Saturday 21 August 2010

How does the law on the Sabbath stand in the light of the cross?

An answer to a comment left below

It is my opinion that the covenant with Abraham and the Covenant with Moses have been accomplished in Christ. What is greater has come and their purpose is fulfilled.

Ephesians 2:13;16
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

The dividing wall here is the law, which divides Jew from Gentile.

Galatians 3:19 (English Standard Version)
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.


Jesus was the offspring, the promise was to Abraham and Moses was the intermediary. Here we learn something that is not in the Old Testament, that the law was given to Moses by angels. But God gave the first ten laws directly, they were written in stone by his finger and we know them as the moral law. Are they outside what Paul sees as being abolished?

Romans 7:5-6 (English Standard Version)
For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Paul goes on to use one of the Ten Commandments on covetousness to justify his point. Paul teaches that we are free from the whole law, to the Jew the whole law was one; the division into moral and ceremonial and societal law is a later interpretation of scholars.

Paul takes his authority from the teaching of Jesus. Jesus is a greater authority than Moses. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus sets aside the religiosity of Israel so that he could affirm the truth of the Gospel; believe in Jesus and you will inherit eternal life (John 3:16).
But, does Jesus contradict himself?

Luke 10:25-28 (English Standard Version)
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live."

These are the defining statements of the law taken from the law itself. Do they offer an alternative way of salvation? Only if, Jesus is not LORD. Jesus changes the entire interpretation of the law without changing a word as he himself is revealed to be the righteousness they point to. Jesus was angry with the way the Law was being used so that the salvation they promised was being missed, Matthew 23:4 (English Standard Version) They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. This is warning to us also who have the Gospel.

Clearly Jesus’ teaching would be disquieting for the orthodox Jews as he was setting aside their traditions, their answers to the requirements of the law, but this was because they did not see who he was; they did not recognise him as LORD. If they had they would have understood him to have the authority.

Jesus made it clear that nothing in the written code had changed or would change when he taught in Matthew 5:17-19 (English Standard Version)
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”


The Law and the Prophets cannot be altered; their purpose is they are to be fulfilled. If our interpretation is good we fulfil them, if it is bad we abolish them making them worthless and leading people away from life. The Law will remain for a long time and will not alter in any way until it has been accomplished. If they had known the Father rightly they would have seen that Jesus was the fulfilment of the law. In him is the completion of the revelation; he is the pinnacle of God’s revelation of himself; he is the righteousness they promise. In Christ there is someone of greater authority than King David and Moses. The revelation of Christ is the final word.
In Christ the Law is fulfilled, not abolished but glorified. Christ is all righteousness; he is truth. In Christ his righteousness becomes our righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is beyond that of the Pharisees and even the least of those in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John and all the Prophets (Matthew 11:11). Justification is not by the Law but faith in Jesus Christ. The Law now has no power to justify or curse and the great in the Kingdom of Heaven keep the Law and teach others to do so. In the Gospel Jesus shows his disciples how to handle the commandments, how to do them and teach them in the light of what Christ has accomplished on the cross. In Acts, the letters and Revelation we see how the Holy Spirit works out this Gospel.

The Covenant of Moses and the Covenant of Abraham are so important and are fulfilled in the cross which sets aside a Holy People; Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 (English Standard Version)
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The sacrifices were the means by which the people could be forgiven and approach a Holy God and be holy; they sanctified the people. The food laws kept them pure, and the ceremonial laws ensured propriety in worship. The foolishness of the cross fulfilled all these and they are glorified in the Christ the only way to the Father in whom we can draw near to the Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:14;6) and enter the Holy of Holies. All the requirements of the law are fulfilled in Christ, in fact the apostles would only advise practices to the Gentiles,

Acts 15:28-29 (English Standard Version)
“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

The covenant with Moses is complete, as we are purified in Christ and the law is fulfilled. Is this not the meaning of the first miracle in the gospel of John when Jesus changes the water for purification into wine? Was Jesus pointing to the purification that was his blood remembered by the sharing of the cup when we come together. Circumcision as the mark of the covenant with Abraham is now ended as the seed, Jesus has come and the covenant is fulfilled. Paul says,

Galatians 5:2 (English Standard Version) Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.

So what of the Sabbath? The question has to be and can only be, how should it be practised and taught in the light of the revelation of Christ. How is the Sabbath to be taught in the light of Christ, his death and resurrection? How are we to interpret the law so that it is fulfilled?
Let us hear Jesus.

Mark 2:27 (English Standard Version) And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:12 (English Standard Version) “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 11:28-30 (English Standard Version) “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The yoke is Jesus’ teachings and the burden is the requirements of his interpretation.

Matthew 12:6-8 (English Standard Version) “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."

Remember Sabbath breaking was punishable by death.

John 5:16-17 (English Standard Version) And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Let us listen to the Spirit.

Hebrews 4:9-10 (English Standard Version) So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Acts 2:46-47 (English Standard Version) And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Romans 14:5-6 (English Standard Version) One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honour of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

These scriptures are the yoke and burden of Christ. They demonstrate how Christians are to approach the law and fulfil it.

Colossians 2:16-17 (English Standard Version) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus so no one is discounted because of their practice of the law. We are called to a higher righteousness and we live in “the rest” of God every day. Making one day holy is a step backwards in my opinion. In Christ we have a new covenant that fulfils the law in a new way and we await the accomplishment of some of the prophecies. The sign of the New Covenant is the breaking of bread and more specifically the sharing of the cup. This we are to do whenever we feel it right and on any day. (Matt 26:27, Mark 11:24, Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:26)

Jesus’ teaching on the Sabbath is that it was created for man and that the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments was a day when good was to be done as any other day. Some would say that Jesus’ expectation was that it would continue to be observed as in Matthew 24:20 he prays that the destruction of the temple would not happen on a Sabbath. Of course Jesus was right, Sabbath observation would continue in Israel after Jesus’ death.

The teaching of Jesus then leaves us with the purpose in the Sabbath and the festivals; it is good for people to rest one day in seven. Christians do not keep Sabbaths as holy days as this would be part of the covenant of Moses; all days are holy. However it is good that men rest after 6 days of work. Isaiah 58 puts the breaking of the Sabbath as a sign of injustice. Isaiah speaks of the unjust fast that leaves the weak and the poor suffering and calls Israel to do justice in drawing near to God and concludes with a call to rededication to the Sabbath. In fact this is set in the context of the prophecy Isaiah brings of a new covenant, a covenant of peace which Jesus’ words in Matthew 11: 28-30 echo in calling us to be faithful to his teaching and application.

Isaiah 55:1
“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.

Indeed Jesus wants us and all mankind to benefit from this new covenant of peace.

Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2 and Revelation 10 attest to the fact that some Christians met regularly on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, but nowhere in the plain reading of scripture is this an ordinance to replace the Jewish Sabbath day for Christians. This was done because the first day was the day Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 16:9). People gathered to break bread and to remember as they did on any other day available, but it wasn’t until it became Roman law that they were able to observe it as a day of rest.

In my opinion, misguided church authorities formalised this practice in the 4th Century, which, in their reading of Church government, had to be imposed. It was the day Constantine had set aside from 7th March 321 for rest and for the worship of the sun god whose birthday by the way was 25th December, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday of the unconquered sun." which allowed the Romans to worship Elah-Gabal the Syrian god and Mithras. This is part of the story of the syncretism of the Roman Church which has given us Sunday as our day of rest and Christmas. The equivalent today would be for Christians to combine Diwali and Eid-Al-Adha into a Mid Winter Festival and have a three day weekend to accommodate Jewish, Christian and Moslem days of rest. I would consider this a mistake!

Making Sunday a day of worship is not biblically sanctioned. The church authorities would have done well to have read Galatians 4:10-11 and taken it to heart.

Galatians 4:10-11 (English Standard Version) You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have laboured over you in vain.

They did not and, as their decision is part of their tradition not the teaching of Jesus, I am not bound by it and because of Christ I am released from it.

It is good that Christians still are able to rest because of Roman Catholic tradition on a Sunday and worship together. When they interpret the law in this way I feel they are fulfilling the law. Families are able to be together and society is in order. It is a bad thing when people judge others who need to work on a Sunday. It is a sad thing when we lose perspective and start creating Sunday laws which I believe is poor interpretation and so abolishes the law of Jesus.

Sunday, or one day in seven, should be special in a secular sense because it enables society to function and is just. What people need to see is families being together and worshipping God, proclaiming his death and resurrection through the breaking of bread and sharing their lives and Jesus’ teaching on any or every day. Christianity should affect every day of the week; look what we create through our lack of diligence, Sunday Christians! However the issue of keeping Sunday special is an issue of Justice in the UK.

We should pray for our brothers and sisters who have no opportunity to rest one whole day in seven or ever some of whom ear he poorest in our midst, aliens doing the most menial tasks. We should not judge those only able to worship on a Friday in Moslem countries or a Saturday in Israel. But we should all meet as often as possible and as we are able.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (English Standard Version) And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The observation of a personal Sabbath is essential to our wellbeing in Christ; it is good to carry around with us a sense of the Spirit working in us the benefits of Sabbath, and we should ensure that this is possible and the practicalities and disciplines that enable this are hedged around as vital. It is so important that we work from the knowledge of the Peace won for us in Christ Jesus. Take every opportunity afforded by a day of rest or time of solitude to find God in this way.

Phillipians 4: 4-7 (ESV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Only Way to the Father

In the Trinity, the Son loves the Father and gives himself fully to the Father. This love is like a stream of living water poured out one to another. Love in God is perfected in the Son pouring his love out to the Father; the father begets the Son eternally and this love is eternally breathed out in the Spirit who pours his love into the Father and the Son, each emptying themselves for the other.
Truly the Son is revealed as the Lamb slain from the beginning, as in creation the way to the Father is through the Son and love is perfected in the Son pouring himself out for the Father.
The Son’s incarnation in time is the fulfilment of God’s purpose in creation, to dwell with his people. It will be completed in time on the last day. God’s love is glorified in this. The incarnation of Christ is the expression of the eternal love of the Son for the Father.
In creation, the work of the Spirit is to magnify God and awaken love for the Father through the Son. The suffering of the Lamb is at the heart of God in his self giving. It is the sin of Adam that reveals the Son as the Lamb that was slain from the beginning. It is the slaughtering of Jesus that glorifies the grace of God.
Adam sold humanity out to sin and enslaved our wills. The heart of God is to provide a way back for the sake of the Son, the express image of God. The crucifixion of Christ is the way back.
The love God has for his creation is expressed in self emptying and returned to God, in self emptying. The Word, the Son, became flesh and lived the perfect life we are called to live. His whole life was suffering; a perfect man in an imperfect world. He was rejected and put to death on a cross.
To kill someone is an act of complete rejection of that person. Jesus was counted nothing. To take life is the ultimate rejection of God. The sin we embrace sent Jesus to the cross. God’s grace is to reveal the horror of our disobedience. He chose to die. He suffered death who knew no sin. Our sin sent him to the cross.
We are told Jesus became sin who knew no sin and the wrath of God was poured out on him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus expressed through his life complete devotion to God; he was obedient to the Father and trusted him. As God, he showed the perfect relationship, that is the Trinity at work.
In becoming sin, Christ experienced the wrath of God; he was forsaken by the Father. He who was God took the wrath of God and became a curse. He poured himself out for us; he was the suffering servant, the perfect sacrifice. On the cross we see the Trinity glorified, bringing the punishment of sin upon the Son. The Father pours his wrath on the Son, made sin in the mystery of the cross, so that in the unity of the Person of God the sin of those found in Christ is consumed. I believe the fire of God’s grace through the mystery of the cross consumes all sin. , I believe, those found in their sin when they die, experience this consuming fire of God in hell. (Is. 11:1-10; Rom. 15:4-13; Matt. 3:1-12)
Life is not a test or an accident. In it Christ reveals himself, through suffering, as the way back to the Father. Jesus manifests the coming kingdom so that we might know the way to the Father.
The futility of creation is God’s grace to us, it throws us back on God who suffers with us, so that we might know eternal life (John 3:16). We are not worthy of this and yet God’s purpose is to dwell in perfect harmony with his people, to pour out God’s love on the world Jesus makes us worthy even when we deserve only death because of our rebellion.

Thursday 19 August 2010

Our History

Adam had dominion over creation and we, as his heirs, do so also. We are given the breath of life and bear the Image of God. No angel bears this image and no angel has the breath of life. We share our breath with the all life and we share the command to be fruitful and multiply.
Freedom is spoken into creation, the seas are to swarm, the soil is to produce and man is to obey. God’s providence is that he works his infinite creativity into forming history. He is sovereign, as each moment is his making and, in its completeness, each act is good.
Adam, the man commanded to obey, disobeys. He loses his freewill and his dominion falls from goodness. Creation now groans under its subjection to sin. God creates all things good but the whole of creation is subject to futility and suffering through the disobedience of Adam (Romans 8:20). The purpose of this is that God’s grace is glorified.
Angels were created heavenly beings. They were to work God’s will in the creation, to serve it and form it. Satan, an evil angel, tested Adam through Eve and because Adam listened to Satan, Adam sinned; he did not trust God or obey him and creation descended into futility for his sake.
Creation was subject to futility for the sake of Adam. Adam was cast out of the garden so that he might know salvation. Experiencing the futility of sin, Adam is able to repent and choose to follow God. This now is creation’s purpose; its purpose becomes that God will dwell in the midst of his people eternally as they are saved to life in Christ from the consequences of sin in Adam which is death. Creation’s fallen purpose is to reveal the wrath of God against sin.
Through Adam and for Adam’ sake creation is subject to the futility of sin and death. Adam turned from the Word of God and acted on the deception of Satan. For freedom God created Adam; to do evil is not a free act. Satan is bound to act contrary to God’s will because of his selfish rebellion; he is enslaved by his own rebelliousness.
God is compassion and God is a consuming fire. He is a jealous God. He is holy and knows no evil and so Adam is thrown from God’s presence so that grace might bring him back. Adam, in his sin, is dead to God, separate from his mercy, subject to judgement; he can only bring glory to God in his death.
Only faith in the God of mercy can save him. God gave life, he will not take this gift back and he will secure a way back (2 Samuel 14:14). We see God’s faithfulness to his gift of life throughout the scriptures, for example in the cities of refuge (Numbers 35:15) and Jesus parables we see God’s heart for the lost.
God is a compassionate God and a consuming fire. His judgement is to refine and purify; his wrath is against sinful creation and Adam, because his purpose is that he will dwell with his people in his creation and they will be free. His love cannot leave Adam eternally separated from him, his holiness cannot allow Adam in his sin into his presence. Creation as we observe it is under God’s curse, justly subject to futility and ruled by death. We are separate from God because of our sin and only his righteousness can save us.
We are all bound to an eternity separate from God and a short life on this earth subject to futility because of sin. God’s purpose is to dwell on the earth with his people and his holy fire will consume all that is not holy to fulfil this purpose of creation (Matthew 3:11-12).
Love flows without measure in God and this love flows to creation perfecting as it flows; sin breaks this flow. Sin directs love to self. God pours wrath on the sinner. The merciful God who gives life provides a way for love to flow once more. (Romans 5)

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Freewill

The act of creation was an entirely free act of God. True freedom is to do the will of God because only God is good and true freedom is to do good.
Any act of will that is not in the will of God is sin. It is God’s will that we live faithful to him and only know good; to act without such faith is disobedience and sin. We are to trust God. God’s utter perfection elicits perfect obedience and perfect trust; the Father calls us to be holy as God is holy. This is the framework of free will; our wills are not free when we choose to sin.
Sin is seated in our hearts and is pride, choosing not to be ruled by love but by selfishness is slavery to sin. Sin is self centred. Sin binds us to our needs and selfish drives; we are not free.
Creation is a perfect act of God. His infinite creativity works to provide for our every choice; no word we speak, is not known by God before we think and say it. No choice God creates is evil as all God does is good. A choice made in disobedience to God is evil and works its evil into creation. The disposition of our hearts conceives evil. From our hearts comes all manner of evil.
God’s goodness is ultimate, fulfilled in heaven or in hell (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1). God is just and each of his acts in its fullness is good. An evil act is justly punished by death and separation from God’s grace. Hell brings glory to God’s grace and his goodness.

Friday 6 August 2010

Creation

In the creation, people are given God’s image. All humanity was to rest with God, God is to dwell with his people; the Word, the Son, would become flesh.
The Son, the eternal expression of the Father’s love, perfects love in taking on flesh. God takes the form of a servant within creation and glorifies his nature. God limits his nature to become a man, from conception, to baby to mature manhood; God, the LORD, had a mother.
The purpose of creation is that God is glorified in all his being and that he may dwell eternally with people in a relationship of love. Our purpose, our delight, is to worship and glorify him for ever; to love him eternally.
Man was given dominion over the creation under God; Adam was given free will to obey God and participate in the eternal love of God. This is revealed in Christ who states that for those restored to this original purpose, the love of God for his people is the same love as that of the Father for the Son (John 17:23).
God’s act of creation is an act of meekness on the part of the all powerful God; God humbles himself so that his love might be glorified. Self giving love, the ultimate expression of love, is poured out of the Trinity into the otherness of a good creation.