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This blog is meant to encourage you to do the good works, which were prepared beforehand for those who are saved by grace through faith.  It was for these good works that the Lord created us.

As the Scripture says:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:8-10)

Resting from Work	Keeping Sundays Holy	Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday
The Lord's Day	Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II	Famous Christian Sabbath Observers
Sabbath Period	The Origin of the Sabbath	Righteous Deeds and White Robes
Doing What is Right	Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice	The Law Established Through Faith
Law of Love in the New Testament	Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?	Why Paul Lived Like a Jew Among the Jews
Is Obedience Optional?	The Cost of Discipleship	Obedience by the Spirit
The Law Fulfilled in Us	The New Covenant	Costly Grace
Partaking of the Divine Nature -- Part I	Partaking of the Divine Nature -- Part II	God Has Not Rejected His Jewish People, Has He?
Faith Works!	The Spirit's Law of Life	The Spirit of the Law
Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?	Righteousness by Faith not Law	The Ebb and Flow of Ministry for the Lord
Compelled by Love	God's Idea of Work	What Then Must We Observe
The Law is Good if Used Lawfully	The Sale of Christian Music and Art -- A Robbers' Den?	Remember the Eternal Law of God
All Our Deeds Are Known to the Lord	Practicing Your Righteousness	The Righteous Will Shine Forth as the Sun
The Ways of Life	Followers of the Way	Judging with Righteous Judgment
Holding Fast the Faithful Word	Whatever You Do, Do All Like This	The Conditional Security of the Believer
No Flesh Will Be Justified by Works	Wesley's Sunday Sabbath Keeping	Running from God
Spiritual Do-It-Yourself	Life by the Spirit, Not Under the Law	Walking by Faith
Obedient to the Heavenly Vision	The One Another Commandments	When the Lord was Angry with Moses
What Shall We Say to These Things	Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work	House of Idleness
Leaving Your Family for the Love of Christ	Overcoming the Fear of Death	Equipped for Every Good Work
Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law	Run with Endurance	Faith in Action
Seven Things That Accumulate Building Materials	Was Paul Speaking of His Past or Present Life in Romans 7?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The Good Samaritan by Dan Burr of Dan Burr Illustration copyright 2013 used by permission.

You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Seven Things That Accumulate Building Materials

Dear saints,

In 1987, a Korean pastor named Yong Park died tragically, and experienced both heaven and hell. He observed that some saints are richly rewarded in heaven, while others do not receive any reward; some saints have great big, glorious mansions in heaven, while others live in little, group homes. In fact, he saw that his own house was still small and unfinished, even after serving the Lord his whole life and pastoring a 5,000-member mega church (Mt 6:19-21). During this heavenly experience, he was told the reason for all these things. 

There are seven things you must do to build up materials, in order to build your heavenly home:

1. Worship and Praise to God

The first is your accumulation of worship and praise to God. 

Scripture says you were created to praise the Lord (Isaiah 43:21), and you are commanded to praise Him (Ps 148:5). You are commanded to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). You are to do so at all times (Heb 13:5; Psalm 34:1), even with clapping and shouting (Ps 47:1). Another way the Scripture teaches us to praise Him is with the holy dance (Ex 15:20; 2 Sam 6:14, 16; 1 Chr 15:29; Psa 30:11; 149:3; 150:4). Whenever you do these things with love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1Ti 1:5), you accumulate building materials in heaven that are used to build your home there.

2. Reading the Bible 

The second is your time spent reading the Bible. 

Read the Word, meditate on it, and scrutinize it, so you won’t be deceived (Ps 1:2; Ps 119:11, 105; Mt 4:4; 2 Tim 3:16). This also results in building materials being sent up to heaven that are used to build your mansion.

3. Praying to God

Third, your time spent praying to God. (1 The 5:17; 1 Tim 2:8; Phil 4:6; Mt 7:7). According to E.M. Bounds, in his book on the power of prayer, the average pastor only prays about five minutes per day. That is called prayerlessness, which is a sin. It was the same way in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prayed, and all His disciples were sleeping. But Jesus said, "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" (Mt 26:40). He asks you that same question today, "Could you not spend one hour with Me in prayer?" This must be a priority for each of us, because prayer is our lifeline to God.

If you have been guilty of the sin of prayerlessness, the first step is to confess it to God, repent, and ask forgiveness. Do this, rather than simply trying harder or making a resolution to pray more, because we cannot reform ourselves. Once you repent and ask forgiveness, the Lord will set you free from that sin, and you will then be able to obey Him as you ought to.

As you pray, plead the blood of Jesus, put on the full armor of God, shout to the Lord, lift your hands straight up to God, attack the demons, and engage them in battle. Ask the Lord to give you true contrition for sin and tears of repentance. Seek His face (Jer 29:13; Ps 27:8). Pray in tongues (1 Cor 2:4-5; Jude 1:20; Eph 6:18). Pray that you may love with same love with which He loves you. 

As you pray, building materials are being sent up to heaven that are used to build your mansion.

4. Evangelizing Those Who Don't Know Jesus

Fourth, your time spent evangelizing to people (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 13:10; 16:15). The reward you receive from the Lord for this does not depend on the response of the people with whom you share the gospel, but rather on your obedience to God in sharing with them. This is the Great Commission that the Lord has given to us. He who has all authority in heaven and on earth -- who gave his life on the cross for our sins and the sins of the whole world, who is not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance -- has commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. As you do so, whether it is across the street or around the world, building materials are being sent up to heaven for your mansion to be built.

5. Tithes to God

Fifth, your obedient tithes to God. The Lord commands us to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, and He promises that when we do, He will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that we will not have room enough to receive (Mal 3:8-10). You can read more about this in my article on Christian tithing. 

A man named Emmanuel Agyarko had a vision of hell, in which he said: “I saw four pastors in hell, who were there because they did not pay their tithes. One was called Albert and another was Daniel, a pastor of Church of Christ and this church does not believe in tithing. Daniel said he told his congregation not to pay tithes, as it was no longer necessary. He was in hell for basically two things: first of all, he was not paying tithes himself; and secondly, because he also stopped others from paying it. For Albert, his church believed in paying tithes, but he thought it was meant for only the congregation, and that pastors were excluded from paying it. He wished he could come back to earth to start over again and pay his tithes. The other two pastors also did not pay, and one of them, thought simply he did not think he had to pay it even though he knew he should be paying it, and the other thought ministering before God is not working, so he thought there was no need to pay any tithes.” 

In Angelica Zambrano’s visit to hell, she said she saw a man who said, “I have stolen from God...At this very moment there are many people on Earth that are robbing the Lord like I did. When you return to Earth, tell all those people who don't want to give their tithes and offerings, not to steal from the Lord, otherwise, they’ll wind up in Hell, and no thief will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”  

Another Korean pastor named Yong-Doo Kim says, “People who did not properly tithe are ending up in hell.”

When you give to God, do it with love, and give to the Lord with true love. As you do, building materials will be sent up to heaven for your home.

6. Offerings to the Lord

Sixth, your offerings to the Lord (Mt 6:19-21; Lk 6:38). We are not only to give our tithes to the Lord, which is the first ten percent, but also our offerings above and beyond that. While tithes are to be brought into the storehouse where you are fed and cared for spiritually, offerings can be given to the church, or they can be given to Christian ministries and missions, as well as anyone who is doing the Lord's work. He who sows generously will reap generously, and he who sows sparingly will reap sparingly (2 Cor 9:6). One man gives freely yet gains even more, another withholds unduly and comes to poverty. A generous man shall prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Prov 11:24-25). Offerings include our alms to the poor as well. He who is kind to the poor will be blessed, because he honors the Lord (Prov 19:17). Whenever you give offerings, you will be accumulating building materials in heaven for your home.

7. Serving the Body of Christ

Seventh, your time spent serving the church in any way (Mt 20:28; Gal 5:13; 6:10; 1 Pet 4:10). You should have a servant's heart and do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The fruit God wants is your personal love, your personal help, and your personal concern. When you see an individual hurting and your own heart actually hurts with them, this is when you care! God's desire is that we be like Jesus, and we will always find Him moving in the areas of human need.

God desires for us to do good to all men, especially to the household of God (Gal 6:10). He wants us to represent Jesus and to be like Him. When you are helping people, you become a living word to them which says, "I care and God cares for you!" We become a word that is alive to them -- a living word.

Any Christian can accumulate building materials every day, because there are people who need help every day! When we care for them, we are bringing the heart of God to them in their place of need. When we do this for God, something goes into our storehouse in heaven!

Closing Words

This message is only for those who have been born again, and know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This message is not explaining how to get to heaven, because you cannot get to heaven by your own good works, rather you must be born again. 

These are the deeds or works of obedience in which one who is saved accumulates materials for his Heavenly home. If one is lacking in these areas, he will have no materials to build his home. Whenever you do something with faith, whatever it is, Jesus will build your house bigger and higher.

Attributes: Most Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Faith in Action, Run with Endurance, Faith Works, Walking by Faith, Obedient to the Heavenly Vision, The Four Tallest Homes in Heaven, Living on Earth as They Do in Heaven, Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law

In my article The Spirit's Law of Life, I have written about the biblical expression, known as "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", which is used in the New Testament Scriptures to refer to the rule of life in the Kingdom of God for all those who believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I call it "the gospel law" or "the gospel rule", which we must obey. As I wrote in that article, there are seven expressions used in the New Testament Scriptures to refer to this gospel rule, and one of them is "the law that gives freedom", which is found in James. He wrote: "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom," (Jas 2:12). 

In today's post, I simply want to share with you a couple of excerpts from the commentaries on that verse by two famous and well-respected English preachers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries -- Matthew Henry and John Wesley, equating "the law of liberty" with the gospel. I hadn't realized that they did so until after I had written that previous article of mine, but now that I have discovered what they wrote, I want to post it here in support of my point.

John Wesley

When I checked, out of curiosity, to see what Wesley had to say about the law of liberty, here is what I found. He wrote:

"So speak and act - In all things. As they that shall be judged - Without respect of persons. By the law of liberty - The gospel; the law of universal love, which alone is perfect freedom. For their transgressions of this, both in word and deed, the wicked shall be condemned; and according to their works, done in obedience to this, the righteous will be rewarded."

Wesley understood that the law of liberty that James spoke about refers to the gospel, saying that it is the law of universal love. I know that it's a foreign concept for most people these days to think of the gospel as a law, but it's biblical, and it alone is perfect freedom, as Wesley stated. He often follows what Matthew Henry said in the century before him, but usually says it in much more concise terms. 

Matthew Henry 

Here is what Matthew Henry believed as I do that the law of liberty is the law of Christ (1 Co 9:21). In his commentary on James 2:12, he wrote:

"James directs Christians to govern and conduct themselves more especially by the law of Christ. So speak and so do as those that shall be judged by the law of liberty, Jas_2:12. This will teach us, not only to be just and impartial, but very compassionate and merciful to the poor; and it will set us perfectly free from all sordid and undue regards to the rich. Observe here, 

1. The gospel is called a law. It has all the requisites of a law: precepts with rewards and punishments annexed; it prescribes duty, as well as administers comfort; and Christ is a king to rule us as well as a prophet to teach us, and a priest to sacrifice and intercede for us. We are under the law to Christ. 

2. It is a law of liberty, and one that we have no reason to complain of as a yoke or burden; for the service of God, according to the gospel, is perfect freedom; it sets us at liberty from all slavish regards, either to the persons or the things of this world. 

3. We must all be judged by this law of liberty. Men's eternal condition will be determined according to the gospel; this is the book that will be opened, when we shall stand before the judgment-seat; there will be no relief to those whom the gospel condemns, nor will any accusation lie against those whom the gospel justifies. 

4. It concerns us therefore so to speak and act now as become those who must shortly be judged by this law of liberty; that is, that we come up to gospel terms, that we make conscience of gospel duties, that we be of a gospel temper, and that our conversation be a gospel conversation, because by this rule we must be judged. 

5. The consideration of our being judged by the gospel should engage us more especially to be merciful in our regards to the poor (Jas_2:13): For he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shown no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Take notice here, (1.) The doom which will be passed upon impenitent sinners at last will be judgment without mercy; there will be no mixtures or allays in the cup of wrath and of trembling, the dregs of which they must drink. (2.) Such as show no mercy now shall find no mercy in the great day. But we may note, on the other hand, (3.) That there will be such as shall become instances of the triumph of mercy, in whom mercy rejoices against judgment: all the children of men, in the last day, will be either vessels of wrath or vessels of mercy. It concerns all to consider among which they shall be found; and let us remember that blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

That was so well stated. Just to recap some of his key points, he wrote, The gospel is called a law, Christ is a king to rule us, and we are under the law of Christ, which is a law of liberty, an easy a yoke and a light burden; for serving God, according to the gospel, is perfect freedom, and we must all be judged by this law of liberty that will determine the eternal condition of all men. Therefore, we must speak and act now as becomes those who must shortly be judged by this law of liberty;

Closing Words

I think that both Henry and Wesley made excellent points, and I couldn't have said it better myself. I hope this has helped to explain and clarify the doctrine of obedience to the gospel that I teach, in accordance with Scripture, as well as the expression "the gospel law", that I wrote about in my article on The Spirit's Law of Life. If you have not read it, I encourage you to do so.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible NIV.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, please see The Spirit's Law of Life and Part II to that article, called The Spirit of the Law.  You may also like Law of Love in the New Testament, Led by the Spirit, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Fully Equipped for Every Good Work

When it comes to being prepared for works of service, that is something that every believer needs, because we are created to do good works (Eph 2:10). The process of being equipped takes time and we should be careful not to try and take shortcuts with it.

The apostle Paul said, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2Ti 3:16-17, NASB)

Notice that he said the servant of God should be adequate and equipped. The Greek word for adequate is artios, which means perfect or complete. The King James uses the word perfect and the ESV uses the word perfect, both of which more accurately translate the original word in the text. The Greek word for equipped here is exartizō, which means to finish out, to equip thoroughly, to thoroughly furnish. This word exartizō is actually a derivative of the first word artios, so when you put these two words side by side, as they are in the passage, artios exartizō, it means completely furnished, perfectly finished out, or thoroughly equipped.

The Lord's purpose is that you should be completely equipped, therefore that should be your goal. You should want to get everything the Lord has for you, so that you are not missing anything at the end of the day. Let Him furnish you completely with all the tools, equipment, and training that you will need to get the job done.

When I was in Army Airborne School, we had three weeks of training to equip us to become paratroopers that would jump out of planes. Week one was ground week when we learned all the things we needed to know how to do on the ground like parachute landing falls (PLFs). Week two was tower week when we learned all that we needed to know how to do in the plane before, during, and after jumping from the plane, as well as during our descent to the ground. Week three was jump week when we actually performed our day jumps and night jumps to qualify as paratroopers and graduate with our Airborne wings. All that training consisted of instruction from Jump Masters, practice, issuing equipment to us that we learned to use, and performing our qualifying jumps from the aircraft.

What if I had tried to shortcut that equipping process? What if I had skipped tower week and not learned how to properly exit the aircraft? What if I had not properly secured my parachute harness and not checked it before jumping, and my chute came off upon deploying when I jumped from the plane? What if I got on the plane and didn't receive a parachute at all and then jumped without one?  Any of these shortcuts would be foolish, resulting in either serious injury or death. 

The same applies to the training and equipping we receive from the Lord for service unto Him. My equipping included participation in worship services and home group meetings, receiving teaching, counseling, and mentoring. It also included Bible reading, studying the Scriptures, Bible School training, Divinity School training at the graduate level, lots of practicum work putting what I had learned into practice in the homes, hospitals, prisons, and streets here in the US and overseas. There were many people involved and many experiences that I had to go through. It's normal to want to get the equipping over with and go "do the stuff." But let's not be in a rush and miss something important the Lord has for us. Let your attitude be that you want to get everything God has for you.

By listing some of the things the Lord used to prepare me, I am not saying every believer must go through Bible school or graduate school. I am simply giving examples from my own life and encouraging you not to take shortcuts in the process.

As Paul told Timothy, the Lord uses the Scriptures to equip His servants, but He also uses other servants for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness with the Scriptures. So this does not happen in a void, but with others whom God uses, namely apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, which we call the five-fold ministry gifts. As Paul said, "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up..." (Eph 4:11-12). 

Therefore the purpose of these five-fold ministry gifts is not to do all the works of service themselves, but to equip God's people for works of service. The end goal of this equipping is for those who are being equipped to do the works of service that they were created for.

How long does it take for the Body of Christ to be built up like this? Paul said it needs to happen "...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph 4:13). I see at least three end results there in that passage: 1) we all reach unity in the faith and in the the knowledge of the Son of God, 2) we all become mature. and 3) we all attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

What will we be like when we reach those goals? Paul said, "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." (Eph 4:14-15). We will become the mature Body of Christ in every respect, which means we will lack nothing.

So let God fully equip you for works of service, and don't be in rush to get through it or in some cases to get that piece of paper that says you graduated. Instead let Him totally outfit you. Let Him do the work He needs to do inside of you and grow you into a mature member of Christ's Body.

One way that I can offer to you to become equipped is our free, three-year Doulos Training School, which is a discipleship training school that provides Biblical instruction, discipleship, practical experience, and accountability. If you would like to find out more about it, please see this link.

Attributes: Most Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission. Where noted, Scripture taken from the NASB version, copyright The Lockman Foundation, all rights reserved, used by permission. Image copyright Walker Ministries, Virginia Beach, use per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only. 

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like ,Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Faith Works, Pleasing the Lord, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org. 

Life by the Spirit, Not Under the Law

I would like to encourage you today to consider what the apostle Paul taught us about living by the Spirit rather than under the Law. He taught this all throughout his epistles, but he emphasized it very much in his letter to the Galatians.

Despite having come to Christ, the Galatians were foolishly turning back to special days, months, seasons, and years, as well as circumcision, in order to be justified before God. However, these are merely shadows and types found in the law that point to the realities found in Christ. He wrote to them:

"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?...But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!" (Gal 3:3; 4:9-10, NIV 1978)

As he wrote to the Colossians, "These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Col 2:17, NIV). We no longer need to turn back to shadows when we have Christ. Reality is found in Christ!

Paul taught that we are justified by faith and not by observing the law. He told of one incident when he had said these words to the apostle Peter, who was being influenced by Judaizers: “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified." (Gal 2:15-16, NIV).

He said, “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses." (Ac 13:38-39, NIV). Or as the 1978 NIV puts it, "Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses." (Ac 13:39, NIV 78).

Paul clearly described his relationship to the law as having died to it. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:19-20, NIV). Notice he said it was through the law that he died to the law.

However, he also said it was through the body of Christ that we died to the law. "So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God...But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Rom 7:4,6. NIV)

Paul explained that righteousness cannot be gained through the law. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Gal 2:21, NIV). "Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because 'the righteous will live by faith.'” (Gal 3:11, NIV). He said it this way to the Romans: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin...For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." (Rom 3:20,28, NIV).

Paul proved from Scripture that not only is it impossible for anyone to be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law, but anyone who relies on the works of the law is under a curse. He wrote: "For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.'" (Gal 3:10 NIV). So not only is it a bad idea to rely on the law for justification, but it will actually bring a curse on you.

Dear people, we are set free from the curse, since Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Paul said, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'" (Gal 3:13, NIV 78).

Be careful that you are not trying to be justified by the law, or else you will alienate yourself from Christ and fall from His grace. "You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." (Gal 5:4, NIV).

We need to understand that we are no longer under the law's supervision. As Paul said, "Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." (Gal 3:25, NIV 78). That means we don't need it's shadows and types, since we live by faith in Christ. We no longer need circumcision, which has no value in Christ. The only thing that counts now is faith expressing itself through love. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Gal 5:6, NIV). What counts is a new creation! "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation." (Gal 6:15, NIV).

The one command that sums up the entire law is "Love your neighbor as yourself." Paul said, "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Gal 5:14, NIV). By obeying this command, you fulfill the entire law. "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal 6:2, NIV).

But love is not something the flesh can produce, because it is a fruit of the Spirit. You can only produce love if you are living by the Spirit. Conversely those who live by the Spirit won't gratify the desires of the sinful nature, but will bear the fruit of the Spirit, against which there is no law. "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." (Gal 5:16, NIV). As long as you are living by the Spirit, you won't be able to sin or violate the law of God. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal 5:22-23, NIV). There is no law against anything the Spirit of God produces in your life as you live to please Him.

That's why we must always sow to please the Spirit. "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Gal 6:8, NIV). Without faith, it’s impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).

In all of this, let's remember that we don't nullify the law by this faith, rather we uphold the law (Rom 3:31). "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." (Rom 2:13, NIV).

Just because we are under grace and not under law, that does not mean we should continue to sin. "For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!" (Rom 6:14-15, NIV).

Obedience is Essential for Disciples
I have written in many of my articles about the Law and the Spirit, and the need for obedience, which I would encourage you to read at the links below, especially the first two in the left-hand column:

Is Obedience Optional? The Law of Christ  The Law Fulfilled in Us The Law Established Through Faith The Cost of Discipleship The New Covenant Costly Grace Deleted Scriptures in the Bible? Faith Works! The Obedience of Faith Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth? Law of Love in the New Testament Righteousness by Faith and Not Law Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law

The Law is Good if Used Lawfully      Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God Aim for Perfection Righteous Deeds and White Robes Doing What is Right Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice Partaking of the Divine Nature Walking in the Perfect Will of God Pressing on Toward the Goal Obedience by the Spirit The Spirit's Law of Life The Spirit of the Law What Then Must We Observe? The Flesh vs. the Spirit

Putting it All Together
If you have come to know Christ as your Lord and Savior and you have been born again, then you have died to the law and are redeemed from its curse. You are no longer under its supervision. You have died to what once bound you. You have been released from the law so that you serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. You no longer need the shadows and types that were found in the rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices of the law, because you now have the realities of those things, which are found in Christ.

If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! No one who relies on the law is justified before God, and no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law. Those who seek to be justified by the law are under a curse. They have become estranged from Christ and fallen from grace.

We maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Indeed the righteous will live by faith. Just as we come to Christ by faith and are born of the Spirit, we must continue to live by faith and live by the Spirit. After coming to Christ by the Spirit, we cannot attain our goal by human effort, no matter how valiantly we may try. Yet we have an obligation to obey God's commandments and we fulfill the entire law by loving our neighbor as ourselves. We fulfill it by bearing one another's burdens.

This is why we need to read the Word of God, press into the Lord in prayer, really get to know Him intimately, and seek to please the Spirit. Then we will bear the fruit of the Spirit against which there is no law.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like By the Spirit of God Alone, Led by the Spirit - Part I, Led by the Spirit - Part II, Baptized with the Spirit, Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit: What's the Difference?, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Spiritual Do-It-Yourself

Dear brethren in the faith,

I want to write to you today about something that we don't hear much about these days, in my opinion. I certainly believe in preaching about what God and His Son Jesus Christ have done and continue to do for us, which is of paramount importance, and if you know me, then you know that I do preach that message.  For example, you will find articles of mine like Christ Alone, By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone, Righteousness By Faith Not Law, No Flesh Will Be Justified By Works, Election and Predestination, Keeping Power of God, You Must Be Born Again, God Forgives and Forgets, Who Intercedes for Us?, and The Witness of the Spirit.

However, today I want to talk to you about the things that God will not do for you, but which you must do yourself with the help of the Holy Spirit. I have written many articles on this topic, such as Faith Works!, because this is what the Word teaches and emphasizes to us as believers. So rather than rewrite all those articles, I would like to be concise and simply give you some examples. Some of the things God will not do for you include the following: repenting for your sin, Seeking the Lord, being Crucified with Christ, being water baptized, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Keeping a Good Conscience, Avoiding Becoming a Corrupted Christian, Walking in Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Keeping Oneself from Being Polluted by the World, Overcoming the World, living a life of Separation from the World, Avoiding Worldly Worship, Pleasing the Lord, Being a Witness for Christ, giving offerings, Tithing, Fasting, humbling yourself beneath God's mighty hand, Having a Servant's Heart, Keeping the Marriage Bed Holy, doing everything For the Glory of God Alone, Loving Deeply, Abiding in Christ, Practicing the Presence of the Lord, Walking in the Light of His Presence, Reading the Bible, listening to the Word, praying and claiming His Promises, putting on The Wardrobe of the Saints, which includes the full armor of God; battling in Spiritual Warfare, resisting the devil, Inquiring of the Lord, maintaining Unbroken Communion with God, Listening to Jesus, Standing in the Gap, working out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling, obeying the Lord, Doing What is Right, doing everything the Lord has commanded, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, Practicing Your Righteousness, helping those who are weak, looking after orphans and widows, Pressing on Toward the Goal, Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Aiming for Perfection, Leading a Blameless Life, Wearing Garments of Godliness, being Led by the Spirit, Doing Everything with Love, with Thanks, in the Name of Jesus, and as Unto the Lord; Praising the Lord, Laying on of Hands, Resting from Work, Keeping Sundays Holy, and Entering God's Rest. Remember that faith without deeds is useless (Js 2:26).

We should also understand that even some of the things that God does for us are not entirely without our involvement. We must still pray to receive His wonderful gifts of salvation, The Baptism with the Holy Spirit and The Baptism with Fire. On the other hand, even the things that He will not do for us, we cannot do without Him. For we must always remember that we can do nothing without Him, as Jesus said, "apart from Me you can do nothing." (Jn 15:5b, NIV). We need His help in all we do, so "Do-It-Yourself" is somewhat of a misnomer. We are not independent of God, but rather completely dependent upon Him. We put no confidence in the flesh, but our confidence is in the Lord.

I hope this has encouraged you in your walk with God to take an active role in it. He still loves you, but His standard for heaven is high. Be sure you don't miss heaven for anything.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, "Faith Works" image courtesy Media Machine. The Do It Yourself and Faith Works images are used according to the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Conditional Security of the Believer, If -- A Picture Paints a Thousand Words, the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Wesley's Sunday Sabbath Keeping

John Wesley

Since the earliest days of the church, immediately following the resurrection, the Church has been meeting for worship on the first day of the week (Joh 20:19; Ac 20:7-8; 1 Cor 16:2), and the apostles recognized the first day of the week as the Lord's Day. For example, the apostle John wrote, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev 1:10), which is a reference to his worship on the first day of the week. Although some who believe in Saturday sabbath teach that the expression used in this verse refers to the seventh day, that view contradicts the evidence from early Christian writers that wrote in the days immediately following the apostles. Dr. Stephen Flick has written an article containing quotes from those writers, called Sunday Worship or the Lord’s Day in the Early Christianity, proving that "the Lord's Day" was always synonymous with the first day of the week.

As I mentioned in my previous article, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, John Wesley was a famous preacher who kept the Christian Sabbath. I read a comment made by a reader of one of his sermons posted online about the Sabbath, in which the reader wondered why the Methodists worship on Sunday, since their founder Wesley was a Sabbath keeper. The reason is that he believed Sunday was the Sabbath day of the New Covenant, and it is clearly evident throughout his journals that he kept the Lord's Day holy. This can easily be proven by doing a search on the word "Sunday" in his journals posted online.

One of John Wesley's favorite Bible commentators was Matthew Henry (October 18, 1662 – June 20, 1714), who was a Nonconformist minister and author, born in Wales but spending much of his life in England. Incidentally, Henry happens to be my favorite Bible commentator, as well. John Wesley was a great preacher, teacher, evangelist and the founder of Methodism. He was born June 17, 1703 in Epworth, England. In his own commentary of the Bible, John Wesley's Explanatory Notes, he often quoted Henry without using quotes or crediting Henry. He shared many of the same views as Henry, just as I do. So my beliefs are very much in harmony with both of these men. For the sake of today's topic, let's look particularly at the commentaries of these two men on the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8, in order to understand what they believed about the sabbath. The Scripture says:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who [a]stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy." (Ex 20:8-12).

Matthew Henry	John Wesley
The fourth commandment concerns the time of worship. God is to be served and honoured daily, but one day in seven is to be particularly dedicated to his honour and spent in his service.	The fourth commandment concerns the time of worship; God is to be served and honoured daily; but one day in seven is to be particularly dedicated to his honour, and spent in his service.
It is taken for granted that the sabbath was instituted before; we read of God's blessing and sanctifying a seventh day from the beginning (Gen_2:3), so that this was not the enacting of a new law, but the reviving of an old law.	It is taken for granted that the sabbath was instituted before. We read of God's blessing and sanctifying a seventh day from the beginning, Gen_2:3, so that this was not the enacting of a new law, but the reviving of an old law.
They are told what is the day they must religiously observe - a seventh, after six days' labour; whether this was the seventh by computation from the first seventh, or from the day of their coming out of Egypt, or both, is not certain:	They are told what is the day, they must observe, a seventh after six days labour, whether this was the seventh by computation from the first seventh, or from the day of their coming out of Egypt, or both, is not certain.
How it must be observed. First, As a day of rest; they were to do no manner of work on this day in their callings or worldly business.	How it must be observed; As a day of rest; they were to do no manner of work on this day, in their worldly business.
As a holy day, set apart to the honour of the holy God, and to be spent in holy exercises. God, by blessing it, had made it holy; they, by solemnly blessing him, must keep it holy, and not alienate it to any other purpose than that for which the difference between it and other days was instituted.	As a holy day, set apart to the honour of the holy God, and to be spent in holy exercises. God, by his blessing it, had made it holy; they, by solemn blessing him, must keep it holy, and not alienate it to any other purpose than that for which the difference between it and other days was instituted.
Who must observe it: Thou, and thy son, and thy daughter; the wife is not mentioned, because she is supposed to be one with the husband and present with him, and, if he sanctify the sabbath, it is taken for granted that she will join with him; but the rest of the family are specified. Children and servants must keep the sabbath, according to their age and capacity: in this, as in other instances of religion, it is expected that masters of families should take care, not only to serve the Lord themselves, but that their houses also should serve him, at least that it may not be through their neglect if they do not, Jos_24:15.
Even the proselyted strangers must observe a difference between this day and other days, which, if it laid some restraint upon them then, yet proved a happy indication of God's gracious purpose, in process of time, to bring the Gentiles into the church, that they might share in the benefit of sabbaths. Compare Isa_56:6, Isa_56:7.	Even the proselyted strangers must observe a difference between this day and other days, which, if it laid some restraint upon them then, yet proved a happy indication of God's gracious design, to bring the Gentiles into the church.
God takes notice of what we do, particularly what we do on sabbath days, though we should be where we are strangers.	By the sanctification of the sabbath, the Jews declared that they worshipped the God that made the world, and so distinguished themselves from all other nations, who worshipped gods which they themselves made.
A particular memorandum put upon this duty: Remember it. It is intimated that the sabbath was instituted and observed before; but in their bondage in Egypt they had lost their computation, or were restrained by their task-masters, or, through a great degeneracy and indifference in religion, they had let fall the observance of it, and therefore it was requisite they should be reminded of it.	A late pious Writer seems to prove, That the sabbath was changed, when Israel came out of Egypt; which change continued till our Lord rose again: But that then the Original Sabbath was restored. And he makes it highly probable, at least, That the sabbath we observe, is the seventh day from the creation.
Note, Neglected duties remain duties still, notwithstanding our neglect. It also intimates that we are both apt to forget it and concerned to remember it. Some think it denotes the preparation we are to make for the sabbath; we must think of it before it comes, that, when it does come, we may keep it holy, and do the duty of it.
The reasons of this command. [1.] We have time enough for ourselves in those six days, on the seventh day let us serve God; and time enough to tire ourselves, on the seventh it will be a kindness to us to be obliged to rest.
This is God's day: it is the sabbath of the Lord thy God, not only instituted by him, but consecrated to him. It is sacrilege to alienate it; the sanctification of it is a debt.[3.] It is designed for a memorial of the creation of the world, and therefore to be observed to the glory of the Creator, as an engagement upon ourselves to serve him and an encouragement to us to trust in him who made heaven and earth. By the sanctification of the sabbath, the Jews declared that they worshipped the God that made the world, and so distinguished themselves from all other nations, who worshipped gods which they themselves made.
God has given us an example of rest, after six days' work: he rested the seventh day, took a complacency in himself, and rejoiced in the work of his hand, to teach us, on that day, to take a complacency in him, and to give him the glory of his works, Psa_92:4.	God has given us an example of rest after six days work; he rested the seventh day - Took a complacency in himself, and rejoiced in the work of his hand, to teach us on that day, to take a complacency in him, and to give him the glory of his works.
The sabbath began in the finishing of the work of creation, so will the everlasting sabbath in the finishing of the work of providence and redemption; and we observe the weekly sabbath in expectation of that, as well as in remembrance of the former, in both conforming ourselves to him we worship.	The sabbath begun in the finishing of the work of creation; so will the everlasting sabbath in the finishing of the work of providence and redemption; and we observe the weekly sabbath in expectation of that, as well as in remembrance of the former, in both conforming ourselves to him we worship.
He has himself blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. He has put an honour upon it by setting it apart for himself; it is the holy of the Lord and honourable: and he has put blessings into it, which he has encouraged us to expect from him in the religious observance of that day. It is the day which the Lord hath made,	He hath himself blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. He hath put an honour upon it; it is holy to the Lord, and honourable; and he hath put blessings into it which he hath encouraged us to expect from him in the religious observation of that day.
let not us do what we can to unmake it. He has blessed, honoured, and sanctified it,
Let not us profane it, dishonour it, and level that with common time which God's blessing has thus dignified and distinguished.	Let us not profane, dishonour, and level that with common time, which God's blessing hath thus dignified and distinguished.

As you can see, their views were very similar, if not identical. John Wesley practically copied and pasted everything Henry had to say about this topic.

Matthew Henry

I would like to draw particular attention to one comment that John Wesley made here. He said, "A late pious Writer seems to prove, That the sabbath was changed, when Israel came out of Egypt; which change continued till our Lord rose again: But that then the Original Sabbath was restored. And he makes it highly probable, at least, That the sabbath we observe, is the seventh day from the creation." Wesley believed that the sabbath we observe on Sunday is the true seventh day from creation, if you were to compute the day back to the original week of creation. He mentions a "late pious Writer" as his reason for believing this. Since we know who his favorite Bible commentator was, and since his views on the sabbath were essentially identical to Henry's, we can assume that he was referring here to Henry.

In Henry's commentary, he stated: "A particular memorandum put upon this duty: Remember it. It is intimated that the sabbath was instituted and observed before; but in their bondage in Egypt they had lost their computation, or were restrained by their task-masters, or, through a great degeneracy and indifference in religion, they had let fall the observance of it, and therefore it was requisite they should be reminded of it."

Henry was saying that God commanded the Israelites to remember the sabbath, which implied that the sabbath already existed from the beginning, and had been observed at some point prior to the giving of the Ten Commandments. He cited three possible reasons why the Jews needed to be commanded to remember the sabbath. One possible reason was that while they were slaves in Egypt, they lost track of which day the sabbath occurred. Another possibility is that their task masters prevented them from keeping it holy. A third possibility is that they degenerated spiritually or became indifferent, and simply stopped observing it. It seems certain that one of these three would have happened, and that is why Wesley says that this "pious Writer seems to prove that the sabbath was changed when Israel came out of Egypt."

The day on which the Jews observed the sabbath remained the same from the time of their wilderness wanderings until the time of Christ, although it was not the seventh day from the Creation. But then at our Lord's resurrection, which according to their calendar at that time was on the first day of the week, the original Sabbath was restored. At that point, God knew exactly which day the true sabbath should be kept, based on the computation of weeks dating back to the Creation. Wesley said that Henry made it very probable that now the sabbath we observe on Sundays is the actual seventh day from the creation. I believe this is very possible. In fact, it is quite probable, and is perhaps the best explanation I have ever heard. 

I also believe that God might have simply changed it so that instead of giving God the last day of the week, we now give Him the first day of the week in worship. Instead of resting after we have worked for six days, we rest on the first day before we begin our work week, as a reminder that now our whole life must be spent in a state of rest and trust in Him. It is also a reminder that we are not returning to observing the Law of Moses, or becoming Jewish, and by resting on the first day, it sets us apart. Likewise, since God created light on the first day of the week, we remember that Jesus is the Light. We are reminded to walk in the light as He is in the light. Just as He rose again from the dead on the first day of the week, we celebrate His resurrection on that day. We are reminded that if we have died with Christ, we will also live with Him (Ro 6:8).

In all likelihood, the explanation I have just given and the ones Henry gave are both correct. Not only was God restoring the original sabbath when Christ rose again, but He was also making all things new (Rev 21:5). This would be consistent with other things that God instituted with the New Covenant. Not only did He give us a New Covenant, (Jer 31:31; Heb 8:8; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), but He has also given us new wine, which flows from the Father in heaven by the Spirit (Mt 9:17). He also gave us a new life (Rom 6:4) and a new self (Col 3:10; Eph 4:24). 

Likewise, when Jesus instituted the New Covenant at the Last Supper, which took place on the Last Passover (Mt 26:17-20), He did not use lamb's meat as the emblem of his body. He used bread and wine, which was new symbolism. The bread represents his body, not lamb's meat, because He is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29; Rev 6:16;17:14; 21:27; 22:3). Otherwise we would have to slaughter a lamb every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, and He has not called us to return to animal sacrifices. He sacrificed His body once for all as the final sacrifice (Heb 7:27; 10:10,12). We now have a better sacrifice. When Jesus fulfilled the Passover, He changed it and gave us the Lord's Supper as a new ceremony instead, and said that whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim His death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26). 

Moreover, instead of circumcision, we now have water baptism as the ceremony for those who decide to follow Jesus and become His disciples. Instead of this ceremony being done as a baby, eight days after birth, it is now done to newborn believers. "All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:3-4).

Similarly, just as Jesus fulfilled the Passover and gave us a New Covenant with new elements, as well as water baptism to replace circumcision, so too, when He rose again, He gave us a new sabbath day of worship -- the Lord's Day. Since He is the Lord of the Sabbath, He has the authority to do this (Mt 12:8; Mk 2:28). Old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17). While we must obey God's commandments, we do so according to the Spirit, rather than the letter. "We serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter" (Rom 7:6). Let this be an encouragement to us all to keep Sundays holy, just as Wesley, Henry, the first Christians, and the apostles did.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. 

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this message, you may also be interested in the other posts on this blog, available through the Home page, especially Resting from Work , Keeping Sundays Holy -- Part I, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, and Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday. I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, which I discovered after writing this article, as well as Zipporah Mushala’s Second Testimony of Hell, in which she saw a man of God in hell for relying on His obedience to the Law to save him. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.