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"Defending God"CHAPTER 6Bible Facts About the Law of GodOne
of the charges against God is that He
has abolished His moral law of Ten Commandments, and men no
longer need to keep them! This attack undercuts the very foundation of
God’s throne. What would happen if our nation abolished its laws? The
government would collapse. There can be no government without law. Every
city, every business, every church has laws which must be obeyed. Yet is
said that God has no laws. The claim is made that Christ’s death on
Calvary freed all men from obedience to God. Here
are important Bible facts, showing that God requires obedience to His
moral code; and, through the enabling grace of Jesus Christ, we can
fully obey all that God asks of us in His Inspired Writings. LEARNING
MORE ABOUT GOD’S PLAN TO REDEEM US In
order to draw closer to God, we need to understand more of His plan to
save us from sin. We
mentioned earlier that the problem in this world is sin, and that sin is
transgression of God’s law. God’s
plan is that, by the enabling grace of Christ, our past sins can be
forgiven and we can be empowered to obey His holy Ten Commandment law. But,
unfortunately, not only is God under attack today, the Ten Commandments
are also. We
live in a sinful generation which ignores sin, blames God for
everything, and declares that no one need obey God’s moral law!
Incredible! Yet you and I see and hear it all about us. Here
is what the Bible says about this. 1.
God has a government. Psalm
103:19—“The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens;
and His kingdom ruleth over all.” There
can be no government without law. As with the laws governing nations, we
must respect and obey the law of God. Romans
7:12—“The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just,
and good.” Romans
7:14—“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am
carnal, sold under sin.” Proverbs
28:9—“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer shall be abomination.” 2.
God’s law was for men in Bible times. They were required to obey it
back then. Romans
3:31—“Do we then make void the law through faith? God
forbid: yea, we establish the law.” James
2:10-12—“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not
commit adultery, said also Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery
yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” God’s
law is for the remnant in the last day. Revelation
12:17—“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to
make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation
14:12—“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they
that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (see
verses 13-15). 3.
Unfortunately, we live at a time when there is general rebellion against
God’s law. Romans
8:7—“The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Psalm
119:126—“It is time for Thee, Lord, to work: for they have
made void Thy law.” There
are many wonderful promises for those who will love God and obey His
holy law. Psalm
119:165—“Great peace have they which love Thy law: and
nothing shall offend them.” Isaiah
48:18—“O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then
had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the
sea.” THE
TRUTH ABOUT LAW AND GRACE Here
is a brief Bible study about the relationship of the law of God to the
grace of Christ, in the plan to save you from sin. It is important, for
it will help you draw closer to God and help you remain more firmly by
His side: 1.
The law gives a knowledge of sin. Romans
3:20—“By the law is the knowledge of sin” (see Romans
7:7). Second,
it brings guilt and condemnation. Romans
3:19—“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it
saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God.” Third,
it acts as a spiritual mirror. James
1:23-25—“If any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he
is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what
manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty,
and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of
the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (see James
2:10-12). Without
the law, the sinner is like a man who is afflicted with a deadly disease
that he doesn’t know he has. Paul said, “I had not known sin, but by
the law” (Rom 7:7). 2.
But there are certain things the law cannot do for the sinner. The
law cannot forgive. Law does not possess the power to forgive those who
transgress its precepts. Only the Lawgiver can do that. Jesus died to
redeem us from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13). The law cannot
keep the sinner from sinning because “the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be” (Rom 8:7). The
law only shows the sinner where he needs to change; but the law, itself,
cannot change him. And so let us get three facts about the law very
clear. (1)
The law cannot forgive or justify us. Romans
3:20—“By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in His sight.” (2)
It cannot keep us from sin or sanctify us. Galatians
3:21—“Is the law then against the promises of God? God
forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life,
verily righteousness should have been by the law.” (3)
It cannot cleanse us, or keep the heart clean (Romans 9:3, 7-8). The
law is limited in its ability to do all that needs to be done for the
sinner. A wound cannot be sewed up with only a needle. The thread of the
gospel must do that. 3.
The wonderful grace of Christ solves the problem! This is what it
can do for the sinner: When
the law of God and the Spirit of God have made the sinner conscious of
his sin, he will then feel his need of Christ and go to the Saviour for
pardon. The publican found it so (Luke 18:13-14). The woman taken
in adultery felt condemned and ashamed. She needed sympathy and
forgiveness, and Christ was ready to grant these to her. Then He said,
“Sin no more.” If
we confess and put away sin, He will forgive (1 John 1:9). This
is grace, or unmerited favor. This gracious love of Christ awakens love
in the heart of the sinner, and he then desires to serve and obey God. (1)
The grace of Christ forgives and justifies. Acts
13:38-39—“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and
by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye
could not be justified by the law of Moses” (see Luke 18:13-14). (2)
It saves from sin, or sanctifies. Matthew
1:21—“She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His
name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” 1
Corinthians 1:30—“But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption.” (3)
It inspires faith. Ephesians
2:8-10—“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (4)
it brings God’s power. Romans
1:16—“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Forgiveness
of sin and power over sin comes through the exercise of simple faith in
God’s promises and a full surrender of the heart to Him. 4.
How should a sinner, who is being saved by the grace of Christ, relate
to God’s law? (1)
The law becomes the standard of his life. 1
John 5:3—“This is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments.” (2)
The law permits Christ to fulfill in him the righteousness of the law. Romans
8:3-4—“God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit.” (3)
Christ writes the law in his heart. Hebrews
8:10—“This is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into
their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to Me a people” (see Ps 119:11). It
is as simple as that! Jesus Christ, by His death on the cross,
forgives our past sins and enables us, by His redeeming grace, to keep
the Ten Commandments. It is God’s plan to purify His people of
sin. Through the study of the Bible and continual prayer and faith, we
are enabled to live clean, godly lives. “Sin
is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4); Jesus Christ
came to earth and died in order to save us from our sins (Matt 1:21).
And that is what He will do, if we will cooperate with Him. THE
LAW OF GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Another
charge against the moral law of God is that it is not found in the New
Testament. Therefore we need not obey it. But Jesus clearly disproved
this by His own actions and words. 1.
For example, while here on earth, Jesus gave us a careful example of
obedience to the Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath day which, at the
Creation, was given to mankind. Luke
4:16—“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.” His
custom should be ours, for He is our example. He gave us an example of
obedience that we should follow. 1
John 2:6—“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked.” 1
Peter 2:21—“Leaving us an example, that ye should follow His
steps.” John
15:10—“I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in
His love.” 1
John 5:3—“For this is the love of God: that we keep His
commandments.” 2.
Throughout His earthly life, Jesus continually gave us an example of
obedience to the moral law of Ten Commandments.
And He told His disciples to obey it also. Matthew
5:17-19—“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto
you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall
break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and
teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” 3.
Not only did He give us a
careful example of obedience while here on earth,—but Christ also
rebuked man-made attempts to change His law. Matthew
15:9—“But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.” Matthew
15:6—“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none
effect by your tradition.” Matthew
15:3—“But He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” 4.
Throughout His life, Christ did just as Scripture predicted He would do:
He magnified the law and made it honorable. Isaiah
42:21—“The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’
sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” Psalm
40:7-8—“Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book
it is written of Me: I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is
within My heart” [compare Hebrews 10:5, 7]. 5.
While here on earth, Jesus gave us a careful example of obedience to the
Fourth Commandment: the
Sabbath day which, at the Creation, He had given to mankind. Luke
4:16—“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.” 6.
His custom should be ours, for He is our example. He gave us an example
of obedience that we should follow. 1
John 2:6—“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked.” 1
Peter 2:21—“Leaving us an example, that ye should follow His
steps.” John
15:10—“I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in
His love.” 1
John 5:3—“For this is the love of God: that we keep His
commandments.” Christ
also taught that others should obey the law of God, as He was doing. Matthew
7:21—“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven.” Matthew
5:19—“Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall
teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.” Matthew
19:16-17—“Good
Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And He said unto him . . If thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments.” However,
God’s faithful ones fully realize that they are incapable, in their
own strength, of rendering this obedience to God. We must all lay hold
of the enabling grace of Christ. John
15:5—“I
am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do
nothing.” WHAT
WAS ABOLISHED AT THE CROSS? It
is charged that, when He died on Calvary, Christ destroyed the moral law
of Ten Commandments. But the Bible does not teach this. Here
are the passages used to show that God’s law has been abolished: Hebrews
10:7-9—“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book
it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God. Above when He said,
Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou
wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the
law. Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the
first, that He may establish the second.” Ephesians
2:15—“Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law
of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain
one new man, so making peace.” What
do those passages mean? They cannot mean that either the moral law of
Ten Commandments or the Creation Sabbath were destroyed at Calvary. Hebrews
10:7-9 is talking about the sacrificial and offering laws. It says so.
Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross eliminated the sacrificial
laws (also called ceremonial laws). The death of God’s Lamb did away
with the offering of lambs on the altar. The sacrificial laws were taken
away and the moral law of Ten Commandments established. Ephesians
2:15 is talking about “the commandments contained in ordinances.”
The ordinances were the ceremonial laws. By His death, Christ eliminated
the sacrificial laws and, as our Mediator, brought us to God. 1.
Jesus did not come to earth to destroy the moral law! Keep in mind that
it was because that law could not be abolished that Christ had to die.
Christ did not die so we could keep sinning. He died to provide us
miraculous divine grace to empower us to keep the law. 1
John 5:2—“By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God, and keep His commandments.” Revelation
14:12—“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they
that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” 2.
Some today claim that there has been no law since the death of Christ.
But the Bible teaches that if there is no law, there is no sin! Indeed,
without the law to identify sin, we cannot know what sin is. Apart from
the presence of the law, sin does not exist. Romans
4:15—“Where no law is, there is no transgression.” Romans
5:13—“Sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Romans
3:20—“For by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans
7:7—“I had not known sin but by the law.” 1
John 3:4—“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the
law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” It
is the Ten Commandment law of God that the saints will keep. When asked,
“Which law?” Jesus replied by naming several of the Ten Commandments
(Matt 19:17-19). And the Apostle James did likewise (James
2:10-12). 3.
It is the ceremonial law, the law of Old Testament sacrifices, which
ended at the cross. The
only thing abolished at the cross was the ceremonial law, contained in
ordinances. They were the sacrificial laws. After Christ’s death, it
was no longer necessary to sacrifice lambs at the Temple, for Christ,
our Lamb, had died. But, after the death of Christ, we were still
obligated to keep the moral law. Daniel 9:26-27 predicted that, at His death,
Christ would “cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.” And the
Apostle Paul tells us that this is exactly what happened. When Christ
died, the ceremonial ordinances were blotted out. The sacrificial
services in the Temple no longer had meaning in the eyes of God. Colossians
2:14—“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to His cross.” Ephesians
2:15-16—“Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the
law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of
twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” A
leading Protestant writer, Dr. Albert Barnes, in commenting on
Colossians 2:16, said this: “But
the use of the term [‘sabbaths’] in the plural number, and the
connection, show that he [Paul] had his eye on a great number of days
which were observed by the Hebrews as festivals, as a part of their
ceremonial and typical law, part of the moral law,—and not on the
moral law or the Ten Commandments. No part of the moral
law—not one of the Ten Commandments—could
be spoken as a shadow of things to come.”—Dr. Albert Barnes, Commentary on Colossians 2:16. The
“shadowy laws” were the ones that foreshadowed the coming of Christ:
the slaying of the lambs and goats, the keeping of the yearly Passover,
etc. All these ceremonial laws were taken away by the death of Christ. Hebrews
10:1-4—“For the [sacrificial] law, having a shadow of good
things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with
those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the
comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have cease to be
offered? . . But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made
of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and
goats should take away sins.” •
The moral law is a perfect law (Ps 19:7; 119:172, 142; Rom 7:12). The
ceremonial law was imperfect (Heb 7:18-19; 10:1-4). •
The moral law is in itself spiritual (Rom 7:14). The ceremonial
law was not in itself spiritual (Heb 9:10). •
The moral law was spoken directly by God Himself (Deut 4:12-13,
22-23; Ex 20:1). The ceremonial law was spoken by Moses (Lev
1:1-2; 7:37-38). •
The moral law was written by the Lord Himself upon two tables of
enduring stone (Deut 5:22; Ex 31:18). The ceremonial law was
written by Moses in a book (Ex 34:27; Deut 31:9). •
The moral law is eternal, requiring obedience from all (Rom 3:31;
Matt 5:17; Luke 16:17; Matt 19:17; 1 Cor 7:19; Rev 22:14).
The ceremonial law was abolished at the cross; therefore obedience to it
is not required from anyone today (Eph 2:15; Col 2:14-17; Acts
15:24). These
sacrificial laws included yearly holy days, or yearly “sabbaths.”
The weekly Sabbath was given to mankind at the foundation of the world
and is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. But
the yearly sabbaths were gatherings for special sacrificial service and
foreshadowed the death of Christ. At those services, there were special
“meat offerings” and “drink offerings.” A list of the yearly
sabbaths will be found in Leviticus 23:4-44. The
weekly seventh-day Sabbath is called “the Sabbath” in the Bible, but
the yearly sabbaths are easily identified. When mentioned together, an
“s” is added; they were the “sabbaths” or “sabbath days.”
All those yearly gatherings were abolished at the cross. Paul calls them
(and their meat and drink offerings) a “shadow.” Colossians
2:16-17—“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in
drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the
sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of
Christ.” Hebrews
10:1—“For the law having a shadow of good things to come,
and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto
perfect.” This
is because the meaning of the Temple services ended when Christ died. At
that moment a hand reached down from heaven and tore the veil of the
Temple in two, thus desecrating it and destroying its significance: Matthew
27:50-51—“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice,
yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the Temple was rent in
twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks
rent.” Hebrews
10:7-9—“Then said I [Christ], Lo, I come (in the volume of
the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God. Above when He said,
Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou
wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the
law. Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the
first, that He may establish the second.” The
first—the shadow laws and ceremonies—was taken away by the death of
Christ, that He might solidly establish by His death the principle that
man must obey God—and, through the merits of Christ, he can be
empowered to do it! MORE
BIBLE FACTS It
is commonly agreed that God gave us the seventh-day Sabbath, at
Creation, and commanded us to keep it throughout the Bible. But it is
charged that God let fallible men change it to Sunday several centuries
after the Bible was finished. The
truth is that men made that change without God’s permission.
We should still keep the Bible Sabbath today, not Sunday. 1.
The Sabbath was given to all mankind at the Creation of this world. The
seventh-day Sabbath was given to mankind on the seventh day of Creation
Week. Genesis
2:1-3—“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all
the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had
made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had
made. “And
God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He
had rested from all His work which God created and made.” God
dedicated and set aside the Sabbath as a rest day—2,000 years before
the first Jew. Abraham is considered by all to have been the first
Jew. He lived about 2000 B.C. Biblical records indicate that the
Creation of this world took place about 4000 B.C. So the Bible Sabbath
is not Jewish! It is for mankind; it is for all the world. Mark
2:27—“The Sabbath was made for man.” 2.
The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation and our salvation. First,
it is a memorial of Creation. Exodus
31:17—“It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel
forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the
seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.” As
a memorial of the Creation of this world, the Sabbath cannot pass away
without first having this world pass away—and creating a new one!
Our planet could not have a new or different Sabbath day, without having
it first hurled into oblivion—and then a new planet created from
nothing. But no such event has occurred. Second,
the Sabbath is a symbol of our salvation. When we keep it, we tell
all the world that we belong to God and that we serve and obey Him. The
seventh-day Sabbath is a sign of our conversion, sanctification, and
salvation: Exodus
31:13—“Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign
between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I
am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” Ezekiel
20:12—“Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign
between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that
sanctify them.” Ezekiel
20:20—“And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign
between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” But
what about Christ’s resurrection? Nowhere in Scripture were we told to
keep any day in honor of Christ’s resurrection. To do so is
unscriptural. On the contrary, to set aside the Creation and
sanctification Sabbath of the Bible—for another day of the week—and
excuse it by saying that we do so “in honor of Christ’s
resurrection”—is indeed to do a very daring thing. Who dare presume
to set aside the Memorial of Creation and salvation for any reason! To
knowingly do so flies in the face of repeated, direct, Biblical commands
by the God of heaven. To do so denies that He is our Creator and
Redeemer. If
we abandon the Bible Sabbath and keep another day holy, in the Judgment
what excuse can we offer? There is no Bible reason for keeping the first
day of the week holy instead of the seventh day. 3.
Christ’s disciples faithfully kept the Bible Sabbath, not Sunday. The
disciples had been with Jesus for three and a half years and had
listened closely to His teachings. What they did at the time of His
death on Calvary shows what He taught them. The sacred importance of the
seventh-day Sabbath was of such concern to them that they would not even
prepare the body of Jesus properly for burial on Friday, lest they
transgress the Fourth Commandment. Mark
15:42, 47-16:1-3—“And now when the even was come, because it
was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath . . Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where He was laid. “And
when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and
anoint Him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week,
they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said
among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the
sepulchre?” For
more on this, read Luke 23:53-24:2. 4.
According to the New Testament, the Apostles of Jesus always
kept the Bible Sabbath. Read
Acts 13:14; Acts 13:42; Acts 16:13; Acts 17:1-2. Paul
supported himself by tentmaking; and then, on the Sabbath, he would
preach the gospel. Acts
18:3-4, 11—“Because he was of the same craft, he abode with
them, and wrought: for by their occupation, they were tentmakers . . And
he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and
the Greeks . . He continued there a year and six months, teaching the
Word of God among them.” Paul’s
manner was the same as Christ’s custom: to keep the Bible Sabbath
(Acts 17:1-2; Luke 4:16). Paul
never taught that the moral law was, or could be, set aside. It will
ever govern the conduct of mankind: Romans
3:31—“Do we then make void the law through faith? God
forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans
6:1-2—“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin,
live any longer therein?” Romans
7:7—“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid.
Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust,
except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Paul
clearly saw that the problem was that we needed to obey the law; there
was nothing wrong with the requirements of the law itself. Romans
7:12—“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy,
and just, and good.” 1
Corinthians 7:19—“Circumcision is nothing, and
uncircumcision is nothing, but [that which is important is] the keeping
of the commandments of God.” The
moral standard that governs mankind was not relaxed or destroyed by the
death of Christ; for, indeed, it is
through the merits of Christ’s sacrifice that we can be
empowered to keep that law. Matthew
1:21—“Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His
people from their sins.” Jesus
saves us from our sins, not in our sins. And since sin is the breaking
of the Ten Commandments, it is obvious that He saves us by enabling us,
strengthening us, to keep that law. 1
John 3:4—“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” The
other Apostles saw this same great truth, that the moral standard that
governs mankind was not relaxed or destroyed by the death of Christ: James
1:22-25; 2:10-12, 17-18—“But be ye doers of the Word, and
not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of
the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural
face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and
straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. “But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein,
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall
be blessed in his deed . . For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not
commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery,
yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty . .
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say,
Thou hast faith, and I have works; shew me thy faith without thy works,
and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” 1
John 5:2-3—“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.” 5.
God predicted, in Scripture, that men would later try to change the Law
of God—especially the “time law.” The
Bible Sabbath is very important—for it is the very center of
our worship of God! If men were later to try to change it to another
day, we should surely expect a Bible prophecy saying that it would
happen. Daniel
7:25—“And he [the little horn power] shall speak great words
against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into His
hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” The
church of the Dark Ages was to rule the world for 1260 years; and,
during this time, it would
try to tear out God’s holy Time Law and put a counterfeit in its
place. Oh, what blasphemy men can dream up, when they are tempted by
Satan to gain religious control of their fellow men! 2
Thessalonians 2:3-4—“For that day [the second coming of
Christ] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped.” God
said: Ezekiel
20:20—“And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign
between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” After
the New Testament was finished and the Apostles had died, men tried to
transfer the sacredness from the seventh to the first day of the week.
They tried to change the “time law.” Roman Catholic: “It is well to remind the Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not
support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an
institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day
observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.”—Priest Brady, in
an address at Elizabeth, N.J., March 17, 1903; reported in the
Elizabeth, N.J., News of March 18, 1903. “You
may search 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.”—James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers,
chapter 8. “If
Protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the
Sabbath day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the
Catholic Church.”—Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of
Baltimore, replying for the cardinal, in a letter of February 10, 1920. “We
hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”—Pope Leo XIII,
Encyclical Letter, June 20,
1894; The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, p. 304. “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 reverent obedience to the command of
the Holy Catholic Church.”—Priest
Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College,
Kansas City, MO, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas Weekly Call, February
22, 1884, and the American Sentinel, a New York Roman Catholic journal,
in June 1893, p. 173. “Of
course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act . . AND
THE ACT IS A MARK of her ecclesiastical power.”—From the office
of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H. F. Thomas, November 11, 1895. How important it is that we obey the commandments of God rather than the commandments of men. Romans
6:16—“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants
to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?” Matthew
4:10—“It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew
15:9—“But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.” 1
Kings 18:21—“How long halt ye between two opinions? If the
Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” |
