SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/16/2017
9:56 PM
Bible Reading & Meditation
Focus: PT-1 “Complete Salvation”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians
2:11-12
Message of the
verses: “11 and in Him you were also
circumcised with a circumcision made without
hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been
buried with Him in baptism,
in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God,
who raised Him from the dead.”
I have highlighted two words in these two verses and both
of them have given trouble to people throughout the history of both Judaism and
the Church age, and we will talk about them as we go through this section from
Colossians chapter two.
Once again I remind you of why Paul wrote this letter, as
there were things going on in the Colossian church that were not right and so
Paul in refuting them actually does it in a way that shows them what the truth
really is and in this section we will look at the complete salvation that Jesus
has provided for those who belong to Him.
Incidentally the heresy that Paul was dealing with was a mix
of pagan philosophy with Jewish legalism, and Jewish legalism came from those
called Judaizers. “Judaizers is a term for Christians
who insist that their co-religionists should follow the Law of
Moses.” This short quote comes from Wikipedia.
One of the things that these Judaizers taught was that circumcision was
needed to complete salvation, and Paul refutes that in verse eleven. What exactly was circumcision? Jewish boys were circumcised when they were
eight days old, the cutting of the foreskin from around their male organ, and
with that they belonged to the covenant nation as seen in Genesis
17:10-14. Some though that this was
enough for salvation, because they went into the covenant nation of
Israel. Some disagreed with that. Paul writes to the Romans in Romans 9:6b “For
they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.” Paul wrote the following in Romans 2:25 &
28 “For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are
a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision…For he
is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in
the flesh.”
I mentioned that some disagree with
circumcision “being enough for salvation and that there was another view which
recognized that circumcision was only the outward demonstration that man was
born sinful and needed cleansing. The
cutting away of the male foreskin on the reproductive organ was a graphic to
demonstrate that man needed cleansing at the deepest level of his being. No other part of the human anatomy so
demonstrates that depth of sin, inasmuch as that is the part of man that
produces life—and all that he produces is sinful. That is the biblical view. From the beginning, circumcision was used
symbolically to illustrate the desperate need man had for cleansing of the
heart. In Deuteronomy 10:16 Moses
commanded the people of Israel, saying ‘Circumcise then you heart, and stiffen
your neck no more.’ Deuteronomy 10:6
adds, ‘Moreover the Lord you God will circumcise your heart and the heart of
your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, in order that you may live.’
The Lord commanded the Israelites of Jeremiah’s time to circumcise
themselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of their hearts (Jer. 4:4; cf.
9:26). God was always concerned with the
heart, not with the physical rite (John MacArthur).”
3/16/2017
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