Believers could not preach against the law in the synagogues or they would be crusified like Christ was. They could sit there and listen to the law if they wanted. It was in conflict with the law of Moses. The jews kept the sabbath but never had rest. Rest came by faith not works.I have no problem with keeping sabbath and would go to a sabbath keeping church if it was not legalistic. I have only found a few in California SDA, but most of there churches are legalistic.
The Sabbath day.
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(Faithful;33575)
Hi Spiritsoldier,Everyone must live as the Spirit leads. The believers still went to the synagogue on the sabbath day in fact they preached there.If men and women worked 7 days a week when would they find time to meet with the rest of the body of Christ?So I see Gods reason why a sabbath day is required to ensure the body of Christ meets together.I do not ask people to observe the sabbath rest. But I know there are blessings that come from observing the sabbath day.When we use it for the purpose of worshipping together as the body and not just individuals. So I see why it can still work today for believers. But I am taught by God as in Isaiah 54:13. John 6:44-45. and also Jeremiah 31:33-34.When we are in a relationship with God we can discern between truth and that which is of men. Thankyou for your sites. But as you can see I have my faith built on Christs teachings and feel that we do need a sabbath day for the believers to meet together. But it does not matter if people do not have a sabbath day if they believe differently.I see the purpose and need for this day amongst believers.Salvation has nothing to do with the Sabbath day and a person as long as they have a reason can keep any day for God as a special one.Faithful.
i do not judge anyone on it,i know there is blessing from it as jesus says love god with all your heart and that is a ONE good way...my thing to till everyone its the disception of the sunday thing AND where it will lead them....but i know that we in christ will be in gods kingdom.some may choose different experiences on the way....ITS ABOUT THE DISMAY THAT COMES WITH BEING DECIEVED...THAT ALL,GLAD TO MEET YOU ALL.....ps.i do not fool myself here on this sub i have had to much of gods control in my life
Hi Spiritsoldier,Everyone must live as the Spirit leads. The believers still went to the synagogue on the sabbath day in fact they preached there.If men and women worked 7 days a week when would they find time to meet with the rest of the body of Christ?So I see Gods reason why a sabbath day is required to ensure the body of Christ meets together.I do not ask people to observe the sabbath rest. But I know there are blessings that come from observing the sabbath day.When we use it for the purpose of worshipping together as the body and not just individuals. So I see why it can still work today for believers. But I am taught by God as in Isaiah 54:13. John 6:44-45. and also Jeremiah 31:33-34.When we are in a relationship with God we can discern between truth and that which is of men. Thankyou for your sites. But as you can see I have my faith built on Christs teachings and feel that we do need a sabbath day for the believers to meet together. But it does not matter if people do not have a sabbath day if they believe differently.I see the purpose and need for this day amongst believers.Salvation has nothing to do with the Sabbath day and a person as long as they have a reason can keep any day for God as a special one.Faithful.
i do not judge anyone on it,i know there is blessing from it as jesus says love god with all your heart and that is a ONE good way...my thing to till everyone its the disception of the sunday thing AND where it will lead them....but i know that we in christ will be in gods kingdom.some may choose different experiences on the way....ITS ABOUT THE DISMAY THAT COMES WITH BEING DECIEVED...THAT ALL,GLAD TO MEET YOU ALL.....ps.i do not fool myself here on this sub i have had to much of gods control in my life
Remember how when Jesus died they were having to hurry and take His body down from the cross along with the other criminals, so as not to do any work on the Sabbath? Then on the 3rd day when He arose, many Christians called that the Lord's Day. That is the reason we started celebrating in worship on Sundays- to celebrate His resurrection. It's not to take away from the Jewish Sabbath or dishonor it. It's to honor Christ and His resurrection.
The Days of the week were not even named until much later no one can even know for sure if the Sabbath day today is even the right day I say again Christ is our Sabbath the day of the week isnt important saying going to worship on Sunday is going to mislead people is ridicoulous There is nothing wrong with reconizing the Sabbath day if one chooses but if you think it makes one more Right with God you are sorely mistaken. WE ARE NOT JUDGED ON THE DAY WE WORSHIP WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE NOT A DAY JUDGED ON WHATS IN ONES HEART the SDA is just another mans religion based on their interptations and we are to listen to NO MAN on this subject.Dont mean to put down anyones religion but Gods word has no religious denomination the SDA is no differnt than anyother man made religion its got good and bad teachings and the Sabbath day being the only right Day is a bad teachingIF YOU REMEMBER THE JEWS DO NOT YET ACCEPT CHRIST SO WHY WOULD ANYONE DENY CHRIST BECOMING/FULFILLING THE SABBATH AS HE SAYS and revert to the way of those who do not. UNDERSTANDING THAT CHRIST HAS BECOME OUR SABBATH EVERYDAY IS THE BASIS FOR CHRISTAINITY those who make the Sabbath Day or any day a thing to define a good christain from a bad one are in serious error.
(kriss;33643)
The Days of the week were not even named until much later no one can even know for sure if the Sabbath day today is even the right day I say again Christ is our Sabbath the day of the week isnt important saying going to worship on Sunday is going to mislead people is ridicoulous There is nothing wrong with reconizing the Sabbath day if one chooses but if you think it makes one more Right with God you are sorely mistaken. WE ARE NOT JUDGED ON THE DAY WE WORSHIP WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE NOT A DAY JUDGED ON WHATS IN ONES HEART the SDA is just another mans religion based on their interptations and we are to listen to NO MAN on this subject.Dont mean to put down anyones religion but Gods word has no religious denomination the SDA is no differnt than anyother man made religion its got good and bad teachings and the Sabbath day being the only right Day is a bad teachingIF YOU REMEMBER THE JEWS DO NOT YET ACCEPT CHRIST SO WHY WOULD ANYONE DENY CHRIST BECOMING/FULFILLING THE SABBATH AS HE SAYS and revert to the way of those who do not. UNDERSTANDING THAT CHRIST HAS BECOME OUR SABBATH EVERYDAY IS THE BASIS FOR CHRISTAINITY those who make the Sabbath Day or any day a thing to define a good christain from a bad one are in serious error.
you can not invalidate the sabbath by thinking jesus is your sabbath..if you do not except it thats fine ...its still 1 of the big 10...i never said because you worship on sunday you would be decieved i said the sunday thing could deceive you .you can worship any day of the week..but if you keep the sunday thing your sabbath you decieve yourself
The Days of the week were not even named until much later no one can even know for sure if the Sabbath day today is even the right day I say again Christ is our Sabbath the day of the week isnt important saying going to worship on Sunday is going to mislead people is ridicoulous There is nothing wrong with reconizing the Sabbath day if one chooses but if you think it makes one more Right with God you are sorely mistaken. WE ARE NOT JUDGED ON THE DAY WE WORSHIP WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE NOT A DAY JUDGED ON WHATS IN ONES HEART the SDA is just another mans religion based on their interptations and we are to listen to NO MAN on this subject.Dont mean to put down anyones religion but Gods word has no religious denomination the SDA is no differnt than anyother man made religion its got good and bad teachings and the Sabbath day being the only right Day is a bad teachingIF YOU REMEMBER THE JEWS DO NOT YET ACCEPT CHRIST SO WHY WOULD ANYONE DENY CHRIST BECOMING/FULFILLING THE SABBATH AS HE SAYS and revert to the way of those who do not. UNDERSTANDING THAT CHRIST HAS BECOME OUR SABBATH EVERYDAY IS THE BASIS FOR CHRISTAINITY those who make the Sabbath Day or any day a thing to define a good christain from a bad one are in serious error.
you can not invalidate the sabbath by thinking jesus is your sabbath..if you do not except it thats fine ...its still 1 of the big 10...i never said because you worship on sunday you would be decieved i said the sunday thing could deceive you .you can worship any day of the week..but if you keep the sunday thing your sabbath you decieve yourself
Colossians 2:16 - Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:...Matthew 13:3-8 - But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.JagLovest ye in Christ Yahshua, Lord and Saviour of the world.
(kriss;33643)
The Days of the week were not even named until much later no one can even know for sure if the Sabbath day today is even the right day I say again Christ is our Sabbath the day of the week isnt important saying going to worship on Sunday is going to mislead people is ridicoulous There is nothing wrong with reconizing the Sabbath day if one chooses but if you think it makes one more Right with God you are sorely mistaken. WE ARE NOT JUDGED ON THE DAY WE WORSHIP WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE NOT A DAY JUDGED ON WHATS IN ONES HEART the SDA is just another mans religion based on their interptations and we are to listen to NO MAN on this subject.Dont mean to put down anyones religion but Gods word has no religious denomination the SDA is no differnt than anyother man made religion its got good and bad teachings and the Sabbath day being the only right Day is a bad teachingIF YOU REMEMBER THE JEWS DO NOT YET ACCEPT CHRIST SO WHY WOULD ANYONE DENY CHRIST BECOMING/FULFILLING THE SABBATH AS HE SAYS and revert to the way of those who do not. UNDERSTANDING THAT CHRIST HAS BECOME OUR SABBATH EVERYDAY IS THE BASIS FOR CHRISTAINITY those who make the Sabbath Day or any day a thing to define a good christain from a bad one are in serious error.
The Jews can tell you because as part of the 10 commandments they have kept the Sabbath day from then till now.Christ also taught in Mathew 5:17-20.17.Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18.For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19.Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20.For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is pretty clear from the teachings of Jesus and also Paul about upholding the law.Romans 3:31 (King James Version)31.Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.faithful.
The Days of the week were not even named until much later no one can even know for sure if the Sabbath day today is even the right day I say again Christ is our Sabbath the day of the week isnt important saying going to worship on Sunday is going to mislead people is ridicoulous There is nothing wrong with reconizing the Sabbath day if one chooses but if you think it makes one more Right with God you are sorely mistaken. WE ARE NOT JUDGED ON THE DAY WE WORSHIP WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE NOT A DAY JUDGED ON WHATS IN ONES HEART the SDA is just another mans religion based on their interptations and we are to listen to NO MAN on this subject.Dont mean to put down anyones religion but Gods word has no religious denomination the SDA is no differnt than anyother man made religion its got good and bad teachings and the Sabbath day being the only right Day is a bad teachingIF YOU REMEMBER THE JEWS DO NOT YET ACCEPT CHRIST SO WHY WOULD ANYONE DENY CHRIST BECOMING/FULFILLING THE SABBATH AS HE SAYS and revert to the way of those who do not. UNDERSTANDING THAT CHRIST HAS BECOME OUR SABBATH EVERYDAY IS THE BASIS FOR CHRISTAINITY those who make the Sabbath Day or any day a thing to define a good christain from a bad one are in serious error.
The Jews can tell you because as part of the 10 commandments they have kept the Sabbath day from then till now.Christ also taught in Mathew 5:17-20.17.Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18.For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19.Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20.For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is pretty clear from the teachings of Jesus and also Paul about upholding the law.Romans 3:31 (King James Version)31.Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.faithful.
(bullfighter;33713)
you can not invalidate the sabbath by thinking jesus is your sabbath..if you do not except it thats fine ...its still 1 of the big 10...i never said because you worship on sunday you would be decieved i said the sunday thing could deceive you .you can worship any day of the week..but if you keep the sunday thing your sabbath you decieve yourself
i have read all thos verses again and again....i am not saying they are wrong...the big ten is the big ten..thats all .....you can not change it or you fall into what daniel said....dont judge,keep jesus your sabbath...but the ten can not be changed jesus said it himself....that was VERY CLEAR you do not have to read anything into them words
you can not invalidate the sabbath by thinking jesus is your sabbath..if you do not except it thats fine ...its still 1 of the big 10...i never said because you worship on sunday you would be decieved i said the sunday thing could deceive you .you can worship any day of the week..but if you keep the sunday thing your sabbath you decieve yourself
i have read all thos verses again and again....i am not saying they are wrong...the big ten is the big ten..thats all .....you can not change it or you fall into what daniel said....dont judge,keep jesus your sabbath...but the ten can not be changed jesus said it himself....that was VERY CLEAR you do not have to read anything into them words
Seeing the Sabbath ThroughCovenantal EyesBy Kristin JacksonJanuary 27, 2002BackgroundBeginning in January 2001, I started very dedicated to Adventism to the point of view and I would not listen to my parents’ concerns. My hard heart began to soften to the point that I desired to understand the theme of covenants in Scripture since this was a reason why a number of prominent Adventists had left. I could not comprehend anyone leaving Adventism since it is such a tight knit community and the doctrinal truths seemed airtight. If this was something that challenged someone to reevaluate his or her SDA position I was willing to listen. After studying covenants out, I realized it had been something I had not seen before and was critical to putting the Sabbath in right perspective.My background defined the Sabbath as a day of rest; one in seven to worship on,rest in the afternoon and possibly get ice-cream on the way home from church in the evening. As a matter of fact, when I lived in the Midwest, a very conservative part of the U.S., Sunday was always honored and no stores were open. When we moved to the Northwest, there was a greater laxity regarding the day. After having ran into Jon and catching on to ‘Sabbath hikes,’ and ‘opening’ and ‘closing’ the Sabbath, I was fascinated since the Sabbath was a word I knew but clearly meant something unique to him. My mother was also working for a Jewish couple and that cultivated questions in my mind about their Saturday Sabbath. Needless to say I was curious. Jon and I had further talks about Deuteronomy. I was in that book for devotional reading and Jon mentioned how often the Lord says ifyou obey my commandments (including the Ten Commandments) you will be blessed and if not the result is a curse. His personal experience being that, as he grew older he couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to end and he eventually walked away from the Lord for a period of time. Yet, in coming back to the Lord the Sabbath had truly become a delight.MaryAnn had a similar testimony and she graciously gave me some pamphlets on the Sabbath in history, which revealed how Constantine played a role in changing the day of worship to Sunday and the Catholic Church changed times and laws by making Sunday the Christian day of Worship. Well, I went to my concordance on the counsel of Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Bostrom. I couldn’t believe the amount of times Israel had blown the Sabbath especially since that was the gauge as to how closely Israel was walking with God. I had to conclude I did not want to blow it either. I do not need to review any more of the bible studies, the Prophecy Seminar, Sabbath School discussions, and Ellen G. White books that transpired and thus expanded my understanding of Seventh Day Adventism truths to the point that I grasped them and got baptized. Mr. Bostrom in my pre-baptism meeting made it clear that when or if I discovered an Adventist doctrine not lining up with truththe doors were open for me to leave.So we fast-forward to January. My parent’s number one complaint was that I hadhastily gotten baptized and failed to study the other Evangelical side. I thought this to be a very weak argument, after all I had grown up in the church and I had a general understanding of what they would use to counter my newly found truths. After all Brian from Amazing Facts did a very good job of giving a defense to the typical cop-outs of Protestant Christians. I thought there couldn’t possibly be another argument that I didn’t have an answer for. I want to unfold for you what was presented to me when I finally started to listen. I saw a theme in Scripture that was not supporting the Sabbath Truth as set forth by Adventists and in light of that new information I could no longer continue down the Adventist path.IntroductionMy aim in writing this paper is to present my position on the Sabbath. I willbegin by giving the circumstances for how the New Testament church transitioned from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. After providing a background and establishing the significance of the Apostle Paul and his contribution to the understanding of Christian Doctrine, I will explain the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Then I will begin addressing common arguments Adventists have for observing the Sabbath. My purpose in going to this effort is very straightforward. I will attempt to present where the Adventist Church has misconceptions oncerning the Sabbath and Covenants. As a result the Adventist Church needs to seriously reevaluate their eschatology and method of evangelism. The Adventist Church has a conclusion that is based on the premise of certain arguments. I am not going to react to the conclusion, instead it is more effective to look at the foundation of their arguments and see whether they hold up under the scrutiny of Scripture.The Birthing of the New Testament ChurchThe Ascension was a pivotal time for the Disciples because it was the beginningof a transition. They went from watching Jesus’ Ministry, to taking the authority He had given them and began moving out to proclaim the year of Jubilee to all that were oppressed by the devil. Yet one key event had to take place first. Their strength would fail and their efforts would be ineffective without the anointing that Christ had promised them. In Luke 24:49, Jesus said, “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” In Acts 1: 4-5, Dr. Luke continues to explain the events that were about to happen that would shape Christianity forever. He said, “And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised,“Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So they returned to Jerusalem and waited in the upper room. After ten days, Acts 2:1 says, “And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place,” and the Holy Spirit showed up and filled the 120 disciples. Peter, being anointed, gave a Sermon, the fruit of, which was3,000 who repented and joined the church. We are introduced to Stephen in Acts 6, of whom it was said, “was full of graceand power, was performing great wonders and signs among the peoples”(6:8). This is where Stephen encountered trouble with certain Jews, who argued with him, “yet they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking”(6:10) Yet “they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they come upon him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council” (6:12). After hearing Stephen’s defense the Jews “cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears, and rushed upon him with one impulse” (7:57). They drove him out of the city, and began stoning him, and the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul (7:58).The Apostle PaulPaul becomes a focal point because after being in “hearty agreement” with thestoning of Stephen (8:1), he began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, and put them in prison. Galatians 1:13-14 says, “For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my ountrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” In his defense before King Agrippa, Paul describes the measures he took against the Christians, “As I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:11). It is in this whirlwind of passionate pride that Jesus appears to Paul on the Road to Damascus. Jesus asked “Why are you persecuting Me?” “For this purpose I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness. . . delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:14-18). In Galatians 2:9, it says, “And recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabasthe right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to thecircumcised.” Paul was a brilliant man for he understood something that would contribute to his success in establishing churches. He would first go to the synagogues because the Jews met there. They were already prepared with the Old Testament writings and if upon accepting Christ as the Messiah, the synagogue itself would serve as a church building and reputable men were already in leadership positions. Interestingly, the terms elder or bishop and deacon were the titles given to those serving in the synagogue. The synagogue was not just the place to learn about the Law but was also a community center and in some cases provided rooms for travelers. Paul went to the synagogues in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Ephesus. Unfortunately, a pattern seemedto repeat itself. Paul would enter a city and the Jews would resist his message and on several occasions Paul had no choice but turn to the Gentiles who were responding. This method fulfilled Christ’s mandate to go to the Jews first then the Gentiles. However, Paul didn’t just go to the synagogue he went to where the people were. In Philipi, there was no synagogue so he went to the riverbank where people prayed. In Athens, he went to Mars Hill and debated with the Greeks.The First Missionary JourneyThus in 47-48 AD, Paul and Barnabas embarked upon their first missionaryjourney. They left their local church in Antioch and arrived in Pisidian Antioch. Paulwent into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and after speaking was begged to return. So he returned the next Sabbath, but when the Jews saw the crowd they were filled with jealousy and contradicted Paul’s words, so Paul declared that he would turn to the Gentiles. The Jews aroused the city to persecute Paul, so Paul went to Iconium next and the exact same scenario repeats itself. So he fled to Lystra, and the Jews from Antioch and Iconium followed him there, stoned him and supposed he died. Paul miraculously lived and was crazy enough to return to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, to set in elders for the churches. (Please refer to the map).Upon returning, from the missionary journey to his local church in Antioch, Paulencountered men who came from Judea and who said, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them. One can only imagine why, here Paul had nearly died at the hand of Jews in three cities and when the crowd was responding to the gospel the Jews made sure to put a stop to it by bringing chaos. For Jewish Christians to say it was necessary to be circumcised was a symptom of a religious spirit and brought a distortion to the gospel message. These were two things that Paul and Barnabas were not going to tolerate.The Council of JerusalemIn 48 AD, Paul and Barnabas were sent by the elders of Antioch to settle thematter in Jerusalem, the local church of the men from Judea. Upon arrival, they shared with the church what God had done through them. However, Act 15:5 says, “Certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.’”Peter stood up and said, “And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them[Gentiles], giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made nodistinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now thereforewhy do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples ayoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believethat we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same ways as theyalso are” (Acts 15:7-11) James proceeded to make a judgement based on the Old Testament Scripture in Amos 9:12 that the Tabernacle of David would be rebuilt, ‘In order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name.’ Therefore the Holy Spirit, Apostles, elders, Paul and Barnabas determined to lay upon the Gentiles no greater burden than these essentials: “That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things you will do well” (Acts 15:28). This letter was sent back to the church in Antioch as well as to Syria and Cilicia. (Please refer to the map). Acts 15:31 says, “Andwhen they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.”The Book of GalatiansIt was between 49-50 AD, that Paul wrote the Book of Galatians, The Book ofChristian Liberty. Galatia was not a single church but all the churches of the Asia Minor. (Please refer to the map). This was the region Paul entered on his first missionary journey in 47-48 AD. When he had left the conflict between the Jews and Gentiles was black and white. They ended up compromising the two by mixing Christianity and Judaism. Paul confronts the hybrid of legalism and Christianity for it was no longer the gospel of ‘good news.’ Christianity did not improve it only became distorted. Nature provides us with examples of the startling results of when the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents, both in the plant or animal kingdom, are brought together to create a new species. The product is not better than the original, but is instead a distorted mess (Hubbard). This was the purpose for the Council of Jerusalem, “Should we allow Judaism to pollute and distort the gospel?” Paul emphatically states, It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:1-4)Fallen is a word picture of someone in the ocean hanging onto a piece of wood and the buoyancy of the wood keeps them afloat. Fallen is letting go and sinking to die a spiritual death as a result of becoming enslaved. In Galatians 1:8, Paul pronounces an irrevocable curse on anyone who changes the intent of the gospel in its purity. He feared they were no longer Christian churches. Paul opens his letter as if in bewilderment:I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by thegrace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there aresome who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But eventhough we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary tothat which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6,7,9)Paul makes three main points in Galatians: (1) To deal with the effects ofJudaism; (2) To shows a contrast between law and grace; and finally (3) To contrast freedom and slavery (Hubbard). Paul and Peter were given the grace to give the gospel to two different people groups. Antioch was a Gentile church that did not have any legalism and when Peter was visiting, he enjoyed their church life until other Jewish brothers came from Jerusalem and began watching him. This caused Peter to back off and even caused Barnabas to back away. Galatians 2:11 is the only account mentioned in the New Testament of Paul’s confrontation with Peter. Peter and Barnabas would rather be a hypocrite then maintain liberty. Paul calls it hypocrisy to separate from the Gentiles, since now it does not matter who you are. Galatians 3:28-29 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek. . .And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”For centuries, if anyone wanted to be apart of the covenantal community of Israel,the first rite of entry was the sign of circumcision and the perpetual sign was observing the weekly Sabbaths. Paul repeatedly addressed how circumcision did not justify, and he did not fail to mention the same concerning observing all the Sabbaths (Days are weekly Sabbaths; months, New Moons; seasons, Feasts; and years, Jubilees).In Galatians 4:9-11, Paul says, But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. Paul dogmatically refuted the system of Judaism, the religious codes, actions and creeds and fearlessly confronted those heading down that road. Those were the very things which drove him to become a zealous Pharisee set on annihilating the truth. He had been perfectly convinced he was right, parading about with a religious spirit. That time of his life became the very thing that he was the most ashamed of. I Corinthians 15:9 says, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” This is why he fearlessly confronted those who were not straightforward with the gospel. The next point Paul made was to show a contrast between law and grace.Galatians 2:16 says, “A man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus.” This was a culture shock for any Jew to read, for all their life they had been taught to kept the Law to earn God’s approval and work for their salvation. Paul called legalism a form of ‘walking in the flesh’ because it is self-centered and selfpleasing, putting trust in what your physical nature can do. Legalism puts the focus on you, but if we already look good in front of God through what Jesus did; we no longer have to focus on ourselves. To ‘walk in the spirit’ brings this change in perspective and frees us to focus on and love other people. Galatians 5: 13-14 says, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn you freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”For example, Jesus told the story of how a religious spirit can hinder a personfrom helping those in need. In the story of the Good Samaritan, in Luke 10:30-37, a Jew had been robbed, beaten, and was left to die. Luckily, a priest passed by the dying Jew, but instead of stopping to help, the priest left him. Likewise, a Levite also passed along the road but kept going. Finally, a Samaritan had compassion and at his own expense nursed the Jew back to health. The Good Samaritan was not concerned about ritual purity and was therefore free to help someone.The final point of Galatians is a contrast between freedom and slavery. Galatians3 becomes the most crucial chapter in the New Testament to explain the purpose,jurisdiction and length of the Law. Verse 24 says it was a tutor to lead us to Christ and verse 16 says it was in effect until Christ should come. The Law had very specific guidelines and if you step out of line, ‘whack,’ plagues, or ‘whack,’ locusts consume. The point is to love and obey Christ and not be afraid of being slapped when you get out of line. There is only one thing that will cover the nakedness and that is Christ. The importance of Paul’s letter was to show how easy it is to corrupt the gospel with elements of human effort. For example, if we evangelize people because we do not want them to go to hell, you will be blessed, but if we evangelize people because you want to earn merit with God then you will miss the mark. Therefore, the motivation should always be love. Thus this transition time between understanding and observing the Old Covenant and coming to the realization and implications of the New Covenant brought a tremendous amount of upheaval for everyone. It took the Holy Spirit illuminating the minds of the Apostles and the Jews who were stuck in an Old Testament frame of reference. God had to give them a new perspective. We see this in the life of Paul, once the scales fell from his eyes he went from just having received permission to storm Damascus to the very one convincing the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 9:22 says,“But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.” It was a miracle for the veil to be striped from off his mind, yet in doing so God strategically used Paul’s depth of knowledge of the Scriptures to contribute to the foundation of Christian doctrine. He wrote thirteen, possibly fourteen, books of the New Testament, which is half.The Covenants Defined Now that the stage has been set as far as understanding New Testament times, I want to explain the term covenants. A covenant is a binding a solemn agreement made between two or more individual parties; a promise (Martin). In ancient times covenants were made between a ruling party and the ruled party. Dale Ratzlaff explains, “It has been shown that the covenants God made with His people closely follow the structure of the ancient, Near East treaty covenant documents” (28). They always contained three parts: Promises, Conditions, and a Sign or Seal. The Covenant spelled out what the rulerwould do based on whether those he ruled fulfilled their part of the bargain. The Sign was placed at the very center of the document and became a gauge as to how dedicated the ruled party was to the covenant: The ruled party was to keep or display the sign of the covenant as a symbol of their obedience to the covenant stipulations. Failure to do so would be considered by the suzerain [ruling party] a sign of rebellion and called for drastic consequences. (Ratzlaff, 28)Noahic Covenant The first example of this type of covenant is seen between God and Noah in Genesis 9:9-10: “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle and every beast of the earth with you.” God actually made it with all mankind and all the animals. God made a Promise in verse 11, “And I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” The Condition is presented in verses 3-4,“Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” The Sign of the covenant was the rainbow, described in verses 12 –13, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and with you, for all successive generations; Iset My bow in the cloud, between Me and the earth.The Abrahamic CovenantThe next significant covenant God made was with Abraham. Genesis 12:2-3says, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your namegreat; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the onewho curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”Later in Genesis 17:1-8 we see the covenant format:Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram andsaid to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. And I willestablish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply youexceedingly.” And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “Asfor Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of amultitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your nameshall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.16And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, andkings shall come forth from you. And I will establish My covenant between Meand you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for aneverlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And Iwill give you and your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings,all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”BELIEF was the only real Condition for Abraham to receive these promises. The Sign isfound verses10-11:This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and yourdescendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And youshall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of thecovenant between Me and you.The Nation of IsraelWe must realize that “deliverance from Egypt was a fulfillment of God’s promiseto Abraham, based on grace, faith and obedience and intern Israel experienced theblessings of the Abrahamic Covenant” (Conner, Covenants, 41). It was always God’sdesire to walk with the whole nation of Israel as he had done individually with Abraham,in a walk of faith and trust. Just as Abraham’s heart was tested by having to sacrifice hisson so “God took [Israel] from Egypt into the Wilderness to prove them and to knowwhat was in their heart (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 15-16). Between Egypt and Sinai God gavethem four tests of faith and obedience. In each case they failed. They failed at the test ofthe Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-12, 31). They failed at the test of the waters of Marah(Exodus 15:23-26). They failed at the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus16:1-12) and they alsofailed at the test of Rephidim (Exodus17:1-7)” (Conner, Convenants, 41). In each eventIsrael grumbled, quarreled, and cried out.17The Old CovenantDue to the fact that Israel did not trust God and were a stiff necked and rebelliousgroup, we can see the context for God moving to very detailed structure of ‘does anddon’ts.’ As a result of Israel’s transgressions, they dropped from the ground of grace toworks and this fall necessitated that God make a different covenant with Israel 430 yearsafter God’s covenant with Abraham. There are several scriptures that say what the OldCovenant is. The Old Covenant is also called the Mosaic or Siniatic Covenant. Theterms covenant and testament have the same meaning.And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gaveMoses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger ofGod. (Exodus 31:18)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eatbread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, theTen Commandments. (Exodus 34:28)So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you toperform, that is the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets ofstone. (Deuteronomy 4:13)When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tabletsof the covenant with the Lord had made with you. (Deuteronomy 9:9)And it came about at the end of forty days and nights that the Lord gaveme the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. (Deuteronomy 9:11)So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain wasburning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.(Deuteronomy 9:15)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Mosesput there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, whenthey came out of the land of Egypt. (I Kings 8:9)And there I have set a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of theLord, which He made with our fathers when He brought them from the land ofEgypt. (I Kings 8:21)“These verses state unequivocally that the covenant between God and Israel which wasmade at Sinai was the Ten Commandments. This truth is underlined by the fact that theTen Commandments were kept in the “ark of the covenant” (Ratzlaff, 34).Then He [Moses] took the testimony and put it in the ark” (Exodus 40:20).18Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in theark which I had made; and there they are, as the Lord commanded me. At thattime the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of theLord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until thisday. (Deuteronomy 10:5, 8)Adventists would say that the Ten Commandments are eternal or werepreexisting, yet if they were eternal then how can they be ADDED as Galatians 3:19says. They were also not around for Abraham to keep since they came 430 years after helived. Adventists also say that because the Ten Commandments are the Moral lawswritten by the finger of God, they are to be kept while the rest of the Ceremonial andCivil laws, hand written by Moses, have passed through the cross. However, the TenCommandments cannot be separated from the rest of the Law. It is one inclusivecovenant beginning with the Ten Commandments and expanded in the other books of thePentateuch. The following are examples of how the Ten Commandments are explainedand applied in the ‘expanded version’ of that covenant:1. No other gods:Sacrifice to another god (Ex.22:20)Not worship any other (Ex. 34:14)I am the Lord your God (Lev. 20:24)Fear the Lord your God (Deut. 10:12)2. Not worship idols:Not make idols (Lev. 26:1)Never forgiven for (Deut. 29:17-21)Makes God angry (Deut 32:21)Do not turn to (Lev. 19:4)3. Not profane God’s name:Visit iniquity to four generations (Ex. 34:7)Not profane My holy name (Lev. 22:32)Put to death for profaning (Lev. 24:16)Put to death for cursing God (Lev. 24:10-13)4. Remember the Sabbath
erpetual covenant (Ex.31:13)19Put to death for violation (Ex. 31:14)Violator to be “cut off” (Ex. 31:14)Not kindle a fire on (Ex. 35:3)Keep evening to evening (Lev. 23:32)5. Honor father and mothereath penalty for cursing parents (Ex. 21:17)Death penalty for hitting father (Ex. 21:15)Reverence father and mother (Lev. 19:3)Rebellious to parents (Deut. 21:18-21)6. Not kill:Killed in a quarrel and fist fight (Ex. 21;18)Killed by beating with a rod (Ex. 21:20)Killed by ox, first offense (Ex. 21:28)Killed by ox, several offenses (Ex. 21:29)7. Not commit adultery:With another man’s wife (Lev. 20: 10)With father’s wife (Lev. 20:11)With daughter-in-law (Lev. 20:12)A number of situations (Lev. 18:16-30)8. Not steal:Steals an ox (Ex. 22:1)Thief caught while breaking in (Ex. 22:2-4)Animal grazing in neighbor’s field (Ex. 22:5)Thief not caught until later (Ex. 22:8)9. Not bear false witness:Lied and sworn falsely (Lev. 6:3-8)Swears thoughtlessly (Lev. 5:4)Not give false report (Ex. 23:1)10. Not covet:Not covet gold on destroyed idols (Deut. 7:25)Not covet the land (Ex. 34:24)(Ratzlaff, 36-37)The Promises of the covenant can be found in Exodus and Deuteronomy.In Exodus 19:4-6, God says,You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you oneagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then if you will indeed obey My20voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all thepeoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priestsand a holy nation.’The Conditions of the covenant were a total of 613 commandments to which theIsraelites heartily accepted; as a matter of fact three times they said, “All that the Lordhas spoken we will do!” (Ex. 19:7-8; Ex. 24:3; Ex. 24:7). One very important point is thatthese Covenant requirements were not placed upon former generations, it began in Sinai.Deuteronomy 5:3 says, The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, butwith us, with all those of us alive here today. Romans 9: 4-5 describes what was givento the Israelites, “to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenantsand the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises.” This covenantwas made with the sons of Israel as the following verses illustrate:Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “You shall surely observe Mysabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations.(Ex. 31:13)So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbaththroughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ It is a sign between Meand the sons of Israel forever. (Ex. 31:16-17)Then Moses summoned all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, thestatues and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing…The Lordour God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenantwith our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. (Deut. 5:1-3)The Sign of this covenant was the Sabbath.So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbaththroughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me andthe sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but onthe seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed. (Ex. 31:16-17)And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, thatthey might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. (Ez. 20:12)“In the Hebrew Bible if one counts the words of the Ten Commandments he will find thecentral phrase is ‘remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.’ As the sign of the covenant21was placed in the very center of the ancient Near East treaty documents, so the Sabbath,as the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant, rightfully finds its place in the very center of the TenCommandments” (Ratzlaff, 38).Paul describes this Old Covenant in negative terms in 2 Corinthians 3 as one thatkills (3:6), a ministry of death and is fading (3:7), a ministry of condemnation (3:9) andwhen read a veil lies over their eyes (3:14). However, God made this Mosaic, LawCovenant with Israel for a Divine purpose. The following are twelve aspects of theDivine purpose taken from Kevin Conner’s book The Covenants:1. To set forth the Divine standard of righteousness (Psalm 19:7-10; Romans 7:12-14).2. To give a clear external definition of sin because of the inadequacy of man’sconscience (Romans 3:20; 7:7; I John 3:4).3. To show Israel the exceeding sinfulness and deceitfulness of sin (Romans 7:11-13;Galatians 3:19).4. To expose to all men their guilt before God (Romans 3:19).5. To preserve the nation of Israel and the chosen Messianic seed line from totalcorruption by other nations (Gal 3:19).6. To shut Israel up as a nation “in custody” under a schoolmaster and thus prepare themfor Christ’s coming (Galatians 3:22-25; 4:1-3).7. To illustrate the two major ways of God’s dealings with man, which are seen inperfect balance in His own being; Law and Grace (John 1:17).8. To foreshadow and typify all the truths of grace and redemption in the ceremoniallaw, and to typify the person and the work of Christ (Romans 2:20; Hebrews 10:1;Colossians 2:17).9. To provide in the ceremonial law a temporary atonement (covering) for sin by whichIsrael could approach God in worship and upon the basis of which He could dwell intheir midst (Hebrews 9-10).10. To illustrate more fully and clearly in visible and temporal form of the elementsinvolved in covenantal revelation (Romans 2:20).11. To show all the world that none can be justified (made righteous by the Law), butonly through grace and faith (Romans 3:19-22; 9:30-32; 10:1-6; Galatians 3:10-16).12. To show that the Law Covenant could not give life, but that only the New Covenant“in Christ” could (Galatians 3:12 with Leviticus 18:5). (42)The New CovenantWe can see in Israel’s history that they repeatedly broke their covenant with God.The Babylonian captivity was a result of breaking the Sabbath. It wasn’t until Israel22broke the covenant that God told His prophets, like Jeremiah, that He was going to makea new covenant.Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a newcovenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I tookthem by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which theybroke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel afterthose days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on theirheart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man hisbrother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least ofthem to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity,and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)Paul illustrates how the New Covenant was typified in the Old Testament:1. In Abraham’s Two SonsIn Galatians 4:21-31 Paul used the two sons of Abraham as an allegory to explaintheir representation of two covenants Ishmael (Genesis 16) represented the MosaicCovenant of law and works Isaac (Genesis 21,22) represented the New Covenant ofgrace and faith. When Isaac was weaned it became apparent that Ishmael could notbe the heir of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 21). This foreshadowed that theMosaic Covenant would be fulfilled and abolished when the New Covenant wasratified (Hebrews 10:9, 16, 17).2. In Moses’ LawIn II Corinthians 3, Paul illustrated how the Mosaic Covenant was typical of the NewCovenant. The words of the Old Covenant were written in two tables of stone, andthough glorious, they were to be done away with. This pointed to the words of theNew Covenant which was written on the two tablets of the heart and mind. These aremore glorious and are to last forever (Exodus 20; 31:18; Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:16,17).3. In Marriage LawsIn Romans 7:1-4 Paul illustrated how the Old Covenant marriage laws typified thetransfer from the Mosaic Covenant to the New Covenant. Israel was married at MtSinai on the basis of the Mosaic Covenant. This marriage ended in divorce by reasonof adultery (Jeremiah 3:1-14; 31:31-34; Isaiah 50:1). Because of the death andresurrection involved in the New Covenant Israel may now be joined to Christ in anew marriage.4. In CircumcisionIn Romans 4 Paul referred to Abraham’s being justified by faith, whileuncircumcised, as an example of the Gentiles, the Uncircumcision, being justified byfaith under the New Covenant. He also referred to the Jews, who were theCircumcision, under the Mosaic Covenant, as being justified by faith also under theNew Covenant. Therefore, by reason of the New Covenant, Abraham is the father ofall who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, Circumcision of Uncircumcision.23Now the true Jew is one who has experienced the spiritual circumcision of the heart,whether he be Jew or Gentile (Romans 2:24-29; Philippians 3:3). (Conner,Covenants, 70-71).All the covenants foreshadowed how Jesus would be the fulfillment. The prophets saidthat the Lord Jesus Christ is the New Covenant personified.“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you bythe hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,as a light to the nations.To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and thosewho dwell in darkness from the prison. (Isaiah 42:6-7)And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be HisServant, to bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered toHim (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and My God is My strength),He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raiseup the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also makeYou a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and its Holy One, To thedespised One, to the One abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers, “Kingsshall see and arise, Princes shall also bow down; because of the Lord who isfaithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”Thus says the Lord, “In a favorable time I have answered You, and in aday of salvation I have helped You; and I will keep You and give You for acovenant of the people, to restore the land, to make them inherit the desolateheritages. (Isaiah 49:5-8)Romans 15:8 says, “For I say that Christ has become a servant to thecircumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers.”We see that there are many blessings and Promises that come with the New Covenant,but the most important is the salvation of the soul. Salvation means, “safety, security,preservation, deliverance and wholeness” (Conner, Covenants, 73). Jesus is the Savior ofthe world as John 4:42 says, “And they were saying to the woman, ‘It is no longerbecause of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know thatthis One is indeed the Savior of the world.’” Also, Acts 13:23 says, “From theoffspring of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior,Jesus.”24The following are words we hear in relation to salvation and are possible as aresult of Christ’s ministry and are available for those who believe.1) Pardon – the forgiveness and remission of the penalty of sin (Acts 10:43; 13:36-39). Jesus forgave sins (Luke 7:36-50; Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5) and broughtsalvation to sinners (Luke 19:1-10). The Old Covenant simply covered forgivensin while the New Covenant provides cleansing of forgiven sin (I John 1:5-9).2) Justification – the pronouncing just, a declaration of righteousness and rightstanding before God through Christ (Romans 5:1; 3:24-26). By the works of theLaw, the Mosaic Covenant, none could be justified (Romans 3:19-20; Acts 15:8-11). The New Covenant makes possible justification by faith in an accomplishedwork.3) Regeneration – by which one is born again into the family of God and call God“Father” (John 3:1-5; Matthew 6:9; I Peter 1:23). Under the Old Covenant nonecould be born again, but the New Covenant makes possible the miracle of the newbirth.4) Assurance – whereby one has the witness of the Spirit that he is secure inobedience to the Word of God (Hebrews 5:8-9; 6:10-12; 10:38-39; I John 3:19).The Old Covenant believers never had the blessed assurance that New Covenantbelievers are given.5) Sanctification – whereby one is set apart unto the Lord and His holy service anduse (John 17:17; I Thessalonians 5:23-24; Ephesians 5:26-27). The Old Covenantbelievers generally did not experience the blessing of sanctification madeavailable for every believer under the New Covenant.6) Adoption – whereby one is placed as a son in the family of God (Romans 8:15,23; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:13-14). By this act we are set in as maturemembers of the family of God and Jesus is the Firstborn among a vast family ofbrethren (Matthew 11:46-50; Romans 8:29). The Old Covenant believers neverexperienced this sonship as do New Covenant believers.7) Glorification – to render or esteem glorious, honorable, or magnify.Glorification is the final work of redemption in the perfected saints. Men fellfrom the glory of God when he sinned under the Edenic Covenant (Romans 3:23).The New Covenant makes provision for the believer from justification toglorification (Romans 8:17:30). Old Covenant saints saw and experienced insmall measure the glory of God, His majesty and brightness. The New Covenantbrings the believer into the fullness of the glory of God (John 17:22-24; IICorinthians 3:18). (Conner, Covenants, 73-74).The Conditions of the New Covenant are Repentance, Faith, and Obedience.Repentance is a changing of the mind and turning to God and is the first step to be incovenantal relationship with God. John the Baptist had a message of repentance,Matthew 3:1-18, as did Jesus. In Matthew 4:17 it says, “From that time Jesus began to25preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Peter spoke ofrepentance as the initial step on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:37-38. Paul preachedrepentance as well in Acts 17:30 and in Acts 26:20-21.Faith is the next step and “becomes the channel through which the covenantbenefits are received” and “is the attitude in which the covenant must be held” (Conner,Covenants, 80).Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;repent and believe in the gospel.”Acts 20:21 “solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentancetoward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for hewho comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those whoseek Him.”Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and thatnot of ourselves, it is the gift of God.”Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord, Jesus, and you shall be saved, you andyour household.”John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who doesnot obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”The final Condition is active obedience. James 2:17 says, “Even so faith, if it hasno works, is dead, being by itself.” John 14:15 says, “If you love Me, you will keep Mycommandments.” Hebrews 5:9 says, “And having been made perfect, He became to allthose who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” There is a difference between theOld Covenant and the New Covenant obedience:The Old Covenant gave an external standard and required strict and full obedienceto it before mercy was given. The New Covenant imparts an internal standard aswell as the grace to be able to keep it. (Conner, Covenants, 80)New Covenant believers are not under the Law of Moses. Romans 7:4 says,“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of26Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who has raised from the dead, that wemight bear fruit for God.” Galatians 5:22-23 lists what that fruit is, “But the fruit of theSpirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, selfcontrol:against such things there is no law.” What law can force love, joy or peace? Thatis a heart condition and cannot be externally forced. The Holy Spirit works these fruitsin the life of the believer. Just because we are not under the Law of Moses does not meanthere is no law for the believer to follow. I Corinthians 9:20-21 says that we are underthe Law of Christ:And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are underthe Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I mightwin those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law,though not being without the law of God but under the Law of Christ, that Imight win those who are without law.Many of the following commandments of Christ were given on the Sermon on the Mountas Christ was describing the Law that would constitute the Kingdom of God becauseevery kingdom needs a law.1. The first commandment to love God (Matthew 22:27,38).2. The second commandment to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39,40; John 13:34).3. The commandment of witness (Matthew 5:13-16).4. The commandment of righteousness (Matthew 5:17-20).5. The commandment of reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26).6. The commandment concerning adultery and divorce (Matthew 5:27-32; 19:1-9).7. The commandment concerning oaths (Matthew 5:33-37).8. The commandment concerning retaliation (Matthew 5:38-42).9. The commandment concerning enemies (Matthew 5:43-47).10. The commandment concerning perfection (Matthew 5:48).11. The commandment concerning alms (Matthew 6:1-4).12. The commandment concerning prayer (Matthew 6:5-13).13. The commandment concerning forgiveness (Matthew 6:14,15; 18:21-35).14. The commandment concerning fasting (Matthew 6:16-18).15. The commandment concerning values (Matthew 6:19-34).16. The commandment concerning criticism (Matthew 7:1-5).17. The commandment concerning discretion (Matthew 7:6).18. The commandment concerning requests (Matthew 7:7-11).2719. The commandment concerning consideration (Matthew 7:12).20. The commandment concerning self-discipline (Matthew 7:13,14).21. The commandment concerning character and ministry (Matthew 15-23).22. The commandment concerning obedience (Matthew 7:24-27).23. The commandment concerning communion (Matthew 26:26-29).24. The commandment concerning water baptism (Matthew 28:19,20).25. The commandment concerning the Gospel (Mark 16:15-18; Acts 1:8).26. The commandment concerning the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,5).(Conner, Covenants, 80-81)Finally, the Seal of the New Covenant must be identified. Let’s first evaluate howAdventists arrive at their New Covenant Seal.The traditional support for the seventh-day Sabbath as the seal of God comesfrom the common understanding of what a seal is: it is a mark which showsauthenticity by (1) giving the name of the one in authority, (2) the title of the one inauthority, and (3) the dominion of the one in authority. Seventh-day Adventists showthat the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment has all of this information: “The Lord”(name), “The Lord your God” (title), “Who made the heavens and the earth, and seaand all that is in them” (dominion).This may be good human reasoning, but the New Testament never speaks of theSabbath as the seal of God. (Ratzlaff, 305)So what is the Sign or Seal of the New Covenant? It is none other than the HolySpirit. The Holy Spirit also personifies the New Covenant.In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spiritof promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to redemptionof God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed forthe day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)Who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as pledge. (IICorinthians 1:22)An interesting point is that Jesus said that blaspheming the Holy Spirit was theunpardonable sin. When considering the fact that He is the Seal, then the love andrelationship with the Holy Spirit is a reflection of how committed the believer is to hiscovenant relationship with God.28“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, andwhatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spiritnever has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” because they were saying,“He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:28-30)As the Seal of the New Covenant this is what the Holy Spirit does:1. The Holy Spirit brings the new birth (John 3:5-6; Titus 3:5).2. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer’s spirit (Romans 8:9; John 14:16-17; ICorinthians 3:16; 6:17; I John 2:27).3. The Holy Spirit is the anointing who abides within and teaches the New Covenantbeliever (I John 2:20,27; John 16:13).4. The Holy Spirit gives assurance of salvation (Romans 8:16).5. The Holy Spirit fills the believer with Himself (Acts 2:4; Ephesians 5:18).6. The Holy Spirit by the baptism in the Spirit enables the New Covenant believer tospeak in unknown languages and edify himself (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; Mark 16:17; ICorinthians 14:2,4,18).7. The Holy Spirit leads and guides the believer into all truth (John 16:13; Romans8:14).8. The Holy Spirit enables the believer to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans8:13).9. The Holy Spirit produces the Christ-like nature and character in the life of thebeliever (Galatians 5:22-23; II Peter 1:4).10. The Holy Spirit empowers the New Covenant believer to be a witness for Christ (Acts1:8; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 24:49).11. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to those whom He fills (I Corinthians 12:7-13).12. The Holy Spirit will bring about the resurrection and immortality of the believer’sbody in the last day. Such will consummate the Spirit’s work as the seal of God(Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 15:47-51; I Thessalonians 4:15-18).(Conner, Covenants, 90)29Along with being sealed with the Holy Spirit, the entrance sign in the covenantcommunity is baptism. For the old covenant community it was circumcision, but for theNew Covenant, circumcision is replaced with baptism.And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision madewithout hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision ofChrist; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raisedup with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.(Colossians 2:11-12)Also, as the Sabbath was the remembering sign of the old covenant community, sopartaking of the Lord’s Supper is the remembering sign for the new covenant community.And while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing,He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them,saying, “Drink from it, all of you;For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many forforgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, andgave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this inremembrance of Me.”And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “Thiscup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:19-20)Arguments for the SabbathNow that the Old Covenant and the New Covenant have been clearly defined, onecan see that by placing the commandment to remember the Sabbath on New TestamentChristians is confusion of seals and of Covenants. However, let us address commonarguments for observing the Sabbath today.Sabbath since CreationAdventists would say that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation, so regardless ofthe covenants, the Sabbath will always be the sanctified and holy day of worship. “TheBible indicates that the Sabbath of Sinai served as an imperfect reminder of God’s30finished rest of creation. It reminded the Israelites of the perfect relationship whichexisted between God, man and creation before the entrance of sin.” (Ratzlaff, 287) Withthe amount of detail contained on the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, neveronce does Scripture mention their observance of the Sabbath. This is because theSabbath was not given until 430 years after the Abrahamic Covenant according toGalatians 3:17. Exodus 16:22-30 is the first mention of the word Sabbath. Mosesexplained to the people that they were to collect double on the sixth day for both the sixthand seventh day. This was a couple months before Mt Sinai. The fact that Mosesinstructs them means they had not known about keeping a Sabbath’s rest. The very factthat some still tried to collect on the seventh day is another indicator that this had notbeen an established custom on their part, yet God was getting them ready to obey whatwould symbolize their covenantal relationship. In fact, Deuteronomy 5:3 clearly says,“The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of usalive here today.”Also, Moses experienced Mt. Sinai and the giving of the covenant before he wrotethe Genesis account of creation. One can see the similarity of the language in theCreation account and the Decalogue, specifically in calling the seventh day holy andsanctified. The Genesis account could be a reflection of what had already happened atSinai:Genesis 2:3 “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, becausein it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”Exodus 20:11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lordblessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”31Therefore during these couple thousand years of history we do not read about the Sabbathbeing kept by man and only by God at creation.Sabbath in the New Heavens and EarthThe next argument is based on Isaiah 66:23 which says, “And it shall be from newmoon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow downbefore Me,” says the Lord. This argument proposes that based on the fact that theSabbath will be observed in the new heavens and new earth, we should observe it now.The first important observation to draw out is the context of the surrounding verses ofthis prophecy. Verses 20-21 says,Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grainoffering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, toMy holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “Just as the sons of Israel bringtheir grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. I will also takesome of them for priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.“Old covenant eschatology is set forth in old covenant terminology,” therefore, to takethis prophecy at face value requires the reinstitution of the Levitical priesthood and grainofferings. (Ratzlaff, 284,285) Also in verse 23, the Sabbath is mentioned along withnew moons. New moons are not being kept now since it was a ceremony that wastemporal and did not pass through the cross. It is inconsistent to say that we are to keepthe one and not the other, as well as not reinstate the Levitical priesthood and specificofferings. The Book of Hebrews addresses these very things for it was written to theJews to show how Jesus fulfilled the temporal aspects of the temple services and thepriesthood, because his blood, sacrifice, and priestly ministry superceded that of the OldCovenant. Also in Hosea 2:11, a minor prophet after the time of Isaiah, the Lorddeclared, “I will also put an end to all her gaiety, Her feasts, her new moons, her32sabbaths, and all her festal assemblies.” We can see Paul reiterating this in Colossians2:16-17:Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to afestival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a mere shadow ofwhat is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.Jesus is My ExampleThe next argument is that Jesus is my example and because He kept the Sabbath,so must I. Again to take his example at face value misses an important aspect of Hismission. Jesus was born a Jew with the mission of being a perfect spotless Lamb of Godwho would then be able to die for sinful man. Had Jesus sinned once, than His deathwould have been only for His sin and not for the world’s. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “Butwhen the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born underthe Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we mightreceive the adoption as sons.” We must not misunderstand His example for He also keptcircumcision, all the feasts and all 613 laws found in the Pentateuch. If we were tofollow His example in all these points it would make all that He died for meaningless.“If You Love Me”Another argument Adventists use is that because Jesus said, “If you love Me youwill keep My commandments,” therefore, since these commandments are referring to theTen Commandments, one is obligated to keep the Sabbath. Sometimes ‘commandments’does refer to the Ten Commandments, but different authors of New Testament Scriptureconsistently use a Greek word to mean one thing and another author will use that sameGreek word to mean something else. The one time that commandments referredspecifically to the Sabbath is found in Luke 23:56, “And they returned and prepared33spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”Luke used the Greek word entole to refer to this ‘commandment.’The Writings of JohnJohannine writing is different. The book of John is where we discover thisscripture where Jesus says that love is the motivation for keeping His commandments.John also authored I, II, and III John and Revelation. The Apostle John always uses theGreek word nomos when referring to the Law and his use of entole is usually referring tothe new commandment of love. The following is a list of all the verses that John usedfor the Law:For the Law [nomos] was given through Moses; grace and truth were realizedthrough Jesus Christ. (Jn.1:17)Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses inthe Law [nomos] and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ (Jn.1:45)“Did not Moses give you the Law [nomos], and yet none of you carries out theLaw[nomos]? Why do you seek to kill Me?” (Jn. 7:19)“If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law [nomos] of Mosesmay not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on theSabbath?” (Jn. 7:23)“But this multitude which does not know the Law [nomos] is accursed.” (Jn 7:49)“Our Law [nomos] does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knowswhat he is doing, does it?” (Jn. 7:51)“Now the Law [nomos] Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then doYou say?” (Jn. 8:5)“Even in your law [nomos] it has been written that the testimony of two men istrue.” (Jn. 8:17)Jesus answered them, ‘Has it not been written in your Law [nomos], “I SAID,YOU ARE GODS”? (Jn. 10:34)The multitude therefore answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law [nomos]that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must belifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” (Jn.12:34)“But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written intheir Law [nomos], ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’” (Jn. 15:25).Pilate therefore said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according toyour law [nomos].” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.”(Jn. 18:31)34The Jews answered him, “We have a law [nomos], and by that law [nomos] Heought to die because He made Himself out to the Son of God.” (Jn. 19:7)Next is a complete list of the times John uses the word commandment:“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. Ihave authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. Thiscommandment [entole] I received from My Father.” (Jn. 10:18)“For I did
erpetual covenant (Ex.31:13)19Put to death for violation (Ex. 31:14)Violator to be “cut off” (Ex. 31:14)Not kindle a fire on (Ex. 35:3)Keep evening to evening (Lev. 23:32)5. Honor father and mothereath penalty for cursing parents (Ex. 21:17)Death penalty for hitting father (Ex. 21:15)Reverence father and mother (Lev. 19:3)Rebellious to parents (Deut. 21:18-21)6. Not kill:Killed in a quarrel and fist fight (Ex. 21;18)Killed by beating with a rod (Ex. 21:20)Killed by ox, first offense (Ex. 21:28)Killed by ox, several offenses (Ex. 21:29)7. Not commit adultery:With another man’s wife (Lev. 20: 10)With father’s wife (Lev. 20:11)With daughter-in-law (Lev. 20:12)A number of situations (Lev. 18:16-30)8. Not steal:Steals an ox (Ex. 22:1)Thief caught while breaking in (Ex. 22:2-4)Animal grazing in neighbor’s field (Ex. 22:5)Thief not caught until later (Ex. 22:8)9. Not bear false witness:Lied and sworn falsely (Lev. 6:3-8)Swears thoughtlessly (Lev. 5:4)Not give false report (Ex. 23:1)10. Not covet:Not covet gold on destroyed idols (Deut. 7:25)Not covet the land (Ex. 34:24)(Ratzlaff, 36-37)The Promises of the covenant can be found in Exodus and Deuteronomy.In Exodus 19:4-6, God says,You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you oneagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then if you will indeed obey My20voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all thepeoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priestsand a holy nation.’The Conditions of the covenant were a total of 613 commandments to which theIsraelites heartily accepted; as a matter of fact three times they said, “All that the Lordhas spoken we will do!” (Ex. 19:7-8; Ex. 24:3; Ex. 24:7). One very important point is thatthese Covenant requirements were not placed upon former generations, it began in Sinai.Deuteronomy 5:3 says, The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, butwith us, with all those of us alive here today. Romans 9: 4-5 describes what was givento the Israelites, “to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenantsand the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises.” This covenantwas made with the sons of Israel as the following verses illustrate:Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “You shall surely observe Mysabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations.(Ex. 31:13)So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbaththroughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ It is a sign between Meand the sons of Israel forever. (Ex. 31:16-17)Then Moses summoned all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, thestatues and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing…The Lordour God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenantwith our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. (Deut. 5:1-3)The Sign of this covenant was the Sabbath.So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbaththroughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me andthe sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but onthe seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed. (Ex. 31:16-17)And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, thatthey might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. (Ez. 20:12)“In the Hebrew Bible if one counts the words of the Ten Commandments he will find thecentral phrase is ‘remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.’ As the sign of the covenant21was placed in the very center of the ancient Near East treaty documents, so the Sabbath,as the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant, rightfully finds its place in the very center of the TenCommandments” (Ratzlaff, 38).Paul describes this Old Covenant in negative terms in 2 Corinthians 3 as one thatkills (3:6), a ministry of death and is fading (3:7), a ministry of condemnation (3:9) andwhen read a veil lies over their eyes (3:14). However, God made this Mosaic, LawCovenant with Israel for a Divine purpose. The following are twelve aspects of theDivine purpose taken from Kevin Conner’s book The Covenants:1. To set forth the Divine standard of righteousness (Psalm 19:7-10; Romans 7:12-14).2. To give a clear external definition of sin because of the inadequacy of man’sconscience (Romans 3:20; 7:7; I John 3:4).3. To show Israel the exceeding sinfulness and deceitfulness of sin (Romans 7:11-13;Galatians 3:19).4. To expose to all men their guilt before God (Romans 3:19).5. To preserve the nation of Israel and the chosen Messianic seed line from totalcorruption by other nations (Gal 3:19).6. To shut Israel up as a nation “in custody” under a schoolmaster and thus prepare themfor Christ’s coming (Galatians 3:22-25; 4:1-3).7. To illustrate the two major ways of God’s dealings with man, which are seen inperfect balance in His own being; Law and Grace (John 1:17).8. To foreshadow and typify all the truths of grace and redemption in the ceremoniallaw, and to typify the person and the work of Christ (Romans 2:20; Hebrews 10:1;Colossians 2:17).9. To provide in the ceremonial law a temporary atonement (covering) for sin by whichIsrael could approach God in worship and upon the basis of which He could dwell intheir midst (Hebrews 9-10).10. To illustrate more fully and clearly in visible and temporal form of the elementsinvolved in covenantal revelation (Romans 2:20).11. To show all the world that none can be justified (made righteous by the Law), butonly through grace and faith (Romans 3:19-22; 9:30-32; 10:1-6; Galatians 3:10-16).12. To show that the Law Covenant could not give life, but that only the New Covenant“in Christ” could (Galatians 3:12 with Leviticus 18:5). (42)The New CovenantWe can see in Israel’s history that they repeatedly broke their covenant with God.The Babylonian captivity was a result of breaking the Sabbath. It wasn’t until Israel22broke the covenant that God told His prophets, like Jeremiah, that He was going to makea new covenant.Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a newcovenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I tookthem by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which theybroke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel afterthose days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on theirheart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man hisbrother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least ofthem to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity,and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)Paul illustrates how the New Covenant was typified in the Old Testament:1. In Abraham’s Two SonsIn Galatians 4:21-31 Paul used the two sons of Abraham as an allegory to explaintheir representation of two covenants Ishmael (Genesis 16) represented the MosaicCovenant of law and works Isaac (Genesis 21,22) represented the New Covenant ofgrace and faith. When Isaac was weaned it became apparent that Ishmael could notbe the heir of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 21). This foreshadowed that theMosaic Covenant would be fulfilled and abolished when the New Covenant wasratified (Hebrews 10:9, 16, 17).2. In Moses’ LawIn II Corinthians 3, Paul illustrated how the Mosaic Covenant was typical of the NewCovenant. The words of the Old Covenant were written in two tables of stone, andthough glorious, they were to be done away with. This pointed to the words of theNew Covenant which was written on the two tablets of the heart and mind. These aremore glorious and are to last forever (Exodus 20; 31:18; Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:16,17).3. In Marriage LawsIn Romans 7:1-4 Paul illustrated how the Old Covenant marriage laws typified thetransfer from the Mosaic Covenant to the New Covenant. Israel was married at MtSinai on the basis of the Mosaic Covenant. This marriage ended in divorce by reasonof adultery (Jeremiah 3:1-14; 31:31-34; Isaiah 50:1). Because of the death andresurrection involved in the New Covenant Israel may now be joined to Christ in anew marriage.4. In CircumcisionIn Romans 4 Paul referred to Abraham’s being justified by faith, whileuncircumcised, as an example of the Gentiles, the Uncircumcision, being justified byfaith under the New Covenant. He also referred to the Jews, who were theCircumcision, under the Mosaic Covenant, as being justified by faith also under theNew Covenant. Therefore, by reason of the New Covenant, Abraham is the father ofall who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, Circumcision of Uncircumcision.23Now the true Jew is one who has experienced the spiritual circumcision of the heart,whether he be Jew or Gentile (Romans 2:24-29; Philippians 3:3). (Conner,Covenants, 70-71).All the covenants foreshadowed how Jesus would be the fulfillment. The prophets saidthat the Lord Jesus Christ is the New Covenant personified.“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you bythe hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,as a light to the nations.To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and thosewho dwell in darkness from the prison. (Isaiah 42:6-7)And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be HisServant, to bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered toHim (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and My God is My strength),He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raiseup the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also makeYou a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and its Holy One, To thedespised One, to the One abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers, “Kingsshall see and arise, Princes shall also bow down; because of the Lord who isfaithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”Thus says the Lord, “In a favorable time I have answered You, and in aday of salvation I have helped You; and I will keep You and give You for acovenant of the people, to restore the land, to make them inherit the desolateheritages. (Isaiah 49:5-8)Romans 15:8 says, “For I say that Christ has become a servant to thecircumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers.”We see that there are many blessings and Promises that come with the New Covenant,but the most important is the salvation of the soul. Salvation means, “safety, security,preservation, deliverance and wholeness” (Conner, Covenants, 73). Jesus is the Savior ofthe world as John 4:42 says, “And they were saying to the woman, ‘It is no longerbecause of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know thatthis One is indeed the Savior of the world.’” Also, Acts 13:23 says, “From theoffspring of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior,Jesus.”24The following are words we hear in relation to salvation and are possible as aresult of Christ’s ministry and are available for those who believe.1) Pardon – the forgiveness and remission of the penalty of sin (Acts 10:43; 13:36-39). Jesus forgave sins (Luke 7:36-50; Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5) and broughtsalvation to sinners (Luke 19:1-10). The Old Covenant simply covered forgivensin while the New Covenant provides cleansing of forgiven sin (I John 1:5-9).2) Justification – the pronouncing just, a declaration of righteousness and rightstanding before God through Christ (Romans 5:1; 3:24-26). By the works of theLaw, the Mosaic Covenant, none could be justified (Romans 3:19-20; Acts 15:8-11). The New Covenant makes possible justification by faith in an accomplishedwork.3) Regeneration – by which one is born again into the family of God and call God“Father” (John 3:1-5; Matthew 6:9; I Peter 1:23). Under the Old Covenant nonecould be born again, but the New Covenant makes possible the miracle of the newbirth.4) Assurance – whereby one has the witness of the Spirit that he is secure inobedience to the Word of God (Hebrews 5:8-9; 6:10-12; 10:38-39; I John 3:19).The Old Covenant believers never had the blessed assurance that New Covenantbelievers are given.5) Sanctification – whereby one is set apart unto the Lord and His holy service anduse (John 17:17; I Thessalonians 5:23-24; Ephesians 5:26-27). The Old Covenantbelievers generally did not experience the blessing of sanctification madeavailable for every believer under the New Covenant.6) Adoption – whereby one is placed as a son in the family of God (Romans 8:15,23; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:13-14). By this act we are set in as maturemembers of the family of God and Jesus is the Firstborn among a vast family ofbrethren (Matthew 11:46-50; Romans 8:29). The Old Covenant believers neverexperienced this sonship as do New Covenant believers.7) Glorification – to render or esteem glorious, honorable, or magnify.Glorification is the final work of redemption in the perfected saints. Men fellfrom the glory of God when he sinned under the Edenic Covenant (Romans 3:23).The New Covenant makes provision for the believer from justification toglorification (Romans 8:17:30). Old Covenant saints saw and experienced insmall measure the glory of God, His majesty and brightness. The New Covenantbrings the believer into the fullness of the glory of God (John 17:22-24; IICorinthians 3:18). (Conner, Covenants, 73-74).The Conditions of the New Covenant are Repentance, Faith, and Obedience.Repentance is a changing of the mind and turning to God and is the first step to be incovenantal relationship with God. John the Baptist had a message of repentance,Matthew 3:1-18, as did Jesus. In Matthew 4:17 it says, “From that time Jesus began to25preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Peter spoke ofrepentance as the initial step on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:37-38. Paul preachedrepentance as well in Acts 17:30 and in Acts 26:20-21.Faith is the next step and “becomes the channel through which the covenantbenefits are received” and “is the attitude in which the covenant must be held” (Conner,Covenants, 80).Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;repent and believe in the gospel.”Acts 20:21 “solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentancetoward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for hewho comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those whoseek Him.”Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and thatnot of ourselves, it is the gift of God.”Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord, Jesus, and you shall be saved, you andyour household.”John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who doesnot obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”The final Condition is active obedience. James 2:17 says, “Even so faith, if it hasno works, is dead, being by itself.” John 14:15 says, “If you love Me, you will keep Mycommandments.” Hebrews 5:9 says, “And having been made perfect, He became to allthose who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” There is a difference between theOld Covenant and the New Covenant obedience:The Old Covenant gave an external standard and required strict and full obedienceto it before mercy was given. The New Covenant imparts an internal standard aswell as the grace to be able to keep it. (Conner, Covenants, 80)New Covenant believers are not under the Law of Moses. Romans 7:4 says,“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of26Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who has raised from the dead, that wemight bear fruit for God.” Galatians 5:22-23 lists what that fruit is, “But the fruit of theSpirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, selfcontrol:against such things there is no law.” What law can force love, joy or peace? Thatis a heart condition and cannot be externally forced. The Holy Spirit works these fruitsin the life of the believer. Just because we are not under the Law of Moses does not meanthere is no law for the believer to follow. I Corinthians 9:20-21 says that we are underthe Law of Christ:And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are underthe Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I mightwin those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law,though not being without the law of God but under the Law of Christ, that Imight win those who are without law.Many of the following commandments of Christ were given on the Sermon on the Mountas Christ was describing the Law that would constitute the Kingdom of God becauseevery kingdom needs a law.1. The first commandment to love God (Matthew 22:27,38).2. The second commandment to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39,40; John 13:34).3. The commandment of witness (Matthew 5:13-16).4. The commandment of righteousness (Matthew 5:17-20).5. The commandment of reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26).6. The commandment concerning adultery and divorce (Matthew 5:27-32; 19:1-9).7. The commandment concerning oaths (Matthew 5:33-37).8. The commandment concerning retaliation (Matthew 5:38-42).9. The commandment concerning enemies (Matthew 5:43-47).10. The commandment concerning perfection (Matthew 5:48).11. The commandment concerning alms (Matthew 6:1-4).12. The commandment concerning prayer (Matthew 6:5-13).13. The commandment concerning forgiveness (Matthew 6:14,15; 18:21-35).14. The commandment concerning fasting (Matthew 6:16-18).15. The commandment concerning values (Matthew 6:19-34).16. The commandment concerning criticism (Matthew 7:1-5).17. The commandment concerning discretion (Matthew 7:6).18. The commandment concerning requests (Matthew 7:7-11).2719. The commandment concerning consideration (Matthew 7:12).20. The commandment concerning self-discipline (Matthew 7:13,14).21. The commandment concerning character and ministry (Matthew 15-23).22. The commandment concerning obedience (Matthew 7:24-27).23. The commandment concerning communion (Matthew 26:26-29).24. The commandment concerning water baptism (Matthew 28:19,20).25. The commandment concerning the Gospel (Mark 16:15-18; Acts 1:8).26. The commandment concerning the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,5).(Conner, Covenants, 80-81)Finally, the Seal of the New Covenant must be identified. Let’s first evaluate howAdventists arrive at their New Covenant Seal.The traditional support for the seventh-day Sabbath as the seal of God comesfrom the common understanding of what a seal is: it is a mark which showsauthenticity by (1) giving the name of the one in authority, (2) the title of the one inauthority, and (3) the dominion of the one in authority. Seventh-day Adventists showthat the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment has all of this information: “The Lord”(name), “The Lord your God” (title), “Who made the heavens and the earth, and seaand all that is in them” (dominion).This may be good human reasoning, but the New Testament never speaks of theSabbath as the seal of God. (Ratzlaff, 305)So what is the Sign or Seal of the New Covenant? It is none other than the HolySpirit. The Holy Spirit also personifies the New Covenant.In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spiritof promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to redemptionof God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed forthe day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)Who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as pledge. (IICorinthians 1:22)An interesting point is that Jesus said that blaspheming the Holy Spirit was theunpardonable sin. When considering the fact that He is the Seal, then the love andrelationship with the Holy Spirit is a reflection of how committed the believer is to hiscovenant relationship with God.28“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, andwhatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spiritnever has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” because they were saying,“He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:28-30)As the Seal of the New Covenant this is what the Holy Spirit does:1. The Holy Spirit brings the new birth (John 3:5-6; Titus 3:5).2. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer’s spirit (Romans 8:9; John 14:16-17; ICorinthians 3:16; 6:17; I John 2:27).3. The Holy Spirit is the anointing who abides within and teaches the New Covenantbeliever (I John 2:20,27; John 16:13).4. The Holy Spirit gives assurance of salvation (Romans 8:16).5. The Holy Spirit fills the believer with Himself (Acts 2:4; Ephesians 5:18).6. The Holy Spirit by the baptism in the Spirit enables the New Covenant believer tospeak in unknown languages and edify himself (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; Mark 16:17; ICorinthians 14:2,4,18).7. The Holy Spirit leads and guides the believer into all truth (John 16:13; Romans8:14).8. The Holy Spirit enables the believer to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans8:13).9. The Holy Spirit produces the Christ-like nature and character in the life of thebeliever (Galatians 5:22-23; II Peter 1:4).10. The Holy Spirit empowers the New Covenant believer to be a witness for Christ (Acts1:8; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 24:49).11. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to those whom He fills (I Corinthians 12:7-13).12. The Holy Spirit will bring about the resurrection and immortality of the believer’sbody in the last day. Such will consummate the Spirit’s work as the seal of God(Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 15:47-51; I Thessalonians 4:15-18).(Conner, Covenants, 90)29Along with being sealed with the Holy Spirit, the entrance sign in the covenantcommunity is baptism. For the old covenant community it was circumcision, but for theNew Covenant, circumcision is replaced with baptism.And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision madewithout hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision ofChrist; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raisedup with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.(Colossians 2:11-12)Also, as the Sabbath was the remembering sign of the old covenant community, sopartaking of the Lord’s Supper is the remembering sign for the new covenant community.And while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing,He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them,saying, “Drink from it, all of you;For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many forforgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, andgave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this inremembrance of Me.”And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “Thiscup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:19-20)Arguments for the SabbathNow that the Old Covenant and the New Covenant have been clearly defined, onecan see that by placing the commandment to remember the Sabbath on New TestamentChristians is confusion of seals and of Covenants. However, let us address commonarguments for observing the Sabbath today.Sabbath since CreationAdventists would say that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation, so regardless ofthe covenants, the Sabbath will always be the sanctified and holy day of worship. “TheBible indicates that the Sabbath of Sinai served as an imperfect reminder of God’s30finished rest of creation. It reminded the Israelites of the perfect relationship whichexisted between God, man and creation before the entrance of sin.” (Ratzlaff, 287) Withthe amount of detail contained on the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, neveronce does Scripture mention their observance of the Sabbath. This is because theSabbath was not given until 430 years after the Abrahamic Covenant according toGalatians 3:17. Exodus 16:22-30 is the first mention of the word Sabbath. Mosesexplained to the people that they were to collect double on the sixth day for both the sixthand seventh day. This was a couple months before Mt Sinai. The fact that Mosesinstructs them means they had not known about keeping a Sabbath’s rest. The very factthat some still tried to collect on the seventh day is another indicator that this had notbeen an established custom on their part, yet God was getting them ready to obey whatwould symbolize their covenantal relationship. In fact, Deuteronomy 5:3 clearly says,“The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of usalive here today.”Also, Moses experienced Mt. Sinai and the giving of the covenant before he wrotethe Genesis account of creation. One can see the similarity of the language in theCreation account and the Decalogue, specifically in calling the seventh day holy andsanctified. The Genesis account could be a reflection of what had already happened atSinai:Genesis 2:3 “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, becausein it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”Exodus 20:11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lordblessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”31Therefore during these couple thousand years of history we do not read about the Sabbathbeing kept by man and only by God at creation.Sabbath in the New Heavens and EarthThe next argument is based on Isaiah 66:23 which says, “And it shall be from newmoon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow downbefore Me,” says the Lord. This argument proposes that based on the fact that theSabbath will be observed in the new heavens and new earth, we should observe it now.The first important observation to draw out is the context of the surrounding verses ofthis prophecy. Verses 20-21 says,Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grainoffering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, toMy holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “Just as the sons of Israel bringtheir grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. I will also takesome of them for priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.“Old covenant eschatology is set forth in old covenant terminology,” therefore, to takethis prophecy at face value requires the reinstitution of the Levitical priesthood and grainofferings. (Ratzlaff, 284,285) Also in verse 23, the Sabbath is mentioned along withnew moons. New moons are not being kept now since it was a ceremony that wastemporal and did not pass through the cross. It is inconsistent to say that we are to keepthe one and not the other, as well as not reinstate the Levitical priesthood and specificofferings. The Book of Hebrews addresses these very things for it was written to theJews to show how Jesus fulfilled the temporal aspects of the temple services and thepriesthood, because his blood, sacrifice, and priestly ministry superceded that of the OldCovenant. Also in Hosea 2:11, a minor prophet after the time of Isaiah, the Lorddeclared, “I will also put an end to all her gaiety, Her feasts, her new moons, her32sabbaths, and all her festal assemblies.” We can see Paul reiterating this in Colossians2:16-17:Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to afestival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a mere shadow ofwhat is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.Jesus is My ExampleThe next argument is that Jesus is my example and because He kept the Sabbath,so must I. Again to take his example at face value misses an important aspect of Hismission. Jesus was born a Jew with the mission of being a perfect spotless Lamb of Godwho would then be able to die for sinful man. Had Jesus sinned once, than His deathwould have been only for His sin and not for the world’s. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “Butwhen the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born underthe Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we mightreceive the adoption as sons.” We must not misunderstand His example for He also keptcircumcision, all the feasts and all 613 laws found in the Pentateuch. If we were tofollow His example in all these points it would make all that He died for meaningless.“If You Love Me”Another argument Adventists use is that because Jesus said, “If you love Me youwill keep My commandments,” therefore, since these commandments are referring to theTen Commandments, one is obligated to keep the Sabbath. Sometimes ‘commandments’does refer to the Ten Commandments, but different authors of New Testament Scriptureconsistently use a Greek word to mean one thing and another author will use that sameGreek word to mean something else. The one time that commandments referredspecifically to the Sabbath is found in Luke 23:56, “And they returned and prepared33spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”Luke used the Greek word entole to refer to this ‘commandment.’The Writings of JohnJohannine writing is different. The book of John is where we discover thisscripture where Jesus says that love is the motivation for keeping His commandments.John also authored I, II, and III John and Revelation. The Apostle John always uses theGreek word nomos when referring to the Law and his use of entole is usually referring tothe new commandment of love. The following is a list of all the verses that John usedfor the Law:For the Law [nomos] was given through Moses; grace and truth were realizedthrough Jesus Christ. (Jn.1:17)Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses inthe Law [nomos] and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ (Jn.1:45)“Did not Moses give you the Law [nomos], and yet none of you carries out theLaw[nomos]? Why do you seek to kill Me?” (Jn. 7:19)“If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law [nomos] of Mosesmay not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on theSabbath?” (Jn. 7:23)“But this multitude which does not know the Law [nomos] is accursed.” (Jn 7:49)“Our Law [nomos] does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knowswhat he is doing, does it?” (Jn. 7:51)“Now the Law [nomos] Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then doYou say?” (Jn. 8:5)“Even in your law [nomos] it has been written that the testimony of two men istrue.” (Jn. 8:17)Jesus answered them, ‘Has it not been written in your Law [nomos], “I SAID,YOU ARE GODS”? (Jn. 10:34)The multitude therefore answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law [nomos]that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must belifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” (Jn.12:34)“But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written intheir Law [nomos], ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’” (Jn. 15:25).Pilate therefore said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according toyour law [nomos].” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.”(Jn. 18:31)34The Jews answered him, “We have a law [nomos], and by that law [nomos] Heought to die because He made Himself out to the Son of God.” (Jn. 19:7)Next is a complete list of the times John uses the word commandment:“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. Ihave authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. Thiscommandment [entole] I received from My Father.” (Jn. 10:18)“For I did(Faithful;33727)
The Jews can tell you because as part of the 10 commandments they have kept the Sabbath day from then till now.Christ also taught in Mathew 5:17-20.17.Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18.For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19.Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20.For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is pretty clear from the teachings of Jesus and also Paul about upholding the law.Romans 3:31 (King James Version)31.Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.faithful.
What do you think fulfill means faithful ???????????It means Christy became our Sabbath he fulfilled it Sabbath means rest we are to rest in Christ everyday He never changed the Law he became the Law i.e. fulfilled it
The Jews can tell you because as part of the 10 commandments they have kept the Sabbath day from then till now.Christ also taught in Mathew 5:17-20.17.Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18.For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19.Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20.For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is pretty clear from the teachings of Jesus and also Paul about upholding the law.Romans 3:31 (King James Version)31.Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.faithful.
What do you think fulfill means faithful ???????????It means Christy became our Sabbath he fulfilled it Sabbath means rest we are to rest in Christ everyday He never changed the Law he became the Law i.e. fulfilled it
(B'midbar;13967)
The Greek phrase that appears in Rev 1:10 as “the Lord’s day” is unique in the NT. I hesitate to equate it with the different phrase that appears as “the day of the Lord”. One is like hemera kurios and the one in Rev 1:10 is like kuriakos hemera (I didn’t decline it so it should then match Strong’s).For anyone who might be interested, the “kuriakos” does appear in one other place, but not with the word day. It appears with the word supper in 1 Cor 11:20.
i love this forum or like it alot....anyway .i do not concern my self with what ever you do to the none changed sabbath....MY CONCERN IS WHO CHANGED THE DAY AND WHY AND WHERE THAT MAY LEAD SOME OF THE EASY FOLLOWERS......AND ONE QUESTION .NOBODY SEEMS TO LIKE SOME OF MY QUESTIONS BUT HERES ONE ANYWAY....IN THE TWINKLE OF AN EYE CORUPTION WILL PUT ON INCORUPTION SO THEN DOES THE IN CORUPTION KEEP FORM[BODY..THEN WHERE DOES CORUPTION GO
The Greek phrase that appears in Rev 1:10 as “the Lord’s day” is unique in the NT. I hesitate to equate it with the different phrase that appears as “the day of the Lord”. One is like hemera kurios and the one in Rev 1:10 is like kuriakos hemera (I didn’t decline it so it should then match Strong’s).For anyone who might be interested, the “kuriakos” does appear in one other place, but not with the word day. It appears with the word supper in 1 Cor 11:20.
i love this forum or like it alot....anyway .i do not concern my self with what ever you do to the none changed sabbath....MY CONCERN IS WHO CHANGED THE DAY AND WHY AND WHERE THAT MAY LEAD SOME OF THE EASY FOLLOWERS......AND ONE QUESTION .NOBODY SEEMS TO LIKE SOME OF MY QUESTIONS BUT HERES ONE ANYWAY....IN THE TWINKLE OF AN EYE CORUPTION WILL PUT ON INCORUPTION SO THEN DOES THE IN CORUPTION KEEP FORM[BODY..THEN WHERE DOES CORUPTION GO
(kriss;33913)
What do you think fulfill means faithful ???????????It means Christy became our Sabbath he fulfilled it Sabbath means rest we are to rest in Christ everyday He never changed the Law he became the Law i.e. fulfilled it
The law is what condemns man. But we are not under the law who are in the Spirit. Romans 8:1 and Galatians 5:18. He came to obey the law and so fulfill it, so he could be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus is called Lord of the Sabbath, he must fulfill all the laws of the old Covenant. In this way he is perfect and can die in our place as one who died the death not being condemned under the law of Sin.Now though we are not under the law it is because by rights we should be living in the Spirit. But living in the Spirit does not mean we do the things of the flesh which means commit adultery,etc. So clealry being in the Spirit does not make us free to sin. And that is what the law does. It shows us what God says is wrong and what he considers to be the wrong thing to do.And as Christ says, I have not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. aThis he did in complete obedience to it . He is our righteousness before God.We do not however if living in the Spirit do the things which are of the law. But rather the things of the Spirit there is no law against them. But of the flesh which are listed in the same passage there is laws against.Galatians 5:23So you must not confuse someone upholding the law as living under the law. For if someone is in the Spirit they live by the fruits which do not result in breaking any laws. Clearly depicting the truth of Christs teaching and Paul confirming we uphold the law we do not break it. For that is of the flesh not of the Spirit.So sabbath or holy days are not done in a legalistic way but they are done according to the teachings of Christ.Galatians 5:24. Why would we want to sin if our lusts and passions crucified with Christ?Faithful.
What do you think fulfill means faithful ???????????It means Christy became our Sabbath he fulfilled it Sabbath means rest we are to rest in Christ everyday He never changed the Law he became the Law i.e. fulfilled it
The law is what condemns man. But we are not under the law who are in the Spirit. Romans 8:1 and Galatians 5:18. He came to obey the law and so fulfill it, so he could be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus is called Lord of the Sabbath, he must fulfill all the laws of the old Covenant. In this way he is perfect and can die in our place as one who died the death not being condemned under the law of Sin.Now though we are not under the law it is because by rights we should be living in the Spirit. But living in the Spirit does not mean we do the things of the flesh which means commit adultery,etc. So clealry being in the Spirit does not make us free to sin. And that is what the law does. It shows us what God says is wrong and what he considers to be the wrong thing to do.And as Christ says, I have not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. aThis he did in complete obedience to it . He is our righteousness before God.We do not however if living in the Spirit do the things which are of the law. But rather the things of the Spirit there is no law against them. But of the flesh which are listed in the same passage there is laws against.Galatians 5:23So you must not confuse someone upholding the law as living under the law. For if someone is in the Spirit they live by the fruits which do not result in breaking any laws. Clearly depicting the truth of Christs teaching and Paul confirming we uphold the law we do not break it. For that is of the flesh not of the Spirit.So sabbath or holy days are not done in a legalistic way but they are done according to the teachings of Christ.Galatians 5:24. Why would we want to sin if our lusts and passions crucified with Christ?Faithful.
(Faithful;34334)
The law is what condemns man. But we are not under the law who are in the Spirit. Romans 8:1 and Galatians 5:18. He came to obey the law and so fulfill it, so he could be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus is called Lord of the Sabbath, he must fulfill all the laws of the old Covenant. In this way he is perfect and can die in our place as one who died the death not being condemned under the law of Sin.Now though we are not under the law it is because by rights we should be living in the Spirit. But living in the Spirit does not mean we do the things of the flesh which means commit adultery,etc. So clealry being in the Spirit does not make us free to sin. And that is what the law does. It shows us what God says is wrong and what he considers to be the wrong thing to do.And as Christ says, I have not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. aThis he did in complete obedience to it . He is our righteousness before God.We do not however if living in the Spirit do the things which are of the law. But rather the things of the Spirit there is no law against them. But of the flesh which are listed in the same passage there is laws against.Galatians 5:23So you must not confuse someone upholding the law as living under the law. For if someone is in the Spirit they live by the fruits which do not result in breaking any laws. Clearly depicting the truth of Christs teaching and Paul confirming we uphold the law we do not break it. For that is of the flesh not of the Spirit.So sabbath or holy days are not done in a legalistic way but they are done according to the teachings of Christ.Galatians 5:24. Why would we want to sin if our lusts and passions crucified with Christ?Faithful.
jesus ios the sabbath is just another way to justify not keeping the sabbath..how could jesus be the sabbath if he said he would not change one title of the law..its ironic, that its the only commandment that says to remember[THIS IS NOT SDA speaking only common sence about it]some put there own words to the text of the lord of the sabbath.....funny to in ez it says it is a sign between god and man and then man makes a day as a sign as there power on earth and the saints get decieved...its bisare why it says rest from your work on the sabbath and if chirst was our sabbath we would never work..except help to people that are in trouble and prepare our food.[forsaking the commands of god for the traditons of men]and spiritaul pride keeps them there
The law is what condemns man. But we are not under the law who are in the Spirit. Romans 8:1 and Galatians 5:18. He came to obey the law and so fulfill it, so he could be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus is called Lord of the Sabbath, he must fulfill all the laws of the old Covenant. In this way he is perfect and can die in our place as one who died the death not being condemned under the law of Sin.Now though we are not under the law it is because by rights we should be living in the Spirit. But living in the Spirit does not mean we do the things of the flesh which means commit adultery,etc. So clealry being in the Spirit does not make us free to sin. And that is what the law does. It shows us what God says is wrong and what he considers to be the wrong thing to do.And as Christ says, I have not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. aThis he did in complete obedience to it . He is our righteousness before God.We do not however if living in the Spirit do the things which are of the law. But rather the things of the Spirit there is no law against them. But of the flesh which are listed in the same passage there is laws against.Galatians 5:23So you must not confuse someone upholding the law as living under the law. For if someone is in the Spirit they live by the fruits which do not result in breaking any laws. Clearly depicting the truth of Christs teaching and Paul confirming we uphold the law we do not break it. For that is of the flesh not of the Spirit.So sabbath or holy days are not done in a legalistic way but they are done according to the teachings of Christ.Galatians 5:24. Why would we want to sin if our lusts and passions crucified with Christ?Faithful.
jesus ios the sabbath is just another way to justify not keeping the sabbath..how could jesus be the sabbath if he said he would not change one title of the law..its ironic, that its the only commandment that says to remember[THIS IS NOT SDA speaking only common sence about it]some put there own words to the text of the lord of the sabbath.....funny to in ez it says it is a sign between god and man and then man makes a day as a sign as there power on earth and the saints get decieved...its bisare why it says rest from your work on the sabbath and if chirst was our sabbath we would never work..except help to people that are in trouble and prepare our food.[forsaking the commands of god for the traditons of men]and spiritaul pride keeps them there
(bullfighter;34339)
jesus ios the sabbath is just another way to justify not keeping the sabbath..how could jesus be the sabbath if he said he would not change one title of the law..its ironic, that its the only commandment that says to remember[THIS IS NOT SDA speaking only common sence about it]some put there own words to the text of the lord of the sabbath.....funny to in ez it says it is a sign between god and man and then man makes a day as a sign as there power on earth and the saints get decieved...its bisare why it says rest from your work on the sabbath and if chirst was our sabbath we would never work..except help to people that are in trouble and prepare our food.[forsaking the commands of god for the traditons of men]and spiritaul pride keeps them there
We are no longer slaves of sin so Jesus is our rest from sin and the law.He is Lord of the Sabbath the promised rest from God in Christ not the rest from the work. That has not been completed yet because Christ has not returned.In Jesus we have been set free from being slaves to sin and death. He became our rest from the old way of the Law and sin.The sabbath day is a rest from physical work. Our rest does not come till Christ returns we are stewards here with work to do. So clearly the sabbath was created for the good of man. Man was not created for the sabbath.Hope it is clearer for you.Faithful.
jesus ios the sabbath is just another way to justify not keeping the sabbath..how could jesus be the sabbath if he said he would not change one title of the law..its ironic, that its the only commandment that says to remember[THIS IS NOT SDA speaking only common sence about it]some put there own words to the text of the lord of the sabbath.....funny to in ez it says it is a sign between god and man and then man makes a day as a sign as there power on earth and the saints get decieved...its bisare why it says rest from your work on the sabbath and if chirst was our sabbath we would never work..except help to people that are in trouble and prepare our food.[forsaking the commands of god for the traditons of men]and spiritaul pride keeps them there
We are no longer slaves of sin so Jesus is our rest from sin and the law.He is Lord of the Sabbath the promised rest from God in Christ not the rest from the work. That has not been completed yet because Christ has not returned.In Jesus we have been set free from being slaves to sin and death. He became our rest from the old way of the Law and sin.The sabbath day is a rest from physical work. Our rest does not come till Christ returns we are stewards here with work to do. So clearly the sabbath was created for the good of man. Man was not created for the sabbath.Hope it is clearer for you.Faithful.
(Faithful;34334)
The law is what condemns man. But we are not under the law who are in the Spirit. Romans 8:1 and Galatians 5:18. He came to obey the law and so fulfill it, so he could be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus is called Lord of the Sabbath, he must fulfill all the laws of the old Covenant. In this way he is perfect and can die in our place as one who died the death not being condemned under the law of Sin.Now though we are not under the law it is because by rights we should be living in the Spirit. But living in the Spirit does not mean we do the things of the flesh which means commit adultery,etc. So clealry being in the Spirit does not make us free to sin. And that is what the law does. It shows us what God says is wrong and what he considers to be the wrong thing to do.And as Christ says, I have not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. aThis he did in complete obedience to it . He is our righteousness before God.We do not however if living in the Spirit do the things which are of the law. But rather the things of the Spirit there is no law against them. But of the flesh which are listed in the same passage there is laws against.Galatians 5:23So you must not confuse someone upholding the law as living under the law. For if someone is in the Spirit they live by the fruits which do not result in breaking any laws. Clearly depicting the truth of Christs teaching and Paul confirming we uphold the law we do not break it. For that is of the flesh not of the Spirit.So sabbath or holy days are not done in a legalistic way but they are done according to the teachings of Christ.Galatians 5:24. Why would we want to sin if our lusts and passions crucified with Christ?Faithful.
Christ himself broke the Sabbath Day Law and healed on it because he knew it would mean nothing soon because it was never about a Day it was about him the same way a lamb was used to atone for sin was the type of the Lamb to come (Jesus Christ) the same was true of Christ he would become the Sabbath it was no longer about a Day thats why Col tells us after Christ death it was no longer a Day but Christ himself a Sabbath Day is barely mentioned in the New Testament Our rest is in Christ our Sabbath not any day
The law is what condemns man. But we are not under the law who are in the Spirit. Romans 8:1 and Galatians 5:18. He came to obey the law and so fulfill it, so he could be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus is called Lord of the Sabbath, he must fulfill all the laws of the old Covenant. In this way he is perfect and can die in our place as one who died the death not being condemned under the law of Sin.Now though we are not under the law it is because by rights we should be living in the Spirit. But living in the Spirit does not mean we do the things of the flesh which means commit adultery,etc. So clealry being in the Spirit does not make us free to sin. And that is what the law does. It shows us what God says is wrong and what he considers to be the wrong thing to do.And as Christ says, I have not come to do away with the Law but fulfill it. aThis he did in complete obedience to it . He is our righteousness before God.We do not however if living in the Spirit do the things which are of the law. But rather the things of the Spirit there is no law against them. But of the flesh which are listed in the same passage there is laws against.Galatians 5:23So you must not confuse someone upholding the law as living under the law. For if someone is in the Spirit they live by the fruits which do not result in breaking any laws. Clearly depicting the truth of Christs teaching and Paul confirming we uphold the law we do not break it. For that is of the flesh not of the Spirit.So sabbath or holy days are not done in a legalistic way but they are done according to the teachings of Christ.Galatians 5:24. Why would we want to sin if our lusts and passions crucified with Christ?Faithful.
Christ himself broke the Sabbath Day Law and healed on it because he knew it would mean nothing soon because it was never about a Day it was about him the same way a lamb was used to atone for sin was the type of the Lamb to come (Jesus Christ) the same was true of Christ he would become the Sabbath it was no longer about a Day thats why Col tells us after Christ death it was no longer a Day but Christ himself a Sabbath Day is barely mentioned in the New Testament Our rest is in Christ our Sabbath not any day
Bullfightercheck out this study! written by an ex sda minister. its good!Righteousness Beyond the LawBy Dale RatzlaffSeveral people have communicated to me what they consider to be the main reason fornot accepting the understanding of the covenants presented in the July/AugustProclamation “The Continental Divide of Biblical Interpretation”. These people aresincere, their questions are valid and they deserve a thorough, biblical answer. Theirreasoning goes something like this. Christ lived in perfect obedience to the Law. Christdied for those who have the broken law. Thus, Christ’s righteousness, which is imputedto the believer, is perfect obedience to the law, including perfect Sabbath keeping.Therefore as Christians we are to pattern our lives after Christ which is, in essence,perfect obedience to the law. This obedience includes Sabbath keeping. Therefore, thelaw, including the laws regarding Sabbath observance, could not have come to afunctional end at the cross. Why would Christ have died for the law and then done awaywith it?It is very tempting to immediately cite texts in Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians andColossians, etc. which clearly state that the law did come to a functional end with Christ,however, I will not allow myself that luxury until we study the Gospel records to discoverChrist’s attitude toward the law. To bring the issue into focus, respond to the followingtrue and false quiz.___ True; ___ False: Christ did not keep the law as interpreted by the Rabbis but He didkeep all the biblical laws.___ True; ___ False: If Christ did not perfectly keep the biblical laws, He could not bemy Savior.___ True; ___ False: Christ kept the spirit of the law but broke the letter of the law.___ True; ___ False: Christ died for the broken law.___ True; ___ False: Christ’s righteousness is perfect law-keeping.___ True; ___ False: If Christ broke the Sabbath, then He could not be my Savior.Before we get to the actual study of the Gospels we must lay a foundation. If we aregoing to be biblical in our study, we must conclude that the Mosaic Law is one law, nottwo or three. True, there are moral, ritual and societal aspects of the law but theycomprise one law.1Let us first examine Christ’s attitude and actions toward the ceremonial or ritualaspects of the Mosaic Law. Then we will investigate Christ’s disposition and conducttoward the moral aspects of this law. Lastly we will tie down a number of loose endsregarding our subject.Christ and Ritual LawAs the gospel record advances from the beginning of Christ’s ministry to the end we willsee a development in our topic. At first there are inferences, then we will see someevidence and then hard evidence. We start with Mark.And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If Youare willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touchedhim, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, “See that you say nothingto anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as atestimony to them.” Mk. 1:40-44If Jesus could heal by a word of command2 why did He choose to heal this uncleanleper with a touch? Why did Jesus sternly warn this man to say nothing to anyone aboutthis healing? The answer was obvious to the original readers of Mark’s gospel who knewthe law and its interpretation. By touching this leper, Jesus made Himself unclean. Whilethere is no specific biblical law stating that someone touching a leper becomes rituallyunclean, it is nevertheless, clearly assumed in the passage below.As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall beuncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ “He shall remain unclean all thedays during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside thecamp. Lev. 13:45-46This explains Mark 1:45But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent thatJesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming toHim from everywhere.It is evident that the reason Jesus was forced to say out in unpopulated areas was thatHe was considered unclean because of His contact with the leper.For the next example of Christ’s relationship to ritual law we turn to the episode ofthe healing of Jairus’s daughter in Mark 5:21–43. Jesus is approached by a synagogueofficial who implored Christ to come and heal his daughter who was “at the point ofdeath.” As Jesus and the crowd that followed Him were on their way, a ritually uncleanwoman touched His garment. This was against the custom and was understood to makeJesus ritually unclean.3 At this point some people from the synagogue official’s homeannounced that the girl was dead to which Jesus responded, “Do not be afraid any longer,only believe.”When they arrived at the home, Jesus said, “Why make a commotion and weep? Thechild has not died, but is asleep.” and they began laughing at him. Then Jesus taking onlyhis three closest disciples and the child’s mother and father went into the room where thegirl was.Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I sayto you, get up!”). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. Andimmediately they were completely astounded. And He gave them strict orders that no one should knowabout this…Mk. 5:41-43Again, we note that Jesus took the girl by the hand and the Gospel writer under theguidance of the Holy Spirit chose to record this fact. We see nearly the same instructiongiven to the parents as to the leper, “And He gave them strict orders that no one shouldknow about this.” In this incident, we now have moved from inference to fact. Note thefollowing:The one who touches the corpse of any person shall be unclean for seven days. That one shall purifyhimself from uncleanness with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean;but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. Anyone whotouches a corpse, the body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of theLORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled onhim, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him. Num. 19:11-13According to this biblical law Jesus made himself unclean by touching the dead girl.Further, according to this law, “He defiled the tabernacle of the Lord” and should havebeen “cut off from Israel.”Some will argue that the girl was not really dead because Jesus said, “She is not dead,but sleeping.” However, this is the same term Jesus used when he described Lazarus whoclearly was dead.4 In Luke’s account we read, “he took her by the hand and called,saying, Child arise!” and her spirit returned…” indicating the girl had come back to life.In Mark 7:14–23 Jesus moves from doing things that were contrary to ritual law toteaching things contradictory to biblical ritual law.After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, andunderstand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things whichproceed out of the man are what defile the man. [“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”] When he hadleft the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them,“Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man fromoutside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?”(Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is whatdefiles the man. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts,murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, prideand foolishness. “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mk. 7:14-23The statement, “Thus he declared all foods clean” is in the best manuscripts andtherefore, should not be treated as some late scribal insertion. This teaching is in directcontradiction to the food laws in Lev. 11 but in harmony with new covenantunderstanding.5We now turn to the well-known incident of the healing at the pool of Bethesda inJohn 5. Jesus sees a man who has been a cripple for 38 years lying on his pallet. There isno indication in the record that this was an emergency. Jesus instructed the man to pickup his pallet and walk. This happened on Sabbath and the Jews immediately accusedJesus of breaking the Sabbath.For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” Jn. 5:16-17“Was doing,” in the sentence above, is in the imperfect continuos tense in Greek andcould be translated, “was continually doing these things.” If the actions of Jesus werewithin the biblical Sabbath law and he was supporting obedience to the law, we wouldexpect Jesus to explain to the Jews why His actions were within Sabbath law. However,His answer is shocking. “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”John now records the following loaded sentence.For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only wasbreaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Jn. 5:18Again, “was breaking” is in the continuous tense in Greek. The root word used herefor “breaking”, is the same for “destroy” and is often translated that way. This versecould be correctly translated, “He was continually destroying the Sabbath.”While there are many more examples we could consider,6 we can now make somegeneral conclusions.1. Jesus always let the moral and ethical considerations of a given situation dictate hisactions weather or not his actions were in violation of Rabbinical or even biblical rituallaw.2. At times it seems that Jesus purposely went out of His way to violate ritual law. Hewould often heal by a word of command when a touch would have been appropriate. Yetwhen a touch would make Him ritually unclean, He often chose to heal in that manor.Again, He could heal by a word, yet on the Sabbath he chose to heal by “making mud”7and telling a man to “pick up his pallet and walk.” When confronted by the Jewsregarding his questionable Sabbath keeping His answer was “My Father is working untilnow and I, Myself, am working.”8Some of our readers may feel very confused at this point. Please continue to readbecause what now appears confusing will become crystal clear very soon!Christ and Moral Laws of the Mosaic CodeWhat was Christ’s attitude to the moral laws in the Mosaic Code? Probably the bestexamples are found in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Space limitations permitonly a few examples.“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoevercommits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brothershall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guiltybefore the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”Mt. 5:21-22Here Jesus refers to the fifth commandment. This is not an exact quote because “shallbe liable to the court” is not in the O. T. Scripture yet is appropriate and was true inJewish law. Note how Jesus modifies and expands this moral law by showing that the evilpassions of anger and angry, insulting talk are sins that when committed bring guiltworthy of fiery hell.In Matt. 5:27, 28 Jesus does the same thing with the seventh commandment. Hemodifies and expands the act of adultery to include even the look and thought of lust.Of special interest is Matt. 5:33–37 where Jesus refers to the law of vows found inNum. 30:2; Deut. 23:21–23. I list this in the “moral law” section because making a vow(promise) to God is certainly a moral act and should be seen as an expansion of “Youshall not bear false witness against your neighbor” which, by itself, is a very narrow law.“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALLFULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is thethrone of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THEGREAT KING. “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. “Butlet your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. Mt. 5:33-37Granted the Jews of Jesus’ day were abusing vows, however, a careful reading of theabove statement compared with the Old Testament law indicates that Jesus iscondemning something permitted, even approved, in the Law. But how did he change it?He modified it and expanded it in such a way that it would correct the abuse the Jewswere making of vows which were within the letter of the Mosaic Code.In Matt. 5:43–48 Jesus said,“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I sayto you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Fatherwho is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteousand the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the taxcollectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do noteven the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”While Scripture does not say, “hate your enemy,” we should not be too quick tocondemn the Jewish leaders for teaching this for it could be implied from other portionsof the law. There are many statements in the law that show a distinction in the moral andethical nature of how an Israelite was to treat a fellow Israelite compared to how he wasto treat a foreigner. For example,“You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may beloaned at interest. “You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not chargeinterest… Deut. 23:19-20Therefore, when Jesus speaks about loving our enemies, He modifies and expands theMosaic moral law beyond ethnic boundaries to include (foreign) enemies who persecuteus!It may be of interest to many of our readers how Ellen White interpreted this verse(loving our neighbors) as she was “shown by God” in vision. Seehttp://www.ratzlaf.com/downloads.htm.While there are many other examples that could be given, we can now make ageneralized summary of Christ’s attitude toward the moral laws in the Mosaic Code.1. Jesus modified and expanded the moral laws of the Old Testament raising their moraland ethical considerations beyond that of the written law.2. Jesus modified and expanded the moral laws of the Old Testament changing themfrom legal rules to moral and ethical principles.3. Jesus modified and expanded the scope of the moral laws of the Old Testamentmoving them beyond laws for Israel alone to ethical and moral principles for every nationtongue and people.9Righteousness Beyond the Law—New Testament AgreementSome have defined righteousness as “perfect obedience to the law.” This may be true forold covenant righteousness, but it falls far below that presented in the new covenant. Notehow the following New Testament references associate law and righteousness.But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by theLaw and the Prophets, Rom. 3:21. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heirof the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of theLaw are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; Rom. 4:13-14. What shall we say then? ThatGentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is byfaith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Rom. 9:30-31. For notknowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves tothe righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.Rom. 10:3-4. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, thenChrist died needlessly.” Gal. 2:21. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to bejustified by law; you have fallen from grace. Gal. 5:4. …and may be found in Him, not having arighteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, therighteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, Phil. 3:9.Personal IllustrationsWhen I was a seminary student I worked nights at the YMCA in Benton Harbor, Mich.About midnight, one cold winter night, I was crossing the street with the manager of theYMCA. We came to an intersection where the facing light was red. There were no cars insight in any direction. However, I, a good law keeper, stood there waiting for the light toturn green. Suddenly, I realized my friend was walking into the red light. He said to me,“You are still under law. I am under grace.” While his statement may not fully apply,nevertheless it was instructive. The law of red and green lights was designed to preventaccidents. However in our case there was no chance to get hit by a passing car as nonewere in sight. It was therefore appropriate to violate the letter of the law as long as it didnot violate the principle of safety—as long as no legalistic cops were watching!The other day I was at the busy post office getting LAM’s mail. A mother was therewith two small girls. As they approached the parking lot she said, “Now you must takeMommy’s had as there are many cars here.” This was a very good law for two little girls,however, don’t put your 16 year old boy under the same law! Rather as soon as he is oldenough, teach the principle of “safety first”! That principle will serve him well the rest ofhis life no matter what the circumstances.I believe this is the way we should consider the old covenant laws. They are holy, justand good for the conditions and people to whom they were given. Now, however, life inthe Spirit moves us to live beyond the letter of the law to follow the principles taught byChrist and written on our heart by the Holy Spirit. We are no longer children, we are sonsand daughters of God.Biblical TeachingBut before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later tobe revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified byfaith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faithin Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:23-26; But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of awoman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we mightreceive the adoption as sons. Gal. 4:4-5. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be knownby God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desireto be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, thatperhaps I have labored over you in vain. Gal. 4:9-11Righteousness Beyond the Law—Moral vs. RitualNew covenant Christians must be diligent here. It is human nature to give moralsignificance to established ritual customs. I was taught that the communion bread must bemade out of whole-wheat flour and olive oil. I was almost scandalized when I visited achurch that used white flour! It was instructive to me that a detailed recipe was given inthe old covenant law for the bread of the presence and how it should be laid out as an“everlasting covenant”.10 In the new covenant, however, no such details are given. Newcovenant righteousness deals with heart issues not rituals. Some argue over which way tobaptize: forward, backward, three times, in the name of Jesus only or in the name of theFather, Son and Holy Spirit. We could even extend it to sprinkling or immersion.11Again, the most important thing is our commitment to Christ, inviting Him to be Lordand Master of our lives! Anytime rituals become the important thing, the moral andethical nature of new covenant righteousness is compromised.Righteousness Beyond the Law—Found Only In ChristNew-covenant Christians have a much higher model to pattern after than the old covenantlaw. There is nothing in the new covenant or “living under grace” that opens any door towillfully living in sin. Rather, new covenant morality is above and beyond that of the law.When we say this there are two considerations that must be emphasized lest wemisunderstand the good news of the gospel. The first is motive. When living under thelaw there is a motive to try to perfectly keep the law so that we can be accepted. This, asmany of us can testify, is continually frustrating if we take the law seriously, be it thebiblical law or the writings of Ellen G. White. There are many who instruct others to“keep the Sabbath” when there are few, probably no one, who has kept it according to thebiblical law, let alone Ellen White’s numerous laws regarding Sabbath keeping.12However the new covenant motive is different. Our sanctified living is not done from themotive of trying to be good enough to be accepted. Rather, it springs from the fact ofacceptance! We live like sons and daughters of God because that is who we are! Our goalis to live like the kind of person we now are in Christ!The second consideration we must understand is that new covenant righteousness isfound only in Christ! We look to Him and Him alone as our Representative andSubstitute! If we are Christ’s then we, with the Apostle Paul may say,More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus myLord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which isthrough faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, Phil. 3:8-9Hopefully, we have answered the questions regarding the “righteousness of the law” forthe sincere seekers of truth. We believe that the New Testament teaches that the law cameto a functional end with Christ. Now we have moral and ethical principles above andbeyond that of the law. We have life in the Spirit that empowers us to follow after theexample of Christ. We can by faith claim Christ’s righteousness which far surpasses therighteousness of the law. Yes, we can enter true rest in Christ, the rest that remains forthose who believe.1 See Riggle, The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, p. 51-61 for the biblical support for this statement.2 See Mark 1:25.3 See Lev. 15:19–25.4 John 11:11.5 Acts 10, 11; Rom. 14:14.6 See Alan Watson, Jesus and the Law [University of Georgia Press, 1996] for many more examples.7 John 9:6.8 Note the stress on “working” in John 5:17; 9:3–6.9 See Matt. 28:18–20.10 Lev. 24:5–8.11 As a pastor I have always baptized by immersion as I think this is the biblical model and more fullyfollows the symbol of the reality. We must, however, keep ritual in its place and not allow it to takeprecedence over the ethical and moral commitment of the person being baptized.12 See Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Crisis, pp. 57–59; 306–309.
AMEN KRISS! The Holy Ghost is our Rest, the Daily Baptism and REGENERATION of the Holy Ghost is our Rest.
Copy and paste the link below for a short, great video about the Sabbath:amightywind.com/TVTrueSabbath.htm#cscreenIf that does not work copy and paste this:youtube.com/watch?v=qv0W1HgwmSsYAHUSHUA is the Messiah! :shepard:
It is amazing what an emotive topic the Sabbath is
! One problem for me with the Sat v. Sun debate is that if one is going to demand that Sat is the only viable day then whose Sat does one take? We live in a world divided into timezones, which means even those dedicated to Sat are actually observing their Sabbath at different times to each other. Should everyone observe Jerusalem Sat or their own timezone (which surely did not exist at the time God gave his 10 commandments). Secondly, although God rested on the seventh day after the Creation, this was not defined as "Saturday" (which I believe is based on Roman mythology anyway). Nor have I found anywhere that God gave Adam or any other person a directive to observe a cyclical Sabbath ritual until the Hebrews were walking through the desert. Thirdly, this law was only given to the Isrealites at that time, the chosen people, the pagans at that stage were not burdened with it. Therefore surely the question is whether the obligation to observe the OT law given to the Hebrews in fact transferred to the non-Hebrews at a later stage. Fourthly, the fact that there is nothing in the NT that specifically "cancels" the Sabbath for Christians as a law is not relevant because there was nothing that imposed it upon them in the first place. Certainly, Jesus confirmed that the content of the OT law was not diminished in any way, but its formula was changed - from rule-based to love-based. It is surely true that the essense of the Sabbath has not changed. We still have the need to rest in God (Christ), the need to remember God's creation works, and to take time out to worship. But this is nowhere in the NT intended to tie anyone to a specific day (in fact Paul specifically argues against specific days). That, for me, is the purpose of saying that the Sabbath is for man and not man for the Sabbath. Fifth, for me it is very relevant that at the Council of Jerusalem, which specifically dealt with the issue of what pagan converts should observe, it was explicitly decided to omit compulsory circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses. In Acts 15:5 it says, "some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." It continues that the apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them:" Brothers.......why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?" ( Acts 15:6-10 ). Peter then sums it up nicely in v11 saying, "No! we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." They then went to the enormous lengths of actually composing and sending a letter to the gentiles telling them what they should bear in mind. If the 7-day cyclical Sabbath is SO critical to faith, is it not an act of gross omission not to have included it in this letter? God obviously knew at that time how controversial this issue would be become as a result, so would he not have taken care to ensure it was included if He still required it in the same fashion? Sixth, the writer of Hebrews specifically addresses the issue of the 7-day cyclical Sabbath for the Hebrews and the now continuing, non-stop Sabbath for the Christians in Christ. Seventh, if one is going to suggest that the world should observe a Sat 7-day cyclical Sabbath, then it is necessary to also define what works are permitted on this day. As Jesus showed, acts of brotherly love are permitted, so doctors may work? What about the restaurant workers so that the doctor can eat? the taxi driver on stand-by in case a doctor's car won't start? Who, and with what authority, is going to draw up this list of what is and is not permitted on Saturdays - and without forming a huge rule book of the kind that Jesus condemned?
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