Christ In You -- the Hope of Glory!
By
Rod Reynolds
Scripture teaches that the resurrected saints will share
in the glory of Christ! "...we are God's children; and
if children, then also heirs, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with
Christ -- if in reality we share His sufferings, so that we may
share his glory too" (Romans 8:16-17, Williams Translation).
What does it mean to have glory or to be glorified in the
Biblical sense? The glory of God signifies the divine splendor,
honor and majesty of his person, and the showing forth of his
attributes. The glorified saints will share in the divine nature
of God (II Peter 1:4), receiving the gift of eternal life (Romans
2:5-10). Yes, unbelievable as it may seem, given our fragile and
transitory nature, like a "vapor that appears for a little
time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14), we created and
limited beings will be given his eternal life.
William Barclay in his book New Testament Words
displays remarkable insight in discussing eternal life.
"...the word aionios [eternal] is the word of
eternity in contrast with time, of deity in contrast with
humanity, and...therefore eternal life is nothing less than
the life of God himself" (p. 37, italics in original).
The life that God offers us, God life, his life, is
quantitatively different from our temporary physical existence.
Unlike the latter, eternal life is without beginning and without
end, as God is, and he shall share that never ending, self-
inherent life with the children of his kingdom. But eternal life
is also qualitatively different from mere human life, else how
could we bear it? The saints shall live eternally in sublime joy
and peace. They shall be "in the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy" (Jude 24). David wrote of God, "In Your
presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). As Barclay put it, "Life is
only of value when it is nothing less than the life of God -- and
that is the meaning of eternal life" (p. 41).
Though forever remaining subject to the Father and Jesus
Christ (1 Corinthians 15:24-28), the glorified saints shall share
many of God's attributes, his power, his honor and splendor, his
brilliance. Daniel 12:3 and Philippians 4:21 show that the bodies
and faces of the glorified saints will shine forth with
supernatural brilliance, just as that of the resurrected,
glorified Christ, symbolically described in Revelation 1. There
are not a few who might consider such a teaching blasphemous, but
that nevertheless is the true teaching of Scripture. David wrote,
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall
be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).
John wrote, "...we know that when he [the Father] is
revealed, we shall be like Him..." (I John 3:2). Your
destiny, if you're a true Christian, and if you remain faithful,
is to become like God, sharing in his glory for all eternity.
What assurance do you have that this magnificent, astounding
purpose will be fulfilled in you? What is the basis for your hope
of glory in God's Kingdom? Paul said he was made a steward of
"the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from
generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God
willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27).
As this Scripture points out, the purpose of God is largely
hidden from the world. To most it is a mystery in the sense that
the term is commonly used in English. But the Greek term musterion,
as used in the Scriptures, actually means spiritual truth hidden
from the world in general but revealed to the elect of
God. Musterion comes from the word mueo which
means to initiate into the mysteries, or secret knowledge. (See Vine's
Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words,
p. 424). The secret of God's purpose for mankind, hidden from the
world, is revealed to his special people, his chosen ones.
Both your destiny as a true Christian, and the means of its
accomplishment, is reflected in the phrase, "Christ in you,
the hope of glory." Your destiny, if you are a true
Christian, is to be glorified with God. And that can be
accomplished only by Jesus Christ living in you through the
Spirit of God. If Christ is living in you, and as long as Christ
continues to live in you, you have the hope and the promise of
glory with God.
Assuming you have believed the true gospel, repented and
received the Holy Spirit, what can you do to assure that Christ
will abide in you, dwell in you, to the end, so that the hope you
presently have is fulfilled? I want to discuss briefly just two
things you can do to assure that your hope of glory is fulfilled.
Jesus Christ does not now dwell in everyone. There are certain
conditions to his dwelling in a person. This does not mean that
we -- through our own efforts -- "qualify" ourselves
for salvation. We are to give "thanks to the Father who has
qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of
darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His
love, in whom we have redemption through the blood, the
forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14). Salvation is a
gift which we could never "earn" regardless of how much
effort we might expend. Nevertheless, effort is required to
fulfill our part in the covenant with God. We must "fight
the good fight of faith" to "lay hold on eternal
life" (1 Timothy 6:12, 19). Lacking that effort we become
subject to sin and deception, and may become disqualified
for the inheritance reserved for the faithful (compare 2
Corinthians 13:5; Titus 1:16; 2:11-15; 3:8).
There are more tools to help us remain steadfast than the two
I will discuss. But they will point you in the right direction
and help assure that Christ remains in you. They are: study and
obedience. The rabbins taught that "it is in the power of
each wholly to overcome sin, and to gain life by study and good
works" (See The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,
p. 117, or 1.167 in the original edition). Standing by itself,
this assuredly is misleading. Without Christ, without God's
Spirit, all the study and good works in the world are to no
avail, as far as eternal salvation is concerned. At the same
time, Christ will not continue to abide in someone who never
studies or hears his word and does not obey it.
Bible Study
To assure that Christ continues to dwell in you, study God's
word diligently, daily, consistently. One need not be a great
Biblical scholar to be a Christian. Most of what one needs to
know is plain enough to anyone willing without reservation to
believe and act on God's word (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs
15:32).
Bible study of itself does not produce true spirituality. But
it can produce spiritual literacy. It can provide necessary food
for nurturing the spirit. The Scriptures are a "who, what,
how, and why" book for the works of God. They are also a
"how to" book for real Christians. Bible study can make
a difference in salvation, but only if we practice what
the Scriptures teach. James wrote that "the implanted
word...is able to save your souls." The word of God is like
a "mirror" that can show us what we look like
spiritually, and what we need to become (James 1:21-25). God
communicates his will to us through the Scriptures, Jesus Christ
having loved the Church and given himself for it, "that he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing
of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26).
You can't be like Christ if you don't know what Christ is
like. Study the Scriptures to learn what God is like, and strive
to imitate him, to follow his thinking, his teaching, his way of
acting. You can't have real, genuine faith and belief in God if
you don't know him and what he's about. You can't follow Christ's
teachings unless you know what they are. You can't obey God if
you don't know what he requires. So study God's word to learn who
he is, what he is like, what he is doing for you and with you,
what he wants you to do. Jesus Christ will live in
you only if his words live in you. Jesus said, "The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life"
(John 6:63). He said, "If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). If you want to indeed
be a disciple of Christ -- a real Christian -- and not one in
name only, you must abide in God's word, and it in you
(compare John 15:7). Study God's word with the view in mind of
making it a part of you, the guide to your thoughts, your words,
your deeds.
Obey God's Commandments
Another thing you can do to assure your hope to the end is
commit yourself to obeying God's commandments. Many who claim to
be Christian have stumbled at the commandments of God, either
collectively, thinking the law of God is done away, or
individually, thinking they can selectively obey God, keeping
some commandments but rejecting ones they don't like, such as the
Sabbath, or tithing, or perhaps other commandments.
"This is love, that we walk according to His
commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard
from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many deceivers
have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as
coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist"
(2 John 6-7). Notice that love is walking in the Father's
commandments. God is love (1 John 4:8). That is, love is the
epitome of his nature and character. The commandments of God are
intended to give practical definition to God's way of love. Jesus
said the "first and great commandment" is, "You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind." And the second, "You
shall love your neighbor as yourself." All the law hangs on,
or is summed up in, these two commandments (Matthew 22:34-40).
Jesus also said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments"
(John 14:15). Love towards God is expressed through spiritually
motivated obedience to his commandments (compare Deuteronomy
11:13, 22; 13:3-4; Joshua 22:5; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4). Love
is the motive force behind God's law, and it in it's full intent
and purpose shows us how to love. Hence, love should be our
motive for obedience.
Next we find in 2 John 6-7 a very interesting statement. Those
who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in flesh are deceivers and
anti, against or in place of (the meaning of the Greek
prefix), Christ. What does this mean? It's much deeper than one
might think, and goes to the very heart of our subject.
The Greek word translated "confess" is homologeo.
It means much more than an empty statement of belief. One might
think that just "confessing" or stating that Christ
came in the flesh makes one a Christian. But that is emphatically
not what John is teaching. The original meaning of the
word, as pointed out in Vine's Expository Dictionary
(under "confess," p. 120) is "being identified in
thought or language." Homologeo literally means to
same-think (by the concept of thought as internal speech) or
same-speak.
In this verse both the Greek word for "confess," or
as we have learned to "same-think, same-speak," and the
Greek word for "coming" are in the form of the present
participle. The present participle in this instance implies present
and continuing action. As the Greek scholar A. T. Robertson
notes, the sense of the phrase is that of "treating the
Incarnation as a continuing fact" (Word Pictures in the
New Testament, vol. VI, p. 253). The meaning is that
deceivers are not now and continually thinking the same and
speaking the same Jesus Christ who is right now and continually
coming in flesh. The flesh being spoken of is the flesh of
every true Christian now living.
This thought is repeated in a slightly different form in 1 John 4:1-3. There it says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world" (1 John 4:1-3). The New King James, as other translations of these verses, does a rather poor job of reflecting their real meaning. First, the translators have added some words not in the Greek which tend to somewhat distort the meaning. "Jesus Christ" appears twice in these verses and in both instances the translators have misleadingly preceded the name with "that." "The" is supplied before the word "flesh," leaving a narrower implication than John intended. Most importantly, the English translations I have consulted do not effectively reflect the full implications of certain perfect participles used in the Greek. And there are some other nuances of the Greek which enrich the meaning when properly understood.
The Greek perfect indicative and perfect participle as a
general rule (there are exceptions) emphasize an existing
state. The perfect is called the "long tense"
because it commonly expresses past action with results
extending into the present. Often the sense expressed by the
perfect tense is virtually indistinguishable from that of the
present tense (see remarks on the tenses in the Analytical
Greek Lexicon, p. xii).
With this background let's consider the verses in question.
"Confesses" (homologeo) is in the present
tense, implying present and continuing action.
"Come" (erchomai), with respect to Jesus
Christ being in the flesh, is in both instances in the form of
the perfect participle (the most accurate translation of which is
"having come"). The emphasis is not on the past, but on
the present, here and now.
The true Spirit of God inspires one to think the same thoughts
-- speak the same words -- and by implication -- do the same
deeds -- as Jesus Christ dwelling in the flesh. Because the true
Spirit of God is Jesus Christ dwelling in our flesh! But
the spirit of anti-Christ does not believe, speak and act
according to Jesus Christ dwelling in the flesh. The
"confession" John and other writers of the New
Testament speak of is not a mere acknowledgment -- but a conviction
compelling commitment, surrender, and obedience.
True Christians think the same, speak the same, act the same
as Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ -- through the Spirit of
God -- dwells in their flesh. This is the message of God's word.
Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." (Galatians
2:20). Yes, those of genuine faith have been justified -- that
is, deemed free of guilt -- through the blood of Christ. But
having been thus reconciled to God, "we shall be saved by
His life" (Romans 5:9-10). Christ living in us is the
key to salvation and eternal life! (compare for illustration
Galatians 2:20; Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 10:38; Ephesians 5:1-7; 1
Peter 2:21; 4:11; 1 John 2:3-6; 3:1-4). Churches, ministers,
people who do not think, speak and act as Christ are of another
spirit, the spirit of deception and anti-Christ. If then, Christ
agreed with God's law -- and he did (John 4:34; 5:30; 8:29) -- if
he taught God's law -- and he did (Matthew 19:16-19; Luke
10:25-27) -- and if he obeyed God's law -- and he did (John
14:31; 1 Peter 2:22) -- then he is now doing the same thing in
the flesh of the people of his Church. He is the same
"yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 10:8).
How can one know for sure if Christ is living in him?
Scripture answers: "Now by this we know that we
know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I
know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love
of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as
He walked" (1 John 2:3-6).
The Sabbath Sign for Christians?
Recently a dispute has arisen within the Church as to whether
the Sabbath is a "sign" identifying Christians. This is
an important question pertinent to our subject because it bears
directly on how -- or if -- the Sabbath fits into our
relationship with God and Christ. Is the Sabbath a commandment
for Christians? We are admonished in Scripture to, "Prove
all things; hold fast that which is good" (1
Thessalonians 5:22, KJV). We dare not look to men. Like the
Bereans, we should search "the Scriptures daily to find out
whether these things are so" (Acts 17:11). But we must be
careful to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15),
knowing that Scripture can be handled deceitfully (2 Corinthians
4:2; 2 Peter 3:16), sometimes even by ourselves without our
awareness, if we are not honest and thorough. Even for those of
us for whom the Sabbath question was settled long ago, it can be
profitable now and again to renew and strengthen our faith by
reviewing its foundation.
It's been stated that the Sabbath is not commanded as
part of the New Covenant. And that not keeping it does
not make one less of a Christian. (Pastor General's Report,
12/21/94, p. 20). It's alleged that the Sabbath is a
"sign" pertaining to Israel only. But strangely, Israel
almost never faithfully kept the Sabbath throughout its
history! It was not only the weekly Sabbath that was given as a
"sign" to Israel. It was all the Sabbaths, most
especially the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Why did God give the Sabbaths as a sign for the Israelites?
One of the ways in which the Hebrew word 'owth (sign) is
used is of a token or "sign" as a reminder of one's
duty (see Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and
New Testament Words, p. 229). The Feast of Unleavened Bread
was to be kept to remind Israel that it was God who redeemed them
from slavery. It was a sign and a memorial "that the LORD's
law may be in your mouth" (Exodus 13:8-9). It was,
therefore, to be a reminder both of God's grace and of
their obligation of surrender and obedience to him. (Paul used it
thus in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). The Feast of Unleavened Bread --
and all the Sabbaths -- serve the very same purpose for God's
Church today! Thus they are a sign for faithful Christians today
in exactly the same way they were intended to be a sign for the
nation of Israel.
The Sabbaths (plural) were a sign to remind Israel that it is God
who sanctifies us (Exodus 31:13). Humans have no power to
make anything holy. They cannot make a day holy, and they cannot
make themselves holy by observing days and religious customs they
have chosen. The Sabbath was not made only for the Jews, nor only
for Israel, but for all mankind (Mark 2:27). All mankind needs to
learn that it is God who sanctifies. Hence the Sabbath is
obligatory for all. Especially those who are Jews inwardly
(Romans 2:29), and are of the "Israel of God"
(Galatians 6:16), should keep the Sabbath faithfully in
acknowledgment of the Eternal God who sanctifies them -- and as a
sign between him and them. The "sign" of the
Sabbath, reminding us of who it is that sanctifies us, applies
every bit as much -- and more -- to the Church now as it ever did
to physical Israel. After all, our sanctification is spiritual,
while theirs was largely only physical.
Moreover, it was not just the weekly and annual Sabbaths that
were given to Israel as "signs," or reminders of who
the true God is, of his grace, and of their obligations to him. All
the words God commanded them were to be bound in their hands
as a sign (Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18). The binding of the law in the
hands as a sign is symbolic of the obligation for undeviating
obedience to the law in all that the hands find to do, as wearing
the commandments as frontlets before the eyes is a figure of
speech meaning to have them at the forefront of one's thoughts
continually. Comprehensive, consistent obedience to God's
commandments would be a "sign" evident to all of one's
relationship with God.
Now some will no doubt object that the Pharisees observed
God's commandments rigorously, yet they were not approved of God,
as evidenced by their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. Contrary
to the false but popular teaching, however, the Pharisees of
Jesus' day did not obey God's commandments. Jesus said
to the leaders of the Jews, which included many Pharisees,
"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps
the law?" (John 7:19).
It has been suggested that the Holy Spirit is the New
Testament "sign" of God's people. And that faith and
love, and Jesus Christ, are also such "signs." A major
point of this writing is the truth that it is Christ dwelling in
and leading one through the Holy Spirit that makes one a
Christian, and is the basis for the hope of eternal life (Romans
8:9-14). But is the Holy Spirit a "sign" of God's
people?
The Holy Spirit is invisible. It can be neither seen, nor
heard, nor felt ('owth also denotes "the sign of
anything which cannot itself be seen" -- Gesenius'
Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament). The Holy
Spirit, while it can't be seen, can be discerned. Unusual and
miraculous signs have on rare, special occasions accompanied the
giving of the Holy Spirit, as is recorded in Acts 2, for example.
But the usual way in which the Holy Spirit is manifested is in
the deeds it motivates and empowers one to perform,
namely, obedience to God's commandments (Ezekiel 11:19-20;
36:26-27; Romans 8:4-5, 13-14).
Ephesians 1:13 has been used as a proof text that the Holy
Spirit is a sign of God's people. "And you also were
included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit" (NIV). The common Greek word
for "sign" (semeion) is not found in
this verse. The literal translation of the Greek is, "...you
were sealed [sphragizo] with the Holy Spirit of
promise...." In the Roman world a letter or scroll to be
carried in the mail was sealed with a wax seal. An imprint was
made in the wax. The wax seal served several purposes at once:
(1) It identified the author or owner of the document. (2) It
provided security against tampering or being read by unauthorized
persons. (3) It authenticated the document as the work of the one
whose seal it bore. Hence the metaphor conveys the concept of the
Holy Spirit being, among other things, a mark or identifying sign
of God's people. However, it's not an either/or situation. The
Holy Spirit being a sign of God's people does not nullify other
signs, such as the Sabbath, or obedience to the commandments.
Indeed, they are complementary. They all work together.
It's not a matter of an "Old Testament sign" and a
"New Testament sign." Ezekiel -- in the Old Testament
-- used the metaphor of a "mark on the foreheads" as
symbolic of the identifying seal of God's Spirit (Ezekiel 9:4;
compare Revelation 7:2-4; Ephesians 1:13). The same prophet also
spoke of God's Sabbaths as "a sign between Me and you, that
you may know that I am the LORD your God" (20:19; also verse
12). Isaiah prophesied that not just Israel, but Gentiles
faithful to God will also keep the Sabbath holy, and not
defile it (Isaiah 56:1-8). The setting for this prophecy of
Isaiah's is our time, now, (before the return of Jesus
Christ) when, says the Eternal, "...My salvation is about
to come, and My righteousness to be revealed" (verse 1,
compare Hebrews 9:28), and when salvation has been opened fully
to the Gentiles (verses 3, 6-8; Acts 11:18; Ephesians 3:1-7).
These conditions taken together can apply only to today's
age, and none other!
Furthermore, Ezekiel prophesied that when the time
comes that God has poured out his Spirit on Israel, then
they will faithfully keep his Sabbaths (39:29; 44:23-24; 46:3).
And we find also in Isaiah during the millennium, "...from
one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship
before Me, says the LORD" (66:23). These prophecies are in
the Old Testament. But the setting for their fulfillment is
during the time of the New Covenant regime -- when, to repeat,
salvation is opened fully to Gentiles. These Scriptures provide
proof positive that the Sabbath is a New Covenant law and that it
is not a sign of a right relationship with God for physical
Israel only, but for all who faithfully serve him!
As further evidence that these signs are not contrary to
one another, but go hand in hand, consider 2 Timothy 2:19,
"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having
this seal [sphragis]: The Lord knows those who are His,
and, Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from
iniquity." Notice the duel aspect of this seal. God knows
those who are his, having sealed them with the Holy Spirit, as we
saw earlier. And the second part of the seal identifying true
Christians (this Scripture falls in the context of apostate
members teaching false doctrine), is that those who name the name
of Christ are to depart from iniquity -- simply another way of
saying they must keep God's commandments!
("Let...depart" in this verse -- aphistemi --
is in the imperative mood; it's a positive command for those who
name the name of Christ to depart from iniquity).
Godly faith, too, is characteristic of a Christian, and is
elemental to a right relationship with God. But faith is a
quality of mind apparent to others only through the works
motivated by it. As James wrote, "Show me your faith without
your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James
2:18). Faith is not somehow exclusive of or in opposition to
obedience to God's commandments. The true saints -- the Church
against which Satan rages -- are "those who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation
14:12; also see 12:17). The verses imply the distinct but
inseparable character of God's commandments and the faith of
Jesus. In the Greek in both of the verses referred to
"keep" -- tereo -- is in the present
participle, "those keeping," implying present and
continuing action. Tereo "expresses watchful care
and is suggestive of present possession" (Thayer's).
In these verses it implies not only observing the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus but holding fast to
them, significant in light of the context of the verses and the
message to the Church of Philadelphia: "Hold fast
what you have, that no one may take your crown" (Revelation
3:11).
Jesus said, "By this all will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
Surely this means that love is the -- or at least a -- sign of a
Christian. And indeed it is. But what is love, that is, godly
love, termed agape in the Greek New Testament? As
William Barclay points out in New Testament Words,
"Agape has to do with the mind: it is not
simply an emotion which arises unbidden in our hearts; it is a
principle by which we deliberately live. Agape has
supremely to do with the will" (p. 21). Love is choosing
to keep God's commandments. As John wrote, "For this is the
love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3).
Another idea has been broached that it is not the Sabbath that
is a sign of a Christian, but Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ
has "replaced" the law (including the ten commandments)
with himself. The proof text used for the idea that Jesus is a
sign is Luke 2:34, "Behold this Child is destined...for a
sign which will be spoken against." There are actually a
number of ways in which Jesus Christ might be viewed as a sign.
One of the names of God used in the Old Testament is
"Yahweh-Nissi," the Eternal my Banner, or sign (Exodus
17:15). Jesus Christ is God. He led Israel through the
wilderness, providing for their needs, showing them where and how
to walk (1 Corinthians 10:1-11, compare Deuteronomy 8:1-3;
32:3-15; Psalm 78:15-35; Jeremiah 23:5-8). It is prophesied of
him that he would be a banner, an ensign, a sign for the Gentiles
and the Israelites to lead them into the millennial rest, the
very rest typified by the Sabbath day (Isaiah 11:10,12; Hebrews
4:1-10). The concept of our Lord and Savior being a
"sign" for us to follow is not peculiar to the New
Testament, but is found in the Old Testament, too. Jesus does not
lead people to break the Sabbath but to keep it. A careful
reading of the Scriptures reveals that he, the preincarnate
Jesus, spoke the commandments from Mt. Sinai. He does not replace
the law. He and the Father together comprise the one God who authored
the law. He does not replace the law, but he embodies
it, a living example of the law in action (1 Peter 2:21;
1 John 2:3-6). He does not replace the law, but, it was
prophesied, "He will magnify the law and make it
honorable" (Isaiah 42:21).
We've discussed Scriptures showing that "Christ in
you" is the hope of glory (i.e., becoming a glorified son in
God's Kingdom). And that the true Spirit is discerned from the
false in that it leads one to follow Christ's example in thought,
word and deed. And we've read that "by this we know that we
know Him, if we keep His commandments" (1 John 2:3). Who is
it that stumbles at the "living stone," Jesus Christ?
"Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those
who are disobedient, the stone which the builders
rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense" (1 Peter 2:7). Genuine
belief in Christ is inseparable from obedience to him. It's not
enough to merely mouth Christ's name and claim belief in him
while rejecting his teachings and his example. Jesus prophesied,
"For many will come in My name, saying, I am the
Christ, and will deceive many" (Matthew 24:5).
These are not people claiming that they themselves are Christ.
They are many coming in his name, saying he,
Jesus, is Christ, yet deceiving many! And so it has happened!
If we think of a sign as tangible evidence of one's standing
as a Christian, it is to be found in his faithful, heartfelt
obedience to all of God's commandments, as applicable under the
New Covenant. After all, one of the two cardinal points of the
New Covenant is "I will put My laws in their mind and write
them on their hearts." And the result is that the Eternal
"will be their God, and they shall be My people"
(Hebrews 8:10). This is as much a part of the Covenant whereby we
become God's people as is the forgiveness of sins. And it will be
accomplished through the power of God's Holy Spirit (Ezekiel
11:19-20; 36:26-27). Christians carry the mark of all the other
signs discussed also. But, again, they complement one
another -- they do not cancel one another out!
Different Commandments?
Another controversial assertion that needs to be discussed is
that the commandments of Christ are different from the ones
revealed in the Old Testament. The Sabbath, tithing and certain
other laws, the reasoning goes, are not included in the
commandments Christ was referring to when he said, "If you
love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). This idea is
hardly a new one. It was taught by second century teachers such
as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, and numerous others who followed
down through the centuries. But what does God's word say? Did
Jesus teach a different set of commandments?
When a rich man asked Jesus, "...what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered, "You know the
commandments" (Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23). And he then
named some commandments from the Old Testament. We too know the
commandments from the Scriptures of the Old Testament (which for
years were the only Scriptures the Church had) as well as the
New. Every single one of the ten commandments, and many others
from the Old Testament, are directly discussed and established
within the context of the New Testament. Jesus never suggested to
his followers that the Sabbath and other commandments did not
apply to them. Much of the four gospels is a record of how Jesus
observed the Sabbath, teaching us by example how to observe it
(not according to Jewish tradition but according to the true
meaning and spirit of the Sabbath). It was still a commandment,
and a day on which to rest from one's own labors, after
our Savior's death: "...they rested on the Sabbath
according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56; see also
Hebrews 4:9-10).
Whether or not to keep the Sabbath was not an issue in the
Church of the original apostles. Evidence concerning the early
Church reveals that the Jerusalem Church kept not only the
Sabbath well into the second century (having moved to Pella prior
to the destruction of Jerusalem), but many of its members
observed Jewish traditional law as well. The controversies
between some of the converted Pharisees and others within the
Church over keeping "the law of Moses" was not over the
ten commandments but what was plainly at issue was physical
circumcision, and certain laws of the Old Covenant as kept by
Jewish tradition.
In the conference recorded in Acts 15 it was believers among
the Pharisees who raised the issue of circumcision and the
"law of Moses" (verse 5). As the Pharisees used the
term the "Law of Moses," it included their oral
tradition because they asserted that not only the written law but
the oral law, too, was given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. As it's
stated in the Encyclopedia Britannica, "...while
the phrase 'Torah (given) to Moses at Sinai' may be understood in
a restricted sense [i.e., as the Pentateuch], the
Pharisaic-rabbinic tradition (originated by the Pharisees and
continued by the Talmudic rabbis) viewed it as referring to a
wide body of teaching. According to this position, which
dominated Jewish thought until the modern era and still commands
the allegiance of traditionalists, the encounter between God and
Israel at Sinai deposited not only a written Torah (Torah
she-bikhtav) but also an oral Torah (Torah she-be `al pe)
that was transmitted from generation to generation"
(Fifteenth Edition, vol. 10, "Judaism," 1978, p. 286).
Edersheim adds, "According to the Jewish view, God had given
Moses on Mount Sinai alike the oral and the written Law, that is,
the Law with all its interpretations and applications. From Ex.
xx. 1, it was inferred, that God had communicated to Moses the
Bible, the Mishnah, and Talmud, and the Haggadah, even to that
which scholars would in latest times propound" (p .69). When
the Pharisees among the brethren wanted to require Gentile
converts to "keep the law," it meant they wanted to
impose upon them the entire weight of their extra-Biblical oral
tradition, not just the commandments written in the Torah.
The "yoke" referred to by Peter (verse 10) is not
the ten commandments, not the Sabbath, but the Jewish traditional
laws, referred to by Jesus as "heavy burdens" (Matthew
23:4; Luke 11:46). Jesus never upbraided the Pharisees nor anyone
else for keeping the Sabbath or other of the commandments of God.
He did assail the Pharisees because through their traditions --
the "commandments of men" -- they transgressed God's
commandments and made them of no effect (Matthew 15:1-9; Mark
7:1-13). Joachim Jeremias (pp. 246-267) discusses the Pharisees'
traditional laws regarding tithing, purification and other
matters which went far beyond Biblical requirements. Jesus
rebuked the scribes for imposing these burdensome laws when he
said "they...will not move [or remove] them with one of
their fingers" (Matthew 23:4). The burdens of these rules of
men "could be laid on, or moved away, according to the
varying judgment or severity of a Rabbinic College"
(Edersheim, p. 71; or 1.103 in the older two volume edition). In
a similar way, the judgment made by the conference of Acts 15 had
to do not so much with the spiritual and everlasting precepts of
the law (Romans 7:14; Psalm 111:7-8), but with ceremonial aspects
of the law pertaining primarily to the temple service and Jewish
traditional law (compare Acts 15:24-29; 21:18-19; 28:17;
Galatians 1:14; 2:3-4, 10-14; 3:3;6:12-13; Hebrews 9:9-10).
Jewish Pharisaic Rabbis had disagreed among themselves whether
adult proselytes should be required to be circumcised to be fully
accepted as citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. By the time
of Christ they had adopted the affirmative view (Edersheim, p.
1014, or 2.746). However, among the Western diaspora
("Hellenists," or "Hellenistic Jews"),
Gentiles were accepted into the assembly as proselytes without
circumcision. "...Hellenistic Jews,...renounced circumcision
[as necessary for the acceptance of proselytes] but not the
immersion that washed away the impurity of heathenism" (New
Shaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. ix,
"Proselytes," p. 280-281). While circumcision was not
required of Gentile converts in the West, "no concessions
were made in monotheistic faith or in moral requirements, but
solely in liturgical [ritual] matters" (ibid., p.
281). The Sadducees, too, held that only future male children of
converts must be circumcised, since no other day than the eighth
after birth is specifically commanded in Scripture. Part
of the Gerim Halakhah (binding rules of tradition
relating to Gentile proselytes) concerned five specific
conditions prerequisite to entering into full
citizenship among the Jews. These five conditions, all from the
Pentateuch, were circumcision (Exodus 12:48), and abstention from
the following: idol sacrifices, blood, food (meat) not bled
properly, and sexual immorality (Leviticus 17:7, 10, 12-13;
18:1-26). The decision resulting from the conference of Acts 15 ruled
out adult male circumcision, but confirmed the
remaining requirements (representing separation from spiritual
and physical defilement or uncleanness) for full acceptance into
the community of disciples. Some sources add obedience to Jewish
authority, and avoidance of blasphemy, murder and theft to the
list of laws obligatory for Gentiles from Leviticus 17-20. In
reality, all the laws mentioned in these chapters were to be
followed by Israelites and the Gentiles living among them alike
(17:8, 10, 12, 13, 15; 18:26; 20:2), and every single one of the
ten commandments are given binding authority in the laws laid
down in these chapters.
The primary concern being addressed in Acts 15 is how may a Gentile be purified from spiritual uncleanness and hence be fit for acceptance into the congregation. To the Pharisees, in particular, strict observance of laws pertaining to ritual purity was extremely important. Certainly for a Gentile, from the Pharisaic point of view, circumcision would a fundamental first step. Beyond that, however, Pharisaic communities had strict rules of admission. "Before admission there was a period of probation...during the course of which the postulant had to prove his ability to follow the ritual laws.
........
"Once this period was over, the candidate committed
himself to observe the rules of the community.... The
new member of the community bound himself to observe the Pharisaic
laws on purity and tithes" (Jeremias, p. 251, emphasis
added). Note the emphasis is on ritual laws, and their own
traditional laws, which the Pharisees equated with "the law
of Moses." The point of Acts 15 is that -- contrary to
Pharisaic demands -- spiritual purity is not accomplished through
circumcision of the flesh and adherence to physical rituals of
purification, but rather, as the Church had learned, "God
shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works
righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10:34-35). And
that God "made no distinction between us and them [Jew and
Gentile], purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts
15:9; compare also Acts 21:24-25, note the issue there also is
ritual purification). The "necessary things" imposed on
Gentile converts in Acts 15 is not intended as a complete list of
their obligations to God. For example, baptism, which was
required of Gentile converts (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:48) is not
mentioned in Acts 15:29. What is mentioned are common heathen
practices -- referred to as "abominable customs"
(Leviticus 19:30) -- by which the nations were defiled.
"Purity of the heart" requires separation from these
practices, as commanded in Scripture. When we place Acts 15 in
its proper context with the rest of Scripture, we see that the
approach of the New Testament Church in accepting Gentile
converts was similar to that of the synagogues of the Western
diaspora. Physical circumcision and ritual purifications
revolving around the temple service were not required. But there
was no compromise in faith and moral law, including Sabbath
observance.
With regard to the Sabbath, much has been made by some of the
seven so-called laws of Noah (from Leviticus 17-20, same as
listed above but arranged somewhat differently) which were
obligatory for so-called "half-proselytes" (a concept
originated by the Rabbis). But overlooked, perhaps deliberately,
is the fact that, as Easton's Illustrated Bible Dictionary
points out, "Besides these laws, however, they were required
to abstain from work on the Sabbath, and to refrain from the use
of leavened bread during the time of the Passover" (CD
version, 1994, on SeedMaster Holy Bible CD ROM,
White Harvest Software, Inc.). In fact the common term for
"half-proselytes" -- proselytes "of the gate"
-- comes from the language of the Sabbath law, which specifically
requires Gentiles ("your stranger who is within your
gates") to observe the Sabbath (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy
5:14). There was never a question, either among the Jews nor
within the New Testament Church, as to whether a Gentile convert
should keep the Sabbath, since it was specifically commanded of
them.
Many scholars recognize that the Jerusalem Church was a model
for the Gentile churches in doctrine and practice (excepting
extra-biblical Pharisaic tradition which continued to be
practiced by some converted Pharisees, but was never imposed by
the apostles on Gentile converts). This is alluded to by Paul
where he says the Gentiles were "debtors" to the
Jerusalem saints, having "been partakers of their spiritual
things" (Romans 15:27); and imitators of their sufferings at
the hands of persecutors (1 Thessalonians 2:14). In Hugh Smith's History
of the Christian Church we find the following: "The
first Christian church established at Jerusalem by apostolic
authority became in doctrine and practice a model for the greater
part of those founded in the first century." And he states
further, "All Christians agreed in celebrating the seventh
day of the week in conformity to the Jewish converts" (pp.
50-51, 69; cited in A History of the True Religion, pp.
44-45). A number of other church historians could be cited
drawing the same conclusions. Hurlbut admits, "As long as
the church was mainly Jewish, the Hebrew sabbath was kept; but as
it became increasingly Gentile the first day gradually took the
place of the seventh day" (Story of the Christian Church,
p. 45).
In addition to Scripture, clear evidence that the apostles, specifically Paul, never taught the Gentiles nor other Christians that they were free to reject God's command to observe the Sabbath and keep as "holy time" any time they chose is provided by Clement, a companion of Paul (Philippians 4:3). Clement wrote when he was pastor of the Church of God at Rome, about 100 A.D.:
These things therefore being manifest to us, and since we look into the depths of the divine knowledge, it behooves us to do all things in their proper order, which the Lord has commanded us to perform at stated times. He has enjoined offerings [to be presented] and service to be performed [to Him], and that not thoughtlessly or irregularly, but at the appointed times and hours. Where and by whom He desires these things to be done, He Himself has fixed by His own supreme will, in order that all things being piously done according to His good pleasure, may be acceptable to Him. Those, therefore, who present their offerings at the appointed times, are accepted and blessed; for inasmuch as they follow the laws of the Lord, they sin not. (First Epistle, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, p. 16).
Samuele Bacchiocchi, a Seventh Day Adventist scholar, spent
five years at the Vatican's Pontifical Gregorian University in
Rome, studying early Christian documents to investigate the early
practice of the Church regarding the Sabbath, and the question of
when, where and why the practice was abandoned in favor of Sunday
worship. He concluded that the change occurred during the reign
of Emperor Hadrian (117-135 A.D.), largely as a result of severe
anti-Jewish repression and persecution. It should be noted,
however, that some Gnostic Christians, who blended Christianity
with pagan religion and philosophy, worshipped on Sunday rather
than the Sabbath in the first century (Ante-Nicene Fathers,
vol. 7, p. 379, cited by Fletcher, p. 118). Following the pattern
of the first-century Gnostic practices, the change in the
"catholic" Church was an adaptation of the widespread
practice of honoring the sun-deities on "Sun-day," the
first day of the week. "My conclusion," says
Bacchiocchi, "...was that the change from Saturday to Sunday
did not occur in the Jerusalem church by apostolic authority to
commemorate Christ's resurrection. Rather it occurred in the
Church of Rome early in the second century as a result of the
interplay of political, social, pagan-religious, and Christian
factors, similar somewhat to those that gave rise to the December
25 observance of Christ's birth" ("How the Sabbath Was
Changed to Sunday and Why It Matters," Liberty
magazine, vol. 86, no. 1, January/February 1991, p. 14).
It has been stated that the Sabbath does not "appear in
any of the commands or lists of virtues in the New
Testament" (Pastor General's Report, January 5,
1995, p. 2). And this is used as a rationalization for not having
to keep it. One has to wonder, how many times must God repeat
himself before men cease their attempts to reason around his law.
First, contrary to the above statement, as pointed out earlier,
the Sabbath is listed as a command -- after Christ's
death abolishing the Old Covenant (Luke 23:56). The Sabbath is
mentioned more than sixty times in the New Testament, more than
any other of the ten commandments. Nowhere is it stated or
suggested that it is not to be kept. The majority of the cases
involve Jesus' example in the gospel accounts of how to properly
observe the Sabbath, not according to the manmade, burdensome and
counterproductive rules of the scribes, but instead keeping
faithful to its spirit and meaning as a day to rest from our own
works and servile labor, and to keep it as a day of spiritual and
physical liberation and restoration (Nehemiah 13:15-22; Isaiah
61:1-3; 58:13-14; Luke 13:10-17; Matthew 12:10-13; Acts 16:13;
Hebrews 4:9-10). One does not find examples of Jesus, the
apostles, or converted Christians spending the Sabbath buying and
selling, working at servile labor for wages, engaging in sporting
events, nor in general, pursuing their own carnal interests. One
does find them resting from their own fleshly labors and
preaching, teaching, praying, healing, and doing similar good
works in the service of God. How much plainer could it be made,
what our obligations are regarding the Sabbath?
In Matthew 24 Jesus uttered a prophecy for his own
disciples. The prophecy concerns events which would precede
his second coming. The words apply specifically and directly to
the present era between the first and the second comings of Jesus
Christ. He warned that during this age many false
prophets would deceive many (verse 11). He warned that lawlessness
would abound. He warned of the coming great tribulation. And he
said, speaking to his very own disciples, "...pray that your
flight may not be...on the Sabbath" (verse 20). Why
would Jesus tell his disciples to pray that their flight from the
tribulation be not on the Sabbath, unless he expected them to be
keeping the Sabbath? Evidently Jesus did not know that his death
would render the Sabbath commandment obsolete. Are we more wise
than he? How can any honest Bible student contend that Jesus does
not expect his own disciples, here and now, to be keeping the
Sabbath? (Incidentally, this statement does not necessarily imply
that it would be wrong to take flight on the Sabbath if
necessary. But certainly it would be preferable not to have to do
so).
In the book of Hebrews Paul explains that certain laws of the
Old Covenant need not be kept in the letter under the New
Covenant. These have to do with physical sacrifices of food and
drink (we still sacrifice in to God in other ways), washings, or
rites of purification, and other fleshly ordinances having to do
with the temple service (Hebrews 9:9-10). Since there is no
physical temple, we could not apply most of these laws in the
letter now, even if we wanted to. Had God intended that we not
keep the Sabbath -- one of the ten commandments -- would he not
have made it at least as plain as these lesser laws that no
longer apply in the letter? Notice, however, that we are not told
in the book of Hebrews (nor any other book) that the Sabbath is
not to be kept. In fact, we are told just the opposite!
In Hebrews 3 and 4 Paul draws an analogy between the
Israelites of the time of Moses and Joshua entering into the
promised land and our entering the household (or Kingdom) of God.
The time they spent in the wilderness is analogous to our lives
now. We are ultimately partakers of the promise of eternal life
with Christ only if we remain steadfast in faith to the end
(Hebrews 3:6-14). Though the Israelites were under God's rule and
guidance in the wilderness, they did not enter his
"rest" in the promised inheritance because they were
disobedient. In like manner, we have not yet received our
inheritance in God's Kingdom, but "a promise remains of
entering His rest" for us if we are diligent to obey
(Hebrews 4:1, 11).
Some teach falsely that we have already entered that
rest, but we have not. The rest we are promised follows
the return of Jesus Christ, when his Kingdom will rule the earth
(and all creation; see Isaiah 14:1-7; 32:16-18; 33:20; Jeremiah
30:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 14:13; 21:3-4). Paul said
he sought to "attain to the resurrection." Not that he
had "already attained, or am already perfected; but I press
on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also
laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have
apprehended..." (Philippians 3:11-13). Paul, in Hebrews,
refers to the Sabbath as a type of entering God's Kingdom, his
rest (4:4). In verse 9 Paul says, "Then remains a sabbath
rest to the people of God" (Interlinear Bible). The
Greek word translated "sabbath rest" is sabbatismos.
It means a Sabbath keeping. And it applies both to keeping the
weekly Sabbath as a type of the millennial rest, and to the
millennial fulfillment of what the Sabbath prefigures.
Keep in mind that Paul was writing to Jewish Christians, of
whom there is no doubt they were keeping the Sabbath. In Hebrews
Paul discusses numerous details of the Old and New Covenants and
their relationship. This would have been the ideal place for Paul
to tell the Jewish Christians that keeping the Sabbath is no
longer necessary. But instead, he does just the opposite. There
can be no doubt whatsoever that Paul's statement in Hebrews 4:9,
"Then remains a sabbath rest [or sabbath keeping] to the
people of God" (Interlinear Bible), would have been
taken by Jewish Christians as a clear validation of
their practice of keeping the weekly Sabbath, regardless of any
additional meaning the statement was intended to have. Especially
in light of the next verse, where it is tied in directly with the
example of God resting on the seventh day of the creation week,
thus creating the Sabbath (compare Hebrews 4:10; Genesis 2:1-3;
Exodus 20:11).
It's not accidental that the apostate Church, after rejecting
the Sabbath, in time rejected also the belief in the millennial
reign of Christ. Edward Gibbon notes that the early Church taught
the second coming of Christ and his millennial reign. It was
believed that this age "...would be succeeded by a joyful
Sabbath of a thousand years; and that Christ, with the triumphant
band of the saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who
had been miraculously revived, would reign upon earth till the
time appointed for the last and general resurrection" (The
Triumph of Christendom in the Roman Empire, p. 25). But
eventually, as apostasy became more and more firmly rooted,
"The doctrine of Christ's reign upon earth was at first
treated as a profound allegory, was considered by degrees as a
doubtful and useless opinion, and was at length rejected as the
absurd invention of heresy and fanaticism" (p. 26).
It's been stated that the annual festivals, or Sabbaths, are
"shadows of the reality, who is
Christ," hence it's reasoned that they are not commanded
under the New Covenant. But is this what Scripture says?
Scripture says they are [not were] "a shadow
[Greek: skia, in this context a sketch, an outline, a
representation conveying to our minds a pattern; compare Hebrews
8:5] of things to come" (Colossians 2:17). The
Sabbaths are formulated according to the pattern of God's plan
for mankind. Because they are a representation of a
greater reality, does that mean we need not keep them? Baptism is
a representation of a greater reality (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians
2:12). Does this mean that baptism is optional, that it's somehow
not a requirement for a Christian, because it's a figure or
shadow of something else? The same for the Passover symbols of
bread and wine, and the Passover itself (1 Corinthians 5:7;
11:23-26). If we did not keep the Sabbaths, would we understand
what they prefigure? How much understanding of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, or Trumpets, or Atonement, or Tabernacles does
the average Sunday keeping church goer have? Virtually none!
Colossians 2:16-17 does not say we need not keep the Sabbaths. It
says "let no one judge you" with regard to them. This
could mean any of several things. Biblical scholar A. T.
Robertson, a Baptist, having little reason to provide support to
those who keep the Sabbaths, nevertheless conjectures that Paul
has in mind the regulations and practices of certain ascetic
Gnostics, or possibly Essenes or Pharisees, whose rules
"went far beyond the Mosaic regulations" (Word
Pictures in the New Testament, vol. IV, p. 496). To use an
ambiguous Scripture like this to sweep away dozens of clear
statements from the Bible is extremely poor exegetical form, to
put it mildly!
What is the standard we are being judged by? It is the word of
God, the "law of liberty" (John 12:48; James 1:21-25;
2:9-12; Revelation 20:12-13). It is God who judges (Deuteronomy
32:36; Psalm 7:8-11; 96:10-13; Acts 17:31). And it is not the
hearers of the law but the doers of the law who will be justified
(Romans 2:13; James 2:21-25; Revelation 22:14).
The apostles did not believe that the annual feasts were
obsolete relics of the Old Covenant. They had the Church
assembled on the day of Pentecost. And God honored their keeping
of that annual Sabbath and confirmed it for the New Testament
Church in a most powerful way -- by the giving of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:1-4). Paul gave detailed instructions to the Gentile
Corinthian Church regarding how to properly keep the Passover,
one of the seven annual festivals commanded in Leviticus 23. Paul
wrote to the Corinthians concerning the Feast of Unleavened
Bread, "...let us keep the feast..." (1 Corinthians
5:8). "Let us keep the feast" (from eortazo)
is in the Greek in the form of the hortatory subjunctive; it's an
exhortation -- virtually a command -- to keep the
feast of unleavened bread with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth. And this letter went to Gentile
Christians.
Scripture shows that in the millennium, during the regime of
the New Covenant, all nations will be required to keep
the Feast of Tabernacles. Those who refuse will be punished
(Zechariah 14:16-19). Why would they be punished if keeping the
Feast is not a law, a command, under the New Covenant? Jesus kept
the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day (John 7:10, 14,
37-39). Throughout the New Testament we find thematic material
relating directly to the various feasts of God. Keeping the
feasts can give life to our comprehension of the subtle,
penetrating spiritual lessons of both the Old and New Testaments,
because they give us the proper framework for understanding God's
word. That's one very important reason why Scripture says,
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good
understanding have all those who do his commandments"
(Psalm 111:10).
It's been stated that "at creation, God gave no command
to human beings regarding keeping the [seventh] day as a
Sabbath" (Pastor General's Report, January 5,
1995). The same source goes on to say that no Sabbath commandment
existed until after the Exodus. Based on what evidence? One will
not find recorded in Scripture before the Exodus any specific
command about stealing. Does this mean stealing was not a sin
until God made the Old Covenant with Israel? The same is true of
lying, of covetousness, of idolatry, of blasphemy, etc. Did none
of these laws exist until the time of the Old Covenant? I think
the absurdity of this argument is readily apparent. Abraham knew
God's commandments and kept them (Genesis 26:5).
The law of God did not begin its existence at Mount Sinai.
It's existence is implicit in the Bible from cover to cover. Paul
wrote, "For until the law [the Old Covenant] sin was in the
world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Romans
5:13). As Paul goes on to explain, however, sin was imputed
before the Old Covenant was sealed. Adam and Eve were punished
for their sin. The entire antediluvian world was destroyed
because of their sins. Sodom and Gomorrah likewise. Egypt was
punished because of its sins. So we see clearly that the
spiritual law of God was in force before the Old Covenant. God
has always been the Supreme sovereign of his creation. He has
always been the "one Lawgiver...able to save and to
destroy" (James 4:12).
The covenant was an agreement between God and Israel that they
would keep his laws and that they would receive blessings for
doing so (Exodus 19:5-6, 8). It was a physical covenant; but
based on spiritual precepts. The spiritual precepts of the law
were written on stones; the priests were human. But all was
according to a heavenly pattern. The New Covenant is better, not
because its law is better, but because its promises are better
(Hebrews 8:6). How are they better? Because the same law,
(applied in the spirit and not just in the letter) is written not
on stone but in our hearts; and through the primary covenant
sacrifice, Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven (2 Corinthians
3:6; Hebrews 8:4-6, 10-12; 9:11-15). Through the New Covenant is
made possible the fulfillment of the promise of eternal salvation
(Hebrews 9:11-28).
Are we to believe that God created the Sabbath during the
creation week, and "blessed and sanctified it" (Genesis
2:2-3), but did not reveal it to Adam and Eve, nor insist that
they keep holy what he had blessed and sanctified? Especially
when the Sabbath was created for man? (Mark 2:27).
Nehemiah wrote that in the wilderness God "made known"
to Israel the holy Sabbath (9:14). Remember the Sabbath had been made
holy at creation. The detailed chronology of the flood found
in Genesis 7 and 8 makes it clear that the men who wrote and
preserved the source documents for the book of Genesis were
meticulous time keepers, and that they knew God's calendar. It's
simply not credible to believe that they did not preserve a
knowledge of the Sabbath as well. But in slavery, the children of
Israel had lost track of it (compare Lamentations 2:6; the
Egyptians did not observe a seven day week, but divided the month
into three periods of ten days each). So it was necessary that
God make known to them the Sabbath day, the day he had made holy
at creation. This was done several weeks before the Old
Covenant was agreed to at Sinai (compare Exodus 16:1; 19:1). The
Sabbath was already a law and a commandment to be obeyed
before the Old Covenant came into existence (Exodus
16:4, 23, 25-28).
When God gave Israel his commandments at Mount Sinai he told
them to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy" (Exodus 20:8). In giving the command he reminds us how
the Sabbath came to be holy in the first place. "For in six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all
that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (verse 11). God
hallowed, that is consecrated, set apart the Sabbath for a holy
purpose, at the time that he made mankind. The basis for keeping
the Sabbath holy is that God made it to be holy at the beginning
of man's history.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "...keeping the
commandments of God is what matters" (I Corinthians 7:19).
Paul knew what the commandments were. They were those enjoined in
the Old Testament law (Romans 13:8-10). Love is not walking in
just Jesus' commandments, but in the Father's
commandments (2 John 4-6). Jesus' commandments and the Father's
are the same (John 12:49-50).
Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For
assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law
till all is fulfilled [better translated in this context come
to pass or established]. Whoever breaks [or looses
or relaxes] one of the least of these commandments,
and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19).
It's obvious from this statement that Jesus practiced and taught
to be kept all the commandments written in the Law and
the Prophets. And the commission Jesus gave to the Church
included teaching his disciples likewise "to observe all
things that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). (A
further discussion of the commandments as applicable to
Christians is found in my manuscript The Two Covenants).
The Old and New Testaments are consistent in teaching that
obedience to all the commandments is the principle sign
of God's elect (see again I John 2:3-6; Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18).
The commandments God is writing in the hearts of true Christians
certainly includes the Sabbath, but they are not limited
to the Sabbath. Merely keeping that one commandment does not
identify one as a Christian. But surely no one who willfully
refuses to keep the Sabbaths, the days God sanctified, can
truthfully claim to be keeping the commandments. And make no
mistake, the Sabbaths are among the commandments. They are not
mere "window dressing" nor an optional "special
blessing" for a limited number of "Christians" who
deem them worth keeping. Who is any man to say keeping them is
not necessary, when it is God himself -- Lord of the Sabbath
(Mark 2:28) -- who commanded their observance?
The Sabbath is a test for God's people, "whether they
will walk in My law or not" (Exodus 16:4). Almost always the
Sabbath is one of the first laws to be rejected or made
ineffectual by those who depart from the truth. God asked, with
regard to the Sabbath, "How long do you refuse to
keep My commandments and My laws?" (Exodus 16:28). Instead
of obeying God, Israel chose to imitate the peoples around them.
God appealed to them, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and
keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all
the law which I commanded your fathers..." (2 Kings 17:13).
But they "did not believe in the LORD their God" and
"rejected his statutes" (2 Kings 17:14-15). Disobedience
is disbelief!
Christ dwelling in you empowers you to obey his law (Romans
8:4, 13; Philippians 2:13; 4:13; Ephesians 3:14-21). As long as
we are in the flesh we will have to contend with its sinful
nature. But Christians do not reject God's commandments. They are
no longer hostile to them. They don't try to reason around them.
They hold fast to them and struggle to obey them in the faith of
Jesus (Revelation 14:12). And as they grow spiritually they
exercise through Christ's power greater control over their minds
and actions, and become more like him as they mature spiritually
(Colossians 3:1-11; Philippians 4:13; Galatians 5:16-25; Romans
13:11-14; 2 Corinthians 10:1-6; Ephesians 4:13-24). When they sin
Christians will in heartfelt repentance acknowledge their sin and
sinfulness, and they will be forgiven and cleansed by our
merciful God (1 John 1:8-10). We can't, of ourselves, obey God's
law (Romans 8:7). Only Christ dwelling in us can! -- if we
constantly submit to his will and earnestly seek his help to
obey. Study God's word, and obey him. Let Christ live in you,
your hope of glory.
_________________________________________________________________
Copyright ©1998 by Rod Reynolds. Permission granted to copy
without alteration for personal use, provided this notice is
included. Any commercial use of this material without the express
written permission of the author is prohibited.
References
Analytical Greek Lexicon. London: Samuel Bagster
&& Sons, 1794.
Bacchiocchi, Samuele. "How the Sabbath Was Changed to Sunday and Why It Matters," Liberty, January-February, 1991.
Barclay, William. New Testament Words. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974.
Dugger, A. N. and C. O. Dodd. A History of the True Religion. Jerusalem: 1968.
Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.
Fletcher, Ivor C. The Incredible History of God's True Church. Altadena, California: Triumph, 1984.
Gesenius, William; trans. S. P. Tregelles. Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1979.
Gibbon, Edward. The Triumph of Christendom in the Roman
Empire, ed. J. B. Bury. New York: Harper and Row, 1958.
Green, Jay P., Sr. (ed.). The Interlinear Bible. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1986.
Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. The Story of the Christian Church.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1918.
Jeremias, Joachim. F. H. and C. M. Cave (trans.). Jerusalem
in the Time of Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975.
Robertson, Archibald Thomas. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville: Broadman, 1931.
Thayer, Joseph Henry. The New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Christian Copyrights, 1983.
Tkach, Joseph. Pastor General's Report. January 5, 1995.
Vine, W. E., Merrill F. Unger, and William White, Jr. Vine's
Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985.
Copyright © 1998 by Rod Reynolds. Permission is granted to copy without alteration for personal use, provided this notice is included. Commercial use of this material without the author's express written permission is prohibited.