Letter with SDA

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(open in New Window to retain this web page)</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Write me<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >:</FONT></div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U>e-mail</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div>  <IMG SRC="http://members.tripod.com/bin/counter/id206.htm?FF0000" ALT="[Tripod Counter]">  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Mark Finley<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial" >, SDA teacher. His book Studying Together - my review:</FONT></div> <div> Mark Finley On <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id169.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mark Finley on hell"><U>HELL!</U></A></FONT></div> <div> Mark Finley On <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id170.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="State of Dead Mark Finley"><U>State of the Dead</U></A></FONT></div> <div> Mark Finley <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id171.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mark Finley Other false teachings"><U>Other false teachings</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id172.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="National Sunday Law"><U>National Sunday Law</U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial" > By A. Jan Marcussen</FONT></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="086f0f03.jpg"> <div> <I>Letter with SDA</I></div> <bR> <div> Here is a letter I received and responded to! It covers the scriptures in Romans chapters 7-8. I thought it would be fruitful to the SDA who might read this to understand the position of the "born again" believer and the false charges of the SDA that the Christians who worship on Sunday have no regard to the commandments of God! I have made some revisions to the original letter for better explanation. My response to his comments are in <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Bangle" >Blue</FONT>!<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> SDA - Would you agree with me that when the Bible and this letter to the Romans were written, there were no chapters, no verses, and no grammatical separations? That came later and has been done to ease our study of the Word. Lets see what Paul says verse by verse.</div> <div> Romans 7:1 “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul is clearly telling that the law condemns men, in our human nature, because our human nature cannot keep the law. It does not matter how hard we try to keep the law, it won't save us because sin is in, inside and around us. </I><I><U>We are the problem and the law cannot make us perfect or save us</U></I><I>. Salvation comes only by </I><I><U>faith</U></I><I> in the gift of God, the </I><I><U>grace</U></I><I> of Jesus as Galathians 2:20 declares. It says that the life we now live, we are to “live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” </I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:2-3 “<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" >2 </FONT>For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" >3</FONT> So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: It is interesting that Paul uses this comparison. At Eden God instituted the sacredness of marriage. Do you agree? I also believe, based on what I have read on the Bible, that God also gave to Adam and Eve His moral law there at Eden. A woman is bound to her husband until he died according to the word of God.</I></div> <bR> <div> Negative, There is no scripture that says that God gave a “moral law” to Adam and Eve at the Garden of Eden. That is the SDA philosophy! There was ONLY one law “Do not eat of the forbidden fruit!” In chapter 5 of the book of Romans, Paul confirms that there was NO law until Moses:</div> <bR> <div> Romans 5:12-14 </div> <div> Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: [13] (<U>For </U><B><U>until the law</U></B><U> sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed </U><B><U>when there is no law</U></B>. [14] Nevertheless death reigned <B>from Adam to Moses</B>, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Romans 5:19-20 </div> <div> For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. [20] Moreover <B><U>the law entered</U></B><U>, that the offence might abound.</U> But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Romans 7:4-5 “<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" >4</FONT> Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" >5</FONT> For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The act of disobedience at Eden destroyed our perfect nature (the divine I) and perfect harmony with God. Satan became our husband and master of our lives. We were no longer in synch with God's will and perfect nature of love that He is. We were now in synch with the nature of disobedience (Satan), the father of lies. At that point our new human nature was unable to show love the way God's demands from us. Our sentence was passed at that point by the word of God, and it was </I><I><U>death</U></I><I>. </I><I><U>Jesus came to the rescue of humanity. He is love, He is God, and He took our human nature to live the perfect obedient live that Adam was supposed to live back then</U></I><I>. </I><I><U>A life of love to God's will and love to humans</U></I><I>. A life without sin, showing us the divine “I” that we will become when Jesus comes again, if we accept him. </I><I><U>The law (by this I mean the 10 Commandments) shows Gods character of love</U></I><I>, but sin in our members (human nature) work on us to make us do everything that is against God's character. </I><I><U>The law shows us how dead we are because of our sins</U></I><I>. Once we accept Christ we are no longer married to Satan but to Jesus, we are no longer condemned to death but to eternal life. We no longer bring forth fruits of evil nature, but fruits of divine nature. Do you agree?</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:6 “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Jesus delivered us from the life of sin that made us live against God's character of love and had us sentenced to death. Now we are free from the curse of sin, so the law doesn't condemn us anymore. He gave us a new spirit, His spirit, which will help us live and follow Him. In human nature we can try our best to follow the letter of the law, which by the way is legalism, and that will be in vain, that won't help us. Only by receiving Jesus as our savior, we died to our human nature, and we receive the divine nature of God.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: </I><I><U>This is very important to understand and Paul is saying it, not me or anybody else</U></I><I>. The 10 Commandments of God (God's moral law), like a mirror, show us what sin is. If I have a stain in my face and I look myself at the mirror, it does not matter how much I clean the mirror, the stain will still be in my face. </I><I><U>Does that make the law sin? God forbid, because the law is the character of God, LOVE.</U></I><I> Does that make the law, like you said in an earlier email, a curse? </I><I><U>NO</U></I><I>. Sin and disobedience are the curse. Paul is saying this, do you believe Paul?</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:8 “But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Again Paul is telling the audience that was listening to him, that sin is the curse, that sin brings forth all kind of evil things in our human nature making us break God's Commandments. Please follow me here; clear you mind of all the filthiness we have been taught since we were little and listen to the Holy Spirit. The people listening to Paul understood what he was saying. If there is no law, there is no sin. If there is no sin, there is no need of forgiveness. If there is no need of forgiveness, there is no need of a Savior to redeem us. If there is no need of a Savior, then Jesus sacrifice was in vain. It was not needed, because there is no sin, because there is no law that shows the character of God, which is LOVE. Thanks God, we know better. Sin is still here on this earth, in and all around us. Jesus sacrifice was not in vain. Thanks God that He came to redeem us and to show us the way, the life and the truth.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:9 “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Our human nature will lead us to death. Paul thought that when he was following the law, without Jesus as His Savior, that he was alive. Then, when he met Jesus, he realized that the Commandments, like a mirror, showed him how dead he was in his human condition, that sin was his master. </I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:10 “And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul says that the Commandments, which can help us live a perfect life, condemned us because of the sin that is in us.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:11 “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Again </I><I><U>sin is the culprit</U></I><I>, the curse that makes us do everything that goes against God's moral law. Paul is saying it here, not me.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:12 “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: </I><I><U>This is a very important verse that needs to be understood</U></I><I>. It can't be showed under the rug. Don't listen to me, but please listen to Paul and to the Holy Spirit. </I><I><U>The 10 Commandments are holy, just, and good. They are not a curse!</U></I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:13 “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>My comments: Paul is saying here that God forbid us of thinking that the Commandments are dead or done away with. Again Paul directs our attention to sin. The human nature can't keep that which is good, God's law, so the law then, show our sins and condemn us. </I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:14 “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: What a beautiful truth! </I><I><U>The law is spiritual, so it cannot be a curse, because it came from God, who is spiritual</U></I><I>. Paul nailed it again on the real problem. We are the problem because sin possesses us.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:15 “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Now here comes my favorite part, the “I's”. The controversy inside each one of us is this, when we accept Jesus, we die to sin, we no longer live, Jesus lives in us. Agreed? But, there is a problem; we have not yet changed to that glorious perfect spiritual body that is reserved for us. The butterfly body, the same perfect body that Jesus got after the resurrection as an example for what is prepared for us. So, we are still trapped in this worm body. But, the Bible says that we are saved and changed when we accept Christ, we become a new creature. </I><I><U>In God's eyes, we are perfect, through Jesus. We are now sons of God. We now got the divine nature in us. We want to do God's will in our divine nature</U></I><I>. Our human nature, on the other hand, wants to continue doing the evil things. So, the battle starts inside us, </I><I><U>divine versus human</U></I><I>. I do what I hate, but what I really want to do, that I don't do.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:16 “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The human I does what the divine I does not want to do, establishing that the law of God is good, because the divine I wants to do that which is good.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:17 “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The divine I (Jesus in me) does what is right, God's will, but sin (the curse) still works on my human I.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Listen to Paul saying it. </I><I><U>In the human I, the flesh, the worm, dwell no good. The divine I has the will to keep the Commandments, but can't because of the human I. It is important that we understand that only with Jesus we can accomplish anything, including obedience to God. </U></I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:19 “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Again, the battle of divine versus human.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:20 “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul is saying that the divine I is following God's will, but sin still works in the human I. </I><I><U>Paul is continually telling us that sin is the curse, not the law</U></I><I>. Do you see what Paul is teaching us? Does that agree with what you believe?</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:21 “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul is showing us here that the human I is full of evil, sin, so even we the divine I do good, God's will, we still lives in the body of the worm. </I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:22 “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Listen to what Paul says here. </I><I><U>The divine I, the new creature, delight in the law of God.</U></I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:23 “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The controversy is shown again, the perfect law of freedom, the law of God, which the divine I wants to keep versus the law of sin and death, </I><I><U>which Paul clearly says is in us, in our members</U></I><I>. </I><I><U>In a clear way Paul establishes here that the law of captivity is sin, not the 10 Commandments. </U></I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: I can see Paul screaming to the crowd, when he said this statement. Who can save me from this body of a worm, that is so corrupted and full of sin, which is destined for death?</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 7:25 “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul gives the conclusion to the controversy here. Jesus is the solution (Romans 5:8; 8:31-32, 38-39.) The divine I, the redeemed me, the new creature, the butterfly, serve the law of God, delight in the law of God, but the worm the law of sin. I hope you see the message of Paul here? He says the he keeps the law of God because he is saved by the grace of Jesus, and Jesus demands obedience from him. Jesus said; “if you love me keep my Commandments.” The Bible says in Colossians 1:16 that everything was created by Jesus. Don't you think that includes the 10 Commandments? If Paul didn't have Jesus as His savior, it was in vain the he try to keep the law, because sin condemned him.</I></div> <bR> <div> I will define this at the end of the letter!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: This a continuation of the previous chapter and look at what Paul says here. </I><I><U>The divine I walk after the spirit and love to keep the law, because the law is spiritual and God is spiritual.</U></I><I> Therefore there is no condemnation because the blood of Christ covers us.</I></div> <bR> <div> This is also the key! “Faith, believing” in Jesus Christ! I will cover this at the end of this letter!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Christ is the law, he created it and gave it to Adam and Eve, he later wrote it on stones and gave to Moses. Nowadays, He is writing it on our minds and hearts. He sets us free from the curse of sin, not from the moral law of God, because the law is not sin, as Paul clearly teaches here in these 2 chapters and in many other places. The moral law shows the character of God and Jesus, which is love and obedience. Paul knew it and told those people that were listening to him. He is now telling us. Do you agree with Paul that the moral law is not a curse?</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Listen to what Paul is saying here. We were doomed to death by the curse of sin, by the flesh and its weaknesses. </I><I><U>The spiritual law of God could not saved us, because we were the problem. So, what was the solution? To send Jesus to take on the human nature and make Him sin, in that way He condemned sin in His flesh.</U></I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed, and also to give us the helper, the Holy Spirit!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:4 “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul is nailing it again. “The righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” We come to Jesus, He saved us, He condemned sin in His flesh, so we can in the divine I, by the strength that Jesus gives us, keep the law and walk in the spiritual path.</I></div> <bR> <div> By the help of the Holy Spirit that was the gift given through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ!</div> <div> John 7:39 </div> <div> <I>(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) </I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Romans 8:5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The human I minds the fleshy things, which are sin, but the divine I walks in Jesus and after the spiritual things.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Sin, which is in our human condition, is death. Jesus, which is our spiritual condition, is life and peace.</I></div> <bR> <div> True! Those who have the spirit of God, have the mind of Christ!</div> <div> 1 Cor. 2:16 </div> <div> <I>For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.</I> </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The human I is against God, because of the curse of sin, and not subject to the law.</I></div> <bR> <div> Agreed!!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: If we have not been washed and cleansed by Jesus, we can't please God, because we are in our sinful condition.</I></div> <bR> <div> True!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: The spirit of Christ dwells in us and make us walk in agreement with the spirit of God.</I></div> <bR> <div> True!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:10 “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: </I><I><U>Paul is clearly saying here that the old I, the sinful I, the worm, is dead. Now, because Jesus lives in me, the new creature in me, the divine I is alive because of righteousness. Earlier Paul said the law is holy, good, spiritual and has righteousness</U></I><I>.</I></div> <bR> <div> True!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul is saying that if God raised Jesus from the dead, he can also make us obedient by His spirit, so that even we are trap in the worm body, we can walk after God's will.</I></div> <bR> <div> True!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.”<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: We don't walk any longer according to the flesh, but to the spirit, and we are now sons of God.</I></div> <bR> <div> True! With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to resist sin and to surrender to God and fulfill His will for our lives!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: We now got the spirit of adoption, through Jesus, which is different from the spirit of bondage we got under the curse of sin. This is the main reason why we want to please God and follow His simple rules.</I></div> <bR> <div> True!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: This is a beautiful truth, the Spirit of God witness our spirit, and let us know that we are His children.</I></div> <bR> <div> Amen!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: This give more that enough info to show us that if we are joint-heirs with Christ, and we have to suffer like He did, then we also have to walk like He did, and respect everything that is spiritual and holy.</I></div> <bR> <div> Amen!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”</div> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: When Jesus comes again in the clouds we will see the beautiful “butterfly” that God sees in us now, thorough Jesus. In the meantime, we have to live in this worm body, and live by faith in Jesus's promise.</I></div> <bR> <div> Hallelujah!</div> <div> 1 John 3:2-3 </div> <div> <I>Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. [3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. </I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>SDA: Paul clearly teaches that the law is holy, perfect and spiritual, not a curse. He also tells us that we are the problem, that sin is our curse, that without Jesus we can't do anything. He also teaches that we have to obey the will of God and walk according His spiritual law, because that law reflect God's character of love. It is not our fault that God placed the 4</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I>th</I></FONT><I> Commandment in the middle of them. Why do we want to separate that Commandment from the other 9? Just because we don't agree with it. Why do we want to confuse it and mix it with the other ceremonial Sabbaths, which were abolished by Jesus sacrifice? Why? I don't inderstand how a human being can read Romans 7:1 - 8:18 and still say that the law of God is a curse. When in reality all the Commandments are a blessing for the redeemed, the ones saved by Jesus. They are a test of obedience. Believe me, if that Commandment called me to keep holy, Sunday or Wednesday, I will do it. Because I want to please God and not men, it is not a matter of days, but obedience. Does that mean that we cannot worship God any other day? Of course not, we can worship God if we want all 7 days of the week. Does that relieve me from keeping holy the day God commanded to keep holy? Unfortunately no. God demands obedience from us. How can we say that we love Him and at the same time not obey Him?</I></div> <bR> <div> Then YOU <U>must</U> keep the Sabbath for your conscience sake! I am fully convinced that EVERY Christian that rests in Christ Jesus, is a Sabbath keeper!</div> <bR> <div> The New Testament, has some deeper Revelation about some of the 10 commandments:</div> <bR> <div> Matthew 5:28 </div> <div> <I>But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. </I></div> <bR> <div> This is a magnification of the 7<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> commandment, looking at the heart!</div> <bR> <div> 1 John 3:15 </div> <div> <I>Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. </I></div> <div> <I>Again, this is a magnification of the 6</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><I>th</I></FONT><I> commandment, looking at the heart!</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> 1 Peter 3:15 </div> <div> <I>But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: </I></div> <bR> <div> I personally believe, that the Sabbath is magnified in our hearts, to be Jesus Christ. Your entire discourse points to Jesus as the answer! Yet you fail to see Jesus as the Sabbath Rest and wish to continue to feel that those who worship on Sunday are Sabbath breakers and thus…, well, you never did give the answer to the penalty of those who worship Jesus on Sunday instead of Saturday.</div> <div> Let me, now, give you a discourse on a series of scripture verses!</div> <bR> <div> Hebrews 4:1-11 </div> <div> <I>Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.</I> </div> <bR> <div> In the previous chapter, the writer of Hebrews demonstrates the failure of the Jews to believe, and therefore, they could not enter his rest (Sabbath) on account of their unbelief!</div> <bR> <div> Hebrews 3:18-19 <I>And to whom sware he that </I><I><B><U>they should not enter into his rest</U></B></I><I>, but to them that believed not? [19] So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. </I></div> <bR> <div> Heb. 4:2 <I>For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. </I></div> <bR> <div> They also heard the gospel, but without faith, it was unprofitable to them!</div> <bR> <div> v3 <I>For </I><I><B><U>we which have believed do enter into rest (Sabbath)</U></B></I><I>, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. </I></div> <bR> <div> The believer has “entered the rest” because of their faith! But the unbeliever, even though the works were finished from the 7<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> day of creation, cannot enter the rest! It is a rest which the believer "enters in" and "remains in" as a perpetual, every day, rest, even as God remained in his rest when he finished his works from the foundation of the world.</div> <bR> <div> v4 <I>For he spake in a certain place of the </I><I><B><U>seventh day</U></B></I><I> on this wise, And God did </I><I><B><U>rest the seventh day</U></B></I><I> from all his works. </I></div> <bR> <div> He then ties this perpetual rest that is to be "entered in" directly to the 4<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> commandment as the focal point of proclaiming the rest that the believer has in Christ!</div> <bR> <div> v5 <I>And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. [6] Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:</I> </div> <bR> <div> He repeats his point, that the Sabbath is something which is to be “entered in”, and the unbeliever cannot “enter in” because of unbelief!</div> <bR> <div> v7 <I>Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.</I> </div> <bR> <div> Here is the Sabbath day for the believer, the day that we do not harden our hearts, but rather accept his rest by entering in through faith, coming to Jesus and resting in Him:</div> <bR> <div> 2 Cor. 6:2 </div> <div> <I>(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) </I></div> <bR> <div> Matthew 11:28-30 </div> <div> <I>Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. </I></div> <bR> <div> v8 <I>For if Jesus had given them </I><I>rest</I><I>, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. </I></div> <bR> <div> The “Jesus” above is “Joshua”. The Lord is clearly pointing to “another day” of entering rest, not Sunday, not Saturday, but rather the day when we believe and are saved. On that day, we “enter” a perpetual rest.</div> <bR> <div> v9 <I>There remaineth therefore a </I><I><B><U>rest</U></B></I><I> (Greek - sabbatismos) to the people of God</I>. </div> <bR> <div> As “people of God” we have found the rest! The word "rest" here is <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>"sabbatismos",</B></FONT><B> </B>Greek 4520, Sabbath! This entire discourse of the writer of Hebrews is declaring the Sabbath rest for the believer as being something that we enter into, NOT a specific day of the week!<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> v10 <I>For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. </I></div> <bR> <div> The Sabbath day of the Old Testament, was an example, a forerunner of the true Sabbath... our rest in Jesus Christ! Anyone who worked on the Sabbath, was to be put to death (Numbers 15:32-36)! They were to be "perfectly" idol and do "NO work" on the Sabbath! It is a shadow of our salvation in Christ! We CANNOT work to earn our salvation. An attempt to work for our salvation brings death. Rather we are to rest entirely in, and trust in, Jesus Christ. Those who feel that they must help God and that their own righteousness through their work will earn their salvation, will be cut off! NO ONE will ever boast before God that they have helped earn their own righteousness! God OWES no man any debt!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 4:2-6 </div> <div> <I>For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. [3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now </I><I><U>to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt</U></I><I>. [5] But </I><I><B><U>to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness</U></B></I><I>. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, </I></div> <bR> <div> Those who worship Jesus on another day, are not “Sabbath breakers” as the SDA would like to accuse, (or at least E.G. White has accused), but rather those who rest in the saving power of Jesus Christ are “Sabbath Keepers” of the true Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ through faith! It is the SDA who feels that Sabbath keeping will help earn (or keep) their salvation, that has failed to "enter in" the rest! If this is not true, then tell me, what is the penalty for the worshippers who fail to "keep the 7th day Sabbath?" </div> <bR> <div> Worship on Saturday does not constitute "works" for salvation! But those who judge the body of Christ who worship on Sunday, and/or are under bondage to keep the Saturday Sabbath in order to earn their righteousness, have NOT "entered the rest" and in truth, are breaking the true Sabbath of our Lord, as they are trusting their works to be earning their righteousness!</div> <bR> <div> v11 <I>Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.</I> </div> <bR> <div> The word "labour" above is:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>spoudazo,</B> </FONT>from Greek 4710 (spoude); to <I>use speed</I>, i.e. to <I>make effort, be prompt</I> or <I>earnest</I> :- do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.</div> <bR> <div> The challenge this writer is giving, is that the unbeliever would enter in to the Sabbath rest by faith, trusting in, and believing in, Jesus! Be quick, make effort, be prompt, earnestly, diligently "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved"! (Acts 16:31)</div> <bR> <div> Although you continue to feel bound that you must keep the Saturday Sabbath, I am fully convinced that the body of Christ that worships the Lord on Sunday, are also Sabbath keepers as they have entered the rest by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ through faith!</div> <bR> <div> Paul, in writing the book of Romans, then covers the last 6 commandments in chapter 13, and the 4<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> commandment in chapter 14, after dealing with the topic of the law in the previous chapters as you have so very well explained above!</div> <bR> <div> Romans 13:8-10 </div> <div> <I>Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for </I><I><B><U>he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law</U></B></I><I>. [9] For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore </I><I><B><U>love is the fulfilling of the law</U></B></I><I>. </I></div> <bR> <div> Romans 14:4-5 </div> <div> <I><B><U>Who art thou that judgest another man's servant</U></B></I><I>? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. [5] One man esteemeth </I><I><B>one day above another</B></I><I>: another esteemeth </I><I><B>every day alike.</B></I><I> </I><I><B>Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind</B></I><I>.</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Those who are led by the Spirit and walk in love, have fulfilled the law, and are free to worship the Lord any day they choose since their Sabbath rest was "entered in" by faith. Unfortunatly, it is the SDA that is "judging another man's servant" as charged by Romans 14:4-5 and condemning the Sunday worshipper. Those who worship Jesus on Sunday are God's servants, and if you are an SDA, these Sunday worshippers are your brothers! You might feel that your self-righteous works of keeping the Sabbath qualifies you to judge them and seperate yourselves from them. The National Sunday Law and the false prophecy of E.G. White that has given the SDA members the heretical idea that the Sunday worshippers will one day be their persecutor, and that the SDA's are superior, "the remnant" and <U>more</U> righteous than the rest of the Church is dividing the Body of Christ and stand charged as "judges" by Pauls letter in Chapter 14! Paul writes in 1 Cor. 3 :1-17 that God will destroy this person who brings the division to the body of Christ. Those who would divide the body of Christ are "defiling the temple of God!"</div> <bR> <div> 1 Cor. 1:12-13 </div> <div> <I>Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. [13] Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?</I> </div> <bR> <div> SDA members will rejoice to hear that, in my home town, every house has received the book "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>National Sunday Law</U></FONT>" in their mail boxes. Not only is this book heresy, as I cover on another web page, but while you rejoice in your soliciting methods, I've met several young Christians whom have fallen deeply in love with Jesus and are being Pastored by some wonderful, Godly men, that were suddenly thrown into a tailspin of confusion by this book. Suddenly, they found themselves under great condemnation! May I suggest that this action by the SDA church, which is NOT preaching the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ, but rather bringing great condemnation to the young Christians, and is bringing further division to the church. You may increase your membership through this tactic, but you are destroying the Temple of God!</div> <bR> <div> 1 Cor. 3:14-17 </div> <div> <I>If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. [15] If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. [16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man </I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><I><B><U>defile</U></B></I></FONT><I> the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. </I></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>G 5351 phtheiro,</B> <I>fthi'-ro</I></FONT>; probably strengthened from <B>phthio</B> (to <I>pine</I> or <I>waste</I>); properly to <I>shrivel</I> or <I>wither</I>, i.e. to <I>spoil</I> (by any process) or (genitive) <B><U>to </U></B><I><B><U>ruin</U></B></I> (especially figurative by moral influences, to <I>deprave</I>) :- corrupt (self), <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" >defile</FONT>, destroy.</div> <bR> <div> If this letter does not convince you, I wish you to know that I am not aware of any church's that condemn the SDA members because of Sabbath worship. It is the prophecy of E.G. White and the adamant attempt of the SDA members to feel burdened to recruit the rest of the church to join them as the remnant "true" church that keeps the comandments of God, and their separation from the rest of the church body, that is the error and harm to the body of Christ. The Sabbath keepers of the SDA church have a form of self righteousness, which is of the leaven of the Pharisees, that exalts them, in their own minds, as pleasing to God because of their obedience to the 4<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> commandment, never understanding the true Sabbath of resting in Jesus Christ our Lord, the Lord of the Sabbath!</div> <bR> <div> Your brother in Christ Jesus our Lord, </div> <div> Brian O'Connell</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>