Does the New Testament Teach All Ten Commandments?
Does the New Testament Teach All Ten Commandments?
Did Christ come to do away with or replace the Ten Commandments? Are all Ten Commandments taught and enforced in the New Testament? Did Paul teach them to the Gentiles? What about the book of James?
Most who profess to follow Christ believe that all of the Ten Commandments were abolished by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They believe that Christ came to “do away” with those “harsh” commandments. Some believe He re-instituted some of them. Still others believe that He replaced the Ten Commandments with a new commandment.
Although these people may be sincere, they have been deceived by the “god of this world” (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9), who has used his false ministers to spoon-feed them with doctrinal falsehood (II Cor. 11:13-15).
Instead of allowing the Bible to interpret itself, most people read into scripture whatever meaning they already have been handed and assume is correct. They gloss over what Christ said in Matthew 5: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill” (vs. 17). This is the same Christ who prophesied in Isaiah 42: “The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable” (vs. 21).
What about you? Are you willing to let the Bible interpret itself? Are you willing to approach scripture with a teachable, open mind and allow God to “speak” to you—tell you His will—through His Word?
If so, you have already set yourself apart from most, of whom Christ said, “This people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9).
On Pentecost, A.D. 31, God founded His Church on the teachings of His apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:19-20). Since then, those of the true Church have always continued to keep the apostles’ teachings (Acts 1:42).
The apostles Peter and John instructed Christians to walk as Christ walked—live the way He lived (I Peter 2:21; I John 2:6). The apostle Paul instructed Christians—both Jews and Gentiles—to follow him as he followed Christ (I Cor. 11:1).
So then, did Jesus Christ, the Chief Apostle (Heb. 3:1), teach the Ten Commandments? Did He command His apostles to do the same? In other words, are all of the Ten Commandments taught in the New Testament?
The First Great Commandment
The first four of the Ten Commandments teach man how to love God. “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make unto you any graven image…You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:3-8).
In Matthew 22, Christ summarized these four, saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (vs. 37-38).
When Satan the devil tried to tempt Jesus while He fasted in the wilderness, Christ quoted the First Commandment: “Get you behind Me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8; Matt. 4:10).
In John 4:24, Christ was speaking about the Second Commandment when He taught that men cannot use physical objects, images or “aids”—in other words, idols—to worship a spiritual God. Since God is a Spirit, His followers must worship Him in spirit.
Paul taught the Second Commandment, too. “Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them [the Israelites during the Exodus]; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (I Cor. 10:7). Carnal-minded Israel did not have the patience to worship a God they could not see, so they made a physical “god” to satisfy their carnal, physical lusts. But God knew this would happen. Throughout mankind’s history, man has always rejected his Creator in order to worship His creation (Rom. 1:18-25).
In Matthew 15, Christ taught against breaking several of God’s commandments, including the third. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders [Sixth Commandment], adulteries [Seventh Commandment], fornications, thefts [Eighth Commandment], false witness [Ninth Commandment], blasphemies [Third Commandment]” (vs. 18-19). The Greek word used here for “blasphemies” is blesphemia, which means “evil speaking,” “railing” or “vilification against God.” In other words, taking God’s name in vain.
Paul also commanded Christians not to do this. “But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Col. 3:8).
The Fourth Commandment—observing the seventh day Sabbath—is the one most professing Christians refuse to obey. Most assume that men have the authority to change the Sabbath to whatever day pleases them or is convenient.
Yet Christ kept the Sabbath on the seventh day. It was His custom. “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read” (Luke 4:16). In fact, the New Testament says that Christ is “Lord also of the Sabbath”— (Luke 6:5). Christ says that He “is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Paul followed His example. He taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath (Acts 17:2). And not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath… And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:42, 44). In chapter 18, verse 4, Paul “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.” Few ask why Paul would teach Gentiles (who were unfamiliar with Sabbath-keeping) to meet on the Sabbath. Why is there no evidence that he led them to keep Sunday—the supposed “Lord’s Day?”
Now notice Hebrews 4, verse 9: “There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.” In verses 1, 3, 4 and 8, the Greek word for “rest” is katapausin. It means “rest.” But in verse 9, the Greek word for “rest” is sabbatismos, which is a Hebrew word—Sabbat, which means “the Sabbath”—combined with a Greek suffix—ismos, which means “a keeping of” or “a doing of.” Put together, sabbatismo means “a keeping of the Sabbath.” When correctly translated, Hebrews 4:9 should read, “There remains therefore a keeping of the Sabbath to the people of God.”
The subject of Sabbath-keeping requires a large booklet to contain all the available proof, but New Testament observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is established in Hebrews 4:9.
The Second Great Commandment
The last six of the Ten Commandments instruct man on how to love his fellow man. “Honor your father and your mother…You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet…” (Ex. 20:12-17).
Centuries later, Christ said that anyone who wants to enter eternal life must keep these same commandments: “You shall do no murder [Sixth Commandment], You shall not commit adultery [Seventh Commandment], You shall not steal [Eighth Commandment], You shall not bear false witness [Ninth Commandment], Honor your father and your mother [Fifth Commandment]” (Matt. 19:18-19). Christ summarized these as “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” the second greatest commandment (Matt. 22:39).
Years after Christ’s sacrifice (which most religious leaders claim does away with the law), Paul taught these same commandments to Gentile converts in Rome. “For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom. 13:9).
In Ephesians 6:2, Paul commanded Christians to obey the Fifth Commandment by honoring their parents. (Eph. 6:2). He commanded them to obey the Ninth Commandment: “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” (Eph. 4:25). He observed the Tenth Commandment, saying, “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet” (Rom. 7:7).
The Apostle James also warned about the dangers of breaking the Tenth Commandment. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). He continued in chapter 4: “From where come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (vs. 1-3).
As you can see, all of the Ten Commandments were preached throughout the New Testament.
No wonder the Apostle John wrote, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:2-3).
A New Commandment?
After examining all these biblical proofs, some will still believe that the Ten Commandments were abolished, refusing to give up what they have always assumed. They may even claim that the Ten Commandments were “replaced” by the “new commandment” Christ and John had taught. But what is this “new commandment”? Does it supersede keeping the Ten Commandments?
In John 13:34-35, Christ said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another.”
In Matthew 22:37-39, Christ said we must love our neighbors as ourselves. But in John 13, Christ gives a new and higher standard—to love others as Christ loves us. Only those with God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them can love people the way Christ does. “Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his…For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:7-9, 14). This is talking about true Christians–God’s Church!
When Christ said, “love one another, as I have loved you,” He was talking to His disciples. They, later on, were baptized and received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2), becoming the New Testament Church. Only true Christians–those with the Spirit of God in their minds—can hope to love others as Christ does. Carnal man cannot.
But what about the “new commandment” in I John 2:8? “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines.” What is it that is both “true in Christ” and “in” Christians?
The answer is in John 16:13-15, where Christ encouraged His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. “Howbeit when [it], the Spirit of truth, is come, [it] will guide you into all truth: for [it] shall not speak of [itself]; but whatsoever [it] shall hear, that shall [it] speak: and [it] will show you things to come. [It] shall glorify Me: for [it] shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father has are Mine: therefore said I, that [it] shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.”
It is the Holy Spirit—the “Spirit of truth”—that is “true in Christ,” and in His servants, members of His Church. This same spirit sets God’s people apart from the world, converting their minds into the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit empowers a Christian mind, enabling it to love the way Christ and God the Father does. Without it, no human being can perfectly fulfill I Corinthians 13: “Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (vs. 4-8).
In II John 5-6, John wrote, “And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto you, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.” This scripture does not replace or do away with the Ten Commandments. Instead, it reinforces them.
The Ten Commandments existed before Moses from the time of Creation. All ten were taught throughout the New Testament. They are still in effect today......
Did Christ come to do away with or replace the Ten Commandments? Are all Ten Commandments taught and enforced in the New Testament? Did Paul teach them to the Gentiles? What about the book of James?
Most who profess to follow Christ believe that all of the Ten Commandments were abolished by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They believe that Christ came to “do away” with those “harsh” commandments. Some believe He re-instituted some of them. Still others believe that He replaced the Ten Commandments with a new commandment.
Although these people may be sincere, they have been deceived by the “god of this world” (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9), who has used his false ministers to spoon-feed them with doctrinal falsehood (II Cor. 11:13-15).
Instead of allowing the Bible to interpret itself, most people read into scripture whatever meaning they already have been handed and assume is correct. They gloss over what Christ said in Matthew 5: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill” (vs. 17). This is the same Christ who prophesied in Isaiah 42: “The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable” (vs. 21).
What about you? Are you willing to let the Bible interpret itself? Are you willing to approach scripture with a teachable, open mind and allow God to “speak” to you—tell you His will—through His Word?
If so, you have already set yourself apart from most, of whom Christ said, “This people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9).
On Pentecost, A.D. 31, God founded His Church on the teachings of His apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:19-20). Since then, those of the true Church have always continued to keep the apostles’ teachings (Acts 1:42).
The apostles Peter and John instructed Christians to walk as Christ walked—live the way He lived (I Peter 2:21; I John 2:6). The apostle Paul instructed Christians—both Jews and Gentiles—to follow him as he followed Christ (I Cor. 11:1).
So then, did Jesus Christ, the Chief Apostle (Heb. 3:1), teach the Ten Commandments? Did He command His apostles to do the same? In other words, are all of the Ten Commandments taught in the New Testament?
The First Great Commandment
The first four of the Ten Commandments teach man how to love God. “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make unto you any graven image…You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:3-8).
In Matthew 22, Christ summarized these four, saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (vs. 37-38).
When Satan the devil tried to tempt Jesus while He fasted in the wilderness, Christ quoted the First Commandment: “Get you behind Me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8; Matt. 4:10).
In John 4:24, Christ was speaking about the Second Commandment when He taught that men cannot use physical objects, images or “aids”—in other words, idols—to worship a spiritual God. Since God is a Spirit, His followers must worship Him in spirit.
Paul taught the Second Commandment, too. “Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them [the Israelites during the Exodus]; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (I Cor. 10:7). Carnal-minded Israel did not have the patience to worship a God they could not see, so they made a physical “god” to satisfy their carnal, physical lusts. But God knew this would happen. Throughout mankind’s history, man has always rejected his Creator in order to worship His creation (Rom. 1:18-25).
In Matthew 15, Christ taught against breaking several of God’s commandments, including the third. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders [Sixth Commandment], adulteries [Seventh Commandment], fornications, thefts [Eighth Commandment], false witness [Ninth Commandment], blasphemies [Third Commandment]” (vs. 18-19). The Greek word used here for “blasphemies” is blesphemia, which means “evil speaking,” “railing” or “vilification against God.” In other words, taking God’s name in vain.
Paul also commanded Christians not to do this. “But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Col. 3:8).
The Fourth Commandment—observing the seventh day Sabbath—is the one most professing Christians refuse to obey. Most assume that men have the authority to change the Sabbath to whatever day pleases them or is convenient.
Yet Christ kept the Sabbath on the seventh day. It was His custom. “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read” (Luke 4:16). In fact, the New Testament says that Christ is “Lord also of the Sabbath”— (Luke 6:5). Christ says that He “is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Paul followed His example. He taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath (Acts 17:2). And not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath… And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:42, 44). In chapter 18, verse 4, Paul “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.” Few ask why Paul would teach Gentiles (who were unfamiliar with Sabbath-keeping) to meet on the Sabbath. Why is there no evidence that he led them to keep Sunday—the supposed “Lord’s Day?”
Now notice Hebrews 4, verse 9: “There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.” In verses 1, 3, 4 and 8, the Greek word for “rest” is katapausin. It means “rest.” But in verse 9, the Greek word for “rest” is sabbatismos, which is a Hebrew word—Sabbat, which means “the Sabbath”—combined with a Greek suffix—ismos, which means “a keeping of” or “a doing of.” Put together, sabbatismo means “a keeping of the Sabbath.” When correctly translated, Hebrews 4:9 should read, “There remains therefore a keeping of the Sabbath to the people of God.”
The subject of Sabbath-keeping requires a large booklet to contain all the available proof, but New Testament observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is established in Hebrews 4:9.
The Second Great Commandment
The last six of the Ten Commandments instruct man on how to love his fellow man. “Honor your father and your mother…You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet…” (Ex. 20:12-17).
Centuries later, Christ said that anyone who wants to enter eternal life must keep these same commandments: “You shall do no murder [Sixth Commandment], You shall not commit adultery [Seventh Commandment], You shall not steal [Eighth Commandment], You shall not bear false witness [Ninth Commandment], Honor your father and your mother [Fifth Commandment]” (Matt. 19:18-19). Christ summarized these as “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” the second greatest commandment (Matt. 22:39).
Years after Christ’s sacrifice (which most religious leaders claim does away with the law), Paul taught these same commandments to Gentile converts in Rome. “For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom. 13:9).
In Ephesians 6:2, Paul commanded Christians to obey the Fifth Commandment by honoring their parents. (Eph. 6:2). He commanded them to obey the Ninth Commandment: “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” (Eph. 4:25). He observed the Tenth Commandment, saying, “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet” (Rom. 7:7).
The Apostle James also warned about the dangers of breaking the Tenth Commandment. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). He continued in chapter 4: “From where come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (vs. 1-3).
As you can see, all of the Ten Commandments were preached throughout the New Testament.
No wonder the Apostle John wrote, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:2-3).
A New Commandment?
After examining all these biblical proofs, some will still believe that the Ten Commandments were abolished, refusing to give up what they have always assumed. They may even claim that the Ten Commandments were “replaced” by the “new commandment” Christ and John had taught. But what is this “new commandment”? Does it supersede keeping the Ten Commandments?
In John 13:34-35, Christ said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another.”
In Matthew 22:37-39, Christ said we must love our neighbors as ourselves. But in John 13, Christ gives a new and higher standard—to love others as Christ loves us. Only those with God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them can love people the way Christ does. “Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his…For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:7-9, 14). This is talking about true Christians–God’s Church!
When Christ said, “love one another, as I have loved you,” He was talking to His disciples. They, later on, were baptized and received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2), becoming the New Testament Church. Only true Christians–those with the Spirit of God in their minds—can hope to love others as Christ does. Carnal man cannot.
But what about the “new commandment” in I John 2:8? “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines.” What is it that is both “true in Christ” and “in” Christians?
The answer is in John 16:13-15, where Christ encouraged His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. “Howbeit when [it], the Spirit of truth, is come, [it] will guide you into all truth: for [it] shall not speak of [itself]; but whatsoever [it] shall hear, that shall [it] speak: and [it] will show you things to come. [It] shall glorify Me: for [it] shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father has are Mine: therefore said I, that [it] shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.”
It is the Holy Spirit—the “Spirit of truth”—that is “true in Christ,” and in His servants, members of His Church. This same spirit sets God’s people apart from the world, converting their minds into the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit empowers a Christian mind, enabling it to love the way Christ and God the Father does. Without it, no human being can perfectly fulfill I Corinthians 13: “Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (vs. 4-8).
In II John 5-6, John wrote, “And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto you, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. This is the commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.” This scripture does not replace or do away with the Ten Commandments. Instead, it reinforces them.
The Ten Commandments existed before Moses from the time of Creation. All ten were taught throughout the New Testament. They are still in effect today......
Comment
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Comment by Anna on May 10, 2009 at 11:14pm
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Bro Able:
You mentioned that "your seventh day is Sunday". We are not talking about how YOU determine what day it is, we are discussing what YHWH, our creator calls a day.
He calls the Sabbath "my holy day":
" If thou turn away they foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
my holy day; Is. 58:13
Bro Abel, when did the Sabbath become "UNHOLY" in the eyes of our Creator?
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Bro Abel:
I agree with you that the 2nd commandment is not being kept. But we should not try to surgically extract one of these 10 and point fingers at others when we are breaking another.
Regarding the 7 day week, have you ever conducted a study on this subject? Did you know that for the past 2000 years, we know for a fact which day was the 7th day and which was the first day? That the calendar has had no changes in the 7day weekly cycle during this time.
Here is my reference for my statement:
Has the 7-Day Week Cycle Ever Been Interrupted?
There is no record of the 7-day week cycle ever having been broken. Calendar changes and reform have never interrupted the 7-day cycles. It very likely that the week cycles have run uninterrupted at least since the days of Moses (c. 1400 B.C.E.), possibly even longer.
http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/week.html#anchor-origin
Now one simple way to tell which day is the 7th day Sabbath and which is the first day is to see if we can get some insight from the scriptures:
The Gospel of Luke, mentions the 7th day Sabbath:
Luke 23:56 Then they went back and prepared spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Luke 24:1 mentions Sunday - the first day of the week:
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
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Now if Sabbath and Sunday were back to back in the first century....
The Jews have never stopped keeping Sabbath during these years.
The Catholic Church claims that they have kept Sunday the first day of the week, since they; have kept records.
By these two texts we have Sabbath and Sunday back to back in the first century
We have the Jews keeping Sabbath and and Catholics reportedly keeping Sunday from the first century.
The question I ask now, what days of the week do the Jews and Catholic keep here in 2009?
Jews still keep Sabbath.
Catholics still keep Sunday.
Sabbath and Sunday are still back to back....Sabbath ends Sunday begins.
When we look at our standard calendars, they testify that the Sabbath and Sunday are still adjacent to one another.
Now if you feel that Jesus/Yahshua kept another Sabbath day than His disciples who were Jews, please give us your evidence.
I submit to you, that Jesus/Yahshua kept the same Sabbath as the Jews an taught His disciples to do the same.
We therefore today can identify the Sabbath of the 10 commandments which is not SUNDAY!
The major encyclopedias, Bible dictionaries and the theologians in the next article demonstrate that THEY KNOW which day is the Sabbath. Can you after reading this continue to say that you don't know when it is?
Roman Catholic and Protestant Confessions about Sunday
The vast majority of Christian churches today teach the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, as a time for rest and worship. Yet it is generally known and freely admitted that the early Christians observed the seventh day as the Sabbath. How did this change come about?
History reveals that it was decades after the death of the apostles that a politico-religious system repudiated the Sabbath of Scripture and substituted the observance of the first day of the week. The following quotations, all from Roman Catholic sources, freely acknowledge that there is no Biblical authority for the observance of Sunday, that it was the Roman Church that changed the Sabbath to the first day of the week.
In the second portion of this booklet are quotations from Protestants. Undoubtedly all of these noted clergymen, scholars, and writers kept Sunday, but they all frankly admit that there is no Biblical authority for a first-day sabbath.
Roman Catholic Confessions
James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers, 88th ed., pp. 89.
"But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify."
Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed., p. 174.
"Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
"Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."
John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies (1 936), vol. 1, P. 51.
"Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days."
Daniel Ferres, ed., Manual of Christian Doctrine (1916), p.67.
"Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
"Answer. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of, and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church.'
James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1877-1921), in a signed letter.
"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"
The Catholic Mirror, official publication of James Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"The Catholic Church, . . . by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."
Catholic Virginian Oct. 3, 1947, p. 9, art. "To Tell You the Truth."
"For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the[Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible."
Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), p. 50.
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
"Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
"Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927),p. 136.
"Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday .... Now the Church ... instituted, by God's authority, Sunday as the day of worship. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made. We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday."
Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975),Chicago, Illinois.
"Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:
"1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.
"2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.
"It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible."
T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18,1884.
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says: 'No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church."
Protestant Confessions
Protestant theologians and preachers from a wide spectrum of denominations have been quite candid in admitting that there is no Biblical authority for observing Sunday as a sabbath.
Anglican/Episcopal
Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism , vol. 1, pp.334, 336.
"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day .... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it."
Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments , pp. 52, 63, 65.
"There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday .... into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters.... The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday."
Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday .
We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church."
Baptist
Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, a paper read before a New York ministers' conference, Nov. 13, 1893, reported in New York Examiner , Nov.16, 1893.
"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week .... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament absolutely not.
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question . . . never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.
"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . . But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!"
William Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in Our Day , p. 49.
"There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance."
Congregationalist
Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments (New York: Eaton &Mains), p. 127-129.
" . . . it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath - . . 'Me Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday .... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."
Timothy Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended (1823), Ser. 107, vol. 3, p. 258.
" . . . the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath."
Disciples of Christ
Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist, Feb. 2, 1824,vol. 1. no. 7, p. 164.
"'But,' say some, 'it was changed from the seventh to the first day.' Where? when? and by whom? No man can tell. No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed! It is all old wives' fables to talk of the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio - I think his name is Doctor Antichrist.'
First Day Observance , pp. 17, 19.
"The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change."
Lutheran
The Sunday Problem , a study book of the United Lutheran Church (1923), p. 36.
"We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian Church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christians of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both."
Augsburg Confession of Faith art. 28; written by Melanchthon, approved by Martin Luther, 1530; as published in The Book of Concord of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Henry Jacobs, ed. (1 91 1), p. 63.
"They [Roman Catholics] refer to the Sabbath Day, a shaving been changed into the Lord's Day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of the Sabbath Day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments!"
Dr. Augustus Neander, The History of the Christian Religion and Church Henry John Rose, tr. (1843), p. 186.
"The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a Divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic Church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday."
John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday , pp. 15, 16.
"But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel .... These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect."
Methodist
Harris Franklin Rall, Christian Advocate, July 2, 1942, p.26.
"Take the matter of Sunday. There are indications in the New Testament as to how the church came to keep the first day of the week as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling Christians to keep that day, or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day."
John Wesley, The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M., John Emory, ed. (New York: Eaton & Mains), Sermon 25,vol. 1, p. 221.
"But, the moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he [Christ] did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken .... Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other."
Dwight L. Moody
D. L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting (Fleming H. Revell Co.: New York), pp. 47, 48.
The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word 'remember,' showing that the Sabbath already existed when God Wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?"
Presbyterian
T. C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pp.474, 475.
"The Sabbath is a part of the decalogue - the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution . . . . Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand . . . . The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath
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Comment by Apostle Abel Aureli on May 10, 2009 at 6:59am
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I beleive that we should deal with one thing at the time! ...Let's not confuse things. ...Is the making and the ...worshiping even God the Creator through a graven image, OK, of it's a transgression of the Secon Commandment? ...If so, what are all these religious images and sculpture doing on these BPN sites?
As for the Seventh Day, this is an issue of the Seventh Day Adventists, which do not realize that Sabbath and Seventh Day, have nothing to do with our Saturday! ...Just briefly, ...Since we start working on Monday, after I worked six days, my Seventh say is Sunday! ...Those who assume that Seventh Day and Sabbath means Saturday, should look and search or study these things on the Strongs Concordance, which examin the Hebrew Words. ...But, to go back to the Second Commandment, what are we going to do about it?
Apostle Abel Aureli
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Leigh, slow down, I will be glad to respond to any and all of your questions.
Keeping the Sabbath does not save us. Nor does keeping the any of the law save us.
Fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Sabbath keeping is not a ticket into the Kingdom. The Scribes and Pharisees kept the Sabbath, but it didn't do them any good.
Regarding your view on "grace", you appear to make "grace" a licence to sin. 1 John 3:4 states, "sin is the transgression of the law." Grace provides your pardon from the punishment due you because of your breaking of God's law, it is not your ticket to continue to sin/break God's laws. Think of God's "grace" as though it were a "Presidential Pardon". Once pardoned by the President, you wouldn't go back and commit the same offense you were pardoned for, now would you...So why would you commit the same sins against God, after you receive His pardon?
Paul clarifies in Romans 6: 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid! The law spoken of here, Paul clarifies later is the law of of sin and death Rom. 8:2.
As I mentioned to you before, the laws of God, the Torah are written in the hearts in the New Covenant Believers, the primary legal parties to the New Covenant are Israel and Judah, to whom we are "grafted in". Just like aliens coming into this country, they are expected to keep the laws of the USA. This is the same in any country. We as citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel, will be expected to keep the laws of Israel:
Paul eloquently states this profound truth here:
Eph. 2: 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being *aliens from the commonwealth of Israel*, and *strangers from the covenants* of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
[13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who ye who were formerly far off are brought nigh by the blood of Christ .
Here is Jeremiah 31:33 with the underlying Hebrew words, irrefutably demonstrating that the Torah is written in the heart of the New Testament Believer:
But this [shall be] the covenant h1285 ברית bĕriyth
that I will make h3772 כרת karath
with the house h1004 בית bayith
of Israel; h3478 ישראל Yisra'el
After h310 אחר 'achar
those days, h3117 יום yowm
saith h5002 נאם nĕ'um
the LORD, h3068 יהוה Yĕhovah
I will put h5414 נתן nathan
my law h8451 תורה towrah
in their inward parts, h7130 קרב qereb
and write h3789 כתב kathab
it in their hearts; h3820 לב leb
and will be their God, h430 אלהים 'elohiym
and they shall be my people. h5971 עם `am
Please Leigh, tell me, does the Torah of God.......do God's 10 commandments, include the command to keep the Sabbath day holy?
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Comment by terrance douthard on February 26, 2009 at 10:20am
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AMEN FIRST LADY
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Comment by Spirit on February 26, 2009 at 8:45am
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This was very well prepared. I had an experience yesterday that really made this topic hit home. I also agree that if you look at the teaches in the NT, it all comes from the OT. But the one thing I am learning when it comes to my life and my relationship with Christ, if you can not love, you will not be able to keep the commandments. But if you love, everything falls into place. And when I look at society today, more and more people lack the ability to love. We do not understand the power of Love.
Thank you again.
~First
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