Remember when Jesus walked this earth, He was still under the old covenant and therefore under the law,. He had to keep the Sabbath. However, after He died, rose from the dead and send the Holy Spirit, the new covenant was establish. That is why God said in
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers…..You see God did not took the old covenant and made a few changes ( like we don’t have to slaughter animals for our sins) and “whalla” there is your new covenant. He said it is new and not like the old one. That is why Paul talked about the renewal of the mind in Rom 12:2, meaning that they (the Jews) must not think law any more and change the new testament into another law book, but the new covenant is all about a relationship. As we grow in this relationship with Jesus in us, and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will discover the new law that God promise us in Jer 31:33 But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. The law now comes from the inside, as is in Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness and temperance: That is why we moved from a one day (Sabbath) worship to a 24/7 relationship. That does not mean there is no day, yes we must have a day where we as family of God comes together to practice our gifts, encourage each other and commune. This day is not a Holy day, but like all the other days of the week, a day of the Lord for his children, and we must have a day to rest from the ordinary work for our bodies.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Be blessed
. Niel.
Niel,
Thank you for the insightful response. Let me help you with a few of these scriptures and subjects you brought up. First you mention Jesus was under the 'old covenant'. What is a covenant? God made the Sabbath a SEPARATE, ETERNAL, and PERPETUAL COVENANT, entirely separate and apart from what we term "the Old Covenant" made at Mt. Sinai.
How, then, is it a COVENANT?
Let's define the word "covenant." Webster defines a covenant
as: "An agreement between persons or parties. A solemn compact." A
covenant is a contract, or agreement, by which one party promises
certain rewards or payments, in return for certain stipulated performance
by the other party.
The Old Covenant between God and the children of Israel made
at Mt. Sinai imposed upon the people certain terms and conditions
to be performed: the obedience to the Ten Commandments. It promised
the reward of making Israel a nation "ABOVE all people." The PROMISES
were purely national, and material, for this world. The NEW Covenant
is founded on BETTER PROMISES (Heb. 8:6), which consist of "ETERNAL
inheritance (Heb. 9:15).
Once a covenant is signed, sealed, or ratified -- confirmed -- it
cannot be ADDED TO (Gal. 3:15). Anything appearing beneath the signature
is not legally any part of the covenant. You read of the actual making
of the Old Covenant, and sealing it with blood, in Exodus 24:6-8.
And notice (verse 8), it concludes with the words "the covenant, which
the LORD hath made with you." It was then already made -- completed.
We do not come to the making of this special eternal Sabbath
covenant until seven chapters later. It is, therefore, NO PART OF
the Old Covenant!
But, again, is it a COVENANT?
The wording in your Bible says it is! Notice, Exodus 31:16: "Wherefore
the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath
throughout their generations, for a perpetual COVENANT."
"Perpetual" means continuous, and unbroken. But was it to last
FOREVER? Read the following verse: "It is a SIGN between me and the
children of Israel FOREVER."
Now what is the condition to be performed? The keeping holy of
the Sabbath! "It is HOLY unto you," says God (verse 14). And what
is the REWARD PROMISED upon performance of the condition? It is not
only a SIGN, but also a compact or COVENANT "between me and you,"
says God, "that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify
you."
There it is! God promises TO SANCTIFY THEM -- He will set them
apart as HOLY -- as HIS HOLY PEOPLE! Can you ask for a BIGGER promise?
Yes, it is a COVENANT! It is a separate, totally different covenant.
Even if one tries to argue that the Old Covenant is "abolished" and
that therefore the Ten Commandments are abolished, he cannot argue
that this covenant was to last only until the cross. This covenant
is binding "throughout your generations" (verse 13); "a perpetual
covenant" (verse 16), and "forever" (verse 17).
You mentioned that Christ died, rose from the dead and send the Holy Spirit, the new covenant was established. Remember what day Christ rose on, the sabbath. It was the only sign He was going to give. 3 day and 3 nights, He died on Wednesday afternoon.
Next let us learn more about Jeremiah 31:31-34 Read verse 33 "...and will be their God, and they shall be My people" This is NOT happening currently. Everyone has not turned to God. There are people worshipping other gods. Vs 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall ALL KNOW ME, from the least of them unot the greatest of them, saith the LORD...
They shall ALL KNOW ME. This is not the case now. Everyone does not know God, let alone do what He has told us to do. Everyone will know God after the Day of the Lord (Rev 1:10) when God lets ALL people know He is God and the He is the Supreme Ruler. Zechariah 14:3-4 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. vs 4 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives...
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him 144000 having His Father's name written in their foreheads.
God gave man His Sabbath, for THE PURPOSE of keeping mankind
in the true knowledge and true worship of the True GOD.
But HOW does the Sabbath IDENTIFY God -- how does it point to the
True God, rather than the false? Does not Sunday do just as well?
POSITIVELY NO!!
Notice verse 17 of this special Sabbath covenant: "It is a sign
between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and
was refreshed" (Ex. 31:17).
It was on the seventh day of that creation week that He rested
from the work of creation. Not Sunday, the first day of the week.
Only the seventh day of the week points back to CREATION.
How does that identify who GOD is?
If you believe anyone else or anything else is God, I will prove
that my God is the True God, because whatever else you may think is
God was made or created by the True GOD. He who created and made everything
else is GREATER than whatever He made -- superior to anything else that
could be called God.
CREATION is the PROOF of God -- of His existence. It -- the act of
creating -- identifies Him!
So God took the most enduring, lasting imperishable thing man
can know -- a recurring space of TIME -- the only day that is a memorial
of THE ACT OF CREATING. He took the only day which points, constantly,
every seventh day of the week, to the existence of the Almighty, ALL-POWERFUL, ALL RULING GOD THE CREATOR
And God set that particular day apart from others as HIS day -- God
made that particular day sacred and holy to HIM -- designating it as
the very day on which HE commands His people to assemble for WORSHIP -- the day man is commanded to REST from his own work and physical pleasure -- and to be refreshed by assembling with other obedient worshippers in spiritual fellowship!
No OTHER DAY is a memorial and reminder of CREATION. True, Satan
has deceived a deluded world into supposing Christ's resurrection
occurred on Sunday morning at sunrise -- the very time which has always
been the time of pagan SUN-worship. BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE! Write for
our free booklet The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday. You will be amazed!
Also write for our special free booklet "The Plain Truth About Easter."
It is a shocking eye-opener -- and it is the TRUTH you can verify and
prove at your public library.
The resurrection of Christ actually occurred on the Sabbath,
not on Sunday! And, further, nowhere in the Bible does God tell us
to celebrate the day of Christ's resurrection! That is a pagan custom
of MEN, on apostate MAN'S authority alone -- contrary to the commands
of GOD!
So here we find a GREAT PURPOSE in the Sabbath. It identifies
God! The very day which GOD set aside for assembly and worship points
as a memorial to WHOM we are to worship -- the CREATOR-RULER of all
that is!
But that is not all!
The Sabbath also was given as a SIGN which identifies WHO are
the PEOPLE of God and who are NOT!
Notice! Not only does this special covenant say, "... that ye
may know that I am the LORD ..." but read the remainder of that sentence:
"... that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify YOU" (Ex.
31:13).
Notice the tremendous MEANING of that!
What does the word "sanctify" mean? It means "to set apart for
holy use or purpose." On the seventh day of the very creation week,
the ETERNAL sanctified -- that is, He SET APART for HOLY use -- the Sabbath
day. But now we see that God says it is a sign that He, the ETERNAL,
also sanctifies -- SETS APART FROM OTHER PEOPLE AS HIS, FOR HIS HOLY
PURPOSE -- those who are HIS PEOPLE.
In Old Testament times HIS PEOPLE were the people of the Congregation
of ISRAEL. In New Testament times, HIS PEOPLE are those of GOD's OWN
CHURCH -- the truly converted, Spirit-begotten CHRISTIANS!
But HOW does the Sabbath set them apart -- separate them -- from
those who are not God's own true people? Well, if you have begun to
keep God's Sabbath holy, as He commands, you have found the answer
already, by actual experience. If you haven't, just start keeping
God's Sabbath holy as He commands you -- and you'll soon learn that
you are automatically set apart from all other people! Yes, sir!
The Sabbath is God's SIGN, which identifies not only GOD as CREATOR-RULER but who are truley His.
Neil, you are correct in not needing animal sacrifices due to Christ sacrifice. In Coll 2:14 Christ nailed the record of OUR SINS which Christ paid for Himself in the sacrifice of His own life. Christ blotted out the HANDWRITTING OF ORDINANCES (Greek word cheirograph tois dogmasin means the note of guilt from keeping MANS laws). This does NOT refer to the law of God. The law is not against us and contrary to us as you are saying. The law is holy and the commandment holy, and just, and good (Rom7:12) The context of Col 2:14 is explained in vs 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy ("That is why we moved from a one day (Sabbath) worship to a 24/7 relationship.") and vain deceit, after TRADITIONS OF MEN, after the RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD, and NOT after Christ.
Dont forget that satan does have his ministers preaching Christ and perverting the gospel that He came preaching. 2Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2Cor 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. This is why God tells us to prove all things.
I pray these words will help.
