Monthly Archives: April 2009

What is the Sabbath and should we keep it? Part III

In Part II of “What is the Sabbath and should we keep it?” I closed with:

Christ became a curse for us; cursed by God because He took on His body the sin of the world.  The ceremonial law ended upon the perfect obedience of Christ on the cross.  With the ceremonial law ended, what of the moral law of God?  Was the entire Law fulfilled, or just the ceremonial part?

In this entry we will discuss whether the moral law is still applicable today.  

When does God’s moral law first appear, or when is it first alluded to in scripture?  We know that the Law was codified by Moses in Exodus 20.  By codified I mean that the Law was actually written down into specific commands.  But is Exodus 20 the first account of the moral law being evident to mankind?  Let’s look at a famous account in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 4:3-10  3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,  4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,  5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”  8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.  9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”  10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 

Here we read the well known story of Cain and Abel.  Cain was jealous of his brother because Able presented a better sacrifice to God than he did.  The story records that Cain killed his brother out of jealousy.  But what is often missed in this narrative is that Cain knew that what he was doing was wrong.  Some may say that he knew it intuitively.  That would not be altogether inaccurate.  Cain knew it was wrong because God had made His moral law evident in Cain’s heart.  Notice what the LORD said to Cain:

The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

The LORD reminded Cain that sin was “crouching at the door.”  The word picture here is off a lion, crouching, ready to kill and devour it’s prey.  Cain did not need to be told that murder was sin.  He knew it was sin.  All of us are born with an innate knowledge of God, and the ability to discern between good and evil.  Paul, in the book of Romans wrote:

Romans 1:19-20  19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

Mankind did not need to wait until Exodus 20 to understand God’s moral law.  It was known all the way back in Genesis; since creation.  Look at a baby.  No one has to tell a baby how to misbehave.  It comes naturally to children.  A parent doesn’t need to say to his child, “This is wrong.  So don’t do it.”  The child instinctively knows how to disobey, without instruction.  Disobedience comes naturally because it is part of our nature when we are born.  The bible says:

Romans 3:10-11  10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;  11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

Romans 3:23   23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

Ephesians 2:1-2  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- 

Adam’s sin plunged the human race into perpetual disobedience.  We are sinners because we are born sinners, and we are sinners because we sin.  We’re guilty coming and going.  Whether the LORD codified the Ten Commandments or not, His moral law would still be in force.  Since the moral law of God basically is the difference between right and wrong, it is still with us today.  The ceremonial aspect of the Law has ceased; no more animal sacrifices or temple ceremonies, but the command to obey and do what is right continues on.  If that is true, that God’s moral law is still operational, and if the Sabbath (the Lord’s Day) is part of the ceremonial law, are we to keep the Sabbath day?  We’ll finally get to that question in our next chapter.

What is the Sabbath and should we keep it? Part II

The nation of Israel observed the Sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.  The significance of this day was that it represented God’s rest from his creative work (Genesis 1:1 – 2:3).  God sanctified the seventh day (made it holy), and blessed it.  As we learned in Part I, Israel was commanded to observe the Sabbath, first in Exodus 16, and later in Exodus 20 at the giving of the Decalouge, the Ten Commandments.

The Sabbath is often considered to be part of the ceremonial law.  The Law of Moses (often called, simply, “The Law”) is divided into three categories: the moral law, judicial law, and ceremonial law.  The moral law consists of vertical and horizontal commands, given by God, that are binding upon all people in all times.  Vertical commands are: “You shall have no other God’s before me” (Exodus 20:3), and “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).  These commands are directed at men and towards God.  Examples of horizontal commands  are: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:23), and “You shall not commit murder” (Exodus 20:13).  Horizontal commands are directed at men and towards men.  The judicial aspect of the Law deals with societal rules and their corresponding remedies and penalties.  It is important to note that the judicial portion of the Law draws its authority from the moral law.  Consider the following passage.  “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep” (Exodus 22:21). The authority behind the penalty for stealing a sheep is contained in the moral law of, “Thou shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).  The ceremonial laws extend past the Ten Commandments.  The book of Leviticus provides specific laws on sacrifices and temple rituals.  Animal sacrifices were necessary under the Old Testament economy in order to satisfy God’s wrath on sin.  These sacrifices were never meant to permanently atone for sin.

Hebrews 10:1-4  For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.  2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin?  3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year.  4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

It can be argued that the whole ceremonial law of God stood on the sacrifical system.  It was that sacrificial system that was fulfilled; or rather, made pefect, by Christ:

Hebrews 10:11-18  11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,  13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.  14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.  15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,  16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”  17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Jesus Christ fulfilled sins requirement for a sacrifice.  Because He was without sin, His sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice.  It satisfied God’s wrath and the Law’s requirement for retribution.  If the whole ceremonial law hinges on sacrifice, Christ’s perfect sacrifice fulfilled the requirement of the law.  Once fulfilled there is no longer any need for sacrifice.  Therefore, there is no more need for the ceremonial law.  It not only has been fulfilled, it is now forbidden for Christians to observe.  Nowhere is made more plain than in Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 3:1-13  O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.  2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?  3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  4 Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain?  5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith-  6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?  7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.  8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”  9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.  10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”  11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”  12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”  13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”-

Christ became a curse for us; cursed by God because He took on His body the sin of the world.  The ceremonial law ended upon the perfect obedience of Christ on the cross.  With the ceremonial law ended, what of the moral law of God?  Was the entire Law fulfilled, or just the ceremonial part? We’ll cover that in Part III.