The
Faith of Jesus
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Love is the basis of
salvation. The two commandments Jesus spoke of in
Matthew 22 are clearly spelled out in the Ten
Commandments. The meaning of love is not left to
human definition. In fact, the word
“love” today commonly means sex, lust
or passion. What a perversion! Jesus came from
heaven to correct human understanding on this
point. According to Jesus, true love produces
obedience! “Whoever has my commands and
obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too
will love him and show myself to him…If
anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching…He
who does not love me will not obey my
teaching…” (John 14:21-24)
Satan has obscured the
importance of the first four commandments from
most of the world. He has especially cloaked the
fourth commandment, which contains divine
instruction on worship, in darkness. Satan’s
purpose for doing this is quite simple. If people
forget their Creator, they will turn to other
gods, for man needs a god of some kind. Man needs
something to look up to – something to
worship. We were created with this need.
Moreover, if man forgets his Creator, he creates
his own god(s).
Satan has had enormous
success in displacing the Creator with man-made
gods. The trumpets will correct this. People from
all over the globe will be awakened to the
knowledge of the true, living and omnipotent God!
The everlasting gospel will contain a clarion
call to worship the Creator on His holy
day.
Review the fourth
commandment and notice the following:
- The
seventh day of the week is holy because
Jesus rested on the seventh day to
commemorate the creation of the world! He
made the seventh day uniquely different
from the other six at creation! (Genesis
2:2,3)
- The
seventh day alone is holy. The other six
days are for our use and work.
- Knowing
that Satan would lead the world to forget
the Sabbath, Jesus begins the fourth
command-ment with, “Remember.”
But
the law of God was nailed to the cross
If you ask most
Christians about the Ten Commandments, they will
admit that nine of the ten are valid and
important. It is against God’s law to steal,
kill, commit adultery, curse god or worship
idols. In fact, most of the Christian world is
comfortable with nine of the Ten Commandments and
readily acknowledge that they are the basis of
morality. However, ask most Christians about the
fourth commandment and you will suddenly hear
that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the
cross and are not binding.
It is the author’s
opinion that lawlessness abounds in America for
this simple reason. For two hundred years
Protestant, clerics have taught that the Ten
Commandments of God are not binding. If we would
reason from cause to effect, we would realize the
hopeless state in which our society finds itself
is due to the practice of this very doctrine.
Where there is no law, there is no safety or
harmony. The alternative is chaos, death,
suffering and evil of every sort.
Many Christians cannot
reconcile the simultaneous harmony between law
and grace. They, however, do exist and
harmoniously relate. We need grace because there
is a law. If there were no law, grace would not
be needed! In fact, if there is no law, there can
be no sin! See Romans 4:15 and 1 John 3: 4-6. In
addition, grace does not do away with the law
either! (Romans 3:31) If a judge grants a speeder
grace so that he does not have to pay a speeding
fine, does this mean the speed limit is
eliminated?
In practice, the harmony
of law and grace is easy to understand if you are
married. When two people are united in love,
there are certain non-negotiable rules that must
be followed. Faithfulness is one such rule.
Therefore, it is with our Creator. If we love
Him, we will abide by His non-negotiable rules.
These are known as the Ten Commandments.
Different
people
People may be grouped
into a variety of categories concerning the Law
of God.
- There
are people ignorant of the requirements
of God’s law. These have not had
sufficient reason or opportunity to know
and inquire about God’s will.
- There
are people who are negligent or careless
about God’s law. These people know
about God’s law, but pursuit of
earthy things make religious interest and
practice a low priority.
- There
are those who observe the law as a ritual
necessary for salvation. These people
think they keep the law and feel
justified by their assumed righteousness.
Being technically right is very important
to these people.
- There
are people who believe there is no
defined or implicit law. These people do
not believe the Ten Commandments are
necessary or binding today. Many
Christians hold this to be true without
realizing the consequence of what they
believe. When pressed on this matter,
most Christians admit that nine of the
Ten Commandments should be lived by.
- There
are people who openly and defiantly rebel
against God’s law. These do not want
to know God and do not care what He says.
- There
are people seeking to know God and
sincerely want to live in harmony with
the principles of God’s law. These
are willing to go, to be and do all that
God asks.
This last group lives by
faith. They realize that the law of God is based
on two great principles: love to God and love to
man. The first four commandments show our love to
god and the last six reveal our love to man.
These obey the commandments of Jesus out of
gratitude and love for His salvation. They
well know that obedience does not merit or bring
salvation.
There is a two-step
process to harmonizing the life with the law of
God. First, a person must realize that he cannot
save himself through obedience to the law and
that inherently, our nature is attracted to sin
and lawlessness. This is why we need grace-for
all have sinned. Secondly, those willing to live
by faith recognize that Jesus alone can transform
our sinful nature. By opening our minds and
hearts to the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit,
we receive power to be overcomers. Sinners become
saints through this miraculous process! Using an
analogy, it means we must be born again every
day.
The
final exam is a test of faith
Jesus has carefully
designed the final exam of earth. By allowing
Satan and his forces to gain control of the world
for a short time, He will see who has the faith
to be obedient!
Consider the issues
carefully. Circumstances will be so desperate
that obeying Jesus will be impossible except by
faith! In other words, those who render obedience
to Jesus will only be able to do so through faith
in His promises. This is why John identified the
remnant as follows, “Then the dragon was
enraged at the woman and went off to make war
against the rest of her offspring – those
who obey God’s commandments and hold to the
testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17)
The
third angel
However, if you still
have doubts that John was talking about the Ten
Commandments when he described the remnant, look
at the last message given to the world. John
says, “A third angel followed them (the
first two angels) and said in a loud voice:
‘If anyone worships the beast and his image
and receives the mark on the forehead or the
hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of
God’s fury, which has been poured full
strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be
tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of
the holy angels and of the Lamb…’ This
calls for patient endurance on the part of the
saints who obey God’s commandments and
remain faithful to Jesus.” (Revelation
14:9-12)
These verses contain the
most solemn threat ever presented to the human
race. The issue is worship! This message will
sound when Satan appears on earth in person. This
message is specifically focused on the lamb-like
beast. Notice the following points:
- If
any man worships (submits to) the beast
that sets up the image (the lamb-like
beast), he will be tormented with burning
sulfur in the presence of the Lamb of
God!
- If
anyone receives the mark or permit or
worships the image (the one-world
confederation), he will receive
God’s wrath full strength!
- Those
refusing to worship Satan must be patient
in their suffering. They are identified
as obeying God’s commandments and
remaining faithful to Jesus.
Of the Ten Commandments,
only one deals with worship in an external way.
Satan knows this and for the reason he has led
the world into worshiping on days other than the
Lord’s day. According to the Bible, the
Lord’s day is Saturday. Jesus said, “…the
Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
(Mark 2:28) Many Christians mistakenly think that
Sunday is the Lord’s day even though the
Bible never says the first day of the week is the
Lord’s day.
Reasons
to worship on Sunday?
There is no scriptural
support for Sunday worship as Catholics and
Protestants claim, neither is there support for
Friday worship as Islam claims. When Protestant
America makes and enforces laws regarding the
sacredness of Sunday to appease God, America will
quickly from national apostasy to national ruin.
During the trumpets, this nation will enact laws
enforcing worship on Sunday, a day that is
clearly and openly defiant to the law of God
Almighty! At this time, clerics will use certain
scriptures to deceive people into thinking that
worship on Sunday is scriptural. Here are the
texts they will use:
Some will refer to Acts
20 for evidence that the apostles practiced
Sunday worship. Notice, “On the first day
of the week we came together to break bread, Paul
spoke to the people and, because he intended to
leave the next day, kept on talking until
midnight.” (Acts 20:7)
Note: In the
Bible, a day begins at evening and ends at
evening. Since creation, this has been an
unchanging process. See Genesis 1:5. The Jews
also regarded a day from evening to evening and
kept the Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday
sundown. See Luke 23:50-56 and Leviticus 23:32.
The timing described in
Acts 20:7 is as follows: Paul stayed with the
believers at Troas for seven days. (Acts 20:6) On
the evening of the first day of the week, at
suppertime, the believers came together to eat
supper with Paul and to say good-bye. The first
day of the week in Paul’s time began
Saturday evening. Paul preached until midnight
and he journeyed to Assos the following morning
that was Sunday morning.
Therefore, Paul met with
believers on Saturday night to eat supper and say
good-bye. Does this change or abrogate the fourth
commandment of God?
Some Christians argue
that Paul insists that offering for the poor be
taken on the first day of the week. Notice: “Now
about the collection for God’s people: Do
what I told the Galatians churches to do. On
the first day of the week, each one of you should
set aside a sum of money in keeping with his
income, saving it up, so that when I come no
collections will have to be made. Then, when I
arrive, I will give letters of introduction to
the men you approve and send them with your gift
to Jerusalem.” (1 Corinthians 16:1-3)
In Paul’s day, money
was not a common medium of exchange as it is
today. Most trading was done with barter; i.e., a
person traded a chicken or something for cloth or
pottery. Paul instructed the church in Corinth to
begin each week by setting a sum of money so that
when he came to them, they would have money to
send to the persecuted believers in Jerusalem.
Paul would not be able to travel with roosters,
goats, pottery and other things of value. Again,
the question is asked, “does Paul’s
instruction change or abrogate the fourth
commandment of God?”
Some Christians suggest
that worship on Sunday is proper because Jesus
arose from the dead on Sunday morning, the first
day of the week. Yes, the resurrection is
important, and the Bible does provide a
celebration of the resurrection! Its called
baptism. Notice what Paul says, “What
shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so
that grace may increase? By no means! We died to
sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or
don’t you know that all of us who were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? We were therefore buried with him
through baptism into death in order that just as
Christ was raised from the death through the
glory of the father, we too may live a new
life.” (Romans 6:1-4)
Does baptism change or
abrogate the fourth commandment? Not at all. In
fact, only eight texts in the New Testament
mentions the first day of the week and not one of
them say that the sacredness of the seventh day
was transferred to Sunday!
What
was nailed to the cross?
Many Christians argue
that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the
cross. Yet, this does not solve the problem.
Whatever happens to the fourth commandment
happens to the other nine! So, what was nailed to
the cross? Only the ceremonies of the sanctuary
services that were a shadow of the heavenly
sanctuary were nailed to the cross. The key word
is “shadow.” Notice what Paul
said to the believers in Colosse, “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 canceled 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. Don’t let
anyone who delights in false humility and worship
of angels disqualify you for the
prize….” (Colossians 2:9-18)
If you will look at these
verses carefully, you will see that Paul is
talking about the regulations regarding religious
feasts, New Moon observances and Sabbath days.
The Sabbath days that Paul is talking about are
not found in the Ten Commandments. Rather, the
term Sabbath days here applies to Sabbath
“feasts” days such as the Passover or
Day of Atonement. See Leviticus 16:31, 23:26-32.
These feast days fell on different days of the
week (like your birthday) because they occurred
on the same date each year. When a feast day and
the seventh day simultaneously occurred, it was a
special holy day! The death of Jesus
incidentally, took place on such an occasion. The
Passover in A.D. 30 occurred on the seventh-day
Sabbath that year! See Mark 15:42-47 and John
19:14.
The Jews confused the law
of God with the law of Moses much like we do
today. Even though one set of laws was written by
the finger of God, and the other, by the hand of
man, the Jews never did understand the
relationship between the laws.
Note: The lesser
law of Moses, containing the ceremonial rules,
was kept in a pocket on the side of the ark,
while the Ten Commandments were kept inside the
ark. (Deuteronomy 10:1,2 31:26) After a
permanent temple was erected in Jerusalem, the
law of Moses were not kept in the pocket on the
ark and consequently, they were lost for a while!
(2 Kings 23:2)
The Jews loved to argue
about the laws. An expert lawyer even challenged
Jesus with a test to see which law was the
greatest. (Matthew 22:34-40) As said before, the
Jews misunderstood the purpose of the laws and as
a result, spiritually degenerated into a great
legal system of darkness. (Matthew 23:2-15)
When Paul began to
explain the purposes behind the laws, and show
distinction between them, you can understand the
Jewish lawyers’ intense hatred for him. When
Paul claimed that ceremonial laws were now
meaningless, this was too much! He was captured
and eventually died in prison for his
convictions. (Acts 21: 27-36) Paul was very
explicit. The laws that were nailed to the cross
were shadows of the real thing. The
ceremonial laws requiring the sacrifice of lambs
were no longer necessary because the Lamb of God
had died and the shadow was fulfilled. In other
words, ceremonial laws were temporary until their
meaning was fulfilled. Consider Paul’s
dilemma. How could he get the Jews to cease doing
something they had been doing for 1,800 years? We
have seen the dilemma. How can we get Christians
to worship on Saturday when Sunday observance has
been going on for 1,800 years?
Paul is very clear in
Hebrews 10 and Galatians 3 that the ceremonies
never brought salvation in the first place;
rather, they were temporary and were designed to
teach us about salvation! Paul wrote the book of
Hebrews about 33 years after Jesus returned to
heaven and he is very clear that the seventh day
Sabbath of the Ten Commandments is to be
observed. Paul says, “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) In fact, all through his life, Paul
faithfully observed the seventh day Sabbath.
(Acts 13:44, 16:13, 17:2. 18:4,11)
Can’t
break one commandment
If we take the position
that Jesus nailed the fourth commandment to the
cross, then He nailed nine others there too.
Whatever we do with the fourth commandment, we
must do with the other nine. If we choose to
ignore the fourth commandment, we must ignore the
other nine. John wrote the epistle bearing his
name (1 John) about 70 years after the ascension
of Jesus. He did not believe the Ten Commandments
had been done away with. He says, “We
know that we have come to know him (Jesus) if we
obey his commands. The man who says ‘I know
him,’ but does not do what he commands is a
liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone
obeys his word, God’s love is truly made
complete in him. This is how we know we are in
him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as
Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3-6)
James wrote, “If
you keep the royal law found in Scripture,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you
are doing right! But if you show favoritism, you
sin and are convicted by the law 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, the Ten Commandments of God. He
says we must obey all the commandments. If we
break one, were guilty of breaking them all
because the King’s law is only fulfilled by
love. We must first love God with all our heart,
mind and soul and then our fellowman as
ourselves.
Keeping the Sabbath will
not save anyone. This is why the final test is
carefully designed to test faith. Will you have
the faith to obey God and keep His Sabbath holy?
Summary
Solomon summed up the
issues of life. He said, “Now all
has been heard: here is the conclusion of the
matter; Fear God and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring
every deed into judgment, including every hidden
thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes
12:13,14)
Therefore, here is the
conclusion. Those who love Jesus will obey Him
and keep His commandments even though Satan
arrays the whole world in opposition. The
observance of the seventh day Sabbath will be the
object through which the supreme test of love and
faith for Jesus will come. This test will expose
those who love Jesus enough to live by faith.
This test will separate the entire world into two
camps: Those worshiping the lamb-like beast and
those worshiping The Lamb of God. Think about it.
This test puts an entirely new meaning on the
concept that eternal life comes by faith! Do you
have the enough faith in God to obey Him at any
cost? Where will you stand?
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