William Chong

This morning I was at a men’s Bible study. We’re currently examining Colossians 2 and what the passage is referring to, and what we can draw out of it into our daily living.

The discussion this morning centered around Col 2:16-17. One person explained that this passage means we shouldn’t therefore judge other Christian’s differences in beliefs and traditions, and seek to promote unity between faith traditions. He gave the example of seeking unity with people who are in the Roman Catholic church.

However, another person in the group countered that purity was more important, and that this verse doesn’t absolve Christians of the responsibility to do things such as “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). He countered that to keep the purity of the church we should separate from other faith traditions that add regulations and rules to what Christ has done, such as the Roman Catholic church.

There were a host of other topics that came out of studying this text together: the sufficiency of Christ, legalism, the role of the Ten Commandments in our life today, Roman Catholics and what they believe, and so on. But we all had to leave and the main question seemed unresolved: what is more important for the Body of Christ, unity or purity? Also, does Colossians 2:16-17 refer to unity/purity or is it in a different context?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Truth and love, thanks!