Misused Texts #2

In this part of the sermon: Martin identifies the heretics endangering the Colossian church as likely former Essenes, a Jewish sect known for extreme asceticism, strict observances, and angel worship. He…

Martin explains that New Testament writers don't always identify adversaries by name, leaving us with 'half of a conversation' (Paul's letter without the reports he received), necessitating gleaning information from the text and historical context.

Now, the identity of the heretics that were now endangering the Colossian church is unclear as to their specific identity. As in so many cases in the New Testament, Paul does not always, or the Bible writers do not always, identify their adversaries biologically. By name. They give us something of the principles those to whom Paul writes on this occasion knew exactly who he was speaking of.

15:06 - 15:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin identifies the heretics endangering the Colossian church as likely former Essenes, a Jewish sect known for extreme asceticism, strict observances, and angel worship. He…

Martin suggests the Colossian heretics were former Essenes, a Jewish sect, who embraced Christ but retained key Essene doctrines, similar to how Judaizers retained Pharisaic religion.

Why is Paul so disturbed about their coming to Colossae? The best suggestion I believe that has been made is that these folk were former Essene. That is, they were members of a very small and very exclusive Jewish sect who had embraced Christianity, certain principles of Christianity, had embraced Christ as Savior, yet without abandoning key Essene doctrines. Now we know that was the case with the Judaizers.

16:06 - 16:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin identifies the heretics endangering the Colossian church as likely former Essenes, a Jewish sect known for extreme asceticism, strict observances, and angel worship. He…

Martin defines an ascetic and provides examples from church history, like monastic orders, to illustrate the Essenes' pursuit of superior holiness through rigid self-denial.

Now, an ascetic is a person who is very austere, who is very rigid, who is very severe with himself, who is very severe with himself in practicing strict self-denial as a means of disciplining the flesh. And there have been in the history of the church many ascetic sects, many of the monastic orders. In fact, most of the monastic orders began as an attempt to live an ascetic life, a life of rigid discipline, denying the flesh of things which were things that other Christians were allowed to indulge in, but denied for the sake of creating in oneself a superior holiness or a superior righteousne...

17:51 - 19:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of any philosophy or vain deceit that makes spoil of you, turning your mind away from Christ and the gospel of free grace to your own holiness and self-discipline.

Paul's warning 'beware of anyone who makes spoil of you' is likened to an army pillaging a city, emphasizing the destructive nature of the Essene heresy on Christian life.

This is the real thing. What you have isn't. And Paul understands that if the Colossians embrace this system, if they embrace this system of aesthetic rules, this system of rules of rigid discipline, if they embrace this as the heart of Christianity it is going to turn them, it is going to take them away from Christ it's going to take them away from the gospel and it is in fact going to ruin their Christian life it's not an inconsequential matter if you embrace this as what Christianity is it's going to turn your mind away from Christ, it's going to turn your mind away from the gospel of free ...

21:19 - 22:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It was merely will worship or as Calvin paraphrases at this point, voluntary service which men choose for themselves without authority from God.

Martin quotes Calvin's paraphrase of 'will-worship' as 'voluntary service which men choose for themselves without authority from God,' clarifying that such worship is unsolicited and unaccepted by God.

Yet, in the end of the day, the apostle says that their system had only the show of wisdom and had no value at all in living the Christian life. It was merely will worship or as Calvin paraphrases at this point, voluntary service which men choose for themselves without authority from God. Here's the system that men have made up. They embrace it, but the only power behind it, the only authority behind it is the will of man and the mind of man. God's not within a thousand miles of it and his spirit's not going to bless it. It's merely will worship. It's worship rendered in the hope of acquiring ...

24:43 - 25:37 Read in full sermon

The point: If you want to make progress in the Christian life, come closer to Christ and become more attached at the heart to Christ.

Martin describes the Essene heretics as 'Johnny-Come-Lapius' (Johnny-Come-Lately), highlighting that their teachings were new and not part of the original gospel preached by Epaphras.

You see, these Essene heretics were Johnny Cumlapius.

35:50 - 35:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: With the context established, Martin returns to Colossians 2:16-17. He explains that 'meat or drink' refers to Mosaic dietary laws, and 'festival or new moon or Sabbaths' refers…

Martin shares a personal anecdote about being in ultra-fundamentalistic church situations where rigid codes of rules made people feel like 'second-class Christians' or even question their salvation, illustrating the danger of the Essene heresy.

Some of us have been in church situations. Some of us have been in ultra fundamentalistic situations where there was a code of rules and we looked at the people who kept those code of rules and we said well if that's real Christianity I must not be a Christian.

48:47 - 49:01 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And that is that the word Sabbath in the Old Testament applied not only to the weekly observance of the seventh day, that is to the Sabbath proper, but is also used in the Old Testament to refer to all the days of holy r…

Martin quotes John Owen extensively to demonstrate that in the New Testament era, 'Sabbath' was commonly used by Jews and Gentiles to refer to all Jewish holy days of rest, not just the weekly Sabbath.

For example, Leviticus 23 and verse 24. The very first day of the feast of trumpets which was to be the first day of the second month, no matter the day of the week on which it fell, was called Sabbath. It wasn't the weekly Sabbath, but it was still called Sabbath. John Owen notes, he says about the time of the writing of the books of the New Testament, both the Jews themselves and all the heathen that took notice of them called all their feasts and solemn assemblies their Sabbaths because they did no servile work in them. When Paul wrote to the Colossians and spoke of Sabbaths, he could use i...

55:27 - 56:38 Read in full sermon