Posts from April 2022

Colossians 2:16-19 is often cited by those who object when Christians take note of holidays that are commonly observed in our culture (i.e., Christmas, Easter, etc.). In context, however, Paul is actually addressing the problem of “judaizers” who attempted to require the Colossians to pay homage to traditional Jewish feast days and days of worship. Paul’s expression in about “judging” (vs. 16) actually means “let no one ‘pass sentence’ on you.” He is NOT saying that Christians must take no…

The first verse of Colossians 2 introduces us to the church at Laodicea. What most folks know about the L ao d ice an chu rch is th at the y we re “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16), and were therefore in danger of being rejected by the Lord. The town of Laodicea was less than ten miles from Colossae, and Christians in both towns almost certainly knew one another. This is why Paul writes of these two congregations (Colossians 2:1) as…

Like Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon, Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae is one of the “prison epistles,” penned while he was a captive in Rome. “Christ” is the theme of this letter, and Paul writes about both the deity of Jesus and His superiority to all human ideas and concepts. While there are some words of correction here, this letter is very similar to Philippians, in that it is focused on encouragement rather than condemnation. After beginning with a…

A surprising passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (surprising for us) addresses a situation involving two Christian sisters, Euodia and Syntyche, in chapter 4:2-3. We don’t know the details of their relationship, but it appears that there was some sort of “friction” between these sisters that had the potential to disrupt their Christian fellowship. Verse 3 makes it clear that they had labored together with Paul, Clement, and others, in spreading the gospel. Even though they had worked together…