“The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church.” That is error number one! The Sabbath was given TO MANKIND many hundreds of years before the man Israel was born and from whom the nation of Israel would spring. “The Sabbath was made FOR MAN” – not the Jew! (Mark 2:27). “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:28). Hence, the Sabbath is the Lord’s Day – NOT Sunday. No scripture calls Sunday the Lord’s day! The Sabbath was instituted creation week – the seventh day of that week. God “rested on the seventh day…And God blessed the seventh day, AND SANCTIFIED IT” (See Genesis 2:1-3). No scripture ever de-sanctifies the seventh day. No scripture sanctifies Sunday. One can read the Bible carefully from Genesis 1:1 all the way through to Revelation 22:21. God NEVER removes His blessing from that day, and He NEVER places His blessing on Sunday or any other day of the week. Those who think Paul himself taught God’s sanctification was removed from the Sabbath and placed on Sunday should implore God to reveal to them the true meaning of such texts as Romans 14:1-6; I Corinthians 16;1-4; Colossians 2:8-23 and Acts 20:7-11.
Satan is an expert at his craft – deception. In order to get someone to accept and believe one of his lies, he will skillfully interweave truth and error in such a fashion that one will more easily fall for one of his lies. The Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Amish and, yes, even the Baptists are in error concerning this doctrine.
It is argued that Christians are not under the bondage of the Mosaic law, and that the Council of Jerusalem addressed this problem early on. That IS true. The Jerusalem Council’s meeting is found in the 15th chapter of Acts. But the Ten Commandments were not the Mosaic law.
A lady (now dead) who lived across from me stopped me on the sidewalk one day a couple of years ago. She had heard that I believed in keeping God’s commandments. She told me, “as Christians we are no longer under the law, but under grace.” I said, “What do you mean when you say we are not under the law? Are you saying we are now free to lie, to steal, to kill and commit adultery?” She looked flustered and said “No, I don’t mean that.” I said, “Then what do you mean?” Still appearing flustered and confused she answered me no more and walked on down the sidewalk.
Paul uses that phrase “not under the law” again in Galatians 5:18, writing “But if you are led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Now notice carefully the very next words he writes: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest (easily identified), which are these: adultery, fornication (breaking the seventh commandment)…idolatry (breaking the first and second commandments)….murders (breaking the sixth commandment), and such like of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, THAT THEY WHICH DO SUCH THINGS SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD” (See verses 19 through 21). In its context, Paul is here saying we Christians are obligated by God’s clear decree to keep God’s commandments. If we break those commandments we will not inherit the kingdom of God, for we will place ourselves back under the penalty of the law if we break God’s commandments!
James cautions all who teach error that they will someday pay a heavy price for the errors they spread to unsuspecting believers. (See James 3:1). Decades ago I made the firm decision that I would keep God’s commandments and teach others to do the same. I knew that decision would stir Satan’s wrath against me, but the Lord has delivered me again and again from Satan’s wrath and concerted efforts to deceive me into embracing his errors once more. The One who has delivered me fifteen times will certainly deliver me twenty if need be.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley