Lesson 8: The Ten Commandments, Part 4
Hi everyone! I'm the other moderator in this community, and Jessie said I could post the lessons if I had the chance. So, here is lesson eight. :-)
God bless!
Dakota
The Ten Commandments, Part 4
“I am no preacher of the old legal Sabbath. I am a preacher of the gospel. The Sabbath of the Jew is to him a task; the Lord’s Day of the Christian, the first day of the week, is to him a joy, a day of rest, of peace, and of thanksgiving. And if you Christian men can earnestly drive away all distractions, so that you can really rest today, it will be good for your bodies, good for your souls, good mentally, good spiritually, good temporally, and good eternally.” CHARLES SPURGEON
Kirk's Comment:
Although the Christian is not required to keep the Sabbath, the Commandment does reveal our self-centered nature. How often do we wish there were eight days in a week to spend pursuing our own agenda, and rarely set aside one day for God’s?
Questions & Objections
“I believe I will go to heaven because I live by the Golden Rule.”
Much of the world knows the Golden Rule simply as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (see Luke 6:31). According to this verse, if we can live by this rule and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, we fulfill the Law. Ask those who claim to do this if they have ever lied, stolen, hated, or looked with lust. If they have broken any of these Commandments, then they haven’t loved those they have lied to, stolen from, etc. This will show them that they have violated the Golden Rule. They are under God’s wrath (John 3:36), desperately needing the Savior’s cleansing blood.
w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m
In this lesson we are going to look at the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Some today insist that Christians must keep the Sabbath day, and that those who worship on the first day of the week (Sunday) are in great error. They reason that “Sun-day” originates from the pagan worship of the Sun god, that Jesus and Paul kept the Sabbath day as an example for us to follow, and that the Roman Catholic church is responsible for the change in the day of worship. Those who continue to worship on Sunday, they believe, will receive the mark of the beast. Let’s look briefly at these arguments.
First, nowhere does the Fourth Commandment say to worship on the Sabbath. It commands rest on that day: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work . . . For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
Sabbath-keepers worship on Saturday. However, the word “Satur-day” comes from the Latin for “Saturn’s day,” a pagan day of worship of the planet Saturn (astrology).
If a Christian’s salvation depends upon his keeping a certain day, surely God would have told us. At one point, the apostles gathered specifically to discuss the relationship of believers to the Law of Moses. Acts 15:5-11,24-29 was God’s opportunity to make His will clear to His children. All He had to do to save millions from damnation was say, “Remember to keep the Sabbath holy,” and millions of Christ-centered, Godloving, Bible-believing Christians would have gladly kept it. Instead, the only commands the apostles gave were to “abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.”
There isn’t even one command in the New Testament for Christians to keep the Sabbath holy. In fact, we are told not to let others judge us regarding Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16), and that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath was given as a sign to Israel (Exodus 31:13-17); nowhere is it given as a sign to the church. Thousands of years after the Commandment was given, we can still see the sign that separates Israel from the world-they continue to keep the Sabbath holy.
The apostles came together on the first day of the week to break bread (Acts 20:7). The collection was taken on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). When do Sabbath-keepers gather together to break bread or take up the collection? It’s not on the same day as the early church. They tell us that the Roman Catholic church changed their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday, but what has that got to do with the disciples keeping the first day of the week? That was the Roman Catholic church in the early centuries, not the church in the Book of Acts.
Romans 14:5-10 tells us that one man esteems one day of the week above another; another esteems every day alike. Then Scripture tells us that everyone should be fully persuaded in his own mind. We are not to judge each other regarding the day on which we worship.
Jesus did keep the Sabbath. He had to keep the whole Law to be the perfect sacrifice. The Bible makes it clear that the Law has been satisfied in Christ. The reason Paul went to the synagogue each Sabbath wasn’t to keep the Law; that would have been contrary to everything he taught about being saved by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). Instead, it was so he could preach the gospel to the Jews, as evident in the Book of Acts. Paul had an incredible evangelistic zeal for Israel to be saved (Romans 10:1). To the Jew he became as a Jew, that he might win the Jews (1 Corinthians 9:19,20). That meant he went to where they gathered on the day they gathered-“he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath” (Acts 18:4). D. L. Moody said, “The Law can only chase a man to Calvary, no further.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law so we are no longer in bondage to it. If we try to keep one part of the Law (even out of love for God), we are obligated to keep the whole Law (Galatians 3:10)-all 613 precepts. If those who insist on keeping the Sabbath were as zealous about the salvation of the lost as they are about other Christians keeping the Sabbath, we would see revival.
Questions
1. What does the Bible say to do on the Sabbath?
2. According to Exodus 31, to whom was the Sabbath given?
3. Did Paul worship on the Sabbath? Why or why not?
4. Why is the Christian free from the Law?
Preacher's Progress
Dan Druff: “I think Christians are flakes!”
Christian: “Why’s that?”
Dan Druff: “They are weak-minded people who need a crutch in life.”
Christian: “You are right, if you define a parachute as a ‘crutch’ for someone jumping out of a plane.”
Dan Druff: “Huh?”
Christian: “Don’t you realize that you will have to someday pass through death? That’s when you will need a Savior, or the ‘crutch’ you spoke about. When you die you will have to face a Moral Law that is far harsher than the law of gravity.”
Dan Druff: “I don’t believe in the ‘Law.’”
Christian: “That doesn’t matter. If a man jumped off a ten-story building not believing in the law of gravity, he still has to face the consequences of his action, despite the fact that he doesn’t believe in it . . . Have you kept God’s Law, the Ten Commandments? Have you ever told a lie?”
Dan Druff: “You’re starting to get under my skin.”
Christian: “I’m only telling you this because I care about you. God is going to judge with a fine-toothed comb on Judgment Day. He will judge right down to the thoughts and intents of your heart. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 68:21 that ‘God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goes on still in his trespasses.’ You need to repent today and put your faith in Jesus Christ.”
Feathers For Arrows
In 1969, twenty-four people decided to ignore warnings that Hurricane Camille was heading for Mississippi. They instead made up their minds that they were going to ride it out. Twenty-three of them died in the hurricane. The cross is a warning of the fierce hurricane of God’s wrath, which no one will “ride out” on Judgment Day. The only way to flee the coming wrath is to “kiss the Son”-to yield to the Lordship of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who put their trust in Him are blessed with forgiveness and eternal life.
Words of Comfort
I felt an earthquake the other night. I am amazed at the sensitivity the human body has to detect not only the moment an earthquake begins, but even the size of the shaker. Living in California has given me acuteness to a point where I can accurately guess the size of the quake (within a few points). The one I felt must have been a 5.5 at least. It was strong enough to wake me out of a deep sleep and say to Sue, “Wow! That was a big one . . .” She was already awake at the time, and said that she hadn’t felt it. Strange. She also said that she had just turned over in bed.
Memory Verse:
“One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.” ROMANS 14:5,6
Last Words:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer:
“Too bad, too bad! It’s too late!”
God bless!
Dakota
The Ten Commandments, Part 4
“I am no preacher of the old legal Sabbath. I am a preacher of the gospel. The Sabbath of the Jew is to him a task; the Lord’s Day of the Christian, the first day of the week, is to him a joy, a day of rest, of peace, and of thanksgiving. And if you Christian men can earnestly drive away all distractions, so that you can really rest today, it will be good for your bodies, good for your souls, good mentally, good spiritually, good temporally, and good eternally.” CHARLES SPURGEON
Kirk's Comment:
Although the Christian is not required to keep the Sabbath, the Commandment does reveal our self-centered nature. How often do we wish there were eight days in a week to spend pursuing our own agenda, and rarely set aside one day for God’s?
Questions & Objections
“I believe I will go to heaven because I live by the Golden Rule.”
Much of the world knows the Golden Rule simply as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (see Luke 6:31). According to this verse, if we can live by this rule and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, we fulfill the Law. Ask those who claim to do this if they have ever lied, stolen, hated, or looked with lust. If they have broken any of these Commandments, then they haven’t loved those they have lied to, stolen from, etc. This will show them that they have violated the Golden Rule. They are under God’s wrath (John 3:36), desperately needing the Savior’s cleansing blood.
w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m w o t m
In this lesson we are going to look at the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Some today insist that Christians must keep the Sabbath day, and that those who worship on the first day of the week (Sunday) are in great error. They reason that “Sun-day” originates from the pagan worship of the Sun god, that Jesus and Paul kept the Sabbath day as an example for us to follow, and that the Roman Catholic church is responsible for the change in the day of worship. Those who continue to worship on Sunday, they believe, will receive the mark of the beast. Let’s look briefly at these arguments.
First, nowhere does the Fourth Commandment say to worship on the Sabbath. It commands rest on that day: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work . . . For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
Sabbath-keepers worship on Saturday. However, the word “Satur-day” comes from the Latin for “Saturn’s day,” a pagan day of worship of the planet Saturn (astrology).
If a Christian’s salvation depends upon his keeping a certain day, surely God would have told us. At one point, the apostles gathered specifically to discuss the relationship of believers to the Law of Moses. Acts 15:5-11,24-29 was God’s opportunity to make His will clear to His children. All He had to do to save millions from damnation was say, “Remember to keep the Sabbath holy,” and millions of Christ-centered, Godloving, Bible-believing Christians would have gladly kept it. Instead, the only commands the apostles gave were to “abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.”
There isn’t even one command in the New Testament for Christians to keep the Sabbath holy. In fact, we are told not to let others judge us regarding Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16), and that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath was given as a sign to Israel (Exodus 31:13-17); nowhere is it given as a sign to the church. Thousands of years after the Commandment was given, we can still see the sign that separates Israel from the world-they continue to keep the Sabbath holy.
The apostles came together on the first day of the week to break bread (Acts 20:7). The collection was taken on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). When do Sabbath-keepers gather together to break bread or take up the collection? It’s not on the same day as the early church. They tell us that the Roman Catholic church changed their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday, but what has that got to do with the disciples keeping the first day of the week? That was the Roman Catholic church in the early centuries, not the church in the Book of Acts.
Romans 14:5-10 tells us that one man esteems one day of the week above another; another esteems every day alike. Then Scripture tells us that everyone should be fully persuaded in his own mind. We are not to judge each other regarding the day on which we worship.
Jesus did keep the Sabbath. He had to keep the whole Law to be the perfect sacrifice. The Bible makes it clear that the Law has been satisfied in Christ. The reason Paul went to the synagogue each Sabbath wasn’t to keep the Law; that would have been contrary to everything he taught about being saved by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). Instead, it was so he could preach the gospel to the Jews, as evident in the Book of Acts. Paul had an incredible evangelistic zeal for Israel to be saved (Romans 10:1). To the Jew he became as a Jew, that he might win the Jews (1 Corinthians 9:19,20). That meant he went to where they gathered on the day they gathered-“he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath” (Acts 18:4). D. L. Moody said, “The Law can only chase a man to Calvary, no further.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law so we are no longer in bondage to it. If we try to keep one part of the Law (even out of love for God), we are obligated to keep the whole Law (Galatians 3:10)-all 613 precepts. If those who insist on keeping the Sabbath were as zealous about the salvation of the lost as they are about other Christians keeping the Sabbath, we would see revival.
Questions
1. What does the Bible say to do on the Sabbath?
2. According to Exodus 31, to whom was the Sabbath given?
3. Did Paul worship on the Sabbath? Why or why not?
4. Why is the Christian free from the Law?
Preacher's Progress
Dan Druff: “I think Christians are flakes!”
Christian: “Why’s that?”
Dan Druff: “They are weak-minded people who need a crutch in life.”
Christian: “You are right, if you define a parachute as a ‘crutch’ for someone jumping out of a plane.”
Dan Druff: “Huh?”
Christian: “Don’t you realize that you will have to someday pass through death? That’s when you will need a Savior, or the ‘crutch’ you spoke about. When you die you will have to face a Moral Law that is far harsher than the law of gravity.”
Dan Druff: “I don’t believe in the ‘Law.’”
Christian: “That doesn’t matter. If a man jumped off a ten-story building not believing in the law of gravity, he still has to face the consequences of his action, despite the fact that he doesn’t believe in it . . . Have you kept God’s Law, the Ten Commandments? Have you ever told a lie?”
Dan Druff: “You’re starting to get under my skin.”
Christian: “I’m only telling you this because I care about you. God is going to judge with a fine-toothed comb on Judgment Day. He will judge right down to the thoughts and intents of your heart. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 68:21 that ‘God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goes on still in his trespasses.’ You need to repent today and put your faith in Jesus Christ.”
Feathers For Arrows
In 1969, twenty-four people decided to ignore warnings that Hurricane Camille was heading for Mississippi. They instead made up their minds that they were going to ride it out. Twenty-three of them died in the hurricane. The cross is a warning of the fierce hurricane of God’s wrath, which no one will “ride out” on Judgment Day. The only way to flee the coming wrath is to “kiss the Son”-to yield to the Lordship of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who put their trust in Him are blessed with forgiveness and eternal life.
Words of Comfort
I felt an earthquake the other night. I am amazed at the sensitivity the human body has to detect not only the moment an earthquake begins, but even the size of the shaker. Living in California has given me acuteness to a point where I can accurately guess the size of the quake (within a few points). The one I felt must have been a 5.5 at least. It was strong enough to wake me out of a deep sleep and say to Sue, “Wow! That was a big one . . .” She was already awake at the time, and said that she hadn’t felt it. Strange. She also said that she had just turned over in bed.
Memory Verse:
“One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.” ROMANS 14:5,6
Last Words:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer:
“Too bad, too bad! It’s too late!”