If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.   (James 2:8 [NASB]) 
Compiled by Brother L. Harrell

The Lord while on earth taught us how to live in the New Testament / New Covenant.  He commanded us to love, and through love the morality, goodness, righteousness & truth are accomplished [the law is fulfilled].  (See Galatians 5:14, Romans 13:8, Romans 8:4 & Ephesians 5:9).  Because the Spirit will lead us to follow right conduct, if we follow Him, we will observe the righteous commandments which are good.  The commandments are goodness, and the fruit of the Spirit is goodness.  They are in agreement. The word of God does not conflict with the Spirit of God.

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4 [NASB])

If we are lead by the Spirit, we will love as we have been instructed.   Clearly, this includes reverencing what has been made sacred by God (and He has not nullified it).  The weekly Sabbath, which was decreed sacred in Genesis 2:3, was only deviated by Jesus for mercy’s sake, not for the sake of lust, and therefore He committed no offense and was guiltless.  If the Sabbath is for man's benefit, it can't be a curse to man.  The Sabbath is to be deviated from when necessary to be "true to itself".

Jesus commanded the Apostles to teach all nations to observe all that He had commanded them. (See Matthew 28:16-20). The Lord did not teach against the commandments, instead He taught how to operate in love, not by the letter, but by the spirit. (Not contemptuously following the commandments, but rather devotedly following the principles intended resulting in righteousness).  Love for God and Mankind, our neighbors, must be ethically performed.   Just as with the commandments written in stone by the finger of God, we are commanded to love God (through Jesus) and love our fellow man.  Doing such is performing the full measure of the commandments.  Love and respect have not been done away with, nor will it ever be.  (See 1 John 2:7).

"For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."  (1 John 3:11)

"And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment."  (1 John 3:23)

"Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father."  (1 John 2:24)

We must love God, we must love His Son (See 1 John 4:2).  If we love God, we must love our brother.  (This is a New Testament prerequisite).  What part of the 10 commandments is not built on loving God and man?  We have been commanded nothing new.  We must do what was written in stone, and should be written in our hearts. 

"and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."  (Romans 13:9b)

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)

"And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."  (1 John 4:21)

In an example in the bible of our Lord teaching virtuous conduct, a ruler asked Jesus what he should do to obtain eternal life? Part of Jesus’ response was “if you desire to enter into Life, keep the Commandments”. When the ruler asked Jesus which ones, Jesus began to list the Ten Commandments written at mount Horeb / Sinai one by one.  The ruler replied “All these have I kept from my youth up.” Part of Jesus’ response was for him to sell his possessions and give them to to poor. (See Luke 18:18-22 and/or Matthew 19:17-21.)

There must be fidelity & conviction in our obedience to God’s voice.  Concerning the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus said “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.” "This is the great and foremost commandment.”  (See Matthew 22:36-40). Devotion to this commandment will lead us to see that Jesus and the Apostles’ instructions are accomplished as listed in Acts 2:38, Luke 24:47-49, John 3:5 & Acts 26:20.

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.   (James 2:8 [NASB])  

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:21-22 [NASB])

Acts 26:16 & 18 (NASB translation) records the words of our Lord Jesus as he was appointing apostle Paul to minister and witness to the Jewish people and the Gentiles: “that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”

If we want eternal life and other blessings, we need not go away from God, but rather persistently knock on His door. Hosea 12:4 (NASB translation) records Jacob seeking blessing from the Lord: “Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor.”

"But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." (John 3:21 [NASB])

Is Sabbath done away with by Law?:

Since the Sabbath was made for man, one must inquire when it was made for man. If it was established under the Levitical administration, then it can be done away with when the Levitical administration is omitted. But, if it was set apart as sacred on the seventh day of creation, and God has not repented (changed His mind regarding it), it remains Holy and must be esteemed as such. Dishonoring what God has ordained as sacred, is to dishonor God.

The weekly Sabbath is for man’s benefit. If man was in need, and his needs were in subjection, “taking a back seat”, to the Sabbath, the Sabbath would be more important than man. Man was not made to benefit the Sabbath. The Sabbath was established to benefit man. If the law is based on love (of God and man), and man was unable to obtain mercy due to the law, the law would not be advantageous to man.  

Those who do not desire truth will stumble on the stumbling stone, whether they be “commandment keepers” or not. God is a Spirit. We must worship Him in truth.   Since we are not to Judge, does that justify desecrating the Lord's Day?  To command one not to judge, does not mean the action that is not being judged is moral / righteous.  Just as God separates the wheat from the tare (not man), He judges honor to Him or dishonor to Him. 

Colossians 2:16 (NASB)  Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day

If I love the Father of Creation, why have I chosen solidarity with the creature (the sun god) that is competing with the creator for man’s souls?   Colossians 2:16 does not give approval to disregard the seventh day nor does it nulify God's santification of the Seventh Day upon creation (which is before the Law, therefore can not be nullified by the Law).

If a man disrespects the seventh day (treating what is holy as unholy), I will not judge Him. (It is not my place to say He is going to hell or treat him as such. I will treat him as a brother). A man must be careful to not think it is okay to do something just because his brother will not personally perform judgement against him for doing so.

The Sabbath is a sign:

Thus says the LORD, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.   Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”  (Isaiah 66:1-2 [NASB])

The Lord created heaven and earth. This includes man, who God gives breath and spirit to. God is before all things and by Him all things were created (See Colossians 1:16-17). All things continue in existence and are held together by Him.

Being Ancient of days, and full of wisdom, the Lord has set aside time to commemorate (serving as a memorial) His great creation. He knows how to keep things together.

"Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them." (Ezekiel 20:12 [NASB])

The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. (Psalm 24:1 [NASB])

"But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation." All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?' (Daniel 4:34-35 [NASB]) 

From the beginning, before ritual of circumcision, the Seventh Day was sanctified, and to this day remains holy.  Is there a power that will cause the Lord to be drawn back, withdrawing His Word?  Does the Lord support those that draw back?  The Lord did not come in the flesh and supplant His own Word spoken from Earth's beginning.

Hebrews 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Luke 9:62   And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Does the Lord commit a Day to Himself, and then relinquish it to common man or let His elect to tread on it?  What King lets His subjects trample on His furnishings?

Ecclesiastes 8:4-5  Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?  Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

Concerning those that advocate assembling on the Sabbath, but consider the remainder of the Day (through words or deeds) as personal time (between Sunset Friday Evening to Sunset Saturday Evening), simply assembling does not make the day holy, for the Day is already holy.  We must be sure not to desecrate what is already holy by setting aside the entire seventh day for consecrated use.  Watching a secular movie Friday night, Saturday afternoon attending church, then later going to Wal-Mart or a restaurant’s buffet while it is still daylight falls short of honoring the Lord and His Designated Time.

revised:  01/04/05

http://seventhdayapostolic.org/ChooseLORD/