Unlocking The New Testament

Philippians & Philemon 2

David Pawson tackles Philippians’ “controversial” passage in this study – Scholars debate: How much of God did Jesus empty himself of when he became a man? David declares “The things he gave up were not of his nature but of his privileges.” He says that the passage in question is not about theology but about ethics – it is “about Christ’s attitudes and his choices”. Paul said: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” David also warns that we need to take note of the conditions attached to promises of God. Regarding the letter to Philemon, David says that, though it is very short, it is important. It is private correspondence about a runaway slave. David answers the question: Why was it put in the Bible? He shows that when we are converted, rather than running away from our past, we should put our past right. The story in Philemon is a perfect picture of our salvation.

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Colossians

This study is a must for every Christian. The problems in the Colossian church are with us today as we find when we examine Paul’s letter to see what he was responding to. Paul had neither founded nor visited this church, but he’d been told of problems there. Colossae was a cosmopolitan town with many religions which presented relational problems. David believes they had brought too much from outside into the church, which is again a problem in our modern age. He says Colossians gives us a wonderful tool to analyse syncretism, the mixture of faiths. Christ loses his preeminence in the church when other beliefs are mixed in. “If there’s one thing Christ does, he saves us from religion. Christianity is not a religion… It is a relationship with Christ.” This letter can be summarized by two themes – Syncretism that makes a religion of Christianity; and the simplicity of centring everything on relationship to Christ. The New Testament does not tell us to observe Sunday as a special day, or Christmas or Easter. Colossians warns against losing our salvation.

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