Food for Thought – Articles
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Statements on Matthew 5:17-19 by Desmond Ford
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“17 Think not I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets. I come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 Truly I say to you till heaven and earth pass away not a jot or tittle will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 An iota or a jot was the Yoda the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The title is the littlest fraction at the end of the letter that distinguished it from another letter. Don’t think I have come to get rid of it, I have come to establish it. “
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Now a friend of mine has written a book called The Sabbath in Crisis in which he said this only means that Jesus fulfilled the Passover and Jesus fulfilled the sacrifices and Jesus fulfilled all the ceremonies. No dear friends, that is not it at all for He goes on to explain. Remember a text without a context is a pretext. Let's look at the context. Verse 19 whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments. Some versions have breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. He who does them and keeps them shall be called great.
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So, what does it mean in V. 17 when it contrasts abolish and fulfill. V. 19 tells us to abolish means to break and teach men so. To fulfill means to do them and teach men so. It is very dangerous to teach men to violate anything that the Divine Voice spoke unless the same Divine Voice has revoked it. No Law ceases to be binding unless the same power, the same authenticity revokes it as created it originally. So, Jesus said don’t think I have come to abolish it. Then he explains it. Whoever breaks it and teaches men so, that’s abolishing it. I came to fulfill. Then He explains that v. 19. Whoever does them and teaches them.
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But you say Law is a broad term. He may just be talking about something else in the Decalogue. No, He isn’t. You see the whole Bible is meant to make us good. We are not good. We’re selfish. We’re self-centered. We’re born rebels. The only thing we want is our own way in everything all the time. The Bible is meant to make us good. And the Torah, the Pentatude, was called such because it is an elaboration of how to come into harmony with the will of God.
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We know that Christ in this passage has His eye on the Law within the Law. He has it on the Decalogue because He proceeds to quote it. Please notice v. 21. You have heard that it was said you shall not kill. Then He give the depth of that commandment. Which by the way is in the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:18. You have their neighbor as thyself. You shall not hate your enemy. You see his ox or ass going astray you return it to him. Your enemy hungers to feed him. If he is thirsty give him a drink. It is not a new Law. He is contrasting the commandments as taught by the Pharisees. In this chapter it says remember you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. That is not the Old Testament. That is what the Pharisees taught. When He talks about divorce, He’s thinking about says how the Pharisees say you can divorce for any reason. So, he is not contrasting Himself with the Old Testament. He is always deepening the truths that are clearly set forth in the Old Testament that have been passed by. He says don’t think I have come to abolish it.
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ON THE SABBATH
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by John Wesley
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The greatest blessing that God can give to any generation or society is a Divine awakening. A consciousness of our distance from a Holy God, violation of His holy laws and modifications of His requirements, is a pre-requisite for such an event. If we, as individuals or society, find ourselves distanced from God, remember He did not change! His revealed nature, given to Moses is eternal: I AM THAT I AM, I am the Lord I change not!
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1. He does not change in His hatred of sin (Deuteronomy 25:16; Proverbs 21:27; Revelation 2:15).
2. He does not change in His power to forgive sin (Exodus 34:7; Psalm 130:4; 1 John 2:2).
3. He does not change in His requirements for holy living (Leviticus 11:44; Isaiah 35:8; Titus 2:12).
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Sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees. Perhaps this voice from the past will help us see the "forest" as God sees it. Carefully read Mr. Wesley's sermon, which is not widely circulated. I commend it to you; read it for your own edification!
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On the Sabbath
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Sermon #139
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Exodus 20:8 - In the twentieth chapter of Exodus, at the eighth verse, it is thus written: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
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"That the sabbath was not ordained in the beginning of the world, nor ever observed from the creation till the time of Moses; that being given by Moses to the Jews, it was not observed as a moral precept, but like other ceremonies was sometimes kept and sometimes not, as public or private business gave way; that, lastly, it was forever repealed at the destruction of the temple" - these are the assertions of those who would so remember the sabbath as not to keep it holy at all.
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In answer to so much of these objections as seems to require an answer, and to the conclusions drawn from them, I shall endeavor to show:
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I. That the command for keeping the sabbath holy was given for wise ends, by such an authority that none but the same which gave it can repeal it.
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II. That is has not been repealed by this authority, as the ends for which it was given are still in force; and,
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III. What that keeping the sabbath holy is, by which we obey the command and answer the ends of it.
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I. The first thing to be shown is that the command of keeping the sabbath holy was given for wise ends, by such an authority that none but the same which gave it can repeal it. I dispute not here whether this command was given to Adam, nor whether it was observed before Moses; nor yet whether we are to keep the sabbath upon the seventh day, as was the practice of the Jews, or on the first day of the week, according to the usage of the Christian Church from our Lord's resurrection to this day. My present inquiry is only this: What authority commands us to keep one day in seven holy? And what were the chief ends for which this command was given?
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1. The authority by which it was given was God's. He it was who from the holy place of Sinai spoke all those words, among which are these, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." He it was who declared again and again, "Verily my sabbath ye shall keep; it is holy unto you; everyone that defiled it shall be put to death."
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Now who but God hath power to repeal what God hath once established? Seeing then it was he who established this law, none but himself hath power to repeal it. Till he repeals it, it must be the duty of all men to obey it, whether the reasons for which he hath established it are known to them or no. An abundantly sufficient reason for their obedience is this alone, that he gave it, if they know no other. Not that this is the case here. The wise reasons of this command are, or may be, known to all men; the chief ends of it are almost everywhere delivered, together with the command itself.
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2. The first we have in the second chapter of Genesis, verse 3: "And God blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his works which God created and made." And again, in the twentieth chapter of Exodus: "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and all that is them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
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In these words three things are plainly affirmed: (1) that God is the creator of the world; (2) that having created it in six days he ceased from his work on the seventh; (3), that hereon he blessed the seventh day, and hallowed, or sanctified it, ordaining that man, being made in the image and for the imitation of God, should imitate him in this, in bestowing six days on the works pertaining to this world, and resting from all these works on the seventh, to retire to a better world.
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We see here the chief reason of this command, the great end for which it was given, even that man might learn to imitate God, to fulfil the purpose of his creation; that he might ever remember who it was that created himself, and heaven and earth; that like him, having finished his six days, he might on the seventh retire from this world, and ascent in heart and mind into the heaven of heavens, whither his Creator went in person before him.
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3. Another end of this command God declared both on Mount Sinai and long after by his prophet Ezekiel: "I gave them my sabbath, . . . that they might know that I am the Lord which sanctified them." That these sacred days, so often as they returned, might confirm them in that important knowledge, that God was the author of their virtue and happiness as well as of their being; that should he withdraw his sanctifying power they would as naturally sink into sin and misery as, should he withdraw his quickening power, they would fall into their native dust.
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They knew how holiness was to be attained, so they actually might attain it, was a third wise end of God's commanding man to keep one day in seven holy. This we learn from that other declaration of God, wherein after "Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy," it follows in the very next verse, "Ye shall keep my sabbaths;" plainly intimating that one reason why they were it keep his sabbaths was that they might be holy as God is holy; that by constantly dedicating to him one day in seven they might be enabled to spend the other six as became those who acknowledged their Creator and Sanctifier to be of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; that they might ever be mindful of taking him for their pattern, not only in one particular, but in the general course of their lives, which after his example should be holy, just, and good.
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The sum of what has been hitherto observed is this: God, who hath an undoubted right to command men what he pleases and is under no obligation of acquainting them with the reasons of his commands, was pleased to give them this command, "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy." Nay, and was also pleased to acquaint them with several of the reasons that moved him so to do, the chief of which are these:
(1) that man, by imitating one particular action of God, might retain a more lively and lasting sense of God's being the Creator, of himself and all things; (
2), that he might constantly remember who it is that is his Sanctifier as well as Creator;' (3), that he might be ever mindful that it is the business of his life to imitate him in all things; to make God's mercy, justice, and holiness the pattern of all his thoughts, words, and actions.
II. The next question, therefore, is whether this command has yet been repealed by the authority that gave it, and whether these ends for which it was given are still in force or not.
1. As to the former part of the question, it is roundly affirmed that God did repeal it when he was made man; to prove which a famous manager in this controversy gives us the strength of his cause in these words:
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In these rigid vanities by which the Pharisees had abused the sabbath, our Savior thought it requisite to detect their follies. They taught, it was unlawful on the sabbath day either to heal the impotent, or relieve the sick, or feed the hungry; but he confutes them in them, both by his actions and by his disputations... Did they accuse his followers of gathering corn upon the sabbath, being a hungered? He lets them know what David did in the same extremity.... The cures he did upon the sabbath, what were they more than what themselves did daily in laying salves upon those infants whom they had circumcised on the sabbath? His bidding of the impotent man to take up his bed, was it so great a toil as to lift the ox out of the ditch?... Nor had God so spoke the word but that he could repeal it, the Son of man being Lord also of the sabbath. Nay, it is rightly remarked that he did more works of charity upon the sabbath than on all days else; and several of them when there was no extreme necessity that the cure should be performed that day, or the man perish... What then? Did our Savior destroy the law? No - but to let them understand the right meaning of it, that they might no longer be misled by the Scribes and Pharisees....
Further, that the sabbath was to be repealed is by this apparent,
(1), that it was an institute of Moses;
(2), that it was an institute peculiar to the Jewish nation.
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Thus far the historian, whose numerous assertions it may be worthwhile to examine apart, begins at that wherewith he ends, as being of most importance.
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"The sabbath (says he) was to be repealed because it was, (1), an institute of Moses; (2), an institute peculiar to the Jewish nation." Now as every institute peculiar to the Jewish nation was an institute of Moses, all we must do is to inquire whether the sanctifying the sabbath was an institute of Moses or no.
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I therefore think it was not, because it was instituted at least two thousand years before Moses was born. So saith the text in Genesis expressly: "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."
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Indeed, so soon as it shall be proved that there is an absurdity in taking this in the plain literal sense, then we shall be forced to take it in a less plain, in a figurative sense, and to say, "Though this is related as done at the creation, it was not done till the giving of manna in the time of Moses, four or five and twenty hundred years after the creation." But till this absurdity is shown we have no pretense for giving up the letter. We have no pretense to interpret any Scripture figuratively but when an absurdity follows a proper interpretation. This not being the case here, we may, we must, conclude that the sabbath was instituted at the creation; therefore, that it was not an institute of Moses, and consequently that from this supposition, which is manifestly false, it cannot be inferred that it was to be repealed at all.
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2. However, that it actually was repealed is inferred from the other assertions above mentioned, which are briefly these:
(1), that the Pharisees thought it unlawful to do even works of necessity or mercy on the sabbath;
(2), that our Savior proved they thought wrong therein, such works being lawful on any day;
(3), that the Son of God, being man, could, if he pleased, set aside his own command;
(4), that himself did more works both of necessity and mercy on this than on any other day; and (5), that he came, not to destroy the law but to fulfill, to teach men its right meaning.
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All and every one of these five propositions we allow to be perfectly true and would be exceeding glad to know from which of the five we are to infer the conclusion. Are we to say, the Pharisees had wrong notions of the sabbath; therefore, the sabbath is abolished? Or, has our Lord proved their notions of it to be wrong; therefore, it is disannulled? Or God could if he pleased set it aside; therefore, he did set it aside? Or Christ did works of necessity and mercy on the sabbath, therefore we may do works that belong neither to necessity nor mercy? Or lastly, the Son of man came to fulfill the law; therefore he destroyed this branch of it?
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I hope it will not be thought an unpardonable presumption if, notwithstanding all these arguments to the contrary, I still conceive that God hath not yet repealed his command touching the sabbath; nay, and that he never will, till the Great Sabbath begins; both because he hath not done it yet, and because the reasons for which he gave it are still in full force, and must be so till the consummation of all things.
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For, (1), to preserve in man a lively and constant sense of God's being the Creator of all things, this end of the sabbath must remain in full force so long as men remain upon the earth. This reason for keeping it can never be wanting so long as any of those creatures are living who, in spite of all methods used to prevent it, are so extremely apt to forget their Creator; who so readily lay hold of any pretense, nay, who are so willing without any pretense at all, if not to think that they are the work of chance or their own hands, at least to act as if they did think so.
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And the second end of the sabbath can no more cease than the first. That man should be constantly and deeply sensible that he can no more sanctify than he could create himself must ever be of the last importance. It must ever be of the highest concern to men to remember that they are unable to help themselves; to keep the impression of this great truth ever strong upon their minds, that he who is born of a woman must be born again of God, or it is impossible he should please him.
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3. It must ever be of equal concern to men to remember that it is the business of their lives to imitate God. I presume no one will be so hardy as to affirm that this end of the sabbath has lost any of its force; that it does not hold full as strongly at this day as it did on the birthday of the creation. It being therefore clear that God hath given this command, and that he hath not repealed it, and that it is sufficiently probably that he never will, since the ends of it must ever be in full force, all that remains is to show it.
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Thirdly, what it is to keep the sabbath holy, to obey this command, and answer the ends of it.
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To keep a day of a place holy is plainly this, to set it apart to religious uses. This is both the proper and the common sense of the word. By saying "This day or this place is kept holy," both the learned and unlearned mean, it is dedicated to God, it is appropriated to his service. And to unhallow or profane a holy place or day is, not to set it apart to those uses; to use it in the same manner with other things which are not dedicated to God, not appropriated to his service; to perform on the holy day or in the consecrated place the works of ordinary days and unhallowed places.
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To keep the sabbath day holy, as well in the proper as common sense of the word, is therefore to set it apart to religious uses, to dedicate it to the service of God. What is implied in this we shall easily see if we consider,
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(1), what we must;
(2), what we may; and
(3), what we may not do on it.
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1. We must, if we will obey this command at all, and answer the ends for which it was given us, employ a considerable part of this day in praying to and praising God. We must retire with him from this lower world into those regions that are above the firmament. We must employ ourselves in thinking on the various works he hath made, and on the goodness, wisdom, and power of the Maker; and in talking of his marvelous acts, in telling the memorial of his abundant kindness - that branch of his kindness, in particular, whereby he daily renews the face of the earth, whereby he restores lost man to pardon and peace, and gives him the second, better life of holiness. That this his last, noblest gift may not be in vain, we must now especially work together with him; we must labor to conform ourselves to his likeness, to be holy as he is holy. We must make it our peculiar business to perfect his image in our souls, to bind mercy and truth about our neck, to write them deep on the tablet of our heart.
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2. Not that our mind need be every moment intent upon this; that might make even devotion a burden. No - we have bodies as well as souls; and this our Lord considered, though the Pharisees did not. He therefore took away that intolerable severity wherewith their traditions had loaded the sabbath and made it of none effect but to hinder those ends for the furthering of which it was ordained. He brought it back to its original standard, to its just and natural extent. Accordingly both his words and his actions showed that we may do works of necessity and mercy on this day; that we may do whatever cannot be done on another day, or not without manifest inconvenience, such as giving ourselves decent and proper recreation; as feeding and watering of cattle - for this is a work of necessity; that we may relieve our sick or hungry neighbor - for this is a work of mercy.
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3. This therefore we may do. But we may not do any other work on the sabbath. We may not do any manner of work therein which neither necessity nor mercy requires. We may not do any work which can be done on another day, and done without much inconvenience, the delaying of which a day longer would not give either to ourselves or our neighbor much loss or pain.
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Neither may we use any such recreation on the sabbath as does not further the ends for which it was given us. Some recreation is therefore allowed on this day because few minds are of so firm a temper as to be able to preserve a cheerful devotion, a lively gratitude, without it. It is therefore a proper work of necessity so far as it conduces to these ends. But we may not therefore go farther; we may not use such kinds of recreation, or any in such a degree, as does not conduce to these ends, as does not enliven our devotion, and quicken our gratitude. Here is a short and sure rule: all such recreation as helps devotion we may use; all such as hinders or does not help this great end of its institution, we may not use on this day.
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The case is just the same as to the day as to the house of God; and for this reason, doubtless it is that God more than once mentions them together. "Ye shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary." We are not to reverence the sanctuary of God so much as not to show mercy, not to save life therein; we may likewise do necessary works there, such as cannot be done elsewhere, or not without great inconvenience. But we may not do common works therein, much less use common diversions. The former actions are not at all contrary to its holiness; the latter unhallow, pollute, and profane it. And when either the temple or the sabbath of God is made a day or a house of merchandise, it will not be long before truth itself will pronounce the one as abomination and the other a den of thieves.
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If from what has been said it appears, (1), that this command, "Keep the sabbath holy," was given to man by God, and that for wise ends, even to keep him duly sensible that God is his Creator, his Sanctifier, and his Pattern; (2), that as God has not yet repealed this command, so the ends of it are in full force; and, lastly, that the only way of keeping the sabbath holy, of obeying this command and answering its ends, is to abstain from all diversions as well as works which neither necessity nor mercy requires, that we may set apart God's day for the service of God, which alone is to sanctify or keep it holy - then is the sabbath no institution of Moses, neither is it peculiar to the Jews, but the command to observe it, as well as the reasons of that command, extend to all ages and nations. Then - if we cut away from it the additions of the latter Jews, and that once circumstance "Let no man go out of his place on the sabbath day," wherewith God guarded it for a time from the disobedience of their stiff-necked forefathers - we may safely affirm of the Fourth Commandment, as well as of the other nine, Christ came "not to destroy, but to fulfill it; and till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from this law till all be fulfilled."
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Brethren, let me add one word or exhortation. And be ye assured of this, that those who watch over your souls as they that must give account will not willfully lead them out of the way. So that when you and we give up our great account, it will not increase your condemnation. If there be any here who will not be at the trouble of keeping the sabbath holy, who says he cannot submit to the drudgery of worshiping God; who thinks prayer and praise, meditation and pious discourse, too heavy a burden to be borne a whole day, and so resolves to spend at least a part of this day either in diversions or business; I exhort all such, all who will do one, to work rather than play. I exhort you that are parents if ye care not to train up your children in devotion, when they come from church not to send them to the streets or marketplace, but rather, of the two, to school. As to the innocence of either, it does not matter which you do - but to do the latter looks more like prudence. If ye do not care for the other world, yet why should you neglect this, too? Why should ye sell your own and your children's souls for nothing? Perhaps ye may get a little for them. As to the command of God, you throw that quite out of the question; that ye reject either way. Ye no more keep that day holy whereon ye play than whereon ye work. And as to the ends of it, ye destroy them alike, one way or the other. Ye are no longer endeavoring to remember your Creator, to be thankful for his benefits, and conformed to his holiness, while ye unhallow his day by common diversion, then while ye do it by common work. But by the latter ye may gain something in exchange for your souls - you may perhaps get some money for your conscience. If ye life up your hand against your God in labor rather than idleness, ye may have this comfort in your rebellion, that ye did not serve the devil for naught.
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Nor that those who serve God, who keep his day holy both from common work and diversions, have less reason to expect a reward from their Master, and even in the present world. For to these, who would not be wicked even to be rich, who love God even better than gain, to these thus saith God: "If thou turn away thy foot from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
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In The Son’s Name for The Father’s Glory
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Elders: Max W. Mader and Chris A. Yenni
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The Sabbath Identifies God
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by Ronald L. Dart
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Would it shock you to learn that during the time that the New Testament was being written, during the whole first century, all the way up to around 80 or 90 A.D., that the entire Christian Church throughout the entire known world, observed the Sabbath Day? No, I do not mean Sunday, but what most people would call the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday. I mean, the fourth commandment. Would it surprise you to learn that for over 400 years, the great majority of Christian Churches still observed the Sabbath Day and that 1000 years later, the Roman Church was still trying to inhibit Sabbath Day observance among a substantial number of Christians of that century.
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As late as the 80s and 90s of the first century, when the last of the epistles of the New Testament were being written, the New Testament Church universally observed the seventh day Sabbath. This part is beyond dispute. This is not a matter of a few proof texts and some technical arguments. It is something that is woven into the very fabric of the New Testament.
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The Sabbath is a Sign that Identifies God
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There is a passage back in Exodus 31 that illustrates this, and I think it is sometimes overlooked. Remember what we're trying to grasp now is the attitude of the Jews in the synagogue on the day Jesus walked in there for the first time.
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Toward the Sabbath Day, how did the Jews feel about it? Exodus 31 verse 12: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Jehovah that sanctifies you." Now think about that. This is not merely a sign of the Jews; this was a sign that identified who their God was by name. For a Jew to change the Sabbath was to change his God. Do you get that? It was a sign, He says between Me and you are though out all your generations, that you may know something. It is that I am Jehovah that does sanctify you.
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Verse 14: 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people." That is an important statement. Understand this, you're cut off from the people of God by not keeping the Sabbath Day. It is the identifying sign, it is who we are, who God is.
Verse 15: "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever does any work in the Sabbath Day, he shall surely be put to death. {16} Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant."
The Sabbath is not going away for these people. It is a sign God said between Me and the children of Israel forever.
Verse 17: "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."
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So, we would fully expect any Jew, in Jesus' day, who came to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day has no thought that sometime in the future, the Sabbath Day would go away, right? For him it is a perpetual covenant. For him it is something that is going to last forever. The thought of the Sabbath passing is like some kind of doctrinal change and would've been anathema to them. The Sabbath was the sign for the Jews that identified who his God was, and it carried the penalty of death for a presumptuous violation of it.
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Babylonian Exile
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For the Jews to whom Jesus spoke, on this occasion, the Sabbath could not be taken lightly, because the Jews knew from Ezekiel's prophecies that the failure to keep the Sabbath as a sign was a direct reason why they had gone into exile in Babylon.
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There is a fascinating prophecy, and it is found in the 20th chapter of the book of Ezekiel. God begins to run down this statement with Israel, warning them about where they are and where they have come to.
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Ezekiel says in verse 5: "Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, I lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt". This lifting up of God's hand is a form of swearing. He continues: "I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I am Jehovah your God". In other words, I identified myself to them by name.
Verse 7: "Then I said to them, cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God. {8} But they rebelled against me and wouldn't listen to me, and they didn't cast away their idols."
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There is a repeated theme in this passage again and again. God was angry with Israel, but He decided to work with them, for His own reputation.
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He says in verse 9: "But I worked for my name's sake, that my name would not be polluted before the heathen". In other words, God was mad at them. He was going to punish them but there were certain things God said that He would have to do so that His reputation would not suffer in the process.
God says in verse 10: "I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness." {11} "I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man does, he shall even live in them. {12} Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Jehovah that does sanctify them."
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The Sabbath Identifies God
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Once again, the purpose of the Sabbath is to identify who their God was, but He says in Ezekiel 20:13: "The house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them." So, He said, "I'll just get rid of these people". They are out in the wilderness now.
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Now this same theme comes back, in verse 14: "But I worked for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen."
Verse 18: "But I said to their children in the wilderness, don't walk in the statutes of your fathers, don't observe their judgments, don't defile yourselves with their idols: {19} I am Jehovah your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; {20} And hallow my Sabbaths; and they (my Sabbaths) shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Jehovah your God." How clear does this have to be.
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Later, God will say verse 23: "I lifted up my hand to them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries". Why would I do that? {24} "Because they had not executed my judgments, had despised my statutes, had polluted my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols."
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In the end the Jews went into captivity in Babylon for a broad variety of transgressions but the number one reason that led to all the others was that they polluted the Sabbath Day. So, by the time Jesus showed up in the synagogue to read the Scriptures on that day, the Sabbath had been drilled into the conscience of the Jews assembled there. It was woven into the warp and woof of their faith. It was not a mere doctrine that could be abandoned if it became inconvenient. So, I think we can understand that at this point in history when Jesus walked into the synagogue, the Jews who sat there and heard him read, to abandon the Sabbath Day, to contemplate a change in the Sabbath Day of any kind, would have been tantamount to abandoning their God.
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No Controversies Over the Sabbath
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Now you can search through the four Gospels and all the way up to Acts 12 and you will not find one word about a controversy over the Sabbath. You will find no announcement of a change. You will find no suggestion of a change. No explanation of a change, nor will you find the great turmoil that would have been generated by any suggestion of a change on the day of worship. The assumption is so clear it is unmistakable, that up to the thirteenth chapter of Acts, all Christians who were Jews continued to observe the Sabbath as they had all their lives. There is no way that change could have been made and not have created an uproar in the New Testament. You will find no instructions for a change on the day of worship, nor even any breadcrumbs to indicate that such a change was made. This is important, because a change in the day of worship would not have merely implied a change in custom for every Jew and every proselyte, it would have implied a change of God. This change would have to be dealt with in depth. Now you tell me, could such a change have been made up to Acts 13 without a ripple of it showing up in the Bible?
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But now, the gospel is going to the Gentiles, did a change take place at that time? That brings us to the 13th chapter of Acts where this first major effort for the Gentiles was made.
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How Did Paul Deal with the Sabbath?
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So here we are in the 13th chapter of Acts where the gospel finally goes out to the Gentiles for the first time. How did Paul handle the issue or the question of the Sabbath Day? The question as far as we can tell in the New Testament had never been raised up until this point. In Acts 13 verse 14: "They departed from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and sat down. {15} And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." {16} Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen."
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Okay, the gospel had to go to the Jews first (Acts 13:46), and naturally it went on the Sabbath, right? Then Paul gives the gospel to the Jews. You can read it for yourself right there in the thirteenth chapter of Acts. You will not find a word about a change in the Sabbath. Naturally, what would've been the effect of such a change? They would certainly have grabbed Paul by the scruff of the neck and thrown him out in the street, because that would have been tantamount to abandoning God completely in the eyes of the Jewish synagogue.
Now verse 42: "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. {43} Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God." The gospel of grace had been thoroughly established.
Verse 44: "The next Sabbath Day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. {45} But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." Nothing had bothered them about Paul until he was successful. The fact is, when were they doing all this preaching? They are still doing it on the Sabbath Day.
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The Early Church Observed God’s Annual Sabbaths
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In Acts 20 and verse 4, Paul takes off into Asia with several companions and it says in verse 5: they went ahead and waited for him at Troas: {6} "We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and in five days joined them in Troas; where we abode seven days." It's just a throwaway line, but they were planning their travel according to the Jewish calendar. They wanted to stay in location until the holidays were finished and then move on.
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In first Corinthians 5 verse six, Paul was writing to these people about a problem in the church. He said in verse seven: "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. {8} Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
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I know that this is shocking to some people, but it is right there on the page. Paul is exhorting a Gentile church to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was done commonly at this time.
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Then there's another interesting letter of Paul's. In Colossians 2 verse 16, he told them: "Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or observing Festival's, new moons, or Sabbath's. {17} Now these are only a shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to Christ. {18} Don't let anyone disqualify you insisting on self-abasement and worship of Angels, dwelling on visions puffed up without cause by human way of thinking". Now if you parse this passage very carefully, what you see is a church that is observing the Festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths, but is being condemned for feasting on food and drink by Gentile ascetics, that were common at that time. They were Gnostics.
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It is truly ironic that this is a popular passage that is used against the observance of the festivals, when in fact, it reveals plainly that the Church was observing the Festivals, New Moons, and Sabbath Days.
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The Lord’s Day
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But doesn't John mention Sunday as the Lord's Day in the book of Revelation. Actually, no he doesn't!
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Here is what John says: "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. {10} I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." Do you realize there is not one word here to suggest that ‘Lord's Day' is Sunday. If indeed John is referring at all to a day of the week and if we are to use the Bible as our best historical source, you have Luke six beginning in verse one: "It came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that Jesus went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and ate them, rubbing them in their hands." Now the Pharisees saw this, and they jumped on them about it and said: "Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath Days?"
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Now there is nothing at all in the Bible, the Old Testament, to tell you that you can't do what Jesus and His disciples were doing.
Verse 3: "Jesus said to them, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: {4} "how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" {5} And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.""
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