Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #6 Sunday or the Lord’s day

Coming together

From the acts of apostles and from early civil writings of the first century of our contemporary era we come to know that those who want to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ tried to come together at different occasions. There was not set one specific day in the week, but they could meet any day in the week and break the bread in remembrance of what Jesus did at his Last Supper.

Ecclesia in Brussels hotel

Though we also may see that the fist day of the week may have been special, but although Sunday was also a day that Christians met together to remember their Lord in the breaking of bread and partaking of wine, it was not considered a “Sabbath Day” – see Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2.  They met on the first day of the week because many of the early Christians were also Jews and still met to worship in their Synagogues on the true Sabbath, so they could not be at two places at once and the following day was a good day to meet their Christian friends. Their meetings were not just one of half an hour or one hour but could take several hours, that’s why an other day was chosen than the day when they spend also several hours in the synagogue.

Acts 20:7 The Scriptures 1998+  (7)  And on the first day of the week,the taught ones having gathered together to break bread, Sha’ul, intending to depart the next day, was reasoning with them and was extending the word till midnight.

1 Corinthians 16:2 The Scriptures 1998+  (2)  On the first day of the week let each one of you set aside, storing up whatever he is prospered, so that there are no collections when I come.

Those followers of Christ considered that they had to meet as many times as possible and had to break bread with each other on several occasions. As such they considered that they were not mandated to keep any particular day:

1 Corinthians 11:26 The Scriptures 1998+  (26)  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Master until He comes.

Romans 14:4-5 The Scriptures 1998+  (4)  Who are you that judges another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. But he shall be made to stand, for Elohim is able to make him stand.  (5)  One indeed judges one day above another, another judges every day alike. Let each one be completely persuaded in his own mind.

A certain day to have meetings

The onset of this article series were the reactions we get for having meetings on different days of the week and not always having a Sunday service.

According to us we can and should be able to meet several times in the week and can break more than once in a week the bread in remembrance of Christ’s Last Supper. We do believe we have specific days which are still set, like Nisan 14 and having to remember for ever the exodus from Egypt. But to have a Sabbath or Sunday service is something people should decide for themselves, being liberated by Christ.

Today too we should let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. When you personally are fully convinced in your own mind  [i.e.,  concerning your relative importance] that you have to keep a Sabbath on the Sabbath or on a Saturday or on a Sunday that is your right, but do not impose it on others.

The apostles reminded those who questioned why the goyim who became followers of Christ did not keep to the Jewish laws that the Law of Moses was done away by Jesus his death on the stake. According to them we may not be deceive by loftiness of words of man, but should find wisdom in God’s Word and come to understand that there is now no necessity to observe the Sabbath or, indeed, any festival, e.g. the day of Christ’s death.

Walking in Christ

All who received Jesus Christ the Lord should walk in him, rooted and built up in him and confirmed in the faith, abounding in him in thanksgiving, but not have any man cheat them by philosophy and vain deceit: according to the tradition of men according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ, because for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally and as a Christian, as a follower of Christ we should be filled in him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Tithing

The same as for the matter of circumcision, tithing and other  regulations which were before rules for the Jews. The scribes and Pharisees paid tithe of mint and anise and cummin, but have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, and faith: these ought they to have done, and not to leave the other undone. So they paid the tenth part of the increase annually arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support. Tithes are personal, praedial, or mixed; personal, when accruing from labour, art, trade and navigation; praedial, when issuing from the earth, as hay, wood and fruit; and mixed, when accruing from beasts, which are fed from the ground.

Tithing, meaning giving 10%, is also a concept taken from the Mosaic Law. Jesus did not object his followers providing necessary funds for the working of the community. But when people wanted to give something they had to do it freely. His followers were also not to beg for money, but when they did not receive help in one place they had to go to the next village to continue preaching over there. By Jesus having laid down his life we have become under grace. All the churches of the Gentiles are justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Romans 6:14 The Scriptures 1998+  (14)  For sin shall not rule over you, for you are not under the law but under favour.

Galatians 2:16 The Scriptures 1998+  (16)  knowing that a man is not declared right by works of Torah, but through belief in יהושע {Jeshua} Messiah, even we have believed in Messiah יהושע {Jeshua}, in order to be declared right by belief in Messiah and not by works of Torah, because by works of Torah no flesh shall be declared right.

The people of the community were asked to contribute voluntary according to their possibilities.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 The Scriptures 1998+  (17)  Charge those who are rich in this present age not to be high-minded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living Elohim, who gives us richly all for enjoyment,  (18)  to do good, to be rich in good works,1 to be generous, ready to share, Footnote: 1Mt. 16:27.  (19)  storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, so that they lay hold on everlasting life.

2 Corinthians 8:7-15 The Scriptures 1998+  (7)  But as you excel in every way – in belief, and speech, and knowledge, and all diligence, and in your love for us – that you should excel in this kind gift as well.  (8)  I speak not by command, but I am proving the genuineness of your love by the eagerness of others.  (9)  For you know the favour of our Master יהושע {Jeshua}? Messiah, that being rich, He became poor for your sake, so that you might become rich through His poverty.  (10)  And in this I give an opinion: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago,  (11)  and now also complete the work, that as there was a readiness in desiring it, so there also should be a completion out of what you have.  (12)  For if the readiness is present, it is well received according to what one has, not according to what he does not have –  (13)  not, however, that others should be eased and you hard pressed,  (14)  but by fair sharing, that now at this time your plenty for their need, so that their plenty might also be for your need – that there might be fair sharing.  (15)  As it has been written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had not less.”

Charitable giving. Helping the homeless

There was requested that there may be equality and generosity. And there was told that there is a blessing for generosity and not for the one which sows sparingly because that one shall reap also sparingly. Those who can saw bountifully should do so and shall reap also bountifully, but every man has to give according as he purposes in his heart, so others do have to let the other person give as he desires; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6-11 The Scriptures 1998+  (6)  And this: He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows on blessing shall also reap on blessing.  (7)  Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not of grief or of necessity, for Elohim loves a joyous giver.  (8)  And Elohim is able to make all favour overflow toward you, that you, always having all you need in every way, have plenty for every good work.  (9)  As it has been written, “He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness remains forever.”  (10)  And He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, shall supply and increase the seed you have sown and increase the fruit of your righteousness,  (11)  being enriched in every way for all simplicity, which works out thanksgiving to Elohim through us.

We may not forget that Jesus did not ask for any payment for him doing what he did, giving his life for many. He is now in heaven and can do nothing with our money.
Also God we do not have to pay anything. Too many people do forget that everything belongs already to God, so there is nothing that we really can give to Him. And like Christ, God is nothing with our worldly offers and since Jesus gave Him the most precious sacrifice God does not want or need any other sacrifices any more. Jesus is also the fulfilment and the last offering God needed.

Giving is about demonstrating our thanks to God for providing for us in the past and our trust in God to provide for us in the future.

As with everything to do with the New Covenant, tithing or any giving, is not a legal requirement, but a matter of the heart, of the Spirit – faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5:6 The Scriptures 1998+  (6)  For in Messiah יהושע {Jeshua} neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any strength, but belief working through love.

We  should see that circumcision is not made by hand in despoiling of the body of the flesh: but in the circumcision of Christ.  Buried with him in baptism we too are lifted from this world. In Christ we are risen again by the faith of the operation of God who has raised him up from the dead. And we, when we were dead in our sins and the uncircumcision of our flesh, we can face cleanliness, and liberation. The handwriting of the decree that was against us is now blotted out. (Colossians 2:4-14-17)

Colossians 2:13-17 The Scriptures 1998+  (13)  And you, being dead in your trespasses1 and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, Footnote: 1Eph. 2:1.  (14)  having blotted out the certificate of debt against us – by the dogmas – which stood against us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the stake.  (15)  Having stripped the principalities and the authorities, He made a public display of them, having prevailed over them in it.  (16)  Let no one therefore judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths –  (17)  which are a shadow of what is to come – but the Body of the Messiah.

Sacred days

When you as a believing person observe a certain day as specially sacred, you have to do it out of devotion to the Most High Divine Lord above all lords, יהוה Jehovah God of gods.  On such a day you choose you have to have only certain foods which you can eat out of devotion to Jehovah. Your actions should then be a sign of thankfulness for what you might receive from God. You should then also be thankful to God for what you eat.  And when you refuse to eat certain foods, does so out of devotion to the Lord above all lords, and be thankful to God for what he does give you to eat.

Romans 14:6-7 The Scriptures 1998+ (6) He who minds the day, minds it to יהוה {Jehovah}. And he who does not mind the day, to יהוה {Jehovah} he does not mind it. He who eats, eats to יהוה {Jehovah}, for he gives Elohim thanks. And he who does not eat, to יהוה {Jehovah} he does not eat, and gives Elohim thanks. (7) For not one of us lives to himself, and not one dies to himself.

1 Corinthians 10:30-31 The Scriptures 1998+  (30)  But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for what I give thanks?  (31)  Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the esteem of Elohim.

The New Testament does not refer to Christians being condemned for not keeping the Sabbath, and as told in a previous chapter, in Exodus 31:13-17, it is stated that the Sabbath was a sign between God and Israel. There is no mention that it was ever made a sign between God and Christians.

Christians are not under the Law of Moses. Paul makes that very clear in Galatians 3:24,25:

“The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”

We also mentioned how Paul was upset when some Christians were going back to the law and called them “foolish Galatians” for doing so (Galatians 3:1), reminding them that there is freedom in Christ for Christian believers.

Christians are free to choose whether or not they want to regard the Sabbath as a special day. Paul says:

“Let no-one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16,17).

Sabbath-keeping was not one of the commands the apostles felt was necessary to force on Gentile believers. It is inconceivable that the apostles would neglect to include Sabbath-keeping if it was God’s command for Christians to observe the Sabbath day.

On the day Christians want to come together it is like whatsoever they do in word or in work, that their actions should be clean and honest. On such day of gathering they should let the word of Christ dwell in them abundantly: in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in their hearts to God.

Colossians 3:12-17 The Scriptures 1998+  (12)  Therefore, as chosen ones of Elohim, set-apart and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, patience,  (13)  bearing with one another, and forgiving each other if anyone has a complaint against another, indeed, as Messiah forgave you so also should you.  (14)  But above all these put on love, which is a bond of the perfection.  (15)  And let the peace of Elohim rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one Body, and be filled with thanks.  (16)  Let the Word of Messiah1 dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing with pleasure in your hearts to the Master in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs. Footnote: 1John 12:48, Dt. 18:19, Rev. 19:13.  (17)  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Master יהושע {Jehsua}, giving thanks to Elohim the Father through Him.

Priests exempt from keeping the Sabbath

In Christ, all should be united and are described as being priests (1 Peter 2:9) – who were exempt from keeping the Sabbath (Matthew 12:5) because they were doing the Lord’s work and not their own.

1 Peter 2:9 The Scriptures 1998+  (9)  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light,

Matthew 12:5 UKJV  Or have all of you not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

Under Christ we have become children of God, belonging to the Elohim. Everything we say and do should be dedicated to Him. As Paul says in

1 Corinthians 10:31 UKJV  (31)  Whether therefore all of you eat, or drink, or whatsoever all of you do, do all to the glory of God.

Followers of Christ have Jesus as their High Priest and are all members of the Lord’s “Royal Priesthood,” and are therefore exempt from keeping the Sabbath even if it were binding on the world today. We are to show forth His works, not our own, in everything we do every day. That is the privilege and challenge of life in Christ.

Salvation through keeping the law of Christ rather than that of Moses

As written before we have to be fully aware what we want to believe and what we want to follow. It is every Christian’s fully right to follow the Mosaic Law, but then they have to keep all those Laws of Moses or Levitical Laws or Jewish ritual laws.

And in case we would like to keep the Sabbath, we can do, but we must do so properly. We may not forget that it is fatal to keep the Mosaic Law partially, because this will result in our condemnation (Galatians 3:10; James 2:10).

Galatians 3:10 UKJV  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

James 2:10 UKJV  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

In the debate about keeping Sabbath and having services on the Friday night, Saturday morning or on a Sunday we noticed that there is a common error in the Sabbath-keeping debate, namely the concept that the Sabbath was the day of worship.

The Sabbath had to do with taking rest. On other days worship services could and did take place in synagogues and also by the followers of Christ at their home. Nowhere in Scripture is the Sabbath day commanded to be the day of worship. Yes, Jews in Old Testament, New Testament, and modern times use the Sabbath, from Friday night until Saturday sundown, as the day of worship, but that is not the essence of the Sabbath command. In the book of Acts, whenever a meeting is said to be on the Sabbath, it is a meeting of Jews and/or Gentile converts to Judaism, not Christians.

From the writings of the apostles and from civil writings of early Christians we do get to know that the early Christians continued to meet together in the temple courts every day. (Acts 2:46-47)

Acts 2:46-47 The Scriptures 1998+  (46)  And day by day, continuing with one mind in the Set-apart Place, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,  (47)  praising Elohim and having favour with all the people. And the Master added to the assembly those who were being saved, day by day.

The Dura-Europos house church, ca. 232, with chapel area on right.

I.e. for teaching and worship that they came together “Every day” and not just on a Sunday or on the Sabbath. They also did not only meet in temples or church-buildings but also in  their homes, where they kept what many today call ‘church’ and as such would have a house-church. Their meetings where moments to study the Scriptures, to discuss the Holy Writings, to pray together, to sing psalms and songs of praise, but also to eat together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. This way they had their numbers growing.

In honour of Christ’s resurrection they also gathered on the first day of the week (our Sunday), not the Sabbath day (our Friday – Saturday) (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). On Sunday, the early Christians observed Sunday not as the “Christian Sabbath” but as a day to especially remember Jesus Christ and to worship the One Who sent their rabbi and Who accepted Jesus his ransom offering.

By the redeeming offer (atonement) the followers of Christ are set free and salvation came over us by the redemptive life and death of Jesus.  Through the life, sufferings, and sacrificial death of Christ, people got saved, but they still have to make the right choice and show obedience to the Gospel. They get salvation through keeping the law of Christ rather than that of Moses. God saves us, not because of any good deeds we ourselves have done, but because of His mercy. We are also saved through the washing of new birth by our immersion in water, and the renewing work  of the Holy Spirit, whom God pours out upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour and by his heavenly Father the Great Saviour.

Titus 3:4-5 The Scriptures 1998+  (4)  But when the kindness and the love of Elohim our Saviour toward man appeared,  (5)  He saved us, not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His compassion, through the washing of rebirth, and renewal by the Set-apart Spirit,

2 Timothy 1:8-11 The Scriptures 1998+  (8)  So do not be ashamed of the witness of our Master, nor of me His prisoner, but suffer hardship with me for the Good News according to the power of Elohim,  (9)  who has saved us and called us with a set-apart calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and favour which was given to us in Messiah יהושע  {Jeshua} before times of old,  (10)  but now revealed by the appearing of our Saviour יהושע  {Jeshua} Messiah, who indeed abolished death and brought life and incorruptibility to light through the Good News,  (11)  for which I was appointed a proclaimer, and an emissary, and a teacher of the gentiles.

Romans 11:5-7 The Scriptures 1998+  (5)  So therefore also, at this present time a remnant according to the choice of favour has come to be.  (6)  And if by favour, it is no longer of works, otherwise favour is no longer favour. And if it is of works, it is no longer favour, otherwise work is no longer work.  (7)  What then? Yisra’ĕl has not obtained what it seeks, but the chosen did obtain it, and the rest were hardened.

Yisra’ĕl, Israel God’s chosen people were not allowed to do any work on the Sabbath since the days in the desert:

Exodus 35:2-3 The Scriptures 1998+  (2)  “Work is done for six days, but on the seventh day it shall be set-apart to you, a Sabbath of rest to יהוה  {Jehovah}. Anyone doing work on it is put to death.  (3)  “Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

Exodus 16:23 The Scriptures 1998+  (23)  And he said to them, “This is what יהוה  {Jehovah} has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה  {Jehovah}. That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ”

This command was for the selected people or the Jews and was not for the non-Jews. Between the exodus period and the time of Christ his preaching, people were punished when they broke the law of the Sabbath.

A man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath, presumably in order to kindle a fire, was punished with death for doing so (Numbers 15:32-36).

Numbers 15:32-36 The Scriptures 1998+  (32)  And while the children of Yisra’ĕl were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.  (33)  And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Mosheh and to Aharon, and to all the congregation.  (34)  And they put him in under guard, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.  (35)  And יהוה  {Jehovah} said to Mosheh,
“The man shall certainly be put to death, all the congregation stoning him with stones outside the camp.”
(36)  And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, as יהוה  {Jehovah} commanded Mosheh, and he died.

Those denominations who teach that Sabbath-keeping is binding upon their members should therefore punish those members with death when they break the Sabbath, like יהוה  {Jehovah} commanded Moses. There should be no cooking of food or use of fire in any form – e.g. in driving motor vehicles, using heating systems etc. Orthodox Jews today set an example of the kind of behaviour expected on the Sabbath: they remain indoors all day except for religious reasons, and are not personally involved in cooking, transport etc. Most of those ‘Christians’ who claim to keep the Sabbath fall far short of this.

Ten commandments

It is often argued that keeping of the Sabbath was one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses, and that, while the rest of the Law of Moses was done away, the obligation remains to keep all of the Ten Commandments. Seventh Day Adventists make a distinction between a ‘moral law’ of the Ten Commandments and a so-called ‘ceremonial law’, which they believe was done away by Christ. This distinction is not taught in Scripture.

The Old Covenant refers to the Law of Moses, which was replaced on the stake by the New Covenant. It can be shown that the ten commandments, including that concerning the Sabbath, were part of the Old Covenant which was done away by Christ:

Deuteronomy 4:13 The Scriptures 1998+  (13)  “And He made known to you His covenant which He commanded you to do, the Ten Words, and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

Again it should be noted that this covenant, based upon the Ten Commandments, was made between God and the people Israel, not Gentiles of the present day.

Moses ascended Mount Horeb to receive the stone tables upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. Moses later commented concerning this,

Deuteronomy 5:2The Scriptures 1998+  (2)  “יהוה  {Jehovah} our Elohim made a covenant with us in Ḥorĕb.

the “us” being Yisra’ĕl, bounded in agreement (a covenant) through those Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28). This same covenant included details of the so-called ‘ceremonial law’ (Exodus 34:27).

Exodus 34:27 The Scriptures 1998+  (27)  And יהוה  {Jehovah} said to Mosheh, “Write these Words, for according to the mouth of these Words I have made a covenant with you and with Yisra’ĕl.”

For after the tenor of these words it was that the Elohim Most High God made a covenant with His chosen man Moses and with His chosen people Israel, not with the goyim or gentiles, the non-believers or heathen.

If we argue that keeping the covenant made in the Ten Commandments is necessary, we must also observe every detail of the entire Law, seeing that this is all part of the same covenant. It is evidently impossible to do this.

Hebrews 9:4 speaks of “the tables of the covenant“. The Ten Commandments were written on the tables of stone, which comprised “the (old) covenant.” Paul refers to this covenant as “written and engraven in stones“, i.e. on the tables of stone. He calls it

“the ministration of death…the ministration of condemnation…that which is done away” (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).

The covenant associated with the Ten Commandments can certainly not give any hope of salvation.

When Jesus says:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15),

he is not talking about the commandments in the Law of Moses. These were injunctions on the people of Israel – never on gentiles. Jesus’ commandments are to do with the state of our hearts, to do with love, forbearance, grace, mercy, compassion.

Christ blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us”  (Colossians 2:14) on the torture tool of death, his stake. This alludes to God’s handwriting of the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone. Likewise Paul speaks of

“the law…being dead…the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6),

referring to the letters of the Ten Commandments which were written on the tables of stone.

Done away with Christ

Just one of the Ten Commandments is styled “the law” in Romans 7:8, “The law… said, Thou shalt not covet“. The preceding verses in Romans 7:1-7 stress how “the law” that has dominion over a man as long as he lives, has been done away by Christ’s death, we also became dead to the law by the body of Christ; “the law” therefore includes the Ten Commandments.

Romans 7:1-14 The Scriptures 1998+  (1)  Or do you not know, brothers – for I speak to those knowing the Torah – that the Torah rules over a man as long as he lives?  (2)  For the married woman has been bound by Torah to the living husband, but if the husband dies, she is released from the Torah concerning her husband.  (3)  So then, while her husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress if she becomes another man’s. But if her husband dies, she is free from that part of the Torah, so that she is not an adulteress, having become another man’s.  (4)  So my brothers, you also were put to death to the Torah through the body of Messiah, for you to become another’s, the One who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to Elohim.  (5)  For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, through the Torah, were working in our members to bear fruit to death.  (6)  But now we have been released from the Torah, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in newness of Spirit and not in oldness of letter.  (7)  What, then, shall we say? Is the Torah sin? Let it not be! However, I did not know sin except through the Torah. For also the covetousness I knew not if the Torah had not said, “You shall not covet.”  (8)  But sin, having taken the occasion through the command, did work in me all sorts of covetousness. For apart from Torah sin is dead.  (9)  And I was alive apart from the Torah once, but when the command came, the sin revived, and I died.  (10)  And the command which was to result in life, this I found to result in death.  (11)  For sin, having taken the occasion through the command, deceived me, and through it killed me.  (12)  So that the Torah truly is set-apart, and the command set-apart, and righteous, and good.  (13)  Therefore, has that which is good become death to me? Let it not be! But the sin, that sin might be manifest, was working death in me through what is good, so that sin through the command might become an exceedingly great Sinner.  (14)  For we know that the Torah is Spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.

All this makes it clear that the Old Covenant and “the Law” included the Ten Commandments. As they have been done away by the New Covenant, the Ten Commandments have therefore been removed.

Of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only nine of them were reinstituted or better, have been reaffirmed, in spirit, in the New Testament. Of the Ten Commandments Commandments 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 can be found in 1 Timothy chapter 1 alone, and Commandments 1, 2 and 10 in 1 Corinthians 5; in Matthew 19:18, we do find 6 commandments: murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, honour parents, and worshipping God; adding to the fore-mentioned coveting of Romans 13:9 . Worshipping God properly covers the first three commandments.

But never is the fourth commandment concerning the Sabbath repeated in the New Testament as obligatory for us. Instead of reaffirming the Sabbath, Jesus said that he is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8).

Though the power or strength of the sin is still the Torah followers of Christ are given the victory through their Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 The Scriptures 1998+  (56)  And the sting of death is the sin, and the power of the sin is the Torah.  (57)  But thanks to Elohim who gives us the overcoming through our Master יהושע  {Jeshua} Messiah.

The following list of passages documents further how the other nine are reaffirmed in the New Testament:-

• 1st. – Eph. 4:6; 1 John 5:21; Matt. 4:10

• 2nd. – 1 Cor. 10:14; Rom. 1:25

• 3rd. – James 5:12; Matt. 5:34,35

• 5th. – Eph. 6:1,2; Col. 3:20

• 6th. – 1 John 3:15; Matt. 5:21

• 7th. – Heb. 13:4; Matt. 5:27,28

• 8th. – Rom. 2:21; Eph. 4:28

• 9th. – Col. 3:9; Eph. 4:25; 2 Tim. 3:3

• 10th. – Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5.

Entering into God’s rest

Note that in Hebrews 4, the writer tells us that in Christ we have entered into God’s rest, His Sabbath which is typical of the millennial rest which will be enjoyed by the whole earth when Jesus comes. We have found and will find our rest in Christ.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Worshipping on Saturday or Sunday

As we have tried to let you see in the previous postings, there is nothing wrong with worshipping on Saturday or on the Jewish Sabbath (Friday night for example)? Absolutely not!

Every day is a ‘Day of God’. We should worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday!

Many churches today have both Saturday and Sunday services. There is freedom in Christ (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1).

Should a Christian practice Sabbath-keeping, that is, not working on Saturdays? If a Christian feels led to do so, absolutely, yes (Romans 14:5). However, those who choose to practice Sabbath-keeping should not judge those who do not keep the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16). Further, those who do not keep the Sabbath should avoid being a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 8:9) to those who do keep the Sabbath.

Galatians 5:13-15 sums up the whole issue:

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

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Preceding:

Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #1 Before rain of food from heaven

Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #2 Testimony

Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #3 Days to be kept holy or set apart

Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #4 Jesus and the Sabbath day

Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #5 Not law binding

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Additional reading:

1. Not trying to make the heathen live like Jews #1
2. Not trying to make the heathen live like Jews #2
3. Creation of the earth and man #4 Of the Sabbath day #2 Days 1,7,8 and 50
4. Creation of the earth and man #5 Of the Sabbath day #3 Ceasing from the works of the flesh
5. Creation of the earth and man #6 Of the Sabbath day #4 Mosaic codes, Sabbaths and Sunday
6. Creation of the earth and man #7 Of the Sabbath day #5 Respecting the day on which Christ Jesus rose from the dead
7. Creation of the earth and man #8 Of the Sabbath day #6 If it be necessary to keep Sunday
8. Why Sabbaths or Sabbath plural “shabbatot”
9. Holy Sabbath
10. What day is the Sabbath?
11. Do we need to keep the Sabbath
12. Are Christians required to keep the seventh day Sabbath?
13. The Sabbath: Is it a special day for Christians?
14. Sunday and the Sabbath (Pdf doc)
15. Sunday and the Sabbath
16. Holidays, holy days and traditions
17. We’re allowed to willfully break the Law of Moses
18. Seven full weeks or seven completed Sabbaths and ascension of Jesus
19. Should High Holy days be observed today as in New Testament times?
20. What is Hebrews 4:1-7 describing?
21. Will the Sabbath be kept in the kingdom of God?
22. Is it ok to buy food or buy services on the Sabbath?
23. Why do Christians go to church on Sundays?
24. Hellenistic influences
25. Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
26. Congregate, to gather, to meet
27. Communion and day of worship
28. Does the law of Moses apply to Christians today?
29. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
30. Observance of a day to Remember
31. 14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception
32. Being Religious and Spiritual 6 Romantici, utopists and transcendentalists
33. The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
34. A Living Faith #12 The Love for Jesus
35. Bread and Wine
36. Solution for Willing hearts filled with gifts
37. To whom do we want to be enslaved
38. Mind Bondage is Worst Slavery!
39. Who Would You Rather Listen To?
40. Atonement And Fellowship 1/8
41. Atonement And Fellowship 3/8
42. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
43. Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
44. Atonement And Fellowship 7/8
45. Structuur -structure
46. To find ways of Godly understanding
47. Necessary to be known all over the earth
48. The days are coming
49. Expenses, costs – Onkosten, uitgaven
50. Contribution – Contributie, bijdrage
51. Joy: Foundation for a Positive Life
52. Be a ready giver
53. Let us act on what we have
54. How do you keep people from stealing your joy?
55. What part of the Body am I?
56. Companionship
57. More looking for similarities
58. Renewed Catholic-Jewish relations still with a blemish
59. Jew refering to be religious or to be a people
60. Should I welcome preachers in my house?

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Further possible reading:

1. Tithe
2. To tithe is to freely give one-tenth of one’s income annually to the Lord through His Church. by the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day-saints
3. Tithing shouldn’t be automatic
4. Must Christians give ten percent of their income to the church?
5. What the Bible Says About Tithing and Christian Giving
6. What Does the Bible Say About the Tithe or Tithing?
7. The Principle Of Tithing
8. Some thoughts on stewardship
9. The Broke Girl’s Guide to Tithing
10. Toonie Talk: Connecting and Adult Ministries
11. “Paying Satan While Thinking That You Are Paying God”
12. God’s Portion (and a Free Read)
13. God Loves A Cheerful Giver – Group Study Questions
14. What We Really Need
15. God Loves A Cheerful Giver
16. The Financial Harm of Religion
17. Why We Tithe 10%
18. Sacrifices
19. Must Be Nice
20. Do you love the Lord as much as you love the grocer?
21. Your Money and Your Pen
22. The Master’s plan vs earthly zeal
23. Tithing Your Life
24. Our Tithes and Offerings: Where are they going?
25. Tithing is Not Welfare (700 words- Short)
26. The Windows of Heaven
27. Tithes and the New Testament … Conclusion
28. Searching Inside…
29. A Tithing Testimony
30. What Does the Bible Really Say About Economic and Societal Policies?
31. 92-Year-Old Georgia Woman Kicked Out of Church for Not Tithing + 92-Year-Old Georgia Woman Kicked Out of Church for Not Tithing
32. Church bans 92-year-old woman from attending service for not paying tithes, contributions
33. Give love today!
34. Should the elderly on a fixed income be forced to tithe?
35. Woe to You Pharisees
36. Joyfully Giving in Service to the Saints and the Lord Jesus Christ
37. building the future – proper priorities
38. Speaking of tithing…(Parshat Re’eh)
39. Called To Contribute
40. (08/04/2015) Christ Receives the Tithes?
41. Going through hard times don’t mean I’ve lost!
42. Throwback Thursday ~ To Tithe or Not to Tithe…
43. The Quest for Significance
44. The Real Trouble
45. Men of the Cloth, their Raincoat and their kind of God
46. The Doctrine of Christ (1,000 words Long)
47. Episcopalians and The Tithe
48. 21st Century Idolatry
49. Religion Won’t Like This
50. Tithing and Tale of an Ungrateful Lover + Tithing and Tale of an Ungrateful Lover
51. News articles covering Hillsong unethically fleecing $100 million from members
52. 5 Signs Your Church Is A Ponzi Scheme
53. Hillsong unethically fleecing $100 million from members
54. Withered Fig Tree
55. Why Tithing Makes You Richer
56. Mr. Tithee’s Letterbox
57. Donations Up–Except at Church
58. Knowing Dispensational Bible Study
59. God, work and rewards
60. Christians in Business
61. Have You Also Robbed Yahveh? A True In-Depth Teaching on Tithing…
62. Money Is Emotion, Not Skill (400 Words- Really Short)
63. Day 11: Practicing righteousness
64. Money, God and the church
65. Principles of Generosity (2 Cor. 9)
66. Charity Never Faileth
67. Quotes: The elephant in the (expensive) church that no one talks about.
68. Quotable
69. Earning Favor with God?
70. Culture Connection with Dr. Bill Maier
71. Tithing vs Giving
72. Signs of a Healthy Financial System: Generosity
73. Devotion
74. Living Vs. Dead Prophets (2,539 words long)
75. Students, of Teachers or Scriptures
76. Eyes toward God!
77. Should Chiristians Tithe?
78. Signs of a Healthy Financial System: Do You Have a Good Plan?
79. Prosperity Secret: The Magic of Giving
80. Give Yourself to the Lord
81. Pay Very Close Attention
82. Bribing Or Tithing?
83. Faith and Money
84. Large sums
85. My Principle of Tithing & Giving
86. Generosity: part 1
87. Generosity: Part 2
88. #P5: The Unintentional Messages Linger Long
89. Why Tithe? Part 1
90. John 3:1-17 God Loves us Sooo Much RSUMC 20150531
91. Reflections on Discipleship – Just do it!
92. Posts Restored – Back to the Present
93. My Study on The Tithe
94. Bible Daily Devotional – Nehemiah 10 – Should I tithe?
95. why pay tithing?
96. What Do You Do With IT?
97. BE Benevolent!
98. All About Tithing
99. It’s All Relative
100. Do you know Keeping Good Financial Records Pleases God?
101. Put Love in the Budget
102. little means much.
103. Tithing [Second Edition]
104. firstfruits
105. Obedience – Faithful Payment of Tithes and Other Personal Offerings
106. Day 9: Finishing Strong
107. Bible’s Worms
108. Should students or children pay tithes?
109. Pulpits Today are Full of Preachers Telling One-Legged People to Jump Higher and Run Faster
110. Above the clouds
111. The Third Year Tithe: 2015
112. What Are We Doing at Church: Is it to Be Seen or Is it To Give Glory to God?
113. New Testament Giving: To Tithe or Not to Tithe?
114. Why tithing is not a Christian Doctrine (Part 1)
115. A Sacrifice…That Costs Me Nothing?
116. Tithing
117. Tithing, by Bishopprince
118. How fertile is ‘the ground’ you are sowing on?
119. Hide-the-Word Wednesday: God Says, “Try Me”
120. The Single Most Effective and Surest Way to Rob God! (And How Not To)
121. God says, “Eat the tithe!” and gives us awesome instructions on how to be a generous community.
122. on giving
123. If You Want To Be Blessed..
124. A Different Take on the Offering
125. Care for the Poor and Needy
126. Tithing: Giving out of the Abundance of Time
127. Offertory
128. CTT | Will Man Rob God?
129. The Other Gospel of “Christamericanity”
130. Busted: “But the early Church practiced tithing”
131. Romans 15:23-29 — Sharing with those from whom we receive spiritual blessing
132. The Measure of How We Love
133. Reflections on Discipleship – Surprised by Generosity
134. Faith Child – Do you give? or don’t you?
135. Grace Preachers Still Holding On To The Concept Of New Covenant Tithing
136. Life is Not an Emergency
137. You can’t afford to Tithe
138. Tithing and Everything (Mal. 3:6-12)
139. At the the heart of giving
140. Sermon Outline – Money Madness (Part 3 – Blessed To Be A Blessing)
141. Must Christians obey the Ten Commandments?
142. Alone on a Sabbath day…
143. A Restful Labor Day to You!
144. just breathe | my favorite day of the week
145. Come…..
146. The Struggle to Rest (Part 2)
147. Keeping Shabbat/ Sabbath to Each Other
148. A Blessed Sabbath!
149. Prayer Through Fellowship
150. What I Know For Sure: 50 Lessons Life Has Taught Me (Part IV)
151. Sabbath days (part four)
152. Are You Burdened As You Follow Jesus? Here is Where I Find Help and Rest
153. Q: What should I do if I can’t get time off for the Sabbath?
154. A Saturday to Rest
155. Remember the Sabbath
156. Sabbath and Syria
157. Rest from our Labors
158. Sabbath Questions Answered
159. The Son Of Man Is Lord Of The Sabbath
160. Shavua tov! Looking forward to Shabbat Nitzavim and the end of the year!
161. Sunday Brunch: Fresh Energy
162. Nitzavim: Choosing Life
163. A Blessed Sabbath!
164. The first Shabbat:
165. El Shofar – Ultimo Recurso de Defensa en Elul
166. Game Day! Saturday Morning Service and Saturday Evening Selichot

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