Date: November 21, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 29
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of November 2021. I pray that it will overflow with the goodness and favour of God for you and your home, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
As we begin this new week, let me remind you of the words of Paul, which say, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col 2:16-17NIV) What is the point this apostle is making here? It is that we must not allow anyone to judge us according to the Law of Moses.
But why will Paul say this? It is because we will often come across people who will want to judge us according to this law. Yes, we will often find people who will want to measure our standing before God on the basis of our commitment to this law and ruin our liberty in Christ (Gal 2:4-5). I, for example remember how, when we just started holding church meetings, one of the ladies that joined our choir began to complain about some our sisters that wore trousers to church meetings. And when I asked to know why she was doing this, she said it was because what they were doing was not in agreement with what the bible says. And what part of the bible is she referring to? Evidently, it is the part in which we have the Law of Moses.
Unfortunately, this same sister used to wear trousers when she was not in church meetings. And when I asked her, “But I have seen you in town a number of times in trousers. If it is not wrong for you to wear them outside church meetings, why, then, should you think it is wrong for others to wear them to church meetings?” But instead of giving me a direct answer, she just said, “I just know that it is wrong, according to the bible, for a lady to wear what pertains to a man.” And that was how she stopped attending our church meetings altogether.
Now that is nothing but hypocrisy. It is hypocrisy to accept that something is wrong according to the God’s word and yet be doing it, whether openly or secretly. It is also hypocrisy to condemn in others what you yourself are doing. It gets even worse when you are condemning the innocent. And there are many of God’s children today who still wrongly condemn other children of His. Why? It is because they are not paying attention to the truth of Scriptures.
For example, as Paul shows us in that bible text above, one of the truths which many do not pay attention to is that the Christian must not allow himself to be judged at all on the basis of the Law of Moses. Why? It is because that law was never given to him by God. Rather, it was given to the Israelites when they just came out of Egypt as their national law and was later set aside by God after Jesus had fulfilled it and introduce a new and living way to serve Him. (Cf. Ex 24:12; Acts 15:1-29; Heb 8-10)
Is all this to say that the Christian cannot learn anything about God from the Law of Moses? No! He can learn a lot from it. And he should do his best to learn all he can from it. However, as Paul further shows us, that law is simply a shadow of what God wants His people to know about Him and life. The truth is in Christ Jesus. That means if you really want to know the truth about God and about life, it is the Lord Jesus Christ that you have to give your attention to. He is the way, the truth and the life. And no one can come to God or know God or life apart from Him. (Cf. John 14:4) So, it is the truth that is revealed in Scriptures about Him that we ought to pay attention to and get ourselves busy with. Also, it is the truth that is revealed about Him in Scriptures that we should always use as our basis for interpreting other things that are said in them. That is because it is the truth about Him that will make us free to live the kind of life God wants us to live.
All of this is why we must not allow anybody to pressure or trick us into living any kind of life that is not in agreement with what is revealed about our Lord Jesus in Scriptures. And it is also why we must refuse to feel bad or sad because certain individuals are angry with us for not embracing the law of Moses or some traditions of men that are contrary to the truth of Jesus. But we will feel sad or even succumb to the pressure of those who may want to lure us away from the truth of Jesus with their false religion or devotion, if we do not know the truth that is taught about Him in Scriptures and continue in it. So, make it your business to keep learning and acting on the truth revealed about Him in the Scriptures. And you will never be a victim of anybody’s error or excesses.
Do have a lovely week.
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