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Colossians 2:14

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21 November 2003, 05:20 PM
wopik
Colossians 2:14
People use Colossians 2:14 to "prove" Jesus did away with law keeping or the Ten Commandments, for Christians. That may not be the case.

Colossians 2:13-14 has to do with Jesus forgiving us of our trespasses / sins.

verse 13 - ...having forgiven you all trespasses;
verse 14 - Blotting out the handwritting of ordinances / record of debt.... (see Numbers 5:23 - reading the whole chapter is helpful).

These two italicized phrases are appositives; they are equivalent. Jesus forgave our trespasses; HE blotted out our 'record of debt'.

I know people use this verse in Colossians to say Jesus did away with the law; What Jesus forgave and blotted out were our sins.
23 November 2003, 09:46 PM
Phil
wopik, the way I understand it is that he didn't do away with the moral law as a way to guide our behavior, but we are not saved by keeping it. Also, Christians didn't keep those hundreds of laws that the Jews had bound themselves to. The Ten Commandments have always been affirmed as important, however.

Another way to look at it is that in Christianity, the law of love is primary. But it's hard to see how one could break the 10 commandments regularly and still be loving. The Commandments show us something of how love behaves, and what to avoid.

Are we on the same track here?
25 November 2003, 08:43 PM
wopik
pretty much on track.

It's possible that the first four Commandments show us how to love God; the last six show us how to love our neighbor.

As David said - the law is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
David saw the law as a flashlight, not a ball and chain.

"You, through your commandments, have made me wiser than my enemies....I have more understanding than all my teachers....I understand more than the ancients..."(Psalms 119:97-105).