Keep the Faith? Keep the Sabbath? Keep the Law?

Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Farley, host of The Grace Message. Got a Bible question, struggling with a personal issue, wondering about a tricky verse? At BibleQuestions.com, you'll get clear, grace-based answers in 10 seconds or less. No fluff, no confusion, just practical, biblical truth. Ask anything, anytime, and experience the power of God's love. Visit BibleQuestions.com, that's BibleQuestions.com, your go-to for biblical clarity. Jesus plus nothing, 100% natural, no additives. Andrew Farley is celebrating your freedom in Christ. Call in and ask your questions at 877-655-6755. That's toll-free at 877-655-6755. By a satellite from Texas, it's The Grace Message with Dr. Andrew Farley. Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Grace Message. I'm Andrew Farley. So glad you're joining us tonight. That number to call, 877-655-6755. Right now, we got open lines, plenty of room for you to get in with your question tonight. Maybe you've got a question about a scripture passage. Perhaps you heard something this past weekend in church and you're just not sure about it. You want to put it to the test, talk it over. That is exactly why we're here for you tonight for the next half hour. We got four open lines. That means plenty of room. Right now, you'll be sure to get in. Again, that number, 877-655-6755. Maybe if you're a first-time caller tonight, please know we love that. We love to hear from first-time callers. We want to hear from you. If you're a veteran caller, maybe you've joined us in the past, but it's been a while. You got something new on your heart tonight.

Join us as well. Again, four open lines, room for you right now. You'll be first if you call right away, 877-655-6755. Maybe you're not sure about your relationship with God. You're just looking for some assurance, some clarity, some counsel, or maybe something's happening in your personal life right now, in your marriage with your kids, in your church, and you just need that grace perspective. As I've mentioned already, tonight's your night. We're going to be talking about a lie and a truth real quick here because we're still waiting for that first call to trickle in, and you can be it. Go for it. Give us a call, 877-655-6755. Well, as we wait for those first calls to come in, I want to remind you of what we got going on this month with our book, Gospel Zero. We are giving it away to each and every donor this month. It's our way of saying thank you for your support, and here's a little bit about Gospel Zero. What if the apostles were alive today, and what if they wrote letters to the church of today? What would they say about us, our beliefs, the way we relate to God, the way we do church? Well, that's exactly the question I'm asking in the book, Gospel Zero, and this month, we're giving away copies of Gospel Zero to each and every donor as our way of saying thank you for your support. This book is a lot of fun. It's going to be encouraging, but also clarifying. It's witty and powerful. I wrote it together with my great friend, John Lynch. We had a blast. You're going to love it, so make sure to request your copy of Gospel Zero. It's all about reclaiming the radical message of God's grace in today's world of churchianity.

What would the apostles say to us today if they were writing us now? Find out in Gospel Zero. And thank you so much for your support. Yes, if you're not familiar with Gospel Zero yet, I got to tell you, it is a fun ride. It's all about the apostles transported to today, and looking at all of our legalism, all of our churchianity, and what would they feel about it, and what would they write to us? You know, 2,000 years ago, Paul wrote, you foolish Galatians. Now, would he say, you foolish Americans? You foolish Canadians? Would he say, you foolish Christians today? To us? Why? Well, find out in this book of Gospel Zero. You're going to love it. Request your copy when you give your gift. at andrewfarley.org again that's andrewfarley.org and thank you so so much for your support we can't do what we do without you all right well i as promised we're going to talk about a lie and a truth today and we're going to be going to canada for our first call in a moment but this this lie is a big one the idea that you're saved as long as you keep the faith have you heard that keep the faith you're saved as long as you keep the faith you got to continue of course the truth you know the truth the truth is that even when you're faithless god remains faithful he remains true to you we see this in scripture in the gospel of john jesus says no one will snatch them out of my hand he also says i'll lose none of the ones the father has given me i'll lose none hebrews says he's able to save us forever romans says i'm convinced that nothing separates us from the love of christ ephesians says you're sealed with the holy spirit of promise when you're sealed you're safe and so uh you know even john in first john he says i want you to know i just want you to know you have eternal life i write you these things so that you can know in hebrews 13 god promises never will i desert you never will i forsake you romans also says the gifts and the calling that we have in christ this gift this calling it is irrevocable that means it'll never

be revoked and peter the apostle peter says we are protected by the power of god so this idea that we have to hang on tightly and we have to make sure we're continuing and as long as we keep the faith no ephesians 6 says you have an undying love for jesus and god put it there he infused you he poured out his love in your heart through the holy spirit all right we do have open lines three lines we're going to canada in just 10 seconds here but i want to give you that number so you can be a part of the conversation eight seven seven six five five six seven five five all right colin in canada what do you got for us tonight my friend hey so um i've been working a lot like every day um going pretty crazy um not sundays but i don't really take much rest i just do some fun activities um and my brother-in-law brought up a interesting concept that i hadn't thought of before about the sabbath and um he said that jesus fulfilled the sabbath so there's no need to take a sabbath because you can have uh rest with jesus 24 7 and immediately that was like what but i didn't find any new testament reputations for that other than around hebrews 4 there's a little bit of stuff but i'm just unclear about is it biblical to take sabbath rest um on a whole day weekly um after jesus died for us on the cross right great question colin well your brother sounds like he's got some great wisdom sounds like he's understanding the message of god's grace because you know we don't judge people who who observe a certain day but we are free we are free from a sabbath day we're free from a new moon festival we're free from all of those things in the old testament that were just a shadow and i think the perfect passage that you're looking for that maybe you and your brother could enjoy and talk about together is in colossians chapter 2 it says in verse 16 therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath day things which are a mere shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to christ so do you see what paul is saying i mean paul is writing gentiles he's writing a bunch of greeks they're sitting there in colossi they open the envelope they read the letter and it says don't let anybody judge you about a sabbath day why because that is jewish that's from israel that was for the israelites under the old covenant and you are a new testament believer and so that was a shadow of the reality but now the reality is resting in jesus christ now you mentioned hebrews 4 and hebrews 4 doesn't contradict what you're saying hebrews 4 actually affirms what you're saying and what your brother is talking about. When Hebrews chapter 4 says there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, it's saying

it's not about Saturday. It still remains. There's something now for us to enter into, and it's not about physical work, and it's not about a particular day of the week. There is a Sabbath rest for the people of God today, and it says the one who has entered God's rest has rested from his works just as God did from his. What's he talking about? He's talking about the dead works of the temple. He's talking about the Hebrew temple, and in context he's saying if you will rest in Christ, then you don't have to be running around worried about dead works, temple works, another bull, another goat, another sacrifice, another purification, ritual, another ceremonial washing. No. It is finished, and you can rest in the finished work of Christ. So the truth is every day, every day belongs to the Lord, and we know that. I mean Romans 14 does tell us to love people. Some people look at a certain day as being extra special, you know. Some people are looking at Sunday as the new Sabbath. No, Sunday is not the new Sabbath. But Sunday is looked at, well, it's the day Jesus rose from the dead. It's a day a lot of people go to church. Great. But if we really know our freedom in Christ, every day belongs to the Lord, and in that sense every day is the same to him. And so Romans 14 says one person regards one day above another. Another regards every day alike. Each person should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever observes a day, well, they do it for the Lord. And whoever does not observe the day, well, for the Lord he does not observe it. And it goes on to even say, he who eats does for the Lord. He who gives thanks, he who abstains, for the Lord he abstains, and for the Lord he gives thanks. So these are, you know, issues where matters of conscience come up. Christians have a conscience, and sometimes that conscience, quite candidly, can be programmed by legalism. And so elsewhere Paul calls this the weaker brother. The weaker brother is, you know, they have issues with food. They have issues with drink. And so Paul says that's the weaker brother. And we can love the weaker brother, and we can understand the weaker brother, but we don't need to aspire to be the weaker brother. We can enjoy our freedom in Christ, and rest in Jesus, and recognize that there is no particular day that we're free in Christ, and that the big deal is that for thousands of

years, God gave a shadow, a picture, a symbol of resting in Christ. And that's what the real deal is. We have the true rest, the spiritual rest. So Colin, I want to put you back on now and see. Does everything I shared make sense? Does that help, my friend? Yeah, yeah, that's pretty good. So Jesus being the high priest in all, and his blood taking away the sin, means he doesn't have to continually do it. He did it one time, and it's good enough. Him being the high priest, he did these things to, like Moses and Aaron, they didn't fulfill, right? They failed because they didn't do what God said, but Jesus did what God said in every way? Right, right. A hundred percent, yeah. I mean, it's not that they all failed, it's just that it wasn't their mission. I mean, first of all, Moses and Aaron and anybody else, there's no perfect sacrifice there, and the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. So it was never really their mission. All of that, the law-keeping, the law, the giving of the law, 613 commands, it was a shadow, a picture, a symbol, and we have the reality in Christ. And so all of those washings, well, guess what? We've been washed once for all. All of those sacrifices, guess what? We've had our sins taken away once for all. All of that, you know, aspiring to get right and stay right by the law, well, we certainly can jump off that train. We've been made into the righteousness of God once for all. So yeah, I mean, it's not that they all failed, it's just that it wasn't their you know, it was never their mission and God never had expectations. Oh boy, I hope mission. All of that, the law, the giving of the law, 613 commands, guess what? We've these people can fulfill the law. I hope these people can obey the law. I mean, God been washed once for all. All of that, you know, aspiring to get right by the law, knew better, and Paul reveals that in Romans, for example. No one's well, we certainly can jump off that train. We've been made into the righteousness of justified by the law. If you keep the whole law and stumble in one point, God once for all. All of that, you know, aspiring to get right by the law, well, we you're guilty of all of it, James says. So it's all or nothing. certainly can jump off that train. All of that, you know, aspiring to get right by Paul says you're under a curse if you're under the law, because cursed is everyone

who doesn't obey everything in it. So I'll put you back on and see. Does that resonate, my friend? Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, thank you. So how did Inez understand this when he told me you can take 24-7 sabbaticals a year, and like how does so many people not understand this, right? Because so many people are like, oh, I can't pray if I'm not wearing a hat in church, right? They're so religious, and they're so like, setting their ways. How do they not understand that Jesus paid for it all? Yeah. Well, we have to come to it like little kids. I mean, Jesus says it's simple, and you know, we're sheep, and we got to come to it like little children. So it really is simple, Colin, and I mean, you're seeing more than many, many religious people on the planet see. And the reason you're seeing it is because you're willing to say this right here, that Jesus did it all. And so if you don't believe Jesus did it all, then you got to still do it. If you don't believe Jesus fulfilled everything, then you got to try to fulfill it. And so that's where all these denominations come in, all the divisions and factions that we see in Christianity today, all of the legalism, it comes from this very thing that we're talking about. People rummage through the Old Testament law, they pick their favorite parts. Some people say, well, Jesus fulfilled everything, but you still got to tithe a certain percent, or else God's mad at you, and you're robbing God. Well, that's not the New Testament truth. Go through every New Testament letter, and you'll find zero mentions in any New Testament letter of needing to give a certain percentage. Instead, we see the opposite. Give freely, from the heart, not under any pressure at all, because God loves a cheerful giver. So when we're teaching tithing, we're teaching the wrong percentage, and the Old Testament, the true percent that was given was about 23% approximately every year on average. And so when people teach 10%, it's the wrong percentage, it's the wrong covenant, and it's the wrong motivation. We are to give freely from the heart, not under any pressure. Then somebody else says, well, Jesus fulfilled the whole law, and yet maybe not the Sabbath. So then you got to keep the Sabbath. So whether it's Sabbath, or tithing, or any other Old Testament law, people engage in cherry

picking. And the cherry picking comes when we think Jesus didn't do it all. But if you start with the premise that Jesus fulfilled everything, and it is finished, then the gospel suddenly makes sense, and everything is clear as day, and everything lines up. It's like you suddenly put your grace glasses on. You know, it reminds me of a 3D movie, right? The first 3D movie I ever went to. You're looking at the movie, and if you take the glasses off, whoa! I mean, it is blurry, nothing lines up, nothing makes sense. But then, as soon as you put those 3D shades back over your eyes, oh my goodness, it's a technicolor dream in your face. And it all lines up, and it all makes sense. So you see that, I mean, it's just incredible when we start realizing what Jesus has done. That it's over, that it's finished, and that he fulfilled the whole law, not some of the law. Then we start looking at a whole new motivation. A whole new motivation for living. A whole new motivation for giving. A whole new motivation for everything. And the motivation is Christ in you. He's fulfilled the law, he's put you under grace, and now it's all about the fruit that he's gonna cause you to bear. It is not the fruit of the law, it is the fruit of the Spirit. I'll put you on one last time and see. Does that help, my friend? Yeah, that helps. Thank you very much. I love what you're doing. Hey, well thanks, my friend. Yeah, yeah, this is great. You got all these scriptures memorized. I really long to be someone that knows their word and is bold to share it. Well listen, my friend, you're already on your way. The signs are positive. You are already on your way because you care most about what Jesus has done. Nobody is interested in building a life around Bible trivia and facts and figures. It's all about Jesus, right? And so because you have that focus already, what I'm saying is lots of people know the Bible but they don't know the Gospel.

And lots of people know the Bible but they don't know the author. And lots of people know facts and figures about the Bible but they don't start with the premise that Jesus turned everything upside down and he did something powerful and incredible and revolutionary. And you're already seeing that even at the beginning of your journey here as you continue for decades to get to know the depths of God's grace. You're starting with the right premise that Jesus Christ has finished his work and he sat down at the right hand of God. And because he's done, you can sit down with him and you can rest spiritually in him. And he said that. He said, my yoke is easy, my burden is light, and you're gonna find rest for your soul. That was his sales pitch. That was his promise all along. And I love it because you're seeing that and even more, you're starting with that foundation. So keep moving forward, keep enjoying him, never forget what he said. He said, the truth will set you free. And that is always, always the truth, Colin. So may the Lord bless you in all that you do, my friend. Loved your question and your comments tonight. Enjoy that beautiful friendship you have with your brother. Sounds like you guys are talking about the deep, important things of God's grace. And that is awesome. So call again anytime. Well, you've been listening to the Grace Message. I'm Andrew Farley. Thanks for joining us tonight. You can hear us every single weeknight at this time on Sirius XM, all kinds of FM and AM stations, and yes, of course, we're live streaming on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, our mobile app, and our website.

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