by Greg on August 1, 2013

Satan still wants to be like the Most High God. And he has managed to be so. He’s done it in terms of having worship directed, albeit unknowingly to the worshiper, to himself. By getting people to forget rather than “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” Satan has blinded the nations into following him instead of the Creator God of the universe.

The Sabbath has been deemed by the world-at-large as irrelevant. That’s understandable. But in Christianity? That’s incredible. Nonetheless, Satan accomplished this feat by influencing human agents – primarily religious ministers – to teach others to ignore God’s Ten Commandments, with a special emphasis on attacking the fourth one.

In all likelihood these ministers are sincere believers, but they are sincerely wrong. They have allowed themselves to be deluded because they didn’t simply heed, “Thus Says The Lord.”  Consequently, they have placed themselves under the wrath of God. For by annulling one of God’s commandments and teaching others to do the same, they are looked at from heaven as the least among all people (Matthew 5:19).

False Teachers

Satan has been so successful at burying the truth of the Sabbath that, amazingly, most students in seminaries readily consent to the common arguments put forth by their teachers against the Sabbath. These students rely on the interpretations of tradition rather than showing themselves approved unto God by persistently studying and accurately handling the Word of Truth. Again, most of those students, now ministers, are more than likely sincere about what they preach, and they truly love God. Nonetheless, they are false teachers.

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Then there are others who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.  Those are the ones who know and speak privately about the truth of the Sabbath, but who won’t publicly acknowledge it for fear of losing their livelihood and the adulation that comes their way.

These men and women are like the Pharisaic lawyers Jesus addressed in Luke 11:52. Jesus made it clear that they hold the keys to knowledge, but will not enter heaven and they will keep others from entering too. Here are the keys that they hold, but don’t use.

Baptist:  “There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday…There is no scriptural evidence of the change of  the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.” – Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, author of the Baptist Manual, in a paper read before a New York ministers’ conference held Nov. 13, 1893.

Catholic:  “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we [Catholics] never sanctify.” –James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 16th edition, 1880, pg. 111.

Church of Christ:  “Finally, we have the testimony of Christ on this subject. In mark 2:27, He says, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’ From this passage it is evident that the Sabbath was not made merely for the Israelites … but for man…that is, for the race. Hence we conclude that the Sabbath was sanctified from the beginning, and that it was given to Adam, even in Eden, as one of those primeval institutions that God ordained for the happiness of all men.” –Robert Milligan, Scheme of Redemption, 1962, pg.165.

Congregationalist:  “The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the scriptures, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath.” –Dwight’s Theology, Vol. 4. pg. 401

Encyclopedia:  “Sunday was a name given by the heathen to the first day of the week, because it was the day on which they worshipped the sun,…The seventh day was blessed and hallowed by God Himself, and…He requires His creatures to keep it holy to Him. This commandment is of universal and perpetual obligation.”  —Eadie’s Biblical Cyclopedia, 1872, pg. 561.

Episcopal:  “Sunday (Dies Solis, of the Roman calendar, ‘day of the sun,’ because dedicated to the sun), the first day of the week, was adopted by the early Christians as a day of worship…No regulations for its observance are laid down in the New Testament, nor, indeed, is its observance even enjoined.” –“Sunday,” A Religious Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, (New York Funk and Wagnalls, 1883), pg.2259.

Lutheran:  “The observance of the Lords Day [Sunday] is founded on not any command of God, but on the authority of the church.” –Augsburg Confession of Faith, quoted in Catholic Sabbath Manual, Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 10.

Methodist:  “This ‘handwriting of ordinances’ our Lord did blot out, take away, and nail to His cross. (Colossians 2:14.) But the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, He did not take away…The moral law stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law…Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind and in all ages.” –John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions, 2-Vol. Edition, Vol.1, pgs. 221,222.

Moody Bible Institute:  “The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word ‘remember,’ showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?” –D. L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting, pg. 47.

Presbyterian:  “Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand…The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath.” –T.C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pgs. 474, 475.

Pentecostal:  “Why do we worship on Sunday? Doesn’t the Bible teach us that Saturday should be the Lord’s Day?…Apparently we will have to seek the answer from some other source than the New Testament.” –David A. Womack, “Is Sunday the Lord’s Day?” The Pentecostal Evangel, Aug. 9, 1959, No.2361, pg.3.

Truth Hidden in Plain Sight

Satan has seen to it that these keys of truth have been lost in the darkness of false tradition. But as you can see, they can easily be found with just a little bit of effort. These admitted recognitions of Sabbath truth are public records, easily accessed.

But today’s learned men and women of the cloth, too readily accept what is fed to them. Of course, there’s no question that some are sincere in wanting to be faithful ministers of the gospel, but they too easily relent to peer pressure, neglecting to search the scriptures to see if what they’ve been taught is true.

For others, they will never look for the keys of truth, for the preaching ministry is only a means to accumulate money and power.

Conclusion

Both groups – false teachers and wolves in sheep’s clothing – are bad for the believer. God plainly states His will in the fourth commandment. They say it isn’t so. They ignore Psalm 40:8. It states that the Law of God is the will of God.

To be in God’s will, it’s best to stop depending only on the preacher to be fed God’s Word. Believers should feed themselves daily; studying to show themselves approved unto the Lord.

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The above is a modified excerpt from the book The Three Angels’ Message: God’s End-Time Warning.