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Christless Christianity: The Spirit of our Age
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Oct 23, 2022 10:57:33   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
The final church, at the end of the church age before Christ's return Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), leaves Christ outside knocking on the door for admittance from a congregation that does not know or recognize Him. (Revelation 3:19-20)

Laodicea is one of seven first-century churches Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."' His harsh pronouncement suggests that the Christians at Laodicea wavered in their commitments to the Christian faith.

Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos Valley, in Asia Minor, now Turkey. They value worldly wealth more than spiritual wealth. They are seeking worldly riches in the name of blessings showing-off how blessed they are but in reality they are poor, miserable and naked. It's better to be spiritually wealthy than worldly wealthy.

God’s judgment is upon us when, “Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12). Cowardly (Isaiah 7:2), idolatrous, delighting in foreign worships and foreign forms of art (2Kings 16:10), such was the king who then sat on the throne of Judah. And the evil worked downwards from the throne.

Those who should have been the leaders of the people were quick only to mislead. Ruling officials, princes, priests, judges were all drifting with the current of debasement. A like judgement can now be seen happening within our nation and the visible worldly church.

The landmarks of national righteousness have been effaced from the minds of the people by the conduct of its statesmen and religious guides.

A key feature of this present world is the love of pleasure and self-indulgence. Hedonism is the philosophy of life for many, and, accordingly, Christian hedonism has caught that spirit of the age and is making inroads at an alarming rate. Far from being biblical it is derived from the world and leaves its professed converts comfortably in the world.

Evangelicals who drift with the spirit of the age are betraying the biblical heritage our forefathers lived for, fought for, and died for. It is nothing other than conformity to the world which is enmity with God (James 4:4). Yet, such guilty perpetrators arrogantly maintain that every church needs to adopt this modern model. If we do not, according to them, we have only ourselves to blame for being left behind and missing out on blessing!

It is not the spirit of the age that we need, it is the spirit of repentance and a return to authentic evangelicalism. We cannot turn the clock back to better times, but we can pray and we can encourage the church of God not to move into enculturation with our decadent and degenerate times. What is outlined is a spiritual problem – and it can only have a spiritual solution. In place of following the current of the times let us return to the old paths of authentic evangelicalism where the good way is and where the Lord’s favor rests (Jeremiah 6:16).

May the Lord help us all, church preachers and congregants - believer-priests all, and all are called by God to serve Him by offering up spiritual sacrifices, i.e., to perform the good works He prepared for us to do before the earth was created.

We need to clearly distinguish between Christ, the prophet, priest, and king, who sacrificed Himself once-for-all who will believe, and our own participation, by grace alone, by virtue of our union with Christ, through faith alone.

As believer-priests of the living God, we are all a people zealous to give praise to our Triune One God who has given us, once for all time, the great gift of His Son's sacrifice on our behalf, and in response to share with others, in our day, the gospel of His wonderful grace received individually through faith in Christ Jesus!

A worldly-minded Christian once said to G. Campbell Morgan (b. 1863 - d. 1945), British evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author: “The preacher must catch the spirit of the age.” In a flash Morgan replied, “God forgive him if he does. The preacher’s business is to correct the spirit of the age.”



Reply
Oct 23, 2022 11:01:24   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
Zemirah wrote:
The final church, at the end of the church age before Christ's return Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), leaves Christ outside knocking on the door for admittance from a congregation that does not know or recognize Him. (Revelation 3:19-20)

Laodicea is one of seven first-century churches Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."' His harsh pronouncement suggests that the Christians at Laodicea wavered in their commitments to the Christian faith.

Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos Valley, in Asia Minor, now Turkey. They value worldly wealth more than spiritual wealth. They are seeking worldly riches in the name of blessings showing-off how blessed they are but in reality they are poor, miserable and naked. It's better to be spiritually wealthy than worldly wealthy.

God’s judgment is upon us when, “Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12). Cowardly (Isaiah 7:2), idolatrous, delighting in foreign worships and foreign forms of art (2Kings 16:10), such was the king who then sat on the throne of Judah. And the evil worked downwards from the throne.

Those who should have been the leaders of the people were quick only to mislead. Ruling officials, princes, priests, judges were all drifting with the current of debasement. A like judgement can now be seen happening within our nation and the visible worldly church.

The landmarks of national righteousness have been effaced from the minds of the people by the conduct of its statesmen and religious guides.

A key feature of this present world is the love of pleasure and self-indulgence. Hedonism is the philosophy of life for many, and, accordingly, Christian hedonism has caught that spirit of the age and is making inroads at an alarming rate. Far from being biblical it is derived from the world and leaves its professed converts comfortably in the world.

Evangelicals who drift with the spirit of the age are betraying the biblical heritage our forefathers lived for, fought for, and died for. It is nothing other than conformity to the world which is enmity with God (James 4:4). Yet, such guilty perpetrators arrogantly maintain that every church needs to adopt this modern model. If we do not, according to them, we have only ourselves to blame for being left behind and missing out on blessing!

It is not the spirit of the age that we need, it is the spirit of repentance and a return to authentic evangelicalism. We cannot turn the clock back to better times, but we can pray and we can encourage the church of God not to move into enculturation with our decadent and degenerate times. What is outlined is a spiritual problem – and it can only have a spiritual solution. In place of following the current of the times let us return to the old paths of authentic evangelicalism where the good way is and where the Lord’s favor rests (Jeremiah 6:16).

May the Lord help us all, church preachers and congregants - believer-priests all, called by God to serve Him by offering up spiritual sacrifices, i.e., to perform the good works He prepared for us to do before the earth was created.

We need to clearly distinguish between Christ, the prophet, priest, and king, and our own participation, by grace alone, by virtue of our union with Christ, through faith alone.

As believer-priests of the living God, we are all a people zealous to give praise to our Triune One God who has given us, once for all time, the great gift of His Son's sacrifice on our behalf, and in response to share with others, in our day, the gospel of His wonderful grace received individually through faith in Christ Jesus!

A worldly-minded Christian once said to G. Campbell Morgan (b. 1863 - d. 1945), British evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author: “The preacher must catch the spirit of the age.” In a flash Morgan replied, “God forgive him if he does. The preacher’s business is to correct the spirit of the age.”
The final church, at the end of the church age bef... (show quote)


This is brilliant...

Well written and simply stated.. Truly inspired

Will be sharing it..(with permission)

Reply
Oct 23, 2022 12:16:01   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
Golly! Gee whiz, Canuckus, please don't extend praise.

I simply thrive on antagonism!

Copy whatever you like, a word, a phrase, all of it.

Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
This is brilliant...

Well written and simply stated.. Truly inspired

Will be sharing it..(with permission)

Reply
 
 
Oct 23, 2022 13:11:51   #
manning5 Loc: Richmond, VA
 
Zemirah wrote:
The final church, at the end of the church age before Christ's return Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), leaves Christ outside knocking on the door for admittance from a congregation that does not know or recognize Him. (Revelation 3:19-20)

Laodicea is one of seven first-century churches Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."' His harsh pronouncement suggests that the Christians at Laodicea wavered in their commitments to the Christian faith.

Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos Valley, in Asia Minor, now Turkey. They value worldly wealth more than spiritual wealth. They are seeking worldly riches in the name of blessings showing-off how blessed they are but in reality they are poor, miserable and naked. It's better to be spiritually wealthy than worldly wealthy.

God’s judgment is upon us when, “Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12). Cowardly (Isaiah 7:2), idolatrous, delighting in foreign worships and foreign forms of art (2Kings 16:10), such was the king who then sat on the throne of Judah. And the evil worked downwards from the throne.

Those who should have been the leaders of the people were quick only to mislead. Ruling officials, princes, priests, judges were all drifting with the current of debasement. A like judgement can now be seen happening within our nation and the visible worldly church.

The landmarks of national righteousness have been effaced from the minds of the people by the conduct of its statesmen and religious guides.

A key feature of this present world is the love of pleasure and self-indulgence. Hedonism is the philosophy of life for many, and, accordingly, Christian hedonism has caught that spirit of the age and is making inroads at an alarming rate. Far from being biblical it is derived from the world and leaves its professed converts comfortably in the world.

Evangelicals who drift with the spirit of the age are betraying the biblical heritage our forefathers lived for, fought for, and died for. It is nothing other than conformity to the world which is enmity with God (James 4:4). Yet, such guilty perpetrators arrogantly maintain that every church needs to adopt this modern model. If we do not, according to them, we have only ourselves to blame for being left behind and missing out on blessing!

It is not the spirit of the age that we need, it is the spirit of repentance and a return to authentic evangelicalism. We cannot turn the clock back to better times, but we can pray and we can encourage the church of God not to move into enculturation with our decadent and degenerate times. What is outlined is a spiritual problem – and it can only have a spiritual solution. In place of following the current of the times let us return to the old paths of authentic evangelicalism where the good way is and where the Lord’s favor rests (Jeremiah 6:16).

May the Lord help us all, church preachers and congregants - believer-priests all, and all are called by God to serve Him by offering up spiritual sacrifices, i.e., to perform the good works He prepared for us to do before the earth was created.

We need to clearly distinguish between Christ, the prophet, priest, and king, who sacrificed Himself once-for-all who will believe, and our own participation, by grace alone, by virtue of our union with Christ, through faith alone.

As believer-priests of the living God, we are all a people zealous to give praise to our Triune One God who has given us, once for all time, the great gift of His Son's sacrifice on our behalf, and in response to share with others, in our day, the gospel of His wonderful grace received individually through faith in Christ Jesus!

A worldly-minded Christian once said to G. Campbell Morgan (b. 1863 - d. 1945), British evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author: “The preacher must catch the spirit of the age.” In a flash Morgan replied, “God forgive him if he does. The preacher’s business is to correct the spirit of the age.”
The final church, at the end of the church age bef... (show quote)

================================

Well, Zemirah, the comment of CD is quite correct. Your post is indeed brilliant.
It captures the shortcomings of our times perfectly, and points towards the right solution: bringing back the Holy Spirit of Christ in mankind.
Mann

Reply
Oct 24, 2022 06:42:05   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
Thank you. Manning,

How easily we do forget to walk as the Holy Spirit guides us.

By attempting to be godly without following the lead of the Holy Spirit, we are much like dogs walking on their hind legs, imitating humans.
manning5 wrote:
================================
Well, Zemirah, the comment of CD is quite correct. Your post is indeed brilliant.
It captures the shortcomings of our times perfectly, and points towards the right solution: bringing back the Holy Spirit of Christ in mankind.
Mann

Reply
Oct 24, 2022 10:23:03   #
Rose42
 
Zemirah wrote:
The final church, at the end of the church age before Christ's return Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), leaves Christ outside knocking on the door for admittance from a congregation that does not know or recognize Him. (Revelation 3:19-20)

Laodicea is one of seven first-century churches Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."' His harsh pronouncement suggests that the Christians at Laodicea wavered in their commitments to the Christian faith.

Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos Valley, in Asia Minor, now Turkey. They value worldly wealth more than spiritual wealth. They are seeking worldly riches in the name of blessings showing-off how blessed they are but in reality they are poor, miserable and naked. It's better to be spiritually wealthy than worldly wealthy.

God’s judgment is upon us when, “Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12). Cowardly (Isaiah 7:2), idolatrous, delighting in foreign worships and foreign forms of art (2Kings 16:10), such was the king who then sat on the throne of Judah. And the evil worked downwards from the throne.

Those who should have been the leaders of the people were quick only to mislead. Ruling officials, princes, priests, judges were all drifting with the current of debasement. A like judgement can now be seen happening within our nation and the visible worldly church.

The landmarks of national righteousness have been effaced from the minds of the people by the conduct of its statesmen and religious guides.

A key feature of this present world is the love of pleasure and self-indulgence. Hedonism is the philosophy of life for many, and, accordingly, Christian hedonism has caught that spirit of the age and is making inroads at an alarming rate. Far from being biblical it is derived from the world and leaves its professed converts comfortably in the world.

Evangelicals who drift with the spirit of the age are betraying the biblical heritage our forefathers lived for, fought for, and died for. It is nothing other than conformity to the world which is enmity with God (James 4:4). Yet, such guilty perpetrators arrogantly maintain that every church needs to adopt this modern model. If we do not, according to them, we have only ourselves to blame for being left behind and missing out on blessing!

It is not the spirit of the age that we need, it is the spirit of repentance and a return to authentic evangelicalism. We cannot turn the clock back to better times, but we can pray and we can encourage the church of God not to move into enculturation with our decadent and degenerate times. What is outlined is a spiritual problem – and it can only have a spiritual solution. In place of following the current of the times let us return to the old paths of authentic evangelicalism where the good way is and where the Lord’s favor rests (Jeremiah 6:16).

May the Lord help us all, church preachers and congregants - believer-priests all, and all are called by God to serve Him by offering up spiritual sacrifices, i.e., to perform the good works He prepared for us to do before the earth was created.

We need to clearly distinguish between Christ, the prophet, priest, and king, who sacrificed Himself once-for-all who will believe, and our own participation, by grace alone, by virtue of our union with Christ, through faith alone.

As believer-priests of the living God, we are all a people zealous to give praise to our Triune One God who has given us, once for all time, the great gift of His Son's sacrifice on our behalf, and in response to share with others, in our day, the gospel of His wonderful grace received individually through faith in Christ Jesus!

A worldly-minded Christian once said to G. Campbell Morgan (b. 1863 - d. 1945), British evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author: “The preacher must catch the spirit of the age.” In a flash Morgan replied, “God forgive him if he does. The preacher’s business is to correct the spirit of the age.”
The final church, at the end of the church age bef... (show quote)


I agree with what others have said - great post. Thankfully there are pastors out there who stand firm and do not conform to the world!

Reply
Oct 24, 2022 10:50:26   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
Rose42 wrote:
I agree with what others have said - great post. Thankfully there are pastors out there who stand firm and do not conform to the world!


And amen to that

Reply
 
 
Oct 24, 2022 11:40:02   #
Peewee Loc: San Antonio, TX
 
Zemirah wrote:
The final church, at the end of the church age before Christ's return Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), leaves Christ outside knocking on the door for admittance from a congregation that does not know or recognize Him. (Revelation 3:19-20)

Laodicea is one of seven first-century churches Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."' His harsh pronouncement suggests that the Christians at Laodicea wavered in their commitments to the Christian faith.

Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos Valley, in Asia Minor, now Turkey. They value worldly wealth more than spiritual wealth. They are seeking worldly riches in the name of blessings showing-off how blessed they are but in reality they are poor, miserable and naked. It's better to be spiritually wealthy than worldly wealthy.

God’s judgment is upon us when, “Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12). Cowardly (Isaiah 7:2), idolatrous, delighting in foreign worships and foreign forms of art (2Kings 16:10), such was the king who then sat on the throne of Judah. And the evil worked downwards from the throne.

Those who should have been the leaders of the people were quick only to mislead. Ruling officials, princes, priests, judges were all drifting with the current of debasement. A like judgement can now be seen happening within our nation and the visible worldly church.

The landmarks of national righteousness have been effaced from the minds of the people by the conduct of its statesmen and religious guides.

A key feature of this present world is the love of pleasure and self-indulgence. Hedonism is the philosophy of life for many, and, accordingly, Christian hedonism has caught that spirit of the age and is making inroads at an alarming rate. Far from being biblical it is derived from the world and leaves its professed converts comfortably in the world.

Evangelicals who drift with the spirit of the age are betraying the biblical heritage our forefathers lived for, fought for, and died for. It is nothing other than conformity to the world which is enmity with God (James 4:4). Yet, such guilty perpetrators arrogantly maintain that every church needs to adopt this modern model. If we do not, according to them, we have only ourselves to blame for being left behind and missing out on blessing!

It is not the spirit of the age that we need, it is the spirit of repentance and a return to authentic evangelicalism. We cannot turn the clock back to better times, but we can pray and we can encourage the church of God not to move into enculturation with our decadent and degenerate times. What is outlined is a spiritual problem – and it can only have a spiritual solution. In place of following the current of the times let us return to the old paths of authentic evangelicalism where the good way is and where the Lord’s favor rests (Jeremiah 6:16).

May the Lord help us all, church preachers and congregants - believer-priests all, and all are called by God to serve Him by offering up spiritual sacrifices, i.e., to perform the good works He prepared for us to do before the earth was created.

We need to clearly distinguish between Christ, the prophet, priest, and king, who sacrificed Himself once-for-all who will believe, and our own participation, by grace alone, by virtue of our union with Christ, through faith alone.

As believer-priests of the living God, we are all a people zealous to give praise to our Triune One God who has given us, once for all time, the great gift of His Son's sacrifice on our behalf, and in response to share with others, in our day, the gospel of His wonderful grace received individually through faith in Christ Jesus!

A worldly-minded Christian once said to G. Campbell Morgan (b. 1863 - d. 1945), British evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author: “The preacher must catch the spirit of the age.” In a flash Morgan replied, “God forgive him if he does. The preacher’s business is to correct the spirit of the age.”
The final church, at the end of the church age bef... (show quote)


I've often said, you are a true blessing! Thank you my friend.

Reply
Oct 25, 2022 13:18:53   #
manning5 Loc: Richmond, VA
 
Zemirah wrote:
The final church, at the end of the church age before Christ's return Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), leaves Christ outside knocking on the door for admittance from a congregation that does not know or recognize Him. (Revelation 3:19-20)

Laodicea is one of seven first-century churches Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."' His harsh pronouncement suggests that the Christians at Laodicea wavered in their commitments to the Christian faith.

Laodicea was a wealthy, industrious city in the province of Phrygia in the Lycos Valley, in Asia Minor, now Turkey. They value worldly wealth more than spiritual wealth. They are seeking worldly riches in the name of blessings showing-off how blessed they are but in reality they are poor, miserable and naked. It's better to be spiritually wealthy than worldly wealthy.

God’s judgment is upon us when, “Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (Isaiah 3:12). Cowardly (Isaiah 7:2), idolatrous, delighting in foreign worships and foreign forms of art (2Kings 16:10), such was the king who then sat on the throne of Judah. And the evil worked downwards from the throne.

Those who should have been the leaders of the people were quick only to mislead. Ruling officials, princes, priests, judges were all drifting with the current of debasement. A like judgement can now be seen happening within our nation and the visible worldly church.

The landmarks of national righteousness have been effaced from the minds of the people by the conduct of its statesmen and religious guides.

A key feature of this present world is the love of pleasure and self-indulgence. Hedonism is the philosophy of life for many, and, accordingly, Christian hedonism has caught that spirit of the age and is making inroads at an alarming rate. Far from being biblical it is derived from the world and leaves its professed converts comfortably in the world.

Evangelicals who drift with the spirit of the age are betraying the biblical heritage our forefathers lived for, fought for, and died for. It is nothing other than conformity to the world which is enmity with God (James 4:4). Yet, such guilty perpetrators arrogantly maintain that every church needs to adopt this modern model. If we do not, according to them, we have only ourselves to blame for being left behind and missing out on blessing!

It is not the spirit of the age that we need, it is the spirit of repentance and a return to authentic evangelicalism. We cannot turn the clock back to better times, but we can pray and we can encourage the church of God not to move into enculturation with our decadent and degenerate times. What is outlined is a spiritual problem – and it can only have a spiritual solution. In place of following the current of the times let us return to the old paths of authentic evangelicalism where the good way is and where the Lord’s favor rests (Jeremiah 6:16).

May the Lord help us all, church preachers and congregants - believer-priests all, and all are called by God to serve Him by offering up spiritual sacrifices, i.e., to perform the good works He prepared for us to do before the earth was created.

We need to clearly distinguish between Christ, the prophet, priest, and king, who sacrificed Himself once-for-all who will believe, and our own participation, by grace alone, by virtue of our union with Christ, through faith alone.

As believer-priests of the living God, we are all a people zealous to give praise to our Triune One God who has given us, once for all time, the great gift of His Son's sacrifice on our behalf, and in response to share with others, in our day, the gospel of His wonderful grace received individually through faith in Christ Jesus!

A worldly-minded Christian once said to G. Campbell Morgan (b. 1863 - d. 1945), British evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific author: “The preacher must catch the spirit of the age.” In a flash Morgan replied, “God forgive him if he does. The preacher’s business is to correct the spirit of the age.”
The final church, at the end of the church age bef... (show quote)


======================

I looked up the word sojourner and found much to contemplate over. And, in that process, found a lecture on the seventh day, in which it is claimed to be Saturday, not Sunday! So, Sunday, the day some used to worship the Sun, is really Day One in Christianity, if counted that way. Confusing!

Reply
Oct 25, 2022 18:19:13   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
manning5 wrote:
======================

I looked up the word sojourner and found much to contemplate over. And, in that process, found a lecture on the seventh day, in which it is claimed to be Saturday, not Sunday! So, Sunday, the day some used to worship the Sun, is really Day One in Christianity, if counted that way. Confusing!


Saturday has traditionally been the last day of the week... The Sabbath if you will...

Not sure when that changed...

Reply
Oct 25, 2022 18:34:04   #
manning5 Loc: Richmond, VA
 
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
Saturday has traditionally been the last day of the week... The Sabbath if you will...

Not sure when that changed...


====================

I read that it was the Roman Catholic Church that on its own authority and despite the Bible, declared Sunday as the correct day of rest and worship.

Reply
 
 
Oct 26, 2022 05:57:20   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
manning5 wrote:
====================

I read that it was the Roman Catholic Church that on its own authority and despite the Bible, declared Sunday as the correct day of rest and worship.


Manning,

I found it impossible to respond to your one sentence in kind. I have a natural affinity for detail.

The origin of the English word, Sabbath: Old English, from Latin sabbatum, via Greek from Hebrew šabbāṯ, from šāḇaṯ ‘to rest.’“ to cease or stop.”

It appears that the Roman Empire attempted to remove any remnants of Jesus' Jewish roots after adopting Christianity as an officially recognized religion of the state.

Jesus Christ observed the Saturday Sabbath, and His apostles continued to observe the Sabbath after His death, as well as meeting on Sunday "the Lord's Day," to worship and hold Communion. There is no scriptural command to switch to Sunday, nor is there any command by the apostles to refrain from observing the Saturday Sabbath.

There was liberty in this, just as the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day."(Colossians 2:16).

Paul wrote because legalistic newly converted Christians (both Jews and Gentiles) were attempting to effectually destroy the purity of the gospel by zealously adding observances of the Jewish new moons, feasts, and Sabbath day as requirements for salvation.

The historical reasons for the official, but unscriptural change was a combination of politically powerful church authority overriding scriptural principles, under the influences of Mithraic sun worship and anti-Semitism, the documentation for which I have partially included although the length of this response is already out of bounds, so if your eyes glaze over...

Roman Emperor Constantine was the first "Christian" Roman emperor (313 A.D.). Though he did halt much of the persecution of Christians during his reign, he did more to introduce sun worship into Christianity than any before him.

Historian Paul Johnson (A History of Christianity, 1976, pp. 67-68) details some of this influence: “Constantine was almost certainly a Mithraic, and his triumphal arch, built after his ‘conversion’, testifies to the Sun-god, or ‘unconquered sun’. … Constantine never abandoned sun-worship and kept the sun on his coins. He made Sunday into a day of rest, closing the law courts and forbidding all work except agricultural labour.”

During the reign of Emperor Julian, Roman emperor from 361 to 363 A.D., Johnson noted: “The Bishop of Troy told Julian he had always prayed secretly to the sun” (p. 67). Thus Christianity took on a major facet of pagan sun worship.

CA 400 A.D., Augustine, a Roman Catholic theologian, proclaimed that "the holy doctors of the Church have decreed, that all glory of the Jewish Sabbath is transferred to Sunday. Let us therefore keep the Lord’s Day as the ancients were commanded to do the Sabbath."

The Catholic Encyclopedia section on "Sunday" states that St. Caesarius of Arles reinforced this teaching in the sixth century. The changing of the Sabbath was through post-apostolic church officials.

Surging anti-Semitism in post-apostolic times also played a major role in the change to Sunday. The Council of Laodicea in A.D. 365 decided: "Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day, and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ" (Canon XXIX).

So, keeping the Sabbath on Saturday was considered “judaizing,” which was considered a great evil.

Constantine, at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, was reported by the historian Eusebius as saying, "It appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast [Passover] we should follow the practice of the Jews … . Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd."

These recently pagan in-their-observance Christians eliminated historical Jewish holy days, separating from their Lord's religious heritage, - a different day for rest and worship to Sunday, and the Jewish Pasach (Passover), during which Jesus died, also to Sunday.


On the “Ten Commandments,” the Catholic Encyclopedia says: “The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment [we count it as the Fourth] refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day."

The Catholic Universe Bulletin said in 1942: “The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant, claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh Day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.”

The Catholic Virginian said in 1947: “All of us believe many things in regard to religion that we do not find in the Bible. For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the Church outside the Bible.”

Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274), an influential Rpman Catholic theologian, wrote: "In the New Law the observance of the Lord’s day took the place of the observance of the Sabbath, not by virtue of the precept but by the institution of the Church and the custom of Christian people."

The Sabbath however, was instituted by God in Genesis 2:1-3 when He "rested" from his work. God rested, or ceased working, from creating everything. It was not to recuperate, for God needs no rest. It was an ending, a completion of the work. God blessed the Sabbath Day and sanctified it, setting it apart as holy. This was before the flood of Noah, before Abraham or Moses, so its appeal appears to be universal to all men, but through the New Testament freedom granted Jesus' believers, again, it is in Christ that we enter our rest.

The fourth commandment reads: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11)

Under the Mosaic Law, observance of the 7th day Sabbath was extended by God to Israel and the Jewish people. In the giving of the Fourth Commandment, God told the nation of Israel to "remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day" (Deuteronomy 5:15).

[b]In the New Testament, neither Jesus nor the Apostles ever commanded the observance of the Saturday Sabbath, which is the 7th day of the week. If we keep the Sabbath as it was defined in the Old Testament, then we place ourselves under the obligation of keeping all 734 Old Testament commandments (Galatians 5:1-5), for if we break one commandment we have broken them all (James 2:8-13).

Jesus' disciples and their converts all began worshiping on Sunday after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, as almost all were initially Jewish, they also continued their Saturday worship in the Temple and Synagogue, for they did not consider the worship of the Messiah as a new and separate religion, but as a fulfillment of Messianic prophecies and a resultant new chapter within Judaism worthy of celebration.

Exodus 20:1 explains that the Sabbath was a reminder that the LORD created everything. This is a reminder that the LORD was our creator.

Deuteronomy 5:15: "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day."

This 2nd verse reveals that the second reason was that God had delivered the Jews from their bondage in Egypt where they had been oppressively engaged in backbreaking hard labor as slaves for 430 years, working 24-7. They needed instruction in learning to have a day of composure, a day of rest, in which to reverently seek His face, and to fully rest their domesticated work animals on their Sabbath, for they too, had been oppressed and downtrodden.

When God gave Moses the fourth commandment, He was highly concerned with proper rest on that day. God instructed them to do no work, no hired servants could work, and this included their animals.

The Fourth Commandment about the Sabbath is always addressed to Israel. Never is it commanded to be observed by non-Jews. The New Testament contains no claims demanding that we must worship on the 7th day Sabbath (Saturday) or on any specific day.

When the Sabbath is addressed more comprehensively in Exodus 31, the Lord said “Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between Me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:16-17).

Twice God mentions that it’s a special sign specifically between Him and Israel. The observance of this Sabbath day marked them from the rest of the world, in that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Jacob's progeny had been chosen for His special purpose.

What the Sabbath represents is explained in Hebrews 3:1-4:16. The Israelites who did not enter the Promised Land and died in the desert did so not only by breaking a commandment, but because they did not, by faith, enter into the rest God had provided for them. The LORD had a practical reason, a purpose for the Sabbath in addition to seeking their worship... in His concern for both their physical and spiritual well-being.

Our Sabbath rest is not in the day of the week (Romans 14:4-23); Our Sabbath rest is in Christ! This reminds us that the LORD also delivered us from the spiritual bondage of sin.

In the Old Testament the Sabbath was a day of rest and worship (Leviticus 23:3), however, Jesus brought a new understanding of the Sabbath to light by His words and deeds on the Sabbath:

Jesus allowed the hungry to harvest food. (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)
Jesus allowed a man with a withered handed to be healed. (Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11)
Jesus allowed those who rejected His teaching to witness miraculous healings. (Mark 6:1-6)
Jesus allowed a man to be delivered from demonic possession. (Luke 4:31-37)
Jesus allowed a woman disabled for 18 years to be healed. (Luke 13:10-17)
Jesus allowed caring for animals. (Luke 13:15-16)
Jesus allowed a bedridden man to be healed. (John 5:1-18)
Jesus allowed a blind man to see. (John 9:13-34)

There is a definite pattern throughout. Hungry people were fed. Disabled people were restored. Disbelieving people received a witness. Demonic afflicted people were delivered. Animals requiring care received care. Blind people received their sight. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus did not use the Sabbath to restrict people, rather, because of His love for His creation, both man and beast, He freed people.

Jesus left another correcting lesson about the Sabbath after an incident where the Lord's hungry disciples were observed picking corn on the Sabbath day:
"And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him?
How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest and ate the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with Him? And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." Mark 2:24-28.

In Jesus saying “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”, and in Paul's explanation (Colossians 2:17) "These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ," the Holy Spirit had foreshadowed Jesus Christ; for the fulfillment came in Christ's voluntary, substitutionary crucifixion as payment-in-full of every person's sin-debt to God, all who would believe and accept.

Christ demonstrated that the Sabbath was for the good of man. Inevitably, we find religious people that were offended by Jesus' deeds of mercy. They had twisted the Sabbath into a mindless and demanding routine of rigidly set religious ritual. Jesus upset their thinking because he was not focused on their routine, but upon people.

The religious authorities cared more about the day than they did about the people in need. Jesus’ actions so enraged them, they wanted to kill Him, as He informed them He had the authority to do these things because He was the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5).

In mind, body, and spirit, Christ and His body of believers are not to be divided, therefore, be kind toward “the one who is weak in faith," welcome him in love, and if need be, in tough love provide Scriptural correction and encouragement from God's own Holy Word (Romans 14:1, 14:13; 1st Corinthians 8:9)

Romans 14:4-23 tells us it is not the day of the week we worship or the foods we eat that reconcile us with God. It is through faith in God's Word, in Jesus' death on the cross and in His resurrection to new life, that we are reconciled with Him. Even the day we set aside to worship becomes sin if it is the day that we venerate, rather than our God.

Jesus demonstrated the Sabbath was a day on which we cease the mundane, a time to love our God by serving Him and others. He knew we needed a day to cease from our routine, time to turn to and communicate with our Creator in worship, in supplication, and in thanksgiving.

We set aside a time from our weekly schedule each week, but not from obligation, because our Sabbath rest is the rest we have in Christ - who is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is our inspiration whenever we seek to communicate with God through prayer, to observe the Communion service He commanded, and through the strength that He provides, we are enabled to serve our neighbor.

Reply
Oct 26, 2022 08:17:44   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
Great post

Reply
Oct 26, 2022 21:01:23   #
manning5 Loc: Richmond, VA
 
I am very curious about just one thing. Where is it written that Monday was the first day of creation? Is there an assumption here that it was? It was the convention of the times that the week began with Monday, but I have found no definite proof that God specifically selected Monday.

Yes, you do have an affinity for historical detail. I simply found a sufficing answer and let it go at that. You nailed it most thoroughly!

Reply
Oct 28, 2022 03:57:33   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
manning5 wrote:
I am very curious about just one thing. Where is it written that Monday was the first day of creation? Is there an assumption here that it was? It was the convention of the times that the week began with Monday, but I have found no definite proof that God specifically selected Monday...


Manning, To my knowledge, there was no day named Monday... or any other name in Biblical times. In Genesis, the days of the week are numbered, but not named, even the meaning of Sabbath (Shabbat ) is seventh, the seventh day of the week.

The Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle. It has 12 months, each with 29 or 30 days. Every four years, there are leap years in which an extra day is added to February and/or January.

God would not have used a calendar where each day of the week is named for a pagan deity. After writing all that follows below, I believe God would still be content with His original phrasing seen throughout the Tanakh/Old Testament: "Now, on the third day of the sixth month...."

Today, in the international standard ISO 8601, Monday (named after the Astrological Moon goddess), is treated as the first day of the week, but in the US, Canada, and Japan, it's counted as the second day of the week. Monday comes after Sunday as the 2nd day of the week in the 16th century Gregorian Calendar in use today.

The creation is recorded in Genesis 1- 2. Most of God’s creative work is done by speaking, displaying the awesome power and authority of His Word. God’s creative workweek is described:

Creation Day 1 (Genesis 1:1–5)

God created the heavens - everything beyond the earth, outer space, and the earth, made but not formed in any specific way, although water is present. God speaks light into existence, separating the light from the darkness, naming the light "day" and the dark "night."

Creation Day 2 (Genesis 1:6–8)

God creates the sky, as a barrier between water upon the earth's surface and the moisture in the air. This gives the earth an atmosphere.

Creation Day 3 (Genesis 1:9–13)

God creates dry land - Continents and islands above the water. The large bodies of water are named "seas" and the ground is called "land." God declares that all this to be good.

God creates all plant life both large and small. He creates this life to be self-sustaining; plants can reproduce. The plants were created in great diversity (many “kinds”). The earth was green and teeming with plant life. God declares that this work is also good.

Creation Day 4 (Genesis 1:14–19)

God creates all the stars and heavenly bodies, their movement will help man track time. Two great heavenly bodies are made to light the earth. The sun, the source of light, and the moon, to reflect the sun's light by night. Their movement will distinguish day from night. Again, this work is declared to be good by God.

Creation Day 5 (Genesis 1:20–23)

God creates all life that lives in the water. God also makes all the birds, and flying insects as well; unless they were made on Day 6. All are made with the ability to reproduce their species. The creatures made on Day 5 are the first blessed by God. God declares this work good.

Creation Day 6 (Genesis 1:24–31)

God creates all the creatures that live upon dry land, including every type of creature not previously included, and He creates man. God declares this work good.

When God was creating man, He took counsel with Himself. "God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness'" (Genesis 1:26). This is part of the foundation for the Trinity, as God reveals an "us" within the Godhead. God creates man in the image of God (men and women both), - special above all other creatures. God places man in authority over the earth and over all other creatures. God blesses man, commanding him to reproduce, fill the earth, and subdue it (under stewardship as authorized by God). God announces that man and all other creatures are to eat only plants. God will rescind this dietary restriction in Genesis 9:3–4, after the flood.

God’s creative work is complete at the end of the sixth day. The entire universe was fully formed in these six periods labeled as "days." At the completion of His creation, God announces that it is very good.

Creation Day 7 (Genesis 2:1–3)

God rests. This in no way indicates He was weary from His creative efforts; rather, that the creation is complete. God is establishing a pattern of one day in seven to rest, keeping this day will be a distinguishing trait of God’s chosen people, Israel (Exodus 20:8–11).

Many Christians interpret these "days" as literal, 24-hour periods, certain interpretations of these "days" suggest they were indeterminate periods of time. Regardless, the events and accomplishments of each "day" are the same.

In many languages, the names of the seven days of the week are derived from the the seven classical planets described and observed by ancient Babylonian astronomy (those visible with the naked eye), named after planetary astrological deities, a system introduced by the Sumerians, the earliest of all calendars, dating back to around 3100 B.C. The Sumerian calendar consisted of 12 lunar months, each with 29 or 30 days, used for religious purposes only unlike the everyday use of the Egyptian calendar, adopted from the Babylonians and remaining in use until the Roman Empire adopted the system during Late Antiquity.

The Julian calendar was adopted by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, consisting of 12 lunar months, each with 29 or 30 days. By the Julian reckoning, the solar year comprised 365 1/4 days, and the intercalation of a "leap day" every four years to maintain correspondence between the calendar and the seasons. It became the official calendar of the Roman Church, adopted by Emperor Constantine ca AD 325.

The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian in 1582, proclaimed by Pope Gregory XIII to be a reform, modification and replacement calendar. The beginning of the legal new year was moved from March 25 to January 1, and the Gregorian Calendar utilized a new different formula to calculate leap years. It was immediately adopted in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain, and is still regarded as one of the most accurate calendars in use throughout the world.

The Gregorian Calendar is a solar calendar, based on the movement of the Earth around the sun. One year in the Gregorian Calendar has 365.2425 days, divided into 12 months, each divided into 52 weeks, with 7 days each. Seven of the 12 months have 31 days (January, March, May, July, August, October, and December .

The original goal of the Gregorian calendar was to change the date of Easter. In 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced his Gregorian calendar, Europe still adhered to the Julian calendar, 1st implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. The Roman emperor’s system miscalculated the length of the solar year by 11 minutes, causing the calendar to fall out of sync with the seasons. This meant that Easter, traditionally observed on March 21, fell further away from the spring equinox each passing year.

The Julian calendar added an extra day in February every four years. Aloysus Lilius, the Italian scientist who developed the new system Pope Gregory unveiled in 1582, realized that the addition of these days made the calendar slightly long. He devised a variation that adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless the year is also divisible by 100; If the year is also divisible by 400, a leap day is still added resolving the lag created.

Despite Lilius’ ingenious syncing the calendar with the seasons, his system is still off by 26 seconds, resulting in a discrepancy of several hours accumulated since 1582. By the year 4909, the Gregorian calendar will be a full day ahead of the solar year.

Though Pope Gregory’s papal bull had no power beyond the Catholic Church, Catholic countries swiftly adopted the new system for their civil affairs. European Protestants, weary of its ties to Rome, were apprehensive lest it was an attempt to squelch their movement. Not until 1700 did Protestant Germany switch over, and England not until 1752. Across the Atlantic, Benjamin Franklin welcomed the change, writing, "It is pleasant for an old man to be able to go to bed on September 2, and remain there until September 14."

Orthodox countries clung tenaciously to the Julian calendar until much later, and their national churches to this day have refrained embracing Gregory’s reforms.

Between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, the Roman Empire had gradually replaced the eight-day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven-day week. The earliest historical evidence for this is a Pompeiian graffito referring to 6 February (ante diem viii idus Februarias) of the year AD 60 as dies solis ("Sunday"). Another early witness is a reference to a lost treatise by Plutarch, written ca AD 100, addressing "Why are the days named after the planets reckoned in a different order from the 'actual' order?" The treatise is lost, but the answer to the question is known; The Ptolemaic system of planetary spheres asserts that the order of the heavenly bodies, from the farthest to the closest to the Earth, objectively, are ordered from slowest to fastest moving as they appear in the night sky.

The days were named after corresponding deities of the regional culture in other languages, beginning either with Sunday or with Monday. The seven-day week was adopted in early Christianity from the Hebrew calendar, and gradually replaced the Roman nundinal cycle as the new religion spread. Sunday remained the first day of the week, as the Lord's Day, while the Jewish Sabbath remained the seventh. Emperor Constantine adopted the seven-day week for official use in AD 321, making the Day of the Sun (dies Solis) a legal holiday.

The days were named after the seven planets of pagan Astrology, in the order:

Sunday "Sun's day," the Sun is personified as Sunna/Sól.
Monday "Moon's day," the Moon is personified as Máni.
Tuesda "Tiw's day," Tiw (Norse Týr), "Day of Mars" (the Roman god of war).
Wednesday "Day of Woden/Ódinn," "Day of Mercury," Magic - Knowledge Deities.
Thursday "Thor - Thunder" "Day of Jupiter" (the Roman god of thunder).
Friday "the goddess Fríge's star' "Day of Venus."
Saturday (originally Shabbat=Seventh), "Day of Saturn," (the Roman god Saturn/Titan Cronus).

The Hebrew months were originally only numbered, but over time names were given to them. For instance, Abib, the first month of spring, means "green [ears of barley]" (this month is also called Nisan, meaning "their flight [out of Egypt]"). Later, the Jews borrowed Babylonian names for many of their months, some of which (e.g., Tammuz) refer to pagan deities.

Month From the Latin

January - Januarius, in honor of the Roman god Janus.
February - Februarius, in honor of the Roman festival of general expiation and purification.
March - Martius, in honor of the Roman god Mars.
April - Aprilis, which was derived from aperio, a Latin verb meaning to open. The month is so called because it is the month when the earth opens to produce new fruits.
May - Maius, in honor of the Greek goddess Maia.
June - Junius, in honor of the Roman goddess Juno.
July - Julius, in honor of Roman emperor Julius Caesar.
August - Augustus, in honor of Roman emperor Augustus Caesar.

The rest of the months — September, October, November, December — are derived from the Latin words for the numerals 7, 8, 9, and 10. They were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months of the old Roman calendar before July and August were inserted ahead of them.

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