Five Essential Bible Truths – Part 4
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What Happened to the Lord’s Day?

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What was Nailed to the Cross?

Many Christians believe that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross. If it was not the Ten Commandments, then what was nailed to the cross? Most people are surprised to learn that the ceremonies relating to the sanctuary services, which were a shadow or explanation of the plan of salvation, were nailed to the cross. The key word here is shadow.  Notice what Paul said, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority….When you were dead in your sins and in the circumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross….Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize…” (Colossians 2:9-18)

If you look at these verses carefully, you will see that Paul is discussing the regulations regarding religious feasts, New Moon observances and Sabbath days. The “Sabbath days” that Paul is referring to is not the seventh day Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Rather, the term “Sabbath days” applies to Sabbath “feast days,” such as the Passover or the Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16:31) Feast days often fell on different days of the week (like our birthday) because they occurred on the same date each year. These feast days were special Sabbaths of rest that pointed forward to different aspects of Jesus ministry and death. For example, the Passover not only reminded the Jews of deliverance from Egypt, but also pointed forward to a time when the Passover Lamb – Jesus Christ – would die, so all people could be delivered from the bondage of sin!

The Jews confused the Ten Commandments Law of God with the laws given to Moses, much like the Christians to today. The permanence of the Law of God versus the law of Moses can be seen in several ways. First, the greater law, the Ten Commandments, was written on stone by God’s own finger and kept within the ark. The law of Moses (ceremonial or lesser law) was given by God to be written by Moses (man) and kept in a pocket on the side of the ark. (See Deuteronomy 10:1,2; 31:26.) One law was permanent the other was temporary. This is why the ark was often called the Ark of the Covenant, since the Ten Commandments are the basis of God’s covenant with man. This covenant says, “If you choose to obey me, I will be your God.” (Deuteronomy 30:9-11)

What about Romans 14?

What about Romans 14? Some Christians use Romans 14 to prove it does not matter which day of the week we use to worship God. Notice the text: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands and falls.  And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more scared than another; another man considers everyday alike. Each should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meant, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” (Romans 14:1-10)

The context of these verses does not imply that we can worship God whenever we feel like it. No, this text is addressing a specific problem that early Christians had to deal with, namely, the religious customs of the Jews. In other words, if a new believer in Jesus felt he needed to observe Passover, Paul did not condemn the new believer except to say that his faith was weak. In addition, if the new believer could not consciously eat meant purchased in the marketplace, for fear it had not been killed correctly or that had been offered to idols, Paul said to leave these people alone! (The Jews would not purchase not eat meant unless it was killed according to Mosaic code. Leviticus 19:26) Today, many clerics use this text as support for Sunday worship; however, I wonder if this same liberty will be offered to those who choose to honor God’s fourth commandment when the one world religious/political government is established during the Great Tribulation?

Some Christians believe that Pentecost fell on Sunday during the year that Christ died, therefore, proving that Sunday is God’s holy day. However, Pentecost has always fallen on Sunday – ever since the Exodus. The Wave Sheaf offering was always made on the first Sunday after Passover, and Pentecost followed 50 days later (counting inclusively), always occurring on a Sunday. Leviticus 23) So, if the annual Pentecost feast occurred on Sunday for more than a millennium before Jesus was on earth, how does this make the fourth commandment void? It does not.

Some Christians teach that the Sabbath mentioned in the Ten Commandments is “Jewish” because God delivered His commandments to the Jews. If we extend this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, then we must conclude that all Ten Commandments are “Jewish.” (Remember, they came in a package of ten.) Obviously, this line of reasoning implies that titles are not under the obligation of the fourth commandment. However, God created the seventh day Sabbath and made it holy long before Abraham, the first Jew, lived on the earth. Could this be why the fourth commandment begins with “Remember the Sabbath day…”?

Last, some clerics claim that nine of the Ten Commandments are mentioned in the New Testament, but the fourth commandment is missing. This statement is not true. In fact, the absence of any argument from the Jews or Jewish converts indicates the assumption by New Testament writers that the Sabbath remained intact without question (especially when one considers the abundance of controversy over the issue of circumcision or eating meat offered to idols.) However, Paul clears this matter in the New Testament by saying, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:9,10)

Which is the Greatest Law?

As you might expect of a legalistic society, the Jews loved to argue about their laws. An expert lawyer even challenged Jesus with a test to see which law was the greatest! (Matthew 22:34-40) I believe the spiritually of the Jews degenerated into a great legal system of darkness, because they generally misunderstood the purpose of God’s laws. (Matthew 23:2-15) When the apostle Paul began to explain the purposes and relationships between the ceremonial laws and God’s moral law, you can understand the Jewish hatred exercised against him. Paul claimed that the laws of Moses had expired and this was more than the Jews could tolerate! Paul was captured and eventually beheaded for his convictions. (Acts 21:27-36)

Paul is very explicit in Colossians 2 and Ephesians 2 that the laws nailed to the cross were shadows of the real thing and these laws, cam to an end at the cross. Now, in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. The ceremonial laws requiring the observance of new moons, Sabbath feasts and the sacrifice of lambs have become unnecessary because the Lamb of God has died, removing the shadow over salvation and making it visible to all. In other words, ceremonial laws were temporary until their meaning was fulfilled.

So, consider Paul’s dilemma, How could he get the Jews to understand the true meaning of ceremonial laws and cease doing something they had been doing for 1,800 years? We have the same problem today. How can a whole nation change from Sunday observance to Saturday observance?

Paul is very clear in Hebrews 10 and Galatians 3 & 4 that these ceremonies never brought salvation to the Jews in the first place; rather, they were temporary and designed to teach how salvation occurs!

Paul makes it equally clear that obeying the Ten Commandments cannot produce salvation either, because salvation comes only by faith! The problem today is that most Christians think that faith and grace make the moral law unnecessary. Does love between husband and wife eliminate the necessity for fidelity? No. Neither does living together make two people married. The relationship between love and obedience is simple. God grants salvation to everyone who becomes willing to do His will. He does not grant salvation to us on our ability to do His will. We demonstrate our willingness by receiving strength from God to do what He wants. Paul understood this process. (See Romans 7.) In fact, all through his Christian life (which took place after Calvary), Paul faithfully observed the seventh day Sabbath. (See Acts 13:44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4,11.)

If any question remains about the sacredness of the seventh day Sabbath after Calvary, perhaps this last point will clarify the issue. Jesus confirmed the holiness of the seventh day Sabbath by specifically saying to His disciples that they should pray that their escape for the coming destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) would not be in the winter nor on the Sabbath day. (Matthew 24:20) Why did Jesus say that early Christians should make this a matter of prayer? Because escape and survival from the enemy during winter months would obviously bring physical hardship. Sickness, even death to those who escaped. But, why did Jesus specifically mention the Sabbath day as a bad time to escape from the coming Roman siege? For two reasons: First, early Christians would be torn between observing God’s Sabbath day (a moral issue) and escaping on the Sabbath day (a survival issue). Second, by focusing on the Sabbath day, Jesus indicted how sudden and short the window of opportunity for escape would be. Apparently, early Christians understood this prophecy accurately, for historical records indicate that the Christians were not among those who perished when Jerusalem was destroyed.

Cannot Break One Commandment

If we take the position that Jesus nailed the fourth commandment to the cross, then we must conclude that He nailed the other nine too. Whatever we do with the fourth commandment, we must also do with the other nine. The issue will become an important distinction between those who love God and those who rebel against Him during the outpouring of God’s judgments. The Ten Commandments are nonnegotiable. They stand, as one unit representing the revealed will of God. The Ten Commandments were written on two tables of stone because they are based on two enduring principles – love for God and love for man. The first four commandments explain how we are to love God. The last six commandments explain how we are to love our neighbor. One more point: Maturity in Christ begins when we acknowledge the claims of God’s law upon our life. Then, realizing our great weakness, we place our faith in Jesus so that we can fulfill His law through His indwelling power. Paul knew all the Ten Commandments were intact. He said: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what is was to covet if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet.” (Romans 7:7)

James wrote: “If you really keep the royal law found in the Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right! But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the laws as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.” (James 2:8-11)

James brings us to an important and fundamental conclusion regarding the royal law, or the King’s law. He says we must obey all the commandments. If we break any of them, we are guilty of breaking them all, because the King’s law is only fulfilled through love. We must first love God with all our heart, mind and soul and then, our neighbor as ourselves. How should we express our love for God? Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  (John 14:15)

Keeping the Sabbath holy will not save anyone. Mandating Saturday laws will not save anyone either! This is why the final exam for the human race is carefully designed to test our relationship with Jesus. The basis for salvation is faith. Faith is doing what God requires at any cost. Since eternal life comes only through faith, and since every means of human survival will be removed in the future, you and I will need great faith in god in order to remain loyal to Him! If it seems hard to obey God now, what will it be like then?

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