Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
How can it possibly be? How could the Apostle Paul say such a thing? The Mosaic Law was the 2nd Covenant the Lord made with Israel. How could this be? Is murder now legal? Is adultery now OK? Is steeling no longer a sin? God forbid! For it is through the Law that we are convicted of sin and find ourselves hopelessly helpless in our effort to be righteous and pure from our own efforts to meet God's standard; Rom 7 and Rom 6:23. But, in our believing the Gospel 1Cor 15:1-4 we are saved and receive the Holy Spirit, 1Cor 15:56, 1Thess 4:8, Rom 8:2, which replaces the Law of sin and death, 2Cor 3:6, with the Spirit of Life in our hearts and our minds. So, without the Law we would not have found Salvation. Praise God!!
However, anyone can see how Paul's teaching could be contrary to the very fiber of even the Jewish believer with such declarations.
One could even argue that the Apostle Paul’s declarations are completely against what God had established 1,500 years prior to His earthly ministry. More than 25 to 30 years after Pentecost the Jerusalem church was still zealous for the Law and their God-given traditions (Acts 21:17…). Jesus’ earthly Brother, James, the head of the Jerusalem church, was perplexed of what to do with Paul upon him arriving in Jerusalem with the bundle of cash he had collected for them from the Gentile churches. Paul’s ministry spoke of salvation without the Law which was completely contrary to Israel and the Jerusalem Jewish believers. The Jerusalem church was of the same thought even 22 years after Pentecost (Acts 15). But, the evidence of the Holy Spirit in the Gentile believers coupled with Peter’s experience at Cornelius’ house, which occurred with much resistance and subsequent admonishment from the Jewish church (Acts 10-11), Paul’s Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24) survived. As it was agreed between them that the Jewish believers would continue to minister to Jews with the Kingdom Gospel and that Paul and his ministry would be confined to the Gentiles with the Gospel of the Grace of God, Gal 2:7-9.
Declaring the Gospel of the Kingdom only to Jews was the continuing format of the Jewish church. Evidence of this is even 12-13 years after Pentecost Acts 11:19 … “Jew only.” This was nothing that the Jewish church had contrived. This was always the Law! Not only was God specific regarding Israel to be totally separated from the gentiles but they were to have nothing to do with them. This was so ingrained in them that even the Apostles 25 yrs after Pentecost didn’t minister to the gentiles. Even when Peter received orders directly from the Lord 7-8 yrs after Pentecost he resisted to go to Cornelius’ house. Then afterward was severely admonished by his Jewish brethren. (Acts 11).
Note, however, that there were Gentile exceptions in the Old Testament; i.e.: Rahab the prostitute (Joshua), Ruth the Moabite (Ruth), Cyrus the King of Persia (Is 44:28, Nehemiah) Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel). Other exceptions were the Roman soldier, the Canaanite and Samaritan women Jesus ministered to in the Gospels. But, the command of Jesus Himself was honored by the Jewish church even after Peter’s gentile experience; “Do not go among the gentiles or into the towns of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt 10:5). Therefore, although there were indeed exceptions, ministering to Gentiles was forbidden by Law and reinforced by Jesus. Paul exemplifies this in Rom 15:8.
Further study reveals that the Exodus 19:4 prophecy that God would make Israel a kingdom of priests could indeed have been fulfilled during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Through Israel’s repentance, water baptism (a Leviticus requirement for Priests) and believing who Jesus was, the Nation could have become the kingdom of priests as the Lord foretold. Every Jew had to believe who Jesus was in order for the covenant to be fulfilled (Acts 3:24-26). If they had done so the Tribulation would have come and the Kingdom would have been established. In doing so Revelations 20:6 and the Great Commission with 144,000 Jewish Evangelists would already have been fulfilled (Zech 8:20-23) and we would now be past the 1000 years of peace and 1000 years into eternity with God.
So what does cancelling the Law have to do with the Jewish church ministering to Jew only? The secret lies in Scripture. The first hint of how God was going to separate human kind into two divisions was the call of Abram (Gen 12). In fact God told Abram to leave his family while he was still in Ur of the Chaldeans, the site of Babylon (Acts 7:2). However, as Abram most likely told his Father, Terah, that he was leaving it appears Terah insisted they all go with him. As a result of not being separated they only got as far as Haran which is northwest of Canaan, the land God had in mind for Abram. Then Abram and his family left for Canaan only after Terah died. However, it wasn’t until Abram and his nephew Lot separated that God showed Abram all the Land He was giving to him and his descendants. Abram had to be completely and totally separated from his family before the Lord would reveal His covenant to him.
In the same way unless Israel was completely separate from the rest of humanity would the Lord be able to make them an intrinsic nation prepared to be a kingdom of Priests to be a mediator for all humanity, Ex 19: 5-6. Therefore, the Lord would promise in many places including Is 2:2 and Zech 8:23 that the nations will someday entreat the Lord through the Jew in Jerusalem on the earth only after the Tribulation as prophesied. The description of this chronology is Psalm 2 although there are many other Scriptures repeating the chronology in the major and minor Profits; Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel,
Total separation was crucial for God’s plan. In like manor there will always be a separation of heaven and earth. The Bible displays heaven and earth in two completely different spheres. However, the Bible is also clear that there will never be heaven without earth and there will never be an earth without a heaven as God created them both. The Bible’s portrayal is that they are always separate but they always will be in concert with one another. There are 1100 verses in the Bible that state 'heaven and earth.' Even after the tribulation period and the 1000 years of peace there will even be a new heaven and a new earth, Rev 21:1. Therefore, there will always be a heavenly people and there will always be an earthly people.
Throughout Israel’s history you’ll find as you study the Bible that all of Israel’s covenants and blessings are “on the earth.” Conversely you’ll find all of your blessings and rewards confined to heaven. See Eph 1:5 and Phil 3:20. This is one of the reasons prayer is so important since our struggle is not against flesh and blood, Eph 6:12. We are a heavenly people as demonstrated also within the promises given to Abraham. The Lord showed Abraham that his descendants would be both an earthly and a heavenly people; Gen 13:16 – the earthly people. Gen 15:5 – the heavenly people. In addition scripturally, there is no concept of ‘going to heaven’ until you get to Paul’s letters. So conclusively, Israel is the earthly and the Body of Christ is the heavenly.
How all this relates to the cancelling of the Law is crucial. For if we do not separate the Law from Grace we find that Christ becomes of no affect for us. Gal 5:2. We become 1Tim 4:1-2, 2Tim 3:5. A mixture of law and grace is damaging to the believer which Paul rehearses on many occasion. He encourages the believer that the only way he can experience the power of God in his life and his family is through Faith and Faith alone without the law. Rom 3:28, 8:2, 2Cor 3:6-8, Gal 4:9.
Hebrews shows the damning affect of mixing Law and Grace in Heb 6:1-6. Here Paul explains that retaining the old Jewish customs and traditions as necessary means of salvation in addition to the finished work of the cross renders God's completed work for you useless (Gal 5:2). The reason is the Law is no longer necessary for salvation nor is any legality any Church imposes on a believer be it Church membership, baptism, tithing, regular service attendance or anything else even self-imposed. Finished work means finished work.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (Where is there any conversation that we have anything to do with this other than believe it? There is none.)
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the Body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
The full explanation of this is found in Col 2. Christ, through the crucifixion, cancelled the Law nailing it to the cross. As in Rom 7 we were once married to the Law but when we died being crucified with Christ we were freed from the Law and were married to another; Christ Jesus. Therefore, all believers are under Grace and are no longer under Law!
Colossians 2:13-14
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross
Therefore, since the human experience proved over and over again that keeping the Law was impossible. (Rom 7) Which Paul calls the Law the ministry of death 2Cor 3:7. The Lord replaced it with the Holy Spirit which dwells in every believer. Rom 8:11, 1Cor 3:16, Rom 8:15. We are sealed forever, Eph 1:13, in the Body of Christ, 1Cor 12:12, a heavenly people, Eph 1:3, Phil 3:20, 1Cor 3:12-15. Therefore, since there is no longer any penalty for sin that can separate us from our salvation Rom 8:38, we have an obligation, Gal 5:13, to serve the Lord and humanity through His Spirit. Gal 5:14, Gal 5:18. But, let us not forget the tremendous Blessing we received as a result of the condemning power of the Law. For with out the Law we would not have realized how utterly lost we were! And, without God's saving work of the Cross we would be hopelessly without God forever!
But now, since the Law has been removed, there is no longer any sin for the believer that can be accounted to him. (Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.) However, our inheritance in heaven is indeed at stake as to how we conduct our lives as Ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor 3:12-15, 2Cor 5:9-10, 2Cor 5:20, Col 3:24, Gal 5:13. That although we are free from the consequences of law breaking (death) we are not given license to sin. We are now a reflection of the attributes of God. For there is only one thing that serves to assure our full inheritance, Gal 5:6, Faith expressing itself in love.
So don’t ever let anyone tell you, “So… you think you can sin all you want now!” This response will typically be from the religious whose salvation are tied to legalities; adding their righteousness to Christ's finished work. But, just remind them that your freedom is not license, 2Cor 5:10. But, warn them gently that their misunderstanding or refusal of Paul’s revealed mysteries of the Gospel of Grace also has consequence. See Rom 3:7. The Holy Spirit through Paul deals harshly with such remarks. Try to remind them that it is Paul's Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God, not the Gospel of the Kingdom that men's secrets will be judged, Rom 2:16.