Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

Matt.12:9 He departed there, and went into their synagogue.
12:10 And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?" that they might accuse him. 12:11 He said to them, "What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won't he grab on to it, and lift it out? 12:12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day." 12:13 Then he told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other.

What is the purpose of God's Sabbath? Man labors all the days of his life, in Israel one day out of the work week God made a day of rest, a day of worship, a day of good works in sharing the blessings of God, each one with his neighbor. God made a law that one must not do certain things on the Sabbath day of rest such as work for themselves. This was God's day, one day out of a person life to reflect upon things of God had done, such as faith that God would take care of his peoples needs. To reflect upon God's past acts towards his people, a day to remember and worship in thanks giving towards God.

Matthew 23:26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.

But what happens when the rule of law becomes greater than the reason God gave Israel the Sabbath in the first place? Evil! Here Christ Jesus the Son of God healed a man with a withered hand, and these false teachers put the rule of law over the good Christ did for God on his day of rest from human work, condemning the man and Christ as promoting law breaking on the Sabbath.

3 John 1:11 Beloved, don't imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn't seen God.

1 John 3:12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

2 Peter 2:10 but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries;

Today in a world far removed from Israel Sabbath day, we have religion promoting certain days to fill the churches for profit in legislating judgment for those not keeping the so called Sabbath day of rest. Much like these self-righteous teachers of God's law, the Pharisee's, they use God's word for their own works in running a business in the name of God.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

John 2:15 He made a whip of cords, and threw all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables.
Christ the one doing this good work for God, how do we know this work was from God? Christ was full of light, he was indwelt with the life of this Father YHWH, he did nothing of his own originality, what came through him was God's work simply because he did not do his own works. However, here is the point false religion makes in understanding the temporary picture of the Great Sabbath of God, and what was that? God rest towards mankind, that is, his judgment can be set aside by only one thing only that one thing these Jews should have been mediating upon under the physical Sabbath day in Israel, was what?

Ezekiel 46:12 When the prince shall prepare a freewill offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to Yahweh, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

Blood! Yes, God's rest was found in the blood of an innocent victim pour out upon the altar atoning for sins against God. In other words, to stop God's wrath or judgment of sin in us; blood has to atone for our sins. God is not at peace with law breakers, or is he at peace with sinners justifying themselves by keeping some rule of law, claiming such is greater than the innocent blood spell upon the altar. In other words, without the blood a person could not keep the law, the first step to doing the works of God, and not man's!

Matthew 26:28 for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.

Hebrews 9:22 According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.

Christ after dying for us Christian's would bring us into God rest day, removing our judgments by God's righteous laws, once for all times. Those cleansed from the blood of Christ must rest from their works, and what works would that be? Justification of themselves by claiming they have made themselves righteous by a good work (keeping a commandment, or the old law.) they were doing for God. They must be made righteous by God from innocent life provide for them by God, and rest from their works of law. The word works of law is very confusing to most of us, we think of only the Pharisee's, and some time Israel God's people proving themselves righteous by commandments. However, being self-righteous can come from wearing certain clothing, the type of work we do, the color of our hair, the religion we go to and so on . . .

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure. I am clean and without sin?"

Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn't sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.

In other words, we can be self-righteous by anything under the Sun making ourselves an idolater if we chose to think ourselves better than innocent blood God provides for us in Christ Jesus life. Why blood? The question should be, why must we understand the Sabbath rest day? Because if we answer that question we will get the answer for why the blood?

1 Peter 3:21 This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you--not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day.

Rom.8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.{NU omits "who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit"} 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. 8:3 For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.

Sin! There is no human born on earth that does not sin, we are then found in a dark hole dying with no way out or up. We are judged dead in God's eyes, and we cannot rest (fighting to get out of the home, by proving our worthy by some redemption coming from our own works. That is, our education, wealth, looks, our jokes, what ever makes us acceptable to other humans so we are accepted by them into their world. The Sabbath day of God is not about man's acceptance to other humans, or of this world, its is about God's giving us acceptance to Him, by the price he paid for us, which is the perfect precious life of His Son Christ Jesus.

1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice{"atoning sacrifice" is from the Greek "hilasmos," an appeasing, propitiating, or the means of appeasement or propitiation--the sacrifice that turns away God's wrath because of our sin.} for our sins.

In the blood of Christ God rest from his judgment of us, once for all times. We are than to rest from our own justification of ourselves constantly as good enough, and accept in faith what God says we are justified by, Christ merit, given us freely from His love. If we as a Christian do not believe there is such power in the blood of Christ to set aside our deserved judgment and we self-medicate by self-justification by our works we are doing for God, thinking it makes us clean? That is, more acceptable than the blood of Christ we will be condemned like these Pharisee's, in declaring the rule of law judging human flesh as greater than the gift on God's altar found in the righteousness of Christ. We will miss the good works Christ does through those justified in faith of his blood, which is a huge unfortunate mistake for anyone claiming to love God! Let us be watchful and careful how we judge that we are not be judged?

John 8:15 You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one.

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;

Romans 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be.

Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh can't please God.

See also: www,nutruth.com