OVERLOOKED

Guest Article

By  L. L. Christenson

 
 

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THE PURPOSE
     This writing will present portions of Scripture apparently overlooked or unfamiliar in some areas of Christendom. This relates to that “written by the finger of God” on “tables of stone” (Ex. 31:18)—“the lively oracles” (Acts 7:38b). The Bible says, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11a) [in harmony with]. “Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it”(Luke 11:28).
AUTHORITY
     Jesus Christ was the greatest teacher “come from God” ever to live on earth and walk among men. He was born of the virgin Mary, died on the cross to atone for man’s sins, and rose again. He is now our High Priest at the right hand of the Father in heaven. As he promised, he will return some day to receive his own unto himself (John 14:3).
NO BOOK ON EARTH
     No book on earth is as important as the Bible. No book has ever done as much good. It records much of the teaching of that great Teacher. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Briefly, and in part, Christ taught repentance, faith, hope and love. He taught baptism, conversion and obedience. He said to certain ones, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). He quoted from the Old Scriptures, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31).
QUESTION
Did Moses write something good for us today? Indeed he did (1 Cor. 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:15,16)! Twice Moses warned against adding to or taking from that which God commanded His people to do (Deut. 4:2; 12:32). He recorded in some detail how God displayed His majesty, power and authority when He spoke the Ten Commandments from Mt. Sinai and then wrote them on tables of stone (Ex.19 and 20; Ex. 31:18).
        Wouldn’t it be wonderful if today people lived by those ten rules? No need of armies and weapons, no need of jails and prisons, no need of—the list could go on and on. Picture the peace that would prevail. That would be much like heaven on earth.
LONG AGO
     Long ago God’s people were warned, “ye shall not do...every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Deut. 12:8). Divine instruction is for man to heed God’s ways, not his own human ways—that lead to death (Prov. 14:12). Today so many people are determined to go their own way, do their own thing—in essence, be their own god. That is why our world is in such a lamentable and frightening predicament!
A LESSON FOR US
     If we examine scripturel, we can see that when God’s people had good leaders who showed them His ways and the people were obedient to their Maker, they prospered wonderfully. However, when they went their own way contrary to divine law, they suffered greatly. The Bible says, “The way of the transgressor is hard” (Prov. 13:15b). The history of Israel is given for our learning so all may see that God’s laws are best, given for our good. Many folk refuse to learn this easy lesson, repeated in hundreds of pages of Holy Writ.
GOD IS LOVE
  God wants to help human beings lost in sin. Because “God is love,” he sent the Saviour into the world to save us from our sins (Matt. 1:21). Praise God for his only begotten Son, born of the virgin Mary! Jesus Christ, it may be said, was the personification of God’s love come to man. He made the great atonement for sin on the cross, rose again and is coming again. Believers accept Christ by faith. True faith will motivate the believer to obedience. Faithful believers love to serve the Lord in response to what He has and will yet do for them.
LET US REMEMBER
      Jesus Christ was here on earth preaching and teaching for over a thousand days. What he taught must never be watered down to mere suggestions. Said the Master, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46). That calls us to obedience.

        Paul wrote, “Christ liveth in me.” (Gal. 2:20). “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Indeed we need the help of the Lord to be faithful  servants. Faithfulness boils down to obedience. “Walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Some of that light shines when he said the great commandment was to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt. 22:37). That, again, translates into obedience.

       Jesus said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus was not speaking of commandments that he made on his own, for Jesus said “for I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:49-50).

        John’s writings harmonize with the Master: “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.” (1 John 2:7). “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). Why are they grievous to some people? Read Romans 8:3-14. Every true believer must have this experience: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” “Unto you first God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Acts 3:19,26). Are there no absolutes?

SIN DEFINED
      It is written, “All unrighteousness is sin:” (1 John 5:17a). “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law”(1 John 3:4).

        In Romans 3 Paul writes concerning the Ten Commandments: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea we establish the law” (Romans 3:31).  “Establish” means to make stable or firm, to set up, to prove, to substantiate; from Greek and Hebrew—abide, appoint, continue, stand. (Note: The book of the law contained laws that were types and shadows which pointed forward to Christ. These were fulfilled and expired at the cross. The Decalogue is not a law of shadows but rather is part of God’s absolutes.)

        Scripture says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Which justify the wicked....Because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the HOLY ONE of Israel” (see Isaiah 5:20-24).

        The apostle Paul wrote much concerning saving grace. He also firmly upheld the Ten Commandments which God himself wrote on tables of stone: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom. 7:12).

THE QUESTION
  Which of the Ten Commandments can we change? Does the Bible give us authority to do what we please and still please God? Can we safely do so with the fourth commandment?

        The fourth commandment tells us which day is the “Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” It begins with a special instruction to “remember” and reminds us of creation. This command alone contains about 90 words of explicit instruction. It must, therefore, be important.

        Note the importance attached to the fourth commandment by the prophet Jeremiah. God’s people were told that, if they would hallow the Sabbath day, the city of Jerusalem “shall remain for ever” (Jer. 17:21-25). The second and fourth commandments are where God’s chosen people miserably failed. The Biblical record of how God dealt with their disobedience should be a powerful lesson for us today.

THE LORD’S DAY
       So then, which commandment can we change? Does the scriptural reference to “the Lord’s day” change the fourth commandment? The phrase “the Lord’s day” is found only once in Scripture (Rev. 1:10). Nothing in this text points to any particular day of the week. If we apply that title to a certain day, we must further search God’s Word.
        The New Testament was written after Christ ascended to heaven. No new day is mentioned therein to take the place of the original Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Christ lived and taught among His people for 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3) yet no new commandment was given to change the Sabbath. What record do we find for Sabbath observance?

        Reading Acts 17:1-3 we learn that Paul’s custom or manner was to observe the Sabbath as a day when people assembled to hear the Word expounded. The Gentiles specifically asked Paul to preach on the next Sabbath (Acts 13:42); they knew nothing about any Sunday worship so far as the Bible record goes. Sunday worship had not yet been introduced to the church by any of the disciples.

        Hebrews 4:4 speaks of the true Sabbath patterned after God’s example: “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.”
        “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4:10). Although more than one rest is referred to in Hebrews 4, notice that the original day of rest is part of the context. Those who believe and understand this truth rest on the day which God blessed in the beginning.

      Question: In 1 Cor. 16:1-2, isn’t the first day of the week pointed out as being special for some reason? In his letter, Paul instructed the brethren to collect or gather together donations “for the saints” at Jerusalem “that there be no gatherings when I come.” Other versions read “personally set aside,” “at home lay aside,” and “save it,” i.e., have it ready. This was a work order, if you will, to collect for the needy brethren in that city (see Romans 15:25-27). Paul had also asked the brethren at Galatia to help in this noble effort
(1 Cor. 16:1).

        Perhaps Paul’s specific request for work on the first day was intended to avoid needless delays in the collection while he passed through the territory on the way to Jerusalem. Certainly he was not asking for work to be done on any “Sabbath day.” In no way can this be construed as a reference to first-day worship.

        The Bible Sabbath has been stigmatized when detractors refer to it as a“Jewish” Sabbath. God prophesied that Israel would become a byword in the world (1 Kings 9:7-8) and the implication of this title is no different. Surely, they say, something Jewish has no relevance to Christians today. Such tactics attempt to dissuade Bible students from considering how the Sabbath may be relevant to their lives today.

        However, for whom did the Master say the Sabbath was made? “The sabbath was made for man [the human race] and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28).

        Bible students know that the sabbath (the seventh day) was made, blessed and sanctified at creation (Gen. 2:2,3). Nowhere in the Bible is the first day of the week spoken of in any comparable way. The Lord, through Isaiah, called the Sabbath “my holy day” (Isa. 58:13). Thus, if we are to call any day “the Lord’s day,” it would be the Sabbath day. The Sabbath was made for man’s good, for BOTH Israelite and Gentile, as verified in Exodus 12:49,  and Isaiah 56:6,7.

        The original commandment begins with the word “remember” for good reason. We remember the seventh day to keepit holy. We purposely cease from our everyday labors to rest and think on the things of God. We remember how God worked six days and rested the seventh day as an example for us. (“The sabbath was made for man...” Mark 2:27). To do otherwise breaks God’s law. We become sinners.
 

CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
        The resurrection of Christ is an indispensable part of the Christian faith. Without it, what could we base our faith on? Therefore, shouldn’t we celebrate His resurrection on the first day of the week? If this new day is to take the place of the Bible Sabbath, it is necessary to have a “thus saith the Lord” for such an important and sweeping change.

        As we briefly, but carefully, read the record of the visits made to the Master’s tomb, Mark 16 records that those who went there were told, “He is not here.” He had already risen.

        Luke’s account harmonizes with Mark. “He is not here.” John’s record of an early visit also shows us that Jesus had risen before Mary arrived. So far this doesn’t verify any Sunday morning resurrection.

        Matthew adds to our understanding, telling us there had been an earthquake, and an angel had come and “rolled back the stone from the door.” It is noteworthy that Matthew 28 (King James version) begins, “In the end of the Sabbath”—before the first day of the week had arrived. According to Bible time reckoning, a day ends at sunset (not midnight). The phrase “in the end of the Sabbath” means the last part of that day as the next day was approaching or drawing near.

        The Interlinear Greek New Testament, University of Chicago, reads as follows: “Now late on sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward (the) first (day) of (the) week, came Mary.” This appears to be the earliest visit to the tomb. Matthew also tells of an angel coming from heaven and rolling back the stone from the door and sitting upon it. Note that “In the end of the sabbath” and “late on sabbath” is about ten hours before sunrise. There was no sunrise resurrection. Since Jesus was buried near the end of the day of crucifixion, in order to fulfill Matthew 12:40 it would be necessary for Him to rise from the dead also at the end of the day three days and three nights later.

        Some modern versions of the New Testament inject the word “Sunday” in place of “first day of the week.” Although Sunday is the first day of the week, there are reasons why it shouldn’t appear in the Bible. Neither Christ nor any Bible writer used that name. The name of that day we now call Sunday was not in use by the Christians in Apostolic times. Sunday comes from those who worshipped the sun. Webster’s College Dictionary says: “Sunday, day of the sun.” Pictorial Bible Dictionary states: “The name Sunday is derived from pagan sources. The first day continues to be called Sun’s Day, largely because Emperor Constantine, by royal decree in 321 A.D., made it Solis Day, day of the sun.”

       Quoting from the New Testament from the Greek text (edited by Ivan Panin, Toronto Book Society), Matthew 28:1 reads: “Now late in the week, as it began to dawn toward the first of the week.” The phrase “late in the week” is not on Sunday, for days do not overlap. “Late in the week” harmonizes with previous quotations.

EASTER
       The words “Easter Sunday” cannot be found in the Bible. The King James version uses the word “Easter” only once and not in any sacred manner (Acts 12:4). Most recent versions don’t use the term “Easter” even once, but more correctly use the term “passover” or “paschal lamb.” Encyclopedia Brittanica (1892 Ed.) informs us that the word “Easter” “is a survival from the old Teutonic mythology—Anglo Saxon goddess of spring.”

        Furthermore, Scripture says nothing about celebrating Easter and gives no time that we should celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Christians rejoice in that most wonderful event many times throughout the year. It is our hope—in song and sermon.

        The book The Golden Bough by Frazer (page 361) says of the apostate church: “Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the Church...was compelled to make with its vanquished yet still dangerous rivals....If Christianity were to conquer the world, it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles of its Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation.”

        From Sketches of Church History by J. Wharey (Presbyterian Publication): “When heathen converts were received into the church, (note: the Roman church), it was natural they should bring with them some taint of their old philosophy, and former superstitions, and some fondness for the rites and ceremonies of their idolatrous worship.” Thus we can see why page 24 says: “Christianity as it existed in the dark ages, might be termed, without much impropriety of language, baptized paganism.”

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