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The Nine Commandments
July 05, 2015
A lot of folks, preachers included, call for Christians to keep the ten commandments as delivered by Moses -- or, at least, their updated version of those ten! Nine of the ten commandments are universal laws of God that were effective then and effective now. The tenth, that of keeping the Sabbath day holy, appears to have been designed primarily for the forty-year trek through the wilderness. Jesus and His apostles broke the Sabbath, and did not explicitly tell others to keep it. - Bernie Parsons
The Nine Commandments
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 07-05-2015
Presented to Load church of Christ on 08-23-2015
Many who profess Christianity promote keeping the Ten Commandments of
the Old Testament.
I am the Lord thy God.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
Honor thy Father and Mother.
Thou shalt not murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet.
What they willfully or ignorantly overlook is that Jesus and His
apostles and disciples promoted only nine of the ten. The one that they
broke and did not tell others to keep was the one that said to “Remember
the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.”
Matthew 19:16 "And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master,
what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good
but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou
shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear
false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself."
Romans 13:8 "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that
loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou
shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not
covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended
in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the
fulfilling of the law."
Keeping the Sabbath Day was not mentioned by Jesus or Paul in the
preceding passages.
Matthew 22:35 "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a
question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
The first three commandments easily fall with the first great
commandment, and the remaining six fit well into the second great
commandment. The Sabbath Day fits neither well, if at all.
Matthew 12:1 "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the
corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of
corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy
disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an
hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which
was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but
only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the
priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they
asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they
might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall
have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he
not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to
do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched
it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other."
Mark 3:1 "And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man
there which had a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day;
that they might accuse him.
3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days,
or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved
for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth
thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as
the other.
6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the
Herodians against him, how they might destroy him."
Luke 13:10 "And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity
eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up
herself.
12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her,
Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight,
and glorified God.
14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because
that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people,
There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come
and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each
one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and
lead him away to watering?
16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan
hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the
sabbath day?"
John 5:9 “And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed,
and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath
day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take
up thy bed, and walk.
12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up
thy bed, and walk?
13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed
himself away, a multitude being in that place.
14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold,
thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made
him whole.
16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him,
because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only
had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making
himself equal with God."
Mark 2:23 "And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on
the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the
ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath
day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had
need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high
priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for
the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for
the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
The Sabbath was made to serve man, not man to serve the Sabbath. It
served them well during the forty years forced march in the wilderness.
It is not needed in the Christian life.
