The reason I bring up this topic at all is because many Christians - including a number of this forum - are sticklers for obedience to God's word. They will practically hit others over the head with scriptures of condemnation because 'God says we are to be obedient to His word' while they at the same time blatantly thumb their noses at the 4th-command of the Big Ten. The 7th-day Sabbath appears to have been very important for God and He instructed His people to honor that particular day to the exclusion of the others. He even blessed and sanctified the 7th-day but not the other six. NOWHERE did God bless the 1st-day that we call Sunday. I'm most curious as to why Christians choose not to honor the 7th-day Sabbath. My motives for asking might be questionable but the question itself IS legitimate. Why Do Christians Not Honor The Sabbath?
1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.
2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.
5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong..............
16[SIZE=.95em] So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.[/SIZE]
17[SIZE=.95em] For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.[/SIZE]
18[SIZE=.95em] Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud,[/SIZE]
19[SIZE=.95em] and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.[/SIZE]
20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as,
21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?
22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.
23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Col 2:1-23 (NLT)
Paul's letter to the believers @ Colosse is very clear and simple instruction for the things God has accomplished for us and what He expects of us. Many read this letter and and rather than adjust their religious mindset, they twist and misrepresent Paul's message in trying to justify their position.
This twisting of scripture has been going on from the first. Just look at how satan deceived Eve.
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.
3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.
5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
Gen 3:1-5 (NLT)
But looking at what God actually said to Adam.
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.
16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—
17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Gen 2:15-17 (NLT)
Note that God gave this instruction to Adam before Eve was created so either Adam instructed Eve with the "[SIZE=.95em]or even touch it" or Eve added it herself but none the less God's words were misrepresented. Then satan carries it even further suggesting that God had selfish motive. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.95em]This is why it is important to hear from God directly, especially when reading the scriptures we need HolySpirit to enlighten our minds and convey the truth rather then just taking what some pastor or preacher says "God said" or "this really means". It is much easier for HolySpirit to enlighten if theirs no religious paradigms to work around and we can accept the truth much easier when we lay down these religious concepts and teachings.[/SIZE]