10 Commandments: To keep or not to keep?

[tonychanyt]

Exodus 20:

1 God spoke all these words, saying,
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3“You shall have no other gods before me.

Keep #1.

4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Keep.

5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

Keep #2.

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

Keep #3.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.

If you wish to keep this one (#4), I am not going to stop you. I do not keep the weekly sabbath.

12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Keep #5.

13 You shall not murder.

Keep #6.

14 You shall not commit adultery.

Keep #7.

15 You shall not steal.

Keep #8.

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Keep #9.

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Keep #10.

I keep everything except the weekly Saturday sabbath. I keep the true sabbath rest in Jesus 24/7.

In general, I am guided by the Paraclete.

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

The 10 commandment were given to Israel. Christ however does command 9 of the commandments, but not Sabbath. The priesthood has changed with the arrival of Christ, as He is a priest after Melchizedek who was greater than Abraham from who Levi descended.

Sabbath was also given to Israel Exodus 31 12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel.

The Church is not Israel, neither has the Church replaced Israel. Sabbath is not for the Church. However as Paul says in Romans 14 5 'One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind'. So if someone is convinced they have to keep the Sabbath, ok, up to them, if they really consider above other days. In my Church is is taught that the Sunday is now Sabbath, I completely disagree with that, Sabbath is from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

 

[Reluctant Theologian]

It's true, the ten Words/Commandments and all of the Mosaic Law were given to Israel specifically, and in Acts 15 we don't find a reference to keeping the Sabbath day when the 'rules' for gentile believers are formulated by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem.

All words/commandments (except the Sabbath day command) have been interpreted as a universal code of ethics for all believers throughout Church history AFAIK.

The interpretation of what the Sabbath day command for gentile believers differed quite a bit in time and between various theological schools of thought, e.g.:

• early Jewish believers / contemporary Messianic fellowships / Seventh-Day-Adventists: still observe the Sabbath day instruction and rest on Saturdays
• Catholic Church (from late Early Church period) / Reformed / Puritan: Sunday is the new Sabbath day
• Martin Luther / John Calvin: principles of rest and worship are important, but the specific day less so

Early Church fathers still acknowledged the fundamental difference between the Sabbath day (the 7th day), and Sunday (the 1st day).

Personally I would mention the following:

• the validity of only 9 out of the 10 commandments for gentile believers seems a bit odd; the 10 words are the apex of Gods instruction and 'handwritten' on the two tablets; they somehow seem to be a unified set
• Genesis 2:2-3 tells us God blessed the seventh day and made it holy; this seems a creation-order statement and may therefore apply to all mankind (not just to the Israelites). One could argue Moses and/or Israelite scribes wrote those words so they wrote it with the Israelite context in mind, but that is speculation.
• Isaiah 56:6-7 speaks about foreigners who love the name of YHWH in connection with those who keep the Sabbath day and keep His covenant - this already is a wider application than just Israelites.
• Isaiah 66:22-23 contains a prophecy "From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares YHWH" - so in the future the Sabbath still acts as a time marker for mankind, not just the Israelites.
• In Mark 2:27 Yeshua says ''The Sabbath was made for man (=mankind), not man (=mankind) for the Sabbath". The Greek word 'anthrōpos' is used here which represents 'mankind' in general sense. This hints at a wider application than just Israel.
• Hebrews 4:9-10 mentions the principle of 'Sabbath rest' - although the audience is Jewish, the the idea of Sabbath/rest principle is still current.
• nearly ALL Christians I know would acknowledge it's healthy to rest at least one day per week; if that is the case, and recognising the practicality of doing that with a given pattern, why not choose the seventh day as it lines up with Genesis 2:2-3 and the Ten Words?

What to do with all that is personal - I've switched to celebrating Sabbath/resting on the seventh day (Saturday) a couple of years ago, but I still happily also attend a church on Sunday if that fits my agenda/circumstances.

 

[tonychanyt]

It's true, the ten Words/Commandments and all of the Mosaic Law were given to Israel specifically, and in Acts 15 we don't find a reference to keeping the Sabbath day when the 'rules' for gentile believers are formulated by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem.

All words/commandments (except the Sabbath day command) have been interpreted as a universal code of ethics for all believers throughout Church history AFAIK.

The interpretation of what the Sabbath day command for gentile believers differed quite a bit in time and between various theological schools of thought, e.g.:

• early Jewish believers / contemporary Messianic fellowships / Seventh-Day-Adventists: still observe the Sabbath day instruction and rest on Saturdays
• Catholic Church (from late Early Church period) / Reformed / Puritan: Sunday is the new Sabbath day
• Martin Luther / John Calvin: principles of rest and worship are important, but the specific day less so

Early Church fathers still acknowledged the fundamental difference between the Sabbath day (the 7th day), and Sunday (the 1st day).

Personally I would mention the following:

• the validity of only 9 out of the 10 commandments for gentile believers seems a bit odd; the 10 words are the apex of Gods instruction and 'handwritten' on the two tablets; they somehow seem to be a unified set
• Genesis 2:2-3 tells us God blessed the seventh day and made it holy; this seems a creation-order statement and may therefore apply to all mankind (not just to the Israelites). One could argue Moses and/or Israelite scribes wrote those words so they wrote it with the Israelite context in mind, but that is speculation.
• Isaiah 56:6-7 speaks about foreigners who love the name of YHWH in connection with those who keep the Sabbath day and keep His covenant - this already is a wider application than just Israelites.
• Isaiah 66:22-23 contains a prophecy "From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares YHWH" - so in the future the Sabbath still acts as a time marker for mankind, not just the Israelites.
• In Mark 2:27 Yeshua says ''The Sabbath was made for man (=mankind), not man (=mankind) for the Sabbath". The Greek word 'anthrōpos' is used here which represents 'mankind' in general sense. This hints at a wider application than just Israel.
• Hebrews 4:9-10 mentions the principle of 'Sabbath rest' - although the audience is Jewish, the the idea of Sabbath/rest principle is still current.
• nearly ALL Christians I know would acknowledge it's healthy to rest at least one day per week; if that is the case, and recognising the practicality of doing that with a given pattern, why not choose the seventh day as it lines up with Genesis 2:2-3 and the Ten Words?

What to do with all that is personal - I've switched to celebrating Sabbath/resting on the seventh day (Saturday) a couple of years ago, but I still happily also attend a church on Sunday if that fits my agenda/circumstances.

I like your comment so much that I copied it over to my subreddit

 

[Josheb]

Exodus 20:


Keep.



Keep.


Keep.


If you wish to keep this one, I am not going to stop you. I do not keep the weekly sabbath.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.

I keep everything except the weekly Saturday sabbath. I keep the true sabbath rest in Jesus 24/7.

Very good.

There's an excellent comparative discussion of the Law and Gospel in the Zondervan Counterpoints series that's well worth the read.

 

[Reluctant Theologian]

I like your comment so much that I copied it over to my subreddit

Thank you - I appreciate your many posts/questions/theses; I don't always have time but delving into Biblical questions became a necessity for me as I regularly would find myself struggling to get proper answers to relevant questions.

The average church sermon or even home/cell group Bible Study usually don't address the questions I'm dealing with - mostly others have no time nor interest to look at the hard questions; and I get that - managing life for many is challenging enough. But I am not able to just believe what a Bible Teacher or Pastor tells me to - I need the Why! I need to understand the history / logic / alternatives to it. Not because I want to be contrarian, but because I want to fully understand. So my interest for theology and Bible Study grew out of necessity - and yet it's also a joy.

The quest for proper understanding of the Biblical texts is essential:

• if God is speaking through the text we should study it thoughtfully
• we need to be able to spot (and possibly correct) previous historically developed misunderstandings, or our own blind spots/misconceptions
• seeing the beauty of Gods truth gives joy and creates thankfulness
• without proper understanding and seeing the logic of key truths we can't do apologetics, mission or even raise and teach our children

Knowing His truth is not enough - we should practise it daily ! Biblical knowledge that doesn't reach the heart or hand has no point.

Be blessed

 

[eleos1954]

Exodus 20:


Keep.



Keep.


Keep.


If you wish to keep this one, I am not going to stop you. I do not keep the weekly sabbath.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.

I keep everything except the weekly Saturday sabbath. I keep the true sabbath rest in Jesus 24/7.

I keep everything except the weekly Saturday sabbath. I keep the true sabbath rest in Jesus 24/7.

The 7th day Sabbath is a sign that we are resting our faith in Jesus’ grace and not our works. God explicitly set aside that day as a sign of His covenant with His people – a sign that He sanctifies His people, in contrast to attempted sanctification by works.

The Sabbath was made (by God) for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 NKJV

If one is keeping another day or days other than the 7th ... you are making your own day(s) not the one God made and blessed at creation.

How is it one thinks they can pick and choose out of the 10 commandments? When the 4th clearly states for us to remember the 7th day Sabbath?

Hebrew 4:9-11 says, ” 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

Hebrews 4 BSB

When one reads this entire chapter it is very clear the Sabbath rest being talked about is the one from creation ... the 7th day Sabbath. It is the day that remains ... not just any day or days one chooses.

We do indeed rest in the comfort of Jesus .... we rest in our ongoing relationship with Him everyday ... but that isn't a Sabbath,

Pretty hypocritical to say keep all the commandments .... except the 4th ... none of us have the authority to change Gods commandments.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

How about these?

Exodus 34

1. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
2. 17 “Do not make any idols.
3. 18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
4. 19 “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.
5. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed
6. 21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
7. 22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
8. 25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.
9. 26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
10. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

 

[SabbathBlessings]

There is no such thing as the 9 commandments God wrote Ten and gave it a number by design. Exo 34:28 Deut 4:13, No one has the authority over God Exo 32:16 Exo 31:18 to edit not even a dot of an i or cross of a t yet alone a whole commandment, God alone wrote and spoke the Ten Commandments, like we can go in and edit what our Divine Savior supernaturally wrote and then placed in our hearts Heb 8:10 He said He would not alter His Words Psa 89:34 Mat 5:18 I think we should trust and obey Him.

There is no scripture that says the Sabbath is 24/7. Or that Jesus became the Sabbath i.e. creation, day, commandment. He is Lord of the Sabbath and He spoke and wrote with His own finger the seventh day is the Sabbath Exo 20:10 I think its best to let God be God and we be His humble servants. Isa 56:1-6

The Ten Commandments are not multiple choice, nor did He call them the 10 suggestions. We have to have room for faith, when God said Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, I think we ought to obey God over man.

 

[tonychanyt]

How about these?

How about these about what specifically?

 

[Yarddog]

Exodus 20:


Keep.



Keep.


Keep.


If you wish to keep this one, I am not going to stop you. I do not keep the weekly sabbath.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.


Keep.

I keep everything except the weekly Saturday sabbath. I keep the true sabbath rest in Jesus 24/7.

I don't try to keep any of the 10 Commandments. I give myself order to the Holy Spirit and live as it leads me to live.

 

[tonychanyt]

I don't try to keep any of the 10 Commandments. I give myself order to the Holy Spirit and live as it leads me to live.

See I will put my laws on their hearts and follow up there

 

[Yarddog]

See I will put my laws on their hearts and follow up there

I was baptized at the age of 29. Afterward I thought I needed to show that I was worthy of what Jesus did by being obedient to the 10. The trouble was the harder I tried the more anxiety set in.

One day I heard God say, "I didn't ask you to be perfect, Jesus has already done that for you."

At that point, I stopped trying to obey the law and surrendered to the Spirit which God had given me. That Spirit guides me and helps me live through faith.

Praise God

 

[tonychanyt]

That Spirit guides me and helps me live through faith.

How?

 

[Yarddog]

How?

God's Spirit has taught me how to love. As love grows, desire to do wrong dies. Obedience comes by the Holy Spirit and not my human spirit.

 

[tonychanyt]

God's Spirit has taught me how to love. As love grows, desire to do wrong dies. Obedience comes by the Holy Spirit and not my human spirit.

Is the Paraclete dwelling in your human spirit?

 

[SabbathBlessings]

The Holy Spirit will never lead one away from what God said (in His Word) its not a spirit I would listen to.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

God's Spirit and God's Word work in harmony not against. The commandments shows us our sin Rom 3:20 1 John 3:4 Rom 7:7 James 2:10-12 the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin John 16:8 and brings us out of rebellion Heb 3:7-8 if we hear His voice to be in harmony with His will Psa 40:8 Heb 8:10

Unfortunately there is another spirit out there trying to deceive us. Isa 8:20

Not the Spirit of Truth that enables us to keep God's commandments through our faith and love.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [e]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

 

[Yarddog]

Is the Paraclete dwelling in your human spirit?

I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Haven't you?

 

[tonychanyt]

I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Then your human spirit is one with the Holy Spirit/Paraclete.

Haven't you?

See Where is my Paraclete? and follow up there.

 

[Yarddog]

Then your human spirit is one with the Holy Spirit/Paraclete.


See Where is my Paraclete? and follow up there.

I'm not sure why you are telling me what I already understand.