I've entered into Christ's REST in the early 80's. Since then I stay in His Rest 24/7 having ceased from my own labors and entered into the promised land. There are many unbelievers who deny this is so for me, in affect, denying it from themselves unfortunately. But that doesn't affect my Rest, because the Sabbath was made for me and that is exactly how it is meant to be observed in the New Covenant. Not 'one day a week' as in the O.T. 'shadow/type' but in "The Day of the Lord" having been filled with the very person self of the Lord of Sabbaoth.. All I can say to those who don't see the reality of the true meaning of the Sabbath, but only worship and observe the "type"... is;
'Believe' and enter while it is called To Day! (Heb 4)
Whitestone
When do you work?
We need to examine carefully what Jesus actually said. There is a double condition:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law (condition#1),
till all be fulfilled (condition #2).
In other words:
the law will not ever pass away (condition #1)
unless it is fulfilled first (#condition #2).
Now Jesus says he has come to fulfil the Law – and he does.
So when Jesus fulfilled the law it became obsolete, it passed away.
Whoa there big guy, Jesus fulfilled the law in that He came to magnify it...
Isa 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Nowhere does the scripture say the Law is obsolete. It does say the agreement (Old Covenant) is BECOMING (has not yet fully become) obsolete. The Old Covenant will become obsolete and the New Covenant be in effect full force and worldwide at His coming.
And as for the conditions...
There are two...
Mat 5:18 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.
Condition #1: Heaven and earth must pass away. This has not happened yet.
Condition #2: Till all be fulfilled. This has not happened yet either. Usually, one goes to Mat 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 here to show that Christ has not returned, but I think it would be interesting to use a lesser quoted scripture here...
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Christ has not bodily returned to the earth yet...
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Zec 14:6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
Zec 14:7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
To my knowledge this has not occurred...
Zec 14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
And you are living proof that this has not occurred...
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall
all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Nope, all is not fulfilled yet.
As I have explained previously murder and adultery are part of God’s moral laws that transcend time and covenants. The Ten Commandments are an implementation (or codification)of God’s moral laws for the Jews (or most of them are). God’s moral laws are also found elsewhere in the Mosaic Law, outside of the Ten Commandments (e.g. fornication and fraud).
When the Law of Moses was abolished so was that implementation of God’s moral laws. But not the moral laws themselves.
Show me the scriptures that prove that. There are none that separate out the Sabbath from the other nine.
Murder and adultery (for example) were condemned well before the Ten Commandments
No, that is incorrect. You are assuming something here that the scripture does not say. In point of fact, it actually says the opposite...
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
And what is transgression?
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
And what is the penalty for sin...
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There is no sin where there is no law...
Rom 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Yet the penalty for sin was exacted from Adam to Moses...
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
The ONLY conclusion one can draw here is that there was law from Adam to Moses and the because death is the penalty for sin and death reigned from Adam to Moses, there must have been law from Adam to Moses. In fact, one can find each of the Ten Commandments from Gen 1:1 to Ex 19:25 either stated or in principle. by principle I mean something obvious, not a nebulous interpretation. A good example is that of Abimelech...
Gen 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
Gen 20:8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
Why were they afraid? They knew that adultery was sin and the penalty for sin was death...
Gen 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
and are condemned in the New Testament.
Yes, in fact we can see this in Mat 5, 6 and 7 where Christ is magnifying the law...
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
An example...
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
One can simply read these chapters and see that the Law is ever more binding with a spiritual aspect.
However Sabbath keeping was not a moral law. It was a sign of the Sinai Covenant, a covenant that has now been abolished.
Where is this separation made? Certainly not in Ex 20 or Deut 5. The Ten Commandments are the Ten Commandments.
A Covenant is a form of contract. It binds two sides to do something. When the contract is fulfilled the two parties are no longer bound by it.
The Covenant (contract) is not the same thing as the terms. The terms of the Covenant were the Laws. The agreement or Covenant is this...
Exo 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said,
All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
Just a point of accuracy here, the Old Covenant is not completely passed away...
Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which
decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Or as the NKJV has it...
Heb 8:13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
When I buy something over the Internet (for example) I agree to pay a sum of money and the seller agrees to supply it. We have a binding contract. When I have paid and the item has been delivered the contract is fulfilled and neither party is bound by that contract any longer.
Of course there may be a warranty and in that case the contract continues for the duration of the warranty. When the warranty expires the contract is fulfilled and is obsolete. Nether party is bound by it any more.
And I gave clear scriptural evidence that they are the same thing (post #54)
Ah but they are not. The Law is not the same thing as the Covenant, in fact the New Covenant is explained as writing the same law in a different place. Whereas the OC was the writing of the Law on tables of stone, the NC is the writing of the Law in our hearts and minds...
Heb 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:
Heb 8:9 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.
Heb 8:10 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:
Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
This has not happened yet, but will at the return of Christ and during the Millenium.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Not yet, but it is coming (hopefully) soon.
Just a point I feel the need to make is that no amount of perfect law keeping will give live, Rom 6:23 plainly says that it is the gift of God. One does not earn salvation by law keeping, but one may lose salvation by intentional law breaking...
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Heb 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Heb 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Your words: "You believe that we do not need to keep the Sabbath, because it is fulfilled. How does that work for murder, theft and adultery?"
Well, it's really quite simple. During the sermon on the mount, Christ was re-writing the law as He taught, to teach the manner it was to be kept. For example read these verses on your own Matt. 5:21,27,31,33,38,43. In all these verses Christ is quoting an aspect of the law, however, in the following verses of each one Christ says..."But I say to you..." and He re-writes the way they should be interpreted. One good example is Matt. 5:27-28 - "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
[sup]28 [/sup]But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
In one way, Christ upped the ante and made the law harder to keep by this type of verse, but when you see the end game it makes things clearer. So, logically speaking, if we can break the law by thinking about it, then we can keep the law by thinking about it. That's why we have teachings from Paul like this one, Phil. 4:8 - "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
So, if we don't actually have to have sex with a woman to be guilty of adultery, or if just being angery with our brother we get the same curse as if we murdered him, then by thinking holy and righteous thoughts we are keeping the sabbath. We are to pray without ceasing, in this way we keep the sabbath. The Holy Spirit is in our hearts 24/7, in this way we keep the sabbath.
Let's use your example, you do agree that thinking lustful thoughts about a woman you are not married to is adultery, don't you? Well then is the physical act of having sex with another woman other than your wife adultery?
So thinking holy thoughts is keeping the Sabbath? All the while breaking the letter of the law is perfectly acceptable?
Try killing someone and telling the judge I was actually thinking very nice thoughts about that person and see how that works out for you. I think we both know that is foolish reasoning.