See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy
and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental
spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole
fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the
head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a
circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the
circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you
were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who
raised him from the dead. And 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, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us
with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed
the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them
in him.
(Colossians 2:8-15 ESV).
Since the time of Abraham, God’s people
were set apart by circumcision (of males, and usually as babies—Genesis
17:9-14). But that eventually led to a major question in the early church, as
the Lord sent his renewed people, who were mainly Jewish, to bring the gospel
to Gentiles and welcome them into his family. Did Gentiles have to be
circumcised to be fully Christian? The early church eventually concluded, “No.”
Since God was already accepting them through the Holy Spirit, they needed to be
received into the church through the declaration of their faith. This is
usually done through baptism, though it is not essential to salvation.
The real key is not in a church
practice. Rather, it is found in the way we live. Being “set apart” ought to
show itself in the way we live and act toward others in our daily lives. We
really ought to examine how different we are from those who do not claim to
follow Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment