How does a Christian keep the Sabbath Holy?
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Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Gal 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Gal 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
(The following is copied and pasted from 119Ministries transcript on Galatians 5)
At face value, this question may appear rather absurd. Would God have given us
"bondage" and then stated that if we obey this "bondage" we will be blessed, and if we
disobey the "bondage" that we fall under the curse of a second death (Deuteronomy
11:26-29)? Do we find any verse in all of Scripture that says the Law of God is bondage?
No we do not. In fact, we find the opposite.
Once again,
Psalm 119:44-45
I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
Psalm 119:47
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
James 1:25
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres,
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
So if the Law of God is freedom, how can we also call it bondage?
Good question. We simply can't, or at least for those who wish to avoid clear
contradiction in their doctrine and theology.
Some people attempt to use this passage to suggest that Paul compared following God’s
Law to being in slavery. Some have even suggested that a person has fallen away from
grace if they continue to follow God’s Law after coming to know Messiah. But that
interpretation is impossible in light of everything we’ve learned about what Paul thought
about the Law. If God’s Law was indeed slavery, why did Paul continue to follow it and
teach it? If circumcision itself caused someone to fall away from Messiah, why did Paul
circumcise Timothy in Acts 16:3? The traditional interpretation just doesn’t fit when
considering all the evidence.
The issue here, once again, is regarding ritual conversion to Judaism and circumcision as
a prerequisite to salvation. That’s what Paul taught against. That works-based salvation
paradigm is what puts people into bondage and causes people to fall away from grace.
The fact that Paul is speaking of works-based salvation is clear in verse 4:
Galatians 5:4
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have
fallen away from grace.
The problem was that false teachers were saying that one could be “justified by the law.”
They were teaching that God’s grace could be earned through ritual conversion. Again,
the problem was a misuse of God’s Law, not God’s Law itself.
My quote: Learning the difference between the written law of the LORD, transcribed by Moses, and the oral law that was man-made by the Pharisees and Sadducee's is crucial in understanding Paul's writings. I am not Jewish and if there are any Pharisees or Sadducee's functioning in 2023, I don't know them.
Gal 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Gal 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
(The following is copied and pasted from 119Ministries transcript on Galatians 5)
At face value, this question may appear rather absurd. Would God have given us
"bondage" and then stated that if we obey this "bondage" we will be blessed, and if we
disobey the "bondage" that we fall under the curse of a second death (Deuteronomy
11:26-29)? Do we find any verse in all of Scripture that says the Law of God is bondage?
No we do not. In fact, we find the opposite.
Once again,
Psalm 119:44-45
I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
Psalm 119:47
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
James 1:25
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres,
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
So if the Law of God is freedom, how can we also call it bondage?
Good question. We simply can't, or at least for those who wish to avoid clear
contradiction in their doctrine and theology.
Some people attempt to use this passage to suggest that Paul compared following God’s
Law to being in slavery. Some have even suggested that a person has fallen away from
grace if they continue to follow God’s Law after coming to know Messiah. But that
interpretation is impossible in light of everything we’ve learned about what Paul thought
about the Law. If God’s Law was indeed slavery, why did Paul continue to follow it and
teach it? If circumcision itself caused someone to fall away from Messiah, why did Paul
circumcise Timothy in Acts 16:3? The traditional interpretation just doesn’t fit when
considering all the evidence.
The issue here, once again, is regarding ritual conversion to Judaism and circumcision as
a prerequisite to salvation. That’s what Paul taught against. That works-based salvation
paradigm is what puts people into bondage and causes people to fall away from grace.
The fact that Paul is speaking of works-based salvation is clear in verse 4:
Galatians 5:4
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have
fallen away from grace.
The problem was that false teachers were saying that one could be “justified by the law.”
They were teaching that God’s grace could be earned through ritual conversion. Again,
the problem was a misuse of God’s Law, not God’s Law itself.
My quote: Learning the difference between the written law of the LORD, transcribed by Moses, and the oral law that was man-made by the Pharisees and Sadducee's is crucial in understanding Paul's writings. I am not Jewish and if there are any Pharisees or Sadducee's functioning in 2023, I don't know them.
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The reason is pretty simple. Everything shuts down on the Sabbath. There are no shops or booths in the market place. My understanding of Jesus calling the Pharisees and Sadducee's hypocrites, is because they elevated their oral law above God's laws. God's laws are not grievous, but those Jews had so many burdens added to the law, it was ridiculous. One of God's laws is not to add or diminish from His laws. Those Jews were law breakers and they rebellion kept most from repenting when Jesus pointed to their errors. It just made them hardhearted and more zealous to kill him.
Romans 7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ,
that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we
might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions
aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying
to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new
way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we
might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions
aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying
to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new
way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
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It seems that a more accurate interpretation of Romans 7:4 is that believers have died, not to the law
itself, but rather to sin and death. The Bible defines what sin is. 1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Ecclesiastes_1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
itself, but rather to sin and death. The Bible defines what sin is. 1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Ecclesiastes_1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
[QUOTE="TMS, post: 5053300, member: 217057"]Yes Jesus did keep the law perfectly because it is perfect righteousness in action. [/quote]Not because it is "perfect righteousness in action" but because Christ is righteousness personified. He Himself is our Righteousness, thus the Bible calls Him "the LORD our Righteousness" (JEHOVAH TSIDKENU) (Jer 23:6).
This is a false accusation. There is no one telling Christians to be lawless. But everyone is telling Christians to be under the Law of Christ, not the Law of Moses. Even unsaved Jews are not fully obeying the Law of Moses, let alone Seventh Day Adventists. You cannot make a mishmash out of both the Old and New Covenants.
This is a false accusation. There is no one telling Christians to be lawless. But everyone is telling Christians to be under the Law of Christ, not the Law of Moses. Even unsaved Jews are not fully obeying the Law of Moses, let alone Seventh Day Adventists. You cannot make a mishmash out of both the Old and New Covenants.
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You only quoted that part of my comment but did not include the rest. I'm not preaching cheap grace at all and I'm against it. You fulfill the law by loving God and your neighbors. If you strive with someone and condemn because he does not keep the sabbath and you keep it, then you are a transgressor to the whole law.
You cannot do both.
Pursue the written law for righteousness and pursue Jesus for His righteousness.
You think, if you obey the sabbath then you are right. That is what righteousness means, I am right in what I do.
That is the problem with the law, you cannot be right in obeying the law.
The purpose of the law was to grant the knowledge of sin, that's all the law does. Prepares you for the messiah.
There is no righteousness (rightness) in obedience to the law.
There was only ever one form of righteousness and that was the perfect righteousness of Christ.
Jesus is the source of everything.
Pursue the written law for righteousness and pursue Jesus for His righteousness.
You think, if you obey the sabbath then you are right. That is what righteousness means, I am right in what I do.
That is the problem with the law, you cannot be right in obeying the law.
The purpose of the law was to grant the knowledge of sin, that's all the law does. Prepares you for the messiah.
There is no righteousness (rightness) in obedience to the law.
There was only ever one form of righteousness and that was the perfect righteousness of Christ.
Jesus is the source of everything.
The Bible is one love story 
the old and the new were added in by us... One love story for the bride.
If we understand God is one, we know it was YHWH that gave Moses the law. Yeshua is YHWH in the flesh so Moses did not dream up the Torah. It was given to Him by our God and he had to take it to the people. God wrote the commandments with his own finger. He wrote all ten of them and never cross one out.
Keeping or not keeping the Sabbath is a distraction for so many Christians today and if that is an obstacle for you, don't keep the Sabbath. It is between you and Abba Father
Enjoy your day Nehemiah and I hope you have a blessed Pesach
the old and the new were added in by us... One love story for the bride.If we understand God is one, we know it was YHWH that gave Moses the law. Yeshua is YHWH in the flesh so Moses did not dream up the Torah. It was given to Him by our God and he had to take it to the people. God wrote the commandments with his own finger. He wrote all ten of them and never cross one out.
Keeping or not keeping the Sabbath is a distraction for so many Christians today and if that is an obstacle for you, don't keep the Sabbath. It is between you and Abba Father
Enjoy your day Nehemiah and I hope you have a blessed Pesach
What about Adam before the fall.
He could walk with God unashamed. Adam was righteous until he sinned. And if we could live without ever sinning we would be like Christ.
But we can't and we have all sinned and therefore we are not righteous and nothing we can do will make us righteous. By faith in Jesus and by accepting the gift of His righteousness we are justfied and are seen as if we are sinless. Sin is the transgression of the law.
So we are seen as if we have kept the law perfectly like Jesus did.
I delight in the law because it is the love of God. The character of God and i want to be like Jesus so i allow Jesus to work in me. By faith Jesus wants to create a righteous character in us.
The law is not the problem.
It is pointing out sin and therefore hated by those that want to sin. But if we love the Lord we will want to obey the law.
Because Jesus gives us His righteousness (perfect obedience) do we use this as an excuse to be lawless or ignore the law??
He could walk with God unashamed. Adam was righteous until he sinned. And if we could live without ever sinning we would be like Christ.
But we can't and we have all sinned and therefore we are not righteous and nothing we can do will make us righteous. By faith in Jesus and by accepting the gift of His righteousness we are justfied and are seen as if we are sinless. Sin is the transgression of the law.
So we are seen as if we have kept the law perfectly like Jesus did.
I delight in the law because it is the love of God. The character of God and i want to be like Jesus so i allow Jesus to work in me. By faith Jesus wants to create a righteous character in us.
The law is not the problem.
It is pointing out sin and therefore hated by those that want to sin. But if we love the Lord we will want to obey the law.
Because Jesus gives us His righteousness (perfect obedience) do we use this as an excuse to be lawless or ignore the law??
Not because it is "perfect righteousness in action" but because Christ is righteousness personified. He Himself is our Righteousness, thus the Bible calls Him "the LORD our Righteousness" (JEHOVAH TSIDKENU) (Jer 23:6).
This is a false accusation. There is no one telling Christians to be lawless. But everyone is telling Christians to be under the Law of Christ, not the Law of Moses. Even unsaved Jews are not fully obeying the Law of Moses, let alone Seventh Day Adventists. You cannot make a mishmash out of both the Old and New Covenants.[/QUOTE]
Why would we want to live under the Old Covenant anymore? I tried that when I was a young Christian, and it was a heavy burden to say the least. I was in a continual state of frustration and depression because I could never meet the expectations.
I have no problem looking at the Old Covenant from a New Covenant perspective, and I love the Old Testament of the Bible. Much of it points towards the New Covenant we are living under today--a grace-based and love focused perspective.
This is a false accusation. There is no one telling Christians to be lawless. But everyone is telling Christians to be under the Law of Christ, not the Law of Moses. Even unsaved Jews are not fully obeying the Law of Moses, let alone Seventh Day Adventists. You cannot make a mishmash out of both the Old and New Covenants.[/QUOTE]
Why would we want to live under the Old Covenant anymore? I tried that when I was a young Christian, and it was a heavy burden to say the least. I was in a continual state of frustration and depression because I could never meet the expectations.
I have no problem looking at the Old Covenant from a New Covenant perspective, and I love the Old Testament of the Bible. Much of it points towards the New Covenant we are living under today--a grace-based and love focused perspective.
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I've never said we should pursue the law for righteousness..
Christ is the perfect example of law keeping. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be like Christ. But we have all failed at law keeping because our flesh is corrupted.
So by faith we accept the gift of Jesus.
We can obey the law to be saved and to earn righteousness and we will fail. Righteousness without Christ is impossible.
We can also obey the law because we love Jesus and love our neighbour.
By faith and because Jesus is living in you, we can obey the law.
It's all about the motive.
Why do you choose to not take Gods name in vain?
If you do it because of love, then the same motive leads me to obey the 4th commandment.
Christ is the perfect example of law keeping. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be like Christ. But we have all failed at law keeping because our flesh is corrupted.
So by faith we accept the gift of Jesus.
We can obey the law to be saved and to earn righteousness and we will fail. Righteousness without Christ is impossible.
We can also obey the law because we love Jesus and love our neighbour.
By faith and because Jesus is living in you, we can obey the law.
It's all about the motive.
Why do you choose to not take Gods name in vain?
If you do it because of love, then the same motive leads me to obey the 4th commandment.
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Rom 10:4 For Christ is the END of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
The word "end" is telos
And can mean a few things but the two relavent meanings are....
Termination - end
Or
Cunclusion - end
Strong's Definition: From a primary word τέλλω tellō (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid): - + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the "cunclusion" of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
The same word, telos, is used in the verse below.
1Ti 1:5 Now the END of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
The word "end" is telos
And can mean a few things but the two relavent meanings are....
Termination - end
Or
Cunclusion - end
Strong's Definition: From a primary word τέλλω tellō (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid): - + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the "cunclusion" of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
The same word, telos, is used in the verse below.
1Ti 1:5 Now the END of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: