Tag: Jesus

Kids & Kingdom- Children After the Fall: Difficult Discipleship

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & Kingdom2 Comments

If the contents of my first post seemed too idealistic, this post may seem too realistic. Many parents or teachers may not feel like the language of the previous chapter- blessing and privilege and joy- describes their current experience with kids. These words are true of children, as we saw in Psalm 127,  but other words may also describe the reality of raising them: frustration, impatience, and difficulty. Why is this so? Because the serenity of the first chapter of Genesis quickly turns into chaos a few chapters later. And we live (and have kids) in the aftermath of the latter.

God’s first mandate to be fruitful and multiply was given before the fall, before sin entered the world. Thus, being fruitful and multiplying would have naturally led to filling the earth with children who grew up to be adults who walked with God in perfect harmony like Adam and Eve did. That was the ideal.

Raising children in a pre-fall environment would have been relatively uncomplicated. Imagine raising a toddler who isn’t filled with impassioned rage when you give him the wrong color cereal bowl or teenager who doesn’t struggle with pride or self-image. Unfortunately, no child was ever born into that environment.

When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, they sinned against God. They declared themselves to be the masters of their lives instead of submitting to God’s lordship and authority. They fractured the relationship they previously enjoyed by rebelling against their Creator. Instead of looking to, worshiping, and following the One who made them, they looked to, worshiped, and followed their own selfish desires. As a result, the serpent’s promise came true: their eyes were opened and they knew good and evil. But their newfound experiential knowledge of evil came with a great cost.

Everything Is Broken

The primary effect of Adam and Eve’s sin was the fracture in their relationship with God. The innocence and intimacy they enjoyed with him was broken. The ripple effect of that fracture spilled over into every aspect of their lives. Everything about life became more difficult, because everything in life was broken because of sin. That’s what theologians call “the curse of sin.”

There are several aspects to this curse. First, Adam and Eve recognize that they are naked and make clothes (Gen 3:7). A lot more difficult than wearing your birthday suit every day. Second, they hide from God (Gen 3:8). Their relationship with him is now hindered by shame and guilt. Third, there is enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Gen 3:15). We see the difficulty of their warfare all throughout the Bible and around us still today.

Fourth, the woman’s pain in childbearing is increased (Gen 3:16). The blessing of giving birth now comes with hardship and pain from the moment of conception until the moment of birth. Many women may struggle to get pregnant or stay pregnant, both of which are effects of child birth in a fallen world. Even those who do carry to full term experience discomfort and pain, and many mothers give their lives in child birth.

Fifth, the relationship between husband and wife will be difficult due to contrary desires (Gen 3:16). Sixth, all work will be more difficult, plagued by the effects of sin (symbolized by thorns, Gen 3:17). Finally, mankind will return to dust. They will die because death now reigns (Gen 3:19). All of life will be a struggle all the way up until the final struggle of death. Everything is more difficult now.

This is the environment that children are born into. In fact, it begins before they’re even born. Couples may struggle to get pregnant, experience miscarriages, or give birth to stillborn babies. And once they’re born, it doesn’t get any easier, because parents, who are sinners themselves, are tasked with raising other sinners in a world plagued by the deadly effects of sin.

Continue reading “Kids & Kingdom- Children After the Fall: Difficult Discipleship” →

Kids & Kingdom- Introduction

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Imago Dei Class, Kids & Kingdom1 Comment

There’s an old saying, “kids don’t come with a manual,” and it is certainly true. When we brought home our first newborn, I wished such a manual did exist, equipped with instructional videos and all! There were so many things that I did not know to do, much less how to do them. Thankfully my wife was a natural. But there were days where even she could have benefited from such a guide.

As my kids have grown older, I have learned more about children. But I still think a manual would be helpful. To an extent, it is true that such a manual doesn’t exist. They don’t send you home from the hospital with a manual for the next 18 years. Nor will the local school give you a gender specific, step-by-step guide that is tailored to your child’s personality and can be used in every season of their life. But there is a “manual” for parents that far surpasses all of these.

As Christians, we believe that the Bible is sufficient for all things pertaining to salvation and godly living. In other words, it not only tells us how to find life but also, having found life, how we ought to live. We call this the sufficiency of Scripture, and it extends to every area of our life, including parenting. The Bible is our manual for life, and as such, our manual for raising children.

Now, let me be clear. The Bible is not a how-to book on parenting, but it is an excellent resource for parenting. It answers all of life’s deepest questions about life, death, good, evil, right, and wrong. It shows parents where they themselves can find life in Christ and equips them to share that life with their children.

Therefore, we should expect to find in the Scriptures a cohesive view of what it means to have children and what our goal should be in raising them. To explore such a view, I want to take a biblical-theological approach to the topic of children by beginning in Genesis and tracing the theme of children all the way to Revelation. I plan to write on six sections that summarize the primary chapters in the story of redemption: Creation, Fall, Israel, Gospels, Church, and New Creation.

I hope that this study will enable the reader to see that children are an integral component to the kingdom of God, and that without them, the storyline of Scripture as we know it cannot be shared or celebrated.

The Necessary Ingredients for Effective Gospel Ministry (Colossians 4:7-18)

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Colossians, Devotionals, Imago Dei ClassLeave a comment

Last words are meant to be lasting words, yet so often I am guilty of skimming over them in the Bible. I find this temptation in the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Colossians as well. He lists several names and gives salutatory commands that may seem to amount to “Tell Barnabas I said hey.” Yet when we slow down and consider all that he’s saying in this passage, there’s a beautiful lesson to be learned. That lesson is the example of effective gospel ministry.

Paul’s ministry of the gospel was effective. It bore much fruit. You and I are more than likely believers today because of Paul’s ministry. Yet we know from the book of Acts and his epistles that he never ministered alone. There were several men and women that God called to minister alongside Paul, whether it was through joining him on mission trips, helping him escape assassination attempts, or working alongside him to plant and encourage churches.

In other words, Paul’s ministry wasn’t effective just because he was a great communicator or a strong leader. It was effective because of the things and people that made up his ministry of the gospel. We see these people and these things in full color in Colossians 4:7-18. I call them the necessary ingredients to effective gospel ministry. Here’s seven of them.

1. Gospel ministry requires the family of God laboring together (4:7-8).

    Paul begins this section, “Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servantin the Lord” (v. 7).[1] Notice that he refers to Tychicus by name and calls him first a beloved brother and then a fellow servant. The church of Jesus Christ is not primarily a team or a staff, but a family, and we labor together to fulfill the family mission of making disciples among the nations. We are not called to minister individually, but together! If the apostle Paul needed partners in the gospel, how much more do we?

    2. Gospel ministry requires intentional encouragement (4:8).

    Paul tells the Colossians his purpose in sending Tychicus to them: “that you may know how we are” and “that he may encourage your hearts” (v. 8). These are two separate purposes, but they are closely related. We recently had a missionary from South Asia come and give our church a report on the work there. By letting us know “how they are,” he greatly encouraged our hearts that God is still at work among the nations.

    However, I do think Paul is sending Tychicus to encourage the Colossians directly. The gift of encouragement is to the church what a rush of oxygen is to a struggling fire. That’s why Paul commands the Thessalonians to “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thess 5:11). We know this intuitively. If you’ve spent any time trying to improve in some skill or area of life and someone takes note and encourages you in it, it strengthens you to continue what you’re doing. So it is with gospel ministry. We must intentionally encourage one another to keep laboring for Christ’s kingdom.

    3. Gospel ministry requires intercessory prayer (4:12-13).

    Paul names another man in v. 12, Epaphras, and describes him as “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers.” He goes on to say that Epaphras “has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis” (v. 13). Epaphras could have visited and worked in these churches, but within the context of v. 12, Paul likely has the work of prayer in view. Epaphras is a prayer warrior for these three churches. His work is regularly taking them and their needs before the throne of heaven.

    Effective gospel ministry in a church requires intentional prayer of every member. As Spurgeon once said, a prayerless church member is like a decaying tooth in the mouth that does not contribute to the work of the church. Each member should pray for the ministry and health of the church. It is necessary work, and it is good work, but it is work. In other words, it doesn’t just happen naturally. We must make time for it, and commit to it. Let us be members who, like Epaphras, work hard by praying for our churches and their ministry of the gospel.

    Continue reading “The Necessary Ingredients for Effective Gospel Ministry (Colossians 4:7-18)” →

    Anointed for Death: John 12:1-8

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MessagesLeave a comment

    As I write, we are in the middle of holy week. In the biblical timeline, Jesus has entered Jerusalem to the triumphal cries of “Hosanna.” But this exhilarating moment was short-lived. The shouts begin to fade as Jesus moves closer and closer to the hour. This transition can be seen in what takes place in the house of Lazarus shortly after Jesus enters the city. There, a familiar story occurs that reminds us of the basis of our faith and what it looks like to live it. We read in John 12:1-8,

    “Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:1-8 ESV)

    This passage teaches us that Jesus is more valuable than anything in life because of who he is and what he accomplished in his death. Let’s take a look at it a little more closely.

    1. The worth of Jesus.

      While Lazarus, Jesus, and his disciples are reclining at the dinner table, Mary brings an expensive ointment and pours it on Jesus’ feet. John notes that this ointment is made of pure nard, and that once it was poured it on Jesus’ feet, Mary began to wipe it with her hair. Why did Mary do this? Because she recognized the supreme worth of Jesus.

      First, she used an ointment that was worth three hundred denarii, about a year’s worth of wages. Second, she attended to his feet, which was servant’s work. And third, she wipes Jesus feet with her hair, a symbol of a woman’s honor. Mary’s action is one of humility, love, and intense personal devotion.

      When Matthew records the same story, he mentions not only Judas, but the rest of the disciples thought that this was a “waste” (Matt 26:8). But Jesus didn’t. He responds by saying, “she has done a beautiful thing for me (Matt 26:10). He knew what it was- a declaration that Mary knew Jesus’ worth and was ready to give up anything to follow him.

      Mary embodies Jim Elliot’s famous quote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose.” She is the epitome of the man who sold all that he had to purchase a field that contained a great treasure (Matt 13:44). She is another example of the merchant who sold everything he had to purchase the pearl of great price (Matt 13:45-46). She recognized how valuable the kingdom of heaven was. But more than that, she recognized the supreme worth and beauty of the KING of the kingdom of heaven.

      Can I ask you- What does your devotion to Jesus look like? Does it cost you anything? Time? Friends? Hobbies? Saying what you want to say when and to whom you want to say it? Living how you want to live? A secret sin? I fear that many of us and our families are willing to follow Jesus so long as it doesn’t really cost us anything- our autonomy, our dreams for us or for our kids, our Sundays, our finances, our time, etc. What we need, then, is to recognize the areas we tend to hold back, and ask God to help us surrender them to Christ by the power of the Spirit.

      Continue reading “Anointed for Death: John 12:1-8” →

      How is Good Friday “Good?”

      On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

      Our church recently released an album entitled He Won’t Fail that features live recordings of our worship arts team performing some of our favorite worship songs of the past year. Each staff member wrote a devotional for each song. Below is my devotional for Sunday is Coming by Phil Whickam.

      And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28 NASB

      When we think of something that’s good, we don’t typically think of someone suffering or dying. Much less an innocent person unjustly suffering and dying. But that’s exactly what we do when we call the Friday before Easter “Good Friday.” What could possibly be good about that day?

      If we look at the circumstances of that Friday, they certainly do not appear to be good. The Son of God, the Eternal Word, the Creator Incarnate who healed the sick, raised the dead, and preached good news to the poor, hung on a Roman cross awaiting His death. He was scorned by His own people and abandoned by most of His disciples. Not good by any stretch of the imagination.

      But there’s more to the circumstances than what meets the eye. This was no ordinary Roman crucifixion. Jesus of Nazareth was unjustly condemned, but he was there willingly. “He let those soldiers take Him in, as His friend betrayed Him with a kiss. There before the mocking crowd, like a lamb to the slaughter didn’t make a sound. Then He carried that cross to Calvary.” Why? So he could “shed His blood to set us free!”

      The cross shows us that even in the most unjust evil, God is at work bringing about the greatest good. All of mankind was separated from God because of our sin, and our only hope of salvation was for the Perfect Lamb of God to come, live, and die for us. We could only be reconciled to God if Jesus absorbed the wrath of God and paid the wages of our sin, which is death. And He did exactly that. He breathed His last breath on the cross and bowed His head, “the Son of God and man was dead.”

      “But that wasn’t the end.” What wasn’t the end? Friday! A Sunday was coming- a day that was a part of the plan all along. When that Sunday came, the women went to the tomb and found a rolled away stone. They were greeted with a question, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” He’s alive!

      There’s the good! In fact, it’s the greatest good in all of human history. The Son of God died for our sins and rose from the dead to defeat sin and death forever! But here’s the lesson for us: without the death, there could be no resurrection. Without Friday, there could be no Sunday. Friday’s good cause Sunday’s coming.

      For all those who have trusted Christ, Jesus’ death and resurrection is a picture of how God works in our lives. God promises to work everything out for our good and His glory, including our pain and suffering. Even in all our Fridays, there is a Sunday coming. Jesus will return and we will obtain our resurrection bodies. On that day, we will see all the good that God has worked through our trials, and all the glory that it has brought Him. But until that day, “we watch and wait, like a bride for a groom, Oh church arise, He’s coming soon.”

      Prayer: Father, thank you for your promise that you will work all things for our good and your glory. We praise you for the perfect example of that promise that we see in your Son on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Help us to look to Him and find strength to trust you in the midst of whatever we are going through, knowing that our Sunday is coming, too. Amen.

      How to Build a Christian Home and Career (Colossians 3:18-4:1)

      On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Colossians, Imago Dei ClassLeave a comment

      My last post considered the admonition for us to put off the grave clothes that adorned our old life and put on the grace clothes that befit our new life in Christ. In this week’s passage, Colossians 3:18-4:1, Paul continues the theme of Christian living in light of the theology and doctrine presented in the first two chapters. Specifically, he addresses two areas of the Christian life that provide the foundation for society as a whole: family and work. Here’s the text:

      18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. 41Masters, treat your bondservantsjustly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven (Colossians 3:18-4:1 ESV).

      The Household

      This section begins with instructions for wives and husbands. I believe Paul mentions marriage first because it is the foundation of the family, and therefore, of society. A husband and wife cannot obey the following verses regarding raising children if they are not pursuing a godly marriage. So, what does a godly marriage look like?

      First, in a godly marriage, wives submit to their husbands (v. 18). Paul says that such submission is “fitting in the Lord.” The verb used here is in the middle voice, calling wives to willingly submit themselves under their husbands’ leadership.  In other words, they don’t try to usurp his role as the leader of the home. They don’t try to override the decisions he makes. They don’t disparage his leadership behind his back. Instead, they choose to follow his leadership as he follows Christ.

      Such submission glorifies God because it exemplifies the Son’s submission to the Father. Though they are equal in deity and unified as one God, the Son submitted himself to his Father and his Father’s will. In 1 Corinthians 15, we see the Father putting all things in submission to his Son, but we also see the Son in submission to the Father. Jesus himself spoke of his submission in places like John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

      A godly wife is one who recognizes that God calls her husband to lead her and be her “head” (Eph 5:23), and who encourages him in this role. She loves him, prays for him, and as he follows Christ, she follows him.

      What does this look like in real life? Suppose a husband and wife move to a new city for work. They attend different churches and settle on two of their favorites. However, the church the husband believes is the best fit for the family is not the same church the wife thinks is the best fit. After much prayer and conversation, if they cannot come to the same conclusion, the wife should trust the leadership of her husband, follow him (willingly, not begrudgingly), and trust God with the results.

      Second, in a godly marriage, husbands love their wives. Notice that husbands are not called to enforce the submission discussed in 3:18. They are not called to lord their authority over their wives; they are called to love their wives. In a parallel passage, Paul tells husbands to love their wives “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,” (Eph 5:25-27).

      The husband’s role is to sacrifice himself for the highest good of his wife- her sanctification. He loves her by putting her first, caring for her spiritual needs, and providing for her emotionally and physically. This kind of love is a choice- it is not a feeling. It does not come natural to husbands, nor was it natural in the Colossians’ day. It is daily work. It is the conscious dying to self for the good of another, and repenting of selfishness when it creeps in.

      Husbands, do you love your wives? Do you prioritize her spiritual health? Do you pray for her? Do you pray with her? Do you wash her with the word? Let me encourage you- find a place to start! Look for small ways to serve her. Let her hear you pray over her in the mornings or evenings. Be the one to begin spiritual conversations. Love your wife by leading your wife!

      Continue reading “How to Build a Christian Home and Career (Colossians 3:18-4:1)” →

      Throw Away the Grave Clothes and Put On the Grace Clothes (Colossians 3:5-17)

      On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Colossians, Miscellaneous4 Comments

      Have you ever spent a long day working outside in the heat? During the warmer months, I spend at least one day a week working in the yard. After such a day, my clothes are usually a dirty smelly mess, and I have to shower before doing anything else. My clothes are so filthy that I almost feel bad even putting them in the dirty clothes basket alongside other dirty clothes (that aren’t nearly as dirty).

      Now imagine what it would feel like to put those clothes back on after getting out of a nice long shower. It would be just…wrong. Why? Because after getting clean, you should put on clean clothes. You should adorn yourself with what is now true of your nature. You’re no longer a dirty sweaty mess, so you shouldn’t wear dirty sweaty clothes. You’re clean. So you should wear clean clothes. Simple enough, right?

      This is essentially Paul’s argument in Colossians 3:5-17. Since we have died to our old selves and old ways, we should put off our old clothes. Since we have been cleansed and raised with Christ, we should put on new clothes of righteousness. But how do we do that? What clothes should we remove, and which should we put on? What does that look like in real life? This passage has the answers.

      Grave Clothes

      First, we must take off our grave clothes, “for we have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God” (3:3). However, Paul uses much stronger language than just “putting off” our old clothes. He says that we are to, “put to death” certain characteristics of our life before Christ (3:5). We are to kill our old habits and ways- sexual immorality, impurity, passion (lust), evil desire, and covetousness (3:5). All of these lead to idolatry because we cannot pursue them and also submit to the Lordship of Christ.

      Brothers and sisters, if you are still in sexual sin, you must put it to death. It is a suffocating garment of death that rots the soul and destroys relationships. Do everything you can to put a bullet in the head of sexual temptation and sin!

      Continue reading “Throw Away the Grave Clothes and Put On the Grace Clothes (Colossians 3:5-17)” →

      Christ, Who is Your Life (Colossians 3:1-4)

      On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Colossians, Miscellaneous1 Comment

      Guest written by Mark Shideler

      In Colossians 3:1-4, Paul takes us through a progression of “If, Then, Why?” to teach us how to live our physical life on this earth with spiritual things in mind.

      IF…

      Paul writes in verse 1, “If then you have been raised with Christ…”

      This question is pointing back to what he shared with the Colossians in chapter 2:13 , “…you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses…”

      The Bible paints a very bleak picture of our spiritual state without Christ. Although we are born into this world physically alive, we are spiritually dead. We have no ability to come to God or desire to do so. Our sin separates us from God and actually makes us God’s enemy (Romans 5:10).

      Modern religion often incorrectly portrays God as a sort of doting grandparent. But God doesn’t just adore us no matter what we do. He is a righteous judge who must punish sin. He is actually angry with our sin and can’t overlook it just because He loves us. However, He displayed His love by providing a way for our sin to be forgiven (even though we didn’t deserve it).

      When we could never get to God, God came to us. Jesus Christ died to fulfill the legal transaction necessary to forgive sin – an innocent life dying for a sinful life. When we repent of our sin and place our faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we are forgiven, raised from death to life, and brought into fellowship with our Creator.

      Paul didn’t take for granted that this transformation had happened in the life of every person in the church of Colossae. He says “IF” this has happened…

      I wonder, would we be shocked at how many spiritually dead people attend church every week? Going to church, doing good things, getting baptized, and even believing in God cannot raise a dead soul to life. Only repentance of sin and faith in the finished work of Christ’s sacrifice can do that. All of us should heed Paul’s admonishment in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.

      Continue reading “Christ, Who is Your Life (Colossians 3:1-4)” →

      Is Trusting Jesus Enough for Salvation? (Colossians 2:16-23)

      On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Colossians, Imago Dei ClassLeave a comment

      Is trusting Jesus enough for salvation? Can it really be that simple? Or is there a deeper, hidden meaning within Christianity? Are there religious practices for the spiritually elite that make us more acceptable to God and draw us closer to him? These are some of the questions the Colossians wrestled with. Fortunately for them (and us), Paul addresses in our text this week, Colossians 2:16-23. The passage reads,

      “16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

      20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

      There are two commands in this passage. The first, to not let anyone pass judgment on your faith. Second, to not let anyone disqualify you. Let’s consider each of these in turn.

      1. Let no one pass judgment on you (2:16-17)

        The believers at Colossae were being judged by those who thought they needed to add another element to their faith. Followers of Jesus were being told by people of Jewish background that they also needed to practice Sabbath, keep Jewish festival days, and observe dietary laws. In other words, their faith in Christ was not enough, unless the Jewish traditions were observed in addition to it.

        Paul tells the Colossians, “don’t let these people judge you.” We can’t keep people from judging us. But we can shrug off their judgments. This is what Paul is telling the Colossians to do- they are to pay no attention to those who judge them in this regard. Why? Because all of these things are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

        Take the Sabbath, for example. The Sabbath was a day of rest from work to enjoy God and his blessings. The Sabbath was a shadow that pointed to the future substance, who is Christ. He has provided ultimate, eternal rest for God’s people. There’s no working for our salvation, but rather resting in what Christ has done for us. He beckons those who are weary and heavy laden to come to him and find rest (Matt 11:28).

        So it is with all of the Jewish traditions. They were shadows that pointed to Christ! He is the true temple, the true Passover lamb, the true sacrifice, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king! There is no going back to these shadows, the substance has come!

        Continue reading “Is Trusting Jesus Enough for Salvation? (Colossians 2:16-23)” →