Avoiding False Humility

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: which 

a shadow of things to come;but the body is of Christ. 

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a 

voluntary humility and worshiping of angels,

intruding into those things which he hath

not seen, vainly purred up by his fleshly mind,

and not holding the Head, from which all the 

body by joints and bands having nourishment

ministered, and knit together, increaseth 

with the increase of God.

Colossians 2:16-19

 

     The ceremonial law was cancelled, fulfilled, in Jesus Christ, therefore, no person is to be condemned because they are disregarding that cancelled law, eating whatever they desire, drinking whatever they desire, all in accordance with the words of God whereby people are to be moderate, and to be concerned whether or not what they eat or drink does not offend the other person. Deny yourself said Jesus, and this is what Authentic Christians do in their becoming in the image of Jesus Christ. Under the Mosaic law the Sabbath was a ceremonial dispensation, as well as a moral requirement and this too was fulfilled and cancelled by Jesus Christ. There are those who demand that only a certain day, Saturday, is the Sabbath and there are those who demand a change in diet to a vegetarian diet, all in some sense are bigoted due to their demand to these distinctions. Does this mean that there is to be no Sabbath observed by Christians? No! There is a moral and appropriate day in which Christians meet together to worship God corporately, and to examine all the congregants as to needs and then to meet those needs. This obligation to meet together (Hebrews 10:25) as well as the record of the early Church meeting on the first day of the week demonstrates that there is to be a day, a holy day set aside for worship. The Sabbath day always denote the seventh day of the week in which the Jews were to keep holy and even ensuring that to non-Jews who had converted to Judaism, but the Judiasers in the early Church attempted to impose that day, the seventh day, the Sabbath to be kept forgetting that Jesus cancelled the old ceremonial laws and only the morality of keeping a day holy was now inaugurated. 

     Paul states that we are not to be "beguiled," led into false thinking, a false humility, all because a person is keeping the old cancelled ceremonial law, or to be eating or not eating certain foods or a diet. Nourishment is required for the natural body, and spiritual nourishment is required for the soul. To be following those who are teaching a law, to make a person to live in legalism is not to be followed, in fact, we are not to associate with such a person: "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let him tht eateth despise him that eateth not;; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him" (Romans 14:1-3). This chapter should be read and understood that we have a freedom given to us by the death of Jesus Christ, but we are not to abuse this freedom. Paul wrote: "But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are with the worse" (1Corinthians 8:8). This type of humility that many have is unscriptural and not heresy. There are those we as Authentic Christians are to avoid while they remain in their sins: "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, ir any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one no not to eat" (1Corinthians 5:11). Oh! how this command is misused, not even kept in some Churches, by those who call themselves Christian and yet follow after their own sympathies rather than follow after the sympathy of Jesus who by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit instructed His followers how and what to follow.

     A question for a person desiring to live an Authentic Christian life is: will I deny myself and give all to Jesus Christ? The answer tells you whether or not Jesus has the top priority in your life and if you are becoming formed into His image. My prayer is that you will live as an Authentic Christian, displaying Authentic Christian Faith.

 

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest

     of the heads of the families of Israel

answered, "You have no part with us in

    building a temple to our God. We alone

will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel,

     as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us."

                                   Ezra 4:3

 

Remember you are spiritual Israel

 

Richard L. Crumb