Posted on 10/11/2021 10:01:48 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Over the course of my military career, I’ve been around A LOT of health/fitness-conscious people. Many of them have become true believers in things like cross-fit, yoga, and other forms of exercise and it becomes a way of life for them. Similarly, I’ve seen all the passing diet and nutrition trends that seem to come on strong, make a big splash, then fade off into the twilight as quickly as they arrived. My observation is that younger people generally want to look good by putting in the work (sweat equity), while older people generally want to look good by changing what they eat. Either way, the goal is to look good and embody the epitome of health.
Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to stay healthy. There is nothing wrong with wanting to eat healthily. I mean, we only have this one body and we have to make it last as long as we can, I suppose. We should all strive to “do better” regarding our own personal health. No, what I’m referring to here are the people that obsess about their appearance. They obsess about wrinkles, body-fat percentage, balding, gray hair, or dress sizes.
The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Psalm 90:10
In the passage above, Moses makes the declarative statement that the age of a man’s life would be between 70 and 80 years. Interestingly, Moses (who himself lived to be 120 years old) wrote this o/a the 15th century B.C. Life spans since then have varied greatly with parts of the ancient world and the middle ages only seeing life spans reaching into the 30s and 40s. However, it is curious to note that we are now back at a time when this 70 to 80 years of life, seems to be the norm, not the exception. But let us make the case for 80 years as a standard. Heck, we could even make the case for 100 years or 1,000 years of age. What do any of these lifespans mean in comparison to eternity?
According to the Free Dictionary, eternity is defined as:
1. endless or infinite time
2. the quality, state, or condition of being eternal
3. (usually plural) any of the aspects of life and thought that are considered to be timeless, esp. timeless and true
4. (Theology) theol the condition of timeless existence, believed by some to characterize the afterlife
5. a seemingly endless period of time: an eternity of waiting.
Even the Antediluvian patriarch Methuselah, who lived to the great age of 969 years old, has now been dead for over 4,000 years. We could fit 12 of our 80-year lifespans into his 969 years, and even he would say his life went by in a flash. Not only that, but he has now been in the eternal realm (at least by our measure of time) four times longer than he lived. Thus, Methuselah will spend all of eternity in the glorious presence of God.
Paradoxically, we live in a world absolutely fixated on the here and now, and this has blinded many to the real nature of reality. True reality, is not what we can touch or see, but the world we can’t see. The writer of Hebrews noted that the Law, the Temple, and everything else, are but shadows of the real things already in heaven. The real reality is the eternal realm. It is the timeless state of being that exists outside of our universal fish tank.
Author’s Note: I often use our fish tank to demonstrate to my children just as we exist outside of the fish tank in our home, God exists outside of our universe, and yet, we are not far away. We can add or take water out. We can add food or move the fish to clean the tank. We can add in décor or take everything out. Furthermore, we can look in and see Goldie’s entire existence all at the same time.
God exists outside of our fish tank so to speak, and He can tweak or change things according to His purposes. However, even though God the Father exists in the realm eternal, He still has nearby and has full reach and depth into our existence through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, he can look and see everything, all at the same time and He has determined the length, breadth, width, height, and duration of our existence. Here are some Bible verses affirming the sovereignty of God’s universal rule:
Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ Isaiah 46:10
And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding Daniel 2:21
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; Acts 17:26-27
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8
But for some reason, we live in a topsy-turvy, upside-down, bizarro-world. You’d think, given the demonstrated certainty of death and the brief nature of our present existence, we would be hyper-focused on the world to come and not on the chaotic, ever-changing world we see crumbling before our very eyes.
Assessment
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:17
Life here on earth without God, is at best, elusive. We come into this world helpless, wholly dependent upon others, but naively thinking, this is the way it will always be. However, we grow, learn, and realize that we will not always have someone to hold our hand. We are expected to become increasingly independent and capable of doing things on our own.
As children, we let our imaginations run wild, thinking magic, fairies, and monsters exist, only to find out those things are real, but not at all as we imagined them to be. We are then thrust into a public education system that begins by ignoring the reality of God, and pummeling our senses with the government-approved propaganda stating we are nothing more than evolved, cosmic accidents with no rhyme or reason for existing.
Growing older, we learn to lower our expectations in people and situations, and we end up settling for the reality that if we are really lucky, we can find purpose and meaning in our life. We hold on to that until we realize that even purpose alone cannot satisfy the deep longings created by the complexity of the human soul. This sentiment was perhaps best expressed by the aged and gritty Rolling Stone philosopher who declared, I can’t get no satisfaction!
The life we currently live is as God declares, but a vapor; it is here today and gone tomorrow. Therefore, it is perplexing, to say the least, how much time people spend on their physical bodies now, which is in the very process of dying, and how little time people spend thinking about where they will go once their earthly existence comes to an end. The fact that we spend infinitely more time on the other side of that deathly vale than on this side of it, is the great lie people have bought into. The reality that people are so invested in their physical health that they will go to great lengths to extend their lives either medically or surgically, proves they don’t have a zeal for life, but rather, a tremendous fear of death.
The fear of death has been terrifying the unsaved for millennia. People of all cultures and ethnicities have gone on to create all sorts of elaborate rituals and schemes to obfuscate the reality of death or redefine the afterlife. The Vikings had Valhalla, to which they could only enter if they died heroically in battle. The Hindus taught reincarnation, in that death was not the end, only an endless cycle of death and rebirth. The Muslims believe in paradise and their arbitrary 72 virgins. Roman Catholicism teaches salvation through purgatory. Atheists believe in annihilationism. The Bible, however, declares that upon our last breath, and our last heartbeat, we enter into the realm eternal.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Hebrews 9:27-28
Seeing as how death has been sort of a permanent mainstay in human history, it would seem to lend credence to the second half of the passage. We live. We die. We are judged by God. For the unbeliever, there is no recycling, no raucous, beer-laden Valhalla, no virgin-filled paradise, and no self-flagellating purgatory. It’s one and done, and then eternal separation from their Creator. For the believer, we are judged at the Bema Judgment, and then we spend the rest of eternity with our Creator.
While many of us feel as though we have done dreadfully little on account of the Gospel which saved us (in comparison to what we receive in return), we continue to work, to witness, and to be the kind of people Christ called us to be. We do this even if we do not see the fruits of our labor or the worldly rewards in this life. To this point, the writer of Hebrews, detailing the life of the faithful patriarchs, concluded that-
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 12:13-16
Conclusion
Admittedly, the Christian life here is hard. I would venture to say that being a Christian in the 21st century is even harder, and why, so many are turning from the faith. G.K. Chesterton once said, the Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried. Jesus promised us that in this life, we will have tribulation. He promised us that if we love Him more than the world, the world will hate us. In his epistles, the Apostle Paul taught us this world is not only, not our home, but is in fact, a battlefield. A battlefield in which we contend not with flesh and blood enemies, but dark, malevolent, and vicious spirits bent on only on our destruction.
While we take no personal trophies on our own accord, or in our own strength, we rest in the triumph Christ already wrought upon the cross some two thousand years ago. And though it seems like we are insignificant and unwanted in this world (we are), it is only a façade put on by our mortal enemy, Satan, who is still furious that in crucifying the Son of God, he sealed his own fate.
It is at that moment of death, in which, Satan has long delighted in taking those who have not yet claimed the free gift of salvation from Christ that separates our faith from any other. Paul writes that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Instead of meeting sneering demons, who gleefully drag those poor souls into hell below, we know that at our own moment of death, we will be greeted by God’s holy angels, ready to escort us to our heavenly abode (Luke 16:22).
While in our flesh, we might delight in the much-deserved death of the wicked, God does not. He is longsuffering that all might come to salvation, and thus, has delayed Christ’s long-overdue victory lap all these centuries so that one more lost sheep might be brought back into the fold. Thus we contend with this fallen world, and are persecuted, discredited, censored, silenced, belittled, abused, and murdered as those who Christ describes in His parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22).
Although God is longsuffering, His patience is not limitless. At some point (and we think soon), we will arrive at that fullness of times, when the full number of Gentiles are brought into the body of Christ (Rom. 11:25). It is at this point that even we, a generation of believers, will not taste even the bittersweet agony of death, but will instantly, put on immortality, and fly away to meet our loved ones and our Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:13-18, 1 Cor. 15:51-56).
Lastly, while we don’t fully understand everything going on in the backdrop of our lives, we can trust in our God to be faithful (2 Tim. 2:13). He is faithful because it is His nature to be, and He has promised us that we can trust in His plan of redemption. Therefore, death is not the end for us, but the very beginning, of an infinite, and glorious future (Eph. 2:4-7).
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18
Sigh….
If no fruit is forthcoming, they were not Christians.
No Christian is condemned based on his works or lack thereof.
If you’re a Christian, you are saved. Period. Done deal.
No Christian is condemned based on his works or lack thereof.
James 2:
14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Since some of us here feel the need to write paragraphs about who is Saved and Who is Damned based on their personal exegesis, I’ll respond with SCRIPTURE ONLY.
The Holy Spirit calls out those who know and seek His Truth. Others come here to condemn. It’s pretty easy to see who those are.
1. Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
2. Ephesians 2:4-5
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
3. Romans 3:24
24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
4. Romans 3:20
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
5. Hebrews 11:1
11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
6. Hebrews 12:2
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
7. Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
8. Romans 11:6
6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
9. Galatians 3:24
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, tin order that we might be justified by faith.
10. Titus 3:5
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Don’t fall for the works based false gospel of salvation that many guilt laden cults put on their members.
It is another Gospel and it is a curse!
Try Jude 1:3-4 on:
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Furthermore Galatians warns against teaching of another “gospel” (works-based salvation is but one example of another gospel).
Paul calls these grace plus works salvation pushers “cursed” or an anathema.
Galatians 1:6-9
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or qan angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
Childish arguments from folks who would rather carry double the ox load of works.
Fine! Let them!
IMO, projection.
You realize that those of us who post devotionals here on FR to the lost and our brethren are doing “works” by posting these devotionals and being Watchmen on the Wall for the perilous times ahead.
So if it’s “works” you want - we’ve got plenty sister. Among our families, among our friends we call out sinful behavior and bring the lost to the uncomfortable confrontation with Jesus Christ who is the Sovereign Lord God.
But I realize with the works-based salvation types it’s never good enough. You guys preach another gospel. Good luck with that since you are heavily dependent on your ‘works’.
Could be, but some folks just want to argue.
You lay 20 verses down from Scripture and their pride will never allow them to see what the words actually say.
"Not so sure that Paul didn't claim that."
That is absurd and frankly indicates ignorance. I am positive Paul didn't claim that but just the contrary, despite out-of-context wresting of Scripture. Some more teaching ion this:
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:13-14)
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:1-4)
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:5)
Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: (1 Timothy 1:19)
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Timothy 2:12)
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)
And if Paul wrote Hebrews (which I have good reason to doubt)
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (Hebrews 3:12-14)
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; (Hebrews 10:26-32)
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:36-39)
Yes, there are negative consequences for “born againers” who sin, which is.
1. Forfeiting of what faith obtains, if dying having will-fully, impenitently continued in sin after being convicted by God of it, effectively having denied the faith (cf. 1 Timothy 5:8) being as an unbeliever with a "faith" that cannot save. Thus believers are warned as believers against having an "evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God," drawing "back to perdition," so that Christ shall "profit you nothing," having "fallen from grace," not standing fast in "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," not holding fast "the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," "the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end," so that the gospel labor on their behalf would be in vain, (Gal. 5:1-5; Heb. 3:6,12,14; 10:25-31, 38-39; 1 Thessalonians 3:5) Wherefore God chastens us to work repentance so "that we should not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:32) As was told you before.
2. Loss of rewards and grief at the Lord's displeasure when the fruit of our labor in building His church (which all believers are doing, directly or indirectly: cf. Ephesians 4:16).
For after the Lord's coming is the judgment seat of Christ, with its giving and loss of rewards (Mt. 16:27; 1Cor. 3:8-17; 4:5; Rm. 14:10; 2Cor. 5:10; 1Thes. 2:19; 2Tim. 4:1,8; Rev.11:18; ; 1Pt. 1:7; 5:4; cf. Mt. 13:30,39; 25:31-46; Jn. 5:29; Rev. 20:5,6) based on the quality of the material they used to build the church with.
Tares defile the church and will be burned, (Mt. 13:30,39; 1Cor. 3:17) while true believers are "crowns" (1 Thess. 2:19; Phil. 4:1) and rejoicing "in the day of the Lord Jesus" (2Cor. 1:14) for those who provided them (presumably directly or indirectly). But the loss (1Cor. 3:14,15) of fruit and rewards (along with the implicit grievous displeasure of the Lord, like as Peter felt when the Lord looked at Peter after he in weakness denied Him) is the only suffering mentioned for believers after leaving this world (versus purgatory, which has souls suffering upon death).
"Then there are the ridiculous statements that their flesh sins but their spirit doesn’t so even if they did sin it doesn’t matter,"
No, i do not subscribe to that and is certainly does matter.
"or that we are no longer “under the law” so commandment keeping doesn’t apply to them,"
No, not under the law is in regard to acceptance with God not being in the basis of obtaining the level of obedience the Law requires, yet that true believers are justified by effectual faith being imputed for righteousness, thus resulting in obedience by the Spirit, (Rm. 8:14) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:4)
However, what you mean is that if one does not "keep" the 7th day sabbath then he is not a believer, yet the new covenant is indeed different from that of Moses, and the NT explains how, in 'which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation, (Hebrews 9:10) and thus nowhere in the NT church is the command to keep of the 7th day sabbath reiterated or actually exampled by an actual one, with meeting on the 1st day being the only specific day exampled. As told you before.
We could go on but there should be no need since we have been there and done that:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3868037/posts?page=98#98
https://freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3954151/posts?page=153#153
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3868037/posts?page=531#531
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3868037/posts?page=566#566
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3868037/posts?page=622#622
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3868037/posts?page=720#720
May God peradventure grant all “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (2 Timothy 2:25)
I should have been even more clear in my statement. What is the penalty for UNREPENTANT sin? Born againers say nothing (other than a few jewels missing from their crowns). Nope. Once saved, always saved and nothing will keep a Christian out of heaven. That is their position.
We could go on but there should be no need since we have been there and done that:
Then why do you keep bringing it up?
You are very confused as to what the new covenant is and means.
http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch//covenant-seal.htm
“The Ten Commandments of God are to be written in the hearts and minds of His people (The New Covenant in verity), the very seal of God on His people, and that includes the seventh day (Saturday) Sabbath commandment.”
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
and thus nowhere in the NT church is the command to keep of the 7th day sabbath reiterated or actually exampled by an actual one
Matthew 5:
17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19Whosoever 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.
20For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
with meeting on the 1st day being the only specific day exampled. As told you before.
Not even the Catholic Church believes you (other churches also cited).
“Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles… From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.” (Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900).
“You will read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we [Catholics] never sanctify.” (Cardinal Gibbons’ Faith of Our Fathers, p. 111).
“Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the apostles ordered the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] Church outside the Bible.” (Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947. p. 9).
It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible.” (Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975, Chicago, Illinois.)
Methodist
“Sabbath in the Hebrew language signifies rest, and is the seventh day of the week… and it must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day.” Charles Buck, A Theological Dictionary, “Sabbath.”
Presbyterians
“Some have tried to build the observance of Sunday upon Apostolic command, whereas the Apostles gave no command on the matter at all…. The truth is, so soon as we appeal to the litera scripta [literal writing] of the Bible, the Sabbatarians have the best of the argument.” “The Christian at Work”, April 19, 1883, and Jan. 1884.
Anglican
“Where are we told in Scripture that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day…. The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the Church, has enjoined it.” Isaac William, D.D., Plain Sermons on the Catechism, vol. 1.
Episcopal
“The Bible commandment says on the seventh day thou shalt rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday.”
Baptist
“There is nothing in Scripture that requires us to keep Sunday rather than Saturday as a holy day.” Harold Lindsell (editor), Christianity Today, Nov. 5, 1976.
“To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ discussion with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question . . . never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated . . . Of course I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the sun-god, adopted and sanctioned by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism” (Dr. Edward Hiscox, before a New York ministers’ conference, Nov. 13, 1893, as reported in the New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893).
“If it [Sabbath] yet exists, let us observe it…And if it does not exist, let us abandon a mock observance of another day for it. ‘But,’ say some, ‘it was changed from the seventh to the first day.’ Where? when? and by whom? No man can tell. No, it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed! It is all old wives’ fables to talk of the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio – I think his name is Doctor Antichrist.’ (Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist, Feb. 2, 1824, vol. 1. no. 7, p. 164.)
“The Sabbath is a part of the Decalogue—the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution . . . Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand . . . The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath” (T.C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pp. 474-475).
and on, and on, and on.......
In the area where my family is from in western NY, there are Seventh Day Baptist churches. They are dwindling, but some still exist.
Seventh-day Baptists are listed as #430 in this list of Seventh-day Sabbath keeping denominations:
https://www.the-ten-commandments.org/sabbathkeepingchurches.html
This bears repeating...
“The Sabbath is a part of the Decalogue—the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution . . . Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand . . . The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath” (T.C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pp. 474-475).
We could go on but there should be no need since we have been there and done that:
I believe that God will say something similar to the lost, just after they bow and confess in His presence and He pronounces judgment on them.
Isiah 45:23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Romans 14:11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Philippians 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(that’s yet ANOTHER reference to the 4th commandment BTW)
Psalms 90 from Moses
pen,
15th century BC.
Jesus would have read That.
BINGO! It's the same pride that convinces them they will be saved BECAUSE they do good works, obey the commandments, etc. To rest in Jesus Christ who saves us by grace through faith in His finished work on the cross leaves them with nothing to boast about. But, they will swear up and down that they DO believe in the gospel of grace - that we are saved by faith and not by our works! Their self-righteous pride blinds them from comprehending that to say we are saved by God's grace and not by our works but that unless we do good works we won't be saved is no different than saying our works save us. By that reasoning faith plays a role but it's only a supporting one - it's not THROUGH faith. They remain unable to understand their own confusion.
It's a simple concept - WHO gets the glory? If it's my faith and my good deeds, obedience to the commandments, giving, etc. which saves me, then Jesus has to share the glory with me. But when salvation comes by grace through faith in what Christ has done for me and NOT because of my works - which the Scriptures plainly state - then Jesus gets ALL the glory.
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