The Sabbath Day, Should You Keep or not Keep?

[Raffi]

What is at stake here is the integrity of the unity of God's spoken Word. We can either trust It or we can't. Integrity has to do with unfailing consistency. Does God's Revealed Word show consistency?

So what is in argument here is a battle of theological schools of thought. On the one side is the conservative view that God's Word and His Revealed Way has been changeless and reveals one, whole, uninterrupted, unchanged, and consistent Truth Message. On the other side is a view that says that God's Word can and has been modified, changed, altered, and even cancelled out and replaced by new doctrinal revelations.

Those who believe in the unchangeable continuity of God's WHOLE Word show this conviction by willfully keeping His Sabbath, along with all of the Teachings of His Word. Concerning these Teachings, according to the conservative Biblical view, as part of God's original Revelation and as truths of that Way of Religion that was revealed by God in the Hebrew Scriptures, these Teachings should also continue to be binding even in religion today. There are those, however, who believe and teach theological view that claims that these Teachings USED to be elements of God's Revealed Religion, but that God changed His Mind and thus changed His requirements for Religion, abrogating all of the Commandments of Truth and revealing a completely whole new Religion with all new requirements.

Both views cannot be correct at the same time.

Either Commandment-keeping in general, and the Sabbath in specific, IS an important part of God's True Revealed Covenant Religion, or God has flip-flopped concerning His Revealed Word. This may prompt some to question whether the God of The Bible, or at least the God of The New Testament, would qualify being called a "covenant-keeping God", and whether we could even trust a God Who says one thing but then later abrogates everything He said and creates from scratch a whole new religion.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Raffi

Yes, but the reason why I consult the Jewish mindset concerning Passages from the Hebrew Bible is simply because in many cases, how the Jews understand the meaning of their own writings is often telling how they understood It historically. Truthfully, I have discovered that very often, the Jews understood their writings differently than the Johnny-come-lately Greek Church Fathers, who tried to interpret The Hebrew Scriptures with a Greek-philosophical eyeglass and ended up with theological wrecks like Hypostatic Union and Trinity. If they had just considered the Jewish perspective more seriously perhaps they would have avoided derailing the Church for over a millennium.
I don't agree with everything that comes up from the Jewish perspective, obviously, but it is a very valuable tool that is very, very helpful for us in understanding the mindset and perspective of the Jewish Apostles.
Scripture must not be divorced from It's cultural context or we too will end up making the same mistakes as those who went before us.

Peace

Agreed to a point. However, modern-Day orthodox Jews are today's pharisees. The Sadducee sect ended with the temple destruction. And as I noted more than once. "under the law" is not what they claim becuase Romans 3 reads nonsensical if that were the case.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Raffi

And in the case of Romans 4:22, most of us just simply interpret this as meaning that God "accounted" it to him . . . attributed, credited, counted it, regarded, or reckoned it to Abraham as righteousness. Not necessarily seen as a mystical transaction of God's righteousness into Abraham.

I mean, that is as far as Romans 4:22 is concerned, and not that in other places there is not some kind of understanding that God imputes something mystical to us in Salvation. I personally believe that through the mystery of imitation, the merits of Messiah's life, death, resurrection and ascension are attributed to us in a mystical way by the Holy Ghost in us, and that this can be understood as a kind of "imputation". And since HE is righteous, HIS dwelling in us brings that Righteousness to us as well. And in that way, Righteousness can be imputed to us. Just, I don't think that is what Paul is saying in Romans 4:22.

Imputing of righteousness is simply God deeming us righteous WITH HIS OWN righteousness. Do you believe the concept that we cannot earn righteousness, but God gives us HIS OWN PERSONAL righteousness as a trade for taking our sins on the cross, through our faith that there is no other way to gain righteousness, let alone our own? It's the great trade. He became sin for us while we were made His personal righteousness?

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Where are these "seven specific deeds of righteousness" listed as such in the Bible? Or is this a modern construct or arrangement?



Where does the Scripture identify "the way of holiness, aka the fear of the Lord" as "following these seven specific deeds"?



Tithing as a required act requires the Temple and the Levitical priesthood, does it not? How then do you pay your tithes? (Not denying that giving tenths of wages, income, dividends, etc is a useful and traditional/Biblical way of giving, but asking specifically as regards to a required act of tithing.)

Esaias, do you agree with raffi that the two covenants depicted by Hagar and Sarah included the covenant of SIN and not the actual old covenant? To me, that's a conclusion derived from the effort to do or say anything to avoid making the Old Covenant look negative (though it was only negative due to the implications of trying to work with sin-ridden people, and not anything in and of itself).

[peter83]

Old
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not swear falsely, but you shall pay your oaths to the Lord.'

New
34 "But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let your word be 'Yes', 'yes,' [or] 'No,' 'no.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil
Old
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
New
39 But I say to you not to resist an evil person. But whoever shall slap you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Old
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and you shall hate your enemy.'
New
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you

Is Jesus catalyze the law? How the same God said "not swear falsely" and now He say to dont swear at all ?
17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
4 For Christ is the end of [the] law for righteousness to everyone that believes.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by peter83

Old
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not swear falsely, but you shall pay your oaths to the Lord.'

New
34 "But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let your word be 'Yes', 'yes,' [or] 'No,' 'no.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil
Old
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
New
39 But I say to you not to resist an evil person. But whoever shall slap you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Old
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and you shall hate your enemy.'
New
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you

Is Jesus catalyze the law? How the same God said "not swear falsely" and now He say to dont swear at all ?
17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
4 For Christ is the end of [the] law for righteousness to everyone that believes.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

[Raffi]

Esaias,
I know what I am about to say offends some people. I am sorry for that. But a lot of times, when a Jewish person reads the Gospels and other Apostolic Writings, often they see and get things out of the Verses that most Christian people will not, simply because of the deep rooting they have in "Old Testament" religion. This is the case with things like the phrase "Fear of The Lord" (YIRAT YHWH), and with concepts like Gemilut Tzitkot. There is a different background of learning from which Hebraic-minded people come, that simply colors the reading of The Bible in a different way sometimes.

I mentioned that Christians basically already keep most of the Commandments of The Torah whether they realize it or not. They keep those Commandments called the Mishpatim (Judgments) and the Hukim (Statutes) (see, Deut. 6:1). What Christians do NOT keep are those Commandments called 'Edot (Testimonies)(see, Deut. 4:45). Three kinds of Commandments: Testimonies, Statutes, and Judgments. But Christians do not believe in keeping the Testimonies ('Edot), because they believe that these Commandments were for the ancient Jews ONLY and have been done away with.

But The Bible tells us that ALL of The Law was intended for ALL people, for the native-born Hebrew, and for the "Stranger" among them (see, Ex. 12:49; Lev. 24:2; Num. 9:14; Num. 15:15-16; Isaiah 56:3). I believe this was meant to include the Mishpatim, the Hukim, AND ALSO the 'Edot. But, this is what gets me into trouble with some circles.

The 'Edot (Testimonies) included those supposedly "ritual" Commandments like the Sabbaths, the New Moons, the Feasts, and the distinction of clean and unclean meats, laws of mixing materials, daily prayers, tithings, etc.

Now, down through the centuries, Law-keepers, such as the Jews, organized the teaching of The Commandments into various groupings and categories. The Bible Itself already did this as well, for example The ASARET HADBERIM are what we call "The Ten Commandments". But Jews understand that the Asaret Hadberim were a system of classifying ALL of the 613 Mitzwot (Commandments) of The Torah. Those Mitzwot which had to do with honoring the Oneness of God; those Mitzwot which had to do with proper prayer and worship, with the consideration of those "foreign" customs which were to be avoided and NOT mixed with God's Revealed Religion; those Mitzwot which had to do with the proper use of His Sacred Name; those Mitzwot which had to do with the Sabbaths and Mo'edim (Feasts), etc. You get the picture.

So I mentioned that The 'Edot (Testimonies) in particular are often arranged according to the grouping of seven categories:
1) Confession of the ONENESS of God.
2) Daily Prayer
3) Tithing (there were THREE classes of Tithes)
4) Fasting
5) Distinction of clean and unclean meats
6) The Sabbaths (weekly as well as annual), and
7) Obedience to relevant other Commandments (originally, Pilgrimages)

These are the seven things that most Christians today tend to object to (some keep the Tithe, but the other six points are usually considered "done away with"). And these are the seven categories into which the 'Edot are classified.

The specific listing as seven points are more of a traditional Jewish construction, but are in fact drawn from specific parts of The Torah. As far as a single place in The Bible that enumerates all seven of these in this succinct order, the closest I am aware of is The Deuteronomic Code section in Deuteronomy, Chapters 5-17 for The Old Testament (Hebrew Writings), and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) for the New Testament (Apostolic Writings), where Yeshua mentions a number of these points, in a slightly different order.

These seven categories represent the most basic and obvious groupings of 'Edot Commandments outside of The Asaret Hadberim (Ten Comm.), and are based on the traditional Jewish contruction.

In pre-Talmudic times, these were known as the GEMILUT HASADIM, which means "Works . . ." or "Deeds of Piety". They were also understood as the YIRAT YHWH, or "the Fear of YHWH" (Dt. 6:2). I have also heard these refered to as GEMILUT RISHON, which means "the Primary Works", or "First Works", but I am not sure where that reference derives other than possibly Revelation 2:5. Hebrew Christians refer to these Deeds as GEMILUT TZIDKOT, from Yeshua's own words in Matthew 5:20 and 6:1-4.

These seven categories of 'Edot have been part of Torah Religion from the beginning, though not listed exactly in this kind of succinct order. That is the traditional part. But each and every one has Scripture behind it.

[Raffi]

Continuing . . .

One can see a fundamental approach to these Seven categories of 'Edot even in the list of the Ten Commandments (Asaret Hadberim) in Deuteronomy 5, which lists most of the seven Works. The first FIVE of this list include:

1) Recognizing that there is but ONE God
2) Prohibition against prostrating (i.e., praying) to false gods, with the implication of "proper prayer" being to the ONE GOD alone
3) Proper respect for God's Covenantal Name
4) The Sabbath
5) Honor of parents, which in Hebrew Culture has to do with the responsibility of grown children taking care of elderly parents and widowed mothers, part of the laws regarding what is called the MA'ASER KESAFIM (Tithe for the poor).

The first four of these Mitzwot have to do with how one is to express Deut. 6:5 love for God. They cover all those Commandments in The Torah called 'Edot (Testimonies), which involve "ritualistic" deeds and observances which have to do with truths which form the unique, called-out basis of Israel's life as a separated people.

[Raffi]

Continuing . . .

These very points are then elaborated on more specifically in the very next chapters of Deuteronomy (6-17).

Deuteronomy 6 opens in the first five Verses with the recognition of God's ONENESS. This point is really driven home in Verse 4, where we have The SH'MA. The Sh'ma is the traditional Hatzharah (Confession) of Judaism. The Jews had the practice of reciting The Sh'ma in their prayers at evening every single day. Every religious Jew recited this Verse at least once every day as part of the ritual of the daily formal prayers (tefilot).
Jews connect the recitation of this Sh'ma to the act of daily prayer specifically because The Sh'ma occurs in the context of the Passage that contains Verse 8, where it commands the "binding of the Commandments" upon the hand and as frontlets between the eyes, which is a reference to a prayer ritual.

Jesus/Yeshua himself sanctioned this practice in Mark 12:29-30 when he quoted a Verse of The Sh'ma as being the MOST important Commandment in the entire Hebrew Scriptures.

Deuteronomy 6:13-14 begins a long section dealing with how one is NOT to pray to, prostrate toward, or otherwise worship false gods. One is to pray to and worship ONLY The One God of Heaven. This single subject is dealt with all the way to the end of Chapter 8. Then again in the section covering Chapter 10:12-11:1 we again see a reiteration of the Oneness of God and how we are to pray to and worship ONLY Him. Chapter 11 is mostly a blessing for recognizing His Oneness and Lordship and for worshiping Him alone, and a blessing for obedience to His Commandments in general. Chapter 12:1-4 concludes the prohibitions against the worship of false gods. All of this elaborating on the Commandment of Deuteronomy 5:7-9.

Chapter 12:5-28 introduces us to the necessity of giving in Tithes and offerings.

Chapter 14:2-21 deals with the list of CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS.

Chapter 14:22-29 deals with Tithing (Ma'aser).

Chapter 16:1-17 deals with The Feasts (Mo'edim) and annual Sabbaths.

Can you see the progression here throughout Deuteronomy? All of this in Hebrew is collectively called THE FEAR OF THE LORD (YIRAT YHWH). The name is taken from the title of the section's heading in the Verses that introduce the section of Laws in Deut. 6:2, which describes WHAT the "Fear of The Lord" is and what the phrase means. To understand better how a Hebrew person understands the phrase "Fear of The Lord" as a euphemism for Commandment-obedience out of a heart of faith, love, and reverential-awe, see the following:
Dt. 6:24; Dt. 10:12-13; Ps. 10:12; Ps. 112:1; Ps. 128:1; Eccl. 12:13. And see, Ps. 111:10 keeping in mind the rule of Hebrew parallelism here.

[Raffi]

Continuing . . .

So, traditionally, the Jews refer to these acts of confession, proper prayer, tithing, and charity, clean and unclean meats, Feasts and Sabbaths, as GEMILUT HASADIM (Deeds of Piety) as another name referring to the acts of YIRAT HASHEM (The Fear of YHWH), although at least since Maimonides, Orthodox Jews limit the designation usually only to the specific Deeds of Kindness such as the Poor Tithe (Ma'aser Kesafim) and the Alms (Tzedakah), and this is where modern Hassidic Jews derive their name, calling themselves the People of the Hasadim (acts of piety/kindness). Historically, the proto-Pharisees also called themselves the Hasadim, because they saw themselves as particularly scrupulous about keeping the Yirat HaShem/Gemilut Hasadim.


Now come to the "NEW" Testament (the Apostolic Writings). Yeshua used a different term to describe essentially the same group of laws in Deuteronomy. He did not typically refer to them as the Gemilut Hasadim, but used a closely related term TZIDKOT, "righteousness" (Mat. 5:19-20; 6:1-4).
Thus, the early Jewish Christians likewise referred to these laws of daily prayer, tithing and charity, clean and unclean meats, Feasts and Sabbaths (Deut. 6-17) as GEMILUT TZITKOT (Deeds of "Righteousness"). While the Jews refer to those acts as GEMILUT HASADIM (Deeds of Piety), The New Testament refers to them as the "TZIDKOT" (Deeds of righteousness), drawing from Yeshua's teachings of true Tzedakah in Matthew 5-7. We can tell that Yeshua is referring to the same laws of the Gemilut Hasadim because we can read the specific points in Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount that his "Gemilut Tzidkot" are essentially identical to the Jewish Gemilut Hasadim.

We see this in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7), the discourse where Yeshua gives his disciples the fuller meaning, applications, and deeper intent of Deuteronomy 6-17, proving that he did not come to do away with The Torah, but to "fill It up". He prefaces this discourse with the admonition that he has not come to do away with The Law, but to "level up", "make full", "expound upon", "elucidate" (PLEROO) It. Then he launches into a homiletical discourse of many of the very sections discussed in Deuteronomy 6-17, and/or the Jewish traditions that have built up around the discussions of these sections of The Torah; namely, charitable deeds, formal prayer, fasting, etc. He refers to these Laws as the Deeds of "Righteousness" (Tzidkot) in Matthew 5:20, from where we derive the phrase Gemilut Tzidkot. In this sermon Yeshua explains the true meaning of "righteousness" in The Law as compared to the legalistic approach and manner of the Pharisees.

It is thought that the phrase GEMILUT TZIDKOT was used frequently by many Jewish groups down through the centuries as an alternative description of the same GEMILUT HASADIM, but was the preferred choice of Yeshua and the early Apostolic Christians until the Greek language eventually eclipsed Hebrew/Aramaic as the most used language by Christians after 125 C.E.