Marlin wrote: > The following is from: http://www.cbcg.org/true_sabbath.doc >"Many ministers and theologians have applied the opposite > meaning to Hebrews 4:9. They have completely misinterpreted > the King James Version of this verse, which reads, "There > remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." > ... <snip>...
Hi Marlin. I had huge problems with the logic of this article that you shared. Basically it sought to establish the use of a same Greek word used in the Septuagint to argue that Paul could only mean exactly the same thing as that referred to in the Septuagint. This is crazy. People use words figuratively all the time. Water is sometimes used in the New Testament to refer to the Word of God, and you can't argue that because in the Old Testament it means real water that it must mean real water in the New Testament. Bread likewise is used this way. Leaven is another thing that in the New Testament refers to sin, and also to false doctrine and a false political system. What would you think if I pointed out how the same Greek word is used in the Septuagint to refer to real leaven. Are you really going to think that therefore it must refer to actual leaven everywhere the word is used in the New Testament? Such logic is ludicrous. The article said: > The apostle Paul kept the holy days True. The article said: > and commanded Gentile converts to keep them (I Cor. 5:7-8). False. This passage in 1 Cor. 5 is exactly one of those passages where Paul sees clearly and expresses to the believers how that Christ has become our passover sacrifice, so now we are in the days of unleavened bread and we should put away the leaven. He is not talking about literal leaven that is put out during the days of unleavened bread anymore than he is talking about the literal passover lamb that was killed and eaten at passover. He is talking about how when believers become saved in Jesus Christ, they immediately put away from themselves the leaven of sin from their lives, just as the shadow of the feasts depict. Notice how this passage says, "not with old leaven" and "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." He spells it out clearly for everyone that the unleavened bread he speaks of is not something you put in your mouth and eat. Rather, he is speaking about the sincerity and truth that we need to walk in when we believe upon Jesus Christ and eat him as our passover lamb (spiritually speaking, not literally). I think observing passover and the feast of unleavened bread is wonderful. Paul, being a Jew, kept these feasts and taught their application to the believer. I have been in Israel during Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, and the imagery is fantastic when you have all these hotel owners and restaurant owners washing all their things outside, getting rid of every bit of leaven. People meticulously vacuum their cars to make sure every bit of leaven is gone. When a person understands how this leaven represents sin, to see all the industry given to making sure the leaven is all gone, how clear it becomes that we must put away every speck of sin that might be residing somewhere in our lives. I have Jewish friends who are not Christian. During Passover and the feast I was visiting one of these friends in Israel. I asked him if he knew why the Scriptures told them to get rid of the leaven. Did he know why they were doing all this. He said no, only that the Torah says to do it. You should have seen his eyes widen when I explained how our Christian perspective is that the leaven represents sin, and therefore, when we come to Christ who is the true passover lamb, we must immediately put forth all the leaven (sin) in our lives and enter into his rest. He has lived in this culture his whole life and never heard that. In my culture, people don't understand what it takes to get rid of all the leaven in the household. Bringing these cultures together is wonderful I think. The article said: > Paul carries his instruction even further, showing that > we have to keep the Sabbath or lose salvation. > "For he that is entered into His rest [keeping the Sabbath], > He also has ceased from his own works, as God did > from His [when He created the Sabbath day]" Do you believe this Marlin, that if we don't literally observe Saturday that we will lose salvation? Do you not recognize that the author of Hebrews was talking about a rest other than Saturday observance? Surely you are not blind to this spiritual insight. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida USA ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
