{"id":4450,"date":"2021-09-12T03:25:31","date_gmt":"2021-09-12T09:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integritysyndicate.com\/?p=4450"},"modified":"2022-11-13T02:58:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-13T09:58:20","slug":"the-law-the-sabbath-vs-the-new-covenant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integritysyndicate.com\/the-law-the-sabbath-vs-the-new-covenant\/","title":{"rendered":"The Law and the Sabbath vs the New Covenant"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
It is interesting to note the Jewish translation of Deuteronomy 5:22. \u00a0The direct announcement of the commandments from Sinai \u201cwent on no more.\u201d It wasn\u2019t (as other versions imply) that God added no more words, thus making the ten commandments a unique set of laws distinct from the rest of the law, but that the people, as the story goes on to say (Deut. 5:22-28), could not bear to hear God\u2019s voice\u00a0(Soncino Chumash, A. Cohen, ed., Soncino Press, 1968, p. 1019)<\/span>. In response, God continued with the announcement of the law through Moses. In this case, the ten commandments are separated from the rest of the law because God was interrupted by the extreme fear of the people. It is nowhere said that all ten (which includes the Sabbath law representing the whole Sabbatical system) are binding on all men at all times. The ten commandments are part of an entire legal system given to Israel. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul deliberately contrasts the provisional nature of the ten commandments as a system of law with the new spirit of the law which characterizes the Christian faith. The old system \u201ccame with glory\u201d (v. 7), but that glory is outdone by the new administration of the spirit. The law given at Sinai was written on tablets of stone (a reference to the ten commandments in Ex. 34:28, 29), but the \u201cepistle\u201d written by the spirit of Christ in the heart (v. 3) is far superior. Paul did not say that the law given through Moses was \u201cGod\u2019s eternal law.\u201d<\/span><\/p> In Acts 15 a council was held to address the pressing problem raised by some Jewish Christians who were \u201cteaching the brethren that unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved\u2026 Some believers who belonged to the Pharisees rose and said: \u2018It is necessary to circumcise them and to charge them to keep the law of Moses\u2019\u201d (Acts 15:1, 5). Peter\u2019s response indicates the enormous change of policy directed by God and the Messiah for the international body of Christians: \u201cNow, therefore, why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will\u201d (Acts 15:10-11). It would be a direct contradiction of Scripture to say that the Torah in its Mosaic form was an unmixed blessing for Israel! There was much which was intended as a severe discipline and its purpose was to build a barrier between Israel and the nations. Under the New Covenant, as Peter explained, God has now given the Holy Spirit to Gentiles as well as to Jews, \u201cand He made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith\u201d (Acts 15:9). It was the intelligent reception of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God which purified the hearts of everyone who believed the Gospel as Jesus preached it (Mark 1:14-15; Mark 4:11-12; Matt. 13:19; Luke 8:11-12; John 15:3; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:17; I John 5:20; Isa 53:11).<\/p> Paul refers to the Sinai covenant, at which time the ten commandments were given, leading to bondage: \u201cThe covenant which proceeds from Mount Sinai is bearing children who are slaves\u201d (Gal 4:24).\u00a0In another passage, Paul describes the two tablets of stone, which were probably two copies of the ten commandments, as the \u201cministry of condemnation and death\u201d (2Cor 3:7-9). The ten commandments are definitely not God\u2019s final word to man. They were a provisional code of law to be replaced by a higher set of commandments today centering on the words of Jesus and the Apostles: We are to pay attention to \u201cthe words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of your Apostles appointed by the Lord and Savior\u201d (2 Pet 3:2). These New Covenant words are certainly not just a repeat of Moses.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Based on Genesis 2:2, 3 and Exodus 20:8-11, it is often argued that the Sabbath day was instituted at creation as a weekly rest for all mankind from Adam onwards. This account of the origin of weekly Sabbath-keeping overlooks the following biblical facts:<\/p> Confirmation of the biblical texts we have cited above comes from rabbinical literature. Genesis Rabbah states that the seventh day of creation was God\u2019s Sabbath, but not humanity\u2019s. In the Mishnah under Shabbata, we find that \u201cif a Gentile comes to put out the fire, they must not say to him, \u2018do not put it out,\u2019 since they [Israel] are not answerable for his keeping the Sabbath.\u201d The reason for this is that \u201cthe Sabbath is a perpetual covenant between Me and the children of Israel, but not between Me and the nations of the world\u201d (Melkita, Shabbata, 1).<\/p> From these passages it is clear that the whole system of laws, including the weekly Sabbath, the holy day Sabbath of the seventh week (Pentecost), the holy day Sabbath of the seventh month (Trumpets), the new moons and the other holy days, the seventh-year land Sabbath and the Jubilee after forty-nine years, were all part of a Sabbatical system given to Israel through Moses. The weekly rest was a commemoration of Israel\u2019s Exodus (Deut 5:15). Thus Ezekiel states that God \u201ctook [Israel] out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man [i.e., an Israelite] observes them, he will live. Also I gave them My Sabbaths [plural] to be a sign between Me and them [Israel], that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them…Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God\u201d (Ezek 20:10-12, 20).<\/p> From this data it could not possibly be deduced that the Sabbatical system was enjoined on mankind from creation onwards. All these passages of Scripture, confirmed by other Jewish writings, point to the Sabbaths as a special sign of God\u2019s relationship with one chosen nation. Since Deuteronomy 5:15 traces the origin of the Sabbath to the Exodus, why does Exodus 20:11 connect it with creation? The answer is that God did indeed rest on the seventh day at creation. However, the text (Gen 2:3) does not say that He then commanded Adam and mankind to rest every subsequent seventh day. If He had said this, the Sabbath could not be a memorial of Israel\u2019s Exodus (Deut 5:15). The fact is that many misread the text in Genesis 2:3 to mean that God rested on the seventh day and blessed every following seventh day from then on, commanding mankind to rest on that day. Actually, it was only God who rested at creation and only on the one seventh day which ended His creation. It was not until thousands of years later that He used His own seventh-day rest at creation as a model to introduce the weekly Sabbath given to Israel. God alone rested on the first seventh day, and much later revealed the seventh day to Israel as a permanent Sabbath observance (Ex 16). The weekly Sabbath appears in the ten commandments, which summarized the law given through Moses to Israel, but it is not to be separated from the whole system of Sabbatical rest given to Israel, weekly, monthly, yearly, seven-yearly and at the Jubilee.<\/p> Claus Westermann, in his commentary on Genesis 1-11, sums up his findings about the origin of the Sabbath: \u201cIndeed one cannot find an institution, and not even a preparation for the Sabbath, but rather the later foundation of the Sabbath is reflected in these sentences\u201d (p. 237)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Matthew notes that the priests working in the Temple were not bound by the seventh-day Sabbath law (Matt 12:5). It was not a sin for those priests to break the Sabbath. As Jesus pointed out, he and his followers represent the new spiritual priesthood (Matt 12:4-5) and he is himself the new High Priest. The seventh-day Sabbath keeping is part of the old order. We may well say that the law, by exempting the priests from the Sabbath commandment when they worked in the Temple, foreshadowed the Christians\u2019 freedom from the Sabbath law while they now carry out God\u2019s work every day of the week. Let no one pass judgment on you with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath (Col 2:16) Just as the sacrifices of the Old Testament was a shadow of Christ , so is the Sabbath (Col 2:17). The priests\u2019 exemption from Sabbath observance pointed to a time when those who obey God would do so by complying with a new covenant that was perfected, not like the one God made to the fathers (Heb 8:7-13) We ourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1Pet 2:5) In Christ we are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. (1 Pet 2:9) Jesus has loved us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father (Rev 1:5-6, Rev 5:10, Rev 20:6). As a royal priesthood, Christ and those who are in Christ are guiltless in profaning the Sabbath. (Matt 12:5) Christ is our Sabbath (Mat 11:28-29). He said Come to me and I will give you rest in the context of his disciples being accused of violating the sabbath. (Matt 11:28-30 followed by Matt 12:1-8) Today is the day to enter into the rest of God – today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts. (Heb 4:7) If Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. (Heb 4:8) The day has arrived and there remains a rest for the people of God (Heb 4:9-10). Therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience – the hardness of heart. (Heb 4:11)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0The promise of entering God’s rest still stands, for\u00a0we who have believed enter that rest (Heb 4:1-3)<\/p> 1<\/span>\u00a0At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat<\/strong>.\u00a02<\/span>\u00a0But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, \u201cLook, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a03<\/span>\u00a0He said to them, \u201cHave you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him<\/strong>:\u00a04<\/span>\u00a0how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests<\/strong>?\u00a05<\/span>\u00a0Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless<\/strong>?\u00a06<\/span>\u00a0I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.\u00a07<\/span>\u00a0And if you had known what this means, \u2018I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,\u2019 you would not have condemned the guiltless<\/strong>.<\/p> 16<\/sup> Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath<\/strong>. 17<\/sup> These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ<\/strong>.<\/p> 6<\/sup> But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises<\/strong>. 7<\/sup> For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second<\/strong>. 8<\/sup> For he finds fault with them<\/strong> when he says: \u201cBehold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, <\/strong>when I will establish a new covenant<\/strong> with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9<\/sup> not like the covenant that I made with their fathers <\/strong>on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt<\/strong>. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10<\/sup> For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, <\/strong>and write them on their hearts, <\/strong>and I will be their God, <\/strong>and they shall be my people<\/strong>. 11<\/sup> And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, \u2018Know the Lord,\u2019 for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest 12<\/sup> For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.\u201d 13<\/sup> In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away<\/strong>.<\/p> 4<\/sup> As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5<\/sup> you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ<\/strong>.<\/p> 9<\/sup> But you are a chosen race,<\/strong> a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession<\/strong>, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 5<\/sup> and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. 9<\/sup> And they sang a new song, saying, \u201cWorthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God <\/strong>from every tribe and language and people and nation<\/strong>, 10<\/sup> and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, <\/strong>and they shall reign on the earth<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p> 6<\/sup> Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ<\/strong>, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.<\/p> 28<\/sup> Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest<\/strong>. 29<\/sup> Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls<\/strong>. 30<\/sup> For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p> 7<\/sup> again he appoints a certain day, \u201cToday<\/strong>,\u201d saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, \u201cToday, if you hear his voice, <\/strong>do not harden your hearts<\/strong>.\u201d 8<\/sup> For if Joshua had given them rest,<\/b> God would not have spoken of another day later on<\/strong>. 9<\/sup> So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God<\/strong>, 10<\/sup> for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11<\/sup> Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience<\/strong>.<\/p> 1<\/sup> Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands<\/strong>, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2<\/sup> For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened<\/strong>. 3<\/sup> For we who have believed enter that rest<\/strong>, as he has said, \u201cAs I swore in my wrath, \u2018They shall not enter my rest,\u2019\u201d although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t What counts now is Christ and his commands. He and his new law are the fulfillment of that shadow. In him, we should strive for a permanent \u201cSabbath,\u201d every day of the week. No wonder, then, that Matthew includes Jesus\u2019 famous saying about coming to him to find rest in the same context as a dispute over plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath (Matt 11:28-12:8).\u00a0<\/p> Matthew hints at the spiritualizing of the Sabbath as he records Jesus saying that the priests could break the Sabbath and be blameless (Matt. 12:5-6). The priests who innocently broke the Sabbath, that is, they were not bound by the Sabbath when they worked in the tabernacle or temple, are a \u201ctype\u201d of the new priesthood of all believers. David and his colleagues also broke the Old Testament law by eating the show bread. But their conduct was a justifiable \u201ctype\u201d of the New Covenant freedom from the law (Matt. 12:4). Christ had offered \u201crest\u201d to those who came to him (Matt. 11:28-30). Would not this be a constant rest rather than a weekly Sabbath? Is not better to observe the Sabbath rest in Christ every day, rather than following the letter of the fourth commandment that must only be observed one day a week?<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Jesus celebrated his last feast with his disciples on the Passover. He said, \u201cI will drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.\u201d (Luke 22:18. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, \u201cThis is my body, which is given for you – Do this in remembrance of me.\u201d (Luke 22:19)And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, \u201cThis cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22:20) As often as we take the body and blood of Christ we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1Cor 11:23-26) Christ is our Passover has been sacrificed. (1Cor 5:7). The unleavened bread is sincerity and truth (1Cor 5:8) For this reason we are not to eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner but to first examine ourselves. (1Cor 11:27-29) That which is to be purged from our midst is sexual immorality, greed, fraud, idolatry, drunkenness’ and abusive behavior. (1Cor 5:9-11) This is the evil that is to be purged\u2014not a failure to comply with the old written code. (1Cor 5:9-13)\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Paul applies the same \u201cspiritualizing\u201d principle to the annual Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread as with the Sabbath. \u201cChrist our Passover has been sacrificed.\u201d Our Christian Passover is no longer a lamb slain annually but a Savior slain once and for all, with the power to deliver us daily, not once a year. \u201cLet us therefore keep festival, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth\u201d (1Cor 5:8).<\/p> We note that the \u201cunleavened bread\u201d which has replaced the literal unleavened bread is the \u201cunleavened bread of sincerity and truth.\u201d These are the real spiritual issues, not the matter of cleaning out leaven from our cars and houses for one week in the year. Christians, says Paul, are to be \u201ckeeping festival\u201d permanently. The translation in the KJV is misleading, giving the impression that we are to \u201ckeep the feast.\u201d The comment of the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is appropriate: \u201cLet us keep festival [a present progressive tense in Greek], referring to the perpetual feast the Christian Church keeps…not the feast, as in the KJV, which would imply some particular festival.\u201d (Rev. J.J. Lias, Commentary on I Corinthians, Cambridge University Press, 1899, p. 61.) The Mosaic system of law as a set of statutes has been replaced by the law of freedom in the spirit, summed up in the one commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves (Gal 5:14).<\/p> 15<\/sup> And he said to them, \u201cI have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16<\/sup> For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.\u201d 17<\/sup> And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, \u201cTake this, and divide it among yourselves. 18<\/sup> For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.<\/strong>\u201d 19<\/sup> And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, \u201cThis is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me<\/strong>.\u201d 20<\/sup> And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, \u201cThis cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p> 6<\/sup> Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7<\/sup> Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed<\/strong>. 8<\/sup> Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.<\/p> 23<\/sup> For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24<\/sup> and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, \u201cThis is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.\u201d 25<\/sup> In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, \u201cThis cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me<\/strong>.\u201d 26<\/sup> For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes<\/strong>. We should treat, as of major importance, Paul\u2019s only reference to the words \u201cSabbath\u201d and \u201choly days\u201d in the whole of his preserved writings. This occurs in Colossians 2:16. In this verse, Paul describes the holy days (annual observance), new moons (monthly observance), and Sabbath (weekly observance) as a \u201cshadow.\u201d In so doing, he reveals the apostolic mind on this crucial issue.<\/p> 16<\/span>\u00a0Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.\u00a017<\/span>\u00a0These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17)<\/p> \u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote> It would seem quite amazing that if Paul felt that Sabbath-keeping was an absolute requirement for salvation, he could describe the weekly Sabbath and holy days as a shadow! This could lead to dangerous misunderstandings. Nevertheless the fact is clear beyond all doubt. Paul does indeed call the Sabbath, the holy days and the new moons a shadow. A shadow ceases to be significant when the reality, Christ, appears. Paul uses exactly the same language of shadow and reality that we find in Hebrews 10:1 where the \u201cshadow\u201d sacrifices of the Old Testament are now rendered obsolete by the \u201cbody\u201d sacrifice of Christ (Heb 10:10): \u201cThe law having a shadow of the good things to come\u2026\u201d (Heb 10:1).<\/p> Here the law of sacrifices was provisional and rendered unnecessary by the appearance of Christ. But Paul says exactly the same of the observance of special days in Colossians 2:16-17. The law prescribing the observance of holy days, new moons and Sabbaths foreshadowed the reality of Christ and his Kingdom \u2014 the good things coming. The point about the Sabbath being a shadow is so important that we should look again at Colossians 2:16-17: \u201c[Because Christ has cancelled the certificate of decrees which was against us, v. 14], therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food and drink or in regard to a festival, new moon or a Sabbath day \u2014 things which are a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.\u201d<\/p> There it is in black and white. This is the final New Testament information given about Sabbath-keeping. The significance of the Sabbath day for Christians, as well as of the holy days and new moons, is comparable to a shadow. These days no longer have any substance and will not therefore benefit those who try to observe them.<\/p> Dean Alford in his celebrated Commentary on the Greek Testament: \u201cWe may observe that if the ordinance of the Sabbath had been, in any form, of lasting obligation on the Christian Church it would have been quite impossible for the Apostle to have spoken thus [Col 2:16-17]. The fact of an obligatory rest of one day, whether the seventh or the first, would have been directly in the teeth of his assertion here: the holding of such would have been still to retain the shadow, while we possess the substance.\u201d<\/p> If the Gentile Christians had been required at conversion to rest on the Sabbath day, this would have needed specific directions from the Acts 15 council which decided how far a Gentile believer was obligated to follow the practices of Judaism. Sabbath-keeping, according to the apostolic decision, is not a requirement for Gentile believers. We should remember that Gentiles had been permitted to attend at the synagogues of the Jews, but the latter did not instruct them to become Sabbath keepers. Only those who became full proselytes to Judaism adopted Sabbath observance. The Jews themselves knew that God had given them the Sabbath and did not expect the Sabbath keeping of other nations. Thus, it would have required a special ordinance for Gentiles if Sabbath-keeping were necessary for them as Christians.<\/p> Throughout the book of John the feasts are described as Jewish \u2014 John 7:2 (Tabernacles), John 6:4 (Passover), and John 5:1 (Passover). The preparation day for the Sabbath is called \u201cthe Jewish day of preparation\u201d (John 19:42). John thinks of the Sabbath as Jewish, with a Jewish preparation day preceding it. These terms are scarcely compatible with the conviction that the Old Testament observances are now binding on the Christian community. With Paul, John sees the days as a shadow of the much greater reality of Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t There is freedom in Christ that Christians can enjoy and pass on to others. A rigid holding on to Old Testament festivals hampers the spirit of Christ and the Gospel. We are no longer under the law (Rom 6:14). We have been \u201creleased from the law\u201d (Rom 7:6). We have \u201cdied to the law through the body of Christ, that [we] might be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God\u201d (Rom 7:4). To those who \u201cdesire to be under the law\u201d (Gal 4:21) we recommend the important words of Paul in Galatians 4:21-31: The Mount Sinai covenant leads to bondage. For the children of the promise, there is a new and glorious liberty in Christ. There is a New Covenant in the spirit. The Old Covenant with its legal system has been replaced by something better (Heb 8:13). We are not \u201cunder obligation to observe the whole law\u201d (Gal 5:3). If we attempt to do so, we \u201chave fallen from grace\u201d (Gal 5:4). Now that faith has come, we are no longer under The Law, the Sabbath, and New Covenant Christianity custodianship of the law (Gal 3:24, 25). Those who insist on the law in its old form risk belonging to the covenant from Mount Sinai (Gal 4:24). Children of the covenant of law cannot be heirs with the sons of the free woman (Gal 4:30). Those who cling to the Sinai legal system are not good candidates for the Kingdom of God.<\/p> Surely it is clear that all types of Old Covenant rest days are no longer binding on those who seek to rest in Christ, ceasing from their own works daily (Heb 4:9, 10). In the words of a sixteenth-century theologian, the Sabbath means \u201cthat I cease from all my evil works all the days of my life, allow the Lord to work in me through his Spirit, and thus begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.\u201d (Zacharias Ursinus in the Heidelberg Catechism, 1563)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t There are serious dangers related to sects and teachers who advocate that Christians should be Torah observant in complying with ordinances of the Mosaic Law that do not have moral implications.<\/p> As Jesus said, watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.\u201d (Mat 16:6) In saying this, he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mat 16:12) Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. (John 7:24)<\/p> 27<\/sup> But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28<\/sup> God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29<\/sup> so that no human being might boast in the presence of God<\/strong>. 30<\/sup> And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption<\/strong>, 31<\/sup> so that, as it is written, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t 6<\/span>\u00a0For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings<\/strong>.<\/p> 6<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWith what shall I come before the LORD, 1<\/span>\u00a0And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, \u201cWhy does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?\u201d\u00a012<\/span>\u00a0But when he heard it, he said, \u201cThose who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.\u00a013<\/span>\u00a0Go and learn what this means: \u2018I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.\u2019 For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p> 1<\/span>\u00a0At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.\u00a02<\/span>\u00a0But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, \u201cLook, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.\u201d\u00a03<\/span>\u00a0He said to them, \u201cHave you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:\u00a04<\/span>\u00a0how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?\u00a05<\/span>\u00a0Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?\u00a06<\/span>\u00a0I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.\u00a07<\/span>\u00a0And if you had known what this means, \u2018I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,\u2019 you would not have condemned the guiltless<\/strong>.<\/p> 10<\/span>\u00a0Hear the word of the LORD,The Origin of Sabbath Observance<\/h2>
Jesus and his disciples are exempt from the seventh day Sabbath<\/h3>
Matthew 12:1-7 (ESV), The priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless<\/strong><\/h3>
Colossians 2:16-17 (ESV), Let no one pass judgment on you – with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath<\/h3>
Hebrews 8:6-13 (ESV), I will establish a new covenant – not like the covenant that I made with their fathers<\/strong><\/h3>
1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV), Being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood<\/h3>
1 Peter 2:9 (ESV), A\u00a0royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession<\/h3>
<\/p>Revelation 1:5-6 (ESV), Made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father<\/h3>
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood<\/strong> 6<\/sup> and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father<\/strong>, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.<\/p>Revelation 5:9-10 (ESV), You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God<\/strong><\/h3>
Revelation 20:6 (ESV), They will be priests of God and of Christ<\/strong><\/h3>
Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV), Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest<\/h3>
Hebrews 4:7-11 (ESV), If Joshua had given them rest,<\/b>\u00a0God would not have spoken of another day later on<\/strong><\/h3>
Hebrews 4:1-3 (ESV), We who have believed enter that rest<\/strong><\/h3>
Our Sabbath is Christ<\/h2>
Our Passover is Christ<\/h2>
Luke 22:15-20 (ESV), This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood<\/strong><\/h3>
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV), For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed<\/strong><\/h3>
1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (ESV), \u00a0Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me<\/strong><\/h3>
27<\/sup> Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28<\/sup> Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29<\/sup> For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tA festival, new moon, or a Sabbath\u2014a shadow of the things to come<\/h2>
Our Freedom in Christ<\/h2>
The dangers of Legalism<\/h2>
1 Corinthians 1:27-31 (ESV), Christ Jesus\u2014to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption<\/strong><\/h3>
God Desires Mercy more than Sacrifice<\/h2>
Hosea 6:6 (ESV)<\/h3>
Micah 6:6-8 (ESV)<\/h3>
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7<\/span>\u00a0Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?\u201d
8<\/span>\u00a0He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,<\/strong>
and to walk humbly with your God<\/strong>?<\/p>Matthew 9:11-13 (ESV)\u00a0<\/h3>
Matthew 12:1-7 (ESV)<\/h3>
Isaiah 1:10-17 (ESV)<\/h3>
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWhat to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD<\/span>;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts<\/span>;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats<\/span>.
12<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWhen you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13<\/span>\u00a0Bring no more vain offerings<\/span>;
incense is an abomination to me<\/span>.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations\u2014
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly<\/span>.
14<\/span>\u00a0Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates<\/span>;
they have become a burden to me<\/span>;
I am weary of bearing them<\/span>.
15<\/span>\u00a0When you spread out your hands,