Do we need to keep the sabbath? I dunno if I posted about this but I am still confused.
Matthew 5:19 says that if you ignore the least of these commands you get the least position in heaven. So can someone please explain this to me?
btw, what is the purpose of the Sabbath and why is it so hard to keep?
The Book of Matthew introduces Christ (the Messiah) to Israel as their King and that's apparent since it starts with Jesus's geneaology and that starts with Abraham. It's the Gospel fram the viewpoint of an Old Testament Hebrew anxiously awaiting the appearence of the "anointed one," the Messiah.
It's placed first as a logical link between Malachi and the appearence of our Incarnate Lord. We are coming from thirty-nine Jewish books which are concerned with the "calling-out" of a chosen people from Abraham, to twenty-seven books that primarily deal with Gentiles called out from among the nations, "to be a people for God's name" (Acts 15:14).
It's like a bridge or transition from a Jewish economy to the Church composed of Jew and Gentile. Like I said in another post, Romans 3:31 makes it clear that the law is still in effect for
somebody. The law is spiritual and good (Rom.7:12,14), but the New Testament Christian is not under it (Gal.3:22-26; Rom.6:14-17; 7:3-6).
There is a lot we can learn from Matt. but to mis-apply it doctinally is disastrous for Christians.
We know that Paul had led the Galatians to Christ (Gal.3:1), and they ahd made a good start on the Christian life (v.3) and were doing well spiritually (5:7) until the Jewish teachers (Judaizers) taught the Galatians to be saved one had to not only believe in Christ, but, had to also obey the Mosaic Law.
Paul exposes the Judaizers error when he tells them they have turned to being in bondage to beggarly elements (4:9) by observing days and months, and times, and years (v.10). I would be willing to bet that the Sabbath was one of those days.
Christians are the epistle of Christ not written in ink
"but with the Spirit of the living God;" not in tables of stone, but in
fleshy tables of the heart. 2Cor.3:3
the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life (v.6)