Author Andy Stanley, the Evangelical preacher at the North Point Community Church in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia, has recently caused quite a stir among his peers and many theologians.
In a recent column in Relevant magazine, entitled “Why Do Christians Want to Post the Ten Commandments And Not the Sermon on the Mount?” Stanley argued that the ten commandments are not binding on Christians.
“The Ten Commandments played a significant role in God’s creation of the nation of Israel. It gave them moral guidelines and helped separate this new nation from their neighbors. This was part of the formal agreement (or covenant) God created with his people, but Jesus’ death and resurrection signaled the end of that covenant and all the rules and regulations associated with it,” Stanley wrote.
In response various religious leaders have called Stanley’s remarks, “dangerous,” “reckless,” and “confused.”
However, the Bible affirms the correctness of Andy’s observations, at least in this regard.
The apostle Paul repeatedly stated in his epistles that the old covenant has been replaced with the new covenant. In Colossians 2:14, he wrote that the old law was “taken away” and “nailed to the cross.”
In the Ephesian letter, Paul argues that the law separated Jews and Gentiles, but now through Christ both are one.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity (Eph 2:14-16).
The Hebrew writer constantly affirmed that the we are today under a “better covenant,” based on a “better sacrifice” with Jesus as a “better High Priest” providing “better promises” that offers us a “better hope” (Heb. 1:4, 7:19,8:6, 9:23). He calls the law “a shadow of good things to come,” that could not “take away sins” (10:1). And that Christ’s vicarious death on the cross took away the first law that He might establish the second (10:1-16).
Stanley’s point is well taken. “Thanks to the new covenant, we aren’t required to sacrifice animals to stay on speaking terms with God. Skim through Leviticus and you’ll discover a whole lot of things we aren’t required to do.”
“We need to stop mixing the old with the new,” Stanley warns. “The church has a terrible habit of selectively rebranding aspects of the old covenant and smuggling them into the new.”
Furthermore Stanley’s observations are in line with Jesus’ own statement about coming to “fulfill the law” and Paul’s explanation that “Christ was the end of the law” (Matt 5:17-18; Rom. 10;4).
“While Jesus was foreshadowed in the old covenant, he did not come to extend it. He came to fulfill it, put a bow on it, and establish something entirely new. The “new” Jesus unleashed made the faith of first-century believers formidable. Their apologetic was irrefutable. Their courage, unquestionable. And the results were remarkable.”
I would disagree with Stanley’s implication in his article that the command to “love one another” replaced all other commandments and is the only one we are to obey. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15).
In fact, scattered throughout the New Testament 9 of the 10 commandments are restated as a part of Christ’s law for Christians (Rom 13:8-10;Gal 5:19-21). The only exception being “Remember the Sabbath (Saturday) and keep is holy” which is replaced with a new day for Christian worship on the first day of the week (Ax 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1-2).
While we are not under the laws of the Old Testament, we learn much from its teaching. Paul reminds us of its value. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:4).
It is important to be reminded that neither Andy Stanley, evangelical theologians, nor Ken Weliever and ThePreachersWord are the absolute standard of authority in religious matters.
“Search the Scriptures to see if these things are so” (Acts 17:11)
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
Dear Ken, Could you talk about the 4th Commandment and the general position of COC members on honoring it. Please include at least something on Genesis and rest in teaching us in the COC general members view. Thx, Stephen
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Hey Stephen, I can do that. I will try to work it in next week. Thanks for reading, commenting, and asking questions.
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https://thepreachersword.com/2019/01/25/how-should-christians-regard-the-sabbath/
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ken, I disagree about your thoughts on the command “loving one another” even Jesus said if we love one another we fulfill the royal law, which includes all the commands of Christ. If we love then we are not going to violate what was fulfilled at the cross.
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I will make an assertion here. If anyone is really interested in the Biblical source for these conclusions, I would be happy to provide it.
The Covenant of Abraham is the New Covenant. It was made 430 years prior to The Law of Moses. The Abrahamic Covenant was offered to Israel God said if Israel would keep His Covenant they would become a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation, a peculiar people” out of all the nations of the earth. This Blood Covenant instituted with Abraham was then spoken by God to all Israel, then written by the finger of God in tablets of stone.
Notice the verbiage in Exodus 19. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 `And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exo 19:5-6 NKJ)
The voice was from Sinai, confirming the Abrahamic Covenant, i.e. obey my voice. Note that the Ten Commandments are a covenant separate from the Old Covenant, but a covenant unto themselves. “So He declared [spoke] to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. (Deu 4:13 NKJ)
Israel, had they obeyed, would bring people to God, as priests. They refused to have direct access to God as priests and said Moses become the mediator. Therefore God instituted the Mosaic Covenant, the Law of Moses and that was added to the Abrahamic Covenant. He also instituted the Aaronic priesthood and all the “trappings” that went along with them.
In Christ the Abrahamic Covenant was confirmed and fulfilled in the Blood of Jesus, and the Law of Moses was vanishing away until 70 AD when is was finally completely removed. This left the Abrahamic Covenant, which came to be called the New Covenant, because Jesus finalized it, causing the Mosaic Covenant to become the “Old Covenant.” That is why “And if you are Christ’s, THEN you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. [to Abraham] (Gal 3:29 NKJ)
And finally, the two Covenants at the time of Moses are revealed juxtaposed.
So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 “And the LORD COMMANDED ME at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess. (Deu 4:13-14 NKJ)
So revealed at Sinai is the Abrahamic Covenant confirmed to Israel before the Law of Moses, and the Law of Moses. Note that the law of Moses is stated, “…that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.”
Confusion comes when the Covenant of Abraham is confused or conflated with the Old Covenant.
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Great article, Ken! Perfect for sharing with my four sisters (Methodist and Assembly of God- we were raised Methodist). Nothing I have tried to teach in the past has worked, but if they read this article, hopefully it will get them to thinking.
Thank you!
Dorthy
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Thanks, Dorthy. Tomorrow I’m writing on the Sabbath. Maybe the two together will prove helpful. I hope so.
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well, a little later than I orginally thought, but here it is. https://thepreachersword.com/2019/01/25/how-should-christians-regard-the-sabbath/
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ABOUT –
“”The Ten Commandments played a significant role in God’s creation of the nation of Israel. It gave them moral guidelines and helped separate this new nation from their neighbors. This was part of the formal agreement (or covenant) God created with his people, but Jesus’ death and resurrection signaled the end of that covenant and all the rules and regulations associated with it,” ”
&
However, the Bible affirms the correctness of Andy’s observations, at least in this regard.
The apostle Paul repeatedly stated in his epistles that the old covenant has been replaced with the new covenant. In Colossians 2:14, he wrote that the old law was “taken away” and “nailed to the cross.”
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Dear Ken,
I see a problem with this according to scripture. Colossians 2:14 is not talking about the law of GOD. It reads “Blotting out the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; *(KJV)
I asked myself in this study simply, “What is a ORDINANCE??” I found my answer in the book of Numbers 19:2 (KJV) “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:” and then I looked in Ezekiel 45:14 (KJV) “Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer:”
Therefore in the word of GOD, Paul never stated that the old law was taken away, but a “HANDWRITING” of Ordinances with an “s” meaning more then one Ordinance. They were offerings representing the ultimate offering, which is Christ Jesus who was “nailed to the cross”.
I also looked at the prophecy of the Messiah in the book of Daniel 9:27 (KJV). ” And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…” I see here that Jesus who is the Messiah shall be cut off and He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, not the 10 Commandments.
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The 2 Covenants.
When It came to understanding Covenant, I must understand first what a covenant is. According to Websters 1828 Dictionary (http://webstersdictionary1828.com/) “. A mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons, to do or to forbear some act or thing; a contract; stipulation. A covenant is created by deed in writing, sealed and executed; or it may be implied in the contract.” As you can see that the Covenants were agreements or a contract between GOD and His people which involved conditions and terms.
Therefore if we are to be GOD’s people today, we must abide by the terms of the new covenant.
So i found in Hebrews chapter 8 ” For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”
I know that the Jews were called the house of Israel, and therefore we are now called Jews inwardly “28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2, KJV)
Therefore I must understand what is the old covenant that was replaced. Was it the 10 Commandments just because it was in the old testament or does the bible give us a literal answer. The answer is found in Paul’s letter in Romans 2 and Romans 3 (KJV), “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. – 9 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.”
Again we see here that ordinance is mentioned; which was a “divine service” [ of offerings ] surrounding a worldly sanctuary. These ordinances were conducted during the annual feast which involved sacrifices that represented Christ our Sacrifice. When Jesus came to the world His blood was sufficient to make an atonement for our sins in the true tabernacle in which He ascended into the heavens and entered in upon the work of our High Priest.
Then I looked to Jesus in the word and found Him speaking of the law in the sermon on the mount. Jesus stated in Matthew 5 (KJV) “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.”
What does this word fulfill mean in the context of Jesus’s coming? So I looked in the strongs Concordance for this word is not in the 1828 dictionary [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4137&t=KJV] and I found the greek word ” plēroō ” (G4137) which means (A.) to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally (B.) to consummate: a number (C.) to carry into effect, bring to realisation, realise.
I truly believe that He came to be our example in Keeping The 10 Commandments in Exodus perfectly. He truly did made of effect the law of GOD.
Today I have found that this Covenant still require strict obedience to the Commandments of GOD (GOD’s LAW), which includes the 7th-day Sabbath (From Friday evening unto Saturday evening) and it’s statues. Now GOD, instead of writing the Law upon tables of stone, He writes them upon the heart and the mind, embedding His law in your morale character. As you remain faithful and obey, GOD gives you the holy spirit which works upon the heart to help our human nature and infirmities. A promise from GOD to His people according to Ezekial 36 (KJV) “27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
“7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.” – Jesus Christ. (Mark 7:7-8 KJV)
Here, Jesus mentions the Commandments of GOD being replaced with the traditions of men.
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Commandments Mentioned by Jesus is the New Testiment
So what did Jesus mean when He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” in John 13:34 (KJV) ?
and what did Jesus mean when He said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” when the Lawyer, tempting him by asked him, ” Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”
In these verse I do not see an announcement of any new law “replacing” the 10 Commandments (Law) of GOD nor do we see see the answer to the Lawyer’s question showing any replacement of that same law. But we can search out the meaning of Christ words. He said the First “great Commandments – “Love the Lord thy GOD”, How do we do this? Does the scripture show us distinctly how to do this? Yes it does in Exodus 20.
Upon the 1st Table of Stone – Love to GOD (1st Commandment)
And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Upon the 2nd Table of Stone – Love to Fellow man. (2nd Commandment)
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
The way I came to this understanding and conclusion is because of what Jesus said in this same context according to Matthew’s account in Matthew chapter 22:37-40, but he concluded with Jesus stating ” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”
Therefore All the law is great and the prophets taught us to keep these commandments which included the correct biblical Sabbath (friday evening unto Saturday evening).
In conclusion to the searching the scriptures and considering all the bible, I have found that in the end GOD’s people are identified in heaven not by title, trade. nor color, weather they have a theology degree or not. It is by Keeping the Commandments and words of GOD unto everlasting life motivated by love and charity in the heart. In the book of Revelations i found this verse ” Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Jesus surely is our High Priest standing in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary which was pitched by the Lord and not by any man (Heb.8 KJV). Surly we are under a better Covenant because the ordinances, sacrifices, and oblations have ceased. We do not have to go to a worldly tabernacle to make offerings for sin, peace, and thanks. We must keep the commandments of GOD and teach men to do so by example and utterance.
When Adam failed to keep the Commandments of GOD, Jesus became our ransom so that the law would be preserved and unchanged.Therefore Peter said “Repent ye therefore and be ye converted that your sins maybe blotted out at the time of refreshing when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Our Sins are to be blotted out and we are to be presented faultless before the Great White throne of the Father as we have never sinned forever being in harmony with the law of GOD.
GOD truly is love to go through so much trouble and effort to save us
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About-
In fact, scattered throughout the New Testament 9 of the 10 commandments are restated as a part of Christ’s law for Christians (Rom 13:8-10;Gal 5:19-21). The only exception being “Remember the Sabbath (Saturday) and keep is holy” which is replaced with a new day for Christian worship on the first day of the week (Ax 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1-2).
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Answer – 2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
This text states that ALL SCRIPTURE .. is profitable for INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS..
*Acts 20:7 (KJV) says “they came together upon the first day of the week” in a literal since, but this text does not mention a new Sabbath or that the 4th Commandment was replaced with Sunday.
– In Acts 2:46 we see this “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”
The people that believe on Jesus, were together “daily” with one accord. In like manner in Acts 20:7 “they came together” but there is no new Sabbath mentioned or shown or the commandment would read “rest upon the 1st day” which is impossible for the 7th-day was made at creation in Genesis and is the only day Sanctified and hollowed meaning to set apart for holly use, even unto GOD.
* 1 Corinthians 16 :1-2 (KJV) says ” Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
– The Question is.. Does this say, “The first day of the week replace the hollowed and sanctified day?” NO! The instruction is about a tithe & offering to lay in store for it states “as GOD hath prospered him.”
Therefore According to scripture the Commandments where written by the Finger GOD upon the tables of stone and and where place in the Ark of the Covenant which was a type and shadow to the Throne of GOD in Heaven. Jesus being the High Priest in the heavenly Tabernacle ministering in the holies of holies before GOD, The Actual Law of GOD is there also baring the same inscription found in Exodus 20 on two tables. For Jesus said, “ONE JOT OR ONE TITTLE .. shall in no wise pass from the law..” Matthew 5:18 (KJV)
Men are wrong and our minds are degraded by sin, we do not discern the sinfulness of sin and teaching others to do the same. Our only Safety is the word of GOD. There not one text in the whole entire bible supporting a sunday Sabbath or a change to GOD’s holy day. The origin is worth studying out, and therein you choose whom you will serve and obey at all cost. You may obtain the frown of family members and loose positions and money, but Great is your reward in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I do love your souls and all people and want every Christian not to be ignorant of GOD’s will and the history of how everything came to be. History tells us the Sun-Day is Pagan and comes from the Catholic Church, who teaches confusion. Take a look at this quesiton and answer from Catholic Answers website.
Question:
Until recently, I always thought Catholics worshiped on the Sabbath, and that the early Church moved the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Is this true?
Answer:
This is a common misunderstanding. Catholics do not worship on the Sabbath, which according to Jewish law is the last day of the week (Saturday), when God rested from all the work he had done in creation (Gen. 2:2-3). Catholics worship on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week (Sunday, the eighth day); the day when God said “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3); the day when Christ rose from the dead; the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles (Day of Pentecost). The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The Church celebrates the day of Christ’s Resurrection on the ‘eighth day,’ Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord’s Day” (CCC 2191).
The early Church did not move the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Instead “The Sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday, which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ” (CCC 2190). Sunday is the day Catholics are bound to keep, not Saturday.
[https://www.catholic.com/qa/did-the-early-church-move-the-sabbath-from-saturday-to-sunday]
When you read this answer given by the Catholic Church, they state and “8th day” is celebrated on the “1st -day” . This is not only confusion by you may ask the question, by what authority? Who told them to do this or teach this as truth? The First day has become also an 8th day? This plan shuts out creation week and it’s order from the minds of them who accepts this as truth. Then they declare SUNDAY as the “Lord’s Day”. Where does it say in the bible that the LORD’s day was Sunday or the First day of the week? Jesus said “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day”.. which was on the 7th-day, not on the 1st day of the week. At the end of this answer we see the bold affirmation, “SUNDAY is the day CATHOLICS are bound to keep, not SATURDAY”. A Catholic is not a Christian, and a Christian is not a Catholic. Though there be many Catholics in their heart believe that they are following the truth. The Origin of the Catholic Church begin with Rome, and the man of sin is revealed in Constantine all the way down to the present day Pope who made a decree to enforce worship upon the venerable day of the sun.
Here is another Current Statement from the Catholic Church on the 4th Commandment which is their 3rd Commandment they state.
“One of the most appealing teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination is their insistence that Christians must obey the Ten Commandments . . . all ten of them. They rightly expose the errant thinking among many Protestant Christian sects that claims, “We don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments for salvation anymore.” Of course, as Jesus reminds us: And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And [Jesus] said to him… “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17).” -Tim Staples
As you see the Catholic church do agree with this Sabbath keeping Faith, that keeping the Commandments is a requirement for salvation which includes the 4th apart of the 10, yet teach Catholics not to accept the bible as their only authority but in place of, accept the words of men.. “Given our agreement on this point, the Seventh-day Adventist commonly asks: “If you believe we have to keep the fourth (our third) commandment, why aren’t Catholics obliged to attend Mass on Saturdays instead of Sunday?” Why not Saturday? We can draw our first source from the the Catechism, which declares: … [https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/should-christians-keep-the-sabbath-or-celebrate-the-lords-day]
In this point, they draw their source from the words of men, just as the jew did which vain traditions and commandments of men over the voice of GOD. Is the Catechism the voice of GOD? NO! GOD’s voice is GOD’s voice, and His word is not void nor can be altered or changed. The Catholic Church claims “Later Vatican II also re-affirms that the Pope also enjoys the gift of infallibility. ” [http://www.aggiecatholicblog.org/2011/01/when-is-church-teaching-infallible/] There is no such gift bestowed upon any man from Heaven.
GOD said ” My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Psalms 8934 (KJV). Yet the Catholic Church claims power to do this very thing!
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Roman Catholic admissions
“Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible” (“To Tell You the Truth,” The Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947, p. 9).
“But since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn’t it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible, and not the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Yes of course, it is inconsistent; but this change was made about 15 centuries before Protestantism was born, and by that time the custom was universally observed. They have continued the custom, even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text in the Bible” (Dr. John O’Brien, Faith of Millions, pp. 543-544).
“You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify” (James Cardinal Gibbons, Faith of our Fathers, 88th ed., p. 89).
“Q: Which is the Sabbath day?
“A: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
“Q: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“A: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday” (Peter Geiermann, The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1957, p. 50).
Protestants follow Rome’s lead
“The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word ‘remember,’ showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?” (Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting, pp. 47-48).
Anglican/Episcopal: “Where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day … The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it” (Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, 1882, Vol. 1, pp. 334, 336).
Baptist: “There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will however be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the Seventh to the First day of the week … Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament—absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the Seventh to the First day of the week …
“To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ discussion with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question … never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated …
“Of course I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the sun-god, adopted and sanctioned by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism” (Dr. Edward Hiscox, before a New York ministers’ conference, Nov. 13, 1893, as reported in the New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893).
“There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance” (William Owen Carver, The Lord’s Day in Our Day, 1940, p. 49).
Congregationalist: “It is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath … The Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday” (Dr. R.W. Dale, The Ten Commandments, 1884, p. 100).
Disciples of Christ: “The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change” (Alexander Campbell, First Day Observance, pp. 17, 19).
Lutheran: “But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel … These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect” (John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday, pp. 15-16).
Methodist: “Take the matter of Sunday. There are indications in the New Testament as to how the church came to keep the first day of the week as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling Christians to keep that day or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day” (Harris Franklin Rall, Christian Advocate, July 2, 1942, p. 26).
Presbyterian: “The Sabbath is a part of the Decalogue—the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution … Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand … The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath” (T.C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pp. 474-475).
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In conclusion, we stand alone on every point with GOD as if we are the only ones in the world. We must humble ourselves before Him for their is nothing that goes unnoticed in all of His creation. Jesus declared that GOD is good and careth for us, and Satan is our enemy coming to lie and destroy. This same Jesus came to give us an example unto obedience, and by Him we are brought to the Father. If any of that law is to be changed which reveals the character of GOD then Jesus would not have needed to come and die, nor is there an atonement needed to be made. Yet James said, 2:10 (KJV) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. Therefore this one point can be any of the 10 Commandments.
Therefore there is work for us to do in co-laboring with Christ, our Character must be refined and developed by sanctification and obedience. Jesus has the power to make us sons and daughters on a condition of obedience and a willingness to serve Him in spirit and in Truth.
Psalms 119:151 (KJV)
“Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.”
May GOD be with your heart ..
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Of course the Ten Commandments are binding today. God established them and man cannot nullify not a one of them especially the one Yahweh knew Satan would attack. That’s why He wrote at the start of the fourth commandment the word “Remember…”. Man can justify nullifying laws that he has no business nullifying. When Yeshua returns, He will still continue to honor the Sabbath as He and the apostles honored the sabbath by teaching in the synagogue each sabbath. Man can rewrite laws, but he cannot eliminate the fourth commandment in a chain of ten. God said if you break one you break them all. Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Whenever I look at the sky, I am reminded that Yahweh’s Ten Commandments still stand. Matthew 5:18 states,
“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.” The heaven and the earth still remain. So rest assured not one jot or one tittle of the Ten Commandments passed away–not even the fourth commandment in which God starts off with “Remember the Sabbath Day.” Remember we can choose to sin against God, but in the end we will suffer weeping and gnashing of teeth. Why? The deceiver deceived the masses into believing a lie. When they thought they were serving Yahweh, they suddenly discovered Yahweh’s voice so long ignored saying “Get away from me, I never knew you!” Then there indeed will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when they discover that Satan deceived them into believing a lie.
If the laws (ordinances/book of laws) are done away, why pay tithes that are nailed to the cross? The truth is that Yahweh’s words are twisted and convoluted to confuse and manipulate and hoodwink the people of God.
The Ten Commandments that define sin remain; however, the laws written in ordinances are nailed to the cross. The ordinances were added unto the Ten Commandments because the people of Yahweh committed a transgression by dancing around the golden calf. Yahweh added those ordinances, but Yeshua’s death nailed them to the cross–not the Ten Commandments. As long as the heaven exist, Yahweh’s Ten Commandments abide.
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Whenever I look at the sky, I am reminded that Yahweh’s Ten Commandments still stand. Matthew 5:18 states,
“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.” The heaven and the earth still remain. So rest assured not one jot or one tittle of the Ten Commandments passed away–not even the fourth commandment in which God starts off with “Remember the Sabbath Day.” Remember we can choose to sin against God, but in the end we will suffer weeping and gnashing of teeth. Why? The deceiver deceived the masses into believing a lie. When they thought they were serving Yahweh, they suddenly discovered
If the laws (ordinances/book of laws) are done away, why pay tithes that are nailed to the cross? The truth is that Yahweh’s words are twisted and convoluted to confuse and manipulate and hoodwink the people of God.
The Ten Commandments that define sin remain; however, the laws written in ordinances are nailed to the cross. The ordinances were added unto the Ten Commandments because the people of Yahweh committed a transgression by dancing around the golden calf. Yahweh added those ordinances, but Yeshua’s death nailed them to the cross–not the Ten Commandments. As long as the heaven exist, Yahweh’s Ten Commandments abide.
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