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Bob 2, an Every Day Sabbath believer said: Tom, why not share these 1,050 New Testament Commands with SAL and others you talk to at AllExperts.Com.
https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/1050- … t-commands
Tom said: Bob, that was an interesting list. Looks like a good tool to better understand the NT. However, Adventist Reform is focused on specific doctrinal issues, including what Jesus teaches about the 7th day Gospel Sabbath. That is a very important and paradigm-shifting doctrine that needs to be better understood by everyone that claims to follow Christ. So what does Jesus teach about the NC Sabbath? Whatever he teaches, it represents the law of Christ, also known as “My commandments.”
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
Luke 9:26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
It is critical for those that want to follow Christ-- for Eternal Life, to understand what Jesus teaches and commands, and what he does not. The Sabbath is a very good place to see if we are following the Good Shepherd or a fraud. Few will be able to pass this test. Most in Laodicea are blind to the genuine Christ, which is why they are following a false Sabbath and worthless Gospel.
2Cor. 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?
It is interesting to note that the first time the NT speaks about Jesus’ “commands” is in the context of his public healings on the 7th day. From the start of his ministry, Jesus repudiated the 4th Commandment by doing unlawful activity such as “commanding” evil spirits to leave people alone and by healing people on the Sabbath. Such activity was not permitted by the 4th Commandment and both Jesus and the people understood this fact.
Mark 1:21 They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.
Mark 1:22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark 1:23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
Mark 1:24 saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus 2of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!”
Mark 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
Mark 1:26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.
Mark 1:27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Mark 1:28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
This account shows, among other things, that Jesus taught a very different doctrine of the Sabbath from Moses. This “new teaching,” about the 7th day Sabbath featured miraculous healings that stunned and amazed the Jews, thus supporting this major change away from the rules of the 4th Commandment.
Mark 1:39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
The Gospels are full of Jesus’ NC Sabbath teaching and instruction. There is no excuse for anyone today to be blind about the almost 400 Gospel verses that explain this important doctrine. Those that embrace Sunday should be ashamed of themselves. And so too, the Sabbatarians that have embraced the OC doctrine of Moses. The Gospels support none of these errors, much less the new mistakes about the Sabbath from the NCT crowd.
From the very start of Jesus’ ministry, the Sabbath doctrine becomes a great point of contention and debate. This 7th day based conflict never stops until Jesus is forced by the Jews to rest in death. Thus Luke repeats Marks early Sabbath account, making sure it is not missed.
Luke 4:31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;
Luke 4:32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
Luke 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
Luke 4:34 “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!”
Luke 4:35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.
Luke 4:36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”
Luke 4:37 And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.
Luke 4:38 Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home.
The Gospels are full of many passages that explain and define the 7th day Sabbath of Christ. Taken together, they clearly show what Jesus teaches about the NC Sabbath and what he does not. It is not difficult to understand Jesus Sabbath doctrine, --unless one is blind that is. Most are indeed unable to see the Gospel, and their view of the Sabbath proves this point.
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
Let all understand; Jesus does not support Sunday, or the forced rest of the 4th Commandment. He also does not teach a Fulfilled/Abolished/ Every Day Sabbath doctrine that is advocated by the NCT crowd. Jesus only teaches an active, working, and guiltless 7th day Sabbath for the church and all mankind. The SDA’s were supposed to correct the error of Sunday and promote the correct Sabbath doctrine to the world, just before the 2nd Coming. But they have failed. They don’t know Christ or his Gospel teachings about the 7th day Sabbath. NCT is no solution to the errors of the SDA’s.
Repentance and Submission to the teachings of Christ is what the church needs most. Let all look at their personal doctrine of the Sabbath and study to see if Christ approves. If not, repentance and Gospel Reform are urgently required.
Rev. 3:17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
Rev. 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Rev. 3:19 ‘ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
When the church fully understands the Gospel, they will also comprehend and embrace the active and guiltless 7th day Sabbath of Christ.
I hope this helps,
Tom Norris for Adventist Reform
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Tom, where, in the New Testament or for that matter in the whole Bible, did Jesus or the Father ever ask Gentiles to observe any day?
Jesus came to save His special people. He even told them that he didn't come to In His ministry we do not see Him going to the Gentile nations and directing them to keep Jewish law. Never once did He instruct Gentiles to observe any part of the Torah.
How do you come to the conclusion He was teaching Christians a new concept of Sabbath observance? He certainly didn't instruct his ambassadors to teach Gentiles in Sabbath protocol. Not a word is mentioned in all the books of the New Testament about how or when to keep any day.
Could it be that you have become fixated in the idea that indeed Jesus taught new covenant Sabbath observance and have not a shred of evidence to back up your fixation?
He even iterated the following from Matt 5 "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
From that statement alone it would appear that you don't have a leg to stand on.
Jesus was not teaching those Jews to change their Sabbath observance. The law would be their guide until the Lamb of God shed His blood ushering in a completely different and as written better covenant.
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The Gospel and the Sabbath
When the Gospel was first preached by Christ, it featured his New Covenant doctrine of the 7th day Sabbath, which stunned and angered the Jews. Consequently, all during his ministry there was an ongoing theological dispute between Jesus and the Jews over the Sabbath, which is the reason Christ was sent to the cross. Misunderstand these Sabbath debates and the Gospel cannot be properly comprehended. This is what has happened to the church, which is why every denomination today practices a false doctrine of the Sabbath. They are all blind to the NC teachings of Christ.
Moreover, it is important to note the close relationship between the emerging 1st century Gospel and the Sabbath debates. The NT record shows that when the genuine Gospel is preached, a debate over the Sabbath quickly surfaces. On the other hand, if there is no serious Sabbath debate taking place, then the genuine Gospel is most likely not under discussion.
This Gospel pattern applies to us today. Whenever the genuine Gospel is promoted, so too the amazing and controversial 7th day Sabbath of Christ. This NC doctrine clashes with tradition, generating debate from those that do not want to follow Christ.
Adventist Reform understands and promotes the genuine Gospel of Christ, which includes his NC doctrine of the 7th day Sabbath. This in turn creates push back and debate from those that do not know or appreciate the teachings of the genuine Christ. They are content with myths and half-truths, even as they place tradition above the written and clear teachings of Christ.
However, the very debate itself, as well as the emergence of the genuine Sabbath teaching of Christ, is good news. Why? Because it shows that the authentic Gospel, which includes the “amazing” and unexpected Sabbath doctrine of Christ, has emerged for all to ponder. Thus the church is getting closer to understanding the Gospel and the correct doctrine of the Sabbath. Here is more recent discussion and debate over the Gospel and the NC Sabbath of Christ. Let those that seek truth pay attention.
Louie asked: Tom, where, in the New Testament, or for that matter in the whole Bible, did Jesus or the Father ever ask Gentiles to observe any day?
Tom replied: First, you are asking the question incorrectly. This issue is not about “observing” the 4th Commandment as you assert, but the opposite. Jesus teaches that his followers DO NOT have to “observe” the 4th Commandment by resting. (Which does not mean there is no 7th day Sabbath for the church, but that Jesus, the Lord of the Gospel Sabbath, was making major modifications to this creation based, OC Law.)
John 5:15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Jesus teaches that the 4th commandment is not to be observed by his followers, even as he also teaches a guilt free, active Sabbath of Gospel liberty. Here is true “religious freedom” from the guilt of OC law.
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Second, the real question is this: what does Jesus, the head theologian of the church teach about the Sabbath? Whatever it is, those that follow him must embrace and practice what he teaches.
Luke 21:33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
Matt. 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
Matt. 10:25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.
Jesus never taught anyone to keep Sunday special, as if it were the NC Sabbath, much less to rest on the 1st or 7th day. Nor did he teach an Every Day spiritual rest as some today claim. The Gospels clearly define Jesus’ Sabbath doctrine for all to see. Only a blind person could fail to see this.
John 8:43 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
Third, Jesus claims and teaches that his controversial NC doctrine of the Sabbath came from God, and that he was instructed to teach it by his Father.
John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
John 5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
John 7:16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
John 7:17 “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
John 8:18 “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
John 14:24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
Fourth, The Gospel is for the WORLD, not just the Jews, and so too Jesus’ active, working, 7th day Sabbath that is made for all mankind. Here is the correct Sabbath doctrine for the church, both Jew and Gentile.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Louie said: Jesus came to save His special people. He even told them that he didn't come to… In His ministry we do not see Him going to the Gentile nations and directing them to keep Jewish law.
Tom replied: Jesus teaches that he came to save the WORLD, both Jew and Gentile through the Gospel. But not through the law. Moreover, to follow Christ, it is necessary to be born again as a “spiritual Jew.” Why? Because the Gospel story is 100% Semitic. Any follower of Christ is part of the new Israel of God, thus all that follow
Christ are very special. Those that follow Moses are doomed.
John 6:33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
John 12:46 “ I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
John 12:47 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
Rom. 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
Rom. 2:29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
Gal. 6:16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
In addition, Jesus deals with the OC Moral law in his teachings, (which are called the law of Christ). What Jesus teaches is for both Jew and Gentile. Thus, while Moses teaches it sinful to commit adultery, Jesus teaches it is a sin to THINK about lust. Proving that Jesus does teach fundamental Jewish law, even pushing its application deeper.
Matt. 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;
Matt. 5:28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Surprisingly, Jesus does not do this with the 4th Commandment. He does not teach that thinking about work on the Sabbath is sinful, much less doing work. Why? Because Christ changed the Sabbath Law, reforming it to fit the NC concept of the Priesthood of All Believers. In doing so, he is careful to associate this major change with the OC Sabbath rules of the Levites and the Jewish Creation Story.
To misunderstand Jesus’ Sabbath teaching is to misunderstand the Gospel. All in Laodicea are blind to the Gospel and this explains why they are so very wrong about the doctrine of the NC Sabbath.
Rev. 3:17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
Louie said: Never once did He instruct Gentiles to observe any part of the Torah.
Tom replied: Wrong. Jesus instructed his followers to follow the God of Moses and to love him and their neighbors. This instruction by Jesus comes directly from the Torah, as does many other things that Jesus teaches, including the Creation Story and the fact that there is a 7th day Sabbath. Jesus also follows the Torah when he teaches that it is wrong to murder, etc. So your statement is easily shown to be wrong and very foolish.
Mark 10:6 “But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.
Matt. 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Matt. 22:37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
Matt. 22:38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
Matt. 22:39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
Matt. 22:40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Matt. 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Louie asked: How do you come to the conclusion He was teaching Christians a new concept of Sabbath observance?
Tom replied: First, how can anyone read the Gospels and conclude that Jesus was not teaching a new doctrine about the Sabbath? From the beginning of Jesus ministry and all the way through, there was great conflict and debate between Christ and the Jews over the 7th day Sabbath. In fact, the Gospels teach that Jesus was sent to the cross specifically because of his position about the Sabbath. Which means Jesus was not teaching the Sabbath of Moses. He was teaching something very different, which they did not like. Listen to the Jews make this point in one of the great Sabbath debates.
John 9:28 They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
John 9:29 “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man (Jesus), we do not know where He is from.”
John 9:30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. (On the Sabbath).
How does any rational person conclude that Jesus was NOT teaching a “new” doctrine of the Sabbath from what the Jews had codified from Moses? He certainly was not promoting the 4th Commandment of Moses, which is why the Jews killed him. It is pointless to try and change the Gospel Story. It is what it is. Not what we want it to be, and not what we have all been taught. Everyone has been taught a false view of the Gospel and the Sabbath, which explains why the organized church is so corrupt and dysfunctional. The SDA’s being one of the worst.
Second: the OC Sabbath doctrine, like the OC, was only for Jews. While there was a second, different, Sabbath doctrine for the Levites, this too was only for the Jews. Gentiles could not keep the Sabbath, it was not for them.
However, when Jesus starts his Gospel ministry, he immediately promotes a NC doctrine of the Sabbath for all mankind, for both Jew and Gentile, which is based on the active and guiltless Levitical model. All are priests in the NC, thus everyone that follows Christ can work on the 7th day and be guiltless. Such revolutionary theology from Christ was very insulting to the Levites, destroying the entire OC system.
This is why the Jews became so angry over Jesus’ NC Sabbath teachings. It was a living parable of the Gospel, which they hated. Christ was changing their entire religious system by removing the Levites, marginalizing the Temple and the Law, and breaking the Sabbath on a weekly basis, - all in the name of God.
Jesus’ Sabbath teaching shocked and stunned the Jews. They could not comprehend what he was saying or why, because they were unprepared for the Gospel. Their religious leaders had misled them just like ours have done today. Many today are just as unprepared, confused, and wrong about the Gospel, even though they claim to know Christ and follow God. Thus the NC Sabbath of Christ seems impossible and very wrong, which is the exact same reaction as the Gospel hating Jews.
Mark 1:22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark 1:27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man 2or the Sabbath.
Mark 3:2 They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
Mark 3:3 He *said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!”
Mark 3:4 And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.
Mark 3:5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
Mark 3:6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
Luke 4:31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;
Luke 4:32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
The Gospel teachings of Jesus are shocking and surprising. His theological views of the Sabbath are amazing, because they reflect the Gospel mind of God. Those today that refuse to believe that Jesus teaches an active and working 7th day Sabbath for the church, - do not correctly comprehend the Word or the Gospel teachings of Christ. This is what happened to the Jews. They hated Christ’s Sabbath teaching as well as his Gospel, which they refused to understand, much less embrace.
Louie said: He certainly didn't instruct his ambassadors to teach Gentiles in Sabbath protocol.
Tom said: Wrong.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Matt. 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of call the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Matt. 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus’ Gospel teaching INCLUDES his NC doctrine of the Sabbath. In fact, there are scores and scores of NT passages where Jesus specifically debates the Jews on this topic. Thus the Gospels have a lot for us to “observe” and understand about Jesus Sabbath teaching and theology.
Jesus shows how the NC Sabbath is to be practiced. It was one of his favorite topics, featured in all four Gospels. Those that pretend there is no such doctrine, and no such teaching, are repudiating Christ. They will not be saved any more than the Jews that also refuted Jesus’ Sabbath doctrine and sent him to the cross as a Sabbath breaker. What Jesus teaches about the 7th day Sabbath is doctrine for the church. Period.
Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Louie said: Not a word is mentioned in all the books of the New Testament about how or when to keep any day.
Tom said: Wrong. Jesus teaches an active, working, guiltless, 7th day Sabbath for all mankind, even as he takes ownership of this special teaching.
Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Mark 2:28 “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus is not claiming Lordship and control over the OC Sabbath of Moses, but of his own NC version that he teaches and defends in the Gospels. Misunderstand this point, and Christ’s Sabbath theology, and the Gospel Story cannot be properly understood.
Louie said: Could it be that you have become fixated in the idea that indeed Jesus taught new covenant Sabbath observance and have not a shred of evidence to back up your fixation?
Tom replied: First, there are about 400 verses in the Gospels that speak about the 7th day Sabbath. Many contain detailed Sabbath debates between Jesus and the Jews. Thus all four Gospels are full of Christ’s NC Sabbath teachings and instruction. THIS is the primary “evidence” necessary to correctly define the NC Sabbath. You are not seeing things clearly if you think there is no such primary evidence to establish the NC Sabbath teachings of Christ.
There is more than enough evidence to define and explain what Jesus teaches and explains about the Sabbath. The fact that many today want to close their eyes to this large amount of Gospel data that condemns their views is hardly new. The Jews did the same thing. They pretended to be blind about Jesus’ Sabbath doctrine, claiming they couldn’t understand it, which led them to become permanently blind to the Gospel. You would know this if you were familiar with the teachings of Jesus.
The Gospel record is clear; there can be no doubt that Jesus teaches a NC doctrine of the Sabbath. The Gospels are full of such instruction. This is why the Sunday Sabbath was developed by the Gentile church. They wanted to follow the NC Sabbath of Christ, not the OC Sabbath of Moses. So they stayed away from the 7th day on purpose. But this was a mistake and thus they failed to get this NC doctrine fully correct.
There is only one correct Sabbath doctrine for the church: the active and working 7th day Sabbath of Christ. There is no Sunday Sabbath whatsoever, much less a 7th day resting Sabbath as the SDA’s teach.
Louie said: He even iterated the following from Matt 5:
"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
From that statement alone it would appear that you don't have a leg to stand on.
Tom said: The true Sabbath of Christ stands on the words of Christ in the Gospels. There are scores of passages in the NT where Jesus teaches, debates, and defends his controversial doctrine of the Sabbath. So rather then assume I have no legs, you need to understand that you have no eyes or ears. You are blind and deaf to the words of Christ, which you refuse to believe.
Why do people persist in misquoting Jesus about the Sabbath? Why are supposed Christians so dishonest and incompetent when it comes to studying the Gospel teachings of Christ? Ignoring the words of Christ is no way to find truth. The critics need to stop with this absurd proof texting method, which ignores scores of passages that prove them wrong. The Gospel cannot be properly understood with such false, insincere, and lazy methodology. Those that seek Gospel truth, must do so with good faith and honest intentions. Lazy pretenders will never understand the Bible, much less the Gospel Sabbath of Christ.
Luke 13:24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Phil. 2:21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.
2Tim. 2:14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
2Tim. 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Anyone that wants to understand what Jesus teaches about the Sabbath, can easily read the Gospels and find the facts. There are so many passages in the Gospels where Jesus teaches about the Sabbath that it is impossible to miss this topic, unless one is closing their eyes of course.
Second, this passage in Matthew is talking about Judaism and the OC law. It makes the same point that Paul later makes about the Schoolmaster or Tutor law in Galatians.
Gal. 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
Gal. 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Jesus was the fulfillment of the entire system of Judaism. The OC ended at the cross when Jesus said “It is Finished.”
John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
John 5:40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/5-17.htm
Moreover, this passage does not explain Jesus’ teaching about the NC Sabbath, nor should anyone use this passage to define the Sabbath when there are scores of explicit passages where Jesus does teach the NC doctrine of the Sabbath. Such a dishonest hermeneutic will not lead to truth. The truth about the Gospel Sabbath of Christ is clearly contained in the Gospel Record. This is all the evidence that anyone needs to understand the Sabbath teachings of Christ. However, those that are blind to the Gospel will never comprehend the NC Sabbath correctly, much less the Gospel. While they claim to understand and follow God, their rejection of Jesus teachings proves them to be lying hypocrites.
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
John 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Those that reject Christ’s active, guilt-free, 7th day Sabbath will not be given mercy or Eternal Life. Their refusal to embrace the NC Sabbath of God’s Son shows that they are strangers and not true sheep of God.
John 10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
John 10:4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:5 “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Louie said: Jesus was not teaching those Jews to change their Sabbath observance.
Tom replied: Wrong. Of course Jesus was teaching the Jews new doctrine, including a NC Sabbath that they had never imagined existed. Christ went around preaching the Gospel and asking people to follow him and to believe his NC theology. That is why he had an organized group of disciples to follow and represent him. How can you not know this?
John 9:26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
John 9:27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”
John 9:28 They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
While Jesus was not teaching a new day, like Sunday, he was teaching a very different view of the 7th day Sabbath, which stunned the Jews. Why do you think they were so angry with him? The Gospel Sabbath of Christ was very new, different, and contradictory to the Jews. The debate over the Sabbath also reflected the larger debate between the OC and NC. It is a debate that has yet to be fully understood, which is why there is no correct doctrine of the Sabbath at this time in the church.
Jesus was on a Gospel mission from God, which included teaching a new doctrine of the Sabbath for the church. This Gospel Sabbath stunned and divided the Jews, and resulted in Christ going to the cross. This new teaching is why they became so angry. How can anyone read the Gospels and not see that Jesus was promoting a NEW doctrine of the 7th day Sabbath? Most today are blind when it comes to understanding the NT and the Sabbath of Christ. Just like the Jews.
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
John 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but 1since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Jesus’ amazing NC views affected many things, including the Sabbath, the Law, the Temple and the Priesthood. He changed them all as he changed the OC into the NC.
Matt. 7:28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;
Mark 1:27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Acts 17:19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?
Luke 2:47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
Luke 4:32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.
Louie said: The law would be their guide until the Lamb of God shed His blood ushering in a completely different and as written better covenant.
Tom replied: Jesus preached the Gospel, forgave sins, and asked people to believe in him for Eternal Life, - BEFORE THE CROSS. The Gospel record is clear on this point. Jesus is the self-proclaimed Good Shepherd that we are to follow. Not Moses. Not the law. Thus the critics of Adventist Reform need to stop promoting myths and errors as if they were the truth. Jesus did not teach the OC, but the NC. They are very different.
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
In conclusion, those that are sincerely looking for Gospel truth will find it. But those intent on playing games with the Gospel by embracing a false hermeneutic and a false view of the Sabbath will remain blind, unforgiven, and lost. Just like the Jews.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Matt. 15:13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.
Matt. 15:14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
I hope this response helps you better understand the NC Sabbath of Christ, the one that was made for all mankind. I suggest that you take the time to read, study, and understand the many Gospel passages where Christ, the Good Shepherd, promotes, debates, and defends his amazing, 7th day, NC Sabbath. Those intent on following the genuine Christ of the Gospels will repent for their false views and come to understand the amazing doctrine of the Sabbath, from the Lord of the Sabbath and High Priest of the Church.
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
John 10:2 “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:5 “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Those, like the SDA’s, that deny Jesus’ active, 7th day doctrine of the Sabbath are denying Christ. They do not know Christ or his Word. They are not Gospel Sheep, but very foolish, lost sheep.
John 10:26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
John 5:38 “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.
To misunderstand the NC Sabbath today is to misunderstand Christ and the Gospel Story. Thus the SDA’s are correct to teach the importance of getting the Sabbath doctrine correct. How ironic that they have failed as spectacularly as did the 1st century Jews, and for the same reasons. The SDA’s have a false, OC view of the Sabbath for which they must repent or perish.
2Cor. 3:14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
2Cor. 3:15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
2Cor. 3:16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Rom. 11:8 just as it is written,
“GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR,
EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT,
DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.”
It is time for the church to start paying attention to the teachings of Christ, and to believe his Gospel words of salvation, including what Jesus teaches about the 7th day.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
Luke 9:26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
To “believe” in Christ and his words, means to also believe in his active, guilt free, doctrine of the 7th day Sabbath. Those that refuse to embrace what Jesus teaches about the Sabbath will fall under the wrath of God. Just like the Jews.
Ezek. 12:2 “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
Mark 4:23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Tom Norris, for New Covenant Reform within the Adventist Community
Offline
Question about Character Perfection:
Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of the Saviour shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim His own. It is the privilege of every Christian, not only to look for, but to hasten, the coming of our Lord. Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel! Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come. – {Ellen White, CT 324.3}
What do Adventists mean when we talk about character perfection? Has the term ever been defined? Has its understanding changed over the years. This term seems to be tossed about in Adventist circles often from various flavors of Adventists I encounter, from the diehard perfectionist to the 'Jesus makes up the difference' variety, to various spectrums in-between. Is this ultimately just an ambiguous term we will never nail down?
Marvin, Florida
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Tom Norris Answers: Legalsim in the SDA Church: Uriah Smith or Ellen White?
The SDA’s have had a very difficult time understanding the Protestant Gospel. In fact, this core issue about Law versus Gospel; sanctification and character perfection, has haunted the Advent Movement over the years, causing one schism after another.
Unless they can break this debilitating cycle and repent; correctly comprehending these important Gospel issues, they are doomed to endless schism and failure. Even now, there is another fracture taking place within the Denomination over the issue of women’s ordination. There will be no end to these problems so long as the leaders follow an Old Covenant mindset, where women are not equal to men, and where the false, legalistic, doctrines of the past are defended as present truth.
The present survival of the Advent Movement will be determined by how well they comprehend the New Covenant teachings of Christ. So far, they are not doing very well. In fact, they are self-destructing in the 21st century, just as they did in the 19th and 20th. Their repeated history of conflict over law keeping has become tiresome and unsustainable. It seems they do not want to learn the Gospel or any lessons from church history.
Adventism & Legalism
The Advent Movement is Protestant in nature and doctrine, and thus it was a great mistake for the SDA’s to embrace legalism and become like the confused Galatians or the Roman Catholic Church. They made this error because of their obsession with the Moral Law and 7th day, Old Covenant Sabbath, which was their primary doctrine in addition to the Second Coming.
However, to be fair, the rise of Adventism took place during a time when the evangelical church was obsessed with holiness and “entire sanctification,” also called “the second blessing.” By the 1840s, a new emphasis on Holiness and Christian perfection began within American Methodism, brought about in large part by the revivalism and camp meetings of the Second Great Awakening (1790-1840)[4]
The Holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices which emerged from 19th-century Methodism, and to a number of Evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements which emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine. The movement is defined by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of a second work of grace leading to Christian perfection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiness_ … _Methodism
While the SDA’s were correct to repudiate the Sunday Sabbath, their promotion of the 7th Day Sabbath soon led them to promote their own, unique brand of Sabbath based legalism. Including the creation of the strange doctrine called the Investigative Judgment, which was championed by Uriah Smith, a great 19th century, SDA legalist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriah_Smith
The early SDAs reflected their Puritan New England culture. They were all very legalistic, including Bates and James White. Ellen White was a Methodist, and thus she too was raised in a holiness culture, which was the theological fashion of the day.
With such a religious background, it is easy to see why the SDA’s also embraced sanctification and obedience to the Law. They were like most others except they worshiped on the 7th day, as they claimed, the Moral Law demanded. The Sunday keepers could never attain to perfection because they were breaking the Law every week. Thus, they reasoned, true obedience, sanctification, and righteousness must be based on 7th day Sabbath observance, not Sunday.
As the 19th century SDA’s promoted their unique, 7th day view of sanctification and eschatology, a second generation Adventist stood up and protested. In the mid 1880’s, E J Waggoner discovered Luther’s Gospel and led a campaign AGAINST Character perfection in the SDA church. He questioned not only the doctrine of the 7th day Sabbath, but also the IJ, which he would later repudiate.
Uriah Smith, the leading SDA theologian, dismissed Waggoner’s views as destructive to the Denominations unique eschatology, as well as to the Moral Law and the 7th day Sabbath. While Smith had good reason to worry, Waggoner nonetheless convinced Ellen White to support his Gospel views, causing great confusion, debate, and schism in Battle Creek.
Listen to Ellen White attack Uriah Smith:
“Let the law take care of itself. We have been at work on the law until we get as dry as the hills of Gilboa. . . . Let us trust in the merits of Jesus" (1888 Materials 557).
Ellen White went on to amplify this response, which was targeted at Smith:
"Some of our brethren have expressed fears that we shall dwell too much upon the subject of justification by faith, but I hope and pray that none will be needlessly alarmed; for there is no danger in presenting this doctrine as it is set forth in the Scriptures. If there had not been a remissness in the past to properly instruct the people of God, there would not now be a necessity of calling especial attention to it. . . .”
The great debate between Ellen White and Uriah Smith has not been honestly told by the White Estate. Although the White Estate taught that Ellen White was a lifelong champion of Character Perfection, and that she fully supported Uriah Smith’s last generation theology, after 1888, she did not. The White Estate has deceived millions about Ellen White and it has to stop.
The White Estate also claimed Ellen White’s views did not support Dr. Ford’s positions, which repudiated Character Perfection and claimed the IJ to be a false pillar. But this too, is false. The modern SDA leaders were not, and are not, telling the truth about Ellen White or church history. Dr. Ford told the truth. The IJ was never a pillar in the 1st Angels Message, as everyone has been taught. The hour of his Judgment is come was only and always a reference to the Second Coming. Never the IJ.
Today, few people know that after 1888, Ellen White repudiated Uriah Smith’s view of the Gospel, including character perfection. This is when she understood the Gospel more fully and separated from Smith; the champion of the IJ and last generation perfectionism.
This explains why Steps to Christ, written by Ellen White, a few years after 1888, teaches the OPPOSITE of character perfection. And why it could not be printed at the Review.
Listen to the post 1888 Ellen White repudiate Uriah Smith’s Legalism:
"The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been, --just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents, -- perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized."
"It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God's law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God.”
“But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous.
Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned." (Page 62.)
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This Gospel concept, whereby "Christ's character stands in place of your character" cannot be found in the pre 1888 Ellen White, much less in any of Uriah Smith’s writings. It was a new and different teaching for the Battle Creek theologians that taught "character perfection" was a prerequisite for salvation, and that 7th day sanctification, called “our righteousness,” was salvific.
The fact of the matter is that Ellen White CHANGED her view of the Two Covenants, the definition of the Gospel, and the Law in Galatians after 1888. (She also changed her view about tithe and the scapegoat, even as she declared there was more truth coming about the Sabbath and eschatology). After 1888, Ellen White repudiated Uriah Smith’s views about character perfection and all forms of legalism, even demanding that the church move forward to understand more truth about the Sabbath.
Too bad the modern church leaders have been hiding Ellen White’s mature views, so that they could promote Uriah Smiths gross legalism. THIS is why there was, and still is, a cover up in the White Estate. The leaders were/are hiding Ellen White’s post 1888 views so they could promote her earlier pre-1888 positions, which agreed with Uriah Smith and their own twisted minds.
Let everyone understand; the White Estate is a criminal enterprise. They have been promoting one of the largest publishing frauds in modern history. Millions have been deceived by the White Estates fabrications about Ellen White, which is ongoing in nature. Most every book published by the White Estate is misleading and will need to be corrected.
Here are the real facts: after 1888, thanks to Waggoner (and Luther), Ellen White understood that sanctification is not part of the Gospel. She understood that character development is not salvific, nor is our salvation predicated upon our obedience to the Law or the Sabbath. She understood that Christ’s Righteousness is our justification by faith, not our obedience (sanctification) to the law.
After 1888, Ellen White wrote:
"We are not to be anxious about what Christ and God think of us, but about what God thinks of Christ, our substitute." She also writes, "We are not called upon to make our peace with God, but to accept Christ who is our peace." And again, in Steps to Christ, p. 62, "Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned" (see her many pages on righteousness by faith in Selected Messages, vol. I, pp. 32-33, etc.).
http://www.goodnewsunlimited.org/librar … rt1.cfm#q3
Let the Adventist Community understand: Ellen White’s post 1888 view is the OPPOSITE of Uriah Smith and Traditional 20th century Adventism. Her post 1888 views support Dr. Ford’s theology, not Uriah Smith’s, which was upheld at Glacier View in 1980 by the confused and incompetent SDA leaders.
Listen to Smith and understand that he is the ongoing source for character perfection in the SDA church, along with the dishonest White Estate, not Ellen White. After 1888, Ellen White became Smith’s theological enemy for life. But the White Estate hid this information so they could promote legalistic fiction and fraud, which has ruined modern Adventism.
Our Righteousness is Law Keeping; According To Uriah Smith
"The whole object of Christ's work for us is to bring us back to the law, that its righteousness may be fulfilled in us by our obedience, and that when we at last stand beside the law, which is the test of the judgment, we may appear as absolutely in harmony with it, as if we had never belonged to a sinful race who had trampled it in the dust."
Uriah Smith then goes on in this 1889 Review Editorial to directly attack Waggoner by claiming that the Righteousness of Christ is NOT SUFFICIENT for salvation. We must build up our own characters and prove that we are safe to save.
"There is a righteousness we must have, in order to see the kingdom of heaven, which is called 'our righteousness'; and this righteousness comes from being in harmony with the law of God."
Ellen White repudiated Smith’s definition of “our righteousness” and claimed that we have none! But it was Smith’s view that has triumphed within modern Adventism, even as the Adventist Community has never heard the full story of the 1888 debate.
The modern SDA leaders have misled millions into thinking that the mature Ellen White supports Uriah Smith's theology of last generation character perfection. After 1888, she did not. The SDA leaders have NEVER told the truth about the 1888 Gospel debates and Ellen White’s repudiation of character perfection and law keeping for salvation. If they did, they would have to also repudiate the IJ and repent for Glacier View, which they do not want to do. So they keep this massive fraud alive and refuse to correct the record to save face.
Takoma Park Adventism Embraced Uriah Smith; Not Ellen White
The Takoma Park apologists were great legalists. They believed in 7th day sanctification, last day perfection, and the doctrine of the IJ, which would judge the character of each believer far out in deep space to see if they were safe to save. They eagerly followed Uriah Smith’s views and dishonestly pretended that Ellen White supported them, when they knew that was not the case after 1888.
This massive fraud in the White Estate is the reason why there is so much confusion and misunderstanding about Ellen White and SDA theology. The White Estate has been hiding documents and manipulating church history and doctrine in order to support, not Ellen White and her mature Gospel views, but Uriah Smith and his perfectionistic views. The White Estate has betrayed Ellen White, choosing to embrace her nemesis Uriah Smith, in her name. Ellen White would be livid, and so too should the Adventist Community.
Ellen White
http://www.atomorrow.net/fluxbb/viewtopic.php?id=225
Many people wondered why the White Estate was/is so paranoid and secretive, set up like a fortress protecting State secrets. Here is the answer; in order for Smith’s legalistic views to prevail in the 20th century, the leaders had to hide the 1888 conflict and cover-up the great debate between Ellen White and Uriah Smith. And this is what they did, as well as publish a false and diversionary story by Froom and others. All the while, they were hiding the real debate about perfection that showed Ellen White rejected Smith’s legalistic views.
To be sure, the initial Ellen White cover-up was not meant to defend Uriah Smith’s views or to suggest that new light had not come to the SDA’s in1888. Rather, it was designed to stop further debate about the law and the Sabbath so that the Denomination could recover from the almost fatal Battle Creek schism. Then, in due time, the Denomination planned to revisit the 1888 debacle and resolve the theological issues that Ellen White said were so important for Adventists to comprehend.
Unfortunately, there never came a time when the White Estate told the true story about 1888, as President Daniels envisioned. Although the church has had many opportunities to correct the record, they refuse, because to do so would expose their previous positions as misdirection and fraud. So the leaders were trapped, fearful of confessing what they have done. And the cover-up continues, even to this very day.
Hidden Documents in White Estate
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Seventh-Day- … uments.htm
In the early 1970’s, in the heat of debate from the critics, Froom wrote his massive work on 1888 called “Movement of Destiny”. This official, pro-perfection account has turned out to be fictitious and fraudulent. It was a deliberate attempt to keep the real story of 1888 hidden, even as it fueled the modern debate about Righteousness by Faith and further distorted the issues leading up to the second 1888 debate, which was Glacier View.
By the time of Glacier View in 1980, the Takoma Park apologists had built up Uriah Smith so much that few knew Ellen White repudiated him, even having him fired from the Review in 1902. More than that, they fabricated views about the IJ that neither Ellen White nor Uriah Smith ever embraced, forcing them on the Adventist Community.
This massive, criminal, publishing fraud has so confused Adventists that little makes sense. Only when the record is corrected, will people understand that Ellen White is a hero. After 1888, she stood up AGAINST perfection and for the Protestant Gospel. What a pity that the White Estate has portrayed Ellen White in a very false and manipulated manner. They must be held accountable.
Today, the vast majority of SDA’s have correctly rejected the gross legalism of Uriah Smith, thinking that they were also repudiating Ellen White. But Ellen White rejected Uriah Smith’s character perfection after 1888, and thus it is very unfair to both Ellen White and the Adventist Community to hide this important history. Shame on the legalistic and incompetent White Estate. They have ruined not only the reputation of Ellen White, but also the very Advent Movement with their fraud.
Although the Denomination tried to force everyone to embrace Smith’s and Ellen White’s legalism at Glacier View, millions balked; correctly repudiating the IJ and leaving the church. Unless the SDA’s tell the truth about 1888 and explain that Ellen White repudiated Uriah Smith, and his many errors about last day perfection, they are doomed to endless schism and irrelevance.
In hindsight, the SDA’s have repeated their same fatal mistakes from Battle Creek. Just as they promoted character perfection and obedience to the Law for salvation, so too, did Takoma Park Adventism.
This is because the Takoma Park leaders embraced and promoted Uriah Smith’s views with both hands, pushing them forward, even though they knew Ellen White had repudiated and condemned this legalistic theology. Because they were so legalistic, they thought Ellen White must not have understood the issues correctly, and thus they promoted Uriah Smiths condemned views as if they had the full support from Ellen White, when that was not true.
Just as the 19th century SDA’s fell into great debate followed by schism, so too the 20th century SDA’s, with their replay of 1888 in 1980. Adventist history is repeating itself for all to see. And it is not a nice picture. The Advent Movement, whose leaders are following Uriah Smith and not Ellen White, is self-destructing in front of our eyes because they refused to be honest about the Gospel and church history.
Conclusion
History shows that that the SDA teachings about law keeping, sanctification, and perfection have troubled Adventists for generations. More than that, these issues actually destroyed their Battle Creek Empire and sent the Denomination into great schism, forcing a retreat to Takoma Park.
Unfortunately, the relocated 20th century Denomination covered up Ellen White’s true views and embraced Uriah Smith’s legalistic theology, along with his obsession with the IJ. The results were the same as what happened in Battle Creek; a great schism resulted following Glacier View. All the while, the true story of 1888 remained hidden in the White Estate, and so too Ellen White’s true, post 1888 views.
It is time for a paradigm shift within the Advent Movement. The present corrupt course is not credible, or sustainable.
It is time for:
1) The Advent Movement to reject Uriah Smith’s Old Covenant legalism in all its’ many forms, starting with the IJ.
2) The Denomination to tell the truth about Ellen White and church history. The White Estate must confess their massive fraud and correct the record.
3) New Covenant Adventism to replace the gross legalism and corruption of Old Covenant Adventism. The 4th Angels Message is where the Advent Movement must migrate. Credible Gospel eschatology must be quickly developed for the 21st century.
The Advent Movement must not be allowed to die. The world is closer than ever to the great tribulation and the end of the world.
Matt. 24:21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
Rom. 13:11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
I hope this helps,
Tom Norris for All Experts.Com & Adventist Reform
Offline
Question: Regarding the law: I am concerned about positions taken against the validity of the ten commandments in the new testament for mere reason that the SDAs are upholding it to keep Sabbath relevant in the New Testament.
There are places where parts of this law were mentioned (in reference to the ten commandment) both in the Gospel and Epistles.
The issue of no one can be saved by the observance of the law BUT BY GRACE cannot be point of dispute. The Word of God doesn't provide room for salvation in any other way than FAITH.
But what is really wrong with the Ten Commandments not to be valid now? Or why should we consider they were made only for the Israel; for example talk about the first three and the last six, if Sabbath wrongly dominates the whole of it.
Thanks.
Awano H
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Law, Gospel, & Sabbath
The Gospels showcase the tension between Old Covenant Law and the New Covenant Gospel of Christ. Jesus does not seem to be against the law, but yet he was always in conflict with the religious leaders of his day that accused him of breaking it, especially the 4th Commandment.
The early church also fell into great debate about the relationship of Old Covenant Law to the Gospel. This is what the book of Galatians is all about. Over time the church followed a wrong path and compromised by blending the OC with the NC, creating a hybrid Gospel that featured a separate, male dominated priesthood, with a high priest ruling from a throne in a great Temple. (Pope)
The Reformation protested this compromised, balanced, theology by separating the Old Covenant Law from the New Covenant Gospel. They also repudiated the OC view of the priesthood, embracing the Priesthood of all believers as a key point of doctrine.
The Reformers demanded a clear separation between OC law and the NC teachings of Christ. They claimed the corrupt church had misunderstood the Gospel. Listen to Luther on this point.
"This difference between the Law and the Gospel is the height of knowledge in Christendom. Every person and all persons who assume or glory in the name of Christian should know and be able to state this difference. If this ability is lacking, one cannot tell a Christian from a heathen or a Jew; of such supreme importance is this differentiation. This is why St. Paul so strongly insists on a clean-cut and proper differentiating of these two doctrines." (Martin Luther, Sermon On Galatians, 1532)
Spurgeon makes the same point:
"There is no point on which men make greater mistakes than on the relation which exists between the law and the gospel. Some men put the law instead of the gospel; others put gospel instead of the law. A certain class maintains that the law and the gospel are mixed...These men understand not the truth and are false teachers." (C.H. Spurgeon, New Park Street Pulpit, 1855)
1) Gospel & Sabbath Misunderstood
Today, this necessary distinction between the Two Covenants has long ago been lost in a sea of religious double-talk and tradition. Which explains why there is so much confusion about doctrine, especially about the Sabbath. However, whenever this distinction between OC law and NC Gospel comes into focus, the genuine Gospel emerges, and so too the genuine Sabbath of Christ.
Consequently, there is no theological point more critical to understand then the difference between the Old and New Covenants. This theological knowledge is the key to understanding the Gospel as well as church history, including the Reformation and what happened to the SDA’s in 1888. It is also the secret to understanding the NC Sabbath, which no church today has correctly defined.
This conflict between the Old and New Covenants starts with the 1st century teachings of Christ. The Jews could not, and would not, acknowledge that there was a NC, and thus they defended the OC from change and killed Christ for breaking the 4th Commandment. The Jews refused to embrace their Messiah or admit that the OC was temporary, subordinate to a better Covenant.
Even Jesus disciples failed to comprehend that the NC was replacing the OC. Although they accepted Jesus as the Messiah, they had a difficult time comprehending the Gospel. Which is why the early church fell into great debate about the law and the Gospel, even setting one apostle against another. (See Galatians)
Gal. 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
Gal. 2:12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
Gal. 2:13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
Gal. 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Legalism was very much alive in the apostolic church as the Christian Pharisees tried to blend OC law with the Gospel.
Acts 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”
While Paul defended the Gospel, it was only a matter of time before the church eventually blended the OC with the NC, developing a false Gospel, (as well an impossible Sabbath doctrine,) which they promoted without opposition for hundreds of years until the reformers protested and pushed back.
Acts 20:27 “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Acts 20:29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
The Protestant based SDA’s claimed it their task to complete the work of the Reformation. They aspired to preaching a fully correct Gospel, which would also include a fully correct Sabbath doctrine, as well as how the world would end. But they failed to understand the important difference between the two covenants, blending them together into a confused and distorted Gospel that contains an invalid doctrine of the Sabbath combined with an impossible view of eschatology. The 3rd Angels Message has failed for all to see.
Let’s see if we can explain how the Law and Gospel function, so as to arrive at a correct articulation of the New Covenant Sabbath. Here are a number of points that must be understood.
2) OC Law Not Binding On Church
The SDA claim that the 4th Commandment is binding on the church is based on a false assumption. They are not. This shocking theological fact is what the 1888 debates were all about.
In 1886, Waggoner discovered (through reading Luther’s Commentary on Galatians) that the church is not under any OC law, including the 4th Commandment. Ellen White agreed. Canright also agreed and left the Denomination. Uriah Smith disagreed and vowed to stay and fight for the 4th Commandment, which he did until the day he was removed from the Review for attacking this new light from 1888. Smith’s incorrect view prevails today. Not Waggoner’s or that of Ellen White.
The Protestant position correctly declares that the church is not under any OC law, including the 4th Commandment. This position can never change. The 10 Commandments are part of the Jewish Old Covenant Law. They were never given to the Gentiles, much less to the church or anyone today.
Although Uriah Smith developed a theological formula that claimed the 10 C’s still exist in the New Covenant, (so the SDA’s could promote the 4th Commandment), Waggoner proved him wrong in the 1888 debates, supported by Ellen White. But surprisingly, Smith’s views have prevailed in SDA theology. Thus the SDA’s still incorrectly think that the Moral law is binding on Christians.
This is why the SDA’s promote the Sabbath of the 4th Commandment, along with their legalistic, tithe-based theology that is against the Gospel. They too have blended the OC with the NC, thus creating a hybrid religion that is false and worthless. The Reformers would not approve, and neither would Jesus or the apostles or the SDA Pioneers. The SDA’s have become an Old Covenant religion, only pretending to support the New Covenant, which they do not fully understand.
3) Church Under Law of Christ: Not Law of Moses
Let everyone understand: Christians are not under any of the 10 Commandment laws, much less the many OC ceremonial laws, such as circumcision or festivals, etc. This includes the 4th Commandment.
However, Christians are not lawless; while they do not follow Moses, they follow Christ and thus they are under the law of Christ. This means they must follow the teachings, sayings, and commandments of Christ, (not Moses and the Jewish law). This includes what Jesus teaches about the Sabbath in the Gospels.
Matt. 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
While there are many references to the Old Covenant law in the NT, it is the NC law of Christ that controls the Christian’s behavior, not the law of Moses. The teachings of Christ cover every aspect of life.
Heb. 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Matt. 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Gal. 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Christians have no need for OC Law, but they do need to follow NC law, even including some ceremonial laws that Jesus teaches. Moreover, the Gospel teachings of Jesus speak to every one of the 10 C’s, including the Sabbath. Whatever Jesus teaches about the Sabbath is law, teaching, and commandment for the church.
Thus, while the OC Law says it is sinful to murder or commit adultery, Jesus expands and applies this law to our thoughts as well as actions in the NC. This is an example of New Covenant Law. Thus the law of Christ prohibits murder and even the thought of murder. There are many more examples of Jesus commandments, including his command to love one another.
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
1John 3:23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
Luke 9:26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Jesus teaches a lot about behavior, which is essentially New Covenant law. But such instruction or obedience should not to be confused with Gospel salvation. We are not saved by our NC love, piety, or good works, much less by obedience to OC Law.
We are only saved by faith in Christ. Jesus is greater than Moses, and so too are his insights and teaching. But he saves no one because of his or her Gospel obedience. Christ is not Moses; he is our saviour, freely granting those that follow him Eternal life by faith, not by obedience to either OC or NC law.
Rom. 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
Rom. 16:26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;
4) Paul Under Law Of Christ; Not Law of Moses
Paul, a Jew, makes it clear that he is not under the Law of Moses. While he may pretend, so as to convert some Jews, he knows better and so too should we today. He understood this critical point.
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
1Cor. 9:19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.
1Cor. 9:20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;
1Cor. 9:21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
1Cor. 9:22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.
1Cor. 9:23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
V 20 makes it clear that Paul is not under the 10 C law, and neither are we today. No Christian is under any OC law. None. We live in the NC, not the OC. Christians follow Jesus, not Moses. Such a view prohibits embracing the 4th Commandment, unless of course, this is what Christ teaches in the Gospels.
5) NC Law- Eternal Life by Faith
In the NC, the primary teaching of Jesus is not about behavior, sanctification, or law, but about Eternal life as a free Gift. This first Gospel teaching, or first law of Christ, is foundational to the Gospel; simple faith in Jesus for Eternal life. Here is the starting point for the Christian Faith.
Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
Matt. 10:32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
Matt. 10:33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
John 12:50 “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1John 5:11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
1John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Jude 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
Here is the point and purpose of the Gospel; Eternal Life for sinful mortals. This is the first and most important teaching of Christ. Thus, the Christian is saved before they obey any teaching of Christ. And they remain saved by faith, not by their behavior, devotion, or love.
6) Jesus Did Not Teach 4th Commandment
Does the law of Christ include the 4th Commandment? Did Jesus teach the Sabbath of Moses in the Gospels? Although it is true that Jesus never taught a Sunday Sabbath, many Sabbatarians falsely assume Christ observed, defended, and taught the 4th Commandment. He did not. This is pure myth.
In fact, it was the Jews that defended and promoted the 4th Commandment, not Christ. This fact can be readily seen in the many Sabbath debates that are in all four Gospels. (For example see: John 5, 7, 9 & 10)
Moreover, this popular idea that Jesus teaches a resting Sabbath is also mythical and false. The Gospel never shows Jesus resting on the 7th day. Rather he was actively preaching and debating the Gospel, healing, traveling, and always active.
Moreover, when rest was needed, it was not on the 7th day.
Mark 6:30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.
Mark 6:31 And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
Mark 6:32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.
Sabbath Work; Not Rest
Jesus infuriated the Jews with his public refusal to obey the 4th Commandment. When confronted for breaking the Sabbath law, Jesus did not deny the charge, but claimed God had shown him another doctrine of the Sabbath, an active, working, Sabbath.
John 5:15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
John 5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
While Jesus clearly teaches an active 7th day Sabbath in all four Gospels, it is not the 4th Commandment, where rest is commanded under pain of death. The NC Sabbath is not a resting, passive doctrine. Nor does it forbid any work or activity. It is the OC Sabbath of Moses that features rest and guilt for disobedience.
Ex. 31:15 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
7) The New Covenant Sabbath- The Lord’s Day
When it comes to the New Covenant Sabbath, what does Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath teach? Sunday? No. The 4th Commandment? No. The No Sabbath/Every Day Sabbath doctrine? No and no.
Jesus teaches an active, guilt free, 7th day Sabbath for the church, which is based on the priestly Sabbath of the Levites. It is a doctrine that is clearly found in all four Gospel, as well as the rest of the NT. This Sabbath doctrine is not only the law of Christ, it also reflects the Gospel and its’ superiority to Old Covenant Law, even freedom from guilt.
More than that, this unique teaching of Christ is a litmus test to identify the genuine Good Shepherd. (See Sabbath debate, John 9 & 10). Thus it is not the Sabbath of Moses that is binding on the church, but only that of Christ, which is very different from the 4th Commandment.
Today, the Laodicean Church, meaning all denominations, is blind to the Gospel; deaf to the teachings of Christ. This is why they all have a very false and impossible view about the Sabbath. They are not following the Good Shepherd, but a fraud.
Matt. 24:11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
Rev. 3:17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
While the OC features the well-known 4th Commandment, it also contains a lesser-known Sabbath doctrine where work was permitted by the Levites on the 7th day. Jesus refused to teach the 4th Commandment, choosing instead to model the NC Sabbath on the active and guilt free Sabbath of the Levitical priests, expanding the concept to the Priesthood of all believers to the church.
Matt. 12:5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?
The NC Sabbath: Although the 4th Commandment features rest, under pain of death, Jesus never rested on the Sabbath, and in fact taught an active, working, 7th day Sabbath. It is great error to claim that Jesus upholds, defends, or promotes a resting, 7th day Sabbath or Sunday Lord’s Day. The Gospels clearly refute such a claim, even as Jesus is referring to a Sabbath for all mankind, not for the Jews.
Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Shame on the SDA’s for being so blind about such a clear Gospel point. They were supposed to be the experts. But their view of the Sabbath is wrong, even against Christ, although they do have the correct day. But so too did the Jews that killed Christ. There is more to the doctrine of the Gospel Sabbath than just the day.
Conclusion
When it comes to theology, there is no point more confusing than the relationship between Old Covenant Law and New Covenant Gospel. Misunderstand this point, and the Christian Faith will quickly become a false, law based religion.
The Sabbath doctrine stands at the intersection of the Old and New Covenants, which makes it problematic to understand, subject to different interpretations. As a result, the church has not understood this doctrine correctly for centuries, even as no denomination today embraces the genuine Sabbath of Christ. Not even the SDA’s.
The 10 C’s are not valid for Gentiles. No Christian is to follow the 4th Commandment, or any OC law. Christians live in the NC era, they must listen to, and follow, Christ, not Moses. What Jesus teaches about everything, including Eternal Life or the Sabbath, is law for the church.
Jesus did not obey, defend, or teach the 4th Commandment, nor did he rest on the 7th day. Rather, Christ teaches an active, guilt free, 7th day Sabbath, which infuriated the Old Covenant Jews. They refused to understand the Gospel Sabbath, preferring the Old Covenant to the New. The church has made the same mistake, for which they must repent, and follow only what Jesus teaches.
Mark 4:23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Tom Norris for All Experts.Com & Adventist Reform
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More Law & Sabbath Questions:
Tom said: "The Sabbath doctrine stands at the intersection of the Old and New Covenants, which makes it problematic to understand, subject to different interpretations. As a result, the church has not understood this doctrine correctly for centuries, even as no denomination today embraces the genuine Sabbath of Christ. Not even the SDA’s."
"The 10 C’s are not valid for Gentiles. No Christian is to follow the 4th Commandment, or any OC law. Christians live in the NC era, they must listen to, and follow, Christ, not Moses. What Jesus teaches about everything, including Eternal Life or the Sabbath, is law for the church."
Q1. Why then did Jesus ask the young ruler if he observed the law to answer the question of eternal life?
Tom replied: The four Gospels feature a clash between the Old Covenant Jews and Jesus’ New Covenant Gospel. If one does not understand this combative theological context correctly, doctrinal confusion will result. Understanding the difference between the Two Covenants is imperative for anyone trying to understand the Gospel, much less the NC Sabbath.
Moreover, it is a great mistake to try and understand the Gospel teachings of Christ through the proof texting method. This misleading SDA hermeneutic, which treats the Old Testament as equal to the New, is an abomination. This Adventist double-talk about embracing the “entire Bible” is flat out heresy. It is code for embracing the OC and blending it with the NC to create a confused, legalistic, cult. For Christians, only the New Testament is binding and valid. Jesus words and teachings are far superior to anything contained in the Old Covenant. All SDA’s need to repent and learn how to read the Bible correctly.
In this passage, Jesus is dealing with a wealthy, OC Jew, and his reference was about the Law of Moses. Christ was not preaching the Gospel to this Jew, but trying to show him that he was a sinner, and that by failing to love others, he was not fulfilling the OC law as he assumed. Christ was trying to get this OC Jew to understand his need for the NC Gospel, even as Jesus was also teaching that the love of money often prevents people from following Gospel truth.
Luke 18:18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 18:19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
Luke 18:20 “You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’”
Luke 18:21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Luke 18:23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Luke 18:24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!
Luke 18:25 “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The man’s wealth eclipsed the Gospel, and thus there was no Eternal Life for this Old Covenant Jew, who liked things the way they were. He had no need of the New Covenant, much less if it meant he had to share his possessions. He was selfish to the core, which is the opposite of Love. But this was not the first time that Jesus faced this same question.
Luke 10:25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 10:26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
Luke 10:27 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
Luke 10:28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”
Here Jesus connects Eternal Life with Love for both God and man. Jesus promotes Love not Law, even claiming that the essence of the OC is Love, which is being showcased and better defined in the NC.
When it comes to the Sabbath, all must listen to Christ and what he teaches in the Gospels. Period. Forget about the Law of Moses; what Jesus teaches is what his followers must understand and embrace. Moses demands total rest on the 7th day, - under penalty of death, while Christ promotes guilt free activity on the Sabbath, as well as Eternal Life. Only the latter makes any sense. Moses, and Uriah Smith, be gone!
Q2. Why do you say the '10Cs are not valid for Gentiles' but reduce the 10C'to 4th Commandment?
Tom replied: The 10 C’s do not stand-alone. They are part of a larger body of Jewish law, all of which was given only to the Jews as a contract (Covenant) between them and God. If a Gentile wanted to embrace the God of Israel and follow his law, he would have to first become a Jew, which included the rite of circumcision. This should not be a point of debate: the 4th Commandment was only for the Jews. No Gentile could keep the Sabbath, or enter the Temple, etc. They must first convert to Judaism.
Let this point sink into your brain: Christians are not under the 4th Commandment or any OC law, including circumcision. The SDA’s are very wrong to think Jesus teaches obedience to the 4th commandment, much less tithing or food laws, which are prohibited in the NC. Those today that embrace the 4th Commandment have nullified the Gospel, Christ is of no benefit to them as they assume.
Luke 9:44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
Gal. 5:2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
Jesus never promoted the 4th Commandment, breaking the OC Sabbath in public at every opportunity. However, Christ does teach an active, guilt free, Sabbath doctrine for the church. Those who follow the genuine Christ will understand and embrace what Jesus teaches about the Sabbath.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
Q3. Jesus said that He has not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it(Mat 5:17-19). I am not sure how the law is perceived.
Tom Answered: All Christians should be clear and certain about how the OC law fits into the Gospel story. The Old Covenant Law, which includes the 10 C’s, has been ABOLISHED. It no longer functions as a religious paradigm for the Jews, much less the Gentiles.
The SDA’s are making fools of themselves by defending and protecting OC doctrines such as the 4th Commandment, Tithing, and Food laws. The church is NOT under OC law, as they assume. This is why they think women should not be ordained like the men, because they are living under the Old Covenant.
Heb. 8:13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
The Old Covenant Law contained the Gospel in ritual, symbols, and prophecy. Christ, who is greater than Moses, fulfilled this law, which pointed to him. Then the New Covenant became public for all to see, while the OC was destroyed, both Temple and Priesthood.
Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 15:28 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”
Luke 24:44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The OC was fulfilled by Christ, replaced with the New Covenant in the 1st century. What Christ teaches about the NC is Law for those that follow him. But it is not OC law, it is NC law. Christ is the end of the OC law.
Rom. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Gal. 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
Gal. 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
The church is not under any OC law, including the 4th Commandment. Only the law and teachings of Christ. Moreover, fulfilled does not mean that the OC still exits, rather it means the opposite.
Heb. 8:13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
The Old Covenant has been abolished! Period! Including the 4th Commandment. It is GONE! If you are led by the Spirit to follow Christ, “you are not under OC law,” only the law of Christ. The Spirit leads no one to follow OC law.
Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Gal. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Gal. 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Those that try to please Christ by obedience to any Old Covenant law, (circumcision, Sabbath keeping, tithe, etc) have fallen from grace. They are not following Christ as they assume. Nor are they saved. And of course, they will embrace the wrong doctrine of the Sabbath for everyone to see. Which is exactly what has taken place.
Gal. 5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Question: In fact, the way we observe (the law) should not be in the fear of losing our eternal life, no. This is the era of HOLY SPIRIT, we do not live by the same fear of condemnation as the Israelite.
Tom replies; Most Christians are legalists. They think their behavior determines salvation and thus they focus on law and guilt, not faith and love. Such live under the Old Covenant. They know not the joy and freedom of the Gospel or love. The 2nd Coming as the Day of Judgment is terrifying to these pretend Christians that do not comprehend the law or Gospel correctly.
1John 4:16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1John 4:17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.
1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
1John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.
Christians are not to “observe” any Old Covenant law, much less the 4th commandment; only what Jesus teaches. Such legalism will negate Eternal Life. There is no fear of condemnation from the law for those that maintain faith in Christ. They are not judged by OC law, even as they are under the Law of Christ and his teachings.
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
To believe in Christ is to accept Eternal life as a free gift. It is not a reward for following Moses or obeying OC law, but the point and purpose of the New Covenant.
To obey Christ and his law is to accept eternal life as a free gift through the New Covenant. All OC law must be repudiated, including the 4th Commandment, which Jesus does not teach.
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Question: Did Jesus for example talk about the second law (I am not sure though)? And if not, will that be ok to ignore it? Wasn't the law (10Cs), after all, given by the same God?
Tom Norris’ Answer: It is not safe to ignore any teachings of Christ, as he is the only source for Eternal Life. The OC Law of Moses can, and must, be ignored, but not what Jesus teaches. In fact, Jesus teaches that we will be judged by his words, not by what Moses teaches.
John 12:46 “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
John 12:47 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
John 12:49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
John 12:50 “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
Jesus claimed to be the Son of God having great authority, even over Moses and the law. Listen as Christ adds to Moses by giving his own interpretation of the law.
Matt. 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
Matt. 5:22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matt. 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;
Matt. 5:28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus NC teaching is superior to, and more authoritative than Moses, including what Christ teaches about the Sabbath, which is not the 4th Commandment. Whatever Jesus teaches about the Sabbath, is Gospel doctrine for the church. Which is why every church in the land must repent for being so wrong about so much.
Q4. I fully agree, I don't think we need to observe Sabbath the same way as in Moses time. We should as Jesus did. But we should observe doing the work of the Lord.
Tom said: The original OC Sabbath of the 4th Commandment prohibited most all activity under penalty of death. It was not a very restful doctrine under such legalistic circumstances. It would be impossible to observe the OC Sabbath today. And no one is even coming close, including the SDA’s. They are only pretending to obey the 4th Commandment.
Moreover, while it is always good to follow Christ, his Sabbath activity is more profound than many suspect. First, one needs to understand that Jesus was overthrowing the OC and replacing it with the NC. That was his mission. The NC Sabbath reflected this dramatic change in a very public manner. While the OC Sabbath featured rest, the NC Sabbath featured work, the opposite. Only a blind person can miss the many recorded Sabbath debates of Christ, which clearly explain his active, guilt free NC doctrine of the Sabbath.
Jesus does not teach Sunday or the 4th Commandment. Rather, he teaches an active, guilt free, 7th day Sabbath -- in all four Gospels. He does away with the punitive, forced rest of the 4th Commandment and teaches a priestly version of the Gospel Sabbath that is free from law and guilt, even as the creation story is preserved and defended.
John 5:15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
John 5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
God taught Jesus the NC Sabbath. Misunderstand this point, and you will also misunderstand God and the Gospel. The NC Sabbath is the not the same as the OC Sabbath. Same day, same creation story, but different doctrine, which the OC Jews rejected. What a pity that so many Christians have also repudiated the Sabbath teachings of Christ. It shows they are following a false Christ.
Question: Those priests who 'broke' it in the OT are even innocent. I believe it is not time to be physically inactive. It should be time to leave aside the monotony of our business and remain active in His business. Jesus used (as a tradition) to go to the temple on this day.
Tom said: The OC priests were more physically active on the Sabbath then any other day. Running the Temple was a major operation; it was a butcher shop and restaurant on an industrial scale, requiring thousands of Levite workers for cleaning, security, cooking, etc on the Sabbath. So for the priests, it was a time of great activity and physical work. No wonder they had an exemption from the 4th Commandment.
It does not matter what we believe; only what Christ teaches. While most Christians have been brainwashed by their various religious leaders to think the NC Sabbath, or Sunday Lord’s day, is about rest; this is not what Jesus teaches. So everyone must make a choice between his or her personal traditions, versus the Word of Christ.
Rom. 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
John 5:8 Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”
John 5:9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
John 5:10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”
While Jesus clearly teaches that the Sabbath is a time to meet to read the word and hear the Gospel, this does not mean it is sinful to go home after church and paint your house, or go shopping, or even go to work at your job. The NC Sabbath has no rules against any kind of work or play on the Sabbath. Which is why Jesus ordered the healed man to pick up his bedroll and walk around town. Christ was showcasing his NC Sabbath.
Furniture moving would have resulted in death under the OC, (unless one was a Levite); but such work was allowed on the NC Sabbath as well as lighting fires, cooking, fighting in the army, harvesting food, traveling, working with animals and taking care of people, etc.
There are no Sabbath rules or regulations against work or play in the NC. Those in Christ are free to work on the 7th day Sabbath, without guilt. Which is why Roman soldiers could join the church; unlike the Jews, they could fight on the Sabbath because they were not trying to obey the 4th Commandment.
Col. 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day —
*Question: I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE GOSPEL SABBATH REALLY IS?
Tom Answered: This answer can only be found in the Gospels. Whatever Jesus teaches about the Sabbath, is doctrine for the church. Read the four Gospels and find out the truth about the Gospel Sabbath. It is hard to miss. But yet all denominations today are blind to the genuine Sabbath, including the arrogant SDA’s.
Matt. 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Read the many Sabbath debates in the Gospels and understand that Jesus teaches an active, guilt free, 7th day Sabbath. He does not promote a Sunday Lord’s Day nor obedience to the 4th Commandment as the SDA’s claim. Those in Christ are free from the Law of Moses, including the 4th Commandment.
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Question: Needless to mention again that all these have nothing to do with our salvation, all I think I am trying to get is to understand what are the codes that children of God should live by, not to earn salvation or son-/daughter-ship but to live as a responsible citizen of the KINGDOM.
Answer: The teachings of Jesus in the Gospels are words to live by. Eternal life is based on what Jesus teaches and says, not what Moses and the OC law teach. So this Sabbath discussion is about salvation.
Does Jesus teach the 4th Commandment, like Moses? No. Why do people believe such fiction? The SDA’s have the wrong Sabbath code, and so too do all the other denominations. Which proves they are not following the genuine Christ, but a fraud of their own making.
John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
Luke 9:35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
Heb. 1:1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
Heb. 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
The code to understand the Gospel is love, not Law. Jesus, not Moses.
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Mark 13:22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
Those Christians today that try to obey the 10 Commandments, including the 4th, trying to please God, are trapped under the Old Covenant. They are blind to the Gospel and to the genuine Christ with his active, guilt-free, 7th day Sabbath. They misunderstand that the NC Sabbath is vastly superior to the OC doctrine, both of which are on the 7th day.
Gal. 5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
SDA Sabbath Vs. Gospel Sabbath
http://www.atomorrow.net/fluxbb/viewtopic.php?id=836
When the genuine Gospel teachings of Christ are comprehended, so too the active and guilt-free, New Covenant Sabbath for the church. Those that are blind to the Gospel cannot see the Gospel Sabbath correctly. They are not free from law or guilt. They are following a wrong path.
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
John 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Luke 6:39 “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
Today, the entire organized Laodicean Church, meaning all denominations, has misunderstood the Gospel. This includes the SDA’s that have obviously fallen into a deep ditch of their own making. As a result, the Sabbath teachings of Christ have not been correctly comprehended, nor have other points of Christ’s teachings, such as eschatology, been embraced.
The end of the world is near; it is time for Gospel Reform within the church, starting with the very confused SDA’s. It is time for them to wake up and complete much needed Sabbath Reform, something that should have been done back in 1888.
Matt. 24:21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
Is anyone listening?
Mark 4:23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
I hope this helps,
Tom Norris for All Experts.Com & Adventist Reform
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