how much time you have and the age of the kids involved, it may make sense to have an adult create the basic structures of the sukkahs ahead of time, and then have the kids paint, decorate, and add on as they choose.

Here's how to make popsicle stick sukkahs.

You will need:
•Popsicle sticks (at least 8 per sukkah)
•Glue
•Small blocks to hold the popsicle sticks in place as they dry (optional, but it makes it easier)

Materials for decoration:
•Pipe cleaners
•Leaves
•Paint or markers
•Construction paper
•Beads
•Stickers
•Anything else you want

How to make a popsicle stick sukkah:

Line up two popsicle sticks so that they are parallel and about three inches apart. Glue a third popsicle across the top, connecting the three pieces. 

Repeat this process at least once more (you'll need two of these roughly 'H' shaped pieces per sukkah), and let dry thoroughly. I used hot glue which dries quickly, but you can use school or craft glue which will take longer to dry.

Once your ends are dry prop them up between small blocks, as shown. I used medicine bottles but any sort of small jar or paperweight will work. Position both of the H pieces so that they are close enough to be connected with more sticks.

Put glue in each corner and place additional popsicle sticks across. Once dry, you will have a basic sukkah structure for kids to decorate or play with.

Some ideas for decorating:

•Paint or color the popsicle sticks with markers.

•Cut out walls or roof from paper. They can be attached with glue, tape, or stickers.

•Wrap pipe cleaners around the posts, or string them across the top to create a unique roof.

•Have kids find small leaves in the yard to put on top their sukkah roof.

•More popsicle sticks can be added to create a roof or walls.

•Use sticky book tab markers to make a festive banner.

The possibilities are endless and can evolve throughout the time of Sukkot! Have fun and remember making these is about joy and better experiencing God's word and this holiday - not about making a flawless masterpiece.

What we can teach kids through making and decorating sukkahs.

•Talking points for this craft include:

•That tents are a special part of Sukkot. 

•How God took care of his people even when they wandered in the desert without permanent homes.

•That sometimes the Creator calls us to go new places with him.

•That God will one day come and pitch his tent with us.

More fun activities for the Feast of Tabernacles:
Fall Biblical Holiday Crafts for Kids
DIY Sukkah Decorations
Eight Days of Activities for the Feast of Tabernacles

Super Simple Biblically Clean Dinner Ideas

These are easy recipes so that you can have a Biblically clean meal on the table quickly, with minimal time spent on prep work! Made from wholseome, basic ingredients you can turn to these recipes when things are hectic or when you just don't want to spend much time in the kitchen. And they contain no pork or shellfish, and can be part of a Biblical diet.

For the most part, these are made from kitchen staples in their basic forms, meaning that these recipes aren't only simple or quick if you happen to have precooked chicken or hardboiled eggs or leftover rice. While I'm all about utilizing leftovers, these are for the times when you really have very little to no ready-to-go ingrdients in the fridge. These are legitimately easy dinner ideas!

Super simple Biblical meals:

Grilled Cheese in the Oven from A Couple Cooks

The oven method for grilled cheese means everyone's sandwich is ready at the same time. It also buys you a few minutes to jump in the shower, unload the dishwasher, or maybe even unwind!

Sheet Pan Smoked Turkey Sausage with Butternut and Brussels from How Sweet Eats

Take a turkey or chicken sausage, put it on a baking sheet with veggies and you've got dinner.

5-Minute Spicy Chickpea Salad from Pinch of Yum

Baked Eggs from Love and Lemons

A super simple way to make a lot of eggs at once!

One Pan Baked Cheesy Basil Pasta from Half Baked Harvest

This recipe takes some time in the oven, but you don't have to boil the pasta first!

Salmon Caesar Salad from A Couple Cooks

Recipes like this are a great reason to keep a can of salmon or chicken in the pantry. Make it even easier: Use your favorite bottled dressing.

Tomato Toast with Bleu Cheese Mayo from How Sweet Eats

Make it even easier: Skip mixing the cheese with the mayo and sprinkle it on top of the toast (or leave it out altogether).

Crispy Black Bean Tacos from Pinch of Yum

Make it even easier: Substitute canned refriend beans for the filling. Feel free to pass on the cilantro sauce too, and opt for salsa. Or mix salsa with yogurt for a quick sauce.

Easy Caprese White Bean Salad from This Healthy Table

Adding a can of beans to any salad is a quick way to make it heartier and more filling!

Pita Pizza from A Couple Cooks

This concept works great with homemade matzah instead of the pitas if you are in need of a fast meal during Unleavened Bread week.

10-Minute Quesadillas from Cookie and Kate

Chickpea Curry with Spinach from Pinch of Yum

French Baked Toast and Eggs in Cream from How Sweet Eats

Easy Egg Tacos from A Couple Cooks

Why I love this: The spices means this doesn't feel like you're 'just' eating eggs, and you can use any sauces and vegetables you have as toppings. Trying adding a can of beans in with the eggs too.

Smoked Salmon Cottage Cheese Toast from How Sweet Eats

Make it even easier: Smoked salmon can be frozen and it thaws quickly.

Easy Gazpacho from Love and Lemons

Baked Eggs on Roasted Tomatoes from Cookie and Kate

Loaded Hummus Havarti Veggie Sandwich from How Sweet Eats

Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls from A Couple Cooks

Savory cottage cheese bowls are a thing too! Put cottage cheese in your bowl, and top with whatever cooked or raw vegetables you like! Chickpeas, nuts, dressings are all great too.

More tips for realistic meals:

-Keep at least a couple of convenient staple ingredients on hand. 

If you want to have a meal made from real ingredients in a hurry, all the dried beans, brown rice, and frozen chicken in the world are not going to help. 

I suggest keeping at least two or three meal bases on hand, such as: eggs, cottage cheese, canned beans, bread, tortillas, frozen turkey sausage, canned chicken or salmon, etc. to turn to build a quick meal around.

-Take a realistic look at your calendar and plan around that.

When you know your day is going to be hectic or if you are in a busy season of life, don't give all your mental energy to debating complex dinner options all day long, when odds are strong that you'll have about 10 minutes to throw something together.

It's okay to plan on having something super simple for dinner, like baked eggs or chicken sausage and a frozen veggie.

-Take a note from all those super quick recipes.

I used to get really annoyed when I would see dinner ideas that were supposedly fast, but relied on having a bunch of ingredients already cooked. If I had cooked rice and roasted chicken in the fridge, why would I be turning to a book or website for quick meals?

That's precisely the point. When you do have time to cook, make extra so that you have leftovers to build further meals off of later.

-Keep something on hand that you can heat up and eat.

Home cooking is a wonderful thing, but you can cook from scratch and still have some convenience foods too. There will be times when you're busy, exhausted, or sick where having a meal in the freezer is a lifesaver. 

Give yourself the gift realistic expectations and a few frozen pizzas. Or frozen burritos or casseroles, or cans of soup that you can just heat up and dinner is ready.

You also don't have to save those for emergencies. Use simple meals to create more margin and breathing room in your day.

More realistic Biblical meals:
The Ultimate Guide to Sabbath Day Meal Prep
Slow Cooker Recipes
Sheet Pan Meal Ideas

The Unknown God - Paul's Legal Defense at the Areopagus in Acts 17

This post is going to focus on what was happening during the famous Mars Hill discussion of Acts 17 where Paul talked about an unknown God. While many believe that this was just a friendly theological/philosophical discussion, where Paul cleverly draws on local customs to make analogies to the God of Israel, this post is going to show that Paul was actually on trial, making a legal defense for the religion he was sharing.

It's worth reading the whole chapter, but the part we are going to focus on is:

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, "What is this nonsense?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?" You are bringing some strange ideas to us, and we would like to know what they mean." (Athenians spend their time talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, "People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship - and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" -Acts 17:18-28

Many pastors have given the impression that the Areopagus (often translated as Mars Hill) was some sort of hangout for local would-be philosophers, where people have friendly discussions about differing religious, political, and societal issues. I actually remember hearing a Bible college professor describe it like the Parisian cafes of the Lost Generation, where authors and artists drank coffee and debated and discussed the latest ideas of the time. As someone with a brand new idea, Paul would have been welcomed and celebrated, and Paul is cleverly emphasizing local cultural customs as a stepping stone to help the Athenians understand his message.

But that's not what is going on at Mars Hill. This is a law court, and not an inconsequential one. The Areopagus was the highest court in Athens. Paul is under trial.

We can see that Paul is under trial because:

-The Areopagus is a judicial court. It is not a hangout place or debate club.

-When Paul was "taken" to the Areopagus, the Greek word used means seized or arrested.

But what was the legal issue that Paul was charged with?

"He seems to be advocating foreign gods." -Acts 17:18

Much of the book of Acts deals with the legal adventures and implications the apostles went through when they spread the message of the Messiah across the world. Keep in mind that according to the social order of the day, appeasing the local deities was thought to bring protection from enemies, natural disasters, crop loss, an so on. Worshipping the local gods was seen as a civic duty. Even though cities and empires paid tribute to multiple gods and goddesses (in Athens - Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Ares, and Nike for starters), throwing a new god into the mix was not something that was done. Actions like that were seen as political upheaval and even revolution. This literally undermined the social order of the day.

The punishment for such a charge wasn't light either. We know from historic evidence that the Areopagus tried capital cases, and that death sentences were handed out and followed through on. In 399 BC the philosopher Socrates was tried there for impiety - the crime of failing to worship the gods of Athens - and was sentenced to death for it on his conviction.

So when officials ask, "What teaching are you talking about?" they are not making polite conversation over coffee. This has legal implications that Paul needs to defend.

How does Paul defend himself on the charge of introducing foreign divinities?

He points out that they have an altar to an unknown god.

Paul is saying that he can't be introducing foreign gods because the true Living God was already being worshipped in Athens - although it was in ignorance. Since there was a shrine in the city, this God could not be foreign. Indeed the poets of Athens had glimpsed him! This was not a man from a far country trying to import a Middle Eastern deity to Greece.

Unknown, yes. But foreign, no. The Athenians needed to learn about this God - and Paul was there to help.

Paul believed that YHWH was already present in Athens, but needed proper recognition. 

It's worth noting that Luke (the author of Acts) does not seem to believe that Paul is just trying to be friendly by demonstrating his appreciation for the local culture. This idea is dismissed almost immediately by Paul's next statement.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands."

This is a verse that we read like a pretty piece of poetry. But let's rewind and remember that Paul is standing in the Court of Areopagus in ancient Athens. He and his listeners can see, right then and there, the Parthenon, Nike's temple and likely other temples of the Acropolis. Not only are these temples visible - and truly stunning pieces of architectural achievement and beauty - but most everything about Athenian society was structured around serving these gods and goddesses. And that's where Paul chooses to say, "God does not live in handmade temples"! 

Paul is stating quite plainly that these architectural triumphs are a mistake. You can see how his audience would have been affronted by him declaring that the Athenian way of doing things was misguided at best. So it's hard to see his comments about your own poets, and so forth as an appeal to local sensibilities. Paul is not going easy here.

But what is Paul doing? He's making a case that even within this system, it is legal to worship this unknown God.

Paul is saying that it is legal to worship YHWH.

He's not just doing this to protect his own life or the lives of his travel companions. He is pleading this case, so that the residents of Athens know they are free to turn from the idols of their city and worship YHWH! 

What happened on Mars Hill was more than just a lively discussion about religion. The cities leaders were trying Paul to make sure that he was abiding by their laws. By making his case in the Areopagus court, Paul set a legal precedent for citizens of Athens to worship YHWH.

If you're interested in learning more about this I would recommend NT Wright's book The Challenge of Acts.

Related posts:
What No Greater Burdens Means in Acts 15
The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:19-20
What Does Grafted In Mean in Romans 11?