“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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Don’t Confuse Honoring the Sabbath with Legalism
Most preachers that I have listened to and gotten to know over the years talk a lot about legalism and how the Messiah’s death on the cross freed us from having to obey the Law. They like to quote Paul in that regard:
Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is alive she gives herself to another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she gives herself to another man.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in regard to the Law through the body of the Messiah, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for Elohim. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were brought to light by the Law, were at work in the parts of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. (Romans 7: 1-6)
Paul is right. Thanks to the Messiah, Yahweh’s Law has no power over us from a salvation perspective. He died on the cross as our atoning sacrifice, and the blood He spilled on the cross paid the price for our sins. As Paul explained in his letter to the Hebrews,
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” — though they were offered in accordance with the Law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Yeshua the Messiah once for all. (Hebrews 10: 8-10)
As the Messiah said, “It is finished!” (John 19: 30) “Paid in full!” is a better translation of that verse. Where our salvation is concerned, the battle is over when we receive the Messiah as our Savior/Redeemer. The Law will never be held against us. When we receive Him by faith, He declares us righteous (i.e., He gives us His righteousness) no matter what we ever did or ever will do. That’s what the Messiah meant when He said,
“My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10: 27-30)
“Eternal life” means eternal life, and “will never perish” means will never perish. But does that mean Yahweh no longer expects us to obey His Law?
Not a chance. Our violations of the Law are not held against us from a salvation perspective, because the Messiah’s blood covers our sins. But the Messiah didn’t sacrifice His life to save us so we can disobey Yahweh with impunity. The thought of Him doing that is ludicrous.
Preachers also like to talk about dispensations. A dispensation is “a system of order, government, or organization of a nation, community, etc., especially as existing at a particular time.” Again, they like to quote Paul in that regard:
“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under Law but under grace.” (Romans 6: 14)
According to Christian doctrine/tradition, Abraham lived during the dispensation of promise. Supposedly, the dispensation of promise was in effect until Yahweh gave Moses the Law on Mount Sinai. That’s when the dispensation of Law (Yahweh’s Law, not the Oral Law) is supposed to have begun. Supposedly, the dispensation of Law was in effect until the Messiah died on the cross. That’s when the dispensation of grace is supposed to have begun.
That can’t be true. Abraham was saved by grace through faith, and he lived about 2,000 years before the Messiah was born:
“And he [Abraham] believed in [had faith in] Yahweh, and He [Yahweh] accounted it to him [Abraham] for righteousness.” (Genesis 15: 6)
Noah was saved by grace through faith, too. In Genesis, we are told,
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.” (Genesis 6: 8)
“Chen” is the Hebrew word that is translated as “favor” in Genesis 6: 8. It means “grace”. I don’t have a problem with using the word favor in that verse, but I would have preferred “unmerited favor”. That’s what grace really is. It’s impossible for us to earn salvation. Yahweh gives it to us by His grace, because He loves us. Faith is the only thing He expects from us in return. In The Trilogy, I call it “the faith of Abraham”. It’s faith with legs that are willing to go where Yahweh leads.
Noah lived roughly 400 years before Abraham was born, so grace has been in effect all along. Noah demonstrated his faith by building the ark, and Yahweh sealed him and his family in the ark and saved them.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul got to the heart of the matter:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of Elohim, not of works [of Yahweh’s Law], lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9)
Paul wasn’t talking about dispensations. He was talking about faith v. works. Works of the Law are required, but obeying the Law doesn’t save anyone. Only faith in Yahweh saves, but as James pointed out, faith without works is dead:
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one Elohim. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! (James 2: 14-19)
The Messiah said the same thing a little differently:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7: 15-20)
According to the Messiah, people with true faith will bear fruit, meaning they will be faithful to Yahweh and bear fruit when their fruit bearing season arrives. But He went further than that. He said, “You will know them by their fruit.”
People of faith who are obeying Yahweh don’t have to worry about bearing fruit any more than a fig tree has to worry about producing figs. The figs come naturally when the time is right. Being prepared when the time comes is the key. Yahweh makes sure His people are prepared, because they follow/obey Him.
Many have come and pretended to be believers, and they have deceived many. The Messiah warned us about them. He called them “ravenous wolves”. They attempt to convince the flock that saying the right words and doing the right things is evidence of faith.
That’s not evidence of faith. That’s evidence of religion. It’s ritual masquerading as faith. Catholics don’t have a monopoly on rituals, but they sure did set the bar. No ritual or religion or chant or incantation can substitute for faith and obedience.
Yahweh doesn’t make small talk. When He says something, He means it. He said, “Obey,” and obey is exactly what He meant.
As in Abraham’s day, real faith is manifested by works of obedience that Yahweh calls “good”. Yahweh expected Abraham to obey Him, but He declared Abraham righteous because of his faith. Yahweh tested Abraham’s faith to make sure that it was real:
Now it came to pass after these things that Elohim tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22: 1-2)
Abraham passed the test. He was willing to sacrifice Isaac, because Yahweh told him to. But Abraham knew that one of two things would happen: Either Yahweh would stop him at the last second, or He would resurrect Isaac on the spot.
That’s not conjecture:
So, Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which Elohim had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” (Genesis 22: 3-5)
Both Abraham and Isaac returned, as Abraham said. Abraham had to be willing to obey. That was his good work. As James said, “Faith without works is dead.”
Over the centuries, Paul’s letter to the Galatians has confused a lot of preachers. It should be obvious, though, that Paul was dressing down the Galatians for falling back on the belief that salvation is by works of the Law instead of by grace through faith:
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Yeshua the Messiah was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3: 1-5)
Paul wasn’t telling the Galatians that works of the Law are unimportant or unnecessary. He was telling them that works of the Law don’t lead to salvation. In essence, he was telling the Galatians the same thing James said:
“Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2: 18)
In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul devoted an entire chapter, Hebrews 11, to people who demonstrated faith in Yahweh by their works. I call it “the Hall of Faith”. Every person mentioned in that chapter had faith with legs. You should read it.
Honor the Sabbath Day and Keep it Holy
Honoring the sabbath and keeping it holy wasn’t a suggestion. Yahweh included it as 4th on the list of the Ten Commandments:
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your Elohim. In it, you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20: 8-11)
In Ezekiel, Yahweh explained why He gave us the sabbath:
“Also, I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.” (Ezekiel 20: 12)
Honoring the sabbath and keeping it holy means to set it apart for Yahweh. It’s not optional, but simply obeying that command is not evidence of faith in Yahweh. True faith comes from the heart, and only Yahweh can judge the heart.
This is something we know: The sabbath is the last day of the week, “the seventh day” or Saturday. It is not the first day of the week, Sunday. There is nothing wrong with worshiping Yahweh on Sunday or any other day of the week, but only Saturday is the sabbath.
We know this, too: Yahweh did not command us to go to synagogue or church on the sabbath. He simply said, “You shall not do any work.” In other words, it is set apart for Yahweh. What that means to each one of us is between each one of us and Yahweh. As I said, He judges the heart.
I have heard just about every excuse Christians have for rejecting the 4th Commandment, and none of them hold water. As I tell my Jewish friends when I explain to them that the Oral Law did not come from Yahweh, “When in doubt, obey Yahweh.”
This is the question Christians must answer: If the sabbath is not important and the day of week we choose to honor the sabbath is unimportant, too, why would Yahweh include it in the Ten Commandments?
Am I being legalistic? Not a chance. I’m being honest.
When someone tells me that I’m being legalistic for insisting the the sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday, I know that I’m talking to a person who thinks that disagreeing with him or her or well-entrenched Christian tradition is being legalistic.
I know what Yahweh said. If what people tell me doesn’t jive with what Yahweh said, I know they are wrong. Where the sabbath is concerned, Christian tradition is wrong.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
