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- 4th commandment – Remember the sabbath (Exo 20:8-11).
- The sabbath commandment is the only one of the ten commandments that is not repeated in the NT.
- The sabbath commandment was only ever given to the Jews (Exo 31:12-18).
- References to Jesus and other keeping the sabbath in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were all made before Jesus fulfilled and abolished the law of Moses, including the sabbath.
- Therefore, no reference to keeping the sabbath in the gospels is binding on Christians today.
- The following is a list of every use of the word “sabbath” in the rest of the NT (Acts-Revelation), in which Christians are given the commandments of Christ:
(i) Act 1:12 – Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
(ii) Act 13:14 – But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
(iii) Act 13:27 – For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
(iv) Act 13:42 – And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
(v) Act 13:44 – And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
(vi) Act 15:21 – For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
(vii) Act 16:13 – And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
(viii) Act 17:2 – And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
(ix) Act 18:4 – And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
(x) Col 2:16 – Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
- The uses of “sabbath” in the book of Acts are only references to it, but are never commandments for Christians to keep it.
- In the book of Acts there were still plenty of Jews who kept the sabbath, but there is not one place where a Gentile was commanded to keep the sabbath.
- The word “sabbath” is only used one time in the epistles to the churches and ministers, and that is in Col 2:16 where Paul tells the church to let no man judge them in respect of keeping it along with the Jewish holydays, new moon, and dietary laws, all of which are abolished.
- The sabbath commandment was nailed to the cross and abolished by Christ (Col 2:14-17 c/w 2Co 3:7,11,13), who is our rest (sabbath) (Mat 11:28-30 c/w Heb 4:3-11).
- 5th commandment – Honor thy father and mother (Exo 20:12 c/w Eph 6:1-3).
iii. 6th commandment – No murdering (Exo 20:13 c/w Rom 1:29; Rom 13:9).
- 7th commandment – No adultery (Exo 20:14 c/w Gal 5:19; Rom 13:9).
- 8th commandment – No stealing (Exo 20:15 c/w Eph 4:28; Rom 13:9).
- 9th commandment – No lying (Exo 20:16 c/w Eph 4:25; Rom 13:9).
vii. 10th commandment – No coveting (Exo 20:17 c/w Rom 7:7; Col 3:5; Rom 13:9).
- There were other parts of the law of Moses that were carried over into the NT that the Gentiles were told to keep such as the prohibition of fornication, eating things that had been sacrificed to idols or that had been strangled, and eating blood (Act 15:24,28-29; Act 21:24-25).
- But the apostles never commanded the Gentiles to keep the law of Moses (Act 15:24).
- The Gentiles were never under the law of Moses, therefore they would not be put under it after it was abolished.
iii. The fact that they listed out only four specific things from the law of Moses for the Gentiles to keep clearly demonstrates that the Gentiles are not under the law of Moses.
- Some other examples of commandments (though not an exhaustive list) which are carried over from the OT into the NT are commandments which prohibit:
- Fornication (1Co 6:18 c/w Gen 34:7; Deu 22:21).
- Sodomy (Rom 1:26-27; 1Co 6:9 c/w Lev 18:22).
iii. Drunkenness (Gal 5:21 c/w Deu 21:20).
- Witchcraft (Gal 5:20 c/w Exo 22:18).
- Hatred (Gal 5:20 c/w Lev 19:17).
2. Any commandments or laws that God judged other nations outside of Israel for breaking are general laws for mankind which we are still under today.
- The law of Moses was not given to other nations (Psa 147:19-20; Rom 3:1-2).
- Therefore if other nations were judged for breaking some of the laws given to Israel, then those laws are general laws given to all mankind and are still binding on everyone.
- God forbade Israel to commit a list of sins for which he had judged the nations (Lev 18:24-28; Lev 20:23).
- These sins included:
- Various types of incest (Lev 18:6-18 c/w 1Co 5:1).
- Sex with a woman who is on her period (Lev 18:19).
iii. Adultery in general (Lev 18:20 c/w 1Co 6:9).
- Child sacrifice (Lev 18:21).
- Sodomy (Lev 18:22-23 c/w Rom 1:26-27).
- Bestiality (Lev 18:23 & Lev 20:15-16)
vii. Bestiality is likewise condemned in the NT, being a sin “such like” other sexual sins such as fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness (Gal 5:19-21).
- Since God judged the nations for these sins to whom He did not give the law of Moses, therefore these are general laws for all mankind which still apply to us today under the NT.
- On the other hand, God never judged the nations for not keeping the sabbath.
You are a Protestant (Romanist) Pastor Chad Wagner and God will find you out at the judgement day! Denying the 4th Commandment so you can do your own thing indeed!