Sabbath Reflection - What was "Nailed to the Cross?"

(The following Sabbath Reflection was written by Mr. Ed Dowd and is shared with permission.)

A commonly accepted doctrine within mainstream Christianity is the claim that the law of God was "nailed to the cross" 

and is therefore no longer required of believers. 

That conclusion is usually drawn from Colossians 2:14. Over time, many have assumed this means the commandments

themselves were abolished at Christ's crucifixion. Yet that interpretation did not originate with Christ or the apostles. It 

developed gradually in the centuries following the apostolic era.

By mid-second century, influential teachers such as Marcion (circa A.D. 140) were openly rejecting the Hebrew Scriptures 

and dismissing the law as inferior or obsolete. While the developing church structure that would later formalize as the Catholic Church 

rejected Marcion's extremism, it nevertheless moved in a similar direction; distancing itself from the biblical framework of law and 

redefining obedience as a temporary or superseded.

By the time of Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430), a more systematized theology had taken shape in the Latin West. 

The las was often framed primarily as condemnation rather than covenant instruction. More than a thousand years after the 

crucifixion in A.D. 31, Martin Luther (1483-1546) reacted strongly against medieval legalism, emphasizing justification by faith. 

In that reaction, many came to treat obedience itself as suspect. The phrase "not under law but under grace" was detached from 

Paul's meaning and gradually reinterpreted as freedom from the obligation to obey.

The timeline itself is instructive. These conclusions did not arise in A.D. 31. They developed in the second century, were systematized in the fourth, 

and were amplified again the the sixteenth. Yet the New Testament record presents a different picture.

Jesus Christ did not live as though the law were temporary. He stated plainly, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets" 

(Matthew 5:17). He warned that whoever relaxes even the least commandment and teaches others to do the same will be called 

least in the Kingdom (verse 19). After His resurrection, the apostles continued keeping the Sabbath (Acts 13:42-44; 17:2, observing

the festivals (Acts 20:16), and affirming the ongoing validity of God's commandments (Romans 3:31).

The clearer lens through which to understand this issue is found in 1 John 2:6: "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk 

just as He walked."

The Greek verb translated "walk" often describes one's manner of life; one's habitual conduct, one's consistent patter of living. It refers to the 

ordered course of life; conduct shaped by a defined standard.

John connects this directly to obedience. Just three verses earlier he writes, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we 

keep His commandments" (1 John 2:3). The flow is direct: 

• Knowing Jesus Christ is demonstrated by keeping His commandments.
• Abiding in Jesus Christ requires walking as He walked.

And how did He walk?

He kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16).

He kept the Passover (Luke 22:15).

He kept the annual festivals of God (John 7:2,10, Luke 2:41-42).

He upheld the commandments (Matthew 19:17).

He perfectly obeyed His Father (John 15:10).

If the law were abolished at the cross, then John's instruction loses continuity. Walk according to what? By what standard? Imitate which pattern?

It is also worth  noting that the apostle John likely wrote 1 John around A.D. 85-90; roughly sixty years after the crucifixion! If the law 

had truly been abolished at the cross, John would have been the ideal candidate to clarify that fact. Instead, six decades after Christ's death

and resurrection, John reaffirmed that knowing Him is demonstrated by keeping His commandments and that we must walk as He walked.

The continuity is unmistakable.

The biblical framework is consistent. The law defines sin (1John 3:4). God forgives the repentant through Christ's sacrifice (Acts 2:38; 1 John 1:9;

Ephesians 1:7). The spirit empowers obedience (Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:4). None cancel the others. They function together within God's revealed plan.

To "walk as He walked" is not abstract language. It describes alignment of life with the same revealed will of God that Christ Himself obeyed. 

His obedience was not selective; not symbolic; not temporary. It was complete.

Those whom God has called live under the present rule of the Kingdom of God. We are already under Christ's authority (Matthew 28:18). 

Forgiveness does not release us from obedience, it restores us to faithful submission. 

If we claim to abide in Jesus Christ, our lives will reflect His life; His obedience: His submission to the Father; His love expressed through keeping

the commandments (John 14:15.

The question is not whether obedience still matters. Scripture answers that clearly. The real question is whether we will walk as He walked.

When the sun falls below the horizon, I pray you each have an inspiring 24-hours of remembering to keep God's Sabbath holy.