Are You A Sabbatarian?

I was almost caught up in the Seventh-day Adventist movement as a teen; however, I was able to study the Scriptures and disprove their legalism. Ever since I have been grace-oriented when it comes to observing the Sabbath. Warren W. Wiersbe mentions that nowhere in the New Testament are believers told to observe the Sabbath--it is the only one of the Ten Commandments not repeated in the New Testament. To me, every day is holy unto the Lord and I don't see a need to just have one day set aside. There is a reason that they called the Christian Sabbath the Lord's Day. (John said, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.")

The Bible says that to some every day is alike--and to others, they feel compelled to set aside one day a week (cf. Rom. 14:5-6). Actually, the Sabbath was given to Israel as a sign of His covenant forever (cf. Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12,20; Neh. 9:14). Once you realize that you are not under the law, but under grace, you will be free to dedicate every day to the Lord. The principle of rest is still in effect, but there is no sin in working on Sunday, for example. It was because of unbelief and disobedience that the people of Israel failed to enter into His rest. "He leads me beside the still waters/ He restores my soul." (So if you don't get your needed rest, God may give it to you anyway.) "Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man" (cf. Mark 2:27).

Clearly, there is no "hard-and-fast rule for the Sabbath, if you do decide to practice it as a principle of the Word. "My presence will go with you and I will give you REST." The Christian is fulfilling the spirit of the Sabbath by worshiping one day a week and not forsaking the assembling together of the brethren, as is the manner of some (cf. Heb. 10:25). The Christian enters into a permanent Sabbath that the Jews were unable to attain, because of disobedience.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Freed FromThe Law?

The antinomians (now sometimes called hedonists or libertines) say, "Freed from the Law, Oh blessed condition, now I can sin all I want, and still have remission." This is also called the abuse of grace. Watchman Nee says that God gave us the Law to break, not to keep. Rom 3:20 says that the Law gives the knowledge of sin. Nowhere in the New Testament are righteous people told to keep the Law.

There are several verses that relate to this: Gal. 2:21 says that if righteousness were through the Law, then Christ died in vain. Gal. 3:10 says that those who rely on the Law are under a curse. Heb. 10:1 and Col, 2:17 say that the Law is a shadow of things to come. Rom. 6:14 says that we are not under the Law. Eph. 2:15 says that Christ abolished the Law. Rom. 7:7 and 3:30 say that the Law brings the knowledge of sin.

When we strive to obey the Law we have "fallen from grace." We don't have to become "somewhat Jewish" to become a Christian. Neither justification nor sanctification is through the Law. Instead, we are subject to the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ. Remember: The Pharisees were guilty of just obeying the letter of the Law and not attending to the "spirit of the Law." "As many as are led by the Spirit are not under the Law."   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Law And The Believer II

Watchman Nee explains the meaning of Romans 7 very well and says that God gives us the Law to break, He knew full well we wouldn't keep it. Gal. 3:10 says that those who rely on the Law are under a curse. Eph. 2:15 says that Christ abolished the Law for the believer. The Law is merely a shadow of things to come and is obsolete (Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1). If the Law could do away with sin, there would be no need for a new covenant, the old covenant was faulted. The Law says we do for God, grace says that God does for us. The Law says we have to, while grace says we want to. The purpose of the Law was to make us knowledgeable of sin (Rom. 7:6-7;3:20), not to be a panacea, but a diagnosis. "...[Indeed] it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are" (cf. Rom. 3:20 in the J. B. Phillips).

We live not under the Mosaic Law, but we live according to the "Law of the Spirit of life in Christ" (Rom. 8:2). Nowhere in the NT are we exhorted to obey the Law!  When we say to God, "Oh wretched man that I am ...," this is "music to God's ears," according to Nee. "Our end is God's beginning," says Nee. Remember, 1 Tim. 1:9 which says, "The Law is not made for the believer, but for lawbreakers and rebels." Martin Luther called the Law a hammer that smashes our self-righteousness and a mirror that shows us our true nature, and a whip that drives us to the cross. It is meant to drive us to Christ as a tutor (see Gal. 3:25).

The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The Pharisees were guilty of obeying just the letter of the Law and not the spirit. "As many as are led by the Spirit are not under the Law." We don't have to become "somewhat Jewish" to become Christians or grow in Christ. Christianity is not a branch or wing of Judaism. A good rule of thumb is that if a prohibition or command is not repeated in the New Testament it is probably not valid for the Christian, e.g. observing the Sabbath Day. The ceremonial laws and governmental laws are obsolete and the moral principles are still valid because morality never changes.

God never gives us the right to do what is wrong, or to just do what is right in our own eyes, or to be lawless. Martin Luther wrote a book, Against the Antinomians, which was a polemical book against those who thought they could live as they please after salvation. Today this kind of thinking is close to hedonism.

The Reformers who wrote the Formula of Concord in 1577 had a threefold use of the Law: to convict the unbeliever of sin or as a tutor to drive us to Christ; to bring order in society and restrain evil, and to be a light for what pleases and offends God. The Reformers were not as grace-oriented as modern-day evangelicals tend to be, e.g., they had strict Sabbath laws and rules in Calvin's Geneva and in Puritan New England. Actually, the Christian is under the higher law of love with the higher standard of Christ.  In sum, the Law doesn't save mankind it measures them.   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Law And The Believer I

The relationship of the believer to the law is analogous to a wife and her husband who bound to him as long as she lives. She has died and has no further obligation. She is exempt from his demands. They hold no authority over her any longer but have been fulfilled. It is also like being discharged from the military and not having to live by the old rules anymore. The Law is obsolete and we live under a higher law, the law of love. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. He who loves has fulfilled the Law, according to Romans 13:8.

We are not lawless but are subject to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ. The old nature knows no law, while the new nature needs no law.  Because we have the Law written in our hearts and don't need anyone to tell us to live according to the letter of the Law rather than the spirit of the Law. The Pharisees lived according to the letter of the Law and thought that was enough. "The letter kills, but the Spirit is life" (Rom. 7:6). He who is led by the Spirit is not under the Law according to Galatians 5:18. Cursed is anyone who relies on the Law says Gal. 3:10. We have no choice, but to walk in the Spirit! We don't need a to-do list!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Freed From The Law

"Freed from the Law, Oh blessed condition, now I can sin all I want and still have remission!" What nonsense! Being free form the Mosaic Law doesn't mean we are lawless. This libertine approach to living the Christian life is a dangerous heresy and is also called antinomianism (against "lawism" or justification apart from sanctification). Works do play a part in salvation, but not works done in the energy of the flesh. We do works because we want to, not because we have to. The difference is between legalism and true justification. The formula of the Reformers was:  "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." True faith always produces bona fide works done in the power of the Spirit. "For we are His workmanship." We are a people "zealous of good works" (Tit. 2:14).

"For faith without works is dead." Mere profession or lip service is not enough--without works, faith is bogus.

"Sin shall have no dominion over you, for you are not under the Law, but under grace." (Rom. 6:14) God didn't give us the Law to keep, but to break. But we don't really break God's Law, we break His heart!  To show us our vulnerability and how exacting His requirements are. We need to be discharged from the Law as well as from sin. The law is but a shadow of things to come (Heb. 10:1) (Col. 2:17) We would not realize our sin and weaknesses if it hadn't been for the Law. (Rom. 7:7).  "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (cf. Rom. 3:23).   When we come to the realization like that of Paul: This anticlimax, "Oh, wretched man that I am ..."(that is music to God's ears).

Law is doing for God, while grace is God doing for us. He gets all the glory. Soli Deo Gloria!  Don't pat yourself on the back! We are no more virtuous because of our faith, which is a gift.
See Rom. 12:3: To each of us is rendered a measure of faith.  Soli Deo Gloria!