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).

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).

I recently watched a television program that centered around the meaning of Genesis 6:4.  It was in regards to whether there were really "giants" at that time in history.  Later on in the program, it showed that the original Greek translation was not the same word as "giant" as we know it – but would be the same word as meaning ‘neanderthals’ or ‘homosapiens’.  I don't remember what the word was exactly, but since watching the program, I keep thinking about that verse and what it means.  I don't know if I'm understanding it right.  Does it mean that there were less "evolved" humans at the same time?  If so, how does that fit into what the Bible says about God's creation of the Earth?  Just a bit of clarification would be helpful!

Sincerely,
Average Height

Dear Average Height,

The word used in Gen 6:4 is ‘Nephilim’, and it is a Hebrew word – not a Greek one.  The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew because that is the Jewish language.  The word ‘Nephilim’ means ‘giant’, ‘fallen one’, or ‘wondrous one’.  The word was translated ‘giant’ by the Greeks when they wrote the Old Testament in Greek… the version of the Bible that Jesus quoted.  The Nephilim weren’t less-evolved or some sort of evolutionary missing link; they were simply very big people.  Men like Goliath were descendants of this giant group of people (Num 13:33).  Different races of people have distinct physical characteristics; this particular race’s distinction was their height.  They weren’t primitive, just big.

I was looking into your archives, and I noticed something about Jews keeping the Sabbath holy, not christians.  Can you explain that according to Scripture, since we are spiritual Israel?

Sincerely,
On Sabbatical

Dear On Sabbatical,

Christianity is the spiritual Israel (Gal 6:15-16).  Christianity has replaced Judaism and the Old Testament law.  Physical Israel was merely a shadow of that which was to come (Heb 10:1).  The law to obey the Sabbath was a part of the Old Testament law (Ex 20:8).  The Old Testament law has been replaced by a better covenant (Heb 8:4-7).  God tells us that when Christ died for our sins, He nailed the Old Law to the cross (Col 2:14).  Under the new law (the New Testament), we are told to no longer regard the Sabbath as holy (Col 2:16-17).  The things written in the Old Testament are a great example to christians (1 Cor 10:11), but they are no longer binding.  The Old Testament was a tutor to lead mankind to Christ, but now that Christ is here, we are no longer under that tutor (Gal 3:24-25).