Adam wrote:Josh wrote:The proper question is when Gentiles were expected to start observing the Sabbath, dietary laws, or any of the rest of the old law.
So do we ignore the teachings of Jesus since they were mostly aimed at setting forth the proper interpretation and observance of the law of Moses and the Prophets? Do they not apply to us since we, as Gentiles, are not part of the covenant God made with Israel? Or do the teachings of Jesus represent a New Covenant that we are bound to follow as Gentiles who are grafted in? These are actual questions that I am asking...not rhetorical questions.
Adam,
Here is my understanding of how God's Law is to be used in the New Covenant, and how it is to be applied to "Gentiles":
Christ said that the Law would never be abolished, and was essential to enter the kingdom of heaven:
Matthew 5:(17) Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
(18) For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
(19) Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
(20) For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
For the Law is central to the New Covenant established by the death of Christ:
Hebrews 8:(8) For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
(9) 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 continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
(10) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my
laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
The word "laws" in Hebrew 8:10 is "nomos", but if you look at the original quotation in Jeremiah 31:33, the word for the "law" that is written in our hearts is the Hebrew word "torah". So there is no doubt that the 10 Commandments, including the 4th, have been written on our hearts.
So what about circumcision? Why do some not consider it to be mandatory? Here is the answer:
Circumcision was only given to Abraham and Abraham's children. It was never given to as a covenant to the entire world.
Genesis 17:(9) And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
(10) This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
So what about people who are not of the seed of Abraham, but are Christians? If you read Paul's writings, he addresses this in a positive way in Romans 2:25-29, and a negative way in Galatians 6:15 and elsewhere.
Circumcision as a means of salvation was the question of Acts 15:1, not the sabbath day.
For many will only quote one verse from Acts 15:20 to say that only 4 commandments (not the Sabbath) were given to the "Gentiles", and not the following verse (Acts 15:21), as this following verse helps to establish the sabbath day as the day of worship:
Acts 15:(20) But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
(21) For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
What is stated here in verse 21, is that everyone in the world should know what was written by Moses, as it is preached every sabbath day. So the rest of the Law is not a problem, only meat offered to idols, fornication, and the dietary laws against eating blood (which is never taught today, so still a problem).
So the discussion of Acts 15 said that Circumcision is not necessary for salvation, the reason that was understood is circumcision is only a commandment for those who are the physical descendants of Abraham. But it was expected by the Apostles that the new Christians would read what Moses wrote on the Sabbath day. And so, even after Acts 15, the sabbath applies to all creation, as it was initiated in Genesis 2:2 and so predates Moses.
Circumcision and the Sabbath are not tied together in Acts 15, that I can read.
But that the Gentile Christians met on the Sabbath is evident in Acts 13:42-44:
(42) And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
(43) Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
(44) And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
I have heard the argument that only because the Jews were meeting in the synagogues on the Sabbath is why Paul was drawn to give his sermons on the sabbath. (Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4)
Yet, in Philippi, in Macedonia, the early church met on the sabbath day by a river side, and not in a synagogue:
Acts 16:(13) And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
So, it is obvious that the 1st Century church met on the sabbath day.
And whatever Ignatius and other "church fathers" have said, Christ is superior to them all in Matthew 5:17-20. Christ changed nothing, it is the minds of the "church fathers" that have conceived something out of wedlock.
The question of which day is the "Lord's day" that John had his vision in Revelation 1:10 is evident from the words of our Lord:
Mark 2:(28) Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Christ called Himself the Lord of the Sabbath, so the Sabbath is the Lord's day.
For the sabbath was the day when our Lord did His greatest miracles, so it would be called by John and those that walked with Him as "the Lord's day." His 12 Apostles knew what day was most important to Christ, for He did only what His Father had commanded, nothing more.
Hebrews 3:7 to 4:9 - this entire narrative is based on the premise that sabbath was still in existence at the time the book of Hebrews was written. If the sabbath had been abolished at the death of Christ, then this passage does not have a foundation.
Hebrews 9:15-17 said that the New Covenant came into effect at the death of Christ. Yet after the death of Christ, his disciples still kept the Sabbath (Luke 23:56), for Christ had predicted the Sabbath would still be in effect long after His death. (Matthew 24:20)
Now, it is correct that Sunday is the "first day of the week" as written in Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2. But the actual Greek wording is "first of Sabbaths", not "first day of the week". It is the start of counting seven sabbaths, or weeks, until the day of Pentecost, which is the 50th day. (Leviticus 23:15-16). And the "first of Sabbaths" begins on the "morrow after the sabbath, so it is "Sunday" :
Leviticus 23:
(15) And ye shall count unto you from the
morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
(16) Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Pentecost is also on a Sunday, after 7 complete weeks have been accomplished.
Here we see in Luke 6, where the second of the 7 sabbaths was indicated:
(1) And it came to pass on the
second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
So, they had the "first of sabbaths", then the second sabbath after the first, then the third, until they got to the 7th, after which was Pentecost. Since there were 7 weeks, this is also called the "feast of weeks" (Deut 16:9-11) when a freewill offering was given to the poor in Jerusalem, which is where God had chosen to place His Name:
Deuteronomy 16:
(9) Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
(10) And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
(11) And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you,
in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
Jerusalem is the place where the LORD has placed His name.
Paul is following this instruction in Deuteronomy 16 by taking up a collection for the saints in Jerusalem on the "first of sabbaths":
1 Corinthians 16:(2) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
(3) And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
This "first day of the week", or more correctly, the "first of Sabbaths" was a yearly festival in the spring, and in every scriptural reference, it was always followed by Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8, Acts 20:16), which occurred 7 weeks later.
The "first of sabbaths" is the day of the old wave sheaf offering, when the first fruits were presented to God. Christ is our first fruits from the dead, and it was on this day that He was not to be touched until after He had been presented to the Father. (John 20:17, 19-27)
We no longer keep the old feast days in honor of Israel, but in honor of Christ. For we cannot keep them in the old Temple, for that has been destroyed. Christ said that we would no longer worship Him in Jerusalem (John 4:21), but worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). So we honor Christ's death with Passover, Christ's resurrection with the Sabbath, and Christ's presentation to the Father with the "first of sabbaths", which actually is a Sunday, once a year.
The writings of Paul on the sabbath and other issues are greatly misunderstood. If you are in doubt, look at what Christ has said, especially in the Gospels of Matthew and John, as they were the actual eye witnesses to Christ's ministry and are two of His chosen 12 Apostles.
The words of Christ is superior to all other doctrines. For only Christ tells us to "bless our enemies" (Matt 5:44) or "turn the other cheek". (Matt 5:39). It is a misunderstanding that one could ever be a soldier (2 Tim 2:3-4) or wear armor and kill with the sword (Eph 6:13-17). If we are in doubt, we must find the words of Christ superior to all others.
In the same manner, we must look for what Christ said about the Sabbath day, and find that He liberated us from the bondage caused by the doctrines of men, and gave us freedom to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
Blessings to you.
John