God gave the Ten Commandments to ancient Israel, the physical “Church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), at Mount Sinai, in 1443 B.C. On the same date (the Day of Pentecost), in A.D. 31, God gave His Holy Spirit to the New Testament Church. This made it possible to obey God’s perfect law. It is no coincidence that both events fell on the same day. They are intricately tied together, because the Holy Spirit is essential for keeping the Ten Commandments. Without it, carnal minds cannot obey God (Rom. 8:7-9).
Now consider Matthew 19:16-19: “And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why call you Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He said unto Him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The last six commandments (five are cited here) summarize love and concern toward other people: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Many wrongly assume that the Old Testament makes little or no mention of love. They assume that Christ introduced for the first time the concept of love during His ministry, and that the God of the Old Testament was strict and harsh, lacking love and mercy. This assumption is wrong. They are also unaware that the God of the Old Testament was the One who later became Jesus Christ (see John 1:1-4, 14, John 8:56-58 and I Corinthians 10:4).
In fact, the Old Testament books of the Law—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—build directly upon the principle of love. Here is what Deuteronomy states: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (6:5). This passage is the same as the original “Great Commandment,” cited in Matthew 22:37. Love toward God is the first step to obedience within His Law.
How many people have been taught that the Old Testament stresses this?
Love toward neighbor is the second step in obedience to God. Leviticus 19:18 states, “You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” This admonition—what is the original “golden rule,” came from Leviticus 19—straight from the Old Testament! It was not a new teaching first introduced in the New Testament, as most have erroneously believed.
Now notice Deuteronomy 10:19. It expands Leviticus 19:18: “Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” God told Israel to not just tolerate foreigners among them, but to show them mercy and consideration. Human nature tends to suspect or hold in contempt those of different nationalities or races. God teaches otherwise. Finally, notice Leviticus 19:9-10: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
Love, mercy, consideration—outgoing, outflowing concern for others—were all attributes possessed and taught by the God of the OLD TESTAMENT.
Let’s return to Matthew 5. Verses 21-22 show how Christ “magnified” the Law, and made it “honorable” (Isa. 42:21), effectively expanding it and making it more binding than before. For instance, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother…shall be in danger of the judgment.”
Just as this commandment was greatly expanded, so were all the others. Far from doing away with God’s Law, Christ made it much more binding.
Some Background on the Ten Commandments
In ancient Israel, the Ten Commandments were the basis for: (1) Laws—rules of conduct established by authority; (2) Statutes—laws enacted by a law-making body or ruler; (3) Judgments—judicial decisions of court cases; (4) Ordinances—public decrees or regulations; by-laws of a municipality; religious ceremonies; (5) Precepts—authorized directions or orders; and (6) Covenants—binding agreements; which are formal sealed compacts, usually between two parties. These definitions should help you better understand many of the terms used in this book in relation to the law.
The Ten Commandments primarily governed individual conduct. The statutes governed national and religious affairs, such as observing the Holy Days. The judgments were based on the Ten Commandments and the statutes.
Most people have no idea that the Ten Commandments did not originate at Mt. Sinai. In fact, we saw that these laws had existed from the time God created Adam and Eve. By the time of Moses, the world had strayed so far from the truth that God had to again reveal His already long-existing laws and statutes to Israel. This is the real story of what happened at “Mt. Sinai.”
The Old Covenant was a marriage agreement between God and the nation of Israel. God promised to provide for and bless her as long as she obeyed Him and kept His laws.
The Ten Commandments are actually categorized into two sections. The first four commandments define man’s relationship to God. The last six define his relationship with his fellow human beings. This was also reinforced by Christ. Notice: “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:35-40).
NOTE: THE LAW GIVEN TO THE GOD'S PEOPLE ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST ON MT. SINAI THEN 31 A.D. ON THE "DAY OF PENTECOST" [ONE OF GOD'S 7 ANNUAL SABBATHS, HIGH DAYS, HOLY DAYS] HE GAVE HIS PEOPLE HIS SPIRIT, SO THEY COULD KEEP HIS SPIRITUAL LAW.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS BEING KEPT BEFORE MOSES' TIME
Other Commandments in Force Before Sinai
The Bible gives examples of each of the Ten Commandments being kept before Moses’ time. When God called Jacob to return to Bethel, where God had appeared to him approximately 21 years before, Jacob warned his people, “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went” (Gen. 35:2-3). Jacob knew that God forbade idolatry—breaking the Second Commandment. By telling his household to put away their idols, this fulfilled the principle in Proverbs 16:6, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.”
When Abram told King Abimelech that Sarah, his half sister and wife, was merely his sister, he lied—another breaking of the Ninth Commandment. Believing this, Abimelech sent for Sarah. Now notice Genesis 20:3-4, 6: “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you are but a dead man, for the woman which you have taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, will you slay also a righteous nation?…And God said unto him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; for I also withheld you from sinning against Me: therefore suffered I you not to touch her.” In this situation, Abimelech would have committed adultery, which is a sin. He would have broken the Seventh Commandment.
When Joseph was tempted by the advances of Potiphar’s wife, he “…refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master knows not what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he kept back any thing from me but you, because you are his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:8-9). Joseph was well aware that adultery was sin. This occurred about 250 years before the law was officially presented to Israel at Mount Sinai!
The Lesson of Manna
During their march to the Promised Land, God told the Israelites to gather their daily amount of manna each morning. On the morning before the weekly Sabbath there would be enough for both days. This was because no manna would appear on the Sabbath, God’s day of rest. God intended that the Israelites rest on the Sabbath, rather than spend time gathering manna. This account is given in Exodus 16. In verse 28, after some of the people deliberately broke the Sabbath by attempting to gather manna, God told Moses, “How long refuse you [Israel] to keep My commandments and My laws?”
Now notice verses 29-30: “See, for that the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide you every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.” So, the Fourth Commandment was in effect before the Law was given at Mount Sinai.
By the time Israel entered the land of Canaan, the nations there had “run the full course”—they had surpassed the threshold of moral collapse, much like nations have done today. God knew that this would happen and had told Abram about it, over 400 years earlier: “And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they [Abram’s seed—the nation Israel] shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:15-16).
Here, the word “iniquity” comes from the Hebrew word avon, which means “perversity, mischief or sin.” If there had been no law in force, there would not have been any iniquity or sin for the Amorites, or any other nation, to commit. Refer to Leviticus 18:3, 19-30 for more description of the iniquity and abominations committed by the Canaanites. They included sacrificing—murdering—their children in the fire of the false god Molech, every form of adultery and sexual perversity, and profaning the name of God, among other sins.
Take a look at the pre-Flood world: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:1-3, 5-6). The word “wickedness” used here comes from the Hebrew word rah, which means “exceedingly evil.” So wicked was mankind that verse 6 tells us, “And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.” This wickedness brought every conceivable type of sin and blatant disregard for the sanctity of life.
These sins were imputed—pointed out—by the laws of God—the Ten Commandments, which existed from the creation of mankind.
These examples show that all the Ten Commandments preceded Moses. From Adam to Moses, all men had sinned—had broken God’s laws, the Ten Commandments. That is why God commended Abraham, saying, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws” (Gen. 26:5).
The Bible gives examples of each of the Ten Commandments being kept before Moses’ time. When God called Jacob to return to Bethel, where God had appeared to him approximately 21 years before, Jacob warned his people, “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went” (Gen. 35:2-3). Jacob knew that God forbade idolatry—breaking the Second Commandment. By telling his household to put away their idols, this fulfilled the principle in Proverbs 16:6, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.”
When Abram told King Abimelech that Sarah, his half sister and wife, was merely his sister, he lied—another breaking of the Ninth Commandment. Believing this, Abimelech sent for Sarah. Now notice Genesis 20:3-4, 6: “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you are but a dead man, for the woman which you have taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, will you slay also a righteous nation?…And God said unto him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; for I also withheld you from sinning against Me: therefore suffered I you not to touch her.” In this situation, Abimelech would have committed adultery, which is a sin. He would have broken the Seventh Commandment.
When Joseph was tempted by the advances of Potiphar’s wife, he “…refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master knows not what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he kept back any thing from me but you, because you are his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:8-9). Joseph was well aware that adultery was sin. This occurred about 250 years before the law was officially presented to Israel at Mount Sinai!
The Lesson of Manna
During their march to the Promised Land, God told the Israelites to gather their daily amount of manna each morning. On the morning before the weekly Sabbath there would be enough for both days. This was because no manna would appear on the Sabbath, God’s day of rest. God intended that the Israelites rest on the Sabbath, rather than spend time gathering manna. This account is given in Exodus 16. In verse 28, after some of the people deliberately broke the Sabbath by attempting to gather manna, God told Moses, “How long refuse you [Israel] to keep My commandments and My laws?”
Now notice verses 29-30: “See, for that the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide you every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.” So, the Fourth Commandment was in effect before the Law was given at Mount Sinai.
By the time Israel entered the land of Canaan, the nations there had “run the full course”—they had surpassed the threshold of moral collapse, much like nations have done today. God knew that this would happen and had told Abram about it, over 400 years earlier: “And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they [Abram’s seed—the nation Israel] shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:15-16).
Here, the word “iniquity” comes from the Hebrew word avon, which means “perversity, mischief or sin.” If there had been no law in force, there would not have been any iniquity or sin for the Amorites, or any other nation, to commit. Refer to Leviticus 18:3, 19-30 for more description of the iniquity and abominations committed by the Canaanites. They included sacrificing—murdering—their children in the fire of the false god Molech, every form of adultery and sexual perversity, and profaning the name of God, among other sins.
Take a look at the pre-Flood world: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:1-3, 5-6). The word “wickedness” used here comes from the Hebrew word rah, which means “exceedingly evil.” So wicked was mankind that verse 6 tells us, “And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.” This wickedness brought every conceivable type of sin and blatant disregard for the sanctity of life.
These sins were imputed—pointed out—by the laws of God—the Ten Commandments, which existed from the creation of mankind.
These examples show that all the Ten Commandments preceded Moses. From Adam to Moses, all men had sinned—had broken God’s laws, the Ten Commandments. That is why God commended Abraham, saying, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws” (Gen. 26:5).
THE GREATEST 2 COMMANDS: SUM UP THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
THE GREATEST 2 COMMANDS: SUM UP THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
given on two stones
eternal, written in stone
spiritual written on our hearts
One tablet teaches us [how] to love: God
And the other teaches us how to love: God's people, each other-one another
[THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD]
Deuteronomy 6:5 (Amplified Bible)
5And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.
****Commandments 1-4****
Leviticus 19:18 (Amplified Bible)
18You shall not take revenge or bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
****Commandments 5-10****
Reference by Jesus
In the New Testament, Jesus repeated some of the commandments in Matthew 19:16–19 and condensed them into two general commands in Matthew 22:34-40:
‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
—Matthew 22:34-40
Here Jesus is quoting the Hebrew Bible, namely Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 respectively.
Romans 13:8-10 (Amplified Bible)
8Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one's fellowmen, meeting all its requirements].
9The commandments, #7 You shall not commit adultery, #6 You shall not kill, #8 You shall not steal, #10 You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. [2ND GREATEST COMMAND]
8Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one's fellowmen, meeting all its requirements].
9The commandments, #7 You shall not commit adultery, #6 You shall not kill, #8 You shall not steal, #10 You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. [2ND GREATEST COMMAND]
KEEP THE LAW
Matthew 19:16-19 (Amplified Bible)
16And behold, there came a man up to Him, saying, Teacher, what excellent and perfectly and essentially good deed must I do to possess eternal life?
17And He said to him, Why do you ask Me about the perfectly and essentially good? There is only One Who is good [perfectly and essentially]--God. If you would enter into the Life, you must continually keep the commandments.
18He said to Him, What sort of commandments? [Or, which ones?] And Jesus answered, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
Luke 10:25-28 (Amplified Bible)
25And then a certain lawyer arose to try (test, tempt) Him, saying, Teacher, what am I to do to inherit everlasting life [that is, to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah's kingdom]?
26Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it?
27And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.
28And Jesus said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live [enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God].
Matthew 5:17 (Amplified Bible)
17Do not think that I have come to do away with or [a]undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them.
Daniel 9:10 (Amplified Bible)
10And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in His laws which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
THE TRUE SAINTS KEEP THE LAW [HERE IS THE 'PATIENCE' OF THE SAINTS "THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD AND KEEP THEIR 'GARMENTS' CLEAN-PREPARING FOR THE RETURN OF THE BRIDE'S [CHURCH'S] GROOM [THE BRIDEGROOM].
1 Timothy 1:8 (Amplified Bible)
8Now we recognize and know that the Law is good if anyone uses it lawfully [for the purpose for which it was designed], [UNLIKE THE PHARASEES WHO PREVERTED THE LAW]
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (Amplified Bible)
13All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.
14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil.
Revelation 22:14 (Amplified Bible)
14Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city.
THE TRUE SAINTS PERSECUTED FOR KEEPING THE LAW
Revelation 12:17 (Amplified Bible)
17So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants--[on those] who obey God's commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].
James 5:11 (Amplified Bible)
11You know how we call those blessed (happy) who were steadfast [who endured]. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the Lord's [purpose and how He richly blessed him in the] end, inasmuch as the Lord is full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy.
SIN IS BREAKING OF THE LAW
1 John 3:4 (Amplified Bible)
4Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God's law by transgression or neglect--being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).
Romans 4:15 (Amplified Bible)
15For the Law results in [divine] wrath, but where there is no Law there is no transgression [of it either].
Romans 7:14 (Amplified Bible)
14We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am a creature of the flesh [carnal, unspiritual], having been sold into slavery under [the control of] sin.
James 2:10-12 (Amplified Bible)
10For whosoever keeps the Law [as a] whole but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.
11For He Who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become guilty of transgressing the [whole] Law.
12So speak and so act as [people should] who are to be judged under the law of liberty [the moral instruction given by Christ, especially about love].
Matthew 4:17 (Amplified Bible)
17From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, Repent (change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
Ephesians 5:3 (Amplified Bible)
3But immorality (sexual vice) and all impurity [of lustful, rich, wasteful living] or greediness must not even be named among you, as is fitting and proper among saints (God's consecrated people).
Hebrews 10:26-29 (Amplified Bible)
26For if we go on deliberately and willingly sinning after once acquiring the knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice left to atone for [our] sins [no further offering to which to look forward].
27[There is nothing left for us then] but a kind of awful and fearful prospect and expectation of divine judgment and the fury of burning wrath and indignation which will consume those who put themselves in opposition [to God].
28Any person who has violated and [thus] rejected and set at naught the Law of Moses is put to death without pity or mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
29How much worse (sterner and heavier) punishment do you suppose he will be judged to deserve who has spurned and [thus] trampled underfoot the Son of God, and who has considered the covenant blood by which he was consecrated common and unhallowed, thus profaning it and insulting and outraging the [Holy] Spirit [Who imparts] grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God)?
THE LAW PREVAILS, IT STANDS......
Matthew 5:18-19 (Amplified Bible)
18For truly I tell you, until the sky and earth pass away and perish, not one smallest letter nor one little hook [identifying certain Hebrew letters] will pass from the Law until all things [it foreshadows] are accomplished.
19Whoever then breaks or does away with or relaxes one of the least [important] of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven, but he who practices them and teaches others to do so shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 16:17 (Amplified Bible)
17Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to fail and become void.
Romans 3:31 (Amplified Bible)
31Do we then by [this] faith make the Law of no effect, overthrow it or make it a dead letter? Certainly not! On the contrary, we confirm and establish and uphold the Law.
Romans 7:7 (Amplified Bible)
7What then do we conclude? Is the Law identical with sin? Certainly not! Nevertheless, if it had not been for the Law, I should not have recognized sin or have known its meaning. [For instance] I would not have known about covetousness [would have had no consciousness of sin or sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, You shall not covet and have an evil desire [for one thing and another].
Romans 3:21 (Amplified Bible)
21But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets,
Romans 3:19 (Amplified Bible)
19Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the murmurs and excuses of] every mouth may be hushed and all the world may be held accountable to God.
Gods Ten Commandments are eternal.
God's last people on earth before the end of time are commandment keepers. There is no thought that the law is abolished, instead they establish it.
God's last people on earth before the end of time are commandment keepers. There is no thought that the law is abolished, instead they establish it.
Revelation 14:12 (Amplified Bible)
12Here [comes in a call for] the steadfastness of the saints [the patience, the endurance of the people of God], those who [habitually] keep God's commandments and [their] faith in Jesus.
Hebrews 8:10 (Amplified Bible)
10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
THE SABBATH COMMAND
Luke 23:56 (Amplified Bible)
56Then they went back and made ready spices and ointments (perfumes). On the Sabbath day they rested in accordance with the commandment.
Hebrews 4:9 (Amplified Bible)
9So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God;
Luke 4:16 (Amplified Bible)
16So He came to Nazareth, [that Nazareth] where He had been brought up, and He entered the synagogue, as was His custom on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read.
OBEYING THE WORD OF GOD THROUGH FAITH
Deuteronomy 8:3 (Amplified Bible)
3And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
Matthew 4:4 (Amplified Bible)
4But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Genesis 26:5 (Amplified Bible)
5For Abraham listened to and obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.
Romans 6:1-2 (Amplified Bible)
1WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?
2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?
Romans 6:15 (Amplified Bible)
15What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God's favor and mercy? Certainly not!
Romans 2:13 (Amplified Bible)
13For it is not merely hearing the Law [read] that makes one righteous before God, but it is the doers of the Law who will be held guiltless and acquitted and justified.
Matthew 23:2-3 (Amplified Bible)
2The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat [of authority].
3So observe and practice all they tell you; but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice.
THE SAVIOR KEEPS-FULFILLS [EVEN 'SPIRITUALLY]THE LAW OF GOD
John 8:29 (Amplified Bible)
29And He Who sent Me is ever with Me; My Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.
***the only time God's presence was not with Jesus was when He bore our sins, the sins of the world on the Cross 'Father why hast thou forsaken me?' b/c God can not and will not be in the presence of sin***
[THOUGH THE WORTHY LAMB, WITHOUT BLEMISH BEFORE THE GOD, HAD NO SINS OF HIS OWN, HE BORE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR SINS]
John 8:55 (Amplified Bible)
55Yet you do not know Him or recognize Him and are not acquainted with Him, but I know Him. If I should say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know Him and keep His word [obey His teachings, am faithful to His message].
Matthew 7:21-23 (Amplified Bible)
21Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
22Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?
23And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].
1 John 2:4 (Amplified Bible)
4Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [[a]of the Gospel] is not in him.
John 8:46 (Amplified Bible)
46Who of you convicts Me of wrongdoing or finds Me guilty of sin? Then if I speak truth, why do you not believe Me [trust Me, rely on, and adhere to Me]?
1 Peter 2:22 (Amplified Bible)
22He was guilty of no sin, neither was deceit (guile) ever found on His lips.
Hebrews 4:15 (Amplified Bible)
15For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
Galatians 6:2 (Amplified Bible)
2Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]
Matthew 17:5 (Amplified Bible)
5While he was still speaking, behold, a shining cloud [composed of light] overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is My Son, My Beloved, with Whom I am [and have always been] delighted. Listen to Him!
Mark 7:7-13 (Amplified Bible)
7In vain (fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and teaching [to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men.
8You disregard and give up and ask to depart from you the commandment of God and cling to the tradition of men [keeping it carefully and faithfully].
9And He said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting [thus thwarting and nullifying and doing away with] the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition (your own human regulations)!
10For Moses said, Honor (revere with tenderness of feeling and deference) your father and your mother, and, He who curses or reviles or speaks evil of or abuses or treats improperly his father or mother, let him surely die.
11But [as for you] you say, A man is exempt if he tells [his] father or [his] mother, What you would otherwise have gained from me [everything I have that would have been of use to you] is Corban, that is, is a gift [already given as an offering to God],
12Then you no longer are permitting him to do anything for [his] father or mother [but are letting him off from helping them].
13Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on. And many things of this kind you are doing.
Matthew 23:16-22 (Amplified Bible)
16Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If anyone swears by the sanctuary of the temple, it is nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the sanctuary, he is a debtor [bound by his oath].
17You blind fools! For which is greater: the gold, or the sanctuary of the temple that has made the gold sacred?
18You say too, Whoever swears by the altar is not duty bound; but whoever swears by the offering on the altar, his oath is binding.
19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar which makes the gift sacred?
20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21And he who swears by the [d]sanctuary of the temple swears by it and by Him Who dwells in it. [I Kings 8:13; Ps. 26:8.]
22And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him Who sits upon it.
Deuteronomy 10:4 (New King James Version)
4 And He [God] wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me.
Romans 13:9 (Complete Jewish Bible)
For the commandments, #7 "Don't commit adultery," #6 "Don't murder," #8"Don't steal," #9"Don't covet," and any others are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
1 Corinthians 7:19 (Complete Jewish Bible)
Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing; what does mean something is keeping God's commandments.
THE 2 GREATEST COMMANDS:
"LOVE THE LORD, OUR GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART AND BEING: AND TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS THE LORD LOVES US"
"LOVE THE LORD, OUR GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART AND BEING: AND TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS THE LORD LOVES US"
I.) Commandments One to Four:
How To Properly Worship The Only True God
II.) Commandments Five to Ten:
How To Live In Peace With Humanity:
By resting on the seventh day, and making it holy, God created the Sabbath Day on the seventh day of creation.
The Ten Commandments: The Creation of The Sabbath Day
"And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which he had done. So God blessed [i.e. an act of doing something] the seventh day and hallowed [i.e. He made it holy, an act of creating something] it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had done in creation." (Genesis 2:2-3 RSV)
The Fourth Commandment:
Don't Forget The Sabbath Day of Creation
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to The Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11 RSV) (see The Ten Commandments)
Jesus Christ, The Greatest "Christian" Of All, Didn't Forget
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read; and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of The Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of The Lord." And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:16-22 RSV)
The Apostle Paul, Who Wrote Much Of The Christian New Testament, Didn't Forget
"As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And when the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God. (Acts 13:42-44 RSV)
After The Return Of Jesus Christ, No One Will Forget
"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me, says The Lord; so shall your descendants and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh [i.e. all nations, everyone] shall come to worship before me, says The Lord." (Isaiah 66:22-23 RSV)
"And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, The Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain." (Zechariah 14:17 RSV)
"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of The Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of The Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of His ways , and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of The Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Micah 4:1-3 RSV)
MAN'S FIRST SIN
Man’s First Sin
In the Garden of Eden, God talked to Adam and gave him clear, understandable instructions. Adam needed this. He was an adult with an adult mind, but God had to reveal to him the spiritual boundaries that Adam could not discover on his own, without breaking God’s laws. Genesis 2:15 states, “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.”
Adam was given instructions on how to maintain the garden. He was also commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (not to decide for himself what is right or wrong), and was told exactly what the penalty would be for disobeying this command. In effect, he was presented with what would be the same penalty described in the New Testament: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
God revealed to Adam, and to his wife, Eve, right knowledge about how to live. But He gave them the freedom to decide whether or not they would follow His way. This was free moral agency, which God has given to all mankind.
Satan, in the form of a serpent, told Eve that if she took the fruit of the forbidden tree, “You shall not surely die: for God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5). Being gullible in the face of Satan’s shrewd tactics, Eve fell for his deception and ate from the tree, as did Adam.
Adam sinned by acting against God’s command. He broke God’s Law. In doing so, he became the servant of the one whom he obeyed—Satan. This principle is explained in Romans 6:16: “Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Whoever or whatever someone obeys and serves is his god. In this case, Adam and Eve broke the First Commandment by putting another god before the Creator God. In doing so, they also broke the Fifth Commandment, by dishonoring their Parent, in the sense that Adam was a created son of God (Luke 3:38). Their sin also involved stealing (the Eighth Commandment), in that they took something that was not theirs. Besides this, Eve lusted for the forbidden fruit. Lusting is coveting, which breaks the Tenth Commandment.
Breaking one commandment leads to breaking all of them. This is precisely what the apostle James expressed in James 2:10: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” God’s laws are interrelated and intricately woven together—if you break one, you eventually break them all. Sin always spreads.
In Genesis 4, Adam’s first son, Cain, became angry against his brother Abel, because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. Notice how God admonished Cain in verses 6-7: “And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you wroth [angry]? and why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not well, sin [impossible without the Law] lies at the door. And unto you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.” Cain murdered and broke the Sixth Commandment.
When someone is in the wrong frame of mind, sin does lie at the door, waiting to happen, because sinful thoughts lead to sinful actions. God commands us to rule over sin—to control those pulls and impulses to commit sin. Cain murdered Abel and lied to God about it. This is a direct violation of the Ninth Commandment, which forbids “bearing false witness against your neighbor.” Cain had sinned and he knew it. This happened a few decades after Adam had first sinned. Adam and Eve’s expanding family knew that sin was the breaking of God’s Law, or God would not have held them accountable.
In the Garden of Eden, God talked to Adam and gave him clear, understandable instructions. Adam needed this. He was an adult with an adult mind, but God had to reveal to him the spiritual boundaries that Adam could not discover on his own, without breaking God’s laws. Genesis 2:15 states, “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.”
Adam was given instructions on how to maintain the garden. He was also commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (not to decide for himself what is right or wrong), and was told exactly what the penalty would be for disobeying this command. In effect, he was presented with what would be the same penalty described in the New Testament: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
God revealed to Adam, and to his wife, Eve, right knowledge about how to live. But He gave them the freedom to decide whether or not they would follow His way. This was free moral agency, which God has given to all mankind.
Satan, in the form of a serpent, told Eve that if she took the fruit of the forbidden tree, “You shall not surely die: for God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5). Being gullible in the face of Satan’s shrewd tactics, Eve fell for his deception and ate from the tree, as did Adam.
Adam sinned by acting against God’s command. He broke God’s Law. In doing so, he became the servant of the one whom he obeyed—Satan. This principle is explained in Romans 6:16: “Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Whoever or whatever someone obeys and serves is his god. In this case, Adam and Eve broke the First Commandment by putting another god before the Creator God. In doing so, they also broke the Fifth Commandment, by dishonoring their Parent, in the sense that Adam was a created son of God (Luke 3:38). Their sin also involved stealing (the Eighth Commandment), in that they took something that was not theirs. Besides this, Eve lusted for the forbidden fruit. Lusting is coveting, which breaks the Tenth Commandment.
Breaking one commandment leads to breaking all of them. This is precisely what the apostle James expressed in James 2:10: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” God’s laws are interrelated and intricately woven together—if you break one, you eventually break them all. Sin always spreads.
In Genesis 4, Adam’s first son, Cain, became angry against his brother Abel, because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. Notice how God admonished Cain in verses 6-7: “And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you wroth [angry]? and why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not well, sin [impossible without the Law] lies at the door. And unto you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.” Cain murdered and broke the Sixth Commandment.
When someone is in the wrong frame of mind, sin does lie at the door, waiting to happen, because sinful thoughts lead to sinful actions. God commands us to rule over sin—to control those pulls and impulses to commit sin. Cain murdered Abel and lied to God about it. This is a direct violation of the Ninth Commandment, which forbids “bearing false witness against your neighbor.” Cain had sinned and he knew it. This happened a few decades after Adam had first sinned. Adam and Eve’s expanding family knew that sin was the breaking of God’s Law, or God would not have held them accountable.
SIN DEFINED
Sin Defined
Most human beings either do not know of or do not like to be reminded of I John 3:4, which defines sin: “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” As the subject develops, you will come to see (in stages) the central connection between sin and the law.
Romans 6:23 states that “the wages of sin is death.” Romans 5 explains, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come)” (vs. 12-14).
In other words, Adam sinned. Sin is not imputed—does not apply—where there is no law (carefully read Romans 4:15). Death reigned from Adam to Moses. (Remember, death is the penalty for sin, which is defined as the transgression of the law.) The only way that Adam and his descendants could sin—break God’s spiritual law—is if God’s Law already existed! Without this law in place, no one could be guilty of sin.
Instead of rejecting sin, modern religionists reject the law. They view the law as a burden—they want to be free from keeping it. But notice the key lessons found in Romans 7:7: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet.” It is not the law that is at fault—and Paul is clearly citing one of the Ten Commandments—but sin. God reveals to us what sin is. He does this by His perfect law. On his own, man cannot discover God’s perfect law. God has to reveal and teach it to us.
Most human beings either do not know of or do not like to be reminded of I John 3:4, which defines sin: “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” As the subject develops, you will come to see (in stages) the central connection between sin and the law.
Romans 6:23 states that “the wages of sin is death.” Romans 5 explains, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come)” (vs. 12-14).
In other words, Adam sinned. Sin is not imputed—does not apply—where there is no law (carefully read Romans 4:15). Death reigned from Adam to Moses. (Remember, death is the penalty for sin, which is defined as the transgression of the law.) The only way that Adam and his descendants could sin—break God’s spiritual law—is if God’s Law already existed! Without this law in place, no one could be guilty of sin.
Instead of rejecting sin, modern religionists reject the law. They view the law as a burden—they want to be free from keeping it. But notice the key lessons found in Romans 7:7: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet.” It is not the law that is at fault—and Paul is clearly citing one of the Ten Commandments—but sin. God reveals to us what sin is. He does this by His perfect law. On his own, man cannot discover God’s perfect law. God has to reveal and teach it to us.
THE LAW OF MOSES OR THE LAW OF GOD, GOD'S LAW?
Law of Moses or God’s Law?
The Ten Commandments were never referred to as the law of Moses, but rather the law of God. First, understand this! The law of Moses consisted of (1) the civil laws, which were statutes and judgments that Moses relayed to the people from God, recorded in Exodus 21-23 and in the remaining books of the law, and (2) the ritualistic laws (or Greek: ergon) that were added later, summarized in Hebrews 9:10. They were ordinances regulating the job of the tribe of Levi in temple service, sacrifices (Leviticus 1-7) and associated functions. The word ergon means “works,” as in the “works of the law” (such as in Galatians 2:16). This refers to the labor involving the Levitical rituals that were abolished by Christ’s sacrifice.
The Ten Commandments were already in force long before they were officially given to Israel at Mount Sinai and this will be demonstrated. In fact, these commandments have existed since the creation of man. The Ten Commandments were never part of the law of Moses (addressed more fully later in the chapter) or the Levitical sacrificial system. The civil laws and sacrifices were based on God’s commands, which constitute the core of His laws. Thus, the Ten Commandments precede and transcend any and every lesser law or practice based upon them—statutes, judgments, precepts, and ordinances.
The Ten Commandments are God’s spiritual laws (Rom. 7:12, 14). They are just as active as the physical laws of gravity and inertia. Just as breaking physical laws results in physical consequences, breaking spiritual laws results in spiritual consequences.
The Ten Commandments were never referred to as the law of Moses, but rather the law of God. First, understand this! The law of Moses consisted of (1) the civil laws, which were statutes and judgments that Moses relayed to the people from God, recorded in Exodus 21-23 and in the remaining books of the law, and (2) the ritualistic laws (or Greek: ergon) that were added later, summarized in Hebrews 9:10. They were ordinances regulating the job of the tribe of Levi in temple service, sacrifices (Leviticus 1-7) and associated functions. The word ergon means “works,” as in the “works of the law” (such as in Galatians 2:16). This refers to the labor involving the Levitical rituals that were abolished by Christ’s sacrifice.
The Ten Commandments were already in force long before they were officially given to Israel at Mount Sinai and this will be demonstrated. In fact, these commandments have existed since the creation of man. The Ten Commandments were never part of the law of Moses (addressed more fully later in the chapter) or the Levitical sacrificial system. The civil laws and sacrifices were based on God’s commands, which constitute the core of His laws. Thus, the Ten Commandments precede and transcend any and every lesser law or practice based upon them—statutes, judgments, precepts, and ordinances.
The Ten Commandments are God’s spiritual laws (Rom. 7:12, 14). They are just as active as the physical laws of gravity and inertia. Just as breaking physical laws results in physical consequences, breaking spiritual laws results in spiritual consequences.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Written by God on stone
EXO. 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
EXO. 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Written by Moses in a book
2 CHRON. 35:12 And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Placed inside the ark
EXO. 40:20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
HE LAW OF MOSES
Placed in the side of the ark
DEUT. 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Called "the law of Moses"
LUKE 2:22 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.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Called "the Law of the Lord"
ISA. 5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Called "Law contained in ordinances"
EPH. 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Called "the Royal law"
JAMES 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
THE LAW OF MOSES
Ended at the stake
EPH. 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Will stand forever
LUKE 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Added because of sin
GAL. 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Points out sin
ROM. 7:7 What shall we say then? is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
ROM. 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Contrary to us, against us
COL. 2:14 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 stake.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Not grievous
1 JOHN 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Judges no man
COL. 2:14-16 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 stake; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 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:
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Judges all men
JAM. 2:10-12 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 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. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Carnal
HEB. 7:16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Spiritual
ROM. 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
THE LAW OF MOSES
Made nothing perfect
HEB. 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
THE LAW OF GOD (THE 10 COMMANDMENTS)
Perfect
PSALMS 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple
The Moral Law
(The Ten Commandments)
1. First spoken by God Himself. Exodus 20:1,22.
2. Written by God’s finger. Exodus 31:18; 32:16.
3. First written on stones. Exodus 31:18.
4. Handed by God its writer to Moses. Exodus 31:18.
5. Deposited by Moses “in the ark.” Deuteronomy 10:5.
6. Deals with moral precepts. Exodus 20:3-17.
7. Reveals sin. Romans 7:7.
8. Breaking of “the law” is “sin.” 1 John 3:4.
9. Should “keep the whole law.” James 2:10.
10. Because we “shall be judged” by this law. James 2:12.
11. The Christian who keeps this law is “blessed in his deed.” James 1:25.
12. “The perfect law of liberty.” James 1:25. (Cf. James 2:12)
13. Paul said, “I delight in the law of God.” Romans 7:22. (Cf. verse 7)
14. Established by faith in Christ. Romans 3:31.
15. Christ was to “magnify the law and make it honorable.” Isaiah 42:21.
The Ceremonial Law
(A temporary Jewish law)
1. Spoken by Moses. Exodus 24:3.
2. Written by Moses. Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 31:9.
3. In a book. Exodus 24:3, 7; Deuteronomy 31:24.
4. Handed by Moses its writer to Levites. Deuteronomy 31:25-26.
5. Deposited by the Levites “by the side of the ark.” Deuteronomy 31:26,.
6. Deals with ceremonial, ritual matters.
(See parts of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).
7. Prescribes offerings for sins. (See Parts of Leviticus)...(until the Seed...Galatians 3:19; def of 'sin'..1 JOHN 3:4)
8. No sin in breaking, for now “abolished.” Ephesians 2:15.
(Where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15)
9. Apostles gave “no such commandment” to “keep the law.” Acts 15:24.
10. Not to be judged by it. Colossians 2:16.
11. The Christian who keeps this law is not blessed.
(See for example, Galatians 5:1-6)
12. The Christian who keeps this law loses his liberty. Galatians 5:1, 3.
13. Paul called this law a “yoke of bondage.”
Galatians 5:1; Galatians 4:3, 9. (See Acts 15:10)
14. Abolished by Christ. Ephesians 2:15.
15. Blotted “out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us.” Colossians 2:14.
Sabbath of the Lord
1.Spoken by God personally
(Exodus 20:1, 8-11)
2.Written in stone by God Himself
(Exodus 31:18)
3.Put inside the Ark of the Covenant
(Deuteronomy 10:5)
4.Was made at creation
(Genesis 2:1-3)
5.Was established before sin
(Genesis 2:1-3)
6.Breaking the Sabbath is sin
(1 John 3:4)
7.It is a law of love
(Matthew 22:35-40, Isaiah 58:13-14)
8.It is a law of liberty (freedom)
(James 1:25, 2:10-12)
9.The Sabbath is for everyone
(Mark 2:27, Hebrews 4:9-10)
10.God calls it MY Sabbath
(Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:20)
11.The Sabbath is eternal
(Exodus 31:16-17, Isaiah 66:22-23)
Ceremonial Sabbaths
1.Spoken by Moses
(Exodus 24:3)
2.Written by Moses hand on paper
(Exodus 24:4)
3.Stored on the outside of the Ark
(Deuteronomy 31:26)
4.Were made after Sinai
(Exodus 20:24)
5.Were established after sin
(Exodus 20:24)
6.These were kept because of sin
(until the Seed...Galatians 3:19; def of 'sin'..1 JOHN 3:4; see parts of Leviticus)
7.They were not love
(Colossians 2:14, Galatians 4:9-10)
8.They were bondage
(Galatians 4:9-10, Colossians 2:14)
9.Only for the children of Israel & Jews
(until the Seed...Galatians 3:19..before the 'door' was opened to the Gentile too)
10.God calls them HER sabbaths
(Hosea 2:11, Lamentations 1:7)
11.Were nailed to the stake
(Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15)
I know that WHATEVER GOD DOES, IT SHALL BE FOREVER. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet YOU BRING ADDED WRATH ON ISRAEL BY PROFANING THE SABBATH." (Nehemiah 13:18 NKJ)
An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. IN EVERY PLACE WHERE I RECORD MY NAME I WILL COME TO YOU, AND I WILL BLESS YOU. (Exodus 20:24 NKJ)
then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and HE SHALL MAKE ATONEMENT FOR THE PRIESTS AND FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE ASSEMBLY. (Leviticus 16:33 NKJ)
And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, BRINGING SACRIFICES OF PRAISE TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. (Jeremiah 17:26 NKJ)
you also, as living stones, are being built up A SPIRITUAL HOUSE, a holy priesthood, to OFFER UP SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES ACCEPTABLE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. (1 Peter 2:5 NKJ)
A LAW LIKE NO OTHER
Law Like No Other
But the Law of God is much more than a navigational instrument, and the Old Testament presents many verses with God’s view of a Law that many believe to have become null and void in the New Testament “dispensation.” Let’s look at just a few passages, and as you read them ask yourself if they sound like a law that God would later render obsolete—one kept for people—fulfilled on their behalf by Christ—as many so willingly believe.
First, also consider verse 172 of Psalm 119 in which the psalmist recorded, “For all Your commandments are righteousness.” Verse 18 adds this: “Open you mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.”
Now notice these almost never-mentioned statements of David in Psalm 19: “The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting [restoring] the soul” (vs. 7) and “the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (vs. 8).
How can anyone think that God would discard such a marvelous law? Those who believe the law is “done away,” or “nailed to the cross,” have a great deal of trouble trying to explain why God would abandon a law described in such glowing terms. The problem of “spiritualizing away” God’s Law grows even more difficult when one considers just a few other statements.
For instance, let’s place a couple of passages side by side, the first from the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon concluded twelve fascinating, insightful chapters about life with what is of central importance for every human being: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole…man” (12:13). Ask: Recognizing this could only be referencing the Ten Commandments because it is recorded in the Old Testament, how could such a powerful, comprehensive and conclusive statement no longer have application? Notice that the very next verse warns, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (vs. 14).
Why, with such obvious connection to the Law of God in context, are not more people concerned with such sobering warnings?
Now look at an almost identical statement to Solomon’s, reflecting what God wished from—and for—His people, the nation of Israel: “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!” (Deut. 5:29).
Now further ask: Why do not more Bible students recognize the seriousness of what is recorded in Proverbs 28:9?: “He that turns away his ear from hearing the law [again, this can only be referencing the Ten Commandments], even his prayer shall be abomination.” This is a most serious statement.
Many other passages could be added to this briefest of lists. ( look closely at various New Testament scriptures about law and sin.) Like the physical laws governing the universe, making all things run smoothly, the Ten Commandments are laws that govern a Christian’s life, producing the true peace, real happiness, and ultimate success that all seek.
"NAILED TO THE CROSS" OR REQUIRED FOR SALVATION?
The Ten Commandments
“Nailed to the Cross” or Required for Salvation?
For every cause there is an effect. Obeying the Ten Commandments identifies the cause that will produce every good and desirable effect. But the world has been deceived, thinking that this great Law is burdensome and harsh, and lacks love and mercy. Yet, the world ignores the plain Word of God: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:3). The Ten Commandments are NOT done away! Now you can learn why YOU should keep this living, active, spiritual Law of God.
God has created and sustained the universe with hundreds of billions of galaxies, each consisting of hundreds of millions of stars. Every movement of celestial bodies within these galaxies adheres to the laws of physics and chemistry. From the forces that bind atomic nuclei to the principles that govern these great star systems, God’s laws regulate everything. From the fullness of the earth to the vastness of space, from the breathtaking beauty of the creation to the minds that can comprehend it, all testify to God’s majesty and boundless creative forethought.
The brilliant scientist Albert Einstein observed the order, laws and forethought that God put into His creation. While he doubted the Bible’s authority, he was convinced of the existence of a superior intelligence at work in the universe. Einstein believed there was a “god” who is revealed in the order and harmony of what existed. He was amazed at the harmony of natural laws, which revealed an intelligence of such superiority that the collective thinking of human beings was utterly insignificant (from Out of My Later Years, 1950).
The physical creation of Earth and the universe reflects order due to perfect interaction, balance and harmony with natural laws. Likewise, there exist spiritual laws, which, if obeyed, would ensure peace, harmony and fulfillment among men and nations. But the masses have not understood those laws.
God has allowed humanity to exercise free moral agency. After having violated God’s spiritual laws throughout the course of human history, man will be forced to realize and appreciate that God’s ways infinitely exceed his own. Six thousand years of agony stand in stark testimony to man’s track record in living contrary to the laws of God, set in motion for man’s own good.
The Ultimate Standard
The Ten Commandments are the core of the laws of God. Many scriptures expand upon them, and in great detail. God’s commands are the universal standard that enables us to know when we are on course and when we have drifted from it.
The Bible—which defines every crucial principle and law governing life—is the standard in directing our paths. Psalm 119:9 states, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Your word.” Verse 105 adds, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Throughout history, navigators sailing the high seas have used the Big Dipper to locate the North Star. Once located, it revealed their orientation and heading. Other navigational instruments provided more details and assistance. In the same way, the Ten Commandments are the standard by which all human beings establish and maintain their bearing. They define the boundaries that people require in order to build and develop godly character.
“Nailed to the Cross” or Required for Salvation?
For every cause there is an effect. Obeying the Ten Commandments identifies the cause that will produce every good and desirable effect. But the world has been deceived, thinking that this great Law is burdensome and harsh, and lacks love and mercy. Yet, the world ignores the plain Word of God: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:3). The Ten Commandments are NOT done away! Now you can learn why YOU should keep this living, active, spiritual Law of God.
God has created and sustained the universe with hundreds of billions of galaxies, each consisting of hundreds of millions of stars. Every movement of celestial bodies within these galaxies adheres to the laws of physics and chemistry. From the forces that bind atomic nuclei to the principles that govern these great star systems, God’s laws regulate everything. From the fullness of the earth to the vastness of space, from the breathtaking beauty of the creation to the minds that can comprehend it, all testify to God’s majesty and boundless creative forethought.
The brilliant scientist Albert Einstein observed the order, laws and forethought that God put into His creation. While he doubted the Bible’s authority, he was convinced of the existence of a superior intelligence at work in the universe. Einstein believed there was a “god” who is revealed in the order and harmony of what existed. He was amazed at the harmony of natural laws, which revealed an intelligence of such superiority that the collective thinking of human beings was utterly insignificant (from Out of My Later Years, 1950).
The physical creation of Earth and the universe reflects order due to perfect interaction, balance and harmony with natural laws. Likewise, there exist spiritual laws, which, if obeyed, would ensure peace, harmony and fulfillment among men and nations. But the masses have not understood those laws.
God has allowed humanity to exercise free moral agency. After having violated God’s spiritual laws throughout the course of human history, man will be forced to realize and appreciate that God’s ways infinitely exceed his own. Six thousand years of agony stand in stark testimony to man’s track record in living contrary to the laws of God, set in motion for man’s own good.
The Ultimate Standard
The Ten Commandments are the core of the laws of God. Many scriptures expand upon them, and in great detail. God’s commands are the universal standard that enables us to know when we are on course and when we have drifted from it.
The Bible—which defines every crucial principle and law governing life—is the standard in directing our paths. Psalm 119:9 states, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Your word.” Verse 105 adds, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Throughout history, navigators sailing the high seas have used the Big Dipper to locate the North Star. Once located, it revealed their orientation and heading. Other navigational instruments provided more details and assistance. In the same way, the Ten Commandments are the standard by which all human beings establish and maintain their bearing. They define the boundaries that people require in order to build and develop godly character.
TIME HAS NOT BEEN LOST: TO GOD
“Would God set apart a certain day, put His blessing on it (Gen. 2:1-3), make it holy time, command that it be kept holy forever, and then let that holy time become so lost we cannot tell when to keep it?
“Time lost? If so, then you and I are lost souls, for it is sin to profane God’s Sabbath! That is the 4th point of the Law.
“Sin is the transgression of the Law, (I John 3:4) and if we break only one of its points—any one—we are guilty sinners (James 2:8-11). The very last recorded words of Jesus say: ‘Blessed are they that do His [His Father’s] Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life’ (Rev. 22:14).”
HAS GOD LOST TRACK OF TIME? HAS HE ALLOWED A 'TRUE' CHANGE:
TIME HAS NOT BEEN LOST OR FORGOTTEN BY GOD, IF WE 'ASK' 'SEEK'--IN ACCORDANCE TO HIS WORD,-- HE 'GIVES' 'REVEALS' "REVELATION"
Many realize that God created, rested on, blessed and hallowed the seventh day! Which day is this now? Has the weekly cycle been lost? Can we know? You can be certain. Here is absolute proof!
“In spite of all of our dickerings with the calendar, it is patent that the human race never lost the septenary [seven-day] sequence of week days and that the Sabbath of these latter times comes down to us from Adam, through the ages, without a single lapse.”
-Dr. Totten of New Haven, Connecticut—Professor of Astronomy, Yale University
Is the above statement true? Can it be proven? If so, how? At the end of the creation week in Genesis 1, God finished His activity with a special creation: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made” (Gen. 2:1-3).
Twenty-five centuries later, at Mt. Sinai, God gave the Ten Commandments to the nation of ancient Israel through Moses. The Sabbath command in Exodus directly referred to the creation account of Genesis 2. It states, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is” (Ex. 20:8-11).
These are very plain, clear verses. But for the sake of discussion, we will continue with several basic facts. God made the Sabbath. He rested on it. He sanctified it (set it apart). He blessed it. He made it to be the seventh day of a seven-day cycle.
The weekly cycle has never changed since creation. Many suppose that it has. If this cycle has been either broken or lost, there remains no further obligation for mankind to observe the true Sabbath of the Bible. It is that simple. If the weekly cycle has been broken, the Sabbath is lost to history and cannot be in effect today!
Keeping Track of the Sabbath
People often ask, “Well, I know God created the Sabbath, but how do we now know which day of our week He made holy?” or “Hasn’t mankind changed the calendar?” And further, our seventh day, Saturday, was named after the pagan god Saturn, and some question whether this had an effect on the Hebrew calendar. Others ask about what has been called “the long day of Joshua” or traveling around the world and “gaining a day” or “losing a day.” Many naturally wonder what possible effects any of these issues may have had on the weekly cycle.
Before addressing the concerns raised in this series of questions, a point must first be acknowledged.
Consider! These questions, while individually important, collectively represent a single great question. Is the all-powerful God of the universe capable of creating, hallowing, sanctifying and blessing the seventh day of the week, yet, at the same time, incapable of keeping track of this day throughout history? Would God command people to “remember” the Sabbath only to forget that He must preserve it for this to be possible? The idea is absurd. It insults God’s power by making Him appear to be a doddering old man who is so disorganized and forgetful that He cannot keep track of what He has created or commanded!
While mankind seeks excuses not to keep the Sabbath, some actually dare to blame God as the reason this is no longer possible, then reasoning that if He forgot to preserve the weekly cycle, mankind no longer needs to observe the Sabbath.
This world’s professing Christianity—Catholicism and the many branches of Protestantism—keep Sunday. It has been the Roman Catholic Church that has preserved Sunday as the day of worship. Notice the following stunning admission from a letter by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1877-1921). While it also makes a statement about how Sabbath obedience was exchanged for Sunday observance, this quote demonstrates the importance of the preservation of Sunday observance for Catholics throughout the centuries. This is only one of many similar quotes:
“Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church [Roman Catholic] change the seventh day—Saturday—for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day? I answer no!…Faithfully yours, J. Cardinal Gibbons.”
No one ever seems to question that the first day of the week is Sunday! Two billion professing Christians assert that they keep Sunday in commemoration of Christ’s supposed resurrection on that day—the first day of the week. It is unthinkable to suggest that so many people would either purposely, carelessly or inadvertently be keeping “their day,” the first day of the week, Sunday, on the wrong day! Right? But Jews are no less certain that they are keeping the Sabbath on the true seventh day of the week. The Jewish people have been responsible for “keeping track” of their day, the same day kept by Jesus and the apostles, for many centuries longer than Catholics have been tracking “their day.”
The point is this: Each group (Catholics and Jews) knows full well which day is which—and neither would dare suggest the other does not!
The Manna Miracle Reveals the Sabbath
It has been established that God gave the Sabbath to ancient Israel through Moses. Why did God do this? He had to! Israel had just spent centuries in Egypt, with most of that time in slavery. They had not been permitted to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—their forefathers—for all those years. At the time that God liberated them, they had forgotten the identity of the true God and His Sabbath.
This is one reason that the Sabbath command begins with the words “Remember the Sabbath day”—Israel had forgotten it. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had kept God’s law (Gen. 26:5), but the knowledge of the Sabbath had become lost through the centuries.
God decided to make the Sabbath command clear to Israel while they were in the Wilderness of Sin (Zin). Israel had left the “flesh pots” of Egypt behind and grumbled to Moses because they lacked food. God had to test whether they would obey His law. This was a specific test designed to teach Israel the uniqueness of the Sabbath’s holy time. The account is found in Exodus 16. It illustrates that people can find themselves thinking that “time has been lost.”
The Old Testament story about God feeding manna (and quail) to Israel is well known. Notice: “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no” (vs. 4). “And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord hears your murmurings” (vs. 8).
The test had begun: Would Israel keep God’s law—keep His Sabbath? Would they walk in His law or not?
The context continues, “And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for He has heard your murmurings. And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud…And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host” (vs. 9-10, 13).
It is important to realize that the quail did not come up until after dusk (sunset). Also, Israel was assembled as a congregation on the Sabbath day. They were gathered for a religious service. The quails appeared when the Sabbath was over, and people were permitted to gather them for the evening meal.
It is important to realize that the quail did not come up until after dusk (sunset). Also, Israel was assembled as a congregation on the Sabbath day. They were gathered for a religious service. The quails appeared when the Sabbath was over, and people were permitted to gather them for the evening meal.
The next morning was the first day of the week and the first time that manna appeared. People were instructed to only gather enough for each day, or it would breed worms and stink (vs. 20). The people disbelieved Moses and attempted to gather extra manna. Just as God said, it bred worms and stank. However, verse 22 explains that on the sixth day of the week they could gather twice as much, so they would have food for the Sabbath, and it would not breed worms and stink. God said this because “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord” (vs. 23).
As is always the case, some did not believe God and attempted to gather manna on the Sabbath—the seventh day (vs. 27). Just as God had said, they found none. How quickly some become confused about time! These Israelites must have thought “time had been lost” and that the manna would be there even though God had told them it would not. Others thought the manna could be held over on days other than the sixth day when it could not. God’s response to those who became confused was, “And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse you to keep My commandments and My laws? See, for that the Lord has given you the sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide you every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day” (vs. 28-30).
Set confusion and disobedience aside. The sole purpose of this test was to show that God made a specific time holy—the seventh day!
Christ Kept the Sabbath
Fifteen hundred years after the account in Exodus 16 is the example of Christ. He had no doubt which day was the Sabbath.
Mark 2:27-28 records Christ talking to the Pharisees: “And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” If Christ were Lord of the Sabbath, He would have known when it was! Luke 4:16 says that Christ’s custom was to enter the synagogue every Sabbath.
In A.D. 69-70, all Jews were driven from Palestine and dispersed into nations around the world. Through the last 19 centuries, they have never become confused about which day was the Sabbath. Remember, Luke 4:16 (and Luke 4:17, 20) actually showed Christ meeting with the Jews in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Again, the Jews had not become confused about which day it was when Christ was alive.
Today, if time had been lost, we would expect that Jews, scattered around the world and no longer in communication with one another, would be keeping different days. However, today they are all in unity—in agreement— on which day is the Sabbath.
An historian once said, “More than the Jews having kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jews.” This is true! Modern Jews have never lost their identity because they have never lost track of the seventh day Sabbath!
There is no doubt that the Sabbath was kept intact through the 1,500 years until Christ’s time. He was certainly not confused and knew when to keep it. There is also no doubt that the Jews have kept it intact ever since. We will momentarily consider other proofs of the period after Christ, but first we must examine an event prior to Christ’s life.
GOD CHANGES NOT AND CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER!!
Moreover, the Eternal One of Isra'el will not lie or change his mind, because he isn't a mere human being subject to changing his mind." (1 Samuel 15:29 CJB )
He never changes. No one can oppose him or stop him from doing what he wants to do. (Job 23:13GNT)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8NKJ)
Joshua’s Long Day
Christ’s obedience to the Sabbath established its continuity throughout His lifetime. So, while there should now be no need to look backward in time, we will consider one other objection that arises. Some argue, “What about Joshua? Didn’t he have some kind of ‘long day’ in the Old Testament? Didn’t that day throw time off and make Sunday the seventh day of the week?” Is this true? We must carefully consider this account, from Joshua 10.
Notice: “Then spoke Joshua to the Lord…before the children of Israel…Sun, stand you still upon Gibeon; and you, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed…So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day” (10:12-13).
The scripture states that the sun stood still for “about a whole day.” We will later demonstrate that God defines a normal day as about twenty-four hours.
A clever argument has been used to teach that Joshua’s long day caused Sunday to become the new seventh day of the week. Carefully following the logic of this argument, it is best summarized in this way: “The week in which Joshua’s long day occurred contained an extra twenty-four hour period. This would be the period described as ‘about a whole day.’ If Joshua’s battle occurred, for instance, on a Thursday, then there were eight twenty-four hour periods in the week of Joshua’s long day instead of seven! Since Thursday would be about forty-eight hours long, it would now also include Friday. The following day, Friday, would then become the day that was Saturday. And Saturday (what would have been the seventh day of this week) would become Sunday.”
This faulty logic would then continue by concluding that “the seventh day has been Sunday ever since.” Of course, this means that people have been keeping the Sabbath on the wrong day for over 3,400 years! For this argument to be true we must ask: Was Thursday really Thursday and Friday—or was Thursday merely a long Thursday?
Here is the problem with the logic of this argument. Those who espouse it do not understand the Bible definition of a day. Let’s keep this matter straight. We must let the Bible, and the Bible alone, define a day! Men have endless ideas about things they think the Bible says. We must examine what it actually says—not what people with preconceived ideas think it says.
Men try to say that Joshua’s long day was two days of twenty-four hours each. This is what is necessary to move the seventh day of the week forward into what is now Sunday. Return to Joshua’s account. Does God refer to this day as two days? Here is His answer: “And there was no day like that before it or after it” (10:14). Did you catch the “it”? God refers to this period as a “day,” and “it” (twice). God uses the singular, not the plural. It says day, not days!
Make no mistake. This was not an ordinary day! This much is certain. God says, “there was no day like…it.” It was only one day—and this does not mean “two days in one.” It was a single, unique day in the course of human history, and perhaps all time. This was a tremendous supernatural event demonstrating the great power of God. The universe is a finely tuned mechanism, functioning like a giant Swiss watch. Astronomers agree that it is all interdependent and moves together. Literally, it required God to halt the entire heavens (remember, this miracle included the moon) for about twenty-four hours in order to make the sun “stand still.” To use this event as an excuse to disobey the Sabbath is to trivialize one of the greatest miracles of all time!
The following diagrams depict the error of the clever argument that we have described. The first diagram is the wrong view of the week, and the second is the correct view.
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| CORRECT VIEW OF JOSHUA'S EXTRA LONG DAY |
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| INCORRECT VIEW OF JOSHUA'S EXTRA LONG DAY |
Men may decide that a day is twenty-four hours by the clock—but that is not what God says. We must understand why God could correctly describe Joshua’s approximately forty-eight hour day as one day.
Incorrect View of “Joshua’s Long Day”
This graphic shows the incorrect view of Joshua’s “long day” as two 24-hour days. The result is that the first day of the week (Sunday) becomes the seventh day of the week, thus allowing the true Sabbath to be lost.
Correct View of Joshua’s “Long Day”
This graphic correctly show the week of Joshua’s “long day.” The true Sabbath still occurs on the seventh day of the week.
In the creation chapter of Genesis 1, God gives His definition of a day. God says that He “divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening (darkness) and the morning (light) were the first day…And the evening (darkness) and the morning (light) were the second day…And the evening and the morning were the third day” (vs. 4-13) and so on through the first week. From this account, we see that days are comprised of evenings and mornings. Despite the common perception, a day is not merely the daylight portion of a twenty-four-hour period. It is, in fact, the entire period between sunsets.
This is the Bible definition of the length of a day! What could be more plain?
Further, we must go to Leviticus to see what God says is the starting point of each day. Notice that “from even unto even” (23:32) is how God instructed that the Sabbath be observed. The word evening is derived from the word even. For several hundred years after the death of Christ, the general practice was always to begin days at sunset, not at midnight. Any encyclopedia will explain this and Luke 4:40 and Mark 1:32 show that days begin and end at the time of sunset.
Joshua’s long day consisted of a twelve-hour evening and about a thirty-six-hour “morning.” But this did not make it two days—it was just one very long day.
Now we must restate a previous point. Remember that Christ was not confused about the Sabbath, and that He kept it on the proper day over 1,400 years after “Joshua’s long day.” To believe that the long day of Joshua altered the weekly cycle, thus losing a day, it is necessary to believe that Christ Himself did not adjust for this “long day.” Then one must believe that Christ was “off” by one full day in His calculation of which day was the Sabbath—and so were the Jews.
Now think! If Christ was incorrect in His calculation of the Sabbath, then He broke the Sabbath—He sinned—and mankind has no Savior! But Christ did not sin by breaking the Sabbath or in any other fashion. And mankind does have a Savior.
Finally, it is interesting to note that even those who reference Joshua’s account always call it “Joshua’s long day”—not “Joshua’s long days.” The whole argument of trying to compress two days into one, to escape the command to keep the seventh day Sabbath (today’s Saturday), seems rather silly, doesn’t it? Do not be fooled by the clever arguments of men.
Can Days Be “Gained” or “Lost”?
Because the earth is round, days are determined by the rotation of the planet on its axis. This rotation is measured in relation to the sun. It is the same with the Sabbath. Sundown—at any given place on earth—determines the beginning of the Sabbath or any other day. Whether one is in New York, Manila or Paris is irrelevant. A day is from “even [sunset] unto even [sunset]” (Lev. 23:32). The beginning of any day is determined based on where someone is when the sun goes down.
The International Date Line was established so that men could know where their travels would require them to add or subtract a day—depending upon whether they were traveling east or west. Except for a couple of isolated South Pacific islands, this location was ideally placed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean because it does not permit people in different parts of the world to keep any day (including the Sabbath) on two different days. People in Japan start the Sabbath before those in India—who start it before people in Jerusalem—who start it before those in London—who start it before people in Chicago—who start it before those in Honolulu. However, all keep it on the same day!
Do not be confused by people who say that traveling around the world can cause one to “gain” or to “lose” days. Clever statements are often made about gaining hours while traveling west or losing hours while traveling east. This is not reality, but rather a perception of reality.
Here’s how to prove it! If one starts in London and travels non-stop westward around the world, returning to London, will he arrive one full day behind everyone who never left London? Has he traveled backward in time and “gained” twenty-four hours? Conversely, if one did the same thing traveling non-stop eastward, would he arrive in London a day before everyone that had remained there? Has he traveled forward in time and actually “lost” twenty-four hours?
The idea is silly! Yet this is how some people reason. If this were true, two separate people, one traveling non-stop eastward and the other traveling non-stop westward, would both arrive in London at the same time and yet be two days apart in time. If two people did this over and over, one would become younger while the other would be aging at a faster rate. How ridiculous to consider this! Yet this argument fools some people.
There is a slightly different, but related, point to be considered. It seems that there are never-ending ways that people devise to believe time can be lost. What would have to happen—exactly—for time to truly be lost in such a way that the whole world would lose it? Another way of asking this question is: What would it take today for six billion people on earth to all lose track of time?
We have all known people who forget where they are, fall asleep or “lose track of time,” when they are supposed to be somewhere or do something on a schedule. Perhaps this has happened to you several times. So, it is admitted that individuals can certainly “lose track of time.” However, someone would have to be knocked unconscious or fall into a coma to lose track of time so that, when they awaken, they are unable to know how much time has passed—days, weeks, months, or even years! But, they would merely ask how long they had been “out” and the answer would reorient them.
Let’s carry this further. What would be necessary for all people on earth to lose track of time? The following would have to happen (I am being facetious): Simultaneously, everyone on earth, for an extended period of time, would have to be knocked unconscious, fall asleep or fall into a coma! Presumably, if everyone then regained consciousness, there would be no one left to ask how much time had passed while everyone was “out cold.” If even one person remained conscious, he could tell everyone what had happened. Everyone would be reoriented to the proper time.
Can you see the absurdity of such shallow, deceptive arguments about “gaining” or “losing” time?
The True Church Proves Time Has Not Been Lost
The true Church of God has always kept God’s Sabbath—Saturday. Just as Jews know the correct day, so also do true Christians.
Most theologians and religionists have long admitted that the true Sabbath of the Bible is the seventh day. However, they will not obey it. Saturday, not Sunday, is the seventh day of the week. Even a good dictionary explains this. You have already seen several scriptural references to the Sabbath. God hallowed it at creation—long before there were any Jews or Israelites to keep it.
God told ancient Israel, “Moreover also I gave them My sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them” (Ezek. 20:12). One of the single greatest keys that identifies the true Church, the one founded by Jesus Christ, is the sign of God’s true Sabbath.
The quote, “More than the Jews having kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept the Jews!” could as easily have been said of the true Church, which has been under siege throughout the ages—partly for keeping the Sabbath. The church at Rome, in A.D. 363, decreed the death sentence on all that continued to observe the Sabbath.
Christ kept the Sabbath. A Christian is one who follows—who copies—Jesus Christ’s example in his own life. His example was Sabbath observance! Therefore, for 2,000 years, the New Testament Church has always kept God’s Sabbath. The record of history is that God’s Church has remained faithful to the Sabbath command despite intense persecution. It has remained a sign between God and His people.
What About Changes to the Roman Calendar?
What about the important question of changes to the Roman calendar? There were two important changes (actually one change that occurred in two stages) to two different Roman calendars. These changes are acknowledged. But what were the nature of these changes? Did they affect the weekly cycle? They did not! Neither of the two changes affected the days of the week. This has not kept people from saying that these changes broke the weekly cycle. This reasoning continues with the claim that this has caused time to be lost—and thus the certainty of when to observe the Sabbath is gone.
Some understanding of history is required. Most are unfamiliar with the fact that today’s calendar is called the Gregorian calendar or that the Julian calendar preceded it.
Most are familiar with the famous Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. He devised the first Roman calendar—called the “Julian calendar.” Our month of July still carries the stamp of his name. His calendar dated from 45 B.C. and continued to A.D. 1582—spanning over 16 centuries. A Greek astronomer named Sosigenes calculated the calendar in 46 B.C., which Caesar adopted.
The first change to the calendar occurred in 1582 and was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585). From this point, the calendar has been known as the “Gregorian calendar.” One hundred and seventy years later, in 1752, another change was made. Both involved dropping days from the calendar to correct for previous errors in construction and computation. What had caused the problem?
Over the centuries, astronomers had come to greater precision in understanding how to compute and devise a more exact (solar) calendar. The Julian calendar lacked this precision. It was based on the belief that a solar year was exactly 365 1/4 days long. Hence, the calendar added one extra day every four years to the month of February. Astronomers learned in time that the solar year was actually 12 minutes and 14 seconds shorter than previously believed. This caused the spring equinox to fall backwards on the calendar until it eventually fell on March 11th instead of March 21st. This required that ten days be dropped from the calendar.
Bear in mind that days were dropped from the month—in October 1582—and not from the week!
The first week of October went from Thursday, October 4th, to Friday, October 15th. The two Sabbaths on either side of this change were still seven days apart. The Sabbath remained unaffected. The weekly cycle was not broken. Because it was the Catholics who made the change, it is they who possess the best historical record of how they did this. The official change took place in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Apparently, there was much debate about how and when to make the change. Notice the following two quotes: “Thus, every imaginable proposition was made, only one idea was never mentioned, viz., the abandonment of the seven-day week” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 251, article “Lilius”). (It was Lilius who actually proposed the change that was finally accepted.)
Also, “It is to be noted that in the Christian period, the order of days in the week has never been interrupted. Thus, when Gregory XIII reformed the calendar in 1582, Thursday, 4 October was followed by Friday, 15 October. So in England, in 1752, Wednesday, 2 September, was followed by Thursday, 14 September” (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 740, article “Chronology”).
As stated, two changes occurred to the calendar that were really one change occurring in two stages. This bears explanation. When Pope Gregory decreed the change, the British would not comply. They retained the old Julian calendar until 1752—thus remaining ten days behind the newly established Gregorian calendar! Obviously, Sabbath-keeping remained undisturbed in British areas for these 170 years.
The British finally determined to make the change. With the passing of 170 years came an additional “drift” in the calendar of one more day. Now it became necessary to drop eleven days to catch up with the spring equinox, instead of the previous ten! The change was effected in September of 1752. Instead of dropping ten days, between a Thursday and Friday as in 1582, the British chose to drop eleven days between a Wednesday and Thursday. Once again, Sabbath-keeping continued undisturbed during the seven-day period spanning the change:
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| CALENDAR CHANGE NO. 2 |
Actually, there was even a third stage to the calendar changes described above. The Russians refused to make the change until 1907! Their calendar had now fallen thirteen days behind everyone else’s. It was not until 1907 that they synchronized with the rest of the world by dropping thirteen days from their calendar. Before and after this change, Sabbath-keepers in Russia observed the same day that Sabbath-keepers everywhere else in the world observed. Certainly the same practice applied to all Sunday-keepers.
No one can dispute these basic facts of recent history!
The View From Scientists, Historians and Astronomers
Have you ever asked yourself where the different terms day, week, month and year originated? Consider the year. What is it? How was it derived? Men determined that it is the exact amount of time necessary for the earth to revolve around the sun one time. Astronomers and scientists were able to determine the length of a year through precise mathematical computation. Their calculations cannot be disputed!
What about a month? The same is true. The word month is a shortened version of “moonth.” Men determined that it is the exact amount of time necessary for the moon to orbit or revolve around the earth. Astronomers and scientists were able to determine the length of a month through precise mathematical computation. Their calculations cannot be disputed!
What about the day? What is it? Again, the same is true. Men determined that it is the exact amount of time necessary for the earth to rotate on its axis one time. Astronomers and scientists were able to determine the length of a day through precise mathematical computation. Their calculations cannot be disputed!
None of the above calculations required a revelation from God. All of the computations and calculations could be performed by men. They cannot be “interpreted” otherwise. The evidence has been long established! (LEARN-- The Truth About God’s Calendar.)
Now consider who determined that a week contains seven days. Did scientists—astronomers—mathematicians—historians—Popes or other religious authorities? What exact mathematical computation would have guided men to a seven-day conclusion for the length of a week—in the same way that the year, month and day were derived? Astronomy and math have nothing to do with the length of a week! So, why doesn’t the week have five days? Why doesn’t it have eight days or ten days? This question of “why the seven-day week?” has always loomed before all men.
The only correct answer to this question is that God divinely revealed the week to mankind! No other solution fits and the seven-day weekly cycle is universally accepted around the world!
Many experts have spoken about the unbroken continuity of the weekly cycle from creation. Their testimony represents its own towering authority attesting to the sanctity and divine origin of the seven-day week.
Consider the following powerful quotes taken from www.tagnet.org/llt/science.htm:
“The week is a period of seven days…It has been employed from time immemorial in almost all Eastern countries” (The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 4, p. 988, article, “Calendar”).
In the 1920s and early 1930s, the League of Nations was considering altering the Gregorian calendar. Many ideas were considered and debated. In the League’s official “Report on the Reform of the Calendar,” published at Geneva, August 17, 1926, are the following statements by noted astronomers:
“The week has been followed for thousands of years and therefore has been hallowed by immemorial use” (Anders Donner, “The Report,” p. 51. [Donner had been a professor of Astronomy at the University of Helsingfors.]).
“I have always hesitated to suggest breaking the continuity of the week, which without a doubt is the most ancient scientific institution bequeathed to us by antiquity” (Edouard Baillaud, “The Report,” p. 52. [Baillaud was Director of the Paris Observatory.]).
“There has been no change in our calendar in past centuries that has affected in any way the cycle of the week” (James Robertson, personal letter, dated March 12, 1932. [Dr. Robertson was Director of the American Ephemeris, Navy Dept., U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C.]).
“As far as I know, in the various changes of the Calendar there has been no change in the seven day rota of the week, which has come down from very early times” (F.W. Dyson, personal letter, dated March 4, 1932. [Dr. Dyson was Astronomer Royal, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London.]).
“The week of seven days has been in use ever since the days of the Mosaic dispensation, and we have no reason for supposing that any irregularities have existed in the succession of weeks and their days from that time to the present” (Dr. W.W. Campbell, Statement. [Dr. Campbell was Director of Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, California.]).
“For more than 3,000 years science has gone backward, and with profound research, reveals the fact that in that vast period the length of the day has not changed by the hundredth part of a single second of time” (General O.M. Mitchell, Astronomy of the Bible, p. 235).
“By calculating the eclipses, it can be proven that no time has been lost and that the creation days were seven, divided into twenty-four hours each” (Dr. Hinckley, The Watchman, July, 1926. [Dr. Hinckley was a well-known astronomer of a half a century ago.]).
“The continuity of the week has crossed the centuries and all known calendars, still intact” (Professor D. Eginitis, Statement [Dr. Eginitis was Director of the Observatory of Athens, Greece.]).
Then this longer quote:
“It is a strange fact that even today there is a great deal of confusion concerning the question of so-called ‘lost time.’ Alterations that have been made to the calendar in the past have left the impression that time has actually been lost. In point of fact, of course, these adjustments were made to bring the calendar into closer agreement with the natural [solar] year. Now, unfortunately, this supposed ‘lost time’ is still being used to throw doubt upon the unbroken cycle of the Seventh-day Sabbath that God inaugurated at the Creation. I am glad I can add the witness of my scientific training to the irrevocable nature of the weekly cycle.
“Having been time computer at Greenwich [England Observatory] for many years, I can testify that all our days are in God’s absolute control—relentlessly measured by the daily rotation of the earth on its axis. This daily period of rotation does not vary one-thousandth part of a second in thousands of years. Also, the year is a very definite number of days. Consequently, it can be said that not a day has been lost since Creation, and all the calendar changes notwithstanding, there has been no break in the weekly cycle” (Frank Jeffries, Statement [Dr. Jeffries was Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Research Director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England.]).
Finally, consider the following extraordinary admission by the Sunday-keeping Presbyterian Church:
“The division of time into weeks is a singular measure of time by periods of seven days that may be traced not only through the sacred history before the era of Moses, but in all ancient civilizations of every era, many of which could not possibly have derived their notion from Moses. Among the learned of Egypt, the Brahmans of India, by Arabs, by Assyrians, as may be gathered from their astronomers and priests, this division was recognized. Hesiod (900 B.C.) declares the seventh day is holy. And so also Homer and Callimachus. Even in the Saxon mythology, the division by weeks is prominent. Nay, even among the tribes of primitive worshipers in Africa, we are told that a peculiar feature of their religion is a weekly sacred day, the violation of which by labor will incur the wrath of their god. Traces of a similar division of time have been noticed among the Indians of the American continent.
“Now, on what other theory are these facts explicable than upon the supposition of a divinely ordained Sabbath at the origin of the race?” (“The Christian Sabbath,” tract number 271, released by the Presbyterian Board of Publication).
Time has NOT been Lost
The Sabbath has NOT been lost in the time since creation. WE "SEE" THAT IT HAS NOT. No amount of deceptive trickery or clever “sleight of hand” has been sufficient to overthrow the truth about when God’s Sabbath should be observed. God never requires people to discern for themselves what to obey—only whether they will obey.
You have now seen proof that the weekly cycle has been kept intact for nearly 6,000 years. What will you do? In the conclusion, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:
“Would God set apart a certain day, put His blessing on it (Gen. 2:1-3), make it holy time, command that it be kept holy forever, and then let that holy time become so lost we cannot tell when to keep it?
“Time lost? If so, then you and I are lost souls, for it is sin to profane God’s Sabbath! That is the 4th point of the Law.
“Sin is the transgression of the Law, (I John 3:4) and if we break only one of its points—any one—we are guilty sinners (James 2:8-11). The very last recorded words of Jesus say: ‘Blessed are they that do His [His Father’s] Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life’ (Rev. 22:14).”
WE HAVE TO SEEK THE TRUTH--WE HAVE TO WANT AND DESIRE THE TRUTH--WE HAVE TO SEEK GOD--FOR OURSELVES : EACH ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR OWN BEFORE THE THRONE...GOD IS "TRUTH"
"NO LIE IS OF THE TRUTH"
GOD IS "TRUTH"
GOD'S "LOVE" IS COMING
"TRUTH & ONENESS OF SPIRIT"
"TRUTH & ONENESS OF SPIRIT"
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