A review of the basics
Part 3
Lessons on
how to explain what you believe!!!!
We have spoken about
Dietary laws, The law being abolished, The Messiah giving new commandments
and many other things.
We have dealt with several
passages in Romans and Acts. We have dealt with the belief that the
‘Old’ covenant was faulty and has disappeared.
We need to reiterate that
we DO NOT believe that salvation is obtained or maintained by keeping the
Law.
Sabbath has been changed
to Sunday…….
This is a commonly held
belief and this is why ‘Sunday’ is now considered the christian
‘sabbath’.
Most people cannot give
the verses that support this theory. However, they still believe it. They
are taking the word of their leaders.
Let’s examine the verses
used to ‘prove’ this very common belief.
John 20:19
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,
and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, "Peace be
with you." (NASB)
Now let’s dig deeper and
see what the literal translation shows this verse to say.
John 20:19
Then it being evening on that day, the first of the sabbaths, and the
doors having been locked where the disciples were assembled because of fear of
the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace to you. (LITV)
John never said that they
sabbath changed, as a matter of fact, John said that the disciples were
meeting on sabbath.
The translators changed the
phrase ‘One of the sabbaths’ to the ‘First day of the week’. Lets
look at the definition of ‘sabbath’ and see if it lines up with what has
been taught through out the years…….
G4521
σάββατον
sabbaton
Thayer Definition:
1) the seventh day of each
week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to
abstain from all work
1a) the institution of the
sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week
1b) a single sabbath,
sabbath day
2) seven days, a week
The theory of a changed
sabbath doesn’t add up does it!!!
Rev 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud
voice like the sound of a trumpet
This verse is also used
many times to try and prove that Sunday is now the ‘sabbath’.
Let’s see if the Messiah
ever said anything about what day was His…….
Luke 6:5
And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath."
So, if John was in the
spirit on the Lord’s day, then we can safely conclude that John was in the
Spirit on SABBATH (Saturday)……
Its not looking good for
this belief is it!!!!!
Act 20:7
And on the first day of the week, the disciples having been
assembled to break bread, being about to depart on the morrow, Paul
reasoned to them. And he continued his speech until midnight.(NASB)
Sounds like the
disciples are meeting on Sunday aren’t they???
Lets check the literal
version and see what it says…..
Act 20:7
And on the first of the sabbaths, the disciples having been assembled
to break bread, being about to depart on the morrow, Paul reasoned to them.
And he continued his speech until midnight.
We have the same translation
issue here. The translators changed the phrase ‘first of the sabbaths’ to
‘first of the week’.
Why did he translators do
such a thing???
Unknowingly to most
believers, the changing of sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday was a Catholic
decision.
The Roman Catholic
Church is very proud and do not deny the fact that they have changed the
date. The claim that they have the authority
to do this.
Lets take
look at several of these statements……
- “It
is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other
Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their
observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic
Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the
Catholic Church.” Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the
Elizabeth, NJ ‘News’ on March 18, 1903
- "Protestants
... accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship
after the Catholic Church made the change... But the Protestant mind
does not seem to realize that ... in observing Sunday, they are
accepting the authority of the spokesman for the Church, the pope."
Our Sunday Visitor, February 5th, 1950.
- “Of
course these two old quotations are exactly correct. The Catholic Church
designated Sunday as the day for corporate worship and gets full credit
– or blame – for the change.”
This
Rock, The Magazine of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization,
p.8, June 1997
- One
of the foremost Catholic historians, J.J. Dollinger, writes:
"The church established her own weekly festival…Nor is it true to
say that the apostles changed the Sabbath into Sunday, the observance of
the seventh day to the observance of the first. For, on the one hand,
there is no trace of such a transference taking place, and, on the
other, the Christian Sunday differs widely from the Sabbath of the
law.”
- "Is
Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten
Commandments? I answer yes. Is
Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh
day - Saturday - for Sunday, the first day? I
answer yes.
Did Christ change the day'? I answer no!"
"Faithfully yours, J. Card. Gibbons." James Cardinal
Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, Md. (1877-1921), in a signed letter.
- "The
Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the
day from Saturday to Sunday." The Catholic Mirror, official
organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
Possibly the
scariest quote…….
- The
observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay,
in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic]
church." Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the
Protestantism of Today (1868), p. 213
The Roman Catholic
Church has more influence of Protestants today than most realize. Many
don’t know and most of the one’s who do, deny or do not care…..
For more Catholic
quotes, go to…………..
www.
sabbathtruth.com
/
sabbath
_quotes.asp
http://dedication.www3.50megs.com/historyofsabbath/hos_thirteen.html
Why do we keep
sabbath???? Isn’t it just another point of contention between
believers in the Messiah? Does it really matter????
Isa 58:13
"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call
the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD
honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own
ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your
own word,
Isa 58:14
Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will
make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed
you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the
mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Gen 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
Gen 2:2
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He
rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Gen 2:3
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He
rested from all His work which God had created and made.
The most important reason
to obey sabbath……..
Joh 14:15
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Yeshua commanded us to
keep sabbath, so its pretty simple……. DO WHAT HE HAS SAID!!!!!
Let’s take a
different perspective on this issue of Law and Grace and whether we
should obey the Commandments.
Let’s read about
Stephen……..
Act 6:1
Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number,
a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native
Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of
food.
Act 6:2
So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said,
"It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to
serve tables.
Act 6:3
"Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of
this task.
Act 6:4
"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of
the word."
Act 6:5
The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they
chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip,
Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
Act 6:6
And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they
laid their hands on them.
Act 6:7
The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples
continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests
were becoming obedient to the faith.
Act 6:8
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders
and signs among the people.
Act 6:9
But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including
both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and
argued with Stephen.
Act 6:10
But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with
which he was speaking.
Act 6:11
Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses and against God."
Act 6:12 And they stirred up the
people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him
away and brought him before the Council.
Act 6:13 They put forward false
witnesses who said, "This man incessantly speaks against this holy place
and the Law;
Act 6:14 for we have heard him
say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs
which Moses handed down to us."
Act 6:15 And fixing their gaze on
him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an
angel
Let’s break this down to
the basic events…..
The congregation had
some trouble makers and they thought that they would out debate Stephen
and marginalize him, however they failed!!!!
This tends to
happen when you use the Torah as the basis of your beliefs and
standards.
Of course the trouble
makers were not to be deterred, they came up with what they considered a
brilliant plan……
The trouble makers in
verse 11 of Acts 6 did what?????
Act 6:11
Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses and against God."
Acts 6:13 Put
forward false witnesses who said, "This man incessantly speaks against
this holy place and the Law;
Act 6:14
for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this
place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us."
Let’s apply some basic
logic to the previous verses……
They induced men to say
certain things…. In other words, they told certain people what to say.
These trouble makers used these people to accomplish the goal of spreading
dissent.
Then they put forward…. FALSE
witnesses…..
What is a false
witness……
Lets read the Thayer’s
definition of a false witness……
False
G5571
ψευδής
pseudēs
Thayer Definition:
1) lying, deceitful, false
Witness -
G3144
μάρτυς
martus
Thayer Definition:
1) a witness
1a) in a legal sense
1b) an historical sense
1b1) one who is a spectator
of anything, e.g. of a contest
Ok, so in other words, a
False Witness is someone who does not tell the truth, the LIE
about
the thing they allegedly witnessed…..
So, if we use simple
logic, we can easily conclude that what these witnesses said about Stephen
was untrue and that what he actually said and taught was OPPOSITE
of what
the false witnesses had claimed.
So let’s see what
Stephen was actually teaching……
Since the false witnesses
claimed that Stephen had spoken against this holy place, The Temple, and the
Law and that Yeshua would destroy the Temple and ALTER the customs, we can
safely conclude that Stephen never spoke against the Temple or the Law
neither did he teach that Yeshua would destroy the Temple and alter the
customs Moses handed down.
Simple logic shows that
Stephen was very Pro-torah and that he taught others to obey the Torah.
We were never taught this
in the modern day church, and its still not being taught
The Pharisee’s kept
the Law and they were constantly rebuked by the Messiah, so this is
another proof that we should not obey the Law…..
This is used by many of
the modern day believers to try and show that we should not obey the Law.
Let’s see how well the
Pharisee’s kept God’s Law.
Mat 15:1
Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and
said,
Mat 15:2
"Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For
they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
Mat 15:3
And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves
transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
Mar 7:5
The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, "Why do Your disciples
not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with
impure hands?"
Mar 7:6
And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you
hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT
THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
Mar 7:7
'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS
OF MEN.'
Mar 7:8
"Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of
men."
Mar 7:9
He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside
the commandments of God in order to keep your tradition.
Mat 5:43
"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
and hate your enemy.'
Notice how the phrase
‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR’ is in all capital letters??? That means
this is cross referenced somewhere else. The reference is Lev 19:18.
Now do you notice how the
phrase ‘hate your enemy’ is NOT in all capital letters?? This means that
no where in scripture are we commanded to hate our enemy’s.
So where did that belief
come from?????
The belief that its ok to
hate your enemy is based on Deut 23:3-6….
Deu 23:3
"No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD;
none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever
enter the assembly of the LORD,
Deu 23:4
because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you
came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor
from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
Deu 23:5
"Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to
Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you
because the LORD your God loves you.
Deu 23:6
"You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your
days.
A few issue arise when
you read this passage carefully and try to incorporate the belief that
its ok to hate your enemy……
1st issue……No
where in this passage does it say to hate your enemy. It speaks of how to
deal with the Moabites and or Ammonites. It gives specifics on why and how
to deal with this specific group of people. Not all people that were their
enemies were Moabites and Ammonites.
2nd issue…..
Ruth was a Moabite….. She wasn’t an enemy. She was the great grandmother
of King David. How did Ruth get marry Boaz, an established Jewish man????
Ruth sought out their
peace, the Israelites were commanded to not seek out THEIR (the Moabites and
Ammonites) peace. Their peace would have meant compromising the commandments
of God. Since Ruth sought out the peace of the Israelites she would have had
to obey the Commandments of God.
So by using simple basic
logic we can conclude that the belief of hating your enemy was a man-made
belief that served the purposes of man and did not serve God…..
The Pharisee’s did not
keep the law of God, they did not keep the Commandments of God…. They kept
their own version of the Law.
The belief that the
Pharisee’s kept the Law is flat out wrong!!!!!
Let’s take a look at
some people who kept the Commandments of God and see how they measure up!!!
Gen
26:4 "I will multiply your
descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these
lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall
be blessed;
Gen
26:5
because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My
statutes and My laws."
Jam 2:23
and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM
BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was
called the friend of God.
Who would
not want to be called the friend of God????
King David…… 1 Kings
11:34
The prophet Ahijah is
speaking with Jeroboam concerning the current state of the kingdom in
Israel.
Obeying the commandments
of God is not only good for you, it helps your descendants even if they
don’t always deserve it!!!!!
1Ki
11:34 'Nevertheless
I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler
all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who
observed My commandments and My statutes;
1Ki 11:35
but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even
ten tribes.
1Ki 11:36
'But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have
a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for
Myself to put My name.
1Ki 11:37
'I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and
you shall be king over Israel.
1Ki 11:38
'Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and
walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes
and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and
build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to
you.
Jeroboam is given the key
to success….. OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD!!!!!! Unfortunately Jeroboam
does not heed this instruction…..
King David even with all
of his flaws is an excellent example to follow…..
Act 13:22
"After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king,
concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of
Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.'
Who would not want to be
called a MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART…..?????
This man is often
proclaimed to have taught that the Law was abolished, done away with or
annulled.
Nothing could be further
from the truth. But don’t take my word for it, read the
scriptures………
Acts 21:19-24
Act 21:19
After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one
the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
Act 21:20
And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they
said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among
the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the
Law;
Act 21:21
and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the
Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to
circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
Act 21:22
"What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear
that you have come.
Act 21:23
"Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who
are under a vow;
Act 21:24
take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their
expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that
there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but
that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.
……but
that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.
The writer of Acts,
plainly said that Paul kept the LAW. The church of today wants to be like
Paul. They use his epistles for the basis of their doctrines………
Three of the celebrated
men of scripture kept the commandments of God. These men are by far not
perfect. Each one had flaws but the one thing they had in common was that
they kept God’s commandments……
Why would anyone not want
to obey what God has commanded???
Questions?????
Comments!!!! Rude remarks!!!!
Next week, we will dive
into the two most commonly used passages to try to annul The Law……
Romans chapter 7 and the
Book of Galatians!!!!!!!