Dd-4. What Does Ephesians 2:8-15 TRULY MEAN? DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. Dd-4. WHAT DOES EPHESIANS 2:8-15 TRULY MEAN? Let us begin this study in God’s word by reading Ephesians 2:8,9 out of its context first, and then we will read those two verses of Scripture again being left in their CONTEXT with some emphasis and comments. Ephesians 2:8,9 OUT of its CONTEXT. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of WORKS, lest any man should boast.” Now, the reason that I have my readers and seekers of the truth read verses of Scripture OUT of their context first, and then read it again being left it their CONTEXT is to show you how false teachings get started. You see, all false teachings take verses of Scripture OUT of their CONTEXT and then a preconceived belief is read INTO those verses to try and support an already existing man-made doctrine. Let me explain what I mean by this. There are different groups of Christians where each group of Christians interprets the Scriptures differently. So let me start by listing four of those different groups of Christians in no particular order. Group #1. There are the Grace Alone Christians. And in this group of Christians there are the Calvinist Christians, the Reformed Theology Christians, and other Christians who believe in the doctrine of Eternal Security also known as the teaching of OSAS or once saved always saved. In other words, this group of Christians which I will refer to as the OSAS Christians throughout the remainder of this study in God’s word believe that once a person accepts Jesus as their Savior then they can never lose their salvation no matter what they DO or what they do NOT DO. Hence, the terms eternal security and once saved always saved WITHOUT ANY kind of WORKS EVER. They do NOT believe that Christians are BEING saved by OBEYING the commandments in the New Testament under the New Covenant. They do NOT believe that we will be JUDGE by our works of DISOBEYING the commandments of Jesus. They also go to the extreme to define WORKS as anything connected with being saved and receiving eternal life. So even faith is a work to some Christians here in group #1. Group #2. There are the seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. And in this group of Christians there are many church denominations that teach differently from each other but the one common doctrine that they all have is that Christians must keep the weekly Sabbath lest they DISPLEASE God. And this group of Christians interpret Ephesians 2:8,9 that we are saved for the very purpose of DOING good WORKS. They argue that if we truly love Jesus then we will OBEY his COMMANDMENTS. And to THEM, the commandments of Jesus are the TEN Commandments. And thus, they interpret the phrase created in Jesus Christ unto “GOOD WORKS” as being the “works” of KEEPING the Law of Moses and keeping the weekly Sabbath day. And some Christians here in this group #2 argue that the Law of God is different from the Law of Moses. In other words, to THEM, the TEN Commandments are a completely different LAW from the Law of Moses. Group #3. There are the “Orthodox” Christians. And in this group of Christians there are also many church denominations as well, but they seem to all agree that we are saved WITHOUT any kind of works of our OWN righteousness for the very purpose of getting saved. And most of the Christians here in group #3 believe that the DOING good works after we are saved is only to SHOW God and the world that we are truly saved. In other words, they believe that Christians should do good works but the good works do not make Christians worthy to receive eternal life. So while this group does believe that they should OBEY the commandments of Jesus under the New Covenant, they do not believe that receiving eternal life is based upon obeying the commandments of Jesus. Also, they REJECT the teaching of group #2 to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY and the dietary Laws of Moses and that we are to only keep commandments under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. Group #4. Then there are Christians, like myself. In this group of Christians we believe that a person is initially saved WITHOUT any works or righteousness of their own and that we are saved for the very PURPOSE of DOING good works. We agree somewhat with group #1 and group #3, in that, no person is “INITIALLY” saved by the “works” of the LAW including the works of keeping the MORAL commandments. To us, God CONCLUDED ALL people to be under sin so that salvation MUST be in His Son Jesus, the ONLY name given among men whereby we MUST be saved. But group #4 differs from groups #1 and #3, because we believe that we MUST OBEY all the MORAL commandments of God lest we sin. And what we mean by this is that if a Christian returns to living in a lifestyle of sin and if they should happen to die while living in a lifestyle of sin, then they WILL lose their salvation. So we believe that obeying the “moral” laws of God are REQUIRED in order to receive eternal life in the world to come. However, we also believe that the “WORKS” of the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES was abolished and nailed to the cross, according to Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:13-17. So then, to us, the word “works” in Ephesians 2:8 is referring to the “works” of the Law of Moses contained in the handwriting of ordinances that Moses wrote as God told him what to write in those ordinances. For you see, ALL Scripture is INSPIRED by God. Now that you understand how different groups of Christians INTERPRET the word “WORKS” in Ephesians 2:8,9 differently, let us now read these two verses again being left in their CONTEXT to learn their true sound Biblical meaning in the light of the whole word of Almighty God. In other words, what does the word “WORKS” in verse 9 TRULY mean, according to the Bible ITSELF. Please read Ephesians 2:8-15. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. (To my knowledge, ALL Christians in every group of Christians AGREE that a person is saved by grace THROUGH faith in Jesus as their Savior. Now, we may use different terms to express what verses 8,9 mean to each different group of Christians. But the core belief of all Christians is that God loved us while we were yet sinners living in sin and by His grace HE chose to save us in His Son, Jesus before God created the first Adam. So we all agree that salvation is a GIFT from God and that we did not EARN the right to be saved by any works of righteousness that caused God to think, “That person is a good person so I think I will save the good people who do good works.” NO! That is NOT what the Bible itself teaches us. For you see, God even CONCLUDED ALL His chosen people of Israel including those who were keeping all His laws and commandments to be UNDER sin so that He could show forth His mercy, according to Romans 11:32 and Galatians 3:22. We will read those verses of Scripture in a moment. But what all Christians do not agree upon is what the word “WORKS” means when the Bible says we are not saved by works. And that is the purpose of the study in God’s word. What did the Apostle Paul INTEND his words to mean in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? That is what every Christian should desire to know seeing that we are NOT saved by works. For you see, what if we are doing the WRONG works that we THINK are GOOD works? Will those WRONG works that Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross cause those Christians to lose their salvation? So then, let us read the first part of verse 8 again, we are saved by grace through faith, and not of works lest any man should BOAST) 10. FOR (Or BECAUSE) we are His workmanship, (Speaking of the workmanship of Almighty God) created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. (God ordained the moral laws written in the Law of Moses that are also called the Law of God in Nehemiah 8:8. And all of the MORAL laws of God are written in our God given CONSCIENCE when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of KNOWLEDGE to know both good and evil to right from wrong. So the Bible itself teaches us that the Law of God and the Law of Moses are one and the self-same law except for what was ADDED in the Law of Moses UNTIL Christ came. For you see, the NEW Covenant is NOT the same as the Old Covenant. It is ONLY all of the moral laws in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant that are REPEATED in the New Testament under the New Covenant. However, NONE of the ceremonial law of commandments contained in ordinances are REPEATED in the New Testament under the New Covenant. So to me, the WORKS in verse 9 are referring to the works of the LAW of commandments contained in ORDINANCES. And, as you will see for the CONTEXT, verse 15 supports this interpretation that the “works” in verse 9 is referring to the works written in the handwriting of ordinances in the Law of Moses, also called the Law of God, that was nailed to the cross, according to Colossians 2:13-17. Again, NONE of the MORAL laws of God in the Law of Moses were abolished at the cross) 11. Wherefore, remember that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; (Paul is talking to both the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians where ONLY the Jews had a COVENANT with God under the Old Testament covenant. But NOW, under the New Covenant the Gentiles can ALSO have a covenant relation with Almighty God) 12. That at that time (Speaking about the time when there was not yet a New Covenant established in the shed blood of Jesus and also before the time that God turned the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles) YOU (Referring to the Gentiles) were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (This clearly teaches us that God did NOT give the weekly Sabbath to the Gentiles. For you see, here in these two verses of Scripture, the Gentiles in times PAST were WITHOUT God in the world, they were strangers to the covenants of PROMISE. God promised Abraham a covenant and then God promised the children of Israel the New Covenant that would not be like the Old Covenant. But yet, the Gentiles were WITHOUT the Old Covenant and they did not know anything about a New Covenant at that time in the PAST. For you see, the gospel was preached ONLY to the Jews FIRST and then after around 3 1/2 years of preaching the gospel only to the Jews, God then turned the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles in order to provoke the children of Israel to jealousy, according to Deuteronomy 32:21, Romans 10:19, and Romans 11:11) 13. But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (And NOT by the works of the Law of Moses under the Old Covenant contained in ordinances. Again, the Law of God and the Law of Moses are one and the self-same law except for the ADDED ceremonial laws contained in ORDINANCES that were only added UNTIL the Messiah came. For you see, God TOLD Moses what to write down in the handwriting of ordinances in the BOOK of the Law. There is only ONE Law and that is God’s Law that happens to also be called the Law of Moses as well as the Law of God. But the first covenant was MADE OLD by Almighty God Himself, according to Hebrews 8:13. “In that He said, A new covenant, He has MADE the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.” The Old Covenant did not completely vanish away until the Roman army destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. But in God’s eyes the Old Covenant ended at the cross when God established the New Covenant in the shed blood of His human Son, Jesus) 14. For he (Jesus) is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (Speaking of an enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles which was the Law of God written in the handwriting of Moses called the Law of Moses. That enmity was like a wall between the Jews who had the Old Covenant and the Gentiles who had no covenant. The WEEKLY Sabbath DAY was given ONLY to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations as a SIGN for a PERPETUAL COVENANT and NOT for a perpetual COMMANDMENT. God did NOT give any of the TEN Commandments to the Gentiles verbally or in writing. They only had the MORAL law of God written in their CONSCIENCE. The Gentiles had no covenant with God of any kind at that time in the PAST. The Gentiles were without God and without hope UNTIL that ENMITY was abolished at the cross. So what was the enmity? Keep reading) 15. Having ABOLISHED in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for (Or in order) to make in himself of two, one new man, so making peace;” Please notice that it was ONLY the ORDINANCES that were abolished at the cross and NOT the commandment themselves. Let me explain a little further. Every Christian knows and understands that the ONE sacrifice of Jesus offering himself up on the cross as the spotless Lamb REPLACED all of the sacrifices in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant written in ORDINANCES. In other words, all of the handwriting of INSTRUCTIONS on HOW to offer animal sacrifices were ABOLISHED and REPLACED by the one New Covenant ordinance to have FAITH in Jesus as the ONE sacrifice for sins. And now, God ONLY accepts the sacrifice of His Son so the keeping of the animals sacrifices are in VAIN and they profit NOTHING. So the COMMANDMENT of sacrifice itself was not abolished, but rather, all the handwriting of ordinances pertaining what and how to sacrifice was abolished. And once a person knows and understands that Jesus is the sacrifice, then there is no REQUIREMENT to keep the OLD sacrifices, some of which were offered to God daily. So then, the WORKS in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 9, are referring to the WORKS of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES was that ENMITY. In other words, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by the works of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES. This is what the immediate context clearly teaches us. So now let us compare Scripture with Scripture. For you see, we want to know if this interpretation of the word “works” in verse 9 is correct. In other words, is the INTERPRETATION that the works of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES in verse 15 the works spoken of in verse 9 the correct interpretation?. Does this interpretation AGREE with the WHOLE word of Almighty God? Let us compare Scripture with Scripture to find out! We find the word “ordinances” again in Colossians 2:14. So let us read that verse of Scripture in its context as well to see if it is teaching us that the works in Ephesians 2:9 is referring to the works of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that were ABOLISHED on the cross. Please read Colossians 2:14-17 which is the immediate context of verse 14. I cover the whole context more in-depth in the study called Dd-3. What COLOSSIANS 2:14-17 TRULY MEAN? But for now, we will only read the immediate context which should be more than enough for most Christians to see the TRUTH that the ordinances nailed to the cross INCLUDE the weekly Sabbath days. Colossians 2:14-17. “Blotting out (Or ABOLISHING) the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Now, seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians will argue that the Law of Moses is not against God’s people. And they will say, how is the Law of Moses contrary to us? Well, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul teach us that the Law of Moses was a YOKE, a BONDAGE, and a YOKE of BONDAGE that the Jews in their day could NOT bear and that neither their fathers before them could bear. Please read Acts 15:10 where Peter is doing the speaking. “Now, therefore, why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” You see, some of the Jewish Christians were TROUBLING the Gentile Christians by COMPELLING them to keep the Law of Moses which the church at Jerusalem gave no such commandment, according to Acts 15:24. So Peter says that the Law of Moses is a YOKE that neither the Apostles of Jesus nor their fathers were able to bear in Acts 15:10. And the WHOLE church at Jerusalem came into agreement by the Holy Spirit and decreed that no Christian is ever to teach Christians to keep the Law of Moses because that would be TEMPTING Almighty God and putting a YOKE upon Christians. And the Apostle Paul ALSO teaches us that the Law of Moses is BONDAGE as well. So to me, the very Apostles of Jesus make it perfectly clear that the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way is speaking of the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that were against us and contrary to us. If you doubt this then keep reading the CONTEXT) 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (This means that Jesus kept all the Law of God that his God and Father required to reconcile mankind back to God. It also shows that the ordinances were abolished on the CROSS which is when Jesus triumphed over Satan) 16. Let no man, THEREFORE, (The word THEREFORE mean for this very REASON let no man) JUDGE you in meat, or in drink, (The dietary laws in the Law of Moses contained in ordinances) or in respect of an holyday, (Speaking of the yearly feast days in the law of Moses contained in ordinances) or of the new moon, (Also written in the Law of Moses written in the handwriting of Moses contained in ordinances) or of the Sabbath days: (Again, written in the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES) 17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” What was the very reason THEREFORE to not allow any man to JUDGE us concerning dietary laws, the yearly feast days, the monthly new moon festivals, and the weekly Sabbath days? The very reason is that Jesus BLOTTED OUT those ORDINANCES. Then Paul explains that the dietary laws, the yearly feast days, the monthly new moon festivals, and the weekly Sabbath days were SHADOWS pointing to Jesus. A SHADOW is a figure of the REAL. So the body of the shadow is Jesus Christ. If you look at the DETAILS of the shadow of a person close enough then you can see the resemblance of that person in their shadow. That is why the law, referring to the law of commandments contained in ordinances, is called a SCHOOLMASTER that leads the children of Israel to the Messiah, Jesus. You see, we sometimes do not always write out in detail everything to explain exactly what we mean. We shorten what we assume others should already know. And to me, that is what Paul did, he assumed that his readers would know that the word law is referring to the law of commandments contained in the handwriting of Moses in ORDINANCES that God told Moses to write in his “handwriting”. So when you read Paul’s teaching concerning not being saved by the LAW. then know and understand that Paul is speaking about the law contained in “ordinances” and NOT the MORAL laws of God. And if you OBSERVE the law, as in, the ordinances of the law to look close enough at how the ordinances are worded, then you can see that the ordinances written in the law point to Jesus as being the Messiah. So then, all of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES point to Jesus, but none of the MORAL laws point to Jesus. For example, the yearly feast of Passover is called a SIGN in Exodus 13:9. And the SIGN of the Passover points to Jesus as the TRUE Lamb. So the reason for why the feast of Passover was given in the first place was to lead the children of Israel to RECOGNIZE their Messiah to be Jesus when he came. It was only ADDED until Christ came. The Jews heard John the Baptist preaching that Jesus is the Lamb of God, but they did not DISCERN that the lamb was a SHADOW and that the feast of the Passover lamb was pointing to the TRUE Lamb of God, the Messiah. In other words, they did not connect the dots so to speak to understand that Jesus is the Passover Lamb that the ceremonial feast day of Passover pointed to. Now, once a person receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior then they ARE KEEPING the TRUE Passover feast by their FAITH in Jesus as their TRUE Passover Lamb which the feast of the Passover lamb was only a SHADOW of the TRUE Lamb pointing to Jesus as being the TRUE Lamb of God. So as Christians, we do NOT keep the DAY of Passover because we know that Jesus fulfilled all the spring feasts at his first coming and that he will fulfill all the fall feasts at his second coming. So then, to us as Christians, there is no need to keep any of the yearly feast DAY ceremonial services to God. They all were SHADOWS pointing to Jesus. They were all a SCHOOLMASTER teaching the children of Israel that Jesus is the Messiah. And after you graduate from school you no longer need to learn what you already know. In other words, the law did its job and there is no more need to serve the law that Jesus fulfilled and thus abolished on the cross. Keep in mind that Jesus KEPT the moral Law of God. but Jesus did NOT fulfill the MORAL Law of God for us like some Christians claim. In other words, Jesus did NOT naile ANY of the MORAL law to the cross. But rather, Jesus only fulfilled the ceremonial commandments and the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES. Please read the study Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean? And the same is true with the weekly Sabbath DAY. The weekly Sabbath was given ONLY to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout their generations as a SIGN, or as a SCHOOLMASTER, according to Exodus 31:13 and Galatians 3:21-26. Now to me, since the SIGN of Jonah and the SIGN of the feast of Passover point to Jesus, then it is obvious that the SIGN of the weekly Sabbath DAY also points to Jesus as well. A sign is a FLAG or a BEACON saying RED FLAG, pay attention, open your eyes, and look closely at what the sign MEANS. The word “Sabbath” means REST. Jesus said to the Jews, you who are heavy laden come unto me and I will give you REST, my burden is LIGHT. So to me, the weekly Sabbath DAY points to Jesus as our TRUE REST. But if you disagree, then what does the SIGN of the weekly Sabbath point to? It has to point to something because God gave the weekly Sabbath DAY as a SIGN for a PERPETUAL COVENANT and NOT for a perpetual Old Testament COMMANDMENT as the Sabbath-keeping Christians claim. Think hard and long about what the SIGN of the weekly Sabbath DAY means in the LIGHT of the WHOLE before you go and twist the Scriptures to try and support your man-made doctrine that Christians MUST keep the weekly Sabbath day every week lest they sin. Think about the first covenant being made OLD and is ready to VANISH AWAY, according to Hebrews 8:13. How can a covenant that is ready to vanish away be the TRUE PERPETUAL COVENANT? The weekly Sabbath DAY was a SIGN pointing to the NEW PERPETUAL COVENANT. Think about the ordinances or the INSTRUCTIONS written in the handwriting of Moses concerning the weekly Sabbath DAY. I mean, why would God command those of the children of Israel who simply picked up sticks on the Sabbath day to be stoned to death and that the SOUL of that person be utterly cut off? Why such a HARSH punishment for simply picking up sticks on the seventh DAY? Please read Numbers 15:32-36. “And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath DAY. 33. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.” Now, when we take all these SHADOWS of the weekly Sabbath day contained in ordinance and we COMPARE the shadows with the Scriptures in the New Testament under the New Covenant, then we can see that every person who is NOT RESTING in Jesus for their righteousness will utterly be CUT OFF from God and be put to DEATH, speaking of the second death, in the lake of fire. So then, the SIGN of ordinances describing the harsh punishment for breaking the weekly Sabbath day points to what happens to those who do not accept God’s New Covenant established in the shed blood of Jesus. In other words, for NOT obeying the SIGN of the weekly Sabbath DAY of REST to KEEP Jesus as their TRUE REST, then they will be cut off and put to death in the lake of fire. In other words, Christians who do NOT CEASE from doing the works that Jesus abolished on the cross will be CUT OFF from God. Paul says that they have fallen from grace, and Christ will no longer profit them unless they repent and CEASE from keeping the weekly Sabbath DAY. It was only under the Old Covenant God required those daily things, weekly things, monthly things, and yearly things. And under the OLD Covenant to break any ONE of those things, you were guilty as if you broke them all. So to keep just ONE of the things that Jesus ABOLISHED places you in BONDAGE to keep ALL of the Law of Moses. And all those things were a HEAVY BURDEN to bear. But under the New Covenant, the NEW commandments of Jesus are NOT grievous. The burden required in the New Covenant is LIGHT. However, the keeping of the Law of Moses is very GRIEVOUS, according to the Apostle Peter in Acts 15:10. Acts 15:10. “Now, therefore, why TEMPT you God, to put a YOKE upon the neck of the disciples, which NEITHER our fathers NOR WE were able to BEAR?” Let us look at one more ordinance pertaining to HOW the weekly Sabbath DAY, as well as all the yearly feast days Sabbaths, were to be kept under the Old Covenant. God commanded the children of Israel that on the Sabbath day they were to walk so FAR and then CEASE from walking to REST and walk no further that day. And keep in mind that Jesus ascended into heaven on a THURSDAY and NOT on the weekly Sabbath day. Please read Acts 1:12. “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey.”
Now read Exodus 18:20. “And you (Moses) shall TEACH them (The children of Israel) ordinances and laws, and shall SHOW them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.” Now, for Luke to record that there is a Sabbath day’s journey, then that teaches us that a journey on a Sabbath day is DIFFERENT than a journey on the days that are not a Sabbath DAY of REST. And according to the commentary on John 11:18, a Sabbath day’s journey is about two miles in our measurement we use today. So the literal KEEPING of a Sabbath day’s journey was for the children walking in the Old Testament law to walk so far in DISTANCE and then REST to no longer walk any FURTHER under the Old Testament law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES. And the SIGN or SHADOW of that ORDINANCE symbolizes for the children to observe those ordinances for so long in TIME until the Messiah came. And then they are to REST in the Messiah and CEASE to walk no more in that ordinance of resting on a DAY. And the Apostle Paul teaches us this in his letters to the churches. Again, please read the study called Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean? But for now, think of ordinances as the INSTRUCTIONS showing HOW the commandments were to be kept under the Old Covenant and those Old Testament ordinances or INSTRUCTIONS on HOW to keep the ceremonial commandments unto God that Jesus abolished at the cross. And under the New Covenant NEW instructions are given as to HOW we keep the TWO commandments of God that are written in the NEW Testament. So again, according to the immediate context of Ephesians 2:8,9, the Apostle Paul is referring to the “WORKS” in Ephesians 2:9 as being the “WORKS” of the Law of God contained in ORDINANCES in verse 15 of that same chapter. Now let us compare Scripture with Scripture to see if this interpretation is the CORRECT interpretation by seeing what Paul means by “WORKS” in other verses of Scripture. Please read Romans 9:30-33. “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed NOT after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the RIGHTEOUSNESS which is of faith. 31. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has NOT attained to the law of righteousness. (And that is because they did not OBSERVE or DISCERN the SIGN of the weekly Sabbath DAY as to WHY God gave the weekly Sabbath DAY of rest in the first place) 32. Wherefore? (Or WHY did the children of Israel NOT attain the law of righteousness when they KEPT the law of righteousness under the Old Covenant?) BECAUSE they sought it not by faith, (Or because they did not seek RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith) but as it were by the works of the law, they stumbled at that stumbling stone; (Or but the law, as it were, pointed to Jesus as the cornerstone which they did not discern as they sought for righteousness by the WORKS of the law contained in ordinances. Again, the ordinances in the Old Testament were the instructions as to how the ceremonial commandments UNTO God. Those ordinances were given ONLY to the children of Israel AFTER God delivered them from slavery in the land of Egypt. And again, those laws contained in ordinances were ADDED only UNTIL the Messiah came) 33. As it is written, (See Psalm 118:19-27, Isaiah 8:14,15, Isaiah 28:15-18, Matthew 21:42-44, and 1 Peter 2:7,8) Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offense: and whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” The Greek word translated as ashamed here also carries the meaning of CONFOUND, which also means CONFUSED. In other words, whosoever believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior shall NOT be CONFOUNDED. Again, the word confound means to cause surprise or confusion in someone, especially by acting against their expectations. To say this another way, the Jewish Christians at the first WERE confused by the teachings of the Apostle Paul. For you see, Paul teaches against what the Jewish Christians expected. In other words, at first, the Jewish Christians were expecting to continue following the Law of Moses contained in ordinances. But after they LEARNED what Christ FULFILLED, they understood the TRUE gospel. And thus, they CEASED keeping the Law of Moses contained in ordinances. They still kept the MORAL commandments because neither Paul nor Jesus taught that the moral commandments were abolished at the cross. So then, to all the OSAS, Reformed Theology, grace alone, eternal security Christians, we MUST OBEY all the moral commandments to be found worthy to receive eternal life in the world to come. So again, in Romans 3:27 and Romans 9:32 the Apostle Paul refers to “WORKS” and being the “WORKS” of the “LAW”. And according to Ephesians 2:15, the word “LAW” is referring to the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES. In other words, Paul is not referring to the law of the commandments of the MORAL law of God toward our fellow man. But rather, Paul is referring to the ceremonial services directed to God that were written in detailed INSTRUCTIONS on HOW and when to keep them. And those WORKS are no longer pleasing to God because God only added those laws UNTIL His Messiah came. Let us keep comparing Scripture with Scripture to see if the word “works” is constantly used by Paul to mean the works of the “law”. Please read Galatians 2:14-21. “But when I saw that they walked NOT uprightly according to the TRUTH of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If you, being a Jew, live after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why COMPEL you (Or why do you teach that it is NECESSARY for) the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? (Peter and some of the other disciples believed the teachings of the Apostle Paul and obeyed the TRUE gospel to no longer keep the Law of Moses the same as the Gentiles did obeying the teachings of Paul under the New Covenant. But when some of the Jewish Christians began to intimidate Peter along with intimidating some of the other disciples, then they were DECEIVED by that CERTAIN sect of the Jewish Christians who were once Pharisees to go back to keeping the Law of Moses contained in ordinances as the unsaved Jews did. And when Paul saw that they were no longer walking uprightly according to the TRUTH of the gospel like they were doing earlier, then Paul rebuked Peter to his face saying) 15. We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16. KNOWING that a man is NOT justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even WE (Speaking of Paul, Peter and the other JEWISH Christians) have believed in Jesus Christ, that WE might be justified by the faith of Christ, and NOT by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Again, before this time, the gospel was preached ONLY to the Jews. So the very early church during the first 3 1/2 years was an ALL Jewish Christian church) 17. But if, WHILE we SEEK to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore, Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. (In other words, Paul is saying that if any Christians, Jewish Christians, or Gentile Christians, seek to be justified by the works of the law, then does that mean that Jesus is a minister of sin? In other words, seeing that Jesus FULFILL the law contained in ordinances to ABOLISH the ordinances nailing them to the cross to take them out of the way, then does that make Jesus to be the minister of SIN? To say this another way, Paul is saying that seeking to be justified by the works of the law that Jesus ABOLISHED is a SIN. And therefore, Jesus did NOT minister or teach the church to KEEP the WORKS of the law contained in ORDINANCES, because it is a SIN to keep what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross. So then, if Christians seek to be justified by Jesus as their Savior AND they turn right around to be justified by the works of the law, then they are living in sin WHILE they are KEEPING the works of the law contained in ORDINANCES. So Paul is saying that Jesus is NOT a minister of sin because Jesus did not teach us to keep the WORKS of the law contained in ordinances that he ABOLISHED in his flesh on the cross, according to Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14-17. And in Romans 3:10, Paul clearly teaches us that Jesus is the END of the law for RIGHTEOUSNESS. So Paul is saying) 18. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. (So then, any Christian teaching other Christians that it is NECESSARY for them to keep the law contained in ordinances is a TRANSGRESSOR of the New Covenant. Now, I have heard some seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians argue that they are not keeping the works of the law to be saved. But rather, they CLAIM that they are keeping the works of the law to PLEASE God. Now, clearly, seeing that Jesus ABOLISHED the works of the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES, then how is it PLEASING to God to keep the works of the law that Jesus ABOLISHED at the cross. To me, it would be very DISPLEASING to God to keep to works of the law that His dear beloved Son, Jesus, NAILED to the cross and taken out of the way, according to Colossians 2:14-17. Please read the studies called Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean?, and Dd-3. What COLOSSIANS 2:14-17 TRULY MEAN?) 19. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (And our faith in the Son of God includes our OBEDIENCE to keep all the MORAL commandments which are NOT grievous, according to 1 John 5;3. The problem is that the seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians wrongly interpret the word “commandments” found in the New Testament to ALWAYS mean ALL the Laws of Moses including the ceremonial commandment contained in ordinances. But that is not what the NEW commandments of Jesus teach us under the New Covenant. You can NOT be under TWO covenants at the same time, so pick ONE. If you pick the Old Covenant there is NO MORE sacrifice for sins so you had better not break one single ORDINANCE or you will be found guilty of breaking all the commandments. Paul and all the other Apostles of Jesus chose to obey the New Covenant. So that is the covenant that I have chosen to OBEY as well. And you will not find one teaching in the New Testament under the New Covenant to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY or any other DAY of the week, month, or year. But you will find that Paul teaches us NOT to esteem any day above another day in Romans chapter 14) 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in VAIN.” Clearly, Paul is teaching us that keeping the WORKS of the law of commandments contained in ordinances that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way is SINNING and DISPLEASING to God. It is TEMPTING God and it FRUSTRATES the grace of God. And Paul warns those who are keeping the works of the law for righteousness, then for THEM, Jesus died in VAIN and that Christ shall profit them nothing unless they REPENT and return to obey the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. Please read Galatians 5:1-14. “Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the YOKE of bondage. (Again, the yoke of bondage is the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way. Peter said to those Christians who compelling the Gentile Christians to keep the Law of Moses, why TEMPT you God to place on the Gentile a YOKE which neither we nor our fathers are able to bear) 2. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you are circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (In Paul’s day, there was a big push by some of the Jewish Christians to compel the uncircumcised Gentile Christians to be circumcised. And in our day, Christians are once again being subverted and compelled to keep the weekly Sabbath day. The truth is that ONE point of the Old Covenant law IS all of the law! In other words, if you keep the weekly Sabbath DAY you are keeping what Jesus NAILED to the cross, and, therefore, you are transgressing the NEW Covenant. Can you not see that the weekly Sabbath day was given ONLY to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations as a SIGN for a PERPETUAL COVENANT? God commanded THEM to keep the Sabbath TO OBSERVE the Sabbath. Observe means to DISCERN. In other words, DISCERN the SIGN of the Sabbath. What does the SIGN of the Sabbath point to? The weekly Sabbath points to Jesus who established the PERPETUAL COVENANT, a NEW and better covenant in his shed blood on the cross. And thereby, Jesus nailed the ORDINANCES of keeping the weekly Sabbath DAYS to the cross. Paul teaches us in Romans chapter 14 that we are NOT to esteem ANY day above other days, but rather, we are to treat every day of the week the SAME) 3. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. (Why? Because WHILE they were seeking to be justified by FAITH in Jesus they SINNED by keeping the WORKS of the law contained in ordinances that Jesus nailed to the cross and took out of the way. And WHILE they are keeping the works of the law that Jesus ABOLISHED they are FALLEN from grace) 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace. (Paul is NOT referring to the MORAL law but the law contained in ORDINANCES, the ceremonial laws that are SHADOWS pointing to Jesus. NONE of the MORAL laws are a schoolmaster but ALL of the ceremonial laws UNTO God are a schoolmaster pointing to Jesus. And when Jesus came, there is now no more need to be SCHOOLED to know WHO the Messiah is. The weekly Sabbath DAY is NOT a moral law toward our fellow man. The weekly Sabbath DAY was UNTO the LORD, according to Exodus 16:22,25 just like all the feast day Sabbaths are UNTO the LORD UNTIL Christ came) 5. For WE through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which works by love. 7. You did run well; who did HINDER you that you should NOT obey the TRUTH? (Sabbath-keeping Christians sincerely believe that they alone are the only Christians obeying the TRUTH. But, in truth, they have been deceived and HINDERED by false teachers that have TWISTED the Scriptures to their own destruction. They TWIST the words of Paul in Colossians 2:14-17 to wrongly teach that the Sabbaths in verse 16 are not the WEEKLY Sabbaths. But rather, they CLAIM that the Sabbaths are ONLY the yearly feast day Sabbaths and ONLY the yearly feast day Sabbaths have been nailed to the cross. And then, some Sabbath-keeping Christians turn right around and KEEP the yearly feast day Sabbaths. So they had to go back to the drawing board so to speak and twist Paul’s words even more to wrongly teach that Paul “really” means is, do not allow others to judge you for KEEPING the law. Then they argue that the handwriting of ordinances that were nailed to the cross are actually all of our sins that God had written in a handwriting of ordinances. REALLY! That would be funny of it were not that some Christians are so DECEIVED that they can not see how ridiculous some of their arguments are for WHY Paul is supposedly teaching Christians to KEEP the Law of Moses. And they only argue the OPPOSITE of what Paul is actually teaching so that they can continue keeping the weekly Sabbath day, the dietary laws, and the yearly feast days) 8. This PERSUASION comes not from him that calls you. (Or the perverted gospel of seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians compelling weak Christians to serve the law and to keep the weekly Sabbath day does NOT come from Almighty God who calls you to GRACE. For by grace are you saved THROUGH faith, it is a GIFT of God and NOT of WORKS of the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES lest any man boast. And almost all Sabbath-keeping Christians BOAST that they are better than other Christians who are NOT keeping the weekly Sabbath DAY. Some of them worship the Sabbath DAY so much that they will not WORK on the Sabbath DAY to help a person in NEED) 9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Or a little false teaching can deceive a whole bunch of Christians. And Sabbath-keeping Christians use a LITTLE truth to pervert the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. They start out their PERSUASION to keep the weekly Sabbath by asking the questions, “Why do Christians NOT keep the FOURTH COMMANDMENT?” Did not God give TEN Commandments on the same day that the finger of God engraved ALL TEN Commandments on two stone tablets? And that little leaven or that little bit of truth will leaven the whole lump if Christians do not answer that one question CORRECTLY based on the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, as in, ALL the Scriptures KEPT in their CONTEXT. Please read the study called Dd-8. Why do Christians NOT KEEP the SABBATH?) 10. I have confidence in you (My readers and seekers of the TRUTH that) through the Lord, that you will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubles you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. 11. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross would have ceased. (In other words, if Paul built again what he destroyed, then the offended Jews would cease persecuting him. The very FACT that Paul was persecuted by the Jews and some CERTAIN Jewish Christians proves to me that Paul did NOT teach us to keep ANY WORKS of the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES. Paul DID however clearly teach us to keep all the MORAL laws of God that are REPEATED throughout the New Testament. And again, nowhere in the New Testament are we taught to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY to rest upon or to keep any other DAY for that matter. So then, the Bible ITSELF does NOT teach us that Sunday is a Sabbath day of rest EITHER as some Christians claim) 12. I would they were even cut off which trouble you. (LISTEN closely to what the Apostle Paul is saying here! Paul is saying that those who are compelling you or wrongly teaching you that it is NECESSARY for you to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY or rest, the dietary laws of Moses, the yearly Sabbaths, and the new moon festivals, that it would be better for YOU if they were blotted out of the Lamb's book of life! That is how SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS this seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Hebrew Roots Movement cult is! YES! All seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping churches are cults. For you see, they all teach doctrines of DEVILS, according to 1 Timothy 4:1-6. Please read the study called Dd-43. MUST Christians KEEP the DIETARY LAWS? And Paul calls them HERETICS in Titus 3:9-11. Please read the study Dd-91. WHO is the HERETIC in Titus 3:4-11?) 13. For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; (And set free from the YOKE of BONDAGE of the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was against us and contrary to us. So do not allow any other Christian to JUDGE you for NOT keeping the dietary laws, the yearly feast day Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the weekly Sabbath days) only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (When we walk in love, we FULFILL ALL the Law of God that our heavenly Father REQUIRES us to obey under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. So STAY in the New Testament because ALL of what we are REQUIRED to OBEY to receive eternal life in the world to come is written IN the NEW Testament) 14. For ALL the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Again, I have heard all of the Seventh Day Adventist Church arguments and all the other seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians arguments as well. They all argue that they are not keeping the weekly Sabbath to be saved, justified, or to be made righteous. They argue that they only keep the weekly Sabbath day because it is one of the TEN Commandments and Jesus said that if we love him then we will OBEY him to keep HIS COMMANDMENTS. But what they FAIL to comprehend is that Jesus only gave us TWO commandments And on the surface the word “commandments” sounds logical to think of the TEN Commandments. But when you truly understand that Jesus gave NEW commandments under the New Covenant and those NEW commandments are written in the New Testament, then you will not be deceived by doctrines of devils to keep the WORKS of the law contained in ORDINANCES under the OLD Covenant commandments. Almighty God Himself MADE the first covenant OLD, according to Hebrews 8:13. Hebrews 8:13. “In that He said, (Or Almighty God Himself said) A new covenant, He has MADE the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.” Now, again, some Sabbath-keeping Christians TWIST this Scripture to mean the Old Covenant is still in force and it will not vanish away until the END of the Millennial reign of Jesus. The truth is that the phrase “READY to vanish away” means that the Old Covenant did not COMPLETELY vanish away until 70 AD when the Roman army destroyed the Jewish temple and the daily sacrifices ENDED forever. But in God’s eyes the daily sacrifices and oblations actually ended at the cross. For you see, it says HE MADE the first old and it was Yahweh the Father who devised His plan of salvation for His Lamb to be slain from the foundation of the world. And in His PLAN of salvation God chose to ADD the ceremonial law as carnal services to Him contained in ORDINANCES for ONLY the children of Israel to keep UNTIL His Messiah came. The Gentiles were NOT given the Law of Moses contained in ordinances to keep. The Law of Moses was ONLY given to the children of Israel AFTER God delivered them out of the land of Egypt. Now let us read Galatians 2:16. Galatians 2:16. “KNOWING that a man is NOT justified by the works of the law, (Again, the meaning of the word “WORKS” in Ephesians 2:8,9 saying we are not saved by WORKS is speaking of the WORKS of the “LAW”. But what law is Paul talking about? Is Paul talking about the MORAL law of God? No! Paul tells us exactly what law he is talking about in Ephesians 2:15 and in Colossians 2:14. Paul is talking about the WORKS of the law of commandments contained in the HANDWRITING of ORDINANCES. In other words, we are not saved or justified by the WORKS of the law of commandments contained in the handwriting of Moses. For you see, Moses wrote down the ORDINANCES given to him by Almighty God to write in the Book of the Law that is also called the Law of God in Nehemiah 8:8. And ALL those ordinances were NAILED to the cross and taken out of the way. So KNOWING that no man is justified by the WORKS of the law) but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, (Or even WE who are natural born JEWS that have kept the works of the law our whole life have believed in Jesus) that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and NOT by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Over and over the Apostle Paul CONSISTENTLY teaches us that the WORKS in Ephesians 2:8,9 are the WORKS of the “LAW”, as in, the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES written by the HANDWRITING of Moses as Yahweh told Moses what to write. All Scripture is INSPIRED by God. Let us read one more passage of Scripture where Paul again teaches us that we are not saved by WORKS to mean the works of the LAW. Please read Galatians 3:1-5,10,11. “O foolish Galatians, who has BEWITCHED you, (Or who has DECEIVED you to keep the works of the law) that you should NOT obey the TRUTH, (In other words, OBEYING the WORKS of the LAW is NOT the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ, but rather, those who teach Christians to keep the law that was NAILED to the cross are teaching a PERVERTED gospel that is NOT the TRUTH) before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2. This only would I learn of you, Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (And every Sabbath-keeping Christian will tell you that they are saved by FAITH and that they received the Holy Spirit by FAITH and NOT by the keeping of the works of the law. In fact, most Christians never even knew about the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that was nailed to the cross until AFTER they were saved to receive the Holy Spirit. But the Jewish Christians did know and before they were saved they kept the WORKS of the law FOR righteousness) 3. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? (Speaking of keeping the works of the law. In other words, are you so foolish having begun in FAITH to now seek to be made perfect by keeping the WORKS of the law contained in the ordinances of the handwriting of Moses?) 4. Have you suffered so many things in vain? (Or have you suffered so many persecutions by the Jews for nothing) If it be yet in vain. (Meaning that you can REPENT and CEASE from being a seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christian and a keeper of the works of the law such as the dietary laws and OBEY the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ) 5. He, therefore, that ministers to you the Spirit, and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?... ...10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in ALL things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (The works of the law are written in the book of the law also called the Law of God. In other words, if one keeps the works of the law to be made perfect, justified, or even to be a better Christian to please God, then they are under the CURSE. And, therefore, they must keep ALL the law, for if they disobey ONE point of the law they are found guilty of all the law written in the book of the law. That was the CURSE, to keep ALL of the law contained in some 613 ORDINANCES written by the hand of Moses) 11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” Again, the Apostle Paul is NOT talking about the MORAL laws of God toward our fellow man. In fact, Paul probably talks more about keeping the MORAL Law of God more than he does about warning Christians to NOT keep the WORKS of the law contained in the handwriting of ordinances that were abolished and nailed to the cross. Paul clearly teaches us that we MUST keep the moral Law of God lest we SIN. And Jesus said that we must keep the six moral commandments that he listed in Matthew 19:15-19 in order to receive eternal life in the world to come. Read the following verses of Scripture that clearly teach us that we must obey all the moral commandments or we will not inherit the kingdom of God. And if we do sin we must confess our sins and he is faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. Please read 1 Corinthians 6:9,10. “Know you not that the unrighteous shall NOT inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. 10. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21. “Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, 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.” Ephesians 5:5. “For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” 1 Thessalonians 2:12. “That you would walk WORTHY of God, who has called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
2 Thessalonians 1:5. “Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you ALSO suffer:?” 1 Corinthians 5:11. “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” Romans 14:17. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” There are far too many Scriptures to write them all out for you, so here is a list of Scripture references for you to look up and read that clearly teach us that we MUST OBEY the moral commandments of God which are NOT GRIEVOUS to bear. However, the law contained in the handwriting of ordinances are a YOKE, they are a BONDAGE, they are a YOKE of BONDAGE that none of the Apostles of Jesus were able to bear or their fathers that came before them were able to bear, according to Acts 15:10. fornicator: 1Co_5:1-9, 1Co_5:10; Psa_50:16-21; 2Co_12:20-21; Gal_5:19-21; 1Th_4:3-8; Rev_2:14; Rev_2:20, Rev_21:8, Rev_22:15 covetous: Psa_10:3; Mar_7:21-23; Luk_12:15-31; Eph_5:5; Col_3:5; 1Ti_3:3, 1Ti_6:9-10; 2Pe_2:14-15 an idolater: 1Co_10:7-8, 1Co_10:14, 1Co_10:18-22 a railer: 1Co_6:10; Psa_101:5 a drunkard: 1Co_11:21; Mat_24:49-51; Luk_12:45-46, Luk_21:34; Rom_13:13; Gal_2:12; Eph_5:18; 1Th_5:7-8 an extortioner: Eze_22:12; Mat_23:25; Luk_18:11 ALL LIARS: Rev_21:8 Revelation 21:8. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” So Paul is NOT saying that ALL the Law of God was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way, but rather, it was ONLY the law of commandments in the handwriting of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross. And the ordinance of keeping the weekly Sabbath DAY is one of those commandments that contain ORDINANCES that was NAILED to the cross. For further study on WHY most Christians do NOT keep the weekly Sabbath DAY please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< And in this one link I have links to ALL the studies I have written on the subject of the weekly Sabbath day to show WHY Christians are not taught in the New Testament under the New Covenant to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY. And to see what the early church taught for the first five hundred years please read the quotes from the early church writers Dd-20 Did The Early Church KEEP the Sabbath day? Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to read ALL the studies that I gave links to throughout this study concerning this subject on Sabbath TRUTH. My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Some Sabbath-keeping Christians CLAIM that the early church kept the Sabbath as the Jews, but I assure you that the early first-century church was accustomed to gathering together BEFORE the light of daybreak on the FIRST day of the week that THEY called the Lord's day. Please read all the studies linked within this study and all the studies linked below. This study was just the TIP of the iceberg of exposing the ERRORS of interpretation made by the Saturday seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches, and the Sunday first day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. All of the studies listed under the subject heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< And also read Dd-20. Did The Early Church KEEP the Sabbath day to learn the truth of what the early church believed. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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