In Exodus 20:8-11, the fourth commandment says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you will labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God.  For in six days, the Lord made all 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 hallowed it.”

Why don't all Christians observe and worship Him on the Sabbath, which would be the seventh day, which is Saturday?  Also, when did this change to worshipping our Lord on Sunday happen, and who changed that?

Sincerely,
One Day At A Time

Dear One Day At A Time,

The Sabbath was a holy day for the Jews, not for Christians.  The Old Testament has a myriad of laws that are no longer binding in the New Testament: animal sacrifice, clean and unclean foods, and various festivals… just to name a few.  2 Cor 3 is an entire chapter devoted to explaining how the Old Law has been surpassed by the New Law.  2 Cor 3:3 especially clarifies the issue when it states that our law is “not in tables of stone”, a direct reference to the Ten Commandments that were written on stone tablets.

Gal 3:24-25 makes it clear that the Old Law was a tutor to bring mankind to Christ, but now that Christ has come, we are no longer under that tutor.  The Sabbath is a part of that Old Law.  In the New Testament, christians meet on the first day of the week to worship, take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), and take up a collection (1 Cor 16:1-2).  In short: different covenants, different days.

The Old Testament law given by Moses was a covenant with the Jews (Deu 5:1-5).  The New Testament law given in Christ is for all of mankind (Acts 2:38-39).

Who changed the law?  God did.

When did it change?  When the church began.

Did Jesus modify the Old Law, the Ten Commandments, and the Torah when He said, "I have come to fulfill the law {the ten commandments}"?

Sincerely,
Pending Change

Dear Pending Change,

Jesus didn't modify/change the Old Testament - He fulfilled it (Matt 5:17).  Jesus' life, death, and resurrection are the fulfillment of everything of which the prophets of old spoke (1 Pet 1:10-12, Acts 3:20-21).  Moses said that there would come a day when a Messiah would come... and that when He came, the Jews were to follow Christ instead (Acts 3:22-24).  Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament by being the Messiah and paying the price for mankind's sins.  The Old Testament was a tutor to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24), but now that Christ is here, He has fulfilled the law, and we are no longer bound by its laws (Gal 3:25).

When Jesus hung on the cross, He said, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  Who were the ‘they’?  Those standing there?  All those who were involved in His crucifixion?  Or the whole world?  If it was the whole world, then the whole world and everybody in it at that moment and time forward would be forgiven their sins.

Sincerely,
Translate That

Dear Translate That,

Jesus was asking God to not hold that particular sin against the people who were crucifying Him (Lk 23:34).  That statement was not a blanket statement that saved all mankind, regardless of their choices, from sin.  Jesus made it very clear that everyone has a choice.  We can take the wide road to destruction or the narrow road to salvation (Matt 7:13).  Jesus is the way to salvation, and we must choose to follow Him (Jhn 14:6).  After Christ’s death, Peter preached that we must choose to repent and be baptized if we want to receive forgiveness from our sins (Acts 2:36-38).  Salvation is a free gift offered to the whole world (Jhn 3:16), but we must choose to take advantage of that gift (Acts 2:40).

Where did Paul say in the Bible about when he tried to do good, evil was always there?  I have been trying to find that verse and cannot find it.  Help me, please.

Sincerely,
Looking For The Good

Dear Looking For The Good,

The verses you are looking for are Rom 7:9-25.  In those verses, Paul is discussing what happened to him as he grew up as a child under the Old Testament law.  Even though he desired to live righteously, he often found himself sinning and being guilty under the law (Rom 7:15).  Even though he desired to be a righteous man, he had to admit that he had sinned and was worthy of death (Rom 7:22-24).  The Old Testament law taught people what was right, but it never provided a road to forgiveness after someone sinned.  It is only in Christ that there is atonement from sins and a way back to God (Rom 7:25).

     My question is regarding Jesus' casting out of demons.  During our sermon today, our preacher referenced Matthew 8 where Jesus cast out demons from many people after preaching in Capernaum.  What happened to the demons after they were cast out?  There is the one example of them being cast into the herd of swine and then drowning in a lake, but what about the others?  I couldn't find anywhere where it says anything about what happened to them.  Did they die?  Were they permitted to go on living on Earth?  Were they cast to hell?  Any idea?  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Disturbed By Demons

Dear Disturbed By Demons,

When they were cast out, the text seems to indicate that they went back to the spiritual realm – what Matt 12:43 describes as ‘waterless places’.  Matt 12:44 talks about a demon coming back from those waterless places and re-possessing a person, but after Christ’s time, that no longer became possible.
Demon possession ended not long after the days of Christ because when Jesus cast demons out, they were cast out for good.  Jesus made it clear that one of His jobs was to bind the devil and take his strength away by casting out his demons (Matt 12:28-29).  When Jesus’ disciples had come back from their evangelism trips and related to Him that they had cast out many demons, Jesus told them that they were defeating Satan by getting rid of Satan’s demonic minions (Lk 10:17-18).  When Jesus and His disciples cast out demons, they did it permanently and bound Satan by their acts.