So what about the fourth commandment?
- Thread starter disciplemike
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God made unconditional promises/blessings to Abraham (Gen. 22:15-18), because he proved his worthiness through his humility and 100% trust in God. God promised to exceedingly multiply and bless Abraham and his descendants, and give them possession and control of the key strategic areas of the Earth, and that ALL families of the Earth would eventually be blessed - through Abraham and his seed (Gen. 12:1-3): specifically through the lineage of Isaac (Gen. 21:12, 26:1-6) and Jacob (Gen. 25:23, 28:10-15), since God repeated those blessings directly to them
The 12 tribes of Israel is meant, not only literally, but also metaphorically, to represent ALL the tribes of the world (Luke 13:29) because of the grafting into Israel of the gentiles. ANYONE who KEEPS the COMMANDments and DOES God's Will is automatically an Israelite and grafted-in (Matt. 12:48-50, Mark 3:33-35, Luke 8:21)
The 12 tribes of Israel is meant, not only literally, but also metaphorically, to represent ALL the tribes of the world (Luke 13:29) because of the grafting into Israel of the gentiles. ANYONE who KEEPS the COMMANDments and DOES God's Will is automatically an Israelite and grafted-in (Matt. 12:48-50, Mark 3:33-35, Luke 8:21)
the handwriting of requirements
"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross".
the last chapter of the last book of the Bible teaches:
"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to
the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14).
Since it is only "those who do His commandments...{who} have the right
to enter...the city" , the ten commandments could not be "contrary to us."
Actually, it is only those who will not keep the ten commandments that are denied access.
Revelation specifically shows that those who break one of at least four of
the ten commandments will be outside God's city (Revelation 22:15).
the ten commandments were not "nailed to the cross," what was?
Look again at what the Bible actually says (two translations):
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14, NKJV)
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us,
which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross.. (Colossians 2:14, NASB)
The handwriting of requirements (often also called the hand-writing of ordinances)
or certificate of debt was wiped away and nailed to the stake, which some call a cross
Which requirements were wiped out?
the expression "the handwriting of requirements" (cheirógrafon toís dógmasin)
is a Greek legal expression that signifies the penalty which a lawbreaker had to pay
--it does not signify the laws that are to be obeyed--only the penalty. It is only through
the acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that the penalty was wiped out
("the handwriting of requirements").
But only the penalty, not the law!
Even some Protestant commentators realize this is so.
Notice what Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible states about Colossians 2:14:
Whatever was in force against us is taken out of the way. He has obtained for us
a legal discharge from the hand-writing of ordinances, which was against us (v. 14),
which may be understood,
1. Of that obligation to punishment in which consists the guilt of sin. The curse of the law is
the hand-writing against us, like the hand-writing on Belshazzar's wall. Cursed is every one
who continues not in every thing. This was a hand-writing which was against us, and contrary
to us; for it threatened our eternal ruin.
This was removed when he redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,
Gal 3:13. (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition,
Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.).
In addition, let us look at the Greek term exaleipho translated as "wiped out" in Colossians 2:14:
NT:1813
exaleipho (ex-al-i'-fo); from NT:1537 and NT:218; to smear out, i.e. obliterate (erase tears, figuratively, pardon sin) (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
In other words, exaleipho has to do with wiping out sin. This is also confirmed in Acts 3:19
where Peter also uses the term exaleipho, which is translated as "blotted out" below:
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
Hence, it is sin and the related penalties that are to be blotted or wiped out.
And the penalties could vary from "being unclean to the evening" (Leviticus 11:24-28)
to making an offering (Leviticus 5:5-6) to being "cut off from his people" (Leviticus 7:27)
to the death penalty (Exodus 31:14).
This is also confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament:
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us
(Galatians 3:13). The curse of the law is related to the penalty. And Jesus paid it.
But what about the law of God? Was the law of God to be wiped out? No:
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17)
While some erroneously think that Jesus, for example, did away with the Ten Commandments
by how He led His life, that most certainly was not the view of the early Christians who
continued to keep them[Paul included]
Furthermore, remember that the Bible clearly teaches that sin is lawlessness:
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that
He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. (I John 3:4-5).
Notice that Paul wrote:
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2).
Thus the New Testament makes clear that the law of God continues,
thus it was not nailed to the cross or somehow wiped out.
The Bible, however, also shows that the requirements of the Levitical priesthood
(Hebrews 9:1,6-10) sometimes called the law, which were part of the penalty of sin,
were blotted out.
And why?
"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins...
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
once for all" (Hebrews 10:4,10).
Jesus' one sacrifice was and is sufficient--we do not have to sacrifice animals any more!
Another requirement (which is related) would be the death penalty of sin,
as "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"
(Romans 6:23) or other specific ceremonial penalties associated with the Old Testament
statutes (such as making a sin offering, being put outside the camp, or washing).
"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross".
the last chapter of the last book of the Bible teaches:
"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to
the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14).
Since it is only "those who do His commandments...{who} have the right
to enter...the city" , the ten commandments could not be "contrary to us."
Actually, it is only those who will not keep the ten commandments that are denied access.
Revelation specifically shows that those who break one of at least four of
the ten commandments will be outside God's city (Revelation 22:15).
the ten commandments were not "nailed to the cross," what was?
Look again at what the Bible actually says (two translations):
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14, NKJV)
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us,
which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross.. (Colossians 2:14, NASB)
The handwriting of requirements (often also called the hand-writing of ordinances)
or certificate of debt was wiped away and nailed to the stake, which some call a cross
Which requirements were wiped out?
the expression "the handwriting of requirements" (cheirógrafon toís dógmasin)
is a Greek legal expression that signifies the penalty which a lawbreaker had to pay
--it does not signify the laws that are to be obeyed--only the penalty. It is only through
the acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that the penalty was wiped out
("the handwriting of requirements").
But only the penalty, not the law!
Even some Protestant commentators realize this is so.
Notice what Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible states about Colossians 2:14:
Whatever was in force against us is taken out of the way. He has obtained for us
a legal discharge from the hand-writing of ordinances, which was against us (v. 14),
which may be understood,
1. Of that obligation to punishment in which consists the guilt of sin. The curse of the law is
the hand-writing against us, like the hand-writing on Belshazzar's wall. Cursed is every one
who continues not in every thing. This was a hand-writing which was against us, and contrary
to us; for it threatened our eternal ruin.
This was removed when he redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,
Gal 3:13. (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition,
Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.).
In addition, let us look at the Greek term exaleipho translated as "wiped out" in Colossians 2:14:
NT:1813
exaleipho (ex-al-i'-fo); from NT:1537 and NT:218; to smear out, i.e. obliterate (erase tears, figuratively, pardon sin) (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
In other words, exaleipho has to do with wiping out sin. This is also confirmed in Acts 3:19
where Peter also uses the term exaleipho, which is translated as "blotted out" below:
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
Hence, it is sin and the related penalties that are to be blotted or wiped out.
And the penalties could vary from "being unclean to the evening" (Leviticus 11:24-28)
to making an offering (Leviticus 5:5-6) to being "cut off from his people" (Leviticus 7:27)
to the death penalty (Exodus 31:14).
This is also confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament:
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us
(Galatians 3:13). The curse of the law is related to the penalty. And Jesus paid it.
But what about the law of God? Was the law of God to be wiped out? No:
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17)
While some erroneously think that Jesus, for example, did away with the Ten Commandments
by how He led His life, that most certainly was not the view of the early Christians who
continued to keep them[Paul included]
Furthermore, remember that the Bible clearly teaches that sin is lawlessness:
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that
He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. (I John 3:4-5).
Notice that Paul wrote:
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2).
Thus the New Testament makes clear that the law of God continues,
thus it was not nailed to the cross or somehow wiped out.
The Bible, however, also shows that the requirements of the Levitical priesthood
(Hebrews 9:1,6-10) sometimes called the law, which were part of the penalty of sin,
were blotted out.
And why?
"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins...
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
once for all" (Hebrews 10:4,10).
Jesus' one sacrifice was and is sufficient--we do not have to sacrifice animals any more!
Another requirement (which is related) would be the death penalty of sin,
as "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"
(Romans 6:23) or other specific ceremonial penalties associated with the Old Testament
statutes (such as making a sin offering, being put outside the camp, or washing).
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the purpose of the scriptures is to teach us how to walk in a dark and dying world, in the Spirit, we all my have different understanding of things written there but that doesn't mean we cant discuss them, I know that I am a student of the word and what little I have been blessed to apprehend is quite frankly too great for me... this I do know though, my Savior died for every precious soul here. think on that awhile.....
would you like some context?
the context is that glorious ministration, written in stone.
which was brought to an end.
which is surpassed by the Glory of God with us, Immanuel - the gift of the indwelling Spirit of God.
the truth is that Christ far surpasses it -- that the actual rest we find in Him, and the service to God in the new way of the spirit, is far more glorious than the old way that was serving Him by the written code, and the ceremonial observance of a day, which was ineffectual to turn the heart toward Him, but could only produce the awareness of sin, bringing sin to life, and result in outward behavioral modification.
so much so that that ministration no longer has any glory, being surpassed by the new covenant of the body of Christ and the Spirit of God given to His children, able to change the heart and mind and conform us into His image.
that is what the scripture says.
who rejects it?
but mike won't even read this. he considers himself too wise to even lower himself to reading post's posts.
heh
whatever you do, do to the Lord.
Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
(2 Corinthians 3:7-11)
(2 Corinthians 3:7-11)
the context is that glorious ministration, written in stone.
which was brought to an end.
which is surpassed by the Glory of God with us, Immanuel - the gift of the indwelling Spirit of God.
the truth is that Christ far surpasses it -- that the actual rest we find in Him, and the service to God in the new way of the spirit, is far more glorious than the old way that was serving Him by the written code, and the ceremonial observance of a day, which was ineffectual to turn the heart toward Him, but could only produce the awareness of sin, bringing sin to life, and result in outward behavioral modification.
so much so that that ministration no longer has any glory, being surpassed by the new covenant of the body of Christ and the Spirit of God given to His children, able to change the heart and mind and conform us into His image.
that is what the scripture says.
who rejects it?
but mike won't even read this. he considers himself too wise to even lower himself to reading post's posts.
heh
whatever you do, do to the Lord.
i don't know that i would completely agree that this is the purpose of scripture, but i'm being nit-picky to bring it up.
these things are written so that we may believe, and believing, grow in the knowledge of God. walking is something that we cannot do without God gives it to us to walk. in these days of the richness of His covenant of grace made through the precious ((epic)) gift of His Son, He has given us of His spirit, whereby we are made able to repent, able to hear and to answer His calling, and are conformed to His will - being immersed into the Son, and the Son into us through the ministration of this Spirit, so that it is not us who walk, but Christ walking, for it is God who both wills and works in us for His good pleasure.
all the scripture speaks of Christ, and the Spirit reveals these things to us. so that it is the Spirit both who teaches and causes us to walk - so that it is impossible to boast.
He has give us life - and eternal -- and eternal life is to know Him, and the One He sent. this then is the purpose of scripture: that we may know Him, because it all speaks of Him and speaking of Him, by the ministration of the Spirit, causes us to grow in knowledge of Him, which is eternal life.
so that the scripture does not 'teach us to walk' but is used by God if He grants it to us, to cause us to know Him; Him, who causes us to will to walk, to comprehend to walk, and finally causes us to walk. as Christ came to serve, and did the will of the Father, the scripture is also the servant of the Lord, being breathed of Him, to accomplish His will, and as it was said through Isaiah, He will do all His will; that word will not fail to accomplish its purpose. His words are spirit and they are life: life is God working in us - to will, and to work; to walk.
not me, but the One dwelling in me - He that breathed the word, created the ear, and the mind, and the foot that also walks!
forever and ever it is His glory alone
actually you are right...it does not automatically apply to any believer.....that would be 'wishful thinking on their part.
As I see it - writing on people's hearts includes our agreement and willing submission to God - as a living sacrifice to what He is doing in us. Heb 4v12 tells us God's Word is sharper than any 2edged sword piercing our innermost being - hence people draw back from that experience when lacking the power of the Holy Spirit.....
which btw comes with 'obedience. Sadly people are not following the 'steps God set down for us.
As I see it - writing on people's hearts includes our agreement and willing submission to God - as a living sacrifice to what He is doing in us. Heb 4v12 tells us God's Word is sharper than any 2edged sword piercing our innermost being - hence people draw back from that experience when lacking the power of the Holy Spirit.....
which btw comes with 'obedience. Sadly people are not following the 'steps God set down for us.
i don't know that i would completely agree that this is the purpose of scripture, but i'm being nit-picky to bring it up.
these things are written so that we may believe, and believing, grow in the knowledge of God. walking is something that we cannot do without God gives it to us to walk. in these days of the richness of His covenant of grace made through the precious ((epic)) gift of His Son, He has given us of His spirit, whereby we are made able to repent, able to hear and to answer His calling, and are conformed to His will - being immersed into the Son, and the Son into us through the ministration of this Spirit, so that it is not us who walk, but Christ walking, for it is God who both wills and works in us for His good pleasure.
all the scripture speaks of Christ, and the Spirit reveals these things to us. so that it is the Spirit both who teaches and causes us to walk - so that it is impossible to boast.
He has give us life - and eternal -- and eternal life is to know Him, and the One He sent. this then is the purpose of scripture: that we may know Him, because it all speaks of Him and speaking of Him, by the ministration of the Spirit, causes us to grow in knowledge of Him, which is eternal life.
so that the scripture does not 'teach us to walk' but is used by God if He grants it to us, to cause us to know Him; Him, who causes us to will to walk, to comprehend to walk, and finally causes us to walk. as Christ came to serve, and did the will of the Father, the scripture is also the servant of the Lord, being breathed of Him, to accomplish His will, and as it was said through Isaiah, He will do all His will; that word will not fail to accomplish its purpose. His words are spirit and they are life: life is God working in us - to will, and to work; to walk.
not me, but the One dwelling in me - He that breathed the word, created the ear, and the mind, and the foot that also walks!
forever and ever it is His glory alone
some folks view "walking by the Spirit" as reading the bible, and then using their human abilities and understandings to live what they read.
I'm in favor of reading the bible, but an atheist can read and follow their understanding etc
yeah, that's what i'm getting at.
that may have been the case with the purpose of the Law under the old covenant. the purpose was to have an "instruction book for living" more or less. a lot of people see the NT in the same way still, but i think they are missing the revelation of the gospel.
but Paul teaches us that the Law in fact had much more purpose than that. it reveals sin as sinful and shows us all the more that we need God's mercy. it not only teaches us what righteousness ought to look like, from a "rulebook" kind of viewpoint, but it teaches us that we are incapable of walking in righteousness. it teaches us of our profound need for Christ.
and Christ has come!!!
now the whole of scripture points us not to "follow these instructions to the letter" but "believe in the Son of God" - who causes and enables you not only to follow these things but to desire to.
because the Son of God has taken your burden for you. because He has walked the walk for you. because He will send His Spirit to transform you from the heart outward into a new creation that finally can walk righteously before God -- not by our own power but by God's own power.
the scripture, as i see it, is not a "rulebook" or "instruction manual" on how to walk. it is an arrow pointing at Jesus Christ.
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]
And I will put my spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
(Ezekiel 36:27)
and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
(Ezekiel 36:27)
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]
it's not me doing my best to imitate Christ: it's Christ living in me.
how much more glorious is that than a rulebook!!??
so much more, that the written commands of the Law of the old covenant have no more glory at all.
Philippians 3:20-21 (NASB)
[SUP]20 [/SUP] For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
[SUP]21 [/SUP] who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)
[SUP]28 [/SUP] so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
[SUP]20 [/SUP] For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
[SUP]21 [/SUP] who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)
[SUP]28 [/SUP] so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
TEN FACTS ABOUT THE SABBATH:
FACT NUMBER ONE—The Sabbath was given to all mankind at the Creation of this world.
The seventh-day Sabbath was given to mankind on the seventh day of Creation Week.
"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."—Genesis 2:1-3.
God dedicated and set aside the Sabbath as a rest day—2,000 years before the first Jew. Abraham is considered by all to have been the first Jew. He lived about 2000 B.C. Biblical records indicate that the Creation of this world took place about 4000 B.C. So the Bible Sabbath is not Jewish! It is for mankind; it is for all the world.
"The Sabbath was made for man."—Mark 2:27.
FACT NUMBER TWO—The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation and our salvation.
First, it is a memorial of Creation.
"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."—Exodus 31:17.
As a memorial of the Creation of this world, the Sabbath cannot pass away without first having this world pass away—and creating a new one! Our planet could not have a new or different Sabbath day, without having it first hurled into oblivion—and then a new planet created from nothing. But no such event has occurred.
Second, the Sabbath is a symbol of our salvation. When we keep it, we tell all the world that we belong to God and that we serve and obey Him. The seventh-day Sabbath is a sign of our conversion, sanctification, and salvation:
"Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."—Exodus 31:13.
"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."—Ezekiel 20:12.
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."—Ezekiel 20:20.
But what about Christ’s resurrection? Nowhere in Scripture were we told to keep any day in honor of Christ’s resurrection. To do so is unscriptural. On the contrary, to set aside the Creation and sanctification Sabbath of the Bible—for another day of the week—and excuse it by saying that we do so "in honor of Christ’s resurrection,"—is indeed to do a very daring thing. Who dare presume to set aside the Memorial of Creation and salvation for any reason! To knowingly do so, flies in the face of repeated, direct, Biblical commands by the God of heaven. To do so denies that He is our Creator and Redeemer.
If we abandon the Bible Sabbath and keep another day holy, in the Judgment what excuse can we offer? There is no Bible reason for keeping the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh day.
FACT NUMBER THREE—The people of God kept the Bible Sabbath before the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai.
The Sabbath Truth was first given to our race in Eden before the fall of man. It was given before sin existed, and apart from it. It was given to every man to link him to his God. And if Adam needed the Sabbath, we need it all the more today.
God’s people had it before Mount Sinai. Four chapters before the Ten Commandments were given on Mount Sinai. the God of heaven spoke in such a way that it is obvious that the seventh-day Sabbath was already well-known by the people of God—but not always well-kept: Read Exodus 16.
There are those who say that the seventh-day Sabbath was not commanded by God, nor kept by man before it was spoken from Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. But Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 16 prove otherwise.
FACT NUMBER ONE—The Sabbath was given to all mankind at the Creation of this world.
The seventh-day Sabbath was given to mankind on the seventh day of Creation Week.
"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."—Genesis 2:1-3.
God dedicated and set aside the Sabbath as a rest day—2,000 years before the first Jew. Abraham is considered by all to have been the first Jew. He lived about 2000 B.C. Biblical records indicate that the Creation of this world took place about 4000 B.C. So the Bible Sabbath is not Jewish! It is for mankind; it is for all the world.
"The Sabbath was made for man."—Mark 2:27.
FACT NUMBER TWO—The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation and our salvation.
First, it is a memorial of Creation.
"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."—Exodus 31:17.
As a memorial of the Creation of this world, the Sabbath cannot pass away without first having this world pass away—and creating a new one! Our planet could not have a new or different Sabbath day, without having it first hurled into oblivion—and then a new planet created from nothing. But no such event has occurred.
Second, the Sabbath is a symbol of our salvation. When we keep it, we tell all the world that we belong to God and that we serve and obey Him. The seventh-day Sabbath is a sign of our conversion, sanctification, and salvation:
"Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."—Exodus 31:13.
"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."—Ezekiel 20:12.
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."—Ezekiel 20:20.
But what about Christ’s resurrection? Nowhere in Scripture were we told to keep any day in honor of Christ’s resurrection. To do so is unscriptural. On the contrary, to set aside the Creation and sanctification Sabbath of the Bible—for another day of the week—and excuse it by saying that we do so "in honor of Christ’s resurrection,"—is indeed to do a very daring thing. Who dare presume to set aside the Memorial of Creation and salvation for any reason! To knowingly do so, flies in the face of repeated, direct, Biblical commands by the God of heaven. To do so denies that He is our Creator and Redeemer.
If we abandon the Bible Sabbath and keep another day holy, in the Judgment what excuse can we offer? There is no Bible reason for keeping the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh day.
FACT NUMBER THREE—The people of God kept the Bible Sabbath before the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai.
The Sabbath Truth was first given to our race in Eden before the fall of man. It was given before sin existed, and apart from it. It was given to every man to link him to his God. And if Adam needed the Sabbath, we need it all the more today.
God’s people had it before Mount Sinai. Four chapters before the Ten Commandments were given on Mount Sinai. the God of heaven spoke in such a way that it is obvious that the seventh-day Sabbath was already well-known by the people of God—but not always well-kept: Read Exodus 16.
There are those who say that the seventh-day Sabbath was not commanded by God, nor kept by man before it was spoken from Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. But Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 16 prove otherwise.