Dear Louis and Rodney, This is a disturbing article on your website [referring to an article about the Sabbath]…The darkness of this world is growing, the Christian world is shrinking and loosening. I have been to many Christian churches and most of them teach and follow the same false teachings like [the article]. Shall we follow G-d and our Saviour Jesus Christ or any ignorant and deceiving men? As simple as a child, when we read cited verses, we know that Christ Jesus abolished not the Law. Sabbath keeping is one of the Law that last forever. Sabbath Worshiping is the commanded sacred worship service from our G-d. Return and repent from all false teachings and ask for His forgiveness. Let us make a simple and straight choice and submission to our G-d: obey and follow Him and His commandments. Hope that the evil one will not deceive you or blind you to not Love our G-d as He commanded. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes and ears to see and hear His Voice.
Sixty-six books comprise the Bible, and they were written by about 40 different divinely inspired penmen across approximately 1,600 years. Thirty-nine of those Bible books are in the Old Testament, and the remaining 27 books are in the New Testament portion of the Bible. Two different, God-given law systems appear in the Old Testament: Patriarchy (a family-type religion) and Judaism (a national religion); another or third God-given law system is in the New Testament: Christianity (a universal religion).
It is no wonder, then, that the apostle Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV). Another translation renders the verse, “…handling aright the word of truth” (ASV). The student of God’s Word must distinguish between the Old Testament and the New Testament. One must know the difference between Patriarchy, Judaism and Christianity, or the difference between family religion, national religion and universal religion.
Several New Testament passages demonstrate that the Old Testament, though the foundation and forerunner of the New Testament, has been replaced by the New Testament. While Jesus did not “destroy the Law” or Old Testament, He did “fulfill” it (Matthew 5:17 NKJV). It was always God’s intention to replace the Old Testament Law with the New Testament. Notice the Old Testament prophecy and the corresponding New Testament fulfillment regarding the New Testament replacing the Old Testament.
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:7-13)
Consequently, the Old Law or the Old Testament has been replaced with the New Testament. The Old Law or Old Testament has been “abolished” (Ephesians 2:15) and “wiped out…taken out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Since the cross of Jesus Christ, mankind has “been delivered from the law” (Romans 7:6). The next verse describes that law from which man has been delivered by citing the Ten Commandments. Man, today, no longer looks to the Old Testament—not even to the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament—for religious instruction. The Old Testament remains valuable and useful (Romans 15:4) but not for instructing anyone concerning Christianity.
Whereas directly or indirectly perhaps nine of the original Ten Commandments have been reinstituted in the New Testament, to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8) has not been repeated in the New Testament. Instead, the first day of the week rather than the seventh day of the week is designated in the New Testament for the obligatory day on which to worship God weekly (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). In addition, Jesus arose from the grave and, later, the Lord’s church came into existence on the first day of the week.
Keeping the Sabbath involved much more than worship (e.g., travel restrictions), and it included the sacrifice of animals in worship. No one claiming to be a Christian actually keeps the Sabbath today. Anyone who attempts to keep any portion of the Old Law today is “estranged from Christ” and “fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4).
