Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom …
Summary: Paul’s letter points us to a test for determining if a religious rule or regulation truly honors God.
If we are going to be able to recognize the kind of “rules” that Paul is talking about, we need to pay close attention to the clues Paul gives us. His first clue is that “Such regulations [aka ‘rules’] … have an appearance of wisdom …”
What does that mean?
Interestingly, the Bible has a lot to say about “wisdom.” The first thing to know about wisdom is this:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)
The second thing to know is that wisdom comes from the Lord (Proverbs 2:6). Actually, it is a package deal. When the Lord gives us wisdom, we also gain knowledge and understanding.
The third thing we need to know is that wisdom enters the heart, and the knowledge that comes with it is “pleasant to your soul” (Proverbs 2:10).
The Bible provides more details about wisdom, but these three points are enough for our purposes. To review, real wisdom involves three things:
1. Wisdom begins when we fear the Lord.
The Hebrew word for “fear” (Strong’s H3374 yirʼâh) is not some namby-pamby version of “fear” that means we kinda respect God. The “fear of the Lord” actually means understanding that God is God.
Imagine that you are clinging to a rope suspended over a one-thousand-foot drop. At the bottom of the drop is a raging river of molten lava flowing at the base of the cliff. The hand that holds the rope is God’s. You understand that if God lets go, you are toast.
Wisdom understands that our lives depend on God.
2. The fear of the Lord opens the door to wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Wisdom doesn’t stand alone.
3. Wisdom fills the heart, and knowledge is “pleasant to your soul.” You can feel the difference wisdom and knowledge make in your life.
A religious regulation involves these three things. Jesus summarized the “law and the prophets” by saying we should love God above all else and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).
Using that standard, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17) make perfect sense. They are clearly about putting God first and loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is easy to see that these laws pass all three of our tests for true wisdom. They reflect a fear of the Lord, they make sense logically and are easy to understand, and a person who loves God will find them pleasant to the soul.
But what about the Jewish law limiting how far you could travel on the Sabbath? In Jesus’ day, the Jews were required to limit how far they traveled on the Sabbath. (My understanding is that they were limited to a maximum of two thousand cubits or about 3,000 ft.) It is not at all clear that this rule reflects a fear of God. This “wisdom” does not make sense logically, which means it has to be accepted without understanding it. Finally, this is a rule that is not “pleasant to your soul.” Instead, it is coercive.
Application: Everything worth anything depends on God.
Food for Thought: How would you apply the wisdom test today?
Please click ‘’Continue Reading” for comments.
Continue reading “Colossians 2:23a – The Wisdom Test”