Judge – Three Minute Bible

January 4, 2025January 5, 2025

Colossians 2:16b – The Risk of Rules

… by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

young man sitting in church, wearing a hat, drinking coffee and sporting tattoos.

Summary: In this passage, Paul gives us a rule about rules.

Let’s review the entire verse before we start our meditation:

“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.”

Paul begins with “Therefore…” referring to his prior statement that God made us “alive in Christ” (Col 2:13) and has canceled our “legal indebtedness” (Col 2:14) by means of the cross, “do not let anyone judge you by legalistic requirements.“

This is not a mysterious statement or a confusing metaphor. Paul is speaking as plainly as humanly possible here. There is no chance that anyone would or could misunderstand his point.

Except we do.

January 3, 2025January 3, 2025

Colossians 2:16a – Only Jesus

Therefore do not let anyone judge you …

Summary: Paul continues to explain what it means to be a believer in Jesus. Human rules count for nothing. All that matters is faith in our Savior.

As I sat down to write this meditation, I was debating with myself about whether or not I should tackle the whole verse. The more I stared at it, the more the first seven words cried out for special attention. So … before you judge me, know that I at least thought about including the whole verses before I chopped it up.

When Paul says, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you …” I tend to think to myself, “Yeah, right.” How does Paul expect us to stop people from judging us? On top of this is a larger question: How is the church supposed to function if people are not to judge?

July 6, 2024July 8, 2024

Galatians 5:19b – Acts of the Flesh, Part 1

The acts of the flesh are … sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

Summary: Diving into Paul’s list of “acts of the flesh” is intimidating. It is tempting to fall into judgment; either judging others or judging ourselves. But this is not why he is making the list. Paul wants us to understand the difference between Good and Evil.

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024

Galatians 5:10 – An Encouraging Word

I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.

Summary: Paul takes a breath and expresses his confidence that all is not lost for the Galatians.

June 13, 2024June 14, 2024

Galatians 5:6a – Blind Spot

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.

Summary: Paul continues to prompt interesting questions about Christian life. “What has value for God?” is a question that opens the door to understanding God’s will better.

February 5, 2024February 6, 2024

Galatians 2:11b – Standing Firm

… because he stood condemned.

Summary: Today’s passage uses the word “condemned.” Because the word can mean that we have passed judgment on someone, we look at other possible meanings for the original Greek text.

July 31, 2023August 1, 2023

Ephesians 5:1b-2a – The Way of Love

[Follow God’s example,] therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love,

Summary: Understanding what love is requires a knowledge of the different kinds of love. When we understand that, we can better understand the way of love that Paul wants us to follow.

January 8, 2023January 9, 2023

Matthew 5:44 – God-Like Love

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…

Summary: Loving others as God loves us is a complicated business.

December 9, 2022December 9, 2022

John 8:15 – The Judge of All Things

You judge by human standards …

Summary: How we define “good” and “evil,” says a lot about our relationship with God. Using God’s definitions is a way of honoring our Creator.

April 7, 2019April 7, 2019

Judged? – John 12: 47

If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Sometimes it feels like the pace of this blog could be picked up a bit. After all, how much detail can you expect from one verse? Well, quite a bit as it turns out.

Today’s verse turns the picture of God as JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE upside down. Instead of threatening plagues or floods, Jesus says he is not here to judge. What?

Is this the same God we read about in the Old Testament?

Well, yes.

It turns out that God had a plan to save the world from the very beginning. (Genesis 3: 15) Jesus could have come in chapter 4 of Genesis, but who would have crucified him and why? There needed to be an understanding established. God needed to explain what righteousness is, and what the cost of sin is. The animal sacrifices conducted by the early Jews demonstrated the messy, bloody, deadly price required for sin. The priesthood established by God acted as an intercessor between God and man. Both sacrifice and intercessor are needed.

Finally, the time was right, and Jesus entered the world. His job: Not to judge the world, but to save it.