Daily Devotional
December 24
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17 KJV)
The bible makes it very clear that the Old Testament rules about what to eat and drink, as well as the Sabbath days, were only shadows of what was to come under the New Testament. We should not try to follow the many rules from the Old Testament, so why is the church still teaching that you must observe the Sabbath and many of the other rules? We need to realize that Jesus nailed the Law, and ordinances, to the cross with Himself (Colossians 2:14), and none of those rules apply to the born again Christian, yet many of them believe you still must observe the old law. If a Christian wants to still set aside a day, like the Sabbath, to spend in worship to God, then there is nothing wrong with that. But if you feel that you have to observe a certain day, or perform a certain act, to be pleasing to God, then that is works of the law, and is now actually sin for the born again Christian (Romans 14:23). If what you do is done because you love Jesus and the Father, then that is a work of faith, but if you do it to try and please God, it is a work of the law.
Jesus fulfilled the Law given through Moses by God, and because He fulfilled all of it (Matthew 5:17), we are not under the Law anymore. By fulfilling the law completely, Jesus earned righteousness with God, and then He gave it to us when we get born again. Does this mean we should throw away the Old Testament out of the bible? No, because it is still useful to show us what pleases God, and what He considers sin. It also convicts an unbeliever of his sins, and need for salvation. We need to live holy, for He is holy (1 Peter 1:16), but not under the Law. We need to live holy because we want to, as our nature was changed when we were born again, and we should no longer have a desire to sin. Jesus taught love, not works, and we need to love Him and serve Him because we love Him, as He is pleased with us without our actions and works, but we must obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). A person who wants to go live in sin because he has been forgiven, needs to get born again, because if your “want to” hasn’t been changed, then you can’t have the love of God living in your heart. Praise God for our wonderful salvation!
Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.Infinite-Faith.com
**Daily Devotional**
**December 24**
*16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17 KJV)*
The bible makes it very clear that the Old Testament rules about what to eat and drink, as well as the Sabbath days, were only shadows of what was to come under the New Testament. We should not try to follow the many rules from the Old Testament, so why is the church still teaching that you must observe the Sabbath and many of the other rules? We need to realize that Jesus nailed the Law, and ordinances, to the cross with Himself (Colossians 2:14), and none of those rules apply to the born again Christian, yet many of them believe you still must observe the old law. If a Christian wants to still set aside a day, like the Sabbath, to spend in worship to God, then there is nothing wrong with that. But if you feel that you have to observe a certain day, or perform a certain act, to be pleasing to God, then that is works of the law, and is now actually sin for the born again Christian (Romans 14:23). If what you do is done because you love Jesus and the Father, then that is a work of faith, but if you do it to try and please God, it is a work of the law.
Jesus fulfilled the Law given through Moses by God, and because He fulfilled all of it (Matthew 5:17), we are not under the Law anymore. By fulfilling the law completely, Jesus earned righteousness with God, and then He gave it to us when we get born again. Does this mean we should throw away the Old Testament out of the bible? No, because it is still useful to show us what pleases God, and what He considers sin. It also convicts an unbeliever of his sins, and need for salvation. We need to live holy, for He is holy (1 Peter 1:16), but not under the Law. We need to live holy because we want to, as our nature was changed when we were born again, and we should no longer have a desire to sin. Jesus taught love, not works, and we need to love Him and serve Him because we love Him, as He is pleased with us without our actions and works, but we must obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). A person who wants to go live in sin because he has been forgiven, needs to get born again, because if your “want to” hasn’t been changed, then you can’t have the love of God living in your heart. Praise God for our wonderful salvation!
Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.Infinite-Faith.com
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