June 26th, 2006
The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #3: Idle Notions
Colossians 2:6-23
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
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. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Yes, I haven’t sent out Edition #2, in case those of you are wondering, but I guess I will send it out today with this one… it’s been on the blog since last Monday, I have just delayed in sending it out for personal reasons that I may and hope to address at a later date.
“Don’t let anyone judge you by what you drink.” And this is a good thing, I think. But when I look at Galatians 5 it says: “The acts of the sinful nature are… drunkenness and orgies…” (Verses 19 & 21).
Galatians 5:21 drunkenness:
methē
meth'-ay
Apparently a primary word; an intoxicant, that is, (by implication) intoxication: - drunkenness.
Galatians 5:21 orgies:
kōmos
ko'-mos
A carousal (as if a letting loose): - reveling, rioting.
So, I guess it is important to not judge anyone who drinks too much as well as if I drink, to not let anyone judge me for what it is that I drink. But the fact of the matter is this: SIN IS OBVIOUS. It is the scarlet letter that stands out to God and the righteousness of his people. I get called out on my sin, and I should be thankful. In fact, I am thankful, although, sometimes when it happens I get prideful and don’t receive all too well. I guess it depends on how passionate I am about my sin. Sometimes my sin is rooted deep and I don’t want to let it go, so I fight for something that I shouldn’t. “Be careful of what you think you know” is a saying I say sometimes to myself, which is why I study, in school, the bible, whatever, I like to study things. Knowledge is good but it can sometimes be a burden. How about this: “Be careful what you want to know.” I mean, do I really want to know everything that God knows? I don’t really think so. I mean, there are some things I know now that I don’t want to know, even with my illness. There are some redeeming qualities to ignorance, but with knowledge comes responsibility. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1st Corinthians 8:1).
Colossians 2:18 (italics translation mine)
Do not let even one man who delights in false humility and the worshipping of messengers and pastors defraud you of your salvation. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has “not” seen, and his carnal mind makes him proud without reason.
Not sure why, but there is a “not” before “seen”, according to E-Sword, but it’s not in the NIV bibles that I have. I will try to cross check with other sources to make sure which is correct. Either way, the scripture seems to make a bunch of sense, with or without the “not”. It makes a little more sense with the “not” than without, though, at least for me, but I also want to make sure I am not adding anything to the bible. I put that in quotations specifically simply because of the discrepancy that may have occurred, although the error simply may be mine. I do make mistakes. Admitting them may be against the “MAN-LAW”, although I haven’t seen a commercial on that one, yet.
I like the solutions to the problem. The scripture actually starts out with the solutions:
The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #3: Idle Notions
Colossians 2:6-23
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
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. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Yes, I haven’t sent out Edition #2, in case those of you are wondering, but I guess I will send it out today with this one… it’s been on the blog since last Monday, I have just delayed in sending it out for personal reasons that I may and hope to address at a later date.
“Don’t let anyone judge you by what you drink.” And this is a good thing, I think. But when I look at Galatians 5 it says: “The acts of the sinful nature are… drunkenness and orgies…” (Verses 19 & 21).
Galatians 5:21 drunkenness:
methē
meth'-ay
Apparently a primary word; an intoxicant, that is, (by implication) intoxication: - drunkenness.
Galatians 5:21 orgies:
kōmos
ko'-mos
A carousal (as if a letting loose): - reveling, rioting.
So, I guess it is important to not judge anyone who drinks too much as well as if I drink, to not let anyone judge me for what it is that I drink. But the fact of the matter is this: SIN IS OBVIOUS. It is the scarlet letter that stands out to God and the righteousness of his people. I get called out on my sin, and I should be thankful. In fact, I am thankful, although, sometimes when it happens I get prideful and don’t receive all too well. I guess it depends on how passionate I am about my sin. Sometimes my sin is rooted deep and I don’t want to let it go, so I fight for something that I shouldn’t. “Be careful of what you think you know” is a saying I say sometimes to myself, which is why I study, in school, the bible, whatever, I like to study things. Knowledge is good but it can sometimes be a burden. How about this: “Be careful what you want to know.” I mean, do I really want to know everything that God knows? I don’t really think so. I mean, there are some things I know now that I don’t want to know, even with my illness. There are some redeeming qualities to ignorance, but with knowledge comes responsibility. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1st Corinthians 8:1).
Colossians 2:18 (italics translation mine)
Do not let even one man who delights in false humility and the worshipping of messengers and pastors defraud you of your salvation. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has “not” seen, and his carnal mind makes him proud without reason.
Not sure why, but there is a “not” before “seen”, according to E-Sword, but it’s not in the NIV bibles that I have. I will try to cross check with other sources to make sure which is correct. Either way, the scripture seems to make a bunch of sense, with or without the “not”. It makes a little more sense with the “not” than without, though, at least for me, but I also want to make sure I am not adding anything to the bible. I put that in quotations specifically simply because of the discrepancy that may have occurred, although the error simply may be mine. I do make mistakes. Admitting them may be against the “MAN-LAW”, although I haven’t seen a commercial on that one, yet.
I like the solutions to the problem. The scripture actually starts out with the solutions:
- Live in him.
- Overflow with thankfulness.
- Build up in him.
- Rooted in him.
Live:
peripateō
per-ee-pat-eh'-o
To tread all around, that is, walk at large (especially as proof of ability); figuratively to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary): - go, be occupied with, walk (about).
Overflow:
perisseuō
per-is-syoo'-o
To superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel: - (make, more) abound, (have, have more) abundance, (be more) abundant, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).
Rooted:
rhizoō
hrid-zo'-o
To root (figuratively become stable): - root.
Built up:
epoikodomeō
ep-oy-kod-om-eh'-o
To build upon, that is, (figuratively) to rear up: - build thereon (thereupon, on, upon).
Interesting enough… to live in God is to walk with him; it is to be occupied with God. Obsess much? If not, maybe you should. I don’t know. That’s just what the bible says. And then, I got to be rooted with God, being stable with my Christianity. The next step is I have to build upon that ground… I can’t just build a foundation and leave it. I have to build walls and a roof and keep building and building. Sunday, the preacher talked about counting the costs. He mentioned that we don’t just count the cost at baptism and that’s it. Ten years later, we’re working on decade old convictions. Wouldn’t it be nice to still be paying gas prices from ten years ago? I still have to count the costs when I go to the pump every time I need gas. How often do I count the cost when I open the bible or when I open my mouth or when I share my faith? I still need to keep building and I still need to keep counting. And throughout all this, I need to overflow with gratitude. I need to be so grateful; I need to be able to have a basketful to give to others that they can then share gratitude with others. So much that I have “enough to spare”. Take Care, Johnny Out.
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