EZEKIEL 20:20
AHallow My Sabbaths,
and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am
the Lord your God.@
Our God is not
arbitrary. He does not make up useless rules. Every command is for our best
good. And this is very, very true of the Sabbath commandment.
THE SABBATH ANSWERS MAN'S DEEPEST
QUESTIONS.
l. WHERE DID I COME FROM?
GENESIS 2:2,3
AAnd on the seventh
day God ended His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day
from all His work which He had made.@
AAnd God blessed the
seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all
His work which God created and made.@
To sanctify means
Ato set apart for a
special purpose,@
Ato make holy,@ or
Ato consecrate.@ In the very beginning, God sanctified
the Sabbath. It was not Adam's seventh day. Adam had not yet been alive for 24
hours. The first gift of God to mankind was this special time. Even before God
warned them against the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, He set aside
the Sabbath hours. Hours to spend in holy communion and contemplation.
Did you ever wonder why God
took six days to create the earth, and then took one day just to celebrate. Who
was watching? Remember that God's
authority and His right to rule had just been challenged by Lucifer, the
highest created being. Could it be
that God was saying something about His authority as creator? Perhaps the
angels who rebelled had been tempted to forget that they were created
beings.
EXODUS 20:11
AFor in six days the Lord made the heavens and
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and
rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
hallowed it.@
Right in the middle of
the Ten Commandments, God inscribed the Sabbath, in stone, an eternal symbol of
His relationship to us. We are His
creation.
2. WHERE AM I GOING?
ISAIAH 66:22‑23
AFor as the new heavens and the new earth
which I will make shall remain before Me, says the Lord, so shall your
descendants and your name remain.
And it shall come to
pass that from one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another all
flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.@
In the new earth,
Aall flesh,@ not just all Jews, will
come together to worship God each Sabbath.
Jesus said,
AThe Sabbath was made for
man@ (MARK 2:27)
3. WHY IS THE WORLD IN SUCH A
MESS?
DEUTERONOMY 5:15
ARemember that you were a slave in the land of
Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought you out from there by a mighty hand
and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to
keep the Sabbath day.@
We have all been caught up in slavery to sin, and God has offered to bring us out by the miracle of His grace and power. Someday we will literally leave this old Egypt of sin and cross over into the promised Canaan. In the meantime Satan is Pharaoh. Disease, death and confusion are all around us. We cannot expect this to get better, only worse, as time grows shorter. But we can have peace in our own hearts knowing that God is with us, and will bring us home. The Sabbath is God's reminder of His promised deliverance.
4. HOW CAN I GET TO THIS NEW
EARTH?
EZEKIEL 20:12
AMoreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be
a sign between them and me, that they might know that I am the Lord who
sanctifies them.@
EXODUS 31:13 ASurely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout all our generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.@
Just as the Sabbath was
sanctified or set apart for a holy purpose, so we are set apart for God's
purpose. It is only by the regenerating power of God, that our hearts are
changed and we are consecrated to be used by Him. Only those who are changed in
this way will see the new earth. The God who created man in the beginning will
create him anew - redeemed and resurrected from the dead. God will make him a
fit subject for His kingdom.
5. WHO MADE ALL OF THIS
POSSIBLE?
Jesus Christ rested from
all His labors on the Sabbath day when He slept in Joseph's tomb
(MATTHEW 28:l, MARK l6:1‑2,
MARK 16:9, LUKE 24:l, JOHN 20:l).
6. HOW LONG WILL THIS SIN
PROBLEM LAST?
We have almost reached
6000 years since Adam sinned. The millennium, 1000 years during which the earth
will rest, represents a Sabbath for this earth (REVELATION 20:2,4). The Sabbath
is a continual prophecy of how long it will take to finish the rebellion and
restore peace to the universe.
Our Heavenly Father knew
that without a time set apart for communion and worship, we would loose our
connection with Him. We would
forget who we are, and where we are going. How clearly this has been
demonstrated over the ages.
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED
1.
THE
SABBATH IS JUST FOR THE JEWS.
IT WAS INTRODUCED AT SINAI AS A MEMORIAL OF THEIR RESCUE FROM
EGYPT.
The 7th day
was
Ablessed@ and
Ahallowed@ at the end of creation week,
when only Adam and Eve were living.
Can you show me, in the
Scriptures, where the LORD unblessed or unhallowed the 7th day.
A. PSALM 105:43‑45 says that God brought Israel out of Egypt so that they could keep His statutes. They could not keep the Sabbath in Egypt, because they were forced to work.
B. The Israelites knew about the
Sabbath, before Sinai! Before
Sinai, God gave them manna from heaven. They were not to gather this food on
the Sabbath. (EXODUS 16:28).
C. The stranger was included in the fourth commandment, not just the Jew (EXODUS 20:10). A blessing was to come upon Athe son of the stranger@ Athat keeps the Sabbath@ (ISAIAH 56:1-8).
D. NEHEMIAH. 9:13‑14 has been used by some to say that the
Israelites had no knowledge of the Sabbath before Sinai. It says,
AYou made known to them
Your holy Sabbath.@
Compare:
AIn the day when I chose
Israel... and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt@ (EZEKIEL 20:5). Are we to conclude from this verse
that God was not known by anyone before that time. Of course not! The
Israelites had just lost site of God and of His commandments.
E. DEUTERONOMY 5:15 It is true that they were to keep the Sabbath as a memorial of their rescue from Egypt. But they were also commanded to deal rightly in weights and measures because AI am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall you observe all my statutes and all my judgments, and do them:@ (LEVITICUS l9:35‑37). Are we to conclude that prior to their deliverance from Egypt, they might short-change their neighbors with impunity and that only Jews are required by God to refrain from cheating anyone?
LEVITICUS ll:45
AI am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of
Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore
be holy, for I am holy.@
Is the command to
Abe holy@ only for Jews? Does the
command to be holy have meaning only in context of deliverance from Egypt. Or have we all been slaves of sin and of
Satan?
2.
AI WILL CAUSE ALL HER MIRTH TO CEASE, HER
FEAST DAYS HER NEW MOONS, AND HER SABBATHS, AND ALL HER SOLEMN FEASTS@
(HOSEA 2:11).
This verse is cited by some as a prophecy predicting the end of the seventh day Sabbath. The condition here described was fulfilled at the destruction of Israel by the Babylonians. The Jews were keeping the forms of their religion without heart penitence. They had even erected graven images of pagan gods in the Temple of God at Jerusalem. This was abhorrent to God (Isaiah l:ll-l9). When God allowed Israel to be conquered and the Temple destroyed, the Jews could not celebrate their special ceremonial Sabbaths and feasts because they took place in connection with the Temple.
ABehold upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows, for the wicked one shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off@ (Nahum 1:9). Christ is the One who Abrings good tidings. The Sabbath was one of the Aappointed feasts.@ This puts Sabbath-keeping far into the new age, after Satan has been cut off.
3.
DIDN'T
JESUS CHANGE THE SABBATH TO SUNDAY?
A. MATTHEW 5:17,18 Jesus said, AThink not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.@
PSALM 111:7,8
AAll His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and
are done in truth and uprightness.@
PSALM 89:34
AMy covenant will I not break, nor alter the
thing that is gone out of my lips.@
MALACHI 3:6
AFor I am the Lord, I change not.@
I CHRONICLES 17:27
AFor You have blessed O Lord, and it shall be
blessed forever.@
[Remember that people
are blessed upon condition of obedience, but the Sabbath was blessed
unconditionally. God did not say,
AIf it works out, then we'll keep it.@]
B. HEBREWS 9:16
AFor where a testament is, there must also be the
death of the testator. For a
testament
is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the
testator lives.@
GALATIANS 3:15
ABrethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though
it is only a man's covenant (will), yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or
adds to it.@
A man's last will and testament cannot be changed after his death.
After the death of
Christ, nothing could be added to the
Anew covenant@ or New Testament. That is why Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper
and baptism before His death. They are a memorial of His death and
resurrection, and a symbol of our death to the old life, and resurrection to
new life in Him. If the
Commandments were to be changed, then Jesus would have to say this clearly, and
officially before His death. Sunday keeping was instituted by men well after
Christ's death.
Jesus expected His followers to be keeping the Sabbath at least 40 years after His death at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.
MATTHEW 24:20 ABut pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.@
He did not say this because it would be more difficult to get out of the city on that day, because it really would have been easier. The streets would be deserted because all the Jews would be in the synagogue. In fact when the time came, the Jews stayed in the city and the Christians were the only ones who fled and thereby saved their lives.
C. HEBREWS 10:9
AHe taketh away the first that He may establish
the second.@
Some have pointed to
this verse as taking away the seventh day Sabbath. But read the words in context. Paul is
speaking of the old covenant with its law of sacrifices, a human priesthood,
and an earthly temple. This was
replaced by the ministry of Christ our high priest in heaven (the true
sanctuary), who ministers His own blood.
No mention is made of a day of worship.
D. LUKE 4:16
AAnd He came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.@
Some say that Jesus
broke the fourth commandment, thereby setting us an example that it was not
binding, when He healed on the Sabbath, or allowed his disciples to eat grain
that they gathered while passing through a field on the Sabbath day (MATTHEW
12:10‑12, JOHN 5:2‑18).
Jesus said,
AI have kept my Father's
commandments@ (JOHN 15:10). If Jesus had truly broken the
commandment, then He would have been a sinner, and could not have been our
Savior.
It is lawful to heal and
do works of mercy on the Sabbath day, but not for money. The Jews who accused Jesus of breaking
their traditions were wrong.
Ministers today, who do
God's work on the Sabbath are blameless (I COR 10:1‑4, NEHEMIAH. 9:9‑14).
Medical personnel who work to save
lives on the Sabbath are also within the law.
But
the farmer who wishes to harvest because the crop is ripe today or the weather
is threatening is not within the law.@ On
the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earring time and in harvest time thou shalt
rest@ (EX. 34:21).
The religious leaders of
Christ's day had added dozens of their own rules for keeping the Sabbath, until
the day had lost all of it's original meaning. In fact it was a lot work just keeping
all of the Sabbath regulations.
There was no time to think about God, for thinking about whether one
might be breaking some rule. Christ
cleared away these traditions of men.
4.
SINCE
THE RESURRECTION WAS ON SUNDAY, WE KEEP THAT DAY IN HONOR OF HIM.
A. MATTHEW 12:8 Jesus said, AThe Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.@
Jesus' special day is
the Sabbath.
B. John called it
Athe Lord's day@ (Revelation l:10). When John mentions Sunday in his gospel,
written 64 years after the cross, he calls it simply
Athe first day of the
week@ (John 20:1). If Sunday had truly become the new
Sabbath, would he not have mentioned it in some special way.?
C. God calls the Sabbath
AMy holy day@ (ISA. 58:13). Remember that it was Jesus who spoke
through Isaiah, and through all of the Old Testament prophets.
MATTHEW 15:6,9 AThus have ye made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.@ AIn vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.@
DEUTERONOMY 4:2 AYou shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God...@ (Proverbs 30:6).
5. DIDN'T
JESUS ALWAYS APPEAR TO HIS DISCIPLES ON SUNDAY?
Christ appeared to His disciples
over a period of forty days after His resurrection. Only five of these recorded appearances give a clue as to the
day.
A. Resurrection Sunday: To Mary
Magdalene, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to eleven disciples in the
upper room. (The eleven disciples were not holding a religious meeting. They
were hiding in terror of the Jews.
B. Eight days later on a Monday,
because Thomas was finally with them (JOHN 20:26).
C. To the disciples while they were
out fishing (JOHN 21). No day
is given.
D. Ascension day - forty days after
the resurrection - a Thursday
(ACTS 1:3,9).
E. MATTHEW 28:10‑17 does not give a day.
1.
WE
CELEBRATE EASTER SUNDAY IN HONOR OF CHRIST=S RESURRECTION.
DOESN=T THAT MAKE SUNDAY A SPECIAL DAY?
The
Amany thousands@ of Jews who
Abelieved@ (Acts 21:20) did not
view their acceptance of Jesus of Nazareth as their expected Messiah as
representing a breaking away from their Jewish religion and a joining to a new
religion called Christianity. They
simply viewed themselves as
Abelieving Jews.@ They continued to act and to worship
like Jews, including the observance of the
AJewish@ festivals.
After the death of
Christ, Passover was celebrated with bread and wine, rather than with a
sacrificial lamb, as initiated by Christ at His last Passover meal. In fact there was much debate among
early Christians regarding the proper observance - how long to fast, whether to
celebrate the Lord=s supper in the evening
or the next morning, etc.
The actual introduction
of Easter-Sunday appears to have occurred in Palestine after Emperor Hadrian
ruthlessly crushed the Barkokeba revolt (A.D. 132-135) and built on the ruin of
Jerusalem a new Roman city, Aelia Capitolina. At this time, Hadrian introduced the
most repressive legislation, prohibiting the practice of Judaism, in general,
and the observance of Jewish festivals, in particular. Jews and Jewish-Christians were expelled
from the city.
As a result of Hadrian=s expulsion of the Jews,
the positions left vacant by Jewish-Christian elders and leaders were filled by non-Jews. The ethnic cleansing, and persecution of
anyone and anything Jewish influenced the new Gentile hierarchy to change the
date of Passover from Nisan 14 to the following Sunday in order to show separation
from the Jews and Jewish Christians, and thus avoid persecution.
Over the years a whole
body of anti-Semitic type
literature was produced by leading Fathers who defamed the Jews as a people and
emptied their religious beliefs and practices of any value whatsoever. Two major casualties of the anti-Jewish
campaign were Sabbath and Passover.
The Sabbath was changed to Sunday and Passover was transferred to
Easter-Sunday.
Finally, in A.D.325, at the Council of Nicea the Emperor Constantine settled the issue. He wrote, ALet us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd:@ He decreed that Passover be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring (that is, the Sunday after the Jewish Passover). To ensure that Easter-Sunday would never be celebrated at the same time as the Jewish Festival, the council decreed that if the 14th of Nisan fell on a Sunday, then Easter was to be celebrated on the following Sunday.@
2.
DOESN'T
PENTECOST ALWAYS FALL ON A SUNDAY?
Pentecost always falls 50 days from the feast of first fruits. The events of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out with power, took place on a Sunday, but the day of the week is not mentioned. There was a controversy regarding the correct day for the offering of the Afirstfruits,@ but in the year Christ died Pharisees and Sadducees were in agreement. See the study, AThree Days and Three Nights@ at this web site.
8. WHEN
SUNDAY IS MENTIONED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, ISN'T IT ALWAYS SOMETHING
SPECIAL? COULDN'T IT BE INFERRED
THAT SUNDAY WAS THE SPECIAL DAY FOR THE APOSTLES?
The first day of the
week is mentioned eight times in the New Testament:
MATTHEW 28:1; MARK 16:l‑2,9; LUKE 24:l; JOHN 20:1: All are accounts of the
resurrection.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John all wrote their gospels many years after Christ's death, yet every one of
them refers to Sunday as simply,
Athe first day of the week,@ nothing more, nothing
special.
JOHN 20:19: The disciples were hiding in the upper
room behind closed doors in terror of the Jews.
ACTS 20:7‑8: The dark part of the first day of the
week is Saturday night (see New English Bible) (MARK
l:21,32; LEVITICUS 23:32). The service began on Sabbath and continued into the
night. The first day of the week began at sundown. Paul spent most of Sunday, the next day,
walking through swampy country from Troas to Assos where he was to catch a
ship.
ABreaking bread@ was done
Adaily@ (ACTS 2:46) and was not
necessarily associated with an assembly for worship. In this case it was most likely a going
away supper for Paul.
1CORINTHIANS 16:1‑2
ALay by in store@ does not mean,
Aput in the collection plate at the church.@ It means to
set aside at home. Some of the modern translations put it in this way. It means
that the first act of business in the new week should be to separate a portion
for God's service. After God's
tithe and offerings are separated then we may continue with our regular
business. Money was never
handled on the Sabbath.
The
weekly Sabbath is mentioned in the New Testament fifty-six times.
|
Matt 12:1-8,10-12
24:20
28:1 |
Mark 1:21 2:23-28 3:2-4 6:2 15:42 16:1 |
Luke 4:16,31
6:1-9 13:10-16 14:1-5 23:54,56 |
John 5:9,10,16,18
7:22,23 19:14,16,31 |
Acts 13:14,27,42,44
15:21
16:13
18:4 |
In the eight passages which
mention the first day of the week there is no command to keep it; there is no
record of its being appointed as a Sabbath; no record of any blessing being
placed upon it; no record of its being made holy; no record of any sacredness
being attached to it; no promise of a blessing for its observance; no threat of
punishment for its nonobservance. It is not once given any sacred title. There is no record that Christ kept
Sunday or commanded it to be kept. There is no record that the apostles kept it
or commanded it to be kept.
9. DID
PAUL KEEP THE SABBATH AFTER HIS CONVERSION TO CHRIST?
ACTS 26:11. . . . . . .
Saul the persecutor always knew where to find the Christians. He persecuted
them in every synagogue. And they
worshiped in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
ACTS 13:14‑16 . . . In Antioch Paul
worshiped on Sabbath.
ACTS 13:44 . . . . . The next
Sabbath in Antioch Paul preached to the Gentiles, (He didn't tell them to meet
him on Sunday) and almost the whole city came to
hear him.
ACTS 16:13 . . . . . In Philippi,
where there were no Jews therefore no synagogue, Paul went out by the river
to worship
on Sabbath.
ACTS 18:4,11 . . In Corinth he
Areasoned in the
synagogue every Sabbath@ for a year and a half,
or 78 Sabbaths. If Sunday were indeed the new day of worship, doesn't it seem
that he could have got that point
across before a year and a half?
ACTS 17:2 . . . . . .In Thessalonica APaul, as his custom was, went in (to the synagogue) to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures.@
10. WHY
DOESN'T PAUL STATE SPECIFICALLY THAT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH?
IN FACT DOESN'T PAUL SAY THAT EVERY MAN SHOULD BE PERSUADED IN HIS OWN MIND?
A. Paul and other NT writers exhorted
all to read and study the Scriptures which
Awill make you wise unto salvation.@ The only Scriptures
available at that time were the Old Testament, which are replete with references
to the sacredness of the 7th
day Sabbath.
B. The Jews were ready to kill Paul
because he declared specifically that circumcision, was no longer necessary
(GALATIANS 5:6‑15). If Paul had declared that the Sabbath was changed or done away with, would not some account of the furor that would have caused be found in the account of his ministry. The Jews considered Sabbath observance at least as important as circumcision, yet great text is given to the account of the debate over circumcision and nothing is said about a change of the Sabbath.
Paul said,
AI have fully preached
the gospel of Christ@ (ROMANS 15:19). Nothing was left out.
A.
It
is true that Paul said
ALet every man be
convinced in his own mind@ (ROMANS 14:5). But isn't this the ideal we preach
today. Each person must study and
decide for himself the truth of the gospel of Christ. No observance, whether
prayer or fasting or giving offerings, or Sabbath keeping is valid if the
person does not understand the reason for what he is doing.
This statement reflects
the change in Paul after the Damascus road. He no longer forced his beliefs on
anyone. Even if he knew he was right he said
Ado not judge your brother.@ How different from the Saul who dragged
the Christians to Jerusalem in chains.
D. Devout Jews held to the custom of
fasting twice a week. Paul was
probably referring to this custom, because He mentions eating and not eating
along with observing and not observing certain days. The days observed appear to be those
days upon which certain men fasted.
The context does not mention the 7th day Sabbath (Romans
14:1-7). Paul appears to have kept the 7th day Sabbath, and there are
passages which suggest that he also kept the festivals (1Corinthians 16:8, Acts
20:6, Acts 20:16). ( See also 1Corinthians 5:7-8 where Paul instructs
the church regarding the keeping of the Passover.)
11. DIDN'T
PAUL DESCRIBE SABBATH KEEPING AS TURNING AGAIN TO WEAK AND BEGGARLY ELEMENTS?
GALATIANS 4:9,10
ABut how after you have known God, or rather are
known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to
which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and
seasons and years.@
Bible teachers have
differing interpretations of this passage.
The Galatians were not Jews. These people had been pagans, and followed
the cults of sun worship. Some say
that they were now turning back to the things which they had left - worship of
heavenly bodies.
Other teachers say that
the Galatians who had come to belief in Christ, had been taken in by the circumcision party who were
Azealous for the law.@ They had themselves circumcised,
and began keeping all of the Jewish festivals in order to be saved. Paul was adamant that we are saved by
faith in Christ - not by
Aworks of the law.@ Keeping the Jewish festivals in
order to be saved would be no better than observing pagan astral festivals
in order to live forever. Both
involved a type of salvation by works, and so would be called
Aweak and beggarly
elements.
The apostle Paul refers to the law in two ways. Paul seems to be for the law and against it at the same time. This is most confusing to some. In Colossians 2:14, Athe handwriting of requirements@ is Awiped out,@ while in Romans 3:31, he explains that justification by faith in Jesus Christ does not overthrow the law but Aestablishes@ it. In Romans 7:6, he states that Anow we are discharged from the law,@ while a few verses later he writes that Athe law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good@ (7:12). In Romans 10:4, Paul writes that AChrist is the end of the law,@ while in 8:3-4, he explains that Christ came Ain the likeness of sinful flesh . . . in order that the just requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us.@ Paul maintains in Romans 3:28 that Aa man is justified by faith apart from works of the law,@ yet in 1Corinthians 7:19, he states that Aneither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.@ In 2Corinthians 3:7 Paul designates the law as Athe dispensation of death,@ while in Romans 3:2, he views it as part of the Aoracles of God@ entrusted to the Jews.
How can Paul view the
law both as
Aabolished@ and
Aestablished@, unnecessary and
necessary? The answer is to be
found in the context. When Paul
speaks of the law in the context of salvation, he clearly states that
law-keeping useless.
AIf justification were
through the law, then Christ died to no purpose@ (Galatians 2:21). When he speaks of the law in the context
of Christian moral conduct, he maintains the value and validity of God=s law. In fact, Christ came,
Ain order that the just
requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us@ through the working of His Holy Spirit. While Paul said that the law was
Aabolished@ as a method of earning
salvation, he upheld the law as a standard of Christian conduct.
Let me just say that we
at Aggelia do not keep the law in order to be saved. We do our best to keep God=s commandments because
we believe that we have been saved, and are being saved, through the grace of Christ. This includes the 4th commandment
to keep the 7th day Sabbath.
12. BUT
AREN'T WE UNDER GRACE NOW? THE LAW
AND THE OLD TESTAMENT HAVE BEEN ABOLISHED. Please read the study entitled GRACE
AND THE LAW.
1.
THE
JERUSALEM COUNCIL DID NOT MENTION SABBATH KEEPING
AS A REQUIREMENT FOR GENTILE BELIEVERS.
ATherefore I judge that
we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but
that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual
immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many
generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues
every Sabbath.@
Stealing, murder,
disrespect for parents, bearing false witness, and taking God=s name in vain, were not
mentioned either. This doesn=t mean those things are
acceptable behavior for believers.
The appeal is made to
Moses (meaning the first five books of the Bible) who is read in the synagogue
every Sabbath. It is assumed
that the Gentile believers will be in attendance every Sabbath, to hear such
reading. Along with the history
of God=s people, they will
learn about the 10 Commandments, the prophetic festivals, the health laws, and
all the other things relevant to their new relationship with the true God.
Peter admonished the
Jerusalem council not to put a
Ayoke on the neck@ of the Gentile converts
Awhich neither our father
nor we were able to bear@ (Acts 15:10). What was this yoke? If the yoke refers to the 10
Commandments, then we must say that God put a yoke upon His own people which
they were not able to bear. If
however, the yoke refers to the man
made concept of
Arighteousness by works
of the law@ then Peter is telling
the council not to preach righteousness by works. This agrees completely with Paul.
2.
WHAT
ABOUT EPHESIANS 2:14?
AFor He Himself is our
peace, who has made both one (that is Jew and Gentile), and has broken down
the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity,
that is , the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in
Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might
reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to
death the enmity.@
In Ephesians 2, Paul is
speaking about the separation of Jew and Gentile.
AYou know,@ Peter said,
Ahow unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep
company with or go to one of another nation@ (Acts 10:28). Now, in Christ, they were to call no man
unclean. The laws dictating the
separation of Jew and Gentile were abolished.
3. NO ONE IS TO JUDGE ANOTHER REGARDING A SABBATH (COLOSSIANS 2:13-17).
AAnd you (Gentiles),
being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made
alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 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. . . . Therefore let no
one judge you in food (grain offerings) or drink (offerings), or regarding a
festival or a new moon, or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but
the substance is of Christ.@ (See also Hebrews 9:10.)
[NOTE: Food itself was not a symbol Aof things to come.@ The passage is not addressing dietary laws. The Afood@ and Adrink@ refer to the offering of grain and wine, called Ameat offering@ and Adrink offering,@ which were made with every animal sacrifice.]
Paul could be understood
to say
Alet no one judge you
regarding@ (whether or not you
keep)
Aa festival . . . or
sabbaths.@ On the other hand, he could be
understood to say
Alet no one judge you
regarding@ (the way in which you
keep)
Aa festival . . . or
sabbaths.@ The meaning is not absolutely clear.
Since Paul himself appears to have kept the festivals, (at least Passover and
Pentecost)I believe the second interpretation is the most likely. The Christians partook of bread and wine
at Passover, rather than of a sacrificial lamb. They did not bring animals for sacrifice
on any festival day. They may not
have appeared at the Temple in Jerusalem, at the festival times, believing that
Christ now ministered in heaven (the true tabernacle) not made with hands.
What is
Athe handwriting of
requirements that was against us?@
Some say that this refers to all of the ceremonial law along with the 7th
day Sabbath. A more accurate
translation of
Ahandwriting of
ordinances@ is
Athe written code.@ In context, this handwritten code is
wiped out because we are forgiven.
I personally believe that the
Ahandwritten code@ refers to all of the rules piled upon the Jews
by the Pharisees who taught righteousness-by-works. Jesus said, they were
Ateaching for doctrine
the commandments of men@ (Matt. 15:9). Paul here says that it is no longer
necessary to keep all those commandments of men., because we have been forgiven
by faith in Jesus Christ.
The
Ahandwriting of
ordinances@ was
Aagainst us.@ Did God give His own people something that
was
Aagainst them?@ I think not! The law given by God was for their
benefit. It contained a living
prophecy of Messiah to come. The
Atraditions of men@ as Christ called them,
were a yoke which they were not able to bear.
4.
DOESN=T
THE WRITER OF HEBREWS SAY THAT THE LAW HAS BEEN CHANGED?
AFor the priesthood being
changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law@ (HEBREWS 7:12).
In place of animal
sacrifices we now have Christ -
Athe Lamb of God@ (Hebrews 10:4, 9-10). In place of the Levitical priesthood we
now have Christ our High Priest, who ministers in heaven - the true tabernacle
(Hebrews 8:1-2). The new covenant
has made the old covenant
Aobsolete@ (Hebrews 8:13,
10:9). Three things are
specifically said to be changed in religious practice - the sacrifice, the
priesthood, and the Temple. Nowhere
does the text say that the Ten Commandments were changed or abolished.
The law which was
changed, was
Areceived@ on the basis of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews
7:11). The 7th day was
Ahallowed@ at creation, long before a Levitical priesthood
existed. In fact, the Ten
Commandments were spoken from Mt. Sinai before the Levites were
appointed as the priesthood (Exodus 20).
The law which was changed concerned those sacrifices which were carried
out in association with the Sanctuary (or Temple). No priesthood is necessary in order to
keep the 7th day holy.
5.
OUR
CHURCH HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND I HAVE THE SPIRIT TO GUIDE ME.
HE WOULD NOT LEAD ME WRONG.
JOHN 16:13
Awhen He, the Spirit of
truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.@
JOHN 17:17
AThy word is truth.@
PSALM ll9:142
AThy Law is truth.@
JOHN 14:26 (the
Holy Spirit)
AHe shall teach you all
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.@
The Holy Spirit will not
teach anything that Christ did not teach, or did not say.
1 JOHN 4:l
ABelieve not every spirit, but test the spirits,
whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the
world.@
ISAIAH 8:20
ATo the law and to the
testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no
light in them.@
DANIEL 7:25 The
Antichrist power will
Athink to change time
law.@ The only commandment
that involves time is the Sabbath commandment.
2 CORINTHIANS ll:14 ASatan himself is transformed into an angel of light.@
1.
HASN'T
THE CALENDAR BEEN CHANGED SO MANY TIMES THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE
TO TELL WHICH DAY IS THE SEVENTH DAY?
Modern astronomers will tell
you very quickly that no time has been lost in the last 3000 years, at the very
least.
The
manna fell for forty years. It fell on the six days of the week and did not
fall on the Sabbath, thus reestablishing the weekly cycle (EX 16). There was no question in Christ's mind
as to which day was the seventh, and no days have been lost since the time of
Christ.
One calendar change
which is frequently questioned was the Gregorian Calendar, accepted in l752. It
skipped 11 days, from Sept 2 thru Sept 14, but it did not break the order of
the days. Sept 2 was a Wed.
and Sept 14 a Thursday.
18. SO
LONG AS I KEEP NINE OUT OF THE TEN ISN'T THAT ENOUGH?
JAMES 2:10
AFor whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.@
LUKE 13:3 Speaking of sinners both great and
small.
AExcept you repent, you
shall all likewise perish.@
If we know that
something is right but we resist it, then we are really resisting God, and
Christ Jesus. This is the spirit of
sin, selfishness, and rebellion.
God cannot take this spirit into His kingdom.
If we are careless with
the Sabbath, we are really saying to others that this commandment isn't
important. We are acting as if God
just made up something to irritate us and to be a burden. We are implying that God is arbitrary,
which is just what Lucifer said in the beginning. To be careless with the
Sabbath and thereby encourage others to be so, is to impugn the character of God.
This makes it a very serious, in fact the worst of sins.
In Eden there were two
trees. In earth's last days there are two days. We must choose whom we will
serve. God has said that the
Sabbath is a sign between Himself and His people.
The Sabbath commandment
gives the Title of the Ruler, The Territory over which he rules, and the Name
of the Ruler: The Lord your God, Creator of the heavens and the earth. These
are the elements needed to create an ancient
Aseal.@ The remnant of Revelation 7, who have the
Aseal of God,@ are also described in Revelation
12:17 as keeping the commandments
of God. The 4th commandment was
never excluded.
HOW
TO KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY
LEVITICUS 23:32 The
Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday.
MARK 16:1,2 The
Sabbath is over when the first day of the week beings at sunset on
Saturday.
EXODUS 20:8‑11 Refrain
from work. Even in harvest time and planting time, refrain from work. (EX
34:21)
ISAIAH 58:13 Refrain from doing your own pleasure, that is secular entertainment, or activities which would call the mind away from spiritual things. On the Sabbath we renew our relationship with our God, and with fellow believers.
NEHEMIAH 13:15‑21
Refrain from buying and selling on the Sabbath.
LUKE 4:16 Worship
with others. (Leviticus 23:1
Aholy convocation@ means
Asacred assembly@)
MATTHEW 12:9‑14 Do works of
mercy, relieving pain and suffering.
LUKE 4:31 Share
with others a knowledge of God.
LUKE 14:l Enjoy
Christian fellowship for the purpose of discussing spiritual things and for
praying together.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
