| by Richard Frates (Easley, South Carolina) |
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| Did Gentile believers in the early Christian church, at the time of the apostles, worship on Sunday or observe Christmas and Easter? Scripture demonstrates that Gentile believers observed the same scriptural doctrines as the Jewish believers. Paul taught Gentiles: “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ” and he praised them for “holding to the teachings” 1 Corinthians 11:1-2. Christian churches today, are foreign to Jesus Christ and the early church. I fear that Matthew 7:21-23 will apply to most of them on the Day of Judgment, “I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” “Iniquity” is defined as: Lawless and Evil. Gentile believers were observing the seventh day Sabbath not Sunday. And, they were following God’s law of clean and unclean meats, that God requires for those he calls. The following scriptures confirm what should be obvious to those called by God. And that is: The original Gentile believers, were following the Jewish believers in Christ. 1Thessalonians 1:6 “You became imitators (followers) of us and of the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 2:14 “For you brothers became imitators (followers) of God’s Churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus.” Gentiles being followers of the apostles and Jesus Christ – means – that they lived as Jesus Christ and the apostles lived. Gentile believers and converts to Judaism observed God’s holy days and the Sabbath; none of them observed Sunday or Christmas as holy days. In Acts 13:14-48, Paul preached the gospel to both Gentiles and Jews on the Sabbath day; verse 46-48 but when the Jews rejected the gospel, Paul said, “we now turn to the Gentiles, this is what the Lord has commanded.” “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord”. Gentile converts to Judaism and Christianity were keeping the seventh day Sabbath. Gentiles and Jews eating together: Did the Gentile believers, in the early church, eat food that was different from what the Jewish believers ate? No, they were all eating together, food that God sanctified for all those he calls. Galatians 2:11-12 “When Peter came from Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself.” Acts 20:7-11 also confirms that Jew and Gentiles were eating together. “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1 “We instructed you how to live, in order to, please God, as in fact you are living.” Scriptural Truth is obvious! False Doctrines are easily refuted by scripture: The following 4 Scriptural Truths, expose false doctrines. Believe: Psalm 18:30 “The word of the Lord is flawless.” God’s word is truth. John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 15:26 “The Spirit of – Truth – proceeds from the Father. Scripture does not contradict scripture; God’s Truth does not change. John 10:35 Jesus Christ said, “Scripture cannot be broken.” If in your mind, you accept contradictions in scripture, you have been deceived into accepting false doctrine. God Does not change: Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So, you descendants of Jacob are not destroyed.” Truth is Truth and Truth never changes. If you believe God’s word, teaches different doctrines for believing Jews and believing Gentiles you have been deceived into accepting false doctrine. Walk as Christ walked; walk in his footsteps. 1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” That simply means, imitate the life of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 2:16 “We have the mind of Christ”. Would Jesus Christ – have a “mind” – to eat pork, shellfish, or catfish or to consider the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh day? No, he lived as he instructed us “man shall live by every word of God.” Christians today are called by God John 6:44; Just as Israel was called By God. Galatians 3:26 “You are the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.” Deuteronomy 14:1-4 “You are the children of the Lord your God. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the people on the face of the earth the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession. Do not eat any detestable things” Deuteronomy 14:1-4 records what believers with “the mind of Christ” should eat. Do most Christians today have the “mind of Christ”? No, if they did, they would observe the same customs and laws Christ followed. Most are deceived by false doctrines and traditions of men. Matthew 15:9 “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.” Church leaders falsely teach, 1 Timothy 4:4 “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” They deliberately ignore verse 5, “For it is – sanctified – by the word of God – and prayer.” Where is, it sanctified or set apart, by God’s word? Leviticus 11:1-24 and Deuteronomy 14:3-18. “These are the animals you may eat: the ox, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, roe deer, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and chews the cud.” “Of all the creatures living in the waters, you may eat any that have fins and scales.” “You may eat any clean bird. But these are the ones you may not eat”; a long list follows in verses 12-18. The Gentiles believers were eating the foods ordained by God, and they were keeping God’s Sabbath and holy days. That is why Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16 “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or, with regard to a religious festival, new moon celebration or Sabbath Day”. This admonition was given because they were being persecuted for obeying the word of God. My own relatives look down on me and consider me strange because I keep the Sabbath instead of Sunday and I do not eat pork, catfish, or shell fish; foods that they really love. Some preachers use Acts 10:9-15 to teach false doctrine as justification for eating what God judged as unclean for believers. Peter saw a vision of wild animals and creeping things of the earth and heard God say, “Rise Peter kill and eat” In the vision, Peter heard God say: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” The meaning of the vision is in Acts 10:28. Peter said, “God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.” God was teaching Peter that: salvation by faith was not just for Jews but for the Gentiles also. And “God does not charge.” Matthew 15:11-20 is also used to teach rebellion against God’s word. “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.” Verse 20 “Eating with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean.” The subject is unwashed hands not unclean foods. In verse 19 Christ said that “false testimony” also makes a man unclean. Those who claim that this verse means, God changed his mind and contradicts himself are bearing false testimony against God; for “God does not change”. And Christ said, “man shall live by every word of God before the New Testament was written.” We know that – the world – does not live by God’s word. The command “live by every word of God” is for those called out of the world. In Isaiah 65:3-4 God declares his disgust with Jews who practice Idolatry and eat unclean food. “A people who continually provoke me to my face” “Who eat the flesh of pigs and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat.” Did Jesus Christ change his mind and have the New Testament apostles say things that contradict his word in Isaiah? Or do you believe that God mistakenly inspired Isaiah to write this? God’s word declares: Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God is flawless”. Christians are the “temple of God’s Holy Spirit”; do not put anything in that temple that cannot be shared with Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit – Jesus Christ – lives in you? If anyone destroys, or defiles, God’s temple God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.” Genesis 9:1-4 – These scriptures seem to contradict Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But, as our Lord said, “scripture cannot be broken” or scripture does not contradict scripture. So, the words “everything will be food for you applies to the world, and not to those God has called out of the world.” John 15:19 “You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” Jesus Christ said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him John 6:44”. If you believe in the Son of God, you have been called by the Father. The children of Israel were called, out of Egypt, by God; today we are individually called, out of the world, by God. Keep this in mind “many are called but few are chosen.” Luke 4:16 “As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, and stood up to read.” Why do most churches today observe Sunday instead of the Sabbath Day? Answer, Tradition: Mark 7:8 “You have let go of the command of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” Most pastors today teach that Christ was resurrected on Sunday. And that is justification for disobeying Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Most of them know that Jesus Christ, was not resurrected on Sunday. Christ said he would be in the tomb “three days and three nights” Matthew 12:40 and 27:63. And he was put in the tomb in the evening just before sunset, Matthew 27:57; so, he would have been resurrected just before sunset; NOT Sunday morning. The tomb was empty Sunday morning because, he was resurrected on, Saturday the seventh day of the week. For God’s word says, sunset is the beginning of a new day, Leviticus 23:32. The annual Sabbath, first day of Passover, Leviticus 23:7, that year was on Thursday, Christ was in the tomb Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday was a “special Sabbath” a “High Day”, John 19:31, just before sunset on Saturday he was resurrected; exactly three day and nights, as he said. Mark 16:9 “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week” is false, not true, because it contradicts scripture; John 10:35 “scripture cannot be broken”. Margin notes, regarding this verse: “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20 NIV. Verses “9-20 are not included in two of the best and oldest Greek manuscripts of Mark” The Everyday Bible. The Good News Bible and the RSV have the same warnings regarding verses 9-20. Pastors deceitfully use Acts 20:7 to justify rejecting God’s Law. “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” This scripture does not say they came together to observe a holy day, but to break bread, because Paul “intended to leave the next day”. Paul was their senior pastor and Apostle. They most likely, would not see Paul again for many months or years. Does what Paul did overrule what God did? Genesis 2:2-3 “On the seventh day God rested from all his work. “God blessed the Seventh Day and made it holy.” Heathen Jews: Some deceivers use Galatians to ridicule and disregard observing God’s law. Galatians 4:9-10 “Now that you know God – how is it that you are turning – back – to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? They falsely claim Paul is referring to God’s law. Paul would never refer to God’s word as “miserable principles”. The word “again” is obviously referring to what they worshiped before hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul is telling them not be go back to observing Astrology. Verse 10 “You are observing special days, months, seasons and years”. Christians today especially women will ask someone what sign they are? Or tell you that you seem like a: then they will name one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac, because they think that, you fit the personality description given for that month. I have been asked that in church and my answer is: I do not follow Astrology, and neither should you. Years in Astrology are named after animal like “year of the rat or year of the pig. Idolatry, the false religion of Astrology is what the Galatians were going back to. The Jew did not care, whether or not, they observed Astrology, as long as they could convince them that being circumcised was necessary to be righteous and saved; and draw the Galatians away from Paul. Jews had a history of observing Astrology. Ezekiel 8:10-11 “I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals. 2 Kings 23:4-5 King Josiah desecrated the high places where they “burned incense to Baal, to the Sun and Moon, to the constellations and to all the starry host.” The winter observance of the birth of the sun, called Christmas, came from stargazers; the shortest day of the year is just before December 25th. After reading this, some misguided preachers will proclaim by the works of the law no one will be justified. That is true because we are Justified by faith in what our heavenly Father has done for us: Saved from sin and death, by the sacrifice of his Son, Christ Jesus. Our works will not justify us, but our works will identify us in this way: Are we walking with and sanctified in Christ? Romans 8:3-4 “Christ became our “sin offering” “in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit.” Isaiah 66:2 “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Is that you? |
| Iron Sharpening Iron False Doctrines – “Vain” Worship: Does Jesus Christ Really Know You? Article by Richard Frates Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| This was a really great article until we got to the bottom of the second page where it says: Genesis 9:1-4 – These scriptures seem to contradict Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But, as our Lord said, “scripture cannot be broken” or scripture does not contradict scripture. So, the words “everything will be food for you applies to the world, and not to those God has called out of the world.” John 15:19 “You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” The entire world is supposed to be obeying God’s Laws. There is not a different law for those who are not called at this time than there is for those who are called. When it says “everything” here it would mean everything that is clean to eat. It does not include things that are unclean. Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. Gen 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. These scriptures take place after the flood. Noah and his entire family knew which animals were clean and which animals were unclean. So, Noah and his family would not be eating unclean animals. Also, at this time there was no world filled with people. There were only eight people when God blessed Noah in verse 1. Also, I am sorry for how your family treats you. Darwin and I and many others experience the same problem with our families. |
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