Remember some of the writings of the Apostle Paul were hard to understand,So we need to be careful so as not to let our preconcieved ideas get in the way of the truth and go astray.
What are these �works of the law�? What was Paul talking
about?
Most so-called Christian ministers, preachers, and teachers claim that these �works� refer
to the commandments of the law of Moses � the entire Law of God given to Israel at Mount
Sinai � including the Ten Commandments, statutes, judgments, as well as the Temple rituals and
ceremonies of the Law.
But is this assumption true? Just what teaching is the apostle Paul countering in the letter
to the Galatians? Who was the enemy? What were they teaching? Was Paul condemning those
who taught the laws of God, the Ten Commandments, should be obeyed?
The Church Council of Acts 15
The Law which the legalistic Pharisees tried to bind on the brethren was called �the Law
of Moses.� We read that a great controversy arose in the New Testament Church which involved
the �law of Moses� and the matter of �circumcision.� Luke wrote in Acts, chapter 15, �But
some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up� � these were Pharisees who believed
Jesus was the Messiah � �saying, �It is necessary to circumcise them [Gentiles], and to command
them to keep the law of Moses� (Acts 15:5). What was the real problem here?
In verse 6 we read, �Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.�
After much discussion, the apostles ruled that God had given the Holy Spirit to Gentiles who
believed on Christ, �and made no distinction between us and them [Jews and Gentiles], purifying
their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a YOKE on the neck of the
disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the
GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they� (Acts 15:5-11).
Let's understand this! These Pharisees were arguing that Gentiles, in order to be saved,
had to be physically circumcised, and to �convert� to Judaism! They claimed that Gentiles had
to become �physical Jews� by undergoing the rite of circumcision, as well as baptism, and come
under the obligation to obey all Jewish religious law � the whole �law of Moses,� which, in that
day, included the observation of all the Jewish �halachah� � the rules and restrictions added by
generations of Rabbis from the time of Ezra down to the very day of the apostles! This included
all the minutiae, and detailed 39 laws of �Sabbath� restrictions, and washings and the �traditions
of the elders� � things which were a �YOKE,� in the words of the apostle Peter! (Acts 15:10).
Paul speaks of it as a �yoke of bondage� in Galatians 5:1.
In other words, the Pharisee believers were teaching that Gentiles had to become �Jews�
first, before they could become �Christians�! They had to first convert to Judaism, and only then
could they become acknowledged as believers in Christ! They had to obey ALL the Jewish legal
requirements established by generations of Rabbis, and their interpretations of the fine points of
the Torah, and Jewish tradition!
But Christ Himself had already ruled on these points, in actuality. The Pharisees accused
His disciples of breaking the law of Moses by transgressing the �traditions of the elders�
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(Matt.15:1-2). However, Jesus hurled their accusation back into their own teeth, saying, �Why
do you also transgress the law of God by your tradition?� (verse 3). He went on to say, �Thus
you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition� (v.6).
In other words, the Jews over time had added so many �halachic� principles and rules, in
their legislation, in interpreting the Law of Moses, that they had strayed from the very Law itself
and had developed a legal system which, in reality, was contrary to and in violation of the spirit
of the original Torah, or law of God!
The argument, then, was not over the law of God itself � called the �law of Moses� in the
Scriptures, because it was first codified and laid out in full during the time of Moses, and through
the revelation God gave to His servant Moses (see Ezra 7:6, 10). It was over the �traditions� the
Pharisees added to the Law, and their perversions of the Law!
Now, let us continue the story in Acts 15. After considering this matter fully, the apostles
decided that the Pharisaical believers were dead wrong! Conversion to Judaism, indicated by
requiring Gentile believers to be circumcised and keep the entire law of Moses (including the
traditions of the elders), was NOT necessary for salvation!
But notice. After making this fundamental, paramount decision, the apostles then
decided to write a general letter to the Gentile believers throughout the Roman Empire, a very
pointed epistle. James, the brother of Christ, and the apostle over the Jerusalem church,
declared, �Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are
turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual
immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many
generations those who preach him in every city, BEING READ IN THE SYNAGOGUES EVERY
SABBATH DAY� (Acts 15:19-21).
What is this? Why did James stress only these commandments? Was he ignoring or
neglecting the laws against murder, stealing, taking God�s name in vain, coveting, bearing false
witness, Sabbath breaking � many of the very Ten Commandments? Of course not! When we
read this entire passage IN CONTEXT, we see that first of all, James is singling out specific
issues which Gentile brethren would be confronted with in their local communities! In Gentile
society, in those days, idolatrous pollutions were rampant, sexual immorality and promiscuity
were also very commonplace, and meats containing blood � improperly killed � were the norm.
God forbids His people to get involved in any sort of idol worship, sexual promiscuity, and His
dietary laws were the first thing He stressed to ancient Israel as to how they were to be
�different� from Gentile nations � how they were to be �holy� and set apart as a holy nation unto
God (Lev.7:27; 11:1-47). Since these things were so common in Gentile society, James felt it
advisable to give special prominence to warning the Gentile brethren to avoid these sorts of
contaminations and spiritual pollutions.
But notice, now! James went on to explain WHY it was unnecessary to mention all the
other laws of God, which also should be observed, because, as he said, these other laws were
already being preached EVERY SABBATH DAY, in the synagogues throughout the Empires,
which both converted Jews and Gentiles were then attending!
Spiritual deception is a very serious issue to God. That's why in Scripture He lays down the truth and reproves anything contrary to it. The Greek word translated "reproof" in 2 Timothy 3:16 means to rebuke or confront someone regarding misconduct or false teaching.
If you have a thorough grasp of Scripture, you have a standard by which to measure all teaching. Then you can easily recognize false doctrine and avoid spiritual deception. That's what John had in mind when he said, "I have written to you, [spiritual] young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one" (1 John 2:14).
False religions will always attempt to distort Scripture because they must eliminate God's truth before they can justify their own lies. Beware of their subtleties, and be strong in God's Word.
Suggestions for Prayer:
�Thank the Lord for protecting you from spiritual deception.
�Pray for anyone you may know who has fallen victim to false teaching. Take every opportunity to impart God's truth to them.
For Further Study:
Read 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15. How did Paul describe false teachers?
Haha...that was funny...I still think it's also funny that a baptist influenced my church into keeping the 7th sabbath. What do you say to 7th-day baptists? They don't have a "prophet", so therefore they can't be a cult right? Anyway. We know sin by the law. Breaking the law in one point makes you guilty of all. But apparently the 4th commandment is "ok" to break. We get to pick which day because we're under the "spirit" of the law. Ok then...so I don't have to honor my parents...I could just honor somebody else's parents and it would be ok? I could bear false witness against somebody as long as they aren't my "neighbor"? I could commit adultery as long as I went to another state to do it? Anyway...those are pretty ridiculous...but I have to agree with Beef. Where does Jesus change it? Shouldn't He have said something? Hmm....well, I guess I'll be safe and just do what Jesus did for His whole life...that'll work...can't go wrong there. So go ahead and tell me that the 4th commandment is gone, and I'll ask...what would Jesus do?
3. Is Sabbath versus Sunday the end-time deciding issue? - The New Testament never describes the Sabbath as the one great issue that will divide the true believers from the false believers. If the Sabbath was indeed such a profound issue, such a "life-or-death" matter of eternal consequence, then why did Jesus and the Apostles say nothing of its importance?
Paul told Christians not to judge eachother regarding the keeping of the Sabbath (Col. 2:16) or any other day they decide to keep holy:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Rom. 14:5 NIV)
In the book of Romans Paul had the perfect opportunity to explain to the world the profound importance of keeping Saturday as a holy day. He could have let the early Christians know how important this day was to God and how critical it was that they keep it holy because their eternal safety depended upon the choice they made regarding the Sabbath. He could have said all that. But he did not. Why? Was it because God wanted us to figure out the most profound issue in Christianity on our own, without any help or guidance from His Word? Or was it because the writers of the Bible were uninspired and had no idea this would become an issue at the end of time? Of course not!
It is absurd to think that such a critical decision--a decision upon which hinges the eternal destination of the Christian believer--would be met with silence in the New Testament. Every student knows that when a teacher has an important point to make to his students, he reiterates that point over and over again. Jesus and the Apostles were the greatest teachers this world has ever seen. The points they repeatedly emphasized were:
Love
Grace
Forgiveness
Mercy
Doing good to others
Faith
Salvation
Return of Christ
Dangers of legalism
These subjects are repeated over and over again in the New Testament. What about the necessity of keeping Sabbath as a holy day? It is never mentioned in the New Testament, not even once. And yet are we to believe this is the single-most important issue that is supposed to decide the fate of humanity?
4. Adventist end-time theology all boils down to this: Those who keep Sabbath go to heaven, and the rest get burned in hell fire. This is a species of legalism. It makes the Sabbath, instead of grace or salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the most important end-time issue. It takes the focus off of Jesus and puts the focus on works of the flesh. Any Christian can tell you that what day you go to church on does not make you a Christian in any way, shape, or form. A man may go to church on Saturday, but his heart may be filled with hatred, adultery, and every kind of evil. Another man may go to church on Sunday but his heart may be filled with love, kindness, faith, and the grace of God. The external act of keeping a day holy is not a "sign" or "mark" of true Christianity. The "sign" of true Christianity is having Jesus in your heart and loving others:
Well dudes....go ahead and worship on whatever sabbath you want. I still think we should be worshiping on God's sabbath... not yours....not mine....God's Sabbath. The sabbath is NOT the sign in the last days. IT IS NOT THE SIGN. The SIGN is keeping ALL the commandments. ALL of them. Not 8....not 9....ALL 10. Well...actually it's a lot more then 10...those are the main ones. But because most churches do keep all the commandments but one...the 4th commandment will be a distinguishing factor at the end. It is the one everyone forgets. If Catholics suddenly decided to keep Saturday instead of Sunday, they would still not be part of the remnant at the end. They have to keep ALL the commandments. No idols! And I'm not talking about now. Now it's all good. Everyone in every church that truly believes the light they have will be saved. What I mean by that is they will be living a pattern of true submission to God, even if they don't know what they are doing is wrong. If God would point out their error, they would change. It's an attitude we all should be living with. But at the end God will shake His people out of confusion(meaning they were in confusion at one point), into a remnant church that does not exist yet. At the end, He will make His will clear to His believers and the ones that do not change will not be in heaven. They will choose to continue in unbelief and they will be cut off. It makes perfect sense to me. And the only reason my church "focuses" the most on this one thing...is because we believe SO MANY have been deceived. Sure you're fine now...the test is at the end. But don't you want to be ready for it?
