CLAIM: Paul commanded that the church of Colossae should exchange letters with the church of Laodicea (a city that was only ten miles away). This implies that Paul had another letter, which was authoritative and inspired that is now lost to us. Is this the case?
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Problem: Paul refers to the “epistle from Laodicea” as a book he wrote that should be read by the church at Colosse, just as the inspired Book of Colossians was to be read by the Laodiceans. However, no such 1st century epistle to the Laodiceans exists (though there is a 4th century fraud). But, it is very strange that an inspired book would perish. Why would God inspire it for the faith and practice of the church (2 Tim. 3:16–17) and then allow it to be destroyed?
Does the Bible support slavery? Skeptics of the Bible often claim that it does. For instance, in their book What the Bible Really Says, skeptics Morton Smith and R. Joseph Hoffman write,
There is no reasonable doubt that the New Testament, like the Old, not only tolerated chattel slavery (the form prevalent in the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s time) but helped to perpetuate it by making the slaves’ obedience to their masters a religious duty. This biblical morality was one of the greatest handicaps that the emancipation movement in the United States had to overcome.[1]
How should believers respond to such claims? Does the Bible support slavery?
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Problem: While Paul told children to obey their parents in everything, Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:37). Surely children should not obey a parent who commands them to curse God, or hate Jesus, or kill their brother.
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Problem: It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Saturday Sabbath, cease work, and worship God. Of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only nine of them were reinstituted in the New Testament. (Six in Matthew 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, honor parents, and worshiping God; Romans 13:9, coveting. Worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments). The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8).
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Problem: Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong writes,
Paul in Colossians 2:11-13 makes a connection between Baptism and circumcision. Israel was the church before Christ [Acts 7:38; Rom. 9:4]. Circumcision, given to eight-day-old boys, was the seal of the covenant God made with Abraham, which applies to us also [Gal. 3:14, 29]. It was a sign of repentance and future faith [Rom. 4:11]… Likewise, Baptism is the seal of the New Covenant in Christ.’[1]
The Protestant Heidelberg Catechism (Question 74) states:
(Question) Should infants, too, be baptized?
(Answer) Yes. For they as well as adults belong to God’s covenant and community (Gen. 17:7) and no less than adults are promised forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood (Matt. 19:14) and the Holy Spirit, who produces faith (Ps. 22:10; Is. 44:1–3; Luke 1:15; Acts 2:39; 16:31). Therefore, they, too, ought to be incorporated into the Christian church by baptism, the sign of the covenant, and distinguished from the children of unbelievers (Acts 10:47; 1 Cor. 7:14). This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision (Gen. 17:9–14), in whose place baptism was instituted in the New Testament (Col. 2:11–13).
Does circumcision prefigure infant baptism for believers today?
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Problem: Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception.” This is the only use of the term “philosophy” in the entire Bible, and here, philosophy is given negative connotations. Some fideistic interpreters argue that this implies that reason should not be pursued alongside faith. Does this mean that it is wrong for Christians to study philosophy?
Problem: Paul warned here, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit.” Does this mean that Christians should not study philosophy? If so, then why did God give us a mind and command us to think (Matt. 22:37) and reason (1 Peter 3:15)?
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Problem: Paul writes, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24). Do believers need to finish the work of Christ on Earth?
If you want to be a doer of the word your life will reflect these 15 things
1 Bridles His Tongue
2 Visits the Fatherless and Widows
3 Keeps Himself Unspotted from the World
4 Is Not a Respecter of Persons
5 Lives by Faith
6 Watches His Tongue
7 Needs Heavenly Wisdom
8 Is Not a Friend of the World
9 Is in Submission to God
10 Will Not Slander
11 Will Live in the Will of God
12 Will Not Rely on His Riches
13 Will be Patient
14 Will Not Swear or Take Oaths
15 Will Be a Person of Prayer
Problem: The Bible declares that Jesus’ death on the cross was both sufficient and final for our salvation (John 19:30; Heb. 1:3). Yet Paul states that we are to fill up what is “lacking in the afflictions of Christ.” But if the Cross is all-sufficient, then how can anything be lacking in Christ’s suffering for us?
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Problem: Paul writes, “[The gospel] was proclaimed in all creation under heaven” (v.23). Preterists use this verse to support the belief that the gospel had reached the entire world at this time (Mt. 24:14).
CLAIM: Paul writes that we were formerly alienated from God (v.21), but now, we have been reconciled to God. However, he then adds the caveat “if indeed you continue in the faith” (v.23). Does this mean that Christians can lose their salvation, if they don’t continue in the faith?
RESPONSE: There are two major ways of understanding this passage:
Problem: Paul writes that Jesus’ death will “reconcile all things to Himself” (v.20). Universalists argue that this implies that God will save all people in the end.