Let's first take a look at the apostle Paul's words in Colossians 2:14-17: "Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ... So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."

When some read about the sabbath days that were shadows and that passed away at the cross, they think that Paul was referring to the weekly Sabbath, the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Is this accurate? It's important to get this right, because our interpretation of the apostle's actual meaning ...

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Some teach that after the law has accomplished its purpose of pointing a sinner to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing, the commandments are no longer needed in the experience of a believer. Is that true?

A Christian will continue to depend upon the "watchdog" of the law to reveal any deviations from the true path of righteousness and to point him or her back to the cleansing cross of Jesus. This mirror of correction will most certainly be needed in the progressive growth experience of the Christian.

Law and grace do not work in competition with one another, but rather they work in perfect cooperation. The law points out our sin, and grace saves from sin. The law ...

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In 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, the apostle Paul writes,

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem."

In this passage, the apostle was writing a special appeal to the churches in Asia Minor. Famine conditions were not unusual in areas of the Middle East (see Acts 11:28-30), and at the time, many of the Christians in Jerusalem were suffering greatly. Paul asked the ...

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