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The Possible Dangers of the Hebrew Christian Movements - Law/Works Vs. Gospel/Grace (Very Important Message )
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Original Message
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Romans 3:4
.... yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Acts 15:10
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Romans 2:12
... as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
Galatians 3:10, 11
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God...
Galatians 3:12, 13
... it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.
Romans 7:2-6
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Why Christians -DO NOT- Have To Keep The Sabbath
[link to www.godlikeproductions.com]
[link to www.youtube.com] - 1
[link to www.youtube.com] - 2
See Biography attachment. I have been exposed to about every mainstream religion in the US. I went to a Lutheran middle school, Catholic high school, attended a couple Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, and finally ended up in an independent, fundamental, KJV only, Baptist church but eventually left there as well because of all the unbiblical things going on in the church. So now just I record a weekly Current Event and Bible study lesson on [link to contendingfortruth.com]
I am a Doctor of Chiropractic with a specialty in clinical nutrition. I have zero formal seminary education and I praise the Lord for it because now a days the seminaries (for the most part) are one of the main reasons ministers get ruined. I believe that I have learned Biblically via this verse:
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Endtime Ministries
[link to www.despatch.cth.com.au]
Using the Law Lawfully
Law and Gospel Confusion set Straight. - Law/Gospel Distinction
In the Bible we are taught about the Law of God, which we basically know to be the Ten Commandments as set forth in Exodus 20:2-17 and again in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. There is much expansion on this Law of God and we read of this in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
The Law of God is powerful, and the whole human race is subject to it in one way or another, whether they know it or not, as we are told in the Bible that this Law is written on the tablets of our hearts (Romans 2:15), and we instinctively know what it tells us even if we don't have the written word. Romans Chapter 2:12 says "For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law."
In 1 Corinthians Chapter 15:56 we are told how powerful this Law is - and it needs to be powerful because the Law is there to help us combat the sin we are dogged with in this life, whether we are regenerate or unregenerate, and we discover that this sin is the terrible sting of death for we all die at the end of our lives. To make matters worse, we are told that even sin, the sting of death, is backed up by the Law when the Bible tells us these terrifying words "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law."
So, how then do we escape the power of the Law before a holy righteous and just God and how do we escape the terrible wrath of the Father, as there is none on this earth who is good, not even one (Romans 3:10)? We are powerless against it, as Jeremiah 7:9 tells us that the heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful, who can know it, and Ecclesiastes 9:3 tells us there is evil and madness in the hearts of men.
2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ came and fulfilled the law. He lived a sinless life on our behalf, died a horrendous death on our behalf, a death that we should justly die for disobeying the perfect law of God, and finally, He rose from the dead so that we who are His can look forward to the hope of the glory to come with our Saviour. This is the Gospel by which we must be saved. In this video we are told how to distinguish between the Law of God and it's effects, and the good news of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to know the difference between the two Covenants and the Bible warns those who would confuse the two and call it the Gospel, saying that a man who is guilty of this heresy is to be accursed (Galatians 1:8).
This video is uploaded with kind permission from Matthew AKA YouTube user WaltherChemnitz. Please click on the link to his radio station www.RadicalGraceRadio.com . Thank you so much Matthew and I hope this video will bring comfort and relief to the the thousands of Christians who are being terrorised by most of the preachers on YouTube who are confusing the Law and the Gospel, thereby pronouncing upon themselves the curses of God as set forth in Galations 1:8.
The Law demands;
The Gospel provides;
The Law condemns;
The Gospel forgives;
The Law is conditional;
The Gospel is unconditional;
The Law is imperative;
The Gospel is indicative;
and so on.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Whenever you wish to study the New Testament to see whether the Levitical rites, Required circumcision, or Sabbath keeping are commanded somewhere in there, you may have quite a shock when you find out that they aren't; and even more shocking, in many cases, you will find the exact opposite. However, there are 9 Moral commandments in the New Testament (which line up with 9 of the 10 commandments). Please read the following list to see the proof to such an amazing claim:
References for the 9 "moral" commandments reiterated in the New Testament:
1st - Worship God -
(53 times) Matthew 2:2; 2:8; 2:11; 4:9; 4:10; 14:33; 15:9; 28:9; 28:17, Mark 7:7, Luke 4:7; 4:8; 24:52, John 4:20,21,22(x2),23,24(x2); 9:38; 12:20, Acts 7:43; 8:27; 16:14; 17:23(x2); 18:7; 18:13; 19:27; 24:11, Romans 1:25; 12:1, 1 Corinthians 14:25, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:18, Hebrews 1:6; 9:1; 9:6; 10:2; 11:21, Revelation 4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 9:20; 11:1; 11:16; 14:7; 15:4; 19:4; 19:10; 22:8; 22:9
2nd - No Idolatry -
(20 times) Acts 15:20,29, Romans 1:25, 1 Corinthians 6:9; Chapter 8; 10:7,14; 12:2, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Galatians 5:20, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, 1 Peter 4:3, 1 John 5:21, Revelation 2:14, 20; 9:20; 21:8; 22:15
3rd - No Profanity -
(4 times) Matthew 12:36, Ephesians 5:4, Romans 2:24, Revelation 16:9
4th - Keep Sabbath.
(0 times) Not one verse.
5th - Honor Parents -
(6 times) Matthew 15:5, Matthew 19:19, Mark 7:10; 10:19, Luke 18:20, Ephesians 6:2
6th - Murder -
(7 times) Matthew 5:21; 19:18, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Romans 1:29; 13:9, James 2:11
7th - Adultery -
(12 times) Matthew 5:27,28,32; 19:9,18, Mark 10:11,19, Luke 16:18; 18:20, Romans 13:9, James 2:11, 2 Peter 2:14
8th - Stealing -
(6 times) Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Romans 2:21; 13:9, Ephesians 4:28
9th - Lying -
(4 times) Matthew 15:9; 19:18, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20
10th - Don't Covet -
(9 times) Mark 7:22, Luke 12:15, Romans 1:29; 7:7; 13:9, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Peter 2:14
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If you still are not convinced, and you are a person who honestly believes Christians must lawfully keep the Sabbath, or the Festivals, must eat only Levitically "clean" foods, males must become circumcised, etc, then please consider the following:
1.) Nowhere does the New Testament even imply that the sabbath is the sign that distinguishes God´s people. The Holy Spirit is the the seal or sign of the new covenant. Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant; the sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic covenant.
2.) The New Testament nowhere commands Christians to observe either the seventh or the first day of the week as a Christian sabbath.
3.) There is no biblical record of any command to keep the sabbath until the time of Moses. Neither is there any biblical record of people keeping the sabbath until it was given to Israel.
4.) Genesis 2:2-3 simply says that God rested ("ceased") on the "seventh day" after His work of creation had ended. Unlike the preceding six days, the seventh day was not bounded by evening and morning -- it was ongoing and open-ended. Furthermore, Genesis mentions no creation ordinance commanding man to rest. Neither does it record any instance of man keeping a weekly sabbath before the Exodus.
5.) The creation ordinances of marriage and dominion over the earth were repeated to Noah after the flood. It is significant that Noah was given no command to keep the sabbath -- further evidence that it was not a creation ordinance. From ancient times the Jews called the commandments given to Noah the "Noachian commandments." They considered these commandments binding on all men. Usually listed as seven, the sabbath commandment was never included among them.
6.) When God made a promissory covenant with Abraham, God gave him the sign of circumcision. Deut. 4:13 and 5:2-3 state that the Ten Commandments covenant (with its sabbath sign) was not given to the fathers of the Hebrew nation. This covenant came 430 years after God first announced His covenant with Abraham (Gal. 3:17).
7.) The sabbath was given to Israel (Neh. 9:13-14). Although it was patterned after the creation model, this 24-hour rest was obviously not identical to God´s permanent rest which followed a finished creation (Gen. 2:2-3; Heb. 4:3,4,10). The sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic, Sinaitic, or old covenant (Exodus 31:16-17; Ezek. 20:12). Most scholars now agree there is no evidence of a sabbath institution outside Israel.
8.) The Old Testament nowhere indicates that Gentile nations should keep the sabbath. Although the sins of Gentile cities and nations are often specified by the prophets, only Israel was ever chided for breaking the sabbath. Paul appears to follow this Old Testament tradition in Romans chapter 1. Although he lists about twenty-two Gentile sins, he does not mention sabbath-breaking.
9.) Orthodox Judaism, both before and after Christ, taught that Gentiles should keep the sabbath only if they were Jewish proselytes.
10.) As a Jew, Jesus lived under the institutions of the old covenant. He was circumcised and generally kept the sabbath, Passover, and other old-covenant festivals. Nothing in the entire Law could cease to be binding until Jesus fulfilled it all by His death on the cross (Mat. 5:17-19; John 19:30; Rom. 3:21-25). On the eve of His death Jesus instituted the new covenant and sealed it by His sacrificial death. It took the new-covenant community some time under the leading of the Holy Spirit, however, before it could grasp the full implications of life under a new covenant (see John 16:12-15).
11.) Regarding the developing first-century church, there are several points:
a.) The first Christian community arose in Jerusalem and was composed of Aramaic-speaking Jews. They continued their Jewish way of life --i.e., they worshiped at the temple, circumcised their children, and kept the Jewish festivals (including the weekly sabbath). Although their adherence to the Law commended them to the fellow Jews (Acts 2:46-47) it made any Gentile mission impossible.
b.) The Hellenist Jewish Christians, however, were not as conservative. Following the example of the martyr Stephen, they ventured to take the gospel beyond Jewry -- to the Samaritans, the Ethiopian eunuch, and finally to the Gentiles. Peter did as well (Acts 10 and 11:2-3). A flourishing community of Gentile believers was soon established at Antioch (Acts 11). These Gentile Christians lived without reference to the Jewish Law. Believers were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26) because the Torah-free existence identified their religion as something separate from Judaism.
c.) After the Gentile mission had flourished at Antioch for about ten years, some of the Jewish Christians from the mother church at Jerusalem became apprehensive about the Torah-free Gentile mission. They began to urge that Gentile Christians should become Jewish proselytes -- meaning they should be circumcised and thereby undertake to keep the Torah (Acts 15:1,5). It was well understood that circumcision was a sign of submission to the entire Law. This was a great step backwards and contrary to the leading of the Holy Spirit for the previous ten years. The issue was decided at the Jerusalem conference about A.D.49 (see Acts 15). The apostles recognized the Holy Spirit´s fait accompli. Hence it was not necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised or to keep the Torah Law (characterized by sabbaths, meats, etc.)
d.) It was Paul who gave theological justification for this. In Galations he showed that the age of Moses and Torah Law had been superceded by the age of Christ and the Spirit. The Law had acted as a custodian and a guardian until the coming of Christ (Gal. 3:19,24,25; 4:1-4). God´s people were no longer under the supervision of the Law, but rather the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul showed that the Ten Commandment covenant had been superceded by the far more glorious ministration of the Spirit under the New Covenant.
In Ephesians 2:14-15, Paul said that the Torah Law with its commandments and regulations acted as a dividing wall of partition between Jew and Gentile. But Christ had abolished this barrier by His death on the cross.
In 1 Cor. 9:20-23, Paul declared that he did not live under the Torah Law (except in a voluntary way), yet he was still subject to God´s law in the sense that he lived under the law of Christ.
e.) The three requirements which particularly characterized a Jew living under the Torah were circumcision, the food laws, and the sabbath. In the Pauline letters there is evidence that Paul was in conflict with Jewish Christians who were urging Gentiles to practice these requirements. Paul was vehemently opposed to those who wanted to impose these regulations on the Gentiles.
In Colossians 2:16-17, he declared: "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."
To the Gentile Christians he wrote: "You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you" (Galations 4:10-11).
To the churches in Rome, which were composed of both Jews and Gentiles, Paul wrote: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord" (Romans 14:5-6).
Except for a few Sabbatarians, scholars today are agreed that these three scriptures address the matter of Sabbath-keeping. This was also the unanimous position taken by the early church fathers and the Reformers.
f.) Paul never wrote to the Gentile churches about sabbath-keeping except in a negative way. Paul´s silence on the matter of urging the young churches to keep the sabbath cannot be regarded as an indication that he or his converts took the obligation for granted. The new Gentile communities had no background in sabbath-keeping. How astonishing it would be for Paul to write so many letters with so much practical instruction on living the Christian life and not mention sabbath-keeping if it were an obligation for Gentile Christians! How strange that all these new converts were warned against committing all kinds of sins but sabbath-breaking is never mentioned!
g.) In an age when the Roman world had no weekly rest day, there is no historical evidence that Christians suffered hardship or persecution because of the sabbath. Many Christians were slaves who had to work every day of the week.
12.) According to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, God´s people in the age of the new covenant would be identified by loyalty to Christ (Acts 11:26; Rom. 10:9), possession of the Spirit (Acts 19:2; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 5:18) and love for one another (John 13:34).
13.) The New Testament is not concerned with holy days any more than it is concerned with holy places (see John 4:19-24) or "clean" food (Mark 7:19; Rom. 14:1-5,14,20; I Cor. 8:8; 10:23-27; Col. 2:16-17; 1 Tim. 4:3-5). To emphasize these questions is to distort the spirituality and ethical concerns of the New Testament (see Matt. 25:31-46; Gal. 5:6).
14.) Under the old covenant God sanctified a particular nation for service, a particular place for worship, particular food as clean and particular days for rest. Under the new covenant there is a universalizing of the particular. No longer are people from one nation designated as holy (Acts 10:28,34); no longer is one geographical site set aside for the worship of God (John 4:19-24); no longer is there a distinction between religiously clean and unclean food; and no longer is there a distinction of days (John 5:16-17; Rom. 14:5; Col. 2:16-17). The idea of designating one day as holy is just as irrelevant in the age of Spirit and designating on place as holy. The old covenant was physical, national, and temporal. The new is spiritual, universal, and eternal.
15.) Christ and His apostles imposed no regulations on the church which would create unnecessary hardships or erect unnecessary barriers for people in any place or time. The New Testament commandments are not addressed to a single nation living in Palestine. They are adapted to the needs of people living in a wide diversity of nations and cultures. Those who experience hardship because of sabbath regulations are doubtlessly sincere in their desire to serve God, but they are ill-informed and bear burdens that God has not laid on the church.
16.) The Gentile Christians were free to choose their time of common assembly. They were not bound by Old Testament commandments in this matter ...
17.) Just as spiritual circumcision replaced the physical, and spiritual sacrifices were offered in place of animals, it was taught that Christians enter the better rest of Heb. 4:3, 9-11 and therefore keep the perpetual Christian sabbath.
18.) It was only after the concept of a perpetual rest began fading from the church that the idea of a Sunday sabbath was gradually introduced by the Roman Church, beginning in the fourth century. Making Sunday into a Christian Sabbath was a kind of Christian Judaism.
19.) In summary, the primitive Jewish Christians at Jerusalem continued to keep the sabbath (on this point all notable Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish historians are now agreed); the Gentile Christians did not.
20.) When the Jerusalem council (Acts 15) acknowledged that Gentile Christians were free from the Law, the same freedom was implicitly given to Jewish Christians. The subsequent history of Jewish Christianity is a vital key in the task of discerning the face of the early church ... some Jewish Christians continued to keep the Law, including the sabbath, as necessary for themselves but not necessary for Gentile Christians. These were called the Nazarenes ... there were also Jewish Christians who not only kept the Law and the sabbath themselves, but insisted that all Christians must do the same. These were known as Ebionites. Their hero was James, their enemy, Paul. They were ascetic (vegetarians, teetotallers) and apocalyptic, and they denied the divinity of Christ. They combined Gnostic ideas with their Judaistic tendencies ...
21.) The history of Jewish Christianity demonstrates the futility of a synthesis between Judaism (adherence to the Torah law) and Christianity. In the end Jewish Christians were more Jewish than Christian -- in fact, not Christian at all ... its faith did not develop as Christianity developed. It clung to an expression of Christian faith which was acceptable at the beginning of Christianity in a context of Judaism ... it was a form of stunted, underdeveloped Christianity ... it began to regard strict observance of the law as more important than the spontaneity of love ... it persisted in clinging to a limited view of Jesus and His role ... the Jewish Christianity represents in the end a reactionary attempt to restict the Christian estimate of Jesus within the limitations and confines of Jewish thought and practice ... Hebrew Christianity detached from its native soil had only two alternatives -- back to the Synagogue, which entailed denial of Jesus the Messiah, or fellowship with the Gentile church, which meant denial of the Jewish national heritage.
22.) Paul was denigrated by Jewish Christians because he was held responsible for freeing the Christian movement from the Torah Law. The study of Jewish Christianity starkly reveals that while heretical Jewish Christianity remained Sabbatarian, the Gentile church was decidedly non-Sabbatarian. The notion that early Gentile Christianity was ever Sabbatarian is inexcusable in light of the historical evidence available today.
23.) In view of the biblical data and the evidence of early church history, we can make the following summary of Sabbatarianism:
a.)Those who have traditionally advocated Sunday Sabbatarianism or Sunday sacredness have been wrong on two counts:
1.) They have been wrong in claiming that the first Christian community or its apostles in Jerusalem abandoned the ancient Sabbath in favor of a Sunday sabbath. No creditable scholar will accept that thesis today.
2.) They have been wrong in claiming that the Bible designates Sunday as a Christian
holy day or sabbath. This is contrary to the principle enumerated in Romans 14:5,
Colossians 2:16 and Hebrews 4:3, 9-11, and it also contradicts the historical evidence.
Both forms of Sabbatarianism erred in presuming that the primitive Christians had a uniform pattern of worship. We now know that there was great diversity between Jewish and Gentile Christianity. Christians were forbodden to judge and condemn on another in respect to their diversity in forms of worship. It was sufficient that they be united in their faith in Christ, their Redeemer and Lord. The gospel was the only genuine testing and uniting truth in apostolic Christianity.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
-Israel Wrestles With God-
[link to www.youtube.com]
"Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." (Gen 32:8)
What is so special about the Jewish people?
Why is the homeland of Israel so important and whats wrong with dividing the land?
Since most Jews don't accept Jesus why do Christians support Israel?
Are there really lost tribes?
[link to www.youtube.com] - 2
[link to www.youtube.com] - 3
[link to www.youtube.com] - 4
Error of Replacement Theology
[link to www.therefinersfire.org]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For those who wish to understand the falsity of Seventh-Day Adventism, please refer to the following links:
Introduction
The history of the Seventh Day Adventist Church
[link to www.carm.org]
Church structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
[link to www.carm.org]
What does Seventh Day Adventism teach?
[link to www.carm.org]
Issues and Answers
Does the Bible allow Christians to worship on Sunday?
[link to www.carm.org]
Scriptures dealing with the first day of the week.
[link to www.carm.org]
Does CARM recommend the Seventh-day Adventist Church?
[link to www.carm.org]
Resources
[link to www.formeradventist.com]
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