Sabbath

If we are not obliged to do what the law literally requires, then may we literally kill, steal, and commit adultery? This cannot be the meaning of Paul's frequent allusions to the letter and the spirit. The form and spirit of the law uphold each other. We cannot break the law literally without breaking it spiritually.

The religion of the Jews in the days of Christ and the apostles had become formal and selfish. They did their good works to be seen of men, not because they loved God and their neighbor. They condemned the open violator of the law, while they did worse than he did. They strictly kept up certain popular forms of obedience to the letter of the law, such as circumcision, ...

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The seventh year and the year of jubilee are not mentioned in the Ten Commandments. They were to be kept only 'in the land' of Israel and were not once kept in the wilderness before the Israelites entered Canaan. They are parts of that 'law of commandments contained in ordinances' (Ephesians 2:15) that ended at the cross.

Adapted from H.M.S. Richards, Hard Nuts Cracked, 3.

The contrast between the Sabbath of the Lord and these sabbaths of the Hebrews is strongly marked.

1. The Sabbath of the Lord was instituted at the close of the first week of time; while these were ordained in connection with the Jewish feasts.


2. The ...
   
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