28/07/2021 - RESPECT TO THE LORD

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You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord. Leviticus 26.2

Sabbath keeping became something different from what God intended, as Jesus later explained. “He didn’t create man to keep this day, but He created this day for man” to rest and to devote himself to the Lord’s work (Mark 2.27). Religious people have insisted so much on this ordinance, that churchgoers who follow it don’t accept to study the Word in order to understand Christ’s teachings.

Those who defend such a commandment today, need to remember that Joshua stopped time for almost a whole day (Joshua 10:12,13) and Isaiah turned back the sun 40 minutes (Isaiah 38:8). So they actually keep the Sunday of creation. Sabbatarians need to examine these biblical references, before accusing us of disobeying God. There are more facts on this subject!

How the devotion to human doctrine changes people, to the point that the teachers of the Law sought to kill Jesus! He came to bring us to the Father, not to make us disobey the Word (Matthew 5:17). Those people were so blind that they could transgress the commandment “You shall not kill” in order to obey the Sabbath. They stopped believing in the Son of God in order to deify man. This is still happening!

With all patience, the Master, knowing the reason that brought them to Him, asked them: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill? And they kept silent (Mark 3.4). They would accuse Him to put Him to death if He did good on that day when they believed nothing should be done. However, if Jesus failed to give man much needed health, they would applaud Him. Spiritual blindness mutilates faith!  

The response of those religious men was the worst possible, because he who keeps silent before the truth makes himself a defendant in the Eternal Judgment. Even though they were convinced, they preferred silence. Instead of pleading for forgiveness, because of their lack of biblical understanding, they conspired with the Herodians to kill the Savior (Mark 3.6). If they repented, they would be delivered from the demon of murder, but their reaction was contrary.

Responding to the Pharisees’ protest at seeing Christ’s disciples plucking the heads of grain, Jesus gave the freedom decree of Sabbath – when the reason is to quench someone’s hunger: And he said to them: The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2.27,28). So, I ask you: Isn´t Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath and all things? 

What’s the problem with keeping the first day of the week, in which Jesus was resurrected? The early Church sanctified it, using it to consecrate the offerings that would support the work of evangelization: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come (1 Corinthians 16.2). Don’t let yourself go wrong by keeping days… (Galatians 4.9-11). God desires mercy and not sacrifice.  (Matthew 9.13).

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares