Let No One Judge You

16Let no man therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, 17which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s." Colossians 2:16-17 NHEB

 In light of the great victory that our Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf, in light of all that has been gifted to us in grace, then the admonition here is to let that become freedom for us. The encouragement is to not allow anyone to judge us as to our "religious practices."

There are those who would condemn others as not being pleasing to our Lord based on what they eat or do not eat; based on what they drink or do not drink, and based on when they worship, or what days they hold as special days (such were the "feast days" mentioned). Such things are only shadows. The reality is that the entire body belongs to Jesus Christ, with all her celebrations or lack thereof.

We please our God because of and in Christ and for no other reason. As we (in the words of Ephesians, "Learn what pleases the Lord" - Eph. 5:10 NIV) we interact with Him in ways that will cause great joy to His heart as well as to our own. But never are we to take our righteousness from our own works, regardless of what those works are.

This means that there is not "one" understanding of the Word that makes us right, nor one set of actions that makes us pleasing. That type of thinking and feeling runs contrary to our Lord's revelation in the Scripture. Our right standing with the Lord must remain an imparted placement, based in our acceptance of the work of our Lord on our behalf. I am so grateful!