A man called me shouting and cussing me out

A man called me shouting and cussing me out for my one minute radio spot that said, “Our Calvinist Puritan forefathers came to this land seeking freedom of religion. They established a government based on a covenant with God called the Mayflower Compact. In the Old country they had paid with their blood to be free from tyrants. Puritan pastor Thomas Hooker wrote the first constitution in the history of mankind for Connecticut in 1639. Thomas Jefferson did not invent the ideas in the Declaration of Independence. They were copied from the Calvinists. The Calvinist Puritans sought to establish a city on a hill based on the Bible. This, and this alone is what made America great. But now we are engaged in a spiritual civil war waged by the powers of darkness that hate biblical values. To vote for Obama is to hate God and the America of the founding fathers.”

The man was really mad. He shouted, “You have no right to say those things on the radio. It’s against the law. I’m gonna report you to the radio station.” I said, “That’s okay. The First Amendment and The Alliance Defense Fund will take care of that.”

He said, “I have a PHD from the University of Tennesee, KNOXVILLE.”  I said, “I do have a doctorate in biblical studies.” He said, “From where? The University of Basket Weaving? Is it accredited?”

He said,  “You’re just an ignorant fundamentalist that interprets the Bible literally. I don’t believe in the virgin birth. I’m a liberal. My father was a Methodist pastor.” I said, “I’m under the authority of a cloud of witnesses… the tried and true ones that brought liberty to the modern world.”

He said, “The Puritans and Reformers were not as smart as we are. They didn’t have cars.” Well, we wouldn’t have cars, either if they had not brought us liberty. It’s for freedom that Christ made us free.

He said, “John Locke and the humanists brought liberty to the modern world, not fundamentalists.” I said, “Do you know when the first constitution in the history of mankind was written? Puritan preacher Thomas Hooker wrote it for the state of Connecticut in 1639. Do you know how old John Locke was then?  Eight years old.”

I asked, “Have you ever heard of presuppositionalist reasoning? If I presuppose something is true, even if it’s not, all my logic will be based on that basis. It does not mean my logic is bad (i.e. that I’m stupid). It means I put my faith in the wrong presupposition. If you presuppose something different, it does not mean your logic is bad or that you’re dumb. It just means you presupposed something different. I presuppose that the Bible is factual and you presuppose it’s not. Does that make me stupid?”

“Before you jump to the conclusion of calling someone stupid because they don’t see it your way, stop to consider that. And before you make a judgment on who you think I am (a literalist), listen to the sermon I preached just last Sunday on that very subject. Just like every day speech, we mix both literal speech with figurative speech all the time.  So does the Bible.”

I said, “You said you’re a liberal. I always thought “liberal” meant “tolerant.” He said, “Yes. We’re tolerant.” I said, “You don’t seem to be tolerating me.” He had no answer.

     By the time the call ended he was calm and wished me a good day. His mouth was shut.

 
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" ( 1Pet 3:15).

You Are Gods

John Calvin says the use of “gods” for rulers and those in authority is a synecdoche. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail  for ten ships  or a Rockefeller  for a rich man.  

Psalm 82:1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.   6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. 7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.” 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.

Calvin notes that the following passages “in the Fifth Commandment are comprised by synecdoche all superiors, in authority.”

Lev 19:32 You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God [gods]: I am the LORD.

Deut 16:18 You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.  [Republican government]

Deut 20:9 And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

John 10:34-36 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

Exodus 22:28 “You shall not revile God [Hebrew: the gods], nor curse a ruler of your people.”

 Ge 6:2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

Gen 6:4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

The Host of Heaven

1Ki 22:19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.

Eph 3:10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

Eph 6:12 NKJV For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Dan 10:20-21 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.”

Terms Used For “gods” In Scripture

the congregation of the mighty

gods

children of the Most High.

Sons of God

the gray headed

judges and officers

captains

rulers

the host of heaven

principalities and powers

spiritual forces of evil

prince of Persia

prince of Greece

Michael, your prince

Where Was God During The Colorado Massacre?

Where Was God

The skeptic says, “If God is in control of all things, He’s not doing a very good job. Look at the mess the world is in.” That statement seems to imply that they want a tyrant as god, and people should be robots “controlled” by him. That’s why unbelievers choose statism and make laws to control everyone! They think God is doing a terrible job so let the state take over. But God’s law is the law we need.

The world is a mess precisely because God permits freedom. God is faithful to keep the promise of His covenant to unleash His wrath on covenant breakers. The “mess” of the world is proof that the Bible is true and that God is in control. To break the covenant by sitting in judgment on God simply brings unleashes evil consequences. To bow before Him brings blessing. We reap only what we sow.

Because of all the evil in the world, some people think Satan must be the ruler. He is called the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), the god of “worldings” (earth dwellers). For them, he is their ruler. But they seem to think Satan can do whatever he pleases. How do we square this with all the Scriptures that say Christ is the ruler? Please examine the following Scriptures to see if these things are so. Let’s be like the Bereans who “were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Scripture interprets Scripture by means of cross-references.

The Bible teaches Satan can do nothing unless the Lord lets him. The buck stops with God Almighty. Satan had to get permission to torment Job. He had to get permission to sift Peter. God uses Satan as His tool of wrath just as He used Assyria to punish covenant-breaking Israel. “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation” (Isaiah 10:5). For believers God’s rod is redemptive, but for unbelievers His wrath is destructive. It depends where your heart dwells… in heavenly places or on earth.

Just before Jesus went to the cross He said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). Satan then came with his rulers and arrested Jesus. But the plan backfired. He arose from the dead and while the disciples “watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

Daniel foresaw this ascension of Christ when the heavenly court was set and the Ancient of Days was seated and “behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14 ESV). And “a judgment was given for the saints” when, as the Greater Solomon, He sat down at the right hand of the Father “on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father” (1 Chronicles 29:23).

Daniel said, “As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came [to the court], and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom” (Daniel 7:21-22 ESV). That time came when Christ ascended to the Father. “And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” (Rev 11:15)

Through the sacrifice of Christ Satan was cast out of his place of rule in heaven and came down to arrest Jesus.  This is also the pattern of history. “For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Rev 12:12).

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Rev 12:9-12).

Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords (including over Satan). But as long as God’s people do what Israel did, Satan will be unleashed by God on “earth dwellers” (See Rev 12:12). The wrath of God is looming over America right now because America has been becoming more and more carnal “earth dwellers” instead of being seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6). But… “If My people…” (2 Chron 7:14).

God says to those who love Him (His elect), “Nothing can happen to you unless I allow it. And if I do, it is for your good… even unto death”  (See Romans 8:28). “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV).

Where was God during the theater slaughter in Aurora, Colorado? “If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (Psalm 139:8). God gave Satan permission. Why??? God has his reasons. Instead of questioning God we need to question ourselves. We might not know the specific reasons, but Scripture clearly reveals that if we break God’s covenant He swears to unleash His wrath. It’s time to “Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD” (Joel 1:14). That is the answer to, “Why?”

Even though the Lord is already King over all the earth, there is another sense in which He is not. The prophet Zechariah said some 500 years before Christ came, “the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—‘The LORD is one,’ And His name one” (Zechariah 14:9). In one sense this prophecy was fulfilled when Christ ascended to the Father and sat on the throne of the Lord in the place of David His Father. But in another sense the whole earth will acknowledge Christ as the ruler of nations. “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:27-28 ESV).

It’s reported that Tocqueville said, “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers - and it was not there . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce - and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution - and it vas not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

We Are Justified By Works (James 2:24)?

Does James Contradict Paul?

The quotes from James and Paul will seem to some to be an argument, but it is not. Both sides of the coin of truth are true. Antinomians need James and those going about to establish their own righteousness need Paul. To take only one and not the other is dualism.

James:… faith apart from works is useless (James 2:20)

Paul: God imputes righteousness apart from works (Rom 4:6)

James: Was not Abraham our father justified by works? (James 2:21)

Paul: For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about (Rom 4:2)

James:  a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24)

Paul: a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. (Rom 3:28)

And the dead were judged according to their works (Rev 20:12) [Not according to their faith. We are saved by faith but faith is not alone. The proof of faith on judgment day is works.]

Disobedience Equals Unbelief

And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Heb 3:18)

[We are slaves to what we believe in the heart.]

  Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

(Luke 6:46 ESV)

 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Mt 7:23)

One can obey “outwardly” without faith, but cannot obey inwardly. “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6 ESV).

Whatever You Bind

Whatever You Bind

Matthew 18:17-20

 [17] If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. [18] Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [19] Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Church Discipline

This passage has to do with church discipline. Jesus says, if a brother refuses to listen to the church he is to be rejected as a Gentile and a tax collector. Gentiles and tax collectors usually belonged to Satan. Paul delivered two men “to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim 1:20). He also commanded the Corinthian church to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1Cor 5:5) because he was sleeping with his father’s wife. Paul said, “I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person” (1 Cor 5:11).

Binding And Loosing

Jesus tells the church, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The word “you” is plural in the Greek. It means “you the church.” To bind means to not permit and to loose means to permit. To bind a person or thing means to not permit it. Or to make something binding means to make it a law. A binding agreement is a contract or a covenant. Breaking a binding agreement is breaking a covenant. To break a covenant brings negative sanctions, and to keep it brings blessing.

If Any Two Agree

Jesus says, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” In other words, the agreement of the church is binding both on earth and in heaven. God delegates to His church the authority to bind and to loose. More than 2 or 3 agreed together at the Counsel of Nicaea in 325 A.D. to turn such a one over to Satan that he might learn not to blaspheme.

The Arian Controversy

It started this way. In 311 A.D. man named Peter was the overseer of the church in Alexandria, Egypt. He was in prison for preaching the Gospel and had a vision of Jesus with his robe torn down the middle. Jesus told him that just like the robe he was wearing was split a priest named Arius was to be turned over to Satan because he was about to split the church the same way. The next day Peter’s friends brought Arius to him asking to restore him to the church in spite of his former rebellion. Bishop Peter refused and was also executed for his faith the next day.

This prophecy was fulfilled when Arius started teaching that there was a time when Christ was not. He denied that Christ is God and gained such a large following that it threatened the peace of the Empire. The rulers of the empire sided with Arius and persecution followed.

The Council Of Nicaea 325 A.D.

To bring peace to the empire, the Emperor Constantine called for all the church overseers of the world to gather at Nicaea to come to an agreement on the issue. 318 bishops from all over the world gathered at the Counsel of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

The result was that all but 3 signed the agreement that the Scripture teaches that Jesus is God. The Nicene Creed includes everything the Apostles’ Creed says but adds that Jesus is very God of very God and very man of very man, that God is three persons in one essence… not three manifestations.

The fact that the universal church agreed made the Nicene Creed binding in heaven and on earth.

Who Decides What True Christians Believe?

The church does because Jesus said, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Those who reject the Nicene Creed are not Christians because the universal church said so. Those who reject the deity of Christ are not Christians even though they might say they are. The Nicene Creed contains the essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

The Essentials

In essentials – unity. In non-essentials – liberty. In all things – charity. We cannot be in unity with those who do not believe the essentials. Jesus said He came to divide believers from nonbelievers. But we are forbidden to divide if we agree on the essentials. And, to divide over non-essentials can be sinful. By “divide” I mean to pronounce a believer in the essentials as not Christians. Jesus prayed, “that they may become perfectly one” (John 17:23). “There is one body and one Spirit… one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:4-5). The Nicene Creed says, “I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.” To deny that is to deny what Jesus said. “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”

The Division

Until 450 A.D. all the churches were in agreement. They divided at that time over the two natures of Christ. The Church of Armenia, the Coptic Church of Egypt, and the Syriac Churches disagreed with the Eastern and Western churches. Then 500 later the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Churches divided in 1054 A.D. Then another 500 years later the Reformers tried to reform the corruptions of the Romish church after 1517 and were cast out or killed. Now here is the question:

What is a Christian?

Here is the argument of the Church of Armenia. Those who believe in the Nicene Creed can call themselves Christians. All the other doctrines, though they may be true and important, are not binding as essentials for salvation because to be binding takes the universal church. When Jesus said whatever you bind, He was speaking to the whole church, not just one segment of it.

Non-Essentials

There are many important and true doctrines on which the universal church has never agreed and therefore are not binding as essential for salvation. On these there must be liberty to disagree and to debate without dividing. Again, by dividing I mean declaring others as unbelievers. They can still call themselves Christians if they believe in the essentials found in the Nicene Creed. That, however, does not mean they are saved.

Two Kinds Of Christians

(Saved and Unsaved)

Many Christians only believe with the head and not with the heart. There are two kinds of Christians: head faith Christians and born again Christians. Just like there were Israelites circumcised in the flesh but not in the heart, so there are Christians baptized in water but not in the Spirit. Only God knows who is saved and not saved. But we can be assured that “that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? [The Bible says,] Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10).

If a man is baptized and says he believes and is not living in scandalous sins like those just mentioned we take his word for it and welcome him to the Lord’s Table. Only God knows the heart and God will judge those witch hunters who think they can read the heart.

Are Roman Catholics Christians?

So, do we say that the Roman Catholics and other denominations that believe in the Nicene Creed are outward Christians? Yes. But only God knows who is an inward Christian. Can an outward Christian believe false doctrines? Well, do you know of anyone that is perfect in all his ideas and doctrines? Don’t get me wrong. There is no excuse and there must be liberty to debate the issues. But we must include all as outward Christians who believe in the essentials of the faith. In essentials God commands unity.

But that does not mean we all have to belong to the same denomination. There must be liberty in the nonessentials and the unity must be in the Spirit and not just in the flesh.

This teaching is important because God hates the divisive spirit. There is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5).

•               Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity! 



•               Ephesians 4:3 
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:13 
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ


The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Sabbath

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The Lord's Day

By Ron Smith

Hold The Traditions Which You Were Taught

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word [oral] or our epistle [written]”

(2 Thess 2:15).

It seems that since the surge of Modernism in the late 20^th Century, many evangelicals no longer see the need for observing the Lord's Day as our spiritual forefathers did. Is it time to quit calling Sunday the Sabbath? Have we evolved to be more enlightened than they were, or is there some other motive? Was their interpretation private, or is ours? Was their interpretation faulty, or is ours? Are we the cloud of witnesses or are they? Do we bear false witness when we say we believe in the Ten Commandments while we really only believe in nine? Do we really need to abolish the custom of having weekends off? Would it be good to open our businesses on Sundays and force our employees to work so they cannot go to church? Where do we draw the line between greed and obedience?

The pop interpretation nowdays is that every man can rest whichever day he chooses, go fishing, and thus fulfill the fourth commandment. The main two passages used to support this view are Romans 14:4-6 and Col. 2:16,17. Let us look at them.  We will show that the Matthew Henry Commentary and others believe these two passages are not referring to the seventh day, but rather to the new moon Sabbaths.

Romans 14:4-6

Who are you to judge another's servant?  To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

Colossians 2:16-17

Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

Matthew Henry Commentary

Now let us look at how our fathers interpreted these verses. Below is a quote from Matthew Henry's Commentary. He was a puritan who wrote around 1700. Matthew Henry shows that the apostle was not referring to the Lord's Day, but to the traditional Jewish Sabbaths that took place at new moons, on feast days, and on Saturday.

Those who thought themselves still under some kind of obligation by the ceremonial law esteemed one day above another-kept up a respect to the times of the Passover, Pentecost, new moons, and feast of Tabernacles; thought those days better than other days, and solemnized them accordingly with particular observances, binding themselves to some religious rest and exercise on those days. Those who knew that all these things were abolished and done away by Christ's coming esteemed every day alike. We must understand it with an exception of the Lord's Day, which all Christians unanimously observed; but they made no account, took no notice, of those antiquated festivals of the Jews.”

Sunday as the Lord's Day is the fulfillment of the Sabbath shadow. This is what Christians have always believed and practiced from the early days of church history.

Dictionary Of The Apostolic Church

In Ep. ad Magn., attributed to Ignatius, we meet with an early admonition, emphasizing the distinction: 'Let us, therefore, no longer keep Sabbath after the Jewish manner...and rejoice in days of idleness... But let every one of you keep Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law' (ch 9). In the nature of things, the two days could not continue to be equally observed in the Christian Church. The Sabbath must needs give place to the Lord's Day: the seventh day of the week to the first. The legislation of Constantine (A.D. 321), which recognized Sunday as a feast day, must have been no small factor in the case; though, again, that would not have been enacted if the custom of keeping the Lord's Day had not already been predominant among Christians… But there is a clear distinction between the two; and for Christians the Lord's Day is paramount. The Fourth Commandment was still held to be binding; only Sunday was tacitly substituted for 'the seventh day.'...Great as the authority of the Sabbath is, the authority of the Lord's Day for all who accept the resurrection of our Lord is equally great or even greater.

Peloubet's Bible Dictionary

Christ's words do not remit the duty of keeping the Sabbath, but only deliver it from the false methods of keeping which prevented it from bestowing upon men the spiritual blessings it was ordained to confer. The almost total silence of the epistles in relation to keeping the Sabbath doubtless grew out of the fact that the early Christians kept the Sabbath, and that this period was one of change from the seventh to the first day of the week, and any definite rules would have been sure to be misunderstood. For many years both the first and the seventh days of the week were kept as Sabbaths; and gradually the first day of the week, the Lord's Day, took the place among Christians of the seventh day, and they had the fullest warrant for the change. The Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue is just as binding now as it ever was, or as any other of the Ten Commandments. Those who argue that God has abolished this Sabbath, but has written the Sabbath law in our very natures, must have strange ideas of the wisdom of a God who abolishes a command he has made it necessary to keep. Christians in keeping the Lord's Day keep the Fourth Commandment, as really as do those who keep what is every seventh day, only the counting starts from a different point. As to the method of keeping the Sabbath no rules are laid down; but no one can go far astray who holds to the principles laid down;-(1) Rest. Nothing is to be done in daily business, and no recreation taken which destroys the rest of others or takes from any the privileges of the Sabbath. (2) Spiritual nurture. One day in seven is to be set apart for the culture of the spiritual nature. These two principles of Sabbath-keeping will always go together. Only a religious Sabbath, which belongs to God, can be retained among men as a day of rest. If men can sport on the Sabbath, they will soon be made to work. Witness the large number of people who must minister to the sport of others. Also the fact that where the Sabbath is merely a day of pleasure the shops soon begin to stay open.

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr (150 AD) tells us that Sunday was the day that Christians had set apart instead of Saturday, because it was the resurrection day. How can we do this if we have to work?

Ignatius

Ignatius, who was a young man while the apostles were alive, said, "Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death."

It is clear that the early Christians from the time of the apostles understood the Lord's Day to be the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sabbath Shadow. It was a day set apart from all others for man and for the Lord.

Since this custom has changed since in modern times along with all the other novelties, isn't that a little suspicious? In my father's day (1914 - 1935) the Christians rested from sundown Saturday until sundown Sunday. The custom was common to all denominations (except Adventists). Are smarter and wiser than our Puritan fathers?

Remember the movie Chariots Of Fire? It is a true story of a Church of Scotland covenanter who was expected to win first place in the 100 at the Olympic games. When he found out that he would have to run on Sunday, he told the leaders, including the king, that he could not do it. They were quite disappointed and tried to get him to violate his conscience. As it turned out, he ran the 400 on another day, and won. This he did in spite of the fact that he had never trained for that distance!

Where do we draw the line? The prophets Nehemiah and Jeremiah rebuked the people for carrying burdens on the Sabbath. “In those days I saw in Judah some people treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions” (Neh 13:15).

Jeremiah 17:21 says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.”

Moderns would say the demands of Jeremiah and Nehemiah were legalistic. The Pharisees were so legalistic that they even went so far as to make it unlawful to carry their blankets. Jesus clearly did not agree with such legalism. Albert Barnes says, "This method he took to show them what the law of God really permitted on that day, and that works of necessity and mercy were lawful."

In John 5:8 Jesus said, "Rise, take up your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.’ He answered them, ‘He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' "

Where do we draw the line?

Where do we draw the line? We draw it where our spiritual fathers drew it. We abstain from gainful employment. We work and plan six days. We do not go to the extreme of legalism. Jesus made it clear that it is lawful to pull your ox out of the ditch on the Sabbath. There are some jobs that are necessary on Sunday, such as hospitals. It is not necessary to keep stores and restaurants open on Sunday.

I foresee a day when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. In that day Christians will not work on Sunday except in those cases where it is necessary such as hospitals, etc. Televised sports will be after 6 PM. Stores and restaurants will follow the example of Chic Filet.

Should we go to restaurants and watch football on Sundays? I leave that for others to decide. Personally, I do not see that as a violation. Those who require their employees to work on Sundays are definitely violating the Sabbath. Some say, “Well, if I eat out or watch sports on Sunday I am causing others to work. Therefore I totally dismiss the idea of keeping the Sabbath.”  Is that logical?

I was fired from a job for refusing to work Sundays. After working there for two years, they decided to open on Sundays. I told them that I could not. They said, "Then we will have to fire you." After thinking it over, I almost gave in to fear. But, as scared as I was, I decided to obey my conscience and trust God to supply my needs. They fired me. In one month I was hired by the biggest advertiser in the world, and the company with the best benefits of any large company in the world. During that month, I did not lose a dime in income. I did some handyman jobs. If we have the moral courage to trust God, we may suffer, but God will bless us and supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

The Law Of Creation

For those who believe the Fourth Commandment has been abrogated I ask, “Has the Law of Creation been abrogated, also?” In the Law of Creation the Sabbath is made for man and man was not made for the Sabbath (as the Pharisees with their legalist rules thought).  One time a Sabbath keeping team participated in a canoe race that lasted for several weeks. The first Sunday they rested while the other teams got a day ahead. I do not have to tell you which team won. Because the other teams did not take advantage of the rest God had provided for them, they wore themselves out while the Sabbath keepers renewed their strength. Let us work like God did for six days and rest on the seventh. It is wise to cooperate with the laws of nature (the law of creation). Let us obey God and renew the Covenant weekly by “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some” (Heb 9:27).

The word Sabbath is the Hebrew word seven. Seven in Hebrew also means oath. An oath is a covenant (See Gen 21:31-32). The Sabbath is the sign of the covenant. We gather every Sunday to renew the oath and covenant.

Can you imagine a world with no Sundays off?  This is glorious and orderly tradition that came from Judeo Christian tradition.

Hold The Traditions Which You Were Taught

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word [oral] or our epistle [written]”

(2 Thess 2:15).

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