INTRODUCTION
During my 24 years as a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, I have defended it in the field of public debate and media ministry that the observance of the Sabbath day is still a command that Christians must obey under the New Testament. I used many passages in the 27 books of the New Testament to prove that the commandment concerning the Sabbath had not yet been changed. But since I understood the truth about the gospel and salvation only through Christ and accepted Him as my personal savior and Lord, God changed my perspective on the Sabbath. I am enlightened by the teaching of the Bible that the commandment concerning this is only part of the Old (Sinaitic) Covenant rituals between God and Israel. Now the fact that Christians are not under the Old (Sinaitic) Covenant has become clearer to me. Instead, we believers in Christ are already living in the New Covenant of God and it includes all people (not just Israel) on another basis of what Christ has done on the cross at Mt. Calvary, not Mt. Sinai anymore. I will share in this ebook the result of my studies that helped me understand the truth I had never seen before in the light of the gospel. I pray that this humble study material will be of great help to you and your growth in the grace of God for His glory!
Let's read Matthew 5:17-19 (NASB):
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
This is one of the most common texts being used by an Adventist to prove that Jesus Christ did not abolish the law or the 10 commandments. SDA's believe that Jesus did not intend to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Therefore, as Christians, they claim, it is our duty to fulfill or obey the 10 commandments just as Jesus did as our example.
2. What is the "Law or the Prophets"? Is this referring exclusively to the 10 commandments?
The “Law” refers to the whole Torah (books of Moses) for it is associated with the prophets. In every other use of the word “law” in the book of Matthew it never once refers to the Ten Commandment alone, but always to the whole law, or to portions of the law other than the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are included in this law, but we cannot limit “law” as used here to the Ten Commandments. Let us study the word "law" from the point of view of Matthew in order to understand what he means. Here are few examples:
Matthew 22:36-40 (NASB)
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
The first quotation is taken from Deuteronomy 6:5 and the second is from Leviticus 19:18. No portion of the Ten Commandments is even quoted.
Another example,
Matthew 11:13 (NASB)
"For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John." The "law" here is obviously not the 10 commandments. It says, the law, along with all the prophets, "prophesied" but the 10 commandments contain a list of command, not prophetic words!
In Matthew 12:5, it says,
Matthew 12:5 (NASB)
"Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?"
The portion of the “Law” referred to here is not the Ten Commandments but Lev. 24:5−9, which gives the duties of the priests. Again, where can we find that mentioned in the 10 commandments? Nothing!
Hence, the Adventists are wrong in claiming that the "Law" in Matthew 5:17 refers to the 10 Commandments. Rather, "the law and the prophets" is the technical term for the divisions of the Jewish Scriptures equivalent to our present Old Testament consisting of 39 books in the Protestant Bible. If one were to conclude that Jesus was teaching the continuing nature of the law or the 10 commandments in this passage, the Adventist would immediately be faced with a dilemma. For this Scripture expressly states that not one thing, not even the smallest punctuation mark, is to be removed from the law.
Thus, if the Adventist is going to use this text to prove the perpetuity of the 10 commandments, he must also use it to prove the binding nature of all the 613 lists of old covenant law!
2. What did Matthew mean when he uses the word "Fulfill"? Does he use “fulfill” to apply to an event which was done once and needs never to be done again, or does he use “fulfill” in the idea of “do and keep on doing”?
In the book of Matthew every time⎯with two possible exceptions—when the word “fulfill” is used, it is employed in connection with the life of Christ, or the events connected with it. In these possible exceptions, the Ten Commandments are not in view. In all the other instances, it was one event that “fulfilled” the prophecy with no ongoing fulfillment intended for Christians. Here are some of the few examples in the book of Matthew,
Matthew 1:22-23 (NASB)
"Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”
which translated means, “God with us.”
Here “fulfilled” is used in connection with the virgin birth of Jesus, an event which was done only once. There is no other fulfillment by Christians intended.
Matthew 27:9-10 (NASB)
"Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; 10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”
This prophecy was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. This happened only once never to occur again.
Matthew 2:23 (NASB)
"And came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through
the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
There was no ongoing fulfillment of this prophecy. It was done once and is not to be repeated by Christians. There are few instances does Matthew use “fulfill” in the idea of “do and keep on doing.”
Matthew 3:15 (NASB)
"But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to
fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him."
The context is the baptism of Jesus by John. In this passage “fulfill” can be understood as “do.” Also, the fact that Jesus says “us” indicates that it is something a Christian is expected to do. Note, however, that the context has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments.
Matthew 5:33 (NASB)
“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall
fulfill your vows to the Lord."
Fulfilling our vows is still the duty of every Christian but again, it has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments.
For these reasons, we should interpret the word “fulfill” in Matthew 5:17−19 as referring to something that Jesus would do in connection with His work as the Messiah unless there are strong contextual reasons to do otherwise.
This interpretation is well supported by other gospel writers. Let's read it from the gospel of Luke,
Luke 24:27 (NASB)
"Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."
Luke 24:44 (NASB)
"Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
This statement was made right after the event of Christ's resurrection and his appearances to his disciples. Jesus confirmed here what he spoke to his disciples earlier while He was still with them as recorded in Matthew 5:17-19. This is the only acceptable interpretation of what Jesus means in Matthew 5:17-19.
Another testimony from the Gospel of John supports this fact,
John 19:28-30 (NASB)
"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
This verse is extremely important to a correct understanding of Matthew 5:17−19. Here we find that Jesus had already accomplished all but one of the prophecies regarding the life and death of the Messiah. One thing, however, remained to be fulfilled, so Jesus said, “I thirst.” And after this he uttered his final words on the cross, "it is finished!" In other words, Jesus implied that "all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture (Old Testament books of the Law and the Prophets)." When we let Scripture be our interpreter, the meaning of this passage becomes evident. Notice how it fits perfectly into the context.
3. All would agree that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies, but how did He fulfill the law?
First, we have His clear statement.
John 5:39 (NASB)
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me."
John 5:46 (NASB)
"Or if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me."
But how did Moses wrote about Jesus in the Torah or the 5 books of Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy)? Following is a partial list of things in the law that pointed forward to Christ and were fulfilled by Him.
4. Did Jesus also fulfilled the moral principles of the law including the 10 commandments?
The answer is a resounding YES! That is the good news of the Gospel!
Romans 5:18-19 (NASB)
"So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous."
Romans 3:28 (NASB)
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law."
Romans 8:3-4 (NASB)
"For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Colossians 2:10 (NASB)
"and in Him, you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority."
Hebrews 10:14 (NASB)
"For by one offering, He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." Does this mean that the Christian does not have to live a moral life? Never! In Greek “being sanctified” is in the present continuous tense indicating that God has us all in the process of “being made holy.” The
Christian’s moral life is not the basis of his acceptance with God; rather it is the result of it."
The heart of the new covenant gospel is that we are accepted, not by our own morality, but upon the perfect righteousness of Christ which far surpasses the righteousness of the law. It is this fact, and this fact alone, that gives us the assurance of salvation. It is this “one act of righteousness”⎯by “the obedience of the One”⎯ that is the only foundation stone of Christian assurance.
There were four main streams of symbolism that were carried by the Sabbath:
1. Creation rest - in the new covenant, God’s rest cannot be the seventh-day Sabbath and must be the rest of grace (Heb. 4:7-9).
2. Redemption from bondage - The new covenant shows that Jesus provides true redemption from the bondage of sin.
3. The sign of the covenant - In the new covenant, it is clear that for the Christian the “remembrance sign” is the Lord’s Supper.
4. The day for worship – 10 commandments does not say the Sabbath is the day of worship but a physical rest day. In the New Covenant, we worship God at any time and any day!
Therefore, the Sabbath of the old covenant was fulfilled by Jesus. It sees the old covenant Sabbath pointing backward to the rest of God lost in Eden when man sinned, and pointing forward to the rest of Christ which started when, after completing the atonement, He sat down at the Father’s right hand.
Yes, our Sabbath is in Christ!
- Christ is our true Rest!
- Christ is our real Redemption!
- Christ is our faithful Covenant Keeper!
- Christ is the Seal of God!
- Christ is our focus of worship!
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