But wait a minute! Jesus did not state the FIRST commandment
either. The commandment not to take the name of the Lord in
vain was not mentioned by Him, nor was the command "thou shalt
not covet." The SECOND commandment was not listed by Christ
either!
Does this mean (and following the logic of the argument above it
would) we can break these other commandments with impunity and
inherit the Kingdom? No Christian church that I am aware of
openly teaches its members that they can use "profanity," carve
some idol out of wood, set it up in their house or back yard,
worship it, and have eternal life.
Please let me reiterate, remember that God does not have to
repeat Himself in FULL all the time.
There is at times enough said by the Lord in His word for you to
be able to get the CLEAR INTENT of His message to you. This I
have expounded before with the example of Divorce and
Remarriage when Jesus took the Pharisees back to the intent of
God from the beginning in Genesis 2.
The answer of Christ to the rich young man, and the commandments
He did list, show the intent of Jesus. The young man and the
disciples would have got "the picture" - they knew what
law of God Jesus was referring to. They knew it was the TEN
commandment law! And if we are willing to be honest, we KNOW IT
ALSO!
It is not so hard to understand. Suppose you were born into a
family where your father had been an alcoholic at one time but was
now a member of the AA. From a child you had seen him every week
go off to attend AA meetings. As you grew older you became
aware of what that organization was all about, and how they had a
set of commandments its members should follow if they want
victory over their alcohol problem. You may have seen your
father fall at times and get drunk, repent of it, go off to the
AA meeting for more help and encouragement to overcome. You had
grown up in this environment, you knew the basic rules and the
list of commandments the AA had for such persons as your father.
Then one day after your father had been overcome by alcohol, he
comes to you crying and asking what he should do to gain
life from this problem. You answer him by saying he must follow
the rules, commandments, of his AA organization. He answers you
further by asking "which" commandments. You reply by quoting
three or four of their basic well known list. You would NOT HAVE
TO QUOTE THEM ALL for your father to get the point - the
intent - that you mean ALL OF THEM!
It is a common usage of speech. The intent is clearly understood
in such a situation. Nobody is trying to teach that commandments
are "done away" with under those circumstances of
conveying your intent of speech.
And so it was with Jesus' speech and answer to the question
posed by this rich man on how to have eternal life. The intent
of the answer was "keep the commandments - all ten of them."
Then we should be willing (unless we have some carnal axe to
grind) to realize from this passage that Jesus had the golden
opportunity to state that under the New Covenant, all of the ten
commandments should be obeyed EXCEPT the 4th one, for it
would be abolished at the cross - at His death, or when the NEW
covenant came into effect. Yes, what an opportunity for
Christ, but He didn't even give it a "close encounters" of the
1st, 2nd, 3rd, or any kind. The intent of Jesus was not to void
any of the big ten, but to establish them! Ah, and that was
one of the things the prophets foretold the Messiah would do when
He came. He was to ESTABLISH and MAGNIFY the law, and make it
HONORABLE - Isaiah 42:21.
Then we should also realize that the gospel of Matthew was not
written as Jesus actually said these words, but many YEARS AFTER
Christ had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.
If some new revelation had been given to the early apostolic
Church of God concerning the abrogation and revoking of the 4th
commandment, after the ascension of Jesus, then here was
an occasion for Matthew to INSERT in parentheses a remark to
clarify the NEW covenant position of no Sabbath command.
Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit, could have easily written
something like: Jesus said, Thou shalt not murder, Thou shalt
not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear
false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself (Thus Jesus was showing we should
obey the ten commandments - nine of them for we now know the
4th commandment is abolished).
How easy it would have been for the writers of the four gospels
to somewhere in the course of Jesus talking about the
commandments of God, to have inserted a parenthetical statement
to the effect that the Sabbath command was under the New
covenant, either void or changed to any one day in seven. It
would have been so easy to do if that had been the case, BUT IT
WAS NOT DONE BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENED. JESUS NEVER TAUGHT THE
SABBATH COMMAND WOULD BE ABOLISHED OR CHANGED. ON THE CONTRARY,
JESUS TAUGHT THE SABBATH WOULD BE OBSERVED BY HIS FOLLOWERS RIGHT
DOWN TO THE TIME OF HIS RETURN TO EARTH AND THE FIRST
RESURRECTION!
JUST BEFORE JESUS' RETURN - THE SABBATH IN EFFECT
Matthew chapter 24 is a prophetic chapter that concerns the TIME
JUST PRIOR TO AND UP TO THE COMING OF JESUS IN GLORY TO
THIS EARTH.
This chapter has really nothing to do with 70 A.D. and the
destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Rome. The intent
(there's that word again) of this prophetic message of Christ's
was NOT FOR 70 A.D. The very beginning words give you the plain
truth of the matter. Read them friends, they say what they mean
and mean what they say, you just have to believe them!
"And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto
Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and
WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING, AND OF THE END OF THE
WORLD?"
Jesus had just told them that all the stones of the Jerusalem
Temple would be thrown down to the ground - not one stone left
upon another (verses 1,2).
THAT HAS NOT YET TAKEN PLACE FRIEND!!
The so called "wailing wall" now standing in Jerusalem WAS APART
OF THE TEMPLE IN JESUS' TIME. THOSE STONES ARE STILL ON TOP OF
ONE ANOTHER!
This prophecy of Christ's is YET TO BE FULFILLED. IT WAS A
PROPHECY. THIS WHOLE CHAPTER 24 OF MATTHEW IS FOR THE END TIME,
SHORTLY BEFORE AND LEADING UP TO THE RETURN OF CHRIST AND THE
FIRST RESURRECTION.
The disciples asked Jesus for SIGNS of His COMING and the END OF
THE AGE (original Greek).
Jesus went on to give them the signs to watch for.
A child can see this. I was a child once. I had a red letter
Bible then as I do now - all the words of Jesus are in red
letters. As a child I had read over and over again the words of
Jesus as recorded in the four gospels. I had read Matthew 24
many times as a child. I did not understand it like I do
today, but one thing was VERY PLAIN to me. THIS WAS A PROPHECY
CONCERNING THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, AND THE SIGNS TO
WATCH LEADING UP TO HIS RETURN AND THE RESURRECTION.
As a child I knew NOTHING OF 70 A.D. I had never been taught it
in my grade school (remember I was attending a Church of England
school) or Sunday school. I was completely oblivious to the
history of some Roman armies devastating Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
But I was not oblivious to what I could read with my own eyes in
the first few verses of Matthew 24. There it was as plain as the
nose on your face. The disciples asked Jesus about HIS COMING AND
THE END OF THE AGE! You need to forget about this 70 A.D.
business.
Someone has put it in your head. It probably was not there
before someone came along and fed it to you. 70 A.D. is GONE -
it came and went a LONG TIME AGO - forget about it. This
prophecy of Christ's is FOR OUR TIME AND BEYOND!
There is YET coming an ABOMINATION that makes desolate the city
of Jerusalem - armies will yet surround Jerusalem and destroy it
- see the parallel account as given in Luke 21 and note
verses 20, 21.
When this is about to take place, when the time is very near that
Jerusalem is to be desolated and the stones of the temple of
Jesus' day will be thrown to the ground, "not one left upon
another,"
THEN THOSE CHRISTIANS LIVING IN JERUSALEM AND JUDEA ARE TO FLEE
TO THE MOUNTAINS!
Notice what Jesus said should be a part of the prayers of His
people at this END TIME, THE TIME LEADING TO HIS COMING AND THE
RESURRECTION: "But pray that your flight be not in the
winter, NEITHER ON THE SABBATH DAY" (verse 20).
This is FOR THE END TIME. The next verse also proves it. Verse
21 - at that time there is to come a time of trouble such as "was
not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be." This is the SAME TIME as foretold by Daniel in his
12th chapter and verse one.
Also by the prophet Jeremiah, chapter thirty, verses one to nine.
The time of trouble in 70 A.D. for Jerusalem was bad but not as
bad as the Second World War of 1939-45. The Second World War did
not lead up to the coming of Christ and the Resurrection, so this
prophecy of Matthew 24 is still YET FUTURE! And the desolation
of Jerusalem is yet to take place. When it does God's true
people living in Judea are to be praying their fleeing to the
mountains will not be on THE SABBATH! The Sabbath day is Holy,
it is to be kept holy, it is not to do "our own thing" on. It is
a day to rest physically, to worship the Lord in spiritual ways,
and not a day to be concerned about saving your physical
neck.
AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY, AT THE END TIME, WHEN ALL THAT HAD BEEN
NAILED TO THE CROSS AND "DONE AWAY WITH" WAS LONG TIME AGO CAST
OUT WITH THE ANIMAL SACRIFICES AND CIRCUMCISION, WHEN THE 4TH
COMMANDMENT WAS LONG TIME FORGOTTEN ABOUT, JESUS IS TELLING HIS
FOLLOWERS TO PRAY THEIR FLIGHT WILL NOT BE IN THE WINTER (winters
are still taking place today) NOR ON THE SABBATH DAY! JESUS
EXCEPTED HIS CHRISTIANS TO BE OBSERVING THE SABBATH - TO BE
REMEMBERING THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY - IN THE DAYS
SHORTLY BEFORE HIS RETURN AND THE RESURRECTION (verses
22-31).
ISAIAH'S PROPHECY ABOUT JESUS' RETURN IN GLORY AND THE SABBATH
COMMAND
The prophecy of Isaiah in chapters 54, 55, and 56, is in the main
one large prophetic utterance that is dealing with the end time -
the last few years before the Messiah's coming in glory to rule
and re-establish the 12 tribes of Israel, at the beginning of the
Kingdom of God on earth.
All the prophets foretell that at the coming of Christ in power
and glory, the tribes of Israel are in captivity in their enemies
lands, from which the Messiah delivers them and brings them back
into the Holy Land - the Promised Land of Palestine. There He
rebuilds and blesses them, pours out His Spirit on them and they
blossom as a rose garden to be a light of truth and salvation for
the nations of the world.
Chapter 54, verses 1-8 tell this truth just mentioned. Notice
verse 10. There will come great physical changes in the earth but
God's covenant of peace will never be removed. This has not
yet taken place - the tribes of Israel do not today have
perpetual peace. The children of the Israelites are not today
being taught of God by and large and peace and oppression and
terror has not yet ended, verses 13-17. When the Messiah Christ
comes it will.
Nations of the earth are not now running unto Israel to learn of
God. When these prophecies are fulfilled and Israel is glorified
the nations will run to them for knowledge of the true God -
chapter 55:1-13.
Now chapter 56. Notice what the first verse says: "Thus saith
the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for MY SALVATION IS
NEAR TO COME, and my RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE REVEALED." This is a
special time in history, a time when God's salvation and
righteousness is to go forth in a way that it never went forth
before. If you want to argue that this was foretelling the start
of the NEW covenant spiritual Church of God, fine, I will accept
your view, in fact that view will add double weight to the
permanence of the 4th commandment, so believe it that way if
you will and see the Sabbath firmly established for the age of
grace.
The context shows this to be at the end time, when the Messiah
comes to bring a time of salvation and righteousness that is
different than at any other time in history. A time when
salvation and righteousness will go forth to all nations as never
before, when Israel will go forth with joy, and be led forth with
peace, when the mountains and the hills break forth with singing,
when the Holy One of Israel shall be called the God of THE WHOLE
EARTH (chapters 55:12; 54:5).
In this setting, when salvation will go forth to all nations,
what does the Lord choose as THE commandment with a special
covenant relationship between Him and those who will serve
Him? Does He choose the commandment about lying, or the command
not to covet, or the one that says "honor thy father and thy
mother," or the command not to take the Lord's name in vain?
No! God chooses the command that by the time the Messiah will
come in glory and power, the world at large, and even the people
who call themselves God's children, will, for the MOST PART, have
forgotten and have not remembered - the FOURTH COMMANDMENT that
says "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy...." God says,
"Blessed is the man that doeth this, that KEEPETH THE SABBATH
FROM POLLUTING IT...." (verse 2). How important does God think
His Sabbath command is? Look at the words He uses in connection
with this "covenant" of His.
"For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs (those cut off from
God)that KEEP MY SABBATHS, and choose the things that please Me,
and take hold of MY COVENANT; Even unto them will I give IN MY
HOUSE AND WITHIN MY WALLS a place and a name BETTER THAN OF SONS
AND OF DAUGHTERS: I WILL GIVE THEM AN EVERLASTING NAME, that
shall not be cut off" (verse 4, 5).
Wooowww! Does God look upon the Sabbath command as the "least of
the commandment" as some today do? These words here sure do not
give me that impression. Acquiring from the Lord a name BETTER
THAN SONS OR DAUGHTERS is mind numbing, and the Lord ties that
language and promise of His TOGETHER WITH SABBATH KEEPING!! A
prophecy about Sabbath keeping, written under the OLD
covenant, for the NEW COVENANT!
Will the New covenant be in force shortly before the Messiah
comes in glory? Sure it will!
As the reign of Christ begins on this earth, will the New
covenant CONTINUE? Sure it will.
Notice what the Lord continues to promise: "Also the sons of the
stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to SERVE Him, and to
LOVE the name of the Lord, to be His SERVANTS, every one that
KEEPETH THE SABBATH FROM POLLUTING IT, and taketh hold of my
covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make
them joyful in my house of prayer....... the Lord God which
gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather other's
to him, beside those that are gathered unto him" (verses 6-8).
The world at large will have forgotten God's Sabbath command by
the time Jesus the Messiah comes to reign and rule this
earth and the nations upon it. The Lord's word shall go forth at
this time, it will not return to Him void (chapter 55:11). A
part of that word of salvation and righteousness will be for all
nations and peoples to REMEMBER "the Sabbath from polluting it."
The Eternal God has not promised in His word that being His
child, being a Christian, would be like eating an ice-cream
sundae - all sweet, smooth, and enjoyable.
Sometimes Christianity is an ABEL - you may be persecuted and
killed by those closest to you.
There may be times when Christianity is a NOAH - the vast
majority may be going the other way, while laughing and
ridiculing your stand for God and His righteousness. At times
Christianity may be an ABRAHAM - needing lots of faith to obey
God. Then at other times Christianity may be a DAVID - loving the
commandments of the Lord to where you shed tears over seeing how
people make them void. Sometimes Christianity will be a DANIEL -
obeying and doing the simple things like praying, knowing it
could cost you your life. It is possible Christianity is like a
SHADRACH, MESHACH, and ABEDNEGO - willing to die before giving
in to the pressure of breaking one of the commandments of God.
Being a Christian may be like an apostle John - relatively
unharmed, living to a golden age and dying a natural peaceful
death.
Jesus never said it would be easy to follow Him - to love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind. Jesus
never said it would be necessarily smooth and sweet to live by
every word of God, as He taught man should do (Matthew 4:4).
In His Olivet Prophecy He foretold that at the time of the end
(the years of today), because of the many false prophets
deceiving the many (Mat.24:11), "......iniquity SHALL ABOUND,
the love of many SHALL WAX COLD" (verse 12).
Sin - iniquity - in the last days would ABOUND. The breaking of
the commandments of God would greatly increase at the time of the
end because false prophets would teach many that they were at
liberty to do - to practice - sin, lawlessness, and still be
saved by grace through faith.
This heresy teaching would lead many to wax COLD with love. And
love - the love of God is ".......that we keep His commandments;
and His commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3).
Truly the attitude of the Church of God at Laodicea is upon us
today. God says: "I know thy works, that thou art neither COLD
nor HOT... So then because thou art LUKEWARM, and neither cold
nor hot, I will SPUE THEE OUT OF MY MOUTH" (Revelation 3:15,16).
Drinking ice cold or hot tea can be both enjoyable, but lukewarm
tea - yuck!
Many today in the Church of God are spiritually saying, "....I
am rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (verse
17). Many are saying they can break the commandments of God with
impunity and are still under the grace of God in the New
covenant. Jesus answers them:
".....knowest not that thou art WRETCHED, and MISERABLE, and
POOR, and BLIND, and NAKED. I counsel thee to buy of me GOLD
TRIED IN THE FIRE, that thou mayest be rich; and WHITE RAIMENT,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear..." Those who do lawlessness will have no white
garment when Jesus returns. They will be shocked and ashamed
when they hear "depart from me, I never knew you." To all such
people with such lukewarm attitudes Jesus went on to say, "and
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, THAT THOU MAYEST SEE" (verse
18).
Lukewarmness needs to be cut away with the word of the Lord that
is powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and of the
joints and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
It was foretold in the pages of the NEW covenant that false
ministers, false prophets, and elders of the Church of God, would
arise within the body of Christ, who would bring in DAMNABLE
HERESIES! It was also foretold that MANY would follow them to
their own destruction.
You need to read Matthew 24; Acts 20; 2 Peter 2; 1 John 2;
and Jude.
If you are reading all the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, if
you are as a little child in belief and understanding of the
word, you will not be deceived, you can be a part of the very
elect.
The leaders of the WCG have already turned the Godhead into that
which is as the physical wind - a nebulous, impalpable,
ambiguous, confused, and intangible NOTHINGNESS! To them
the Godhead is now like the WIND, something that is an
everywhere..... NOTHING.
Now, they say the Sabbath Day command is also a spiritual
nothingness. Like God, it also to them has no body - no
substance - no letter - no law.
The leaders of the WCG now teach you are not really the offspring
of God, not really His children, but something less than that.
What you are is also ambiguous, but they say you certainly
are not a child (literal son and daughter) of God.
Oh, if the great apostle Paul was here today, he would again be
shouting out these words of his:
"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after
Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us:
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being, as certain
also of your own poets have said, FOR WE ARE ALSO HIS OFFSPRING.
Forasmuch then as WE ARE THE OFFSPRING OF GOD, we ought NOT
TO THINK that the Godhead is like gold, or silver, or stone,
graven by art and MAN'S DEVICE. And the TIMES OF THIS IGNORANCE
God winked at; but NOW COMMANDETH ALL MEN EVERYWHERE TO
REPENT" (Acts 17:27-30).
TO BE CONTINUED WITH A POSTSCRIPT
Written April 1995
Sabbath Arguments Answered #7The Worldwide Church of God has abolished the Sabbath commandment - I answer their arguments
POSTSCRIPT
There are those in certain schools of Theology (which the
leaders of the WCG have now espoused) that like to try and tie up
Biblical things such as Covenants, into neat defined packages.
They like nothing to overlap, no "blurring" of things, no
"searching effort" of the mind to be employed, no "studying" of
the word to show yourself approved unto God. They just want to
put the Old covenant and the New covenant into neat separate
boxes, throw the old out with everything it contained, grab the
new only and run with it to the finishing line.
I guess this gives them a certain sense of peace of mind and
security. They then have to pay very little attention to what
is written in the Old covenant, it can be used as just a good
story book for their children.
Of course people who think this way also close their eyes and
mind to specific verses in the New covenant that would fray the
edges of their neat little box.
I have already in this thesis stressed one of those
verses. A command of the Lord that was first given in the Old
covenant, but also taught again in the New covenant by Jesus
Christ Himself, and that is:
MAN IS TO LIVE BY EVERY WORD OF GOD AND NOT JUST BY PHYSICAL
BREAD ALONE (Matthew 4:4). Under that instruction it is not
possible to espouse a theology of one neat New covenant box,
that says we will live by and practice only those things
REPEATED in the New covenant. Any such theology DEFIES the very
words and teachings of the New covenant SAVIOR that those
people proclaim to follow.
That plain teaching of Jesus as found in Matthew 4:4, instructs
us to read the books of the Old covenant and LEARN from them HOW
TO LIVE! We are to learn from the Old, things that we are to
live in our daily lives while under the New. There are then no
neat little boxes with neat edges, that we can totally discard
one in all its entirety, while clinging only to the other.
Jesus obviously did not come along to perform some spectacular
MAGIC TRICK like, here is the Old box all packaged up and tied
with ribbons, here is the New box - at the wave of the wand, the
entire old has vanished, everything as a package is "done away"
and only the new box remains to be opened to see what
laws and commandments it proclaims.
Jesus did not teach anything so neat and simple as that modern
"simpleminded"(not the same as being childlike to enter the
Kingdom) funny-mental (funny if not so serious) theology, as
taught by some today, in the world of fundamental Christianity.
To live by every word of God, as Jesus taught, means what it says
and says what it means. You will have to read the WHOLE Bible
from Genesis to Revelation, understand the Old covenant by the
New covenant, and the New covenant by the Old covenant. You will
have to "study" diligently to correctly know HOW and WHAT and
WHEN to live as a Christian. It will take "searching the
scriptures daily" to be a workman that needeth not be
ashamed. It will take some meditation, some fasting, some
prayer. It will take the Spirit of God "guiding you into
all truth" as Jesus promised it would for His true disciples that
knew His voice, and would not follow the voice of a stranger. It
would take some EFFORT and some STRIVING to enter in by the
straight or NARROW gate, Christ said.
To understand WHAT laws, commandments, statutes, and precepts,
found in the Old, are still for us to live by today, would take
some humble but wise fear of the Lord study, along with the
New covenant words (i .e. New covenant words show physical
circumcision is not required to be saved).
How important is the Old law and the Old prophets? Let
Jesus Himself answer.
THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS UNTO REPENTANCE
Turn to Luke the sixteenth chapter - read verses 19 to 31. We
are not here concerned with the parable and all its meaning,
but with the CLEAR LESSON of the last number of verses.
The rich man who is representing the unrepentant sinner, the lost
soul who will face the lake of fire and eternal death, is here,
for the purpose of the lesson, pictured as pleading with Abraham
(who is in the Kingdom having inherited eternal life) that
someone from the dead - a great miracle - should go and preach to
his brothers the truths of God, so they would REPENT and not come
into condemnation. This rich man wanted his brothers to repent
and thought the best way was for a great miracle to be performed
- some saved saint coming from the dead to preach to them.
Ah, did you see how Abraham answered?— "They have MOSES AND THE
PROPHETS; let them HEAR THEM" (verse 29).
Jesus uses Abraham in this parable to preach to this
unrepentant rich man, that his brothers could come to
REPENTANCE by reading the OLD COVENANT!!
Repentance my friend leads to SALVATION and ETERNAL LIFE!
The rich man wanted some outward sign, some outward miracle,
like a person from the dead preaching to them. Wooww, he
thought, that would really do it, that would bring them to see
God.
Then Jesus sums it all up by having Abraham answer: "If
they HEAR NOT MOSES and the PROPHETS, neither will they
be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (verse 31).
Jesus was here clearly teaching that the Old covenant was not as
a packaged box with ALL its contents, "done away" with,
but was emphasizing its unchanging relevance in leading to
REPENTANCE and SALVATION.
Of course Christ knew this truth, He was the one who would
later inspire the apostle Paul to proclaim that having Jesus and
only the OLD covenant scriptures WOULD LEAD YOU TO SALVATION!
2 TIMOTHY 3:15
"And that from a child thou hast known the HOLY SCRIPTURES,
which are ABLE TO MAKE THEE WISE UNTO SALVATION THROUGH FAITH
WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS."
The ONLY written Scriptures that Timothy had when growing up -
the only God breathed inspired Scriptures - were the Scriptures
of the LAW, the PROPHETS, and the WRITINGS (Luke 24:27,44). The
WHOLE OLD COVENANT as we call it today - the Holy Scriptures from
Genesis to Malachi.
These Scriptures Paul said to Timothy were able to make him WISE
UNTO SALVATION THROUGH FAITH WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS.
If someone found themselves with only the OLD TESTAMENT and
Jesus, they could find SALVATION!
Physical circumcision, Temple priests, rites, ceremonies,
and sacrifices, NEVER DID give salvation or eternal life to
those who partook of them, as we have previously proved. But
the acknowledgment of sin, the repentant heart, and a humble
attitude of willingness to obey the commandments of the Lord, was
required to obtain MERCY, the HOLY SPIRIT, and SALVATION, for
those called and chosen to eternal life under the Old covenant.
OLD AND NEW COVENANT - HOW THEY INTERTWINE
There is an attitude, a belief, a doctrine even, that many people
have, which is this: The phrase "law of Moses" is not the same
as the "law of God." They have a neat little box in their
mind about what they think is the law of Moses, and a neat little
box about what they think is the law of God. To them they are
NOT THE SAME, nothing can overlap for them, so with a shrug of
the shoulder they can cast away all laws that they consider part
of the law of Moses, and go happily humming their tune down the
pathway of their lovely rose garden.
The problem is they do not see the LION waiting to devour them
behind the mulberry bush.
They have not read their Bible carefully enough to see that
there is no real distinction between the law of Moses and the
law of God.
Clear proof of this is found in Luke 2:22-24.
"And when the days of her purification ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF
MOSES were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to
present Him to the Lord. (As it is written in THE LAW OF THE
LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to
the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is
said in the LAW OF THE LORD. A pair of turtledoves, or two young
pigeons."
Do you see that friend? Read it again! Mark it with a colored
pen. Sacrificial laws of the law of Moses are also called THE
LAW OF THE LORD!
And why not? ALL THE LAWS given to ancient Israel were FROM THE
LORD, given from God through the mediator Moses. It was not
Moses who invented them, made them up, asked for God's approval
on them, no not at all. It was the Eternal God who TOLD MOSES
WHAT THE LAWS WOULD BE FOR THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO FOLLOW
UNDER THE OLD COVENANT! Read Exodus chapter 24, and note
verses 3, 4, 7, 12. Now turn to Deuteronomy chapter one and
read verses 1 and 2. Then go over to chapter five,
read all of it, taking note especially of verses 22 to
33.
It should be clear from the above sections of scripture (let
alone many others) that the law of Moses is also the law of God.
They were laws of God given to Israel through Moses the man
mediator.
You want a little more proof?
Many would say the Feast of Unleavened Bread that ancient Israel
was to observe in the first month of the year for seven days, was
a law of Moses' laws. Well, turn to Exodus chapter thirteen,
read verses 1 to 8.
Now notice what is written in verse 9, "And it (this feast of 7
days of Unleavened Bread) shall be for a sign unto thee upon
thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, THAT THE
LORD'S LAW may be in thy mouth.
Did the New Testament Apostolic Church of God believe and teach
that ALL THE LAWS in the Old covenant - law of Moses - were "done
away" at the cross of Christ?
Let's go again to Acts 15 and see some very revealing verses.
This ministerial conference of Apostles, Elders, and Church
Members, were led by the Spirit of God and the Words of
Scripture, to see that physical circumcision of the Old covenant
(law of Moses/law of God) was NOT REQUIRED to be saved. Did this
mean to them that ALL the laws of Moses were "abolished"? Well,
in writing to the Gentiles in the Church, and giving them some
specific on things that gentiles practiced as a common way
of life, they gave them instructions to obey things right
out of THE LAWS OF MOSES!
Look at verse 20. Mark this one well also.
"But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions
of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled,
and from blood."
Now fornication some could argue is from the Ten Commandments,
but POLLUTIONS OF IDOLS, THINGS STRANGLED, and BLOOD? They are
certainly not from the Ten Commandments, but they are from
the LAW OF MOSES!
Was this all that the Gentiles were to heed from the law of the
Lord, or were they to read Moses and learn how to live by
every word of God?
The answer is found in verse 21.
"For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach
him, being read in the synagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY."
The Gentiles were expected to attend the synagogue on the
Sabbath and learn the ways of the Lord - learn how to live by
God's word - through the reading of the books of Moses -
the law of Moses - the LAW OF GOD!
Certain saints of the Church were in need of physical help at
one point of time. Paul in chapters 8 and 9 of his second letter
to the Corinthians, encourages them to GIVE of their substance
to meet the needs of these saints. This was to be a "love
offering" as we might call it today, it was to be a freewill
offering, given with cheerfulness (chapter 9: 7). Paul was
also trying his best to get them to give GENEROUSLY, and to
accomplish that he had no hesitation to quote principles given by
and inspired by God, from the OLD covenant - verse 6 of
chapter nine is from PROVERBS 11:24, and verse 9 from PSALMS
112:9, verse 10 from ISAIAH 55:10 plus HOSEA 10:12.
Paul did not believe the Old covenant as a package, with all it's
laws, commandments, statutes, precepts, and principles, was
"nailed to the cross" and thrown out on the garbage pile along
with physical circumcision and animal sacrifices. He used it
many times to uphold a LAW OF THE LORD and stir brethren up to
perform THE WAY of the Lord.
The question arose with the brethren at Corinth about whether
Paul and Barnabas had the authority to be full time, paid
ministers, living off the funds of the Church. Paul answers this
question for them in chapter nine of 1 Corinthians.
He answers them by stating the ministers of the gospel do have
the authority to be full time and live off the physical funds of
the Church. He first proves this by a few examples of logic
taken from the society of the world, then he hits them between
the eyes with quotations taken from THE LAW OF MOSES (verse 9).
He quotes not from the Ten commandments, but from a part of the
books of Moses - the law of Moses - the law of the Lord! He
quotes from DEUTERONOMY 25: 4.
Paul then went on to say to them, was this law given JUST for the
oxen, or was it not given for a much DEEPER reason? Was it just
for those under the Old covenant? NOT AT ALL! Paul said this
law of Moses was given FOR US , "For OUR SAKES, no doubt this is
written..."(verse 10).
Paul looks into this part of the law of Moses and pulls it out to
prove his point, states it was written for US TODAY under the New
covenant!
This part of the law of Moses was not "done away with" in Paul's
mind, it was quite relevant to the New covenant. It proved to
Paul that the law of God's ministers living off the physical
substance of those they served, was still in full force and
effect under the present New covenant age of grace.
Paul used the books of Moses. He quoted from the law of Moses to
uphold the truth and doctrine that women in the Church cannot be
ordained teachers and preachers - see 1 Cor.14:34; 1Tim.2:11-14.
Paul quoted from the OLD covenant - the law of Moses - the law of
the Lord. Over and over again to prove his point, to uphold and
establish laws for the New covenant. He practiced what Jesus
told us to do. Paul lived by EVERY WORD OF GOD!
Paul knew that the OLD and the NEW covenants were INTERTWINED.
PAUL AND HIS BIBLE
From the book— Paul's Use of the Old Testament— by E.Earle Ellis,
chapter one, are these pertinent sentences.
Quote:
The writings of the apostle Paul reveal a person immersed in the
content and teachings of the OT. H.A.A.Kennedy, after a study of
Paul's religious terminology, found that practically every
leading conception in this field of Paul's thought had its roots
definitely laid in OT soil.
Whether he is giving a dogmatic proof, an analogy, or an
illustration, or merely using language with which to clothe his
own thoughts, the OT appears frequently throughout the
Pauline epistles....... The Pauline use of the OT appears in
three distinct forms: quotations proper, intentional and casual
allusion, and dialectic and theological themes. The task of
defining 'quotation' in the Pauline literature is rather
difficult, and the decision in the end is somewhat arbitrary.
The apostle probably did not have our concept of quotation marks;
he certainly did not give to it the sanctity which characterises
our literary usage. Some references which are introduced with an
explicit citation formula echo only the tenor of the passage;
others, not given even the dignity of an introductory
conjunction, follow the OT text verbatim ac litteratim. The
gradation from quotation to allusion is so imperceptible that it
is almost impossible to draw any certain line.......
Paul quotes the OT ninety-three times.......Although the
quotations are drawn from sixteen OT books, three-fourths of them
are from the Pentateuch (thirty-three), Isaiah (twenty-five), and
the Psalms (nineteen).
The citations appear both singly and in combination .......
Paul's use of the OT cannot be understood apart from his attitude
towards it. To him the Scriptures are holy and prophetic; they
constitute the very oracles of God, and they "were written... for
our learning."
Paul's phrase "God-breathed" could hardly be improved upon. In
his view of the OT the apostle is in agreement not only with
Christ and the NT writers, but also with the whole of
Judaism and the early Church.
The essential difference between Paul and the Jews in their
employment of Scripture was an interpretive one....... In Paul's
eyes the Jews stood on the Scripture; though they extolled it,
they erred because they did not know it.......In First and Second
Corinthians Paul teaches expressly that a correct understanding
of Scripture is impossible without the Holy Spirit.......
The place of the Spirit does not lesson the authority of the OT
for Paul; nor is there any antithesis between the Scripture and
the Spirit.......
Besides the Scripture there are several other authorities to
which Paul appeals to support his assertions. There are the law
of nature, the conscience of the individual, his own revelation
from Christ or the Holy Spirit, and the teaching of Christ as
received through oral or written apostolic tradition.......
This appeal to different authorities is at times found in close
combination though there seems to be no consistent pattern of
association. For example, in 1 Cor.9:7-14 Paul proceeds from
the analogy of nature to the witness of the OT; immediately he
returns to another analogy, the practice of the temple, and
clinches the whole argument citing the command of Christ directly
bearing on the subject. 1 Cor.15:3-11 is even more noteworthy:
Christ's resurrection is grounded in the OT, the apostolic
tradition, and Paul's personal revelation.......
But the OT was not one of those things which Paul counted loss
for the sake of Christ; indeed, it could be understood only in
the light of Christ.......
For Paul, Jesus was above all, the Christ; to divorce the Messiah
from the "book-religion" of the OT was hardly a task for a Jew -
even one converted through personal revelation.......
End Quote ..................................
Written in 1995
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