The Process of Correction & Judaism

Word for word study of Colossians 2

Fred R. Coulter—September 17, 2022

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! We hope it's a good Sabbath wherever you are.

I want to mention an old, old book called The World's Greatest Throne by John Fox. It's so old that there's no copyright. It will show that the Brits really understood who they were years ago. They were the descendants of the children of Israel, namely Ephraim and that the throne was the throne of David.

*****

I need to bring us up to date on where we are with the difficulty in the situation with one of our elders. It has come to a resolution that the elder has resigned as being an elder with the Christian Biblical Church of God. However, he and his wife are still members. Pray for them whether you know them or not. All of those in the areas that are affected know who it is, and are the only ones who need to know directly who it is.

As you have seen we carried out what we have done according to Scripture. All of this is to help whoever goes astray or makes a giant blooper as we have covered, and will be able to recover.

Let's look at some things that God tells us. We will see the process that has to happen, but also it is the process that we all have go through to one degree or another. When we get done with this, we will see that it's a process that we are continually engaged in. That is the process of correction!

Proverbs 10:17: "He who keeps instruction is in the Way of Life…"

You can take that one Scripture and you can expand it all you want to, because the whole Bible is the Way of Life. Think about this: Having all the Word of God for us so that we can know:

• Who God is
• what He is doing
• where He is going
• how we fit into it
• His Plan for all of mankind, which is marvelous

You're in the Way of Life!

"…but he who refuses reproof goes astray" (v 17).

Look at the way it is with people in the world, they refuse reproof! Look at it as we see it with the rise of crime in many cities in America today.

Proverbs 3:11: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be weary of His correction."

Why? Because the Word of God gives us the correct way to go! This is why we have prayer and study every single day of our lives!

Verse 12: "For whom the LORD loves He corrects…"

All of us are going to have correction! Sometimes from the most unexpected place. It was like a father whom I know was revealing to his son for the first time—because they had been Protestants—that as they were coming to the Truth they found out that the holidays of this world are not true, that they are lies.

His eight-year-old son said, 'Dad, why did you like to me?' That was correction from his eight-year-old son!

• correction can come from the Word of God
• correction can come from some of the most unexpected places

"…even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding" (vs 12-13). That is the end result of correction!

There is quite a bit of correction in the whole book of Proverbs when you really look at it and understand it. The Proverbs in themselves are all notes of correction.

Proverbs 22:5: "Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself shall be far from them."

Notice the word guard, because when you're out there in the world the way that it is, it's thorns and thistles. But if you guard yourself. What does that mean? Watch yourself!

• what you say
• how you do it
• how you live
• what you think

"…he who guards himself shall be far from them" (v 5).

Then we find this in v 6, and apply this not only to those who have children, but apply this to God the Father and Jesus Christ to us and what They're doing to us!

Verse 6: "Train up a child in the way he should go…"

• Isn't that what God is doing with us?
• Training us in the way we should go?
• For what?

For eternal life! That's quite a thing to really understand!

"…and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (v 6).

Living in the world that we live in today, with so many lies and Satan in control of the world, we need to understand that we have a lot of difficult things that come upon us that in other generation they didn't have it in the same way.

It's kind of like this: There are some people who are transfixed to the Internet. There are some people who send me as many as five or six e-mails in a day. So, my latest message to each one of them is this: Please, why don't try not going on the Internet for a whole day? You might find that surprising!

Why is that important? Because if you're on the Internet all the time and you're reading what other people have to say and hearing what they have to say and you can't resist it! What will be the problem? You will not think for yourself! You will be filling your mind with the thoughts of other people!

That's why it's important that you fill your mind with the Truth!

Hebrews 12:1—after giving examples of all those who were faithful unto death: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great throng of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entraps us…" Amazing!

How much sin do you see just by watching the television? Maybe not outright sin, but look at all of these commercials, especially those that say that you have emotional problems! They show this sad man or woman and then it's an ad to take a drug! But what they really need is God, but they don't know it!

So, we have to, "…lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entraps us and let us run the race set before us with endurance… [if it gets tough you don't quit] …having our minds fixed on Jesus… (vs 1-2).

How do you have your mind fixed on Jesus? By what He says that's in the Word of God! I just talked to a man here just recently—brand new—and he has now understood that there is God the Father and God the Son. And that there is no trinity!

I explained to him that in the Old Testament the One Who is in the New Testament—the Father—is the Most High. The One Who is Jesus Christ was the LORD God. In 1-Cor. 10 it says that with the children of Israel and the Rock that followed them was Christ!

"…the Beginner and Finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that lay ahead of Him endured the cross, although He despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God" (v 2).

That's quite a story. In A Harmony of the Gospels (3rd ed.) with the commentary in it, needing something as a guide for your personal Bible study, get it {truthofGod.org.} You will be able to see the teachings of Jesus and the commentary that goes with it.

Verse 3: "Now meditate deeply on Him…"—thinking! Praying as you're thinking!

"…Who endured such great hostility of sinners against Himself so that you do not become weary and faint in your minds" (v 3).

Likewise with the correction of the situation that we have just gone through, that has been taken care of. But we'll talk about, in just a little bit, how we have our sins forgiven and what happens after they're forgiven.

Verse 4: "You have not yet resisted to the point of losing blood in your struggle against sin."

Think about how many were martyred down through time; killed for what they believed. Today when we have so many things available and we're not being pushed upon by people who are coming against us the way they were back then—but they will in the future—we need to take advantage of the time so we are changing, growing, overcoming and correcting!

Verse 5: "And you have already forgotten the admonition that He addresses to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor grow weary of being reproved by Him… [we just read that in Proverbs] …for whom the Lord loves…'" (vs 5-6).

Sometimes there has to be tough love in order to correct the problem and help us to see what the difficulty really is. I can tell you this for sure, if you slack off on study and prayer something is going to come along and it's going to be a difficult thing, indeed; but you're going to have face it and overcome it.

What that may be I don't know, because God uses many different ways and many different things to do correction. The easiest way to be corrected is with the Word of God.

Verse 7: "If you endure chastening, God is dealing with you as a Father with His sons. For who is the son whom the Father does not chasten?"

Think about that today. Why do we have so much trouble with young people? Because they're not taught by their fathers and mothers! They're not corrected so that they can keep out of trouble! What happens? Look at them! You have to feel sorry for them! They end up on drugs and end up in immoral sex. Let me tell you: nothing will destroy your thoughts and emotions more than elicit sex!

At the time that people are participating in that they don't think about it. But it comes later in many different varieties!

Verse 8: "But if you are without chastisement, of which all are partakers, then you are bastards and not sons."

In other word, you don't belong to God! If you're what he says here, a bastard, then you're probably a child of Satan the devil! There are a lot of those around today. God haters, Satan worshippers and despisers of that which is good.

Verse 9: "Furthermore, we have had our fleshly fathers who chastened us…"

I tell you, that's what's missing with a lot of young people today. Every woman who thinks that she can raise children without the father…. If she's able to do it, she is a marvelous woman! But 90% of women cannot do it, especially when the boys become teenagers and young men. Look at the areas in the cities today where that is prevalent. What do we have? Murder, rape, thievery, bludgeoning, all of those things because they were never taught the right way!

Sidebar: Let me just interject something right here: this is not a racist comment, so don't get all bent out of shape. Most of the violent crimes committed today are by blacks. So, my question is:

• Where are the black ministers?
• Where are the black leaders?
• Where are all of the rich black athletes with all the money that they have

Why are they not going into those communities and spending some of the millions that they are making to help these young men and women

• not be criminals
• not be drug addicts
• not be drug dealers

Very few are willing to do that! So, don't scream racism when you don't take care of your own!

Verse 9: "Furthermore, we have had our fleshly fathers who chastened us and we respected them; should we not all the more willingly be subject to the Father of spirits, and live forever?" (v 9). For us, it is living forever!

Now let's talk about repentance! This applies to every single one of us, and remember this: in the daily prayer, what does it say? What are we supposed to do? We are supposed to ask God to let His will be done on the earth—that is in our lives—as it is in heaven! And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us! So, you have to confess your sins every day!

• Is there one among us—man or woman—who does not have to repent of something?
• What is repentance?
• What is true repentance? Admission of wrong and needing correction!

Corrections means to be set right! Isn't that what God wants?

Let's apply Psa. 51 to ourselves, each one. Think about what God is doing. We don't want to be in a situation where we see something wrong and point the finger and say, 'See, that was wrong, but we ourselves are not corrected by the circumstances that they go through. Nor are we corrected by the Word of God unless we seek the way of God.

Remember, as many people point out, if you point a finger you three pointing back to you. Now, here's David's repentance after the thing with Bathsheba. Let me tell you, the punishment of David to cleanse that sin from him took the rest of his life. That's how grievous that his sin was! So, don't think, 'oh well, God forgave him.' Let's examine his prayer:

Psalm 51:1: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out my transgressions."

Remember what Nathan said to him when he came to David and said, 'You are the man!' Nathan told him that his sin was forgiven, or covered, however it is in the Hebrew. After sins have been forgiven, there's another process

Verse 2: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."

How many times did the flashback in the mind of David and Bathsheba go the rest of their lives after the incident occurred? After they repented and God forgave them.

The cleansing takes the time and in the New Testament it's called the washing of the water by the Word! In other words, the Word of God is going to do the cleansing through prayer, study and yielding to God.

Verse 3: "For I acknowledge… [take ownership of what you have done] …my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

Look back on your life and see some things that you did, and every once in a while what you did pops up in your mind. Well, David had it ever before him. And all the trouble, rebellion and everything that took place from that time forward, the rest of his life, it must have been pretty close to 15 years. We don't know; we can only estimate because he died at 70-years-old. Solomon was then made king and he was young. So, if we say that he was 16 when he became king, that means David was 54 when the affair with Bathsheba took place.

Verse 4: "Against You, You only, have I sinned…"

All sin is against God, though you sin against other people! Why? Because God is the One Who has given the Law! So, if you transgress the Law you have sinned!

"…and done evil in Your sight, that You might be justified when You speak and be in the right when You judge" (v 4). David began to really understand human nature!

• Do you understand your own human nature?
• Do you understand that in each of us we have what Paul calls the law of sin and death?

When you read Paul's explanation of it in Rom. 7, I know the first time I read that, I wondered was Paul really converted? At that time I did not grasp how much that sin is a very part of our being!

Verse 5: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.… [that's the way of explaining human nature] …Behold…" (vs 5-6).

Here's the key; here's what God wants to be happening all the time. Not just when we make a big blooper of a sin and we have to go through it just like we did recently here.

"…You desire Truth in the inward parts…" (v 6)—here in your mind, in your heart and in your thoughts!

The Truth! That's why the Word of God is necessary to be written in our heart and mind. We only get it that way if we study and pray every day. And if we realize how much we need God and His forgiveness and mercy.

"…and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom" (v 6)—when God cleanses that out of your mind!

Every one of us has some sin, some problem that was major in our lives, and it still pops up in our mind every once in a while. That's because in order to cleanse the human heart and mind it's got to be constant! The law of sin and death is there!

Here's the next point; v 7: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean…"

After the sin comes the cleansing! The washing! The scrubbing by the water of the Word to get rid of the stain of the sin!

"…wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones, which You have broken, may rejoice" (vs 7-8).

David's bones weren't actually broken, I don't believe; but he became so brokenhearted it was like everything in him was broken.

Verse 9: "Hide Your face from my sins… [plural] …and blot out all my iniquities."

• What happens with this process of cleansing and blotting out?
• What is that to do?

Verse 10: "Create in me a clean heart, O God…" That's what God wants:

• clean heart
• a clean conscious
• a clean mind

"…and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (v 10). That has to be renewed; this is all part of:

• repentance
• reconciliation
• restoration!

It's all a process!

Verse 11: "Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and let Your free spirit uphold me. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways…" (vs 11-13).

You can't teach them God's ways unless you understand your own nature; unless you understand how human nature is so totally evil. If you don't believe it, I think in this age we can believe it more than some other ages. Why? Look at how everything is evil.

Ninety percent of what you see on television contains a little smidgeon of truth, but glossed over lies, avoidance and like some television newscasts say, 'If we don't report it, it never happened.' No, we don't want it that way! That's the whole point!

2-Cor. 10 shows us the whole process.

• we are in a battle
• we do have a warfare
• we do have to fight against Satan
• we do have fight against our own nature

So, Paul says:

2-Corinthians 10:3: "For although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh."

We don't live our lives according to the flesh, and don't apply carnal reasoning and solutions.

Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal…" What are they?

• God's Spirit
• God's Word
• God's Truth

"…but mighty through God to the overthrowing… [overcoming] …of strongholds" (v 4).

What are those strongholds? The hidden thoughts deep in the mind that God wants you to understand so you can repent of them!

Verse 5: "Casting down… [getting rid of] …vain imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…"

I'll show you after the break how the religious establishments of this world are doing that very thing! Here's what we are to do; think about this because our mind is always thinking. If you mind wasn't always thinking, and your thought process always going and the thing keeping your body going—everything in it—you would just be a corpse! So, this is going all the time.

"…and bringing into captivity…" (v 5):

• controlling
• correcting
• reproving

yourself!

"…every thought… [that's quite a task; this is what God wants] …into the obedience of Christ" (v 5)—as Christ is obedient!

What does that come to? Building a relationship of love with God, because God loves us! We're yielding to God and He's:

• cleansing us
• wiping away our sins
• leading us in what we need to do
• granting His Spirit to us

so that

• we think rightly
• we think the thoughts of God
• we view things the way that God wants us to view them

"…and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ" (v 5)

What do we do then? This gives us the weapons of our warfare! As Paul says:

Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal…"

Verse 6: "And having a readiness to avenge all disobedience… [What does that amount to? Think about that!] …whenever your obedience has been fulfilled." This is what God wants us to do!

Verse 7: "Are you looking at things according to their appearance?…."

Think about that! Think about how smooth, beautiful and lovely that some of these things of Satan look, sound and feel. Satan doesn't come after you and tell you that he's here to kill you spiritually. He comes just like he did to Adam and Eve:

I'm here to give you a benefit. Think about how good it would be if you could do thus and such!

If you don't have God's Spirit to come along and correct that, and reject that, guess what?

"…If anyone is persuaded in his own mind that he is Christ's, let him reconsider this concerning himself; for exactly as he is Christ's, so also are we Christ's" (v 7).

What happens in our lives? I know that when I was first coming to the knowledge of the Truth, and first began to look in the Bible, what did I do? Like most people, you look into the Bible to see if you can verify your own goodness! You look into the Bible to find our why you're right!

Isaiah 66:1: "Thus says the LORD, 'The heaven is My Throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is the house that you build for Me? And where is the place of My rest?'"

In other words, what is it that anyone can do for God that He must accept because you're good? If you don't repent, you have nothing!

Verse 2: "For all these things My hand has made…"

What are you going to do for God? If you think a thought for God that is yours and not according to the will of God, that's you trying to do something without God. What are you going to build?

These things have come to be; how did it come to be? Let me just tell you another thing to think upon; maybe some of you know this; maybe some of you don't!

Remember the auditorium that was built in Pasadena? I remember when the letter came out, 'let's all send in extra money so we an build the auditorium.' Then they found out that they had need for a meeting hall so they built the gymnasium first. But that was not building the auditorium. It was Herbert Armstrong's feeling that we need to build a house for God.

He should have read Isa. 66:1-2 first. So, they went ahead and devised the plans, got it all ready, all approved, then what did Stanley Rader do? He went to the Bank of America and got a $10-million loan to build the auditorium!

• I wonder how much he made on that with the broker's commission?
• What happened to the money that the people sent in?

Then another one came up and another problem came up, so here was the solution. The problem was that the contractor said that he couldn't build it if he couldn't work on Saturday. So, then Herbert Armstrong made the decision—at Stan Rader's suggestion—deed the property to the contractor during the course of construction and it's not on your property.

What happened? God didn't destroy it, but He took it away from them! On the inside, many of the things that were there were actually Masonic symbols! People did not know it!

So, when anyone thinks he's going to do something good for God, you're not going to do it!

"…'But to this one I will look, to him who is of a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at My Word. … [What happens if people don't do that?] …He who kills an ox is as if he killed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb is as if he broke a dog's neck; he who offers a grain offering is as if he offered swine's blood; he who burns incense is as if he blessed an idol. … [if we don't get correction from God]: …Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations" (vs 2-3).

This is happening to America right now; v 4: "I also will choose their delusions, and I will bring their fears upon them because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they did not hear. But they did evil before My eyes and chose that in which I did not delight. Hear the Word of the LORD…" (vs 4-5).

That's what they missed, right in the Church of God! We need to look at our own lives and we need to come to God with the same repentant attitude and yieldedness to God all the time! That we bring every thought in to captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ!

That's the purpose of correction!

(break@46:22)

Since we're getting close to the Feast of Trumpets and the Feasts at the end of the year, let's look at something very important for us in the New Testament.

First of all, I want you to understand what sort of Catholic opposition that we have against keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days of God.

Article: Against Modern Judaizers by Shane Schaetzel, Dec. 19, 2021
{https://news.gab.com/2021/12/against-the-modern-judaizers/}

It's and amazing thing! He is a Catholic Jew!

Is the celebration of Christmas pagan? What about the celebration of Easter, is it pagan too? Certainly, the celebration of Halloween must be pagan, right? How about worshiping God on Sundays? Surely that is pagan, no? Is it all some big conspiracy? Are the historical churches of Christendom secretly trying to simulate ancient Pagan worship, while fooling us all into believing this honors Jesus Christ? These are the sorts of questions that permeate our modern culture, and what they amount to, collectively, is an outright and direct assault on Christianity. 

Amazing! Is it really? What about their assaults against true Christians? They say that we're Judaizing! Yet, being a Jew he doesn't know anything about Judaizing.

Judaizing is following the traditions of the Jews wrapped around the commandments of God! You rarely get to the commandments of God because of their traditions.

Get our book and In-Depth Study at truthofGod.org

• Judaism: Revelation of Moses or Religion of Men? by Philip Neal
• Scripturalism vs Judaism (transcript study book with CD)

Judaism is not keeping the commandments of God. Judaism is entirely something different.

The Biblical definition of a "Judaizer" is a Christian who attempts to bind other Christians to the Old Testament Mosaic Law.…
Not true!
…It is probably the oldest Christian heresy.…

• Who were the first converts for the first 12 years in the Church? All Jews!
• What was the struggle that Paul had? Those who were trying to bring Jewish traditional law and physical circumcision in place of keeping the Laws of God the way He intends!

We first learn about the Judaizers in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15…

They make a big deal—and so do Protestants—covering everything in Acts 15, then they say, 'See, they didn't mention about the Sabbath.' Why? Because they were all keeping the Sabbath! So, Sabbath-keeping and Holy Day keeping—though not mentioned—was not the problem. They were against the Pharisees' physical circumcision and traditional laws that they had.

Note Mark 7 where in keeping the physical laws of Judaism you are rejecting the commandments of God!

Circumcision is the initiation ritual into the Old Covenant Law of Moses….

You have to remember that the very first book we send out to everyone is How You Can Be Circumcised. That becomes difficult for women. NO! They try and make it look like that.

…Circumcision is just the first step. What follows is keeping kosher, worshiping on the Sabbath day (Saturday), and observing the Mosaic feasts (Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Booths) as well as the Maccabean feast of Hanukkah….

And there were some in the Church of God who are saying to church members, 'It's okay if you keep Hanukkah.

Also get our book: God's Plan For Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days (2nd ed.; expanded). The truth is, God has hidden how was going to deal with the whole world and answer prophecy in the Holy Days (Lev. 23).

Then this article talks about universalism!

The ancient Greeks had a word for such universalism. It was an adjective called katholikos …

And we have the General Epistles. Look at any Bible, except The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, and you will see the General Epistles are put way at the end and move Romans up right after Acts. Why? Because all of them tell you to keep the commandments of God, every one of them!

This leads us to another word you won't find in the Bible, or the writings of the early Christians, but was later coined to succinctly describe what the early Christians were doing in the first few centuries of Church history. That word is inculturation.

That is blending Christianity with paganism!

Inculturation describes the process of Christianity absorbing cultures as it advanced from place to place in the ancient world. The idea behind it is based on the events recorded in Acts 15. Rather than steamrolling over Gentile cultures with religious precepts that demand a culture adapt to it, which is exactly what the Pharisees did (Islam does it too), Christianity absorbs a culture and baptizes it (so to speak), preserving what is good and wholesome…

from those cultures

…or at least harmless, about that culture, while eliminating those things that are idolatrous or immoral.

If that's the case, I wonder why there is this book: In the Closet of the Vatican byFrédéric Martel and all the immorality that goes on there: homosexuality and other things, in the Vatican! So you haven't filtered out anything that is evil. And why do you have so many idols?

The idea here is that Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the Law of Moses and nailed it with him to the cross. He, being the Word of God, is the author of the Law of Moses. And he, being the Messiah (Christ), is the finisher of the Law of Moses as well. He didn't destroy the Law, he fulfilled it, so the rest of us wouldn't have to….

Isn't that something?

…The Law of Moses remains, but it remains fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as its author and finisher. The rest of us fulfill the Law of Moses by putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who is our propitiation before God the Father….

That's how they started the whole thing early on right toward the end of the 60sA.D.!

…The Law of Moses is complete in him. It is no longer necessary, except perhaps to be loosely followed by ethnic Jews as a remembrance of Christ's fulfillment. The Apostle Paul is recorded as doing this in Acts 21:17-26….
Not so!
…As for non-Jews (ethnic Gentiles), the leaders of the early Church strictly forbade Jewish believers from trying to Judaize them.

Each Judaizing group has its own particular agenda. For some, it's about worshiping on Saturday (the Sabbath) rather than Sunday. For others, it's about keeping the Jewish feasts of Hanukkah instead of Christmas, or Passover instead of Easter. For some, it's about wearing Jewish clothing or celebrating Jewish liturgy. For others, it's about exclusively using Hebrew words…

Etc! etc!

In Col. 2 the Apostle Paul answers the question directly and covers it very thoroughly. Remember the word 'general' comes from the Greek 'katholikos.' Since it's an epistle and it is in the feminine gender it is 'katholik episotle.'

If the Catholics say they don't have to keep the commandments of God because they were all fulfilled in Christ and He did it for us, why then did John write this:

1-John 2:3: "And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments." That shouldn't be in a Catholic epistle!

Verse 4: "The one who says, 'I know Him' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him." So, he's condemned his own self with his own writings!

Verse 5: "On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word, truly in this one the love of God is being perfected. By this means we know that we are in Him. Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked" (vs 5-6).

Christ did not do it for us! He became the sacrifice so we can keep the commandments of God, so we can keep the Holy Days of God!

They come to Colossians 2 and here's where they say that Jesus nailed the Law to the cross. Did not do such a thing! They did not go into the Holy of Holies and take out the stone that's supposed to be there if it was there at the time of Jesus and bring it out and put it on the cross and where Jesus was crucified. The did not do that!

They were taught the way of God, keeping that and it says that Christ in you is the Hope of glory! (Col. 1:27).

They were up against the same thing back then as we're facing now.

Colossians 2:1: "Now, I want you to understand what great concern I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ" (vs 1-2).

That's what we have today; it comes from God. But notice:

Verse 3: "In Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

You don't need to go to a society and look at what they have. You look at the things that are good and you say, 'This is good, we will incorporate it.'

I remember a television production that showed a Catholic father who went to the far western part of the rainforest in Brazil, right up close to the mountains that go into Ecuador, and he was out there to convert headhunters! He was praised for accepting the pagan rituals of the headhunters because they were able to take some of their native songs and inject the name of Jesus and Christ into them. Now they're converted! That is satanic and carnal reasoning!

We have the wisdom and knowledge from God.

Verse 4: "Now, this I say so that no one may deceive you…"

What was one of the first things that Jesus told the apostles in Matt. 24? Don't let anybody deceive you!

Verse 4: "Now, this I say so that no one may deceive you by persuasive speech. For though I am indeed absent in the flesh, yet, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, be walking in Him" (vs 4-6).

What did we just read in 1-John 2? That if you're Christ's, you are to keep the commandments and walk in His footsteps! You are obligated to live as Jesus lived!

• Did He accept any pagan idols? No!
• Did He accept any philosophies of the pagans or the Jews? No!

Paul talks about philosophy here in just a minute. What is philosophy? The explanation of the ancient religions and beliefs! It's a way of thinking!

Verse 7: "Being rooted and built up in Him, and being confirmed in the faith, exactly as you were taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

Notice again, because this spirit is constantly against the Truth of God!

Verse 8: "Be on guard so that no one takes you captive through philosophy…"

That's not the way that God brought the Truth to the apostles. Paul says, not through philosophy (1-Cor. 1).

"…and vain deceit…" (v 8).

Isn't that what people do? In other words, what they believe and say is important is vain, because it ends up being nothing, because God is not in it; it's of their own devices! Behind their own devices is Satan the devil!

"…according to the traditions of men…" (v 8).

Everything the Catholics do is by tradition! Everything the Jews do is by tradition! They have a form of the Law, but they wrap all of their traditions around it, and you have no understanding of what it means.

A rabbi told Roy Assanti about the traditions of the Jews. The rabbi would come and keep Unleavened Bread at his motel that he owned at the time. The rabbi would bless all the things that were there so it would be kosher. He was talking with the rabbi and Roy said to the rabbi, 'If you didn't have all of these traditional beliefs, we'd believe the same thing." The rabbit said, 'If we don't have our traditional beliefs, we have nothing.' Amazing!

"…according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ" (v 8).

All of those take you away from God. Just like we ended up in Isa. 66. What are you going to do that God has to accept from you or anyone else because you thought of something that you think is good and that God ought to approve? There is nothing! Otherwise men and women coming to God to demand these things of God makes them 'God' instead of God.

• the One Who gives the commandments is God
• the One Who  made and created everything there is, is God

Verse 9: "For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

Why does Paul say this? Because there was creeping philosophy coming into the Church of the Colossians! It's like one man asked: Is it wrong to celebrate birthdays? That's the way human nature reads. Is it wrong if you do thus and such? Rather than saying what is right and what does God say.

Well, if you do the research you will find that birthdays had their origin in the pagan philosophies and worship of the pagan gods. So, if you go on the basis that's it's wrong to do it, that's the wrong approach. It has to be:

• What is right?
• What does God say we ought to do?

I asked this person who brought it up: All right, you show me one place in the Bible that's affirmative of birthday-keeping! Guess what? It's not there! According to the Calculated Hebrew Calendar, with the variations of delay and the intercalated months, there is no way you can have birthdays.

You can know how old you are, but not have big birthday parties. What did it say of Jesus when He came to be baptized of John the Baptist? It said He was about 30-years-old! Why did they say about? Because Jesus having been born on the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month, will fall on different days of the week in the Calculated Hebrew Calendar!

Verse 10: "And you are complete in Him…"—complete in God!

• you don't need philosophy
• you don't need teachings of men

"…Who is the Head of all principality and power… [even the demons; understand that] …In Whom you have also been circumcised…" (vs 10-11).

Hey, the New Testament required circumcision! Spiritual circumcision, not physical circumcision! How does that come about?

"…with the circumcision not made by hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" (v 11).

How does that come about? The circumcision in the New Covenant is the receiving of the Holy Spirit! That is to change your way of thinking FROM just the spirit of man and what's in the world TO having the Spirit of God so you can learn of God's way and begin to think as God thinks through keeping His commandments and His Laws. That's what it means to have the mind of Christ! He's not going to come down here and give you part of His mind. But what He's going to do spiritually is give you how to think with His Spirit and the Word of God so that you come to think like He does!

Verse 11: "In Whom you have also been circumcised with the circumcision not made by hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ…. [here's how it's done]: …Having been buried with Him in baptism…" (vs 11-12).

Read Rom. 6: Whenever anyone is baptized for the forgiveness of sin they are conjoined to the death of Christ. It's almost like God taking us spiritually and laying us right on the sacrificial body of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins! Conjoined! That is the circumcision of the heart!

"…by which you have also been raised with Him through the inner working of God… [in your mind, heart, spirit and everything that you do] …Who raised Him from the dead" (v 12).

Verse 14 becomes very important and it is properly translated in the Faithful Version!

Verse 13: "For you, who were once dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has now made alive with Him, having forgiven all your trespasses. He has blotted out the note of debtagainst us with the decrees of our sins…" (vs 13-14).

Where is the 'note of debt'? Written on the spirit of man that every person has. Everything you've ever done has been recorded on the spirit of man. That means every good thing and every evil thing, every sin is there.

That needs to be cleaned up and can only be cleaned up with the Spirit of Christ through repentance and baptism.

Verse 14: "He has blotted out the note of debtagainst us with the decrees of our sins…"—not the Ten Commandments!

"…which was contrary to us…" (v 14).

Pray tell, look at the Ten Commandments and I defy you to tell me any one of those laws that is against us! Except for those who want to sin! They don't like the law that says don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't steal. Don't have any other gods. Don't make any idols. Don't take God's name in vain! And the one they hate the most, remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy!

Is that against us? Some people would say, 'Look at all the sales and things that go on Friday and Saturday. Look at all the sports, I enjoy all the sports and college activities that take place.' I was thinking about that list night just before the Sabbath was coming on. I was watching a little bit of tail end of a football game and saw the stadium filled with people. I thought: How many have their minds on God? Not one! But they think they're doing good. They're cheering for their team, and the ones who are winning are happy and the ones who are losing are sad. They don't know a thing about God!

Verse 13: ""For you, who were once dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has now made alive with Him, having forgiven all your trespasses.

• every trespass
• every sin

This is why we need to repent every day, like it says in the model prayer.

Verse 14: "He has blotted out the note of debtagainst us with the decrees of our sins … [decrees comes from the word 'dogma' and that used of all the decrees of men] …which was contrary to us and He has taken it away, having nailed it to the cross"

When Christ was nailed to the cross as the sin offering for the whole world, that includes all the sins of all human beings. But some of them have not had a chance to repent, yet. But that's the sacrifice that's going to take care of it because it was God in the flesh Who died!

If God, Who created mankind, came in the flesh and died, His death covers the sins of every single person who comes to Him and repents! Did He not make us all? Yes, He did! Look at all the people on the earth today; where did we all come from? Started with Adam and Eve and comes all the way down.

"…having nailed it to the cross"! Our sins were nailed to the cross! Just like Romans says, we were conjoined in His death! Just like you were laid right on the body of Christ! Think about that!

Verse 15: "After stripping the principalities and the powers… [Satan the devil and the demons] …He made a public spectacle of them, and has triumphed over them in it"—meaning:

• His crucifixion
• His death
• His resurrection

There can't be any greater victory than being raised from the dead! Christ is the only One that that has been. He's called The Firstborn among the dead! What does He offer to us? Eternal life, which requires the resurrection! Think about how important that is!

They had people coming along and saying, 'Why are you doing this and that? These things are just like the Jews.'

Verse 16: "Therefore, do not allow anyone… [does not say other brethren] …to judge you in eating or in drinking …"

Because they no longer eat pork, shrimp, lobster, or any other unclean food. And there were a lot of teetotalers who thought that in their ascetic way of doing things never drank anything. So, they drank wine, but not to excess!

"…or with regard to a Festival…" (v 16).

If you are not keeping the Festival no one can judge you for keeping a Festival. It's this way: if you're not in the room where the crime was committed, you have no part in it. Here they were keeping the Feast.

Others were judging them, just like a read from this Catholic calling it Judaism! It's not Judaism, because the Jews did not invent the Sabbath, they did not invent the Holy Days, but God created them!

"…or new moon…" (v 16). This is interesting here because this is singular. It's not plural. So, this has to have reference to the Calculated Hebrew Calendar because they were following the calendar of God in doing what they were doing instead of the pagan calendar that they had at the time, which was by Julius Caesar.

"…or the Sabbaths…" (v 16)—plural! If you don't keep the Sabbath no one can judge you for keeping it. But if you are keeping it, someone can judge you who doesn't think you ought to be doing it.

Wade here has some family members that are just like that. They find out he's keeping the Sabbath and they won't even talk to him anymore. That's what it's talking about. Jesus didn't come and nail the Law to the cross and do away with the Sabbath and the Holy Days. Here's why:

Verse 17 [transcriber's correction]: "Which are… [the festivals, new moons, Sabbaths, eating and drinking] …a foreshadow of the things that are coming…"

In other words, these are the keys that tell us what God is doing. If we don't keep them we won't know.

"…but the Body of Christ" (v 17). This means how these things are done is according to what the Church—the Body of Christ—does and teaches.

Notice what Paul says if you don't keep these things; v 18: "Do not allow anyone to defraud you of the prize by doing his will… [of men] …in self-abasement and the worship of angels…"

That's what philosophy leads to! What do you think is wrong with the world today? The same thing!

"…and the worship of angels… [then the worshipping of demons] …intruding into things that he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his own carnal mind" (v 18).

Isn't that what happens when people get involved with that? Look at how convinced they become; it's an amazing thing! If you're doing that, then:

Verse 19: "And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom all the body, being supplied and knit together by the joints and bands, is increasing with the increase of God."

So, we need to be growing in grace and knowledge in preparation for entering into the Kingdom of God.

Verse 20: "Therefore, if you have died together with Christ from the elements of the world…"

• What is he saying? Philosophy is an element of the world! The religion and the elements of the world!
• Where do the elements of the world come from? Satan the devil!

"…why are you subjecting yourselves to the decrees of men as if you were living in the world?" (v 20).

NO! You can't combine the thoughts and religions of men to the Word of God and worship Christ! They have their own commandments. Think about this in relationship:

• to paganism
• to Catholicism
• to Judaism

Verse 21: "They say, 'You may not handle! You may not taste! You may not touch!' The use of all such things leads to corruption… [Why? Because it takes you away from Christ! What does it?]: …according to the commandments and doctrines of men" (vs 21-22).

That's what happens; just like what I read. This man is absolutely convinced that he's right. Think about v 23 the next time you see the pope and all that he does, all the ceremonies:

Verse 23: "Which indeed have an outward appearance of wisdom in voluntary worship of angels, and self-abasement, and unsparing treatment of the body, not in any respect to the satisfying of the needs of the flesh."

This whole second chapter of Colossians has the answer to such claims as this one who wrote about Judaizing today. They know nothing about the Word of God! They only know what they're own traditions are.

So, as we come down to the Feasts of God, we're going to have a week from Monday the Feast of Trumpets. Let's all be ready for that. After that the Day of Atonement.

Scriptural References:

• Proverbs 10:17
• Proverbs 3:11-13
• Proverbs 22:5-6
• Hebrews 12:1-9
• Psalm 51:1-13
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 4, 6-9
• Isaiah 66:1-5
• 1 John 2:3-6
• Colossians 2:1-14, 13-23

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 1 Corinthians 10
• Romans 7
• Acts 15
• Mark 7
• Leviticus 23
• Colossians 1:27
• Matthew 24
• 1 Corinthians 1
• Romans 6

Also referenced:

Article: Against Modern Judaizers by Shane Schaetzel, Dec. 19, 2021
{https://news.gab.com/2021/12/against-the-modern-judaizers/}

Books at truthofGod.org:

• The World's Greatest Throne by John Fox
• A Harmony of the Gospel by Fred R. Coulter
• Judaism: Revelation of Moses, or Religion of Men by Philip Neal
• God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter

Book:

• In the Closet of the Vatican by Frédéric Martel

In-Depth Study: Scripturalism vs Judaism

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 9/21/22

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