Tag: judging

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Philippians 1:18b – The Important Thing

Picture of a field of wheat with weeds growing in it. (Grok)

The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. 

Summary: Paul is pondering what is most important in life. In this passage, he shares his conclusion that at the end of the day, all that matters is that Christ is preached. 

How much Jesus is enough to save a soul? 

This question may sound silly, but it stems from the passage before us. What does Paul mean by “in every way?” Does it matter if I preach a little Jesus or a lot? Is how I preach Jesus more important than the fact that I preach Jesus? What if I preach Jesus, but I do it in a way that you don’t like?

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Colossians 4:5a – Wisdom

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders…

Summary: How we act towards people says a lot about us, and it says even more about who or what we serve. 

Unsurprisingly, this passage follows the one before rather closely. To proclaim the Gospel clearly, we need to be “wise” in how we interact with others. 

Notice that Paul doesn’t say, “Be wise in the way you talk to others.” 

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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. 

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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?

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