There is a great emphasis on global warming in the news, in politics, and in the media at large. It is certainly a biblical principle that mankind should care for the environment (Genesis 2:15, Genesis 1:27-28, Revelation 11:17-18). Yet this current emphasis on global warming can obscure a more important issue and a greater danger to the United States and other nations.
It seems that every time there is any kind of weather disaster, whether it be a hurricane, drought, flooding, tornadoes, extreme heat, or extreme cold, there are many who try to tie this to global warming. People are being conditioned to blame every weather disaster on man's pumping of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels for energy.
Yet the Bible does predict disasters to come, including weather disasters, but not necessarily due to global warming. The disasters that are coming are punishments for our sins, such as murder, adultery, idolatry, stealing, lying, Sabbath breaking, and every other violation of the Ten Commandments.
And this is the issue that the emphasis on global warming obscures.
The United States is declining in morality at a breathtaking pace. Americans only fifty years ago would be shocked to see what our society has become today. Abortions since Roe vs. Wade total in the tens of millions. Immorality is commonplace. Lying is expected. Few people keep God's Sabbath. People have made an idol out of pleasure, and that idol is one they serve more than God. Few people take the time to seriously seek God by studying the Bible to know His will. There is injustice and oppression of the poor.
The Bible shows that God does intervene to protect or punish His people. There are rewards for obedience and punishments for disobedience. This is shown by the history of Israel and God's promises of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 11:13-15, 26-28, Deuteronomy 28:1-14, 15-67). Notice especially Deuteronomy 28:23-24: "And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed."
Drought and weather disasters are among the ways God punishes His people for their sins. And these things are written as examples for our learning (1 Corinthians 10:6).
Yet some of the very people who are most zealous about the cause of global warming are very lax when it comes to upholding moral standards and obedience to the Ten Commandments of God who is able to bless us with good weather or withhold that blessing to punish us for our sins.
If we do not repent as a nation and if our sins continue, a time will come when God will punish us for our sins with drought so serious that it can bring about food shortages and even famine.
Yet the public is being conditioned to blame weather disasters on global warming, not on our sins such as abortion and the open disrespect for God in the media and entertainment industry.
We are dependent on God for good weather but we are also dependent on His protection in an increasingly dangerous world.
I have studied the history of World War II, and I am convinced there were many times when God intervened to help the United States and the British nations to survive and win the war. Had we lost that war it is unlikely we would have the freedom of religion we have today.
But our morality has declined, and we are not using our freedoms responsibly. We are being more and more anti-God in our culture. And unless we turn around as a nation, God will not continue to protect us from our enemies indefinitely.
I talk about this topic in more detail in chapters one and three of my book Preaching the Gospel (see link in right panel of this blog).
Showing posts with label Ten Commandments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ten Commandments. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, December 22, 2008
Keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath Expresses Love Towards God
Jesus was asked, what is the great commandment of the Law.
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). In answering, Jesus was quoting the Old Testament scriptures (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18). "The Law and the Prophets" is a reference to the Old Testament scriptures, which are composed of the "law" (the books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible), the "prophets" (books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel as well as the other prophets), and the "writings" (such as Psalms). Jesus is saying that the Old Testament scriptures are based on love towards God and love towards neighbor.
The two great commandments are further defined by the ten commandments. The ten commandments fill in details about HOW to love God and love our neighbor. The first four of the ten commandments teach us how to love God, and the last six teach us how to love our neighbor. Then the whole rest of the Bible further teaches us how to practice the way of love and how to keep God's commandments in their practical application in our lives.
The fourth of the ten commandments teaches us to observe the seventh day Sabbath. As God counts days from sunset to sunset (Genesis 1:2, Leviticus 23:32), this would be from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. During this time we are to refrain from work (Exodus 20:8, Deuteronomy 5:12) and not pursue our own entertainment (Deuteronomy 5:13-14). This is a time for drawing closer to God and assembling with other Christians for fellowship and instruction (Leviticus 23:3).
How does observance of the seventh-day Sabbath express love towards God? By obeying the Sabbath command, we are acknowledging God as our Creator and as our Lord who has authority over us. We acknowledge God's authority by believing and obeying what He commands in the fourth commandment. "Lord" means ruler, one who has authority. Many people call God "Lord", but it is those who really strive to believe and obey what God says who are acknowledging by their actions that the true God is their Lord (Luke 6:46). The fourth commandment has been called by some a "test" commandment, because it tests our willingness to believe God and obey Him (Exodus 16:4-5, 22-30). It is also a sign between God and his people (Exodus 31:12-13). A sign identifies. The Sabbath helps to identify to Christians who the true God is, that is, the God who created the earth, because the Sabbath day is a memorial of creation (Exodus 20:8-11). The Sabbath also identifies to God who His people are, because it is God's people who are willing to believe and obey what God says by keeping the Sabbath. Throughout the Bible, obedience to God's commandments is equated with love (John 14:21, 1 John 5:1-3).
The weekly Sabbath also illustrates the 7,000 year plan of God, for as the Sabbath follows the six days of work, so the millenial rule of Christ for 1,000 years will follow 6,000 years of man's rule over himself (2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:1-4, Daniel 12:4).
The Sabbath provides time for people to rest from the burdens and concerns of the week and draw closer to God in prayer and Bible study. Taking time to learn about the things of God and to draw closer to Him is also an expression of love towards God.
Keeping the Sabbath can also be a test of faith. Many people can figure out that it is wrong to murder, steal, commit adultery, etc. Even societies that do not have a culture based on the Bible can recognize that those things are wrong. But man cannot figure out on his own that it is wrong to work on the seventh day of the week. Man can only know that by believing what God says, and it takes faith to believe what God says, as Abraham did (Romans 4:3, James 2:23, Genesis 15:4-6, Isaiah 51:1-2), and faith is one of the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23). In our day, it can be a test of faith for a man or woman to keep the Sabbath, especially if that man or woman has not grown up in a Sabbath-keeping tradition. Sometimes people can lose their jobs for refusing to work on the Sabbath, and it takes faith to trust God to provide.
Here is an index to some recent posts in this blog about the Sabbath:
A Question and Answer about the New Covenant
Are the Ten Commandments Part of the New Covenant?
When Was the Sabbath Made?
The Ten Commandments, the Sabbath, and Animal Sacrifices
"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). In answering, Jesus was quoting the Old Testament scriptures (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18). "The Law and the Prophets" is a reference to the Old Testament scriptures, which are composed of the "law" (the books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible), the "prophets" (books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel as well as the other prophets), and the "writings" (such as Psalms). Jesus is saying that the Old Testament scriptures are based on love towards God and love towards neighbor.
The two great commandments are further defined by the ten commandments. The ten commandments fill in details about HOW to love God and love our neighbor. The first four of the ten commandments teach us how to love God, and the last six teach us how to love our neighbor. Then the whole rest of the Bible further teaches us how to practice the way of love and how to keep God's commandments in their practical application in our lives.
The fourth of the ten commandments teaches us to observe the seventh day Sabbath. As God counts days from sunset to sunset (Genesis 1:2, Leviticus 23:32), this would be from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. During this time we are to refrain from work (Exodus 20:8, Deuteronomy 5:12) and not pursue our own entertainment (Deuteronomy 5:13-14). This is a time for drawing closer to God and assembling with other Christians for fellowship and instruction (Leviticus 23:3).
How does observance of the seventh-day Sabbath express love towards God? By obeying the Sabbath command, we are acknowledging God as our Creator and as our Lord who has authority over us. We acknowledge God's authority by believing and obeying what He commands in the fourth commandment. "Lord" means ruler, one who has authority. Many people call God "Lord", but it is those who really strive to believe and obey what God says who are acknowledging by their actions that the true God is their Lord (Luke 6:46). The fourth commandment has been called by some a "test" commandment, because it tests our willingness to believe God and obey Him (Exodus 16:4-5, 22-30). It is also a sign between God and his people (Exodus 31:12-13). A sign identifies. The Sabbath helps to identify to Christians who the true God is, that is, the God who created the earth, because the Sabbath day is a memorial of creation (Exodus 20:8-11). The Sabbath also identifies to God who His people are, because it is God's people who are willing to believe and obey what God says by keeping the Sabbath. Throughout the Bible, obedience to God's commandments is equated with love (John 14:21, 1 John 5:1-3).
The weekly Sabbath also illustrates the 7,000 year plan of God, for as the Sabbath follows the six days of work, so the millenial rule of Christ for 1,000 years will follow 6,000 years of man's rule over himself (2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:1-4, Daniel 12:4).
The Sabbath provides time for people to rest from the burdens and concerns of the week and draw closer to God in prayer and Bible study. Taking time to learn about the things of God and to draw closer to Him is also an expression of love towards God.
Keeping the Sabbath can also be a test of faith. Many people can figure out that it is wrong to murder, steal, commit adultery, etc. Even societies that do not have a culture based on the Bible can recognize that those things are wrong. But man cannot figure out on his own that it is wrong to work on the seventh day of the week. Man can only know that by believing what God says, and it takes faith to believe what God says, as Abraham did (Romans 4:3, James 2:23, Genesis 15:4-6, Isaiah 51:1-2), and faith is one of the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23). In our day, it can be a test of faith for a man or woman to keep the Sabbath, especially if that man or woman has not grown up in a Sabbath-keeping tradition. Sometimes people can lose their jobs for refusing to work on the Sabbath, and it takes faith to trust God to provide.
Here is an index to some recent posts in this blog about the Sabbath:
A Question and Answer about the New Covenant
Are the Ten Commandments Part of the New Covenant?
When Was the Sabbath Made?
The Ten Commandments, the Sabbath, and Animal Sacrifices
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A Question and Answer about the New Covenant
In a well known account in the life of Christ, a man asked Jesus Christ a question about the New Covenant. Specifically, He asked Jesus what He had to do in order to receive eternal life. This was a New Covenant question because eternal life was never offered under the Old Covenant but is offered under the New Covenant.
The Old Covenant was a covenant between God and the physical nation of Israel and was made during the days of Moses. Israel agreed to obey God including God's law of the ten commandments, and in return God promised to bless Israel with national blessings of wealth, protection from enemies, and health (Exodus 15:25-26, 19:1-9, 20:1-17, 23:25-27, 24:3-8, Leviticus 26:3-13, Deuteronomy 28:1-14). But if you read carefully everything God promised Israel under the terms of the Old Covenant, you will not find eternal life offered. The promises under the Old Covenant included blessings in this physical life only.
But the New Covenant is based on better promises than the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-8). One of those promises is forgiveness of sins (Jeremiah 31:31-34, especially verse 34). The penalty of sin is eternal death, but under the New Covenant, sins are forgiven and the penalty wiped out by the sacrifice of Christ, and the gift of eternal life is made available (Romans 6:23). There are a number of scriptures in the New Testament that confirm that eternal life is a promise under the terms of the New Covenant (1 John 2:24-25, John 3:16, John 6:54, John 10:27-28).
So when the man asked Jesus Christ what he had to do to obtain eternal life, he was asking a New Covenant question. Specifically, he was asking a question about the requirements of the New Covenant (Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18).
Jesus answered, "You know the commandments", and named several of the ten commandments (Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20).
In answering a question about New Covenant requirements for eternal life, Jesus pointed the man to the commandments he already knew. This was a man who was taught in the traditions of Israel and the commandments he knew since his youth were the ten commandments (Mark 10:20, Luke 18:21).
The man's question, and Jesus Christ's answer, had nothing to do with the Old Covenant. The man's question and Jesus's answer had to do with the New Covenant only. This is entirely a New Covenant doctrine.
So under the New Covenant, if you want eternal life, keep the ten commandments.
That the ten commandments are still in force after the death and resurrection of Christ is confirmed by James 2:10-11 which says that if you transgress one commandment you transgress all of them. Why? The reason James gives is important. He says, "For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder' ". In other words, it is because of WHO gave the commandments that we must obey them. Because God gave the commandments, we must obey all ten of them. It is clear that James is quoting from the ten commandments.
The Old Covenant was a covenant between God and the physical nation of Israel and was made during the days of Moses. Israel agreed to obey God including God's law of the ten commandments, and in return God promised to bless Israel with national blessings of wealth, protection from enemies, and health (Exodus 15:25-26, 19:1-9, 20:1-17, 23:25-27, 24:3-8, Leviticus 26:3-13, Deuteronomy 28:1-14). But if you read carefully everything God promised Israel under the terms of the Old Covenant, you will not find eternal life offered. The promises under the Old Covenant included blessings in this physical life only.
But the New Covenant is based on better promises than the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-8). One of those promises is forgiveness of sins (Jeremiah 31:31-34, especially verse 34). The penalty of sin is eternal death, but under the New Covenant, sins are forgiven and the penalty wiped out by the sacrifice of Christ, and the gift of eternal life is made available (Romans 6:23). There are a number of scriptures in the New Testament that confirm that eternal life is a promise under the terms of the New Covenant (1 John 2:24-25, John 3:16, John 6:54, John 10:27-28).
So when the man asked Jesus Christ what he had to do to obtain eternal life, he was asking a New Covenant question. Specifically, he was asking a question about the requirements of the New Covenant (Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18).
Jesus answered, "You know the commandments", and named several of the ten commandments (Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20).
In answering a question about New Covenant requirements for eternal life, Jesus pointed the man to the commandments he already knew. This was a man who was taught in the traditions of Israel and the commandments he knew since his youth were the ten commandments (Mark 10:20, Luke 18:21).
The man's question, and Jesus Christ's answer, had nothing to do with the Old Covenant. The man's question and Jesus's answer had to do with the New Covenant only. This is entirely a New Covenant doctrine.
So under the New Covenant, if you want eternal life, keep the ten commandments.
That the ten commandments are still in force after the death and resurrection of Christ is confirmed by James 2:10-11 which says that if you transgress one commandment you transgress all of them. Why? The reason James gives is important. He says, "For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder' ". In other words, it is because of WHO gave the commandments that we must obey them. Because God gave the commandments, we must obey all ten of them. It is clear that James is quoting from the ten commandments.
Are the Ten Commandments Part of the New Covenant?
It is well known in Christianity that the ten commandments are a vital part of the Old Covenant. It is also well known that Christians are under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. But does this mean that Christians are not obligated to obey the ten commandments? Are the ten commandments obsolete for Christians? Or are Christians to keep the ten commandments?
Or to put it another way, are the ten commandments part of the New Covenant just as they are part of the Old Covenant? Are the ten commandments part of both covenants?
Most traditional Christians would agree that we should not murder, commit adultery, or steal. They do not have a problem with commandments against those things. But they do have a problem with the Sabbath. Many think that Christians do not need to keep the Sabbath day because the command to observe the Sabbath is in the ten commandments, and they think the ten commandments are done away. They think the ten commandments are only included in the Old Covenant and not the New Covenant.
What is the Old Covenant? The Old Covenant was an agreement between God and Israel. God promised to bless Israel if Israel obeyed God and kept His law (Exodus 19:1-9, 20:1-17, 23:25-27, 24:3-8, Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Those were the terms that God offered Israel. The ten commandments were part of the covenant because the ten commandments described God's law that the people had to obey. The Old Covenant came into existence after Israel agreed to the terms and the covenant was ratified with blood (Exodus 24:3-8).
Notice that the Old Covenant included promises God made to bless Israel. Those promises included health, economic prosperity, and protection from enemies (Exodus 15:25-26, Leviticus 26:3-13). These were national promises that applied to the nation as a whole. That was God's part. Israel's part was to keep the ten commandments and obey God in everything. But also notice here, there is no promise of eternal life under the Old Covenant, only national blessings in this physical life. There is also no promise of the Holy Spirit or of writing God's law in the people's hearts.
What is the New Covenant? It is first described in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This Old Testament scripture is quoted by the author of Hebrews in describing the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-12, 10:16-17).
Notice that there is nothing here about a different law for the New Covenant. The law is the same for both covenants. So what is the difference? The difference is in the promises. The New Covenant is based on better promises than the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-8). One of those promises is given in the Old Testament. Under the New Covenant, God will write His law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). That is different from the Old Covenant in which God's law was written or engraved on stone (Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 27:1-8). That is important, because the writing of God's law on stone is often used to represent the Old Covenant, in contrast to the writing of God's law in our hearts under the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).
Notice also there is a promise in the New Covenant of forgiveness of sin (Jeremiah 31:34). This was never available under the Old Covenant.
Many aspects of the New Covenant are described in more detail in the New Testament.
Another promise of the New Covenant is eternal life (1 John 2:24-25, John 3:16, John 6:54, John 10:27-28, Romans 6:23). Remember, eternal life was never promised under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant promises of national blessings for Israel pertained to this temporary physical life only - read Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
Is the law of the ten commandments, including the law of the Sabbath, retained under the New Covenant?
When Jesus Christ was on earth, someone asked Him a question about the requirements of the New Covenant. A man wanted to know what he had to do to receive eternal life. This was a New Covenant question, because the Old Covenant did not promise eternal life. This question had NOTHING to do with the Old Covenant.
If this question was about the Old Covenant, the man would have asked, "what must we do to obtain national blessings of health, prosperity, and protection from our enemies?" because those were the promises of the Old Covenant. But the man asked about eternal life, which is only available under the New Covenant. So this question is 100% about the New Covenant. And the answer Jesus gave directly answers our question, is the law of the ten commandments, including the law of the Sabbath, retained under the New Covenant.
What was Jesus Christ's answer?
Jesus said, "You know the commandments" (Mark 10:17-19, Luke 18:18-20). Then Jesus named several of the ten commandments.
Now is it only the commandments that Jesus named that are required? Is it alright under the New Covenant to have other gods before the true God (first commandment), to use images in worship (second commandment), to take God's name in vain (third commandment), and to not keep the Sabbath (fourth commandment). No. Jesus named several of the ten commandments as examples, but the whole package of ten commandments is included. Why? Because Jesus started His answer by saying "you know the commandments". This man grew up in Israel and learned the ten commandments from his youth. The commandments he knew were the ten commandments, all ten of them.
So in telling the man what is required for the New Covenant promise of eternal life, Jesus told the man to keep the commandments he already knew, the ten commandments.
And that includes the Sabbath.
So Sabbath observance is a requirement under the New Covenant.
The New Testament affirms the ten commandments as a body of law that still exists. Notice what James wrote, long after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ: "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:10-11). Notice that James wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17), that if you violate one point of the law, you violate the whole law and are guilty of transgression. Which law? James shows that he is talking about the ten commandments, calling each commandment a "point" of the law, because he uses two of the ten commandments as examples. James also explains WHY we are guilty of violating the whole law of God if we violate just one point. It is because of WHO gave the commandments ("For He who said..."). In other words, it is because God gave the commandments that we must obey all of them. Using that same logic, He who said "you shall not commit adultery" also said "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). That is exactly the logic that James is using.
Some people are confused by some of the things Paul wrote regarding the law. One of the principles of Bible study is that the Bible cannot contradict itself. All scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God cannot lie (Titus 1:1-2, Hebrews 6:17-18). Therefore the Bible cannot lie or contradict itself, and all scripture is true (John 17:17, Psalm 119:160). When some scriptures seem to contradict other scriptures, you let the clear scriptures interpret unclear or difficult ones. That is an important principle. You get all the scriptures on a topic, then let clear scriptures that are easy to understand interpret those that are difficult to understand. Some of Paul's writings are difficult to understand, and Peter was inspired by the Holy Spirit to warn about that (2 Peter 3:14-16). Paul often uses the word "law" in different ways and he uses symbols of the Old Covenant in different ways. When Paul says that we are not under the law, he can be referring to the penalty of the law (death), which is removed from hanging over us when we are forgiven our sins in Jesus Christ. He can also be referring to the Old Covenant and its regulations directly. But we can use clear scriptures such as those I have quoted from James, Mark, and Luke to understand the difficult scriptures in Paul's letters to know that he is not saying that the law of the ten commandments is obsolete.
Some people think that Jesus said that the law would be done away after He fulfilled the law by keeping it, but Jesus never said that. Notice what He 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" (Matthew 5:17-18). Has heaven and earth passed away? No. Has all the law and the prophets been fulfilled? No. There are many Old Testament prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled including prophecies pertaining to the millennium after Christ returns (Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:1-9). All has not yet been fulfilled. Moreover, Christ never said the law would be removed after it was fulfilled, only that it would not be removed while there was yet something in the law and the prophets that was not yet fulfilled and while heaven and earth remain. He is not saying anything about what would happen after everything is completely fulfilled.
Many people think that the Sabbath was made just for Israel and that it was made at the time of the making of the Old Covenant. Neither is true. The Sabbath was made for mankind and it existed before the Old Covenant.
Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). Jesus did not say that the Sabbath was made for Israel or for the Jew. It was made for man in general, not just Israel.
And notice, the Sabbath was made. It was created. There was a time when God brought the Sabbath into existence. Was this when the Old Covenant was made with Israel? No. The Old Covenant was made when the ten commandments were given, Israel agreed to the covenant, and it was ratified with blood. But the Sabbath existed before that. Notice that it existed before the ten commandments were given (Exodus 16:4-6, 22-30).
Jesus said that the Sabbath was made. Since the Sabbath was created for the entire human race, it would be reasonable to expect that there would be a record in the Old Testament of that event, the making of the Sabbath. There is such a record, and it is the only record of anything that can be an account of the making of the Sabbath in the entire Old Testament.
Genesis 2:2-3 says, "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Why did God rest? Not because He was tired. He rested in order to create the Sabbath. He created that first Sabbath day by His example of resting. This is the account of the making of the Sabbath for man that Jesus talked about.
The close parallel wording between the fourth commandment ("Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" - Exodus 20:11) and the creation account ("Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it" - Genesis 2:3) shows that this seventh day was a Sabbath, just as the fourth commandment describes. Genesis 2:2-3 and Exodus 20:11 are talking about exactly the same thing - the Sabbath day.
The New Covenant includes the same law of the ten commandments as the Old Covenant, including the Sabbath, but provides better promises.
Or to put it another way, are the ten commandments part of the New Covenant just as they are part of the Old Covenant? Are the ten commandments part of both covenants?
Most traditional Christians would agree that we should not murder, commit adultery, or steal. They do not have a problem with commandments against those things. But they do have a problem with the Sabbath. Many think that Christians do not need to keep the Sabbath day because the command to observe the Sabbath is in the ten commandments, and they think the ten commandments are done away. They think the ten commandments are only included in the Old Covenant and not the New Covenant.
What is the Old Covenant? The Old Covenant was an agreement between God and Israel. God promised to bless Israel if Israel obeyed God and kept His law (Exodus 19:1-9, 20:1-17, 23:25-27, 24:3-8, Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Those were the terms that God offered Israel. The ten commandments were part of the covenant because the ten commandments described God's law that the people had to obey. The Old Covenant came into existence after Israel agreed to the terms and the covenant was ratified with blood (Exodus 24:3-8).
Notice that the Old Covenant included promises God made to bless Israel. Those promises included health, economic prosperity, and protection from enemies (Exodus 15:25-26, Leviticus 26:3-13). These were national promises that applied to the nation as a whole. That was God's part. Israel's part was to keep the ten commandments and obey God in everything. But also notice here, there is no promise of eternal life under the Old Covenant, only national blessings in this physical life. There is also no promise of the Holy Spirit or of writing God's law in the people's hearts.
What is the New Covenant? It is first described in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This Old Testament scripture is quoted by the author of Hebrews in describing the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-12, 10:16-17).
Notice that there is nothing here about a different law for the New Covenant. The law is the same for both covenants. So what is the difference? The difference is in the promises. The New Covenant is based on better promises than the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-8). One of those promises is given in the Old Testament. Under the New Covenant, God will write His law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). That is different from the Old Covenant in which God's law was written or engraved on stone (Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 27:1-8). That is important, because the writing of God's law on stone is often used to represent the Old Covenant, in contrast to the writing of God's law in our hearts under the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).
Notice also there is a promise in the New Covenant of forgiveness of sin (Jeremiah 31:34). This was never available under the Old Covenant.
Many aspects of the New Covenant are described in more detail in the New Testament.
Another promise of the New Covenant is eternal life (1 John 2:24-25, John 3:16, John 6:54, John 10:27-28, Romans 6:23). Remember, eternal life was never promised under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant promises of national blessings for Israel pertained to this temporary physical life only - read Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
Is the law of the ten commandments, including the law of the Sabbath, retained under the New Covenant?
When Jesus Christ was on earth, someone asked Him a question about the requirements of the New Covenant. A man wanted to know what he had to do to receive eternal life. This was a New Covenant question, because the Old Covenant did not promise eternal life. This question had NOTHING to do with the Old Covenant.
If this question was about the Old Covenant, the man would have asked, "what must we do to obtain national blessings of health, prosperity, and protection from our enemies?" because those were the promises of the Old Covenant. But the man asked about eternal life, which is only available under the New Covenant. So this question is 100% about the New Covenant. And the answer Jesus gave directly answers our question, is the law of the ten commandments, including the law of the Sabbath, retained under the New Covenant.
What was Jesus Christ's answer?
Jesus said, "You know the commandments" (Mark 10:17-19, Luke 18:18-20). Then Jesus named several of the ten commandments.
Now is it only the commandments that Jesus named that are required? Is it alright under the New Covenant to have other gods before the true God (first commandment), to use images in worship (second commandment), to take God's name in vain (third commandment), and to not keep the Sabbath (fourth commandment). No. Jesus named several of the ten commandments as examples, but the whole package of ten commandments is included. Why? Because Jesus started His answer by saying "you know the commandments". This man grew up in Israel and learned the ten commandments from his youth. The commandments he knew were the ten commandments, all ten of them.
So in telling the man what is required for the New Covenant promise of eternal life, Jesus told the man to keep the commandments he already knew, the ten commandments.
And that includes the Sabbath.
So Sabbath observance is a requirement under the New Covenant.
The New Testament affirms the ten commandments as a body of law that still exists. Notice what James wrote, long after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ: "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:10-11). Notice that James wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17), that if you violate one point of the law, you violate the whole law and are guilty of transgression. Which law? James shows that he is talking about the ten commandments, calling each commandment a "point" of the law, because he uses two of the ten commandments as examples. James also explains WHY we are guilty of violating the whole law of God if we violate just one point. It is because of WHO gave the commandments ("For He who said..."). In other words, it is because God gave the commandments that we must obey all of them. Using that same logic, He who said "you shall not commit adultery" also said "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). That is exactly the logic that James is using.
Some people are confused by some of the things Paul wrote regarding the law. One of the principles of Bible study is that the Bible cannot contradict itself. All scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God cannot lie (Titus 1:1-2, Hebrews 6:17-18). Therefore the Bible cannot lie or contradict itself, and all scripture is true (John 17:17, Psalm 119:160). When some scriptures seem to contradict other scriptures, you let the clear scriptures interpret unclear or difficult ones. That is an important principle. You get all the scriptures on a topic, then let clear scriptures that are easy to understand interpret those that are difficult to understand. Some of Paul's writings are difficult to understand, and Peter was inspired by the Holy Spirit to warn about that (2 Peter 3:14-16). Paul often uses the word "law" in different ways and he uses symbols of the Old Covenant in different ways. When Paul says that we are not under the law, he can be referring to the penalty of the law (death), which is removed from hanging over us when we are forgiven our sins in Jesus Christ. He can also be referring to the Old Covenant and its regulations directly. But we can use clear scriptures such as those I have quoted from James, Mark, and Luke to understand the difficult scriptures in Paul's letters to know that he is not saying that the law of the ten commandments is obsolete.
Some people think that Jesus said that the law would be done away after He fulfilled the law by keeping it, but Jesus never said that. Notice what He 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" (Matthew 5:17-18). Has heaven and earth passed away? No. Has all the law and the prophets been fulfilled? No. There are many Old Testament prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled including prophecies pertaining to the millennium after Christ returns (Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:1-9). All has not yet been fulfilled. Moreover, Christ never said the law would be removed after it was fulfilled, only that it would not be removed while there was yet something in the law and the prophets that was not yet fulfilled and while heaven and earth remain. He is not saying anything about what would happen after everything is completely fulfilled.
Many people think that the Sabbath was made just for Israel and that it was made at the time of the making of the Old Covenant. Neither is true. The Sabbath was made for mankind and it existed before the Old Covenant.
Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). Jesus did not say that the Sabbath was made for Israel or for the Jew. It was made for man in general, not just Israel.
And notice, the Sabbath was made. It was created. There was a time when God brought the Sabbath into existence. Was this when the Old Covenant was made with Israel? No. The Old Covenant was made when the ten commandments were given, Israel agreed to the covenant, and it was ratified with blood. But the Sabbath existed before that. Notice that it existed before the ten commandments were given (Exodus 16:4-6, 22-30).
Jesus said that the Sabbath was made. Since the Sabbath was created for the entire human race, it would be reasonable to expect that there would be a record in the Old Testament of that event, the making of the Sabbath. There is such a record, and it is the only record of anything that can be an account of the making of the Sabbath in the entire Old Testament.
Genesis 2:2-3 says, "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Why did God rest? Not because He was tired. He rested in order to create the Sabbath. He created that first Sabbath day by His example of resting. This is the account of the making of the Sabbath for man that Jesus talked about.
The close parallel wording between the fourth commandment ("Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" - Exodus 20:11) and the creation account ("Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it" - Genesis 2:3) shows that this seventh day was a Sabbath, just as the fourth commandment describes. Genesis 2:2-3 and Exodus 20:11 are talking about exactly the same thing - the Sabbath day.
The New Covenant includes the same law of the ten commandments as the Old Covenant, including the Sabbath, but provides better promises.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
When Was the Sabbath Made?
Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27). When was it made? Some might think that the Sabbath did not exist before Moses, and they say that there is no record of the Sabbath being kept before Israel began to keep it in the wilderness.
There are two examples of Sabbath keeping in the first 30 chapters of Genesis.
There is one very specific example, directly tied to the Sabbath, and also a more general example that shows that someone was keeping the Sabbath when you put a few scriptures together.
When was the Sabbath made, and how was it made? Part of the answer to the question of HOW the Sabbath was made is given in the fourth of the ten commandments: "...Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11). God made the Sabbath by blessing it and hallowing it, or in other words, putting a special honor upon it and setting it apart from other days for a special purpose.
When did this event occur? It happened at the time of creation. "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (Genesis 2:3).
God Himself observed the Sabbath when He created it, by resting on that day, setting an example for mankind (Genesis 2:1-3). He created the Sabbath by keeping it Himself as well as by blessing and sanctifying it. God often teaches by example (John 13:12-16). Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, lived an entire perfect life without sin as an example of how His followers should live. God rested on the Sabbath, keeping it, for the sole purpose of making the Sabbath, creating the Sabbath day as a special day for mankind, as Jesus said (Mark 2:27-28). There was no other reason for God to rest. God did not need to rest because He was tired. He rested to create the Sabbath by His example. And He created it for mankind immediately after He created mankind, so He intended it to be kept by mankind from the beginning. He sanctified it and set it apart for a holy purpose. That was the first Sabbath. The exact parallel of wording between the commandment in Exodus 20:11 and creation of the Sabbath day in Genesis 2:3 shows that they are talking about exactly the same thing.
The second example is where God said that Abraham kept an entire body of God's law. Genesis 26:5 says, "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." This shows that the law of God existed before Moses. It also shows that just because a law is not specifically mentioned before Moses does not mean it didn't exist or wasn't observed. The evidence that the Sabbath was included in this law is the reference to "My law" that God makes in Exodus 16:4-6 when He says that He will test Israel to see if they will keep God's law. God is not creating a new law. He is making reference to a law that already existed prior to the ten commandments and prior to the Old Covenant. This has to be the same law that Abraham obeyed. There is no record of God changing any laws from the time of the flood until Moses, and no record of God creating the Sabbath day by blessing it and sanctifying it after Genesis chapter 2. So since the Sabbath law existed before the Old Covenant, it must have been included in the same body of law that Abraham kept. The whole context of the test of Israel was their willingness to obey the Sabbath law (Exodus 16:27-30).
Notice, in the fourth commandment, God says, "...Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11). The parallel wording shows that this is pointing to the seventh day of creation when God rested, "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (Genesis 2:3). This answers the question of when God made the Sabbath day. It was made when God blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. When was that? It was at creation, because Genesis says God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. What this shows is that the seventh day of creation which God blessed was not just that one day, but the Sabbath day itself, every seventh day from that time, which is what the Sabbath is, a re-occurring day of the week. Therefore the Sabbath must have existed in Abraham's day, and since God says that Abraham obeyed God's laws, he must have kept the Sabbath.
Some Bible readers might think that because there is no record before Moses of a codified law that says, "you shall rest on the Sabbath", the law of the Sabbath did not exist before Moses. But that line of reasoning is invalidated by God's statement about Abraham's obedience. Abraham obeyed God's laws, yet those laws are not codified in Genesis. The lack of mention of the codification of those laws in Abraham's day doesn't mean they did not exist at that time. God's laws existed before they were codified with Moses. There would be no need for Moses, who wrote Genesis, to itemize all the laws that Abraham obeyed because Moses wrote those laws as God gave them to him in Exodus.
Joseph knew about God's law because he knew what sin is (Genesis 39:9). He knew that to commit adultery with his master's wife was a violation of God's commandment against adultery, the seventh commandment, and therefore was a sin against God. He knew what sin was by the commandments of God. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4, King James Version). Which law? The ten commandments. Paul said that he knew that coveting was a sin because the tenth of the ten commandments said, "You shall not covet" (Romans 7:7). See also James 2:10-11.
There are two examples of Sabbath keeping in the first 30 chapters of Genesis.
There is one very specific example, directly tied to the Sabbath, and also a more general example that shows that someone was keeping the Sabbath when you put a few scriptures together.
When was the Sabbath made, and how was it made? Part of the answer to the question of HOW the Sabbath was made is given in the fourth of the ten commandments: "...Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11). God made the Sabbath by blessing it and hallowing it, or in other words, putting a special honor upon it and setting it apart from other days for a special purpose.
When did this event occur? It happened at the time of creation. "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (Genesis 2:3).
God Himself observed the Sabbath when He created it, by resting on that day, setting an example for mankind (Genesis 2:1-3). He created the Sabbath by keeping it Himself as well as by blessing and sanctifying it. God often teaches by example (John 13:12-16). Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, lived an entire perfect life without sin as an example of how His followers should live. God rested on the Sabbath, keeping it, for the sole purpose of making the Sabbath, creating the Sabbath day as a special day for mankind, as Jesus said (Mark 2:27-28). There was no other reason for God to rest. God did not need to rest because He was tired. He rested to create the Sabbath by His example. And He created it for mankind immediately after He created mankind, so He intended it to be kept by mankind from the beginning. He sanctified it and set it apart for a holy purpose. That was the first Sabbath. The exact parallel of wording between the commandment in Exodus 20:11 and creation of the Sabbath day in Genesis 2:3 shows that they are talking about exactly the same thing.
The second example is where God said that Abraham kept an entire body of God's law. Genesis 26:5 says, "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." This shows that the law of God existed before Moses. It also shows that just because a law is not specifically mentioned before Moses does not mean it didn't exist or wasn't observed. The evidence that the Sabbath was included in this law is the reference to "My law" that God makes in Exodus 16:4-6 when He says that He will test Israel to see if they will keep God's law. God is not creating a new law. He is making reference to a law that already existed prior to the ten commandments and prior to the Old Covenant. This has to be the same law that Abraham obeyed. There is no record of God changing any laws from the time of the flood until Moses, and no record of God creating the Sabbath day by blessing it and sanctifying it after Genesis chapter 2. So since the Sabbath law existed before the Old Covenant, it must have been included in the same body of law that Abraham kept. The whole context of the test of Israel was their willingness to obey the Sabbath law (Exodus 16:27-30).
Notice, in the fourth commandment, God says, "...Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11). The parallel wording shows that this is pointing to the seventh day of creation when God rested, "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (Genesis 2:3). This answers the question of when God made the Sabbath day. It was made when God blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. When was that? It was at creation, because Genesis says God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. What this shows is that the seventh day of creation which God blessed was not just that one day, but the Sabbath day itself, every seventh day from that time, which is what the Sabbath is, a re-occurring day of the week. Therefore the Sabbath must have existed in Abraham's day, and since God says that Abraham obeyed God's laws, he must have kept the Sabbath.
Some Bible readers might think that because there is no record before Moses of a codified law that says, "you shall rest on the Sabbath", the law of the Sabbath did not exist before Moses. But that line of reasoning is invalidated by God's statement about Abraham's obedience. Abraham obeyed God's laws, yet those laws are not codified in Genesis. The lack of mention of the codification of those laws in Abraham's day doesn't mean they did not exist at that time. God's laws existed before they were codified with Moses. There would be no need for Moses, who wrote Genesis, to itemize all the laws that Abraham obeyed because Moses wrote those laws as God gave them to him in Exodus.
Joseph knew about God's law because he knew what sin is (Genesis 39:9). He knew that to commit adultery with his master's wife was a violation of God's commandment against adultery, the seventh commandment, and therefore was a sin against God. He knew what sin was by the commandments of God. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4, King James Version). Which law? The ten commandments. Paul said that he knew that coveting was a sin because the tenth of the ten commandments said, "You shall not covet" (Romans 7:7). See also James 2:10-11.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Ten Commandments, the Sabbath, and Animal Sacrifices
I recently posted a comment on the The Bible In Depth blog about the Sabbath and animal sacrifices, and the writer of the original post (But I Don't Want To Go!!!!) raised a number of questions. Since the answers will be somewhat off-topic to his original post, I will answer them here.
"What is the purpose of animal sacrifices?"
The purpose of animal sacrifices is educational. God uses them to teach us about the sacrifice of Christ. They are symbolic. They are a copy and shadow of the real sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 8:3-6, Hebrews 9:23-28, Hebrews 10:1-10, Galatians 3:23-25). In these verses in Hebrews and Galatians, the term "law" in this context is referring to the law of Old Covenant animal sacrifices and rituals. It does not refer to God's spiritual law (Romans 7:13-25) or to the ten commandments (James 2:8-13). Just as today, a word can mean different things, depending on the context. The word "law" can refer to the spiritual law of God, or to the books of Moses, or in this case to the laws of the Levitical priesthood, that is, animal sacrifices.
Although animal sacrifices are not being used now in this church age, the prophecy in the book of Ezekiel from chapter 40 to the end of the book seems to show that there will be a system of animal sacrifices in the future, no doubt in the millenium. To the best of my knowledge, the conditions described in Ezekiel 47:7-12 (healing waters) have never been fulfilled in history, which is why I say this appears to be a prophecy concerning the temple in the millenium. If I am correct and if animal sacrifices are restored in the millenium, then those sacrifices can be a valuable teaching tool for teaching the people about the sacrifice of Christ.
Another indication that this prophecy has never been fulfilled in the past is the division of the land among all the tribes of Israel as described in Ezekiel 47:13-23 and Ezekiel 48:1-35. That has not occurred since the captivity of Israel by Assyria about 700 years before Christ. So this must be in the future.
"Were the 10 commandments a part of the Mosaical Law?"
Yes. The ten commandments are a summary of God's spiritual law (Romans 7:14). God's spiritual law is love (1 John 5:3). It is summarized as love towards God and love towards neighbor (Matthew 22:35-40). The ten commandments further summarize God's law of love and breaks it down in more detail, with the first four commandments teaching us how to love God and the last six how to love our neighbor, and the ten commandments are still in effect (James 2:10-11). Sin is defined in the Bible as the transgression of the law (King James Version) or "lawlessness" as translated in the New King James Version (1 John 3:4).
As a summary of God's spiritual law, the ten commandments are foundational to both the old and new covenants, and it is part of the Mosaical Law as well as part of the New Covenant. The New Covenant does not replace or do away with God's spiritual law, but rather the New Covenant promises that God will write His law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10, Hebrews 10:16). Jesus in the sermon on the mount taught that we must obey the commandments in their fullest spiritual application, not just the letter (Matthew 5:21-30).
"What was the purpose of the Sabbath?"
There can be many purposes of the Sabbath, and not all are stated because God does not explain every reason for every command, but I think we can discern some of them. The Sabbath gives man much needed rest from the burdens of working six days. The Sabbath provides time for us to draw close to God in prayer and Bible study, to receive instructions from God's ministry, and to draw closer to our brethren in Christian fellowship. I think it is evident that the weekly Sabbath pictures the 1000 year reign of Christ after 6,000 years of man's rule on this earth under the influence of Satan. It can picture the spiritual rest we have in Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
In addition to the weekly Sabbath, there are annual Sabbaths that help to illustrate God's plan of salvation for mankind.
But there are two purposes of the Sabbath that are stated in the Bible. One, God has used, and I have no doubt He continues to use, the Sabbath as a test command to test the obedience of His people. He used it to test ancient Israel and He specifically calls it a test (Exodus 16:4-5, 25-30). Note from these verses that the Sabbath was part of God's law BEFORE the ten commandments were given and the Old Covenant made with Israel. Also, Christ indicated that the Sabbath was made for mankind (Mark 2:27). The Old Covenant was never made with mankind as a whole but only with Israel. This shows that the Sabbath is not just a ritual limited to the Old Covenant, for then it would not have been made for all mankind, only Israel. So a purpose of the Sabbath can be a test of our obedience.
Secondly, the Sabbath is a sign. It identifies to us who the true God is, that is, the creator. It also identifies who God's people are to God, that is, those who obey Him. There is a scripture that seems to indicate that the Sabbath was made a separate covenent, not part of the Old Covenant, but a different covenant, for the very purpose of serving as a sign between God and His people, in Exodus 31:12-17, especially verse 16.
"Did Jesus fulfill the law?"
Yes. Jesus obeyed the law perfectly, setting us an example. He stated that He obeyed His Father's commandments (John 15:10). Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Since Jesus never sinned (Hebrews 4:14-15), He must have perfectly kept God's law. He also fulfilled prophecy concerning His first coming.
"Does or can the Bible contradict itself?"
No.
All scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God cannot lie (Titus 1:1-3, Hebrews 6:17-18). Therefore, God cannot contradict Himself. Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:34-36).
If there appears to be a contradiction, it is because there is a mistranslation or because there is something about the scripture we do not understand.
I have proved that the Bible is inspired by God by prophecies that have been fulfilled, but I choose to believe that God cannot lie, and that is a part of my faith. So by faith I know that the Bible cannot contradict itself.
"What is the purpose of animal sacrifices?"
The purpose of animal sacrifices is educational. God uses them to teach us about the sacrifice of Christ. They are symbolic. They are a copy and shadow of the real sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 8:3-6, Hebrews 9:23-28, Hebrews 10:1-10, Galatians 3:23-25). In these verses in Hebrews and Galatians, the term "law" in this context is referring to the law of Old Covenant animal sacrifices and rituals. It does not refer to God's spiritual law (Romans 7:13-25) or to the ten commandments (James 2:8-13). Just as today, a word can mean different things, depending on the context. The word "law" can refer to the spiritual law of God, or to the books of Moses, or in this case to the laws of the Levitical priesthood, that is, animal sacrifices.
Although animal sacrifices are not being used now in this church age, the prophecy in the book of Ezekiel from chapter 40 to the end of the book seems to show that there will be a system of animal sacrifices in the future, no doubt in the millenium. To the best of my knowledge, the conditions described in Ezekiel 47:7-12 (healing waters) have never been fulfilled in history, which is why I say this appears to be a prophecy concerning the temple in the millenium. If I am correct and if animal sacrifices are restored in the millenium, then those sacrifices can be a valuable teaching tool for teaching the people about the sacrifice of Christ.
Another indication that this prophecy has never been fulfilled in the past is the division of the land among all the tribes of Israel as described in Ezekiel 47:13-23 and Ezekiel 48:1-35. That has not occurred since the captivity of Israel by Assyria about 700 years before Christ. So this must be in the future.
"Were the 10 commandments a part of the Mosaical Law?"
Yes. The ten commandments are a summary of God's spiritual law (Romans 7:14). God's spiritual law is love (1 John 5:3). It is summarized as love towards God and love towards neighbor (Matthew 22:35-40). The ten commandments further summarize God's law of love and breaks it down in more detail, with the first four commandments teaching us how to love God and the last six how to love our neighbor, and the ten commandments are still in effect (James 2:10-11). Sin is defined in the Bible as the transgression of the law (King James Version) or "lawlessness" as translated in the New King James Version (1 John 3:4).
As a summary of God's spiritual law, the ten commandments are foundational to both the old and new covenants, and it is part of the Mosaical Law as well as part of the New Covenant. The New Covenant does not replace or do away with God's spiritual law, but rather the New Covenant promises that God will write His law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10, Hebrews 10:16). Jesus in the sermon on the mount taught that we must obey the commandments in their fullest spiritual application, not just the letter (Matthew 5:21-30).
"What was the purpose of the Sabbath?"
There can be many purposes of the Sabbath, and not all are stated because God does not explain every reason for every command, but I think we can discern some of them. The Sabbath gives man much needed rest from the burdens of working six days. The Sabbath provides time for us to draw close to God in prayer and Bible study, to receive instructions from God's ministry, and to draw closer to our brethren in Christian fellowship. I think it is evident that the weekly Sabbath pictures the 1000 year reign of Christ after 6,000 years of man's rule on this earth under the influence of Satan. It can picture the spiritual rest we have in Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
In addition to the weekly Sabbath, there are annual Sabbaths that help to illustrate God's plan of salvation for mankind.
But there are two purposes of the Sabbath that are stated in the Bible. One, God has used, and I have no doubt He continues to use, the Sabbath as a test command to test the obedience of His people. He used it to test ancient Israel and He specifically calls it a test (Exodus 16:4-5, 25-30). Note from these verses that the Sabbath was part of God's law BEFORE the ten commandments were given and the Old Covenant made with Israel. Also, Christ indicated that the Sabbath was made for mankind (Mark 2:27). The Old Covenant was never made with mankind as a whole but only with Israel. This shows that the Sabbath is not just a ritual limited to the Old Covenant, for then it would not have been made for all mankind, only Israel. So a purpose of the Sabbath can be a test of our obedience.
Secondly, the Sabbath is a sign. It identifies to us who the true God is, that is, the creator. It also identifies who God's people are to God, that is, those who obey Him. There is a scripture that seems to indicate that the Sabbath was made a separate covenent, not part of the Old Covenant, but a different covenant, for the very purpose of serving as a sign between God and His people, in Exodus 31:12-17, especially verse 16.
"Did Jesus fulfill the law?"
Yes. Jesus obeyed the law perfectly, setting us an example. He stated that He obeyed His Father's commandments (John 15:10). Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Since Jesus never sinned (Hebrews 4:14-15), He must have perfectly kept God's law. He also fulfilled prophecy concerning His first coming.
"Does or can the Bible contradict itself?"
No.
All scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God cannot lie (Titus 1:1-3, Hebrews 6:17-18). Therefore, God cannot contradict Himself. Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:34-36).
If there appears to be a contradiction, it is because there is a mistranslation or because there is something about the scripture we do not understand.
I have proved that the Bible is inspired by God by prophecies that have been fulfilled, but I choose to believe that God cannot lie, and that is a part of my faith. So by faith I know that the Bible cannot contradict itself.
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