Teaching on the Sabbath (New Testament) Dealing with the Law issue.
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Opening Scripture:
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.
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
Key word here is destroy which is translated abolish. Abolish from the biblical perspective means to “end the observance of the effect.”
Look at the second verse, keyword here that we want to look at is pass. Not one stroke, not even the smallest letter shall “PASS” from the law until all is accomplished. So let’s gather now, Jesus came to fulfill the law of the prophets.
In what way did Jesus come to fulfill the law of the prophets?
so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
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. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 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 of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
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. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
What is the writer of Hebrews talking about…..what is the main idea of the text or the subject matter? ANS: It’s about sacrifices, the main idea of this text is that Jesus came to fulfill the requirement of sacrifices for sin.
Why did Jesus come to fulfill the requirement of the sacrifices of sin? Ans: Hebrews 10:1-2
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. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
So we no longer depend on the sacrifices to make us right with God, we place our faith in Jesus and the sacrifice that he made to make us right with God.
When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
“You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
There is a lot to read in the next chapter of Galatians 3.
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
The Main Argument Is Circumcision
The Main Argument Is Circumcision
Most of the argument in the New Testament about being under the law is centered around whether the Gentiles needed to be circumcised.
There was never really an argument about what day to worship God on because the Jews worshipped and went to the temple everyday. Secondly the church also was involved in worship everyday:
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Notice Acts said “continuing daily with one accord…..where at? The Temple. And also breaking bread house to house, did eat their meat with gladness. They fellowshipped everyday with one another. And the Lord added to the church……not on Sunday, not on Wednesday, not on Friday night, not on Saturday…..but the scripture says DAILY.
Herein lies the problem, we try to adapt the way that we live to the way that they live. We think that the stuff that we are doing is the same as what they did….NO!!! We are far from what the early church was. Yes we have the repentance and water baptism in the name of The Lord Jesus Christ. Yes we believe and we witness people being filled with the Holy Ghost, yes, we witness the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit manifesting in the church. But we still do not have it like the early church.
Why? Because the Jewish society was built around honoring God first, everything else was secondary. Our society is not geared anywhere towards God. It is geared towards self and the worship of self, and the worship of money. Take for instance, the hour of prayer is at 3:00pm. Most of you all are still working during that time, or you are clocking in at that time. Stuff back then was affordable and you didn’t have to work 8 hours to take care of the light bill, the electric bill, the water bill, the mortgage payment, the car note, money for gas, money for the grocery store…..think about it. They didn’t have all that stuff back then…..so priority was not money/mammon…..the priority is God.
Unfortunately our godless society makes it hard for us to make God as a priority but we have to put God first.
But there is evidence in the bible that worship was also conducted on the Sabbath:
For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Again the argument in the epistles was never really about what day to worship on, it was about whether a person needed to be circumcised after coming into the faith. I mean, a person has already repented, they’ve already been baptized in Jesus name’, they received the Holy Ghost and now these Pharisees were trying to add on a difficult situation that would make it very hard for the male proselytes to come into the faith.
You gotta be circumcised…….”Naw I’m good bruh….you not cutting me down there with a knife.”
Fun fact: As of 2024 64% of males undergo circumcision usually at birth.
For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Another fun fact:
Paul preached against the need of circumcision yet he performed a circumcision:
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
So why did Paul do it? Even though he knew that faith was what really matter, he knew that the people that they were going to hadn’t been taught that or hadn’t seen eye to eye on that issue. So to keep matters down, Paul had him circumcised, because Timothy’s mother was Jewish, but his father was Greek and that would have caused an issue.
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
Question: how is the law good if used lawfully or correctly?
We therefore come to this conclusion:
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
James the Bishop of Jerusalem then comes to this conclusion:
Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
The apostles then write a letter to Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia in verse 24:
Look at verse 28:
For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Finally:
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: