Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 33:1–5

“This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. He said, ‘The LORD came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand. Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you, when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. Thus the LORD became king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.’” (Deuteronomy 33:1–5, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Colossians 2:16-23

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:16–23, ESV)

*****

Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Last Sunday, when I was preaching on Colossians 2:16-17, I mentioned that in this portion of Paul’s letter, we find the doctrine of Christian liberty. Some of you may know that the doctrine of Christian liberty is considered the second most important doctrine recovered during the Protestant Reformation, second only to the doctrine of justification through faith alone in Christ alone, and by the grace of God alone.

So what is the doctrine of Christian liberty? We find a very helpful summary of it in chapter 21 of our Confession of Faith (the Second London Confession (2LCF)). In brief, it is the biblical doctrine that all who are united to Christ by faith are set free from bondage. Bondage to what? Many things. Bondage to the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the rigour and curse of the law, this present evil world, Satan, the dominion of sin, the evil of afflictions, the fear and sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation. That is quite a list, isn’t it? As we contemplate these truths, we should be moved to give thanks to God for our wonderful redeemer, Christ the Lord. He is a powerful and all-sufficient redeemer. He has defeated all his enemies and ours. More than this, through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, he has subdued us. In Christ, we have died to the old self, and we have been raised to newness of life. The freedom we have in Christ from sin and its effects is truly wonderful. 

Furthermore, the doctrine of Christian liberty teaches that we are free from the doctrines and commandments of men. Here is what paragraph 3 of chapter 21 of our confession says: “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to his word, or not contained in it. So that to believe such doctrines, or obey such commands out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience…” 

What does this mean? It means that, while the Christian has been set free from bondage to sin so that he might receive and believe God’s word and obey God’s law from the heart, the Christian is not bound to obey the doctrines and commandments of men if they are, one, contrary to God’s word, or two, not found in it. In fact, when a Christian submits to the doctrines and commandments of mere men, they betray the liberty of conscience that Christ has granted to us by his death and resurrection. In effect, they trade one form of bondage for another, but we are bound to serve the Lord.    

If you were to read Colossians 2:8-23 with the doctrine of Christian liberty in mind, I think you would agree that this is precisely what Paul is teaching. It is in Colossians 2:9-15 that Paul emphasises our freedom in Christ—freedom from sin within, from the guilt of sin which once loomed over us, and freedom from bondage to Satan and his kingdom. And in Colossians 2:8, 16-23, Paul warns the Colossians, and we with them, of submitting to the doctrines and commandments of mere men. 

Verse 8: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, ESV). Verse 16: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” (Colossians 2:16, ESV). Verse 18: “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). Verse 20: “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations…” (Colossians 2:20, ESV)

I hope you can understand Paul’s great concern. An illustration might help to drive it all home. Imagine a prisoner of war locked away in a dark, damp dungeon, hopeless and despairing. And then one day, a mighty savior arrives to deliver him from his situation. The mighty savior defeats the enemy, breaks the prison doors down, and releases the prisoner from his chains. The man and his redeemer walk out into the light of day, and he is refreshed. Now, what would you expect the redeemed man to do? Wouldn’t you expect him to cling tightly to his redeemer, to walk with him, and to serve him? How strange it would be if that redeemed man were to walk away from his redeemer, enter into the house of a harsh master, and pledge his allegiance to him instead, leaving the one who redeemed him in the streets. If you witnessed a scene like this, you would be perplexed, if not outraged. You might say something like this to the man: You ungrateful fool! You were set free by the redeemer, but you have traded one form of bondage for another! Out of gratitude, you should have bound yourself to the one who redeemed you, for he has proven his love for you, and that he is merciful, gracious, and kind. Rumor has it that when those who are heavy laden come to him, he gives them rest. And those who take his yoke upon them to learn from him find that he is gentle and lowly in heart. They find rest for their souls, for his yoke is easy, and his burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30, ESV).

When those who profess faith in Christ allow themselves to be taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit, rooted in human tradition, and the elementary principles of the world, and not in Christ, they experience a double loss as they, one, trade one form of bondage for another, and two, as they server themselves from Christ, their redeemer and head, who alone can give them spiritual life. This is what the Colossians were being tempted to do by the false teachers in their midst, who were urging the saints to walk, not in Christ, but according to their own ways. 

Last Sunday, we considered Colossians 2:16-17. There, Paul mentions one aspect of the false teachers’ empty and deceptive philosophy. These false teachers, whoever they were, taught that Old Covenant ceremonial laws were binding on the New Covenant people of God. Paul says, No, “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These [ceremonial laws] are a shadow of the good things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” In other words, these laws belonged to the Old Mosaic Covenant wherein Christ was prefigured. But Christ has come! The substance of our salvation is here. The saints under the Old Covenant were blessed to have the shadow of Christ cast upon them, but now that he has come bodily, these shadowy laws have passed away. Only a fool would embrace the shadow now that the body of our Savior has come.   

Today, we will consider Colossians 2:18-19, wherein Paul mentions another aspect of the false teachers’ empty and deceptive philosophy and warns us to reject it. 

“Let No One Disqualify You…”

In verse 18, we find another command. In verse 16, Paul commanded us to “let no one pass judgment on [us]…” Here, the command is this: “Let no one disqualify you…” The Greek word translated as “disqualify” is used to describe something an umpire or referee might do when judging a race or a competition. A referee’s job is to be sure that the rules of the competition are being followed. If a runner cuts a corner in a race, the referee’s job is to see that and to disqualify the runner.  Of course, Paul is not talking about a game or competition here, but the Christian life. Who are the runners, spiritually speaking? They are the visible saints; they are the church members. And who are the referees?  They are those with spiritual authority in the church. In this case, they were the false teachers who attempted to exercise authority within the church but were judging wrongly. 

I’ll remind you of what I said last Sunday. When Paul said, “let no one pass judgment on you…” in verse 16, he did not mean that there is never a time for judgment within Christ’s church (see 1 Corinthians 5). No, Paul was commanding the saints in Colossae not to allow anyone to pass judgment on them ”in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (Colossians 2:16, ESV). And the same is true here. When Paul says, “Let no one disqualify you…” he does not mean that it is impossible to be disqualified in the Christian life, for it certainly is possible. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24–27, ESV). 

Dear brothers and sisters, it is possible to be disqualified in the Christian life. It is possible to make a credible profession of faith, to be qualified for baptism and to come to the Lord’s Table, and then to disqualify yourself by destroying the credibility of the profession of faith you once made. But how does a person disqualify themselves? Is it not by living in unrepentant sin? And what is sin? “Sin is any lack of conformity unto or transgression of…”, what? “…the law of God” (Baptist Catechism 17). Brothers and sisters, that definition of sin is so very important. We need to know what sin is, so that we might avoid it and turn from it and to Christ when we commit it. But it is also important so that we might understand what sin is not. We sin when we violate God’s law. We do not sin when we violate the traditions of men. When a professing Christian lives in unrepentant sin, they destroy the credibility of the profession of faith they once made. They disqualify themselves. 

Paul is not denying that here. What he says is very clear: “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). In other words, while it is possible and right for the church (with the elders in the lead) to judge and to disqualify those who live in unrepentant sin, the members of the church must not allow anyone to judge them or disqualify them by imposing a standards on them other than God’s law, that is, the moral law as sumarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments, and the positive precepts of the New Covenant. God’s Word is our standard. His Word is our rule book. When it comes to matters of faith and practice, the doctrines and commandments of mere men are to be rejected whenever they contradict or are not found within God’s Holy Word.

Imagine how frustrating it would be to play in a competitive game with a referee who took it upon himself to make up his own rules, that is, to disregard the written rules and to add his own instead. Baseball was my favorite sport to play, so I’ll illustrate from that. Imagine an umpire deciding that the strike zone should be much smaller. Instead of the full width of home plate, he decides the standard will be only the inner half. Imagine the pitcher’s frustration! Imagine the uproar from the players and the fans! But baseball is just a game. Here, Paul is talking about weighty and serious matters—the worship of God, the salvation and sanctification of the souls of men, and the ability of a man to obtain and maintain a clear conscience before God. Imagine how destructive it would be to the souls of men if someone with authority within Christ’s church began to tinker with the rules, ignoring what God has clearly said, and imposing his own rules and regulations on the people of God instead.  This was teh problem in Colossae that Paul was addressing when he wrote, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels”, etc. (Colossians 2:18, ESV).

“Let No One Disqualify You… Insisting On Asceticism And Worship Of Angels”

What, then,  were the false teachers in Colossae insisting on? 

The Greek word translated as asceticism means “humility”. Humility is, of course, a very good thing if it is true. But there is a false form of humility, and that must be what Paul is talking about here. Verse 23 makes it clear. There, he critiques these man-made traditions as having the “appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism [or humility] and severity to the body”, and then he adds, “but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23, ESV). What Paul is describing here are religious practices that make a man appear humble when really he is not humble in the heart. “Asceticism” is a fine word. It means, “severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.” Can you picture someone living an ascetic lifestyle? They would appear very humble, wouldn’t they? But are they humble? Only God knows. Here is how the NKJV translates the Greek: “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility…” (Colossians 2:18, NKJV). 

Beware of false humility, brothers and sisters. Beware of it in others, but especially beware of it in yourselves. And know this: man-made religions, with all of their man-made and earthly rules and regulations, are great at producing the appearance of humility while leaving men dead in their sin and pride. But Christ brings true humility to the heart. For what is the first thing that God does in us when he brings us to Christ except to convince us of our sin and misery and of our need for a Savior? No one can come to Christ truly unless he is first humbled sincerely. And when it comes to the Christian life, or walking in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord (remember Colossians 1:10), we will soon learn that we must obey Christ from the heart. In Colossians 3:5, Paul will say, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry”, etc. And in Colossians 3:12 he says, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…” In 3:14 he adds, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14, ESV). 

I look forward to preaching on those passages in the coming weeks. For now, I want you to see Paul’s point. These false teachers were promoting a form of religion that was merely external. They were ignoring what Christ had done for the saints and in the saints to free them from their sin and misery. They missed the fact that Christ had set them free and enabled them to serve the Lord from the heart. So when it came time to teach about walking worthily before God, they aimed, not at the heart, but at the externals. They insisted on humility, but it was not humility of heart. It was humility in appearance only. And so Paul said, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on [false humility] and worship of angels…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV).

What does Paul mean by the worship of angels? It’s interesting to read the commentators and to consider their theories concerning what this false teaching was exactly. To be clear, the Colossians knew exactly what it was, for it was in their midst! But it’s hard for us to know for sure. Was this a form of Platonic philosophy that some were attempting to meld with Christianity? Was it an early form of Gnosticism? Or was it a form of Jewish mysticism that some were attempting to blend with the Christian faith? This last option seems most likely to me. In those days, there was a large Jewish community in this region. We already know that the false teachers were seeking to impose the ceremonial laws of Moses on the saints. And we know that there were forms of Jewish mysticism present in this region in those days. What is clear is that these false teachers were saying that, to draw near to God, angels had to be worshipped.  

Now, what, if anything, do false humility and the worship of angels have to do with each other? It’s not hard to imagine these false teachers saying something like this: Christian, you and I are not worthy to come directly to God or even to Christ. To get to God, we must go through Christ. But to get to God through Christ, we must go through the angels. We are mere men, and the angels are greater than us. To ascend to the highest heaven, we must pass through the lower heavens. And the lower heavenly realms are governed by angels. To pass through, we must offer worship to the angels who rule there. And to worship them aright, we must first prepare ourselves morally through asceticism. Also, we must learn how to worship the angels. Some special, hidden knowledge is needed, and only we have it. You should know that teachings like this did exist in the first century, brothers and sisters, and they exist to this present day. 

At first, teaching like this does sound humble, doesn’t it? We are not worthy. We must learn secret knowledge and prepare ourselves if we wish to draw near to God, etc. But is it really humble? Does this teaching promote humility or pride? Like with any religious system that teaches that one may draw near to God through personal merit, worth, or performance, this system would promote pride, not humility. The true gospel is that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, by the grace of God alone, and not by works or merit. And this gospel brings true humility. One must first be humbled by God’s Word and Spirit to receive this gospel. And the true gospel of Jesus Christ promotes more and more true humility with the passing of time as the Christian grows in their realization that it is all by God’s grace. Don’t be fooled by false shows of humility, brothers and sisters. Humble yourselves truly before God and see that there is nothing you can do to earn God’s love or favor. It is only through Christ that we may draw near to God, and this is because of who he is and what he has accomplished for us (remember Colossians 2:8-15).

The more important question to ask is this: Is it true? Is it true that, to draw near to God, we must come to him through the mediation of angels? No, it is not true. And how do we know that this tradition is to be rejected? By going to the Holy Scriptures, and by observing that, one, this teaching is nowhere found in the Holy Scriptures, and two, this teaching contradicts what God’s Word plainly says. 

To be clear, angels are real. There are angelic beings who rebelled against God in the beginning. Satan is one of those, and there are many others besides him. And there are many thousands of angels who did not rebel against God, who kept their proper place, who are now confirmed in their righteousness through Christ. Paul refers to these angels as the elect angels (see 1 Timothy 5:21). He also says that they are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14, ESV).

Furthermore, it is true that the Old Mosaic Covenant was delivered to Moses, and through him, to the people of Israel, by angels. The Deuteronomy 33 passage that was read at the beginning of the sermon mentions that (see Deuteronomy 33:2). The New Testament also mentions the involvement of angels in the making of the Old Mosaic Covenant (see Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2). 

But what about the New Covenant? Do angels function as mediators under the New Covenant? Must we go through angels to draw near to God or to Christ? Should angels ever be worshipped by us? How can we know? Not by looking to the traditions or teaching of man, but by going to God’s Holy Word.  

As we go to God’s word, we see that God alone is to be worshipped (see Exodus 20:1-7; Isaiah 48:11), and that there “is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5–6, ESV). Furthermore, it is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he alone, that brings us all the way back to God. As Paul says in Romans 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10, ESV)

Angels, as powerful and glorious as they are, must never be worshipped. Consider the words of the Apostle John in Revelation 19:9: “Then he [the angel] said to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he [the angel] said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’” (Revelation 19:9–10, NKJV).

What exactly were the false teachers in Colossae teaching? What name should we give to their system of doctrine? It’s hard to know for sure. But really, it doesn’t matter, for we can take what the Apostle says and learn to evaluate any form of teaching that we encounter. Any system of doctrine that teaches there are more mediators between God and man than Christ, or that teaches that prayers are to be offered to any but to God through Christ, or that urges the faithful to venerate or worship any but God and Christ (given his divine nature), must be rejected, for, one, these teachings are contrary to God’s words, and two, these teaching are nowhere found within. Yes, I do hope that you have Roman Catholicism in mind, but they are not the only tradition that distorts the Christian religion as it is revealed in the pages of Holy Scripture. Beware of man-made religious traditions of kinds. These may indeed have “an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh

” (Colossians 2:23, ESV).

“Let No One Disqualify You… Going On In Detail About Visions,
Puffed Up Without Reason By His Sensuous Mind.” 

At the end of verse 18, Paul mentions another aspect of the false teaching in Colossae: “Let no one disqualify you… going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV)

I won’t say so much about this phrase. The mystical aspect of the false teaching in Colosae has already been hinted at by the mention of the worship of angels—this solidifies it. These false teachers, whoever they were, were mystics. They were seeking mystical experiences, visions, and encounters with the spiritual world. And they would go on and on about whatever experiences they had, or claimed to have had. Paul says, Do not let men like this disqualify you. Do not allow them to have authority over you or to condemn you, as if something were lacking in you, because they saw a spiritual vision, and you did not.

To be clear, Paul was a man who saw visions (see 2 Corinthians 2). The Apostle Peter saw visions (Acts 10:9-23). And the Apostle John saw visions too (see the book of Revelation). But these men were the Apostles of Jesus Christ. And even for them, these visions that they saw did not function as the foundation of the faith. What is the foundation? Christ is the foundation. The life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of the law, prophets, and Psalms, is our foundation.  But these men in Colossae were making their spiritual experiences their foundation. And worse than this, they were imposing their experiences on others, teaching others that such experiences ought to be sought. As I have said, Paul, Peter, and John all saw visions from God. But when did they ever teach Christians to seek such experiences? Never. In other words, experiences like these are not to be considered an ordinary means of grace for the Christian. 

Brothers and sisters, have you ever had a vivid dream that impacted you profoundly? Have you ever awoke thinking, man, it almost feels like the Lord was speaking to me through that dream? That’s fine, brothers and sisters, provided that the dream agrees with what is written in Holy Scripture. And I would caution you not to make that dream anything like the foundation of your faith. Don’t build your life on it. And I would also caution you not to seek dreams and visions. If they come, they come. But never to the Scriptures teach us to seek such experienceriences. What are we to seek? We are to seek the Lord through the means that he has ordained. We are to seek the Lord in his Holy Word. We are to seek the Lord in prayer. We are to seek the Lord once in Baptism and regularly at the Lord’s Supper. We are to seek the Lord in Christian fellowship. How do I know this? Because it is written (see Matthew 4:4, etc) that the disciples of Jesus “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42, ESV).

Listen to what Paul has to say about those who seek visions or other such experiences to build their faith upon them: They are “puffed up without reason by [their] sensuous mind…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). To be “puffed up without reason” is to be prideful for no good reason. To be clear, there is never a good reason to be prideful. But those who build their faith on visions or experiences do tend to be especially prideful. Look at what God has revealed to me, they will say. I must be special. I must be a holy man. But this pride is not justified, for the man who found his faith founded on such things, or who thinks that such experiences are a mark of maturity or holiness, is ignorant of the truth and lacks true holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 

Paul was tempted by pride after he saw the vision that was shown to him. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 he writes, “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10, ESV). Paul was shown a vision of high things. He was tempted to be conceited. But God was merciful to him. He afflicted him in some way to drive him continuously back to Christ. And so he says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 10:17, ESV).

Those who chase after experiences to found their faith on them will be “puffed up without reason by [their] sensuous mind…” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). A sensuous mind is a fleshly, sinful, and unspiritual mind. This is ironic, isn’t it? The mind that seeks after spiritual experiences is, in fact, fleshly and unspiritual, the Apostle says. Why? Because when these experiences are not from Christ or rooted in him, they do not put the sinful desires of the flesh to death, but, on the contrary, they feed the flesh, as has just been said. 

I wasn’t raised in a Pentecostal or Charismatic church. Some of you were, and I imagine you are thinking of your past experiences as I say these things. But I was raised in an Evangelical church and in a youth group culture where having “an emotional experience in worship” was highly valued. I can say yes and amen to what the Apostle says: “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion… but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23, ESV). 

Where is true maturity and holiness found? Not in experiences, but in Christ. He must regenerate you, and he must sanctify you further, as you walk with him and labor with the strength he supplies to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24, ESV).

“And Not Holding Fast To The Head, From Whom The Whole Body, Nourished And Knit Together Through Its Joints And Ligaments, Grows With A Growth That Is From God.”

Near the beginning of this sermon I said, “When those who profess faith in Christ allow themselves to be taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit, rooted in human tradition, and the elementary principles of the world, and not in Christ, they experience a double loss as they, one, trade one form of bondage for another, and two, as they server themselves from Christ, their redeemer and head, who alone can give them spiritual life.”

Well, that second loss is mentioned by the Apostle in verse 19. I haven’t left much time to talk about this wonderful verse, but I think the meaning is clear. The real tragedy of the false teaching in Colossae (and all forms of false teaching) is the way in which it distracts, distances, or even severs men and women from Christ. False teachers add that which is false, and they distract from or take away what matters most—salvation and sanctification in Christ alone. They fail to hold “fast to [Christ] the Head, from whom the whole body [that is, his church, is] nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Colossians 2:19, ESV)

This image of Christ as the Head and we, his church on earth, as his body, communicates at least four truths which counter the false teaching in Colossae. 

One, those who have turned from their sins to believe in Christ as he is offered to us in the gospel, are united to him spiritually, really, truly, and immediately. No mediators come between Jesus and us.

Two, those who are united to Christ by faith have Christ as their Head. Just as the head informs and governs the body, so too Christ informs and governs his church. Any philosophy not rooted in Christ must be rejected, therefore. Special knowledge is not needed. Visions are not needed.  What is needed? Christ, his wisdom, and the knowledge he gives are needed, and this is found in his Holy Word. 

Three, the power and strength needed to walk worthily in the word also come from Christ, the Head. Just as the head nourishes the physical body, so too Christ nourishes his spiritual body, the church.    

Four, it is Christ the Head who unites his body. We enjoy unity with one another in Christ. False teaching brings division. Christ Jesus brings unity.   

Conclussion

Brothers and sisters, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the [elementary principles]  of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8, ESV). “[L]et no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Colossians 2:16–19, ESV)

Baptist Catechism 18

Q. 18. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 3:6,12,13)

*****

Over the past few weeks, we have learned a lot of very important truths about man in his original condition. We have learned that God “created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.” We have learned that “When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience: forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.”

We then heard some bad news. “Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God”, sin being “any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.”

The question that is before us today is, What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created? The answer is really simple: they ate of the forbidden fruit. 

The story of the temptation of Adam and Eve and their fall into sin is found in Genesis 3. There we read, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” (Genesis 3:1–7, ESV). 

So, our catechism is correct. ​​The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. 

There are a few questions that come to mind as we consider this truth.

One, why was it a sin for Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? In other words, what was wrong with it? We do not typically say that eating fruit is sinful. Why was it a sin for Adam and Eve to do so? Answer: Because God clearly and specifically told them not to do so.   

True, ordinarily, the act of eating fruit is not a moral action. The act itself is neither good nor evil. But it was a sin for Adam and Eve to eat fruit from that tree because God told them not to. If you remember, we call this kind of law “positive law”. Moral laws are those laws of God that are binding upon men and women in all times and places. Do not murder is a moral law. Murder is always sinful. Do not commit adultery, lie, and steal. These are all moral laws. They are binding on all people, in all times and places. But God has also added other laws too. We call them positive laws because God has added them to the moral law. These are laws that God’s creatures are obligated to keep in addition to the moral law. These positive laws are filled with symbolism. These positive laws are associated with the covenants that God has made with man.  

Remember, we have defined sin as “any [lack] of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.” Notice, we do not say that sin is any lack of conformity unto or transgression of, the moral law of God. That would be a true statement, but it would be incomplete, for we do not only sin against God when we violate his moral law. No, we also sin against him when we violate his positive laws. 

For example, God commanded that all of the male children of Abraham be circumcised on the eighth day. Circumcision is not a moral thing when considered by itself. But it was made to be a moral thing for Abraham and all his descendants when God gave that law to them. The descendants of Abraham sinned when they failed to apply the sign of circumcision.  Other examples of positive laws are the seventh-day Sabbath from creation to the resurrection of Christ, and the first-day Sabbath from the resurrection of Christ until the end of the world. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are also positive laws. They are laws that are added to the moral law in connection with particular covenants.  

When Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he broke a positive law, and it is right that we call this sin.  

A second question comes to mind. Some may wonder, what was so bad about Adam eating from that tree? How could this simple act bring about the curse that came upon Adam, and upon the whole human race that descended from him? In other words, is there more to the story? Was there more going on in Adam’s heart that led to his eating the forbidden fruit, which made his disobedience truly vile?

The answer is, yes, there is more to the story. Granted, the act of eating a piece of fruit is innocent enough when considered by itself. But we should not forget that God commanded Adam not to eat of that tree. Also, consider the narrative of Genesis three and the fact that another competing voice spoke to Adam – the voice of the serpent through Eve. You can see, then, that this was no innocent eating, but an act of rebellion. Adam rebelled against his Maker in his heart when he listened to the voice of the serpent instead of the word of God. 

All sin is like this. The sins themselves might take only a moment. They may seem small to some. In fact, the thing that motivates all sin is rebellion against God in the heart.  

And there is another aspect of Adam’s sin that must also be considered. When Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, he not only sinned  a sin of commission, he sinned a sin of omission. What was Adam’s sin of commission? What sin did he actively commit? He listened to the voice of the serpent and ate of the tree that God said, do not eat of it. And what was the sin of omission? He failed (or omitted) to obey God’s voice, to fill the earth with his offspring, to expand and keep the garden temple, and to eat of the tree of life. Not only did Adam do what God forbade, he also failed to do what God commanded when he rebelled against his Maker. 

Thirdly, and lastly, what difference does this make? Why does this matter? Well, it matters because we cannot understand the present condition of mankind apart from this doctrine. Also, it matters because we will not fully appreciate what Christ has accomplished for us apart from this doctrine. In short, where Adam failed, Christ succeeded. And he succeeded, not for himself only, but for all who are united to him by faith. 

Q. 18. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 3:6,12,13)

Old Testament Reading: 1 Chronicles 23:24–32

“These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of fathers’ houses as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from twenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the LORD. For David said, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever [or perminantly]. And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.’ For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. Their duty was also to assist with the showbread, the flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and all measures of quantity or size. And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the LORD, and likewise at evening, and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the LORD on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, according to the number required of them, regularly before the LORD. Thus they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of the house of the LORD.” (1 Chronicles 23:24–32, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Colossians 2:16-23

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:16–23, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

In Colossians 2:16-23, Paul addresses the false teaching that was present in the church of Colossae head-on. Notice, he divides the false teaching into three categories. In verse 16, Paul says, “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.”  In verse 18, he says, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions…”, etc. And in verse 20, he says, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations… according to human precepts and teachings?” Each of the three sections begins with either a command or exhortation: let no one pass judgment on you; let no one disqualify; do not submit to man-made regulations. And the whole passage is brought to a conclusion with the statement found in verse 23: “These [teachings] have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” So you can see that Colossians 2:16-23 is a unit made up of three parts and a conclusion. This passage is very rich, and so I’ve decided to focus my attention only on verses 16 and 17 this morning. Lord willing, we will return to consider the rest, or at least more of this passage, next Sunday. 

Text

“Therefore…”

Notice, our text begins with the word, “Therefore…” This is an important observation. It indicates that Paul is building off of what he said in the previous passage. It’s as if he says, Therefore, given all of the truths I have just expressed to you, I now say this. 

And what are the truths that Paul has just expressed? He has commanded us not to be taken “captive by empty and deceitful philosophies— philosophies rooted down in human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not rooted down in Christ” (see Colossians 2:8). After this, he explained why true wisdom is found only in Christ. “For in [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9, ESV). And in Christ, believers are filled (or completed), having been spiritually circumcised (the body of sin has been removed by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit), and united to him in his death and resurrection (water baptism is a sign of this). Though we were once dead, spiritually, in Christ we have been made alive. In Christ, our sins are forgiven. The record of debt that stood against us, along with its legal demands, has been nailed to the cross of Christ and taken away. More than this, those united to Christ by faith have also been set free from bondage to the Evil One and his dark kingdom.

“Let No One Pass Judgment On You…”

“Therefore…”, in light of who Christ is and in light off all that Christ has done in you and for you to free you from bondage to sin and death, “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (Colossians 2:16, ESV).

When the Apostle says, “let no one pass judgment on you”, it is not a suggestion, but a command. Paul commanded the saints in Colossae not to allow anyone to pass judgment on them. The Greek word translated as “pass judgment” (κρίνω) means “to make a judgment based upon the correctness or value of something—‘to evaluate, to judge’” (Louw-Nida, 30.108). And the saints in Colossae were instructed not to allow anyone to do this to them. They were to reject those in their midst who attempted to stand over them and to judge or evaluate the correctness or value of their behavior. 

Question: When Paul says, “Let no one pass judgment on you”, does he mean that there is never a time for judgment within Christ’s church?  Does he mean that there is never a time for the members of the body of Christ to judge another church member? No, that cannot be what he means, for Paul uses the same Greek word in 1 Corinthians 5 and 6, and there he is not forbidding judgment, but commanding that it be done. 

In 1 Corinthians 5:3, Paul says, “For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing”. Verse 12: “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” Verse 13: “God judges those outside. ‘Purge the evil person from among you.” So you can see that Paul here commands the church to judge its members. But what are they to judge? They are to judge in matters of sin. It is the “evil person”, that is to say, the “morally corrupt, evil, or wicked person (πονηρός, Louw-Nida, 88.110) who is to be judged and purged from the congregation. 

The word “judge” also appears in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3. There, Paul is talking about settling civil disputes within the congregation. Again, he commands that Christians judge, saying, “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” (1 Corinthians 6:1–3, ESV).

So then, there are times when Christians must judge fellow church members, and in such cases, it is right for church members to submit to the judgments of their fellow members, with the elders in the lead. Paul’s words here in Colossians 2:16, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you…” cannot be applied to judgments rendered in church discipline cases involving unrepentant sin, that is to say, violations of God’s moral law, or to disputes amongst church members requiring mediation. 

“In Questions Of Food And Drink…”

What, then, does Paul mean when he says, “let no one pass judgment on you…” The context makes it clear. Paul says, “Let no one pass judgment on you” specifically, “in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (Colossians 2:16, ESV). 

Clearly, the false teachers in Colossae—those who were promoting empty and deceptive philosophies, rooted in man-made traditions and the elementary principles of the world—were passing judgment on the saints in Colossae regarding food and drink, and festivals, new moons, and Sabbath days, and Paul commanded the saints in Colossae not to submit to their judgments. 

But what standards for food and drink were these false teachers seeking to impose on the Colossians? What were the festivals, new moons, and Sabbath days that these false teachers expected the saints to observe? This must be a reference to the ceremonial laws of the Old Mosaic Covenant. In particular, these false teachers were seeking to impose the Old Covenant dietary laws and religious calendar on these New Covenant saints, and Paul said, Do not allow it. Let no one pass judgment on you as it pertains to these things. 

As you may know, under the Old, Mosaic Covenant—the Covenant that God made with the people of Isarel, through Moses, at Mt. Sinai, after God redeemed them from Egyptian bondage, and before he brought them into the promised land (in about 1,600 BC)—many laws were added to the moral law, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments, and imposed upon the people of Israel (see Galatains 3:19), for as long as the Old Covenant remained (see Jeremiah 31:31-34; Galatians 3:23-29).  The moral law, which is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments, was at the very heart of all the laws that God gave to Israel, but in addition to the moral law, God gave them civil or judicial laws to govern their nation and ceremonial laws to distinguish them from the nations, to govern their worship, and to prefigue the Christ, who would one day come into the would through them. 

As you may know, some of the ceremonial laws given to Old Covenant Israel had to do with food. If you are following along with the yearly Bible reading plan that we provide for you, then you read Leviticus 11 yesterday—timely indeed! Leviticus 11:1-2 says, “And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth…” As you continue reading through that chapter, you will find classifications of animals that the Israelites were permitted to eat, and others that they were not permitted to eat, but were to regard as unclean. The chapter concludes with these words: “This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten” (Leviticus 11:46–47, ESV).

The Old Mosaic Covenant also contains laws about drink. For example, Numbers 6:1-4 says, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins” (Numbers 6:1–4, ESV).

To be very clear, these laws regarding forbidden food and drink were added to the moral law when the Old Mosaic Covenant was made. These laws were given to the people of Isarel, through Moses, at Mt. Sinai, after God redeemed them from Egyptian bondage, and before he brought them into the promised land. These ceremonial laws did not exist before this (1,600 B.C.). In other words, Abraham, Issaic, Jacob, and all of the faithful who lived in their day and before them were not subject to these laws. And even after these laws were given by God to Israel and through Moses, they were not binding on the other nations of the earth. They were for Israel only. The Philistines, Assyrians, and Babylonians sinned against God in many ways, but they did not sin against God when they ate the flesh of pigs. And, as we will soon see, these laws were given to Israel only for as long as the Old Covenant remained. But everyone knew that the Old Covenant order would not remain forever, for God spoke through the Old Covenant prophets concerning its end and the establishment of a New Covenant, which would be substantially different from the Old. As the Prophet Jeremiah says, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:31–32, ESV).

These dietary laws that God imposed on a particular people (Israel) for a particular time (while the Old Covenant order remained) are no longer binding on the people of God, therefore. This explains the vision that God showed to the Apostle Peter, a Jewish Christ follower, living under the New Covenant. In Acts 10:9, we read, “The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’ And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven” (Acts 10:9–16, ESV). 

I can understand Peter’s hesitancy and confusion. He had lived his whole life under the Old Mosaic Covenant and the dietary laws of Leviticus 11. Being a member of the Old Covenant, he was right to obey God’s law. But all of that had changed with the passing away of the Old and the arrival of the New Covenant. Peter and the rest of the Apostles had to learn this lesson. It was especially important for them to comprehend that the civil and ceremonial law of the Old Covenant had been fulfilled, and thus taken away, as the gospel of Jesus Christ spread from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8). As the Gospel began to bear fruit among the Gentile nations, it was especially importinat for the Apostles of Christ all of whom were Jewish, to understand that the dividing wall of hostility that once separated Jews and Gentiles had been broken down. And how did God break this metaphorical wall down? He did it through Jesus Christ, by “abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both [Jew and Gentile] to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (Ephesians 2:14–16, ESV).

These dietary laws that were imposed on the Jews under the Old Mosaic Covenant did not bring peace between Jew and Gentile. To the contrary, these dietary laws separated Isarel from the Gentile nations. They prohibited table fellowship. This was good and right for a time, for the Jews would have to remain set apart from the nations until the Christ was brought into the world through them. Now that Christ has come, the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that once divided has been abolished and taken away. “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, therefore (Colossians 2:16, ESV).

“Or With Regard To A Festival Or A New Moon Or A Sabbath.” 

After this, Paul says, “or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (Colossians 2:16, ESV). What is Paul referring to here?  He must be referring to the religious calendar that God gave to the Jews under the Old Mosaic Covenant.   

Three things are mentioned: festivals, new moons, and sabbaths. 

Festivals

Festivals are feast days. If you wish to learn about the feast days of Old Covenant Israel, you may go to Leviticus 23. Verses 1-2 say, “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations [meetings or assemblies]; they are my appointed feasts” (Leviticus 23:1–2, ESV).

At the very heart of these feast days is the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath. Leviticus 23:3 says, “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.” The weekly Sabbath was, of course, not new to Isarel, for it had been established at the time of creation, is for all people, and was observed by the Hebrews before the giving of the Old Mosaic Covenant (see Exodus 16:29). It is mentioned in Leviticus 23:3 because, of all the holy days, it is most fundamental. Again, it was given, not first to Israel at Sinai, but to Adam at the time of creation. And when it comes to the law of Moses, the command to remember the weekly Sabbath day and to keep it holy is found, not only in the laws that were added to the moral law, but at the heart of the moral law itself—it is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. When it comes to holy days and the time for corporate worship, the weekly Sabbath is most fundamental, and so it is mentioned first. 

Then, in Leviticus 23, other feast days are added. In verse 4, we read, “These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations [assemblies], which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work” (Leviticus 23:4–8, ESV). In verses 9-14, we find commandments regarding the Feast of Firstfruits. In verses 15-22, we learn of the Feast of Weeks. In verses 23-25, we hear of the Feast of Trumpets. And finally, in Leviticus 23:26-32, we learn of the Day of Atonement: 

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:26–32, ESV).

New Moons

Next, Paul mentions new moons. Israel had a lunar calendar, and so a new moon (when the moon is not visible to us) marked the beginning of a new month. According to Numbers 28:11-15, special offerings were to be made at the tabernacle, or later, temple, on these days: 

“At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; also three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull, and two tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. Also one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.” (Numbers 28:11–15, ESV)

Sabbaths

Finally, Paul mentions Sabbaths, or days of rest and worship. In Colossians 2:18, the Greek word for Sabbath is plural. The NKJV says, “Sabbaths”. The NET, KJV, and AV say, “Sabbath days”. I prefer these translations over the ESV which says, “a Sabbath” because they are more clear about the plural number, and I think this helps the reader to understand that Paul is not referring to the weekly Sabbath, which was instituted by God at the time of creation and given to Adam and Eve and, through them, to all humanity, but to the “Sabbath days” that were added to the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath, and given to the Jews under the Old Mosaic Covenant. Perhaps you noticed that some of the feast days of Leviticus 23 included Sabbath days that were to be observed in addition to the weekly Sabbath. 

In brief, when Paul said, “Let no one pass judgment on you… with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath days”, he was referring to the religious calendar that God gave to Israel under the Old Mosaic Covenant to govern their corporate worship. Like with the dietary laws, this calendar of holy days was a part of the ceremonial law that God gave to them for a time. Notice, these were days to assemble, to worship at the tabernacle, and later, the temple. These were days to offer up sacrifices to God. In fact, they are mentioned together in 1 Chronicles 23:30-31, which we read at the beginning of this sermon. That passage is about the Levitical priesthood whose job it was to serve at the temple. It says, “And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the LORD, and likewise at evening, and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the LORD on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, according to the number required of them, regularly before the LORD” (1 Chronicles 23:30–31, ESV).

To those who would attempt to use Colossians 2:16 to teach that there is no longer a weekly Sabbath day under the New Covenant, I would say the following ten things:

1) You are forgetting that the Sabbath was not instituted under the Old Covenant, but at the time of creation. 

2) You are forgetting that the Sabbath was given, not only to Israel, but to Adam, and to all humanity through him. 

3) You are forgetting that the Sabbath was given as a sign of eternal Sabbath rest, or life in glory, and we have not yet taken possession of that. 

4) You are forgetting that when Israel was first commanded to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy under the Old Mosaic Covenant, the command was grouped with the summary of God’s moral and unchanging law—it is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. 

5) The moral principle at the heart of the fourth commandment is that a proportion of time is to be devoted to the worship of God, and at creation, God established that it would be one day out of every seven. 

6) The day on which the Sabbath is to be kept is symbolic. The seventh day symbolically agrees with the substance of the Covenant of Works and the Mosaic Covenant. In those covenantal arrangements, work or obedience would lead to rest. But the first day Sabbath agrees with the terms of the Covenant of Grace. We rest in Christ and his work, and from that place of rest, our obedience does flow. 

7) The New Testament teaches that Sabbath-keeping remains for the people of God (see Hebrews 4:9).

8) Under the New Covenant, a special day of the week clearly remains. It is called the Lord’s Day (see Revelation 1:10).

9) There is a good reason for why the Sabbath day was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week. Christ was raised on the first day. On that day, the new creation began. 

10) The early church (see John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7, etc.) and the church throughout the ages have assembled for worship once per week, not on the seventh day, but on the first day in remembrance of Christ’s resurrection (He is risen, he is risen indeed!).

No, Colossians 2:16 does not teach that the weekly Sabbath has been abrogated. What it teaches is that, like with the dietary laws of the Old Covenant, the seventh-day Sabbath, along with all of the feast days, new moons, and Sabbath days that belonged to the religious calendar of the Old Mosaic Covenant, has been taken away and is no longer binding on God’s covenant people. And this is why Paul said, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath days” (Colossians 2:16).

“These Are A Shadow Of The Things To Come, But The Substance Belongs To Christ.” 

But why have these laws been taken away? There are a number of ways to answer this question. We might say, they have been fulfilled by Christ, and thus taken away. We might say, the Old Covenant is gone, and the New Covenant has come—we have new laws, therefore. We might also point to the change in the priesthood. The Old Covenant had Aaron and his sons as priests, but Christ is our High Priest, and he has come in the order, not of Aaron, but of Melchizedek. And as Hebrews 7:12 says, “when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well” (Hebrews 7:12, ESV). All of these answers are good and true. But I love the way that Paul puts in verses 17: “These [Old Covenant ceremonial laws] are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:17, ESV).

Paul spoke of these Old Covenant ceremonial laws in the present tense for two reasons. One, when he wrote, they were still being practiced. The temple stood in Jerusalem, the Levitical priests ministered there, and these laws were still being observed by those who did not receive Jesus as the Messiah. Two, these ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant will be with us always as they are preserved for us in the pages of Holy Scripture. They are there to the present day. Though they are not binding on us, they are to be read and understood. 

How are we to understand the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament? Paul refers to them as a shadow of the things to come. The Greek word (σκιά) refers to a “faint archetype which foreshadows a later reality—‘foreshadow, faint prototype, shadow’” (Louw-Nida, 58.65). When God gave these laws to Israel through Moses, he did not intend for them to be observed as if they really brought salvation to those who observed them. No, they were intended to be viewed as signs that pointed forward to the one who would really accomplish our redemption, Christ Jesus the Lord. 

When a man walks in the sun, his body casts a shadow on the ground. There is a relationship between the shadow and the man’s body. Something can be known about the man’s body from the shadow that is cast on the ground. But it the man’s body, and not the shadow, that is substantial. The body may exist without the shadow, but not the shadow without the body. And when that man comes home and his wife and children run to greet him, they do not embrace his shadow, but his body. 

This illustrates the absurdity of submitting to the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant now that Christ has come. The Old Covenant saints were blessed to have the shadow of Christ in the ceremonial laws that God gave to them through Moses, but we have something far greater than these shadow laws—we have Christ himself. He is the body (σῶμα) that casts the shadow backward in the history of redemption. Why embrace the shadow, brothers and sisters? Embrace the substance! And “the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:17, ESV).

Doctrine

The doctrine Paul teaches here in Colossians 2 is what we call the doctrine of Christian liberty. In Colossians 2:8-15, Paul established that Christ has set us free. Here in Colossians 2:16-23, Paul warns those in Christ not to be taken captive by empty and deceptive philosophies rooted in man-made traditions and not in Christ.  In Colossians 3:1 and following, Paul will teach that in Christ we have been set free to serve the Lord. 

Chapter 21 of our Confession of Faith is entitled, Of Christian Liberty And Of Liberty Of Conscience. Listen to what it says. 

Paragraph 1 is about what Christ has set us free from. “The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the Gospel, consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the rigour and curse of the law, and in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin, from the evil of afflictions, the fear and sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation: as also in their free access to God, and their yielding obedience unto Him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind. All which were common also to believers under the law for the substance of them; but under the New Testament the liberty of Christians is further enlarged, in their freedom from the yoke of a ceremonial law, to which the Jewish church was subjected, and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace, and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of.”

Paragraph 2 warns against being taken captive by the commandments of men. “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to his word, or not contained in it. So that to believe such doctrines, or obey such commands out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience; and the requiring of an implicit faith, and absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also.”

Paragraph 3 clarifies that we have been set free in Christ to serve the Lord. “They who upon pretence of Christian liberty do practice any sin, or cherish any sinful lust, as they do thereby pervert the main design of the grace of the Gospel to their own destruction, so they wholly destroy the end of Christian liberty, which is, that being delivered out of the hands of all our enemies, we might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our lives.”

Suggestions For Application

I’ll conclude this sermon with a few suggestions for application. 

Firstly, it is vital that we reject any form of teaching that seeks to impose Old Covenant civil or ceremonial laws on the New Covenant people of God. False teaching of this kind may be more prevalent than you realize. Dispensationalism, Christian Zionism, and Theonomic forms of post-millennialism all err in that they fail to recognize the shadowy character of the Old Covenant civil and ceremonial laws, and their abrogation now that Christ, the substance, has come.  

Secondly, as Christians, we ought to read the Old Testament Scriptures. But as we do, we must read them in the way that Christ and his Apostles have taught us to read them, namely, as pointing forward to the coming of Christ. All of the prophesies, promises, types, and shadows of the Old Testament find their “yes” in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 1:20). Indeed, the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms speak of Christ, and they find their fulfilment in him (see Luke 24:44).

Thirdly, as we consider our freedom in Christ and heed the warning of the Apostle to refuse to be taken captive by philosophies rooted in human tradition and the elementary and earthly principles of the Old Covenant, let us remember that Christ has set us free so that we may obey his commandments. And what are his commandments except the moral law and the positive laws of the New Covenant? They may be summed up like this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, ESV).

Baptist Catechism 17

Q. 17. What is sin?

A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. (1 John 3:4; Rom. 5:13)

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Introduction

I should remind you of what the last question and answer said, for this one builds upon the last one. 

Question 16 asks, “Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?” Answer: “Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.” We discussed the meaning of this Q&A last Sunday. Here I want you to remember that our first parents fell from their state of innocence…  “by sinning against God.” Now, our catechism asks, “what is sin?”

By the way, this is one reason a catechism like this is such a useful tool for Christian discipleship. Not only is the teaching of the Holy Scripture summarized for us in this document, but it is summarized in an orderly way so that we might understand the Christian faith. The most foundational truths are laid down first, and then they are built upon. And as you can see, important terms are defined along the way. 

“Sin” is one of those important terms. You really cannot understand the gospel of Jesus Christ without understanding what sin is. Why did Jesus Christ come to live, die, and rise again? Why do the Scriptures tell us that we must trust in him to be saved? Saved from what? My point is this: The story of Scripture and the Christian faith do not make sense without this concept of sin and its consequences. 

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell from the state of innocence and into a state of corruption, guilt, and depravity by sinning against God. All who are born into this world after them are born into this same fallen condition. We are born corrupt, depraved, and guilty before God because Adam was our representative, as we will soon learn. In other words, we are born into a state (or condition) of sin. And all who are born into this world in this state of sin do they themselves sin. Furthermore, sin, as we will soon learn with the help of our catechism, has devastating and eternal consequences. I’ll refrain from saying more. We will come to all of this in catechism questions 18 through 22. Each of these questions and answers will help us to learn more about sin and its effects. But before we consider these things, we must begin with a more fundamental  question: “What is sin?” Again, the answer: “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.”

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The Law Of God Is The Mark

The first thing I want you to know is that to sin is to miss the mark. An archer who misses the bullseye has sinned. But we are not talking about archery, are we? No, we are talking about hitting the mark of God’s standard for us. And what is God’s standard? What is the bullseye, if you will? What is the mark that God has called us to hit? The mark is God’s law. 

It is important to understand that God’s law is the mark or standard, and God’s law includes both the moral law (which was written on man’s heart at creation) and any positive laws that God chooses to add to the moral law connected with the covenants he makes with man. The command that God gave to Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is an example of a positive law. God added that law to the moral law (which was written on man’s heart when God created him) when he entered into the Covenant of Life (or Works) with him. 

So then, the standard is God’s law, both moral and positive. And we sin when we fail to hit, or live up to, that standard. 

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Want Of Conformity Unto, Or Transgression

But that is not all our catechism says. Hear the answer to the question again. What is sin? “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.” “Want” means lack or failure. So “sin is any [lack] of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.”

The word “any” seems important to me. Men and women sometimes fool themselves into thinking that only the “big” sins are a problem. Yes, it is true that some sins are bigger (more heinous) than others. But both big and small sins are sins. 

The phrase, “want of conformity unto… God’s law,” helps us to understand that God’s law requires us to do certain things. Some laws are stated positively. For example, “honor your father and mother” and “keep the Sabbath day”. These laws are stated positively. They are telling us what must be done. The negative side – that is to say, that which ought not to be done – is implied. The command to honor your father and mother and to keep the Sabbath day holy forbids us from dishonoring parents and from profaning the Sabbath day. And some commandments are stated negatively. “You shall not murder” and “you shall not steal” are examples of these. What is implied except that we are obligated to preserve life and to seek our own and our neighbors’ prosperity through honest means. When commandments are stated positively, the negative things that should be done are implied. 

The point is this: God’s law requires us to do things. His law not only tells us what not to do. His law also reveals what we are to do. We are to love God with all that we are, and our neighbor as ourselves. That requires action. And sin is “any [lack] of conformity unto… the law of God.” In other words, we sin when we fail to do what God has commanded us to do. Children do not only sin when they dishonor their parents. They also sin when they fail to give the honor to their parents which is due to them.  We call these “lack-of-conformity” sins, sins of omission. For in these we omit or fail to do that which God’s law requires. 

The phrase, “sin is any…  transgression of the law of God,” helps us to see that we sin when we do that which God’s law forbids. When God’s law says, don’t do this or that, and then we do this or that, we sin against God. When Adam was told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and he ate of it, he sinned. And when we lie we sin, for God’s law has told us not to lie. We call these “transgression-of-God’s law” sins, sins of commission, for these are sins that we do actively commit.   

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Conclusion

I hope you can see why it is important for us to have a proper understanding of what sin is. 

Not only will we be unable to properly understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, and indeed, the whole story of scripture, and the Christian faith, without a proper understanding of sin.  A deficient understanding of sin will lead to many other problems, too.

Brothers and sisters, if you take anything away from this little sermon, I hope it is this: Our standard for right and wrong, good and evil, is not for us to determine. Our standard is not the opinions of man, or the customs of the culture. No, our standard is God’s law. God has revealed his moral law in nature and much more clearly in his Word. And do not forget that God has added laws to his moral law in the covenants he has entered into with the man. These we call positive laws. The New Covenant has its positive laws. We sin when we fail to conform to, or transgress, this standard – the standard of God’s law.

If we understand this, we will be in a good place to understand why we need a Savior, Christ the Lord, and how it is that we are to live in this world in a way that is pleasing to our Great God and King. We need a Savior because we are sinners! And those in Christ must strive to keep God’s law because we are saved from our sins, redeemed, and renewed.   

Baptist Catechism 16

Q. 16. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12)

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Introduction

Adam and Eve are called “our first parents” because the whole human race descended from them. 

The word “estate”, in Baptist Catechism question 16, is very important. We don’t use that word often. Instead, we might say, “state of being” or “condition.” So, the question is, did our first parents continue in the state of being or condition wherein they were created?

And what was their original condition? We should remember Baptist Catechism 13. It asks, How did God create man? The answer: God created man, male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. The words “in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness” describe the estate or condition of our first parents when they were created. The man and the woman were made in the image of God. They were given dominion over the other creatures. But what was their quality or condition? They possessed true knowledge. They stood right before God. And they were holy, that is, they were without defect or stain of sin. Do you remember the repeated refrain of Genesis 1? Everything in God’s creation was declared to be good, good, and very good when God made it. Chapter 9, paragraph 2 of our confession of faith refers to this original estate of man as the “state of innocency”. Adam and Eve were innocent, upright, and pure when they were first created.

Listen to question 16 again. “Did our first parents continue in the estate [condition] wherein they were created?” Answer: “Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.” (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12)

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Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12)

There are three things to notice about this answer:

One, the short answer is no. Our first parents did not remain in the estate or condition of their original creation. Our catechism says, “they fell”. Remember, Adam and Eve were created perfect and upright in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Something greater was offered to them in the covenant of life or works (remember Baptist Catechism 15). What blessings were they offered in the covenant of life? Something higher than what they possessed at first – life eternal – life in glory. These blessings were to be obtained through obedience. But instead of ascending to this higher form of life, they fell short of it and downward into a worse condition (see Genesis 3 & 4; Romans 3:23). Chapter 9, paragraph 3, Our Confession of Faith calls this fallen state of being, the “state of sin”.

Two, notice the stress placed on free will. Our catechism says, “Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.” 

The doctrine of free will is very important. Free will is the ability to act upon choice. Stated differently, free will is the ability to make free and rational decisions and to take action based upon those decisions. It is important to know that human beings were created by God with the power to think, speak, and act based on the choices they freely make.

I’ve been drawing your attention to chapter 9 of our Confession of Faith, which is about free will. I’d encourage you to read it sometime soon. When you do, you will notice three things. One, Adam and Eve were created with free will. Two, human beings did not lose free will after Adam fell into sin. In other words, men and women still have the ability to act upon choice after the fall, and they always will. Three, the thing that changed when Adam fell into sin was man’s state of being or condition and, therefore, his ability. If a man is corrupt in the mind and heart, what will he freely choose? That which is corrupt. This is man’s condition after the fall. Man retains the power to act upon choice but his ability is limited due to his fallen condition.

Our confession and catechism both rightly teach that Adam and Eve were created pure. There was no defect or corruption in them. But they were created with the ability to act upon choice, and they were also given a choice. The two trees in the garden – the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – symbolized the choice of obedience to God or rebellion against him. More than this, we must also confess that they were tested and tempted. By whom? They were tested by God. They were tempted by Satan. 

Listen to how Second London Confession 9.2 puts it: “Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God, but yet was mutable so that he might fall from it.” Did you catch that? Adam and Eve were innocent and pure. They possessed the freedom and power to act upon choice. They possessed the freedom and power (or ability) to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God. But they were mutable. That means they were changeable. They were able to obey, but they were also able to disobey God’s command. The temptation to sin against God did not come from God, nor did it come from within themselves, but from without. It was the serpent who tempted Eve, and Eve who brought the temptation to Adam. How could it be that the man and woman who were upright, holy, and pure would sin? They were created with freewill. They were tested for a time. God permitted them to be tempted during this probationary period. It was their upright but mutable condition that permitted them to sin. 

Thanks be to God, we will have free will in eternity, but we will no longer be mutable. We will be confirmed in righteousness then. To see this communicated in a symbolic way, you may read Revelation 22 and notice that in the new heavens and earth, there will be only one special tree, not two. Only the tree of life will be there (see Revelation 22:1-5). No tree of the knowledge of good and evil will be found. This means the new heavens and earth will not be a place of testing. No, for the test has been passed (see Luke 4:1-13) and the victory has been won by Jesus Christ our Lord (see John 19:30).

The third thing to notice about Baptist Catechism 16 is that it teaches that man fell from their original condition by sinning against God.  

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Conclusion

As I move to a conclusion, I should draw your attention to the fact that question 16 marks the beginning of a section in our catechism that delivers a lot of bad news. 

Q. 16. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12)

Q. 17. What is sin?

A. Sin is any want [lack] of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. (1 John 3:4; Rom. 5:13)

Q. 18. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 3:6,12,13)

Q. 19. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?

A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. (1 Cor. 15:21,22; Rom. 5:12,18,19)

Q. 20. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery. (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:18,19: Is. 64:6)

Q. 21. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereunto man fell?

A. The sinfulness of that estate whereunto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin, together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it. (Rom. 5:19; 3:10; Eph. 2:1; Is. 53:6; Ps. 51:5; Matt. 15:19)

Q. 22 brings us very low. What is the misery of that estate whereunto man fell?

A. All mankind, by their fall lost communion with God, are under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. (Gen. 3:8,24; Eph. 2:3; Gal. 3:10; Rom. 6:23; Matt. 25:41-46; Ps. 9:17)

These are unpleasant truths to consider, but they are vital truths. How will we ever come to see our need for a Savior if these truths are not proclaimed? How will we ever come to see the goodness of the good news of Jesus Christ without first comprehending this bad news? 

You should know that our catechism delivers this bad news to prepare us to receive the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, by God’s grace. After delivering terrible news in question 22, our catechism then asks in Q. 23. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?

A. God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer (Eph. 1:3,4; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rom. 5:21; Acts 13:8; Jer. 31:33). After this, we will learn that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of God’s elect. From here, our catechism will go on to teach us all about Jesus Christ, his person, and his finished work of redemption. 

Brothers and sisters, if Adam had passed the test, he would have entered into glory – he would have been confirmed and established in his uprightness by his keeping of the terms of the covenant of life or works. Adam fell, but Jesus Christ has succeeded. Christ has entered into glory, and all who are united to him by faith will enter into glory with him. Thanks be to God for the abundant mercy and grace he has shown to us in Christ Jesus.

Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 4

“Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.” Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” (Proverbs 4, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Colossians 2:8-15

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:8–15, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.

See To It That No One Takes You Captive

There is only one command in Colossians 2:8-15. The imperative is placed at the very beginning. “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit,” etc. 

Paul commanded the Colossians to “see to it”. The Greek imperative could also be translated as “be on the lookout” or “beware.” This reminds us of our duty to be continually sober-minded, alert, and watchful. As Peter famously says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV). 

What, in particular, did Paul command the Colossians to beware of? They were to “See to it that no one takes [them] captive…” The image that ought to come into our minds is that of an enemy overrunning a town to carry off the spoils of war and to take the people into captivity. Of course, Paul’s concern for the Colossians was spiritual, and not physical. They were not in danger of being carried off as captives bodily. They were, however, in danger of being carried off as captives spiritually. And so Paul issued this command: “See to it that no one takes you captive…” 

He then mentions the particular threats, namely, “philosophy and empty deceit.” If the threat were physical, Paul might have said, Beware that no one takes you captive by building siegeworks, by the use of battering rams, and by the use of the sword. But the threat was spiritual. It was not a city that was threatened, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was not physical captivity that the Apostle was concerned with, but the captivity of the souls of men. Because the battle was spiritual and doctrinal, he warned of “philosophy and empty deceit.” 

Notice this: It is not philosophy in general that Paul warns against. Philosophy is the love and pursuit of wisdom. Under the broad heading of philosophy are included the disciplines of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and logic. Christians must not fear philosophy. In fact, Christians ought to strive to be the best of philosophers—lovers of true wisdom, which begins with the fear of the Lord and submission to God’s revelation of himself to us in Christ, in the Word, and in the world he has made. Philosophy is of value to the theologian as a handmaiden. After all, the same Paul who said, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy” also quoted pagan philosophers favorably when trying to win the Greeks (see Acts 17:28). Evidently, Paul was familiar with the pagan philosophers, agreed that they said somethings that were true, and was willing to appeal to them when presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Philosophy has its uses, but its usefulness is limited. Though the philosopher may come to many true conclusions by contemplating the world God has made and through careful reasoning, there are truths about God, the worship of God, and the way of salvation that the philosopher will never be able to ascertain. Is it possible for the philosopher to arrive at the conclusion that God exists and that he deserves our praise? Yes. The best of the philosophers will come to this conclusion. But is the philosopher capable of discovering that God is Trinity, or that man is at enmity with God and can only be reconciled to God through faith in the God-man, Jesus Christ, or that God is to be especially worshipped one day out of seven, and that that day is now Sunday, or that baptism and and the Lord’s Supper are the two sacraments of the church. Is the philosopher able to ascertain these truths by his contemplation of the natural world or through the process of careful, logical reasoning? No. These things are beyond the reach of philosophy and must be revealed. We come to know who God is, who we are in relationship to him, of our need, of the way of salvation, and how we are to worship God, in particular, only through God’s Word. 

Friends, it is not philosophy (as a discipline) that Paul warns us about, for there is a good kind of philosophy, and a proper use of philosophy. Instead, Paul is warning us about philosophy of a particular kind. “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit.” When men attempt to use philosophy alone, and aprat from God’s revelation of himself through Christ the Word, to answer questions about who God is, the way of salvation, and the how of worship, that philosophy will prove to be empty, foolish, or stupid, and deceitful or misleading. 

More specifically, Paul warned the Colossians, and us with them, of empty and misleading philosophy that is according to, rooted in, or derived from “human tradition”. 

The same things that were said about philosophy may be said about tradition. Traditions have their place. It would be impossible to worship God reverently apart from traditions. When are God’s people to assemble for corporate worship? God’s Word reveals that the day is the first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord’s Day, or Christian Sabbath. Traditionally, being informed by the light of nature (see Second London Confession 1.6), we assemble for worship at 10 AM on the Lord’s Day. And what are the people of God to do when they assemble for corporate worship? The Word of God says that we are to devote ourselves to the reading, teaching, and preaching of the Word of God, prayer, and the breaking of the bread as we followship (see Acts 2:42). In what order are we to do these things, and for how long, etc? Traditionally, being informed by the light of nature, we worship for as long as we do, and being informed by general gospel truths, we worship in the order that we do. 

Paul is not opposed to all traditions or customs. He is here teaching that human traditions cannot function as the foundation of our faith. Human traditions cannot be viewed as being ultimately authoritative. When we are asking questions about the way of salvation and the how of worship, we must not turn to human traditions, but to the Word of God. 

Next, Paul warns us not to be taken captive by empty and misleading philosophy that is according to, or rooted in, the elemental spirits of this world. What are these elemental spirits that Paul refers to? There is one Greek word behind the two English words, “elemental spirits”.  The Greek word is στοιχεῖα. It refers to the “basic principles which underlie the nature of something—‘basic principles, elementary concepts.’” (Louw-Nida, 58.19). There is a footnote in my ESV next to the words “elemental spirits” that says, “or elementary principles.” I do think that is a better translation. The NKJV says “basic principles”. The KJV says “rudiments of the world.” I think these are better translations of this Greek word. But the question remains, what is Paul referring to here? 

You should know that Paul is only introducing these concepts here in 2:8. He will return to them in 2:16-23. There, he will warn us more thoroughly about empty and deceitful philosophy, which is rooted in human tradition and elementary principles. What he says in  2:20-23 helps us to understand what these elementary principles are. There he says, “If with Christ you died to the [elementary principles] of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:20–23, ESV). When we come to this text, I will make the case that Paul is here referring to a form of false teaching that the says the Old Covenant ceremonial laws, and particularly the dietary laws, are stil in force, and must be observed by the Christian. “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”, they say. These laws were good for a time. They were God’s laws given to Israel under the Old Covenant. Old Covenant Israel was right to receive these laws from God and to observe them so long as the Old Covenant order remained. But the Old Covenant does not remain. It has been fulfilled by Christ and has passed away. The New Covenant has come. These laws are no longer binding, therefore. And if men teach that these laws are still binding on the people of God, they are to be rejected as promoting a philosophy that is empty and misleading, rooted only in human tradition, and in the fundamental principles of the world. 

Why are we to regard the imposition of these Old Covenant ceremonial laws as human tradition? Aren’t these laws from God, and not man? Yes, these laws were from God, and not man. But they were given by God to a particular people to observe for a particular time and in a particular place. These laws have now been fulfilled by Christ and have, therefore, been taken away. Any attempt to impose these laws on the New Covenant people of God is to be rejected, for God has not given these ceremonial laws to the New Covenant people of God. Now that the Old Covenant has passed away and the New Covenant has come, the imposition of these laws must be regarded as the imposition of man-made rules and regulations.    

And why does Paul refer to these ceremonial laws as fundamental or elementary principles of the world? It is because these laws, having to do with earthly things — foods to be avoided, ceremonies to be performed, and festivals to be observed— were given to Old Covenant Israel to teach them (and us, through them) the most fundamental principles of religion. Old Covenant Israel was in school—elementary school. But now that Christ has come to accomplish our redemption and to send forth his Holy Spirit, God’s Covenant people have graduated from elementary school and have, in fact, emerged into adulthood. The elementary principles of this world —the dietary laws, the ceremonial washings associated with temple worship, and Old Covenant festival days— have all been removed, therefore.  

You all remember elementary school, don’t you? And yes, this even applies to those of you who were home-schooled. When you are in elementary school, the teacher (or your mom) provides a lot of structure for you. Lots of instruction. Lots of guidance. Lots of rules. Why? Because, at that age, you lack the maturity and discipline to guide yourself. And that’s how things were under the Old Covenant. There were lots of rules and regulations imposed by God upon his covenant people as they awaited the arrival of the Messiah. But now that the Messiah has come, and the Spirit has been poured out on every member of the New Covenant community, the extra rules and regulations (the ones that had been added to the moral law) are no longer needed, for Christ has come, and Christ’s Spirit fills every true member of the New Covenant. The Spirit uses the moral law, written on our hearts through regeneration, to convict us of sin, and to guide us in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake (see Galatians 3:19-25).

As I have said, Paul is merely sounding the alarm here in Colossians 2:8. He will elaborate on these things in 2:16-23, and so we will move on. “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, [and here is the kicker] and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8, ESV).

Philosophy is the love and pursuit of wisdom. Should Christains love and pursue wisdom? Of course! To have true wisdom, one must know the truth about God, man, sin, and salvation in Christ. But wisdom is not merely about head knowledge. Wisdom is truth applied to the whole of life. Wisdom is about knowing and doing—it has to do with the way we walk. A man may be very smart. He may have a lot of truth crammed into his head, and yet be a fool. And what makes him a fool? He’s a fool because the truth in his head is not really believed in his heart. He’s a fool because he does not put the truth he knows into practice. The one who is wise knows the truth and walks according to it. 

Do not forget what Paul commended in the previous passage. “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6–7, ESV). It’s not surprising that Paul goes on to warn the Colossians, and we with them, of beginning with Christ, and then being taken captive by a form of philosophy that is empty and deceitful, not rooted in Christ” (Colossians 2:8, ESV).

 Christian must beware of teachings that, though they may appear wise on the surface, are in fact empty and misleading because they are rooted in or derived from mere human tradition and the fundamental principles of this world. To quote Paul from Colossians 2:23, “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23, ESV). Where then is true wisdom found—the kind of wisdom that is full and fulfilling; the kind that brings us salvation and sanctification; the wisdom by which we may, in fact, draw near to God and walk worthily before him? Only in Christ. Therefore, we must see to it that no one takes us captive by empty and deceitful teaching that is not rooted in Christ. 

Christ, the Only Source Of True Wisdom

The rest of the text explains why Christ is the only source of true wisdom. Wisdom has to do with walking, remember. And Paul has already expressed his desire to see us, not only saved through faith in Christ, but walking worthily in Christ. It was back in Colossians 1:9 that Paul, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9–10, ESV). In Colossians 2:6, Paul issues this command: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6–7, ESV). And in Colossians 2:23, Paul shows that his concern is to see us walking worthily, when he says, “These [elementary principles of the word] have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23, ESV). This is a reference to the indulgences of the sinful flesh. His point is that those devoted to self-made or man-made religious practices might appear wise on the surface (think of the Pharisees), but these external practices didn’t do anything of value to stop the sinful indulgences of the flesh. Where, then, is true wisdom found? Where is freedom from sin found? Where will we find the power to walk worthily in Christ Jesus, in obedience to the Apostles’ command? Answer: in Christ—by having your roots sunk down deep in Christ, and by abiding in him, and growing up in him. Why is Christ the only source of true wisdom? The rest of our text explains. 

I’ve decided to move very quickly through the remainder of this text with you today. I present you with the seven reasons the Apostle gives for Christ being the only true source of wisdom, and I will do so very briefly. I plan to return to verses 9-15 next Sunday to mine this passage more deeply and carefully, for there are many treasures to be found here. 

In brief, Christ is the only source of true wisdom because: 

In Christ, The Whole Fullness Of Deity Dwells Bodily

One, in verse 9, we hear the Apostle say that in Christ, the fullness of deity dwells bodily. Who is the only source of true wisdom? God is. And Jesus Christ is God. He is the eternally begotten Word (or Wisdom) of God, the second person opf the Triune God, come in the flesh. If you wish to have true wisdom, you must go to God’s Word. Christ is the Word. He is the person of the Word, eternally begotten, not made. Through him, God the Father spoke to and through the prophets in the past. And in these last days, God has spoken to us supremely through the Word come in the flesh, Christ Jesus the Lord.   And Christ is the Word. 

In Christ, You Have Been Filled

Two, in verse 10, we see that in Christ, that is to say, through our Spirit-wrought and faith-bound union with him, we have been filled. Filled with God, and with his wisdom. 

In Christ, You Have Been Circumcised

Three, in verse 11 we are reminded that in Christ, we  have been “circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ…” Here, Paul speaks of spiritual circumcision, the death of the old man in Christ Jesus. 

In Christ, You Have Been Baptized

Four, in verse 12, Paul reminds us that we have been baptized in Christ, that is to say, we have been spiritually united with Christ in his death and resurrection. Next Sunday, I hope to demonstrate that this is a reference, not to water baptism, but to the spiritual baptism, that is to say, our spiritual union with Christ in his death and resurrection, of which water baptism is a sign.  

In Christ, You Have Been Made Alive

Five, in verse 13, Paul reminds us that we have been made alive in Christ Jesus. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him…”

In Christ, You Have Been Forgiven

Six, in verses 13 and 14, Paul reminds us that we have been forgiven in Christ Jesus. “…having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

In Christ, You have Been Set Free 

And Seven, in verse 15, Paul reminds us that in Christ Jesus we have been set free from bondage to the Evil One and his dark kingdom. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Suggestions For Application

As I have said, I plan to return to verses 8 through 15 next Sunday to consider them more closely and carefully. I’ll conclude this sermon by asking, what does all of this have to do with wisdom and with walking worthily in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord? 

Colossians  3:1-3 helps us to see. Speaking of the worldly, Christless philosophies, Paul says,  “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1–2, ESV).

Worldly, Christless philosophies are indulgence of the flesh. Why? Because, though Christless philosophies may discover good morals and may establish rules and regulations to promote the keeping of those good morals by men, even the best of worldly philosophers and philosophies cannot fix the deep-seated corruptions that reside within man as a result of Adam’s sin and ours.  These worldly philosophies cannot fill you with God and the wisdom of God. They do not have the power to put the old sinful man in you to death. Aristotle cannot give you a new spiritual life. Plato cannot wash away your sins to reconcile you to God. Confucius does not have the power to free you from bondage to Satan and his dark kingdom. But Christ does.   

If you are in Christ, you can walk worthily, not because you have some wisdom in your head, but because you have God and the Wisdom of God in your heart. 

If you are in Christ, you can walk worthily, because you have been regenerated. Your old man—the sinful flesh—has been put to death, and you have been raised to newness of life.  

If you are in Christ, you can walk worthily, because you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. You have been spiritually united to Christ in his death and raised with him in his resurrection. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is now at work in you.

If you are in Christ, you can walk worthily, because you have been set free from bondage to sin and from the tyranny of the Devil. You now have freedom in Christ to obey God’s law and to honor Christ as Lord. 

This contrast between the kind of wisdom that worldly, Christless philosophies promote, and the wisdom that philosophy, which is rooted in Christ, promotes is eminently important to note. 

What can the worldly philosopher who wishes to exhort his followers to walk worthy really say to them? Here are the rules. Here are the standards. Try harder. Do better. Wear this clothing. It will help. Abstain from these foods. That will help. Fast three times a week. That will do it. Observe these holy days, and victory will be found there.  But all of this is bondage. 

Those in Christ do not need these external rules and regulations imposed on them. Why? But in Christ we have been renewed inwardly, raised from spiritual death to life, and filled with the Holy Spirit of God. It is all of grace. 

I wonder if you can see how this doctrine affects the way that pastors pastor. You know, the elders of this church shepherd the members of this church, assuming that you are regenerated people. As regenerated people, living in this present evil age,  we still struggle with sin. Sometimes we struggle greatly. But regenerated people will not persist in sin. Though sin remains in us, it will not have dominion over us. The regenerated person hates their sin and will endeavor to turn from it. And so pastors do not need to impose man-made rules and regulations on God’s people when urging them to walk worthily. As pastors teach, encourage, and exhort from God’s word and from God’s law, we assume that God’s renewed people will love God’s law and will endeavor to obey it with the strength God supplies. 

And I wonder if you can see how this doctrine affects your endeavors to walk worthily in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, your obedience to him must emanate, not from self-will, but from a heart renewed by God, and filled with love and gratitude for all that God has done for you and in you through Christ Jesus. The Christians must walk worthily by abiding in Christ, therefore. Apart from him, we can do nothing.   

And Christ has taught us how to abide in him. I’d encourage you to read John 14:15-15:17 later today and see. Abiding in Christ does involve keeping his commandments. It involves making use of the means of grace that he has provided. But his commandments are not burdensome to the true believer in Christ, for his law is written on our hearts. In him we have been renewed. In him, we find all the power we need to walk worthy.  

Baptist Catechism 15

Q. 15. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man, in the estate wherein he was created?

A. When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience: forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen. 2:16,17; Gal. 3:12; Rom. 5:12)

Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:4–17

“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Genesis 2:4–17, ESV)

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Introduction

Question and answer 15 of our catechism presents a very important doctrine. I think it is safe to say that the story of redemption that is found in the pages of Holy Scripture cannot be properly understood without the doctrine that is summarized here. 

The whole story of the Bible can be told in four parts: creation, fall, redemption in Christ, and consummation. And you will notice that, here in question 15 of our catechism, we are still talking about how things were in the very beginning after God created man, but before man fell into sin. We are still laying foundations, therefore. And if we do not get the foundational things right, we will not be able to understand the things that come later in the story. This is why you do not show up to the movies late or start to read in the middle of a book. If you miss the beginning, you will certainly be lost as you consider the middle and the end.

Again, the question is, ​​ What special act of providence did God exercise towards man, in the estate wherein he was created? When we talk about the estate (or we might say “state”) wherein man was created?  We are talking about man as God made him in the beginning – man as he came from the hand of God – man in the garden – man before his fall into sin. And our catechism is asking, what special act of providence did God exercise towards man in that state of being?

We have already defined God’s providence, remember? When we speak of God’s providence, we are talking about the way that God preserves and governs the things he has made. We know that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, and after he created the heavens and earth, he began to uphold and govern his creation to bring about his eternal purposes. He preserves and governs his creation in many ways, generally speaking. But here we are talking about a special act of providence.  Did God do anything special in the beginning to govern man? Did he go beyond the created order of things to guide and direct man? The answer is yes!

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God Entered Into A Covenant With Man

Specifically, we confess that when God created man, he entered into a covenant with him. 

Genesis 1 tells the story of creation in a general way. There we learn that God made “all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good”(BC, 12). There, we also learn about the creation of man. “God created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures” (BC, 13). But Genesis 2 tells the story of creation from another vantage point. In Genesis 2, the focus is on the covenant that God made with man in the beginning. Take special notice of this: when God created man in the beginning, he did not merely leave them alone on earth to live as his creatures. No, he took them somewhere special, and he entered into a special arrangement with them, wherein he offered them something special —that is to say, something more than what they possessed as his creatures.  

Genesis 1 tells us about creation in a general way, but Genesis 2 tells us about creation with special attention given to the covenant that God made with man in the beginning. God planted a special garden and placed the man there. And in the garden, God entered into a special arrangement with man. He gave man a special mission and set apart special trees to function in a symbolic way.  

Here is the point: first God created man, and then afterward he entered into a covenant with him. This covenantal arrangement is said to be a special act of providence because it was not an original part of the natural order of things. No, the covenantal arrangement was added after creation. What was the natural relationship that existed between God and man in the very beginning? God was the Creator, and man was the creature? What did man owe God? Everything! Man owed God obedience and worship. And what did God owe to man? Nothing! Except for justice. But God did something extra. God entered into a covenant with man. And it was through this covenant that God offered man something more than what he had as God’s creature. 

I’ve said that God entered into a covenant with man. Genesis 2 tells the story of that. But what is a covenant? A covenant is simply an agreement between two or more parties. Concerning the covenants that God has made with man, we may say that covenants are “declarations of [God’s] sovereign pleasure concerning the benefits he will bestow on [man], the communion they will have with him, and the way and means by which this will be enjoyed by them.” The word “covenant” is not used in Genesis 2, but the making of a covenant is certainly described there. 

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God Entered Into A Covenant Of Life With Man

So, what were the benefits that God offered to man in the beginning? 

The benefits were symbolized by the tree of life. Life was offered to Adam and his posterity, should he keep the terms of the covenant that God made with him. This might sound strange to some. Some might think, but wasn’t Adam already alive? And wasn’t he alive in paradise with a right relationship with God?  Well, yes, he was. But eternal life was the thing offered to Adam—eternal life in the blessed presence of God was offered to him—glory was offered to him. The life that was offered to Adam through the covenant that God transacted with him in the beginning was the same as the life that will be ours in the new heavens and earth when Christ our Savior comes again to make all things new. That is the life that the tree of life signified—life eternal. 

This is why our catechism refers to the covenant that God made with Adam as the Covenant of Life. This covenant goes by many names. It is sometimes called the Covenant of Creation because it was made in the beginning after God created the heavens and the earth. It is also called the Adamic Covenant because the covenant was transacted with Adam as the federal head. And many refer to it as the Covenant of Works, because this is how the blessing of this covenant would be received— through Adam’s work, or obedience.  All of these names for the covenant emphasize different aspects of it. But our catechism calls it the Covenant of Life so that we might remember what the promised reward for keeping this covenant was. 

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Upon Condition Of Perfect Obedience 

Notice that our catechism answers the question, how would Adam come to receive the promised blessing of this covenant with the words, “upon condition of perfect obedience…” What was the promised reward? Eternal life. And how would that promised reward be obtained? Through perfect obedience. 

Adam was to worship and serve the lord perfectly. He was to expand the garden temple and protect it from all evil. He was to work faithfully to expand the garden and to fill the earth with his offspring, and he was to rest and worship one day in seven. In brief, Adam was to faithfully serve as God’s prophet, priest, and king during this time of testing. And having passed the test, he would have been permitted to eat of the tree of life to enter into life eternal. The condition of the covenant of life was perfect and perpetual obedience. 

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Forbidding Him To Eat Of The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil

And what was forbidden? In this covenant, Adam was forbidden “to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” 

I’ve already said that these two trees – the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – were sacramental. By that, I mean that there was nothing special about these trees until God set them apart as special. The tree of life was not magical, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not poisonous. They were just trees. They were ordinary trees that God set apart to signify something. In brief, the tree of life signified Adam’s obedience and the reward that would come as a result of it, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil signified Adam’s rebellion and the curse that would come as a result of it. 

What is meant by the name, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. Well, by eating of that tree, Adam would be claiming to decide for himself what is good and evil instead of submitting himself to the word of God. Furthermore, by eating from this tree, Adam would come to know good and evil in another way. Through obedience, Adam would know what was good experientially and what was evil through abstinence. But through disobedience, Adam would come to know what is evil experientially.  

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Upon Pain Of Death

And lastly, what was the guaranteed curse for violating the terms of this covenant? The pain of death. And certainly, on the day that Adam ate of this forbidden tree, he and Eve passed from the state of perfection and into the state of sin and death. They, and all of their posterity, came under God’s curse, were cast out of Eden, and barred from the tree of life that had been offered to them. If they were to enter into life in glory now, it would have to be by the grace of God and by the work of another who was sinless and greater than Adam.   

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Conclusion

I think you can see why I have said that if we do not understand this doctrine, then it will be difficult for us to understand the rest of the story told in the pages of Holy Scripture. If the Bible tells the story of creation, fall, redemption in Christ, and consummation, then we must know about this covenant.

Q. 15. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man, in the estate wherein he was created?

A. When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience: forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen. 2:16,17; Gal. 3:12; Rom. 5:12)