These have their bigger fulfillment in the question: How do we please God?
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (CSB)
That’s what our sanctified hearts want to do. We want to know how to act in a way that is godly.
For that we look to Scripture.
But that can be confusing, too.
The bible has a lot of rules and statutes that are unclear, confusing, or may even seem contradictory – especially when we look at some in the Old Testament. Are we, “New Testament people” supposed to keep those, too?
These were issues the early Church faced, too. Some – especially those who were Jews – were saying that those Gentiles who became believers had to fulfill those Old Testament rules, too.
Paul is having none of it!
Not because they were bad or wrong. Far from it! They were from God so they were (and are) good!
But they have been fulfilled now in Jesus. Those things pointed to the coming of God’s chosen Christ. Jesus took care of all of them on our behalf, so they would no longer stand over us; accusing us; condemning us.
We are now free in Him!
Free from the rigidness of the rules of the OT Sabbath. Free from the laws on what constitutes clean and unclean foods. Free from so many of those things that were meant to being us closer to God but ended up being things that we broke and pushed us away from Him instead.
But does freedom in Jesus mean freedom from to sin?
Absolutely not!
So the question remains: what do we do to please God?
First, if not addressed and repeated in the New Testament, it’s likely not something that must be done. Often, though, even those aspects that are repeated and addressed differently. “do not murder?” is strengthened to “don’t even hate!” “Do not commit adultery” to “do not look lustfully.”
The easy way to get at things is to see that “love God with all your heart, mind, souls, and strength and your neighbor as yourself” still holds. But the dictums of how those play out are more flexible.
Second, we should see our freedom as a means to seek how we can serve Him and others better. Freedom to serve, not be served.
Third, we should take a look at those rules and laws God gave – even in the Old Testament – and ask why God gave them and if doing them would still be good and pleasing to Him. Not of mandate, but of desire in seeking His heart.
Serving God is easy when we do so from a stance of freedom and joyful response, rather than dutiful obligation.
We are free in Jesus!
We are love and serve Him and others in all we do joyfully!
That’s the heart of it!
Scriptures
- Colossians 2:17-23
