Due to the massive amount of comments with regards to the Sabbath issue, I would like to first address the topic of the 10 commandments here. [Also, do transfer your comments on the Sabbath here.]
Now, the question is asked (implicitly by Mark) whether the 10 commandments are binding on Christians today.
To answer this question, perhaps it would help if we look at Jesus' view of the 10 commandments in Mt. 5:17-19, 19:16-22, 22:34-40, which would help us to see the role of the 10 commandments in the lives of Christians.
Now, with regards to Mt. 5:17-19, it must be said that Jesus is primarily talking about the entirety of the Word of God especially in the OT when he said that not one iota, nor a dot will pass from the Law until all is accomplished (verse 17-18). From there however, Jesus goes specifically into the commandments of the Law, of which foremost are the 10 commandments, in verse 19, where he basically says that we are to obey the laws. Obviously, this is not talking about every aspect found in the Law of Moses, since the ceremonial laws has been fulfilled in Christ our eternal sacrifice (circa Acts 15. Heb. 8-10), but to the moral law, of which the 10 commandments are preeminent. This is especially stated in the Westminster Confession of Faith:
The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen, this obligation. — WCF Chapter XIX Of the law of God, Sentence V
As such, we can see that Christ did not abrogate the moral law of which the 10 commandments are preeminent among them, and thus the 10 commandments are still binding on us Christians. [Actually, I think that it is better to say that, contra to the WCF, Jesus did not so much as abrogate the ceremonial laws but rather he fulfilled them in Himself, thus they are all fulfilled in Christ and we do not need to observe these laws.]
In Mt.19:16-22, we are told of the rich young man who asked Jesus how to have eternal life. Jesus' answer was that to do that he would need to keep the commandments. Obviously, he didn't measure up to it, and neither do we. Therefore, the only way for us to have eternal life is through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in His atonement for our sins, thus through it we are counted as having obeyed the Law and to have thus 'merited' eternal life (the doctrine of double imputation). Notwithstanding this, we can see from this passage that Jesus did affirm the importance of the commandments even during His time. And since the ceremonial law is being fulfilled in Christ, Jesus is here affirming the importance of the moral law with the 10 commandments of preeminence among them, for all of us who would follow in His footsteps.
In the last passage that we are going to see, Mt. 22:34-40, Jesus was asked by a lawyer what is the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus replied with what we known as the Great Commandment, which is a twofold commandment which neatly summarizes the entire Law of which the 10 commandments are the preeminent. Therefore, through this, Jesus was still affirming the importance of the 10 commandments and of the moral law in general, and revealing to us the heart of all these moral laws in the Great Commandment, which are made for our good.
Since this is so, the 10 commandments are still binding on us Christians, not as the standard by which we are to merit salvation by them, but as the loving laws of our God for our good, as with the rest of the moral laws. They are thus to function as the governing laws in the Kingdom of heaven for us His subjects.
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ReplyDeleteHello Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI think it is reading a little too much into what I wrote to say I am questioning the relevance of the other nine commandments to us as New Testament Christians. I am pressed for time at the moment, but let me just set out why I do not think arguing against the fourth commandment is necessarily arguing against all other nine.
1) The fourth commandment is the only commandment out of the ten that God specifically singles out as being a covenant sign with Israel (Exodus 31:12-18, Deut 5:15, Ezekiel 20:12). In Deut 5:15 it even says that Israel’s observance of the Sabbath looks back to their deliverance from Egypt.
2) All nine other commandments are repeated and expanded in the New Testament, while the fourth is not only not repeated, but there is a verse in Col 2:16 that SOUNDS like it is saying Christians are not bound to keep the Sabbath (I understand, and accept the possibility that the SENSE of the verse might not be that, but I hope this explains where I am coming from). Also remember that although we see the Lord keeping the Sabbath in the gospels that was because he was sent as a jew under the law (Gal 4:4) and hence all the particular binding covenants on Israel were also applicable to him while he was on earth.
3) If, as you say, the Sabbaths were a covenant sign with Israel and a type of our eternal rest in Christ, wouldn’t the more logical conclusion be that they are no longer binding since we are a) not israel and b) Christ has come and fulfilled the types and shadows.
4) Exodus 34:27-28 specifically calls the ten commandments part of the covenant with Israel. Now as I mentioned before, I am certainly not suggesting anything remotely similar to the idea that the other nine commandments are not binding on Christians today. But I believe the ‘Ten Commandments’ as those particular combination of commands that were written down on the stone tablets were something given to Israel. Hence for New testament Christians to wonder about the application of the fourth commandment to them this side of the cross does not mean at all that they are questioning the validity of the rest of the law.
Maybe I will write more when I have time.
Regards,
Hmmmm,
ReplyDeleteMark, it seems that the issue you have is that you do not regard the 4th commandment as being in the same category as the other 9 commandments. I can only say now that it seems to me that there is no legitimate reason to supose that the 4th commandment is not a moral law similar to the rest of the other 9 commandments. I think the passage from Calvin's Institues posted by Vincent in the comment section of the other post does help in answering some of the things you mention (i.e. Col. 2:16). Other than this, I have nothing more to add; others can join in. I'm sure Jenson will try to convince all of us why keeping the Sabbath is important, why it must be on Sundays and why can't it be on any other days. =P
'If, as you say, the Sabbaths were a covenant sign with Israel and a type of our eternal rest in Christ, wouldn’t the more logical conclusion be that they are no longer binding since we are a) not israel and b) Christ has come and fulfilled the types and shadows.'
The Sabbath being a covenent sign with Israel does not mean that it does not apply to Christians. Some A = B does not necessarily mean that some A ≠ C (where A is purpose of keeping the Sabbath, B is being covenet sign of Israel, and C is applicable to Christians). Similarly, just because Christ came to fulfil the types and shadows of the Sabbath in its ceremonial aspects does not mean it is not applicable to Christians in some way. What it does mean is that the Sabbath does not have any ceremonial significance anymore.
Dear Mark.. some thoughts in my mind from reading your comments.
ReplyDelete-I think there was some form of expansion or rather correction of the idea of sabbath in NT. By Jesus.
-Perhaps NT christians had continued keeping the Lord's day holy so well that there was not much need to address such issues in Paul's letters?
-With regards to God giving Israel the commandments, well in the passage He is talking to them so of course the commandments are being given to them loh... who else is around? I dont see people advocating that the great commission was only give to the 11 disciples.
-Plus we are like Israelites arent we? We were enslaved to egypt (sin).. and brought out of it by God's wonderful provision and promise and miraculous work (cross)... and now we celebrate our deliverance
In a sense we ARE Israel. The OT stories are relevant to our lives arent they
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the response.
You answer seems to be that since the Sabbath was part of the Ten Commandments, it cannot possibly have been only ceremonial or pertaining to Israel only. Can I ask, and this is a genuine question, where exactly do you get the idea that the Ten Commandments are meant to represent the eternal moral will of God? Where does the bible present them in quite that way? Or, to phrase it another way, why it is impossible to believe that of the ten commandments God gave Moses on Mt Sinai, one was a ceremonial covenant with Israel?
I know your view is basically the traditional reformed teaching on this matter, but I never understood how they arrived at that view.
Munchy,
I agree that Christians in the NT kept the Lords Day as is referenced several times in the epistles etc. What is not clear to me is that the Christian Lords Day is connected to the Jewish Sabbath. Without the presupposition that the Sabbath from the fourth commandment must be still in operation, I don’t see how the bible connects the OT Sabbath with the NT Lords Day. True, they are both days in the week set apart for God’s worship but acknowledging that is very different from saying that the Lords Day is the NT Sabbath.
“With regards to God giving Israel the commandments, well in the passage He is talking to them so of course the commandments are being given to them loh... who else is around? I dont see people advocating that the great commission was only give to the 11 disciples.”
Yep, but look at all the verses I mentioned before saying that the Sabbath was a particular covenant with Israel, particularly look how exodus 31 is worded.
Exodus 31:12-18 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Dear mark
ReplyDeleteI jus feel that your main concerns have already been addressed to some extent by others already? To answer you again seems a bit like repeating what has already been said *shrug*
Hi Munchy,
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'am just a little thick and am missing it, but i don't think the points i raised have really been addressed.
Look at the verse from Exodus i quoted in my post above. I actually copied and pasted from word where i highlighted some stuff but i guess it didn't come though. OK, let me try again, i'll capitalize the stuff i wanted to highlight. Read though it and doesn't it seem to you like God is saying that the sabbath was a special deal between him and israel?
Exodus 31:12-18 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, SPEAK THOU ALSO UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. WHEREFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL KEEP THE SABBATH, to observe the sabbath throughout THEIR generations, for a perpetual covenant. IT IS A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FOREVER: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
And there are other verses of similar effect i mentioned in my posted.
Also, I don't think anyone has addressed the fact that the bible nowhere connects the NT Lord's Day with the OT Sabbath Day. If we do not go into the NT with the assumption that the sabbath is a perpetual moral commandment, than i do not see that the connection is as clear as it is put out to be.
regards!
Hello Mark,
ReplyDelete'Can I ask, and this is a genuine question, where exactly do you get the idea that the Ten Commandments are meant to represent the eternal moral will of God? Where does the bible present them in quite that way?'
This post has actually proven the case for the importance of the 10 commandments in the NT times already. As I had mentioned, Jesus summed them up in the two greatest commandments we have today cf Mt. 22:34-40. Note especially the question that the lawyer asked Jesus 'what is the great commandment in the Law?' which indicates that the answer Jesus gave was a summary of the 10 commandments. It is not a summary of the 9 commandments or something like that since Jesus indicated it was a summary of all the Law by saying that 'On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets'.
Hope this helps.
This may or may not be just my opinion. But as Abraham's seed, as heirs to the promise, as God's children and people, as God's chosen one, as a kingdom of holy priests, as etc etc.... I have no problems regarding God's words to Israel as relevant to me (unless of course therre is a good biblical reason not to, such as sacrificing doves and lambs n such)
ReplyDeleteto mark or daniel or anyone else.. what do you make of hebrews 4:9? "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God (NIV)"
ReplyDelete