"Church Fathers" Scriptural or Not

[garee]

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Deu 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Both of the above commandments are truth. Neither one negates the other. The first commandment was spoken by God Himself to the entire nation of Israel, and written in tables of stone with the finger of God as well. Without the fundamental stated truth in the fourth commandment spoken by God, the commandment later spoken by Moses by way of remembrance, would fall short of the magnitude of God's greatness and mercy in the creation and redemption of this world. Which includes His right to proclaim Himself to be either one. Moses expounded upon the greater depth of meaning the seventh day sabbath represents, as other scriptures do as well.

Exodus 20 is not about creation, but rather the Creator. His ten commandments, spoken by His own mouth as moral standards of the most crucial nature, for fallen humanity. They are held up as the standard regarding the judgment of this world, right up to the last book and chapter of Holy Scripture. The fourth commandment also means exactly what it states, as God stated it. It is not broken down as a parable anywhere, but by you and or the others you have taken this extra biblical teaching from, I can only presume in order to excuse yourself from not keeping the commandment itself.

Nor is it true that the other commandments are not expounded upon within Holy Scripture as well. As to having deeper meaning than that simply stated in the commandment itself. God is spirit, as are his commandments, and all the truth He represents. All His words have deeper meaning and represent greater power than we can even now comprehend.

Jhn 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Who do you think the Creator of this world is, Who has commanded those who worship Him to keep His sabbath?

Jhn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Mrk 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Luk 6:5  And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Therefore, whose sabbath or commandment do professed Christians not observe or keep, having been extra biblically taught to do so? And who has originally taught them to disobey the commandment of God because doing so will make them more like God?

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

2 Thess 2:1 But relative to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and our gathering together to [meet] Him, we beg you, brethren, 2 Not to allow your minds to be quickly unsettled or disturbed or kept excited or alarmed, whether it be by some [pretended] revelation of [the] Spirit or by word or by letter [alleged to be] from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has [already] arrived and is here. 3 Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), 4 Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly and insolently against and over all that is called God or that is worshiped, [even to his actually] taking his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.(AMPC)

Yes, God in Christ Jesus the Lord, is our Creator and Redeemer.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Who can be forgiven of their sins, while they will not acknowledge their sins as sin? Who will ask forgiveness of a sin, which they think to be no sin? Who will keep a commandment of God, they have been taught should no longer be kept, which they have believed? Who believing such, would confess it as sin, or seek to keep said commandment?

1Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

What did our Lord and savior teach and practice regarding the fourth and all the rest of the commandments of God? How shall those who do not seek His standard of righteousness in their lives, or confess their sins regarding them, hope to be saved?

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Again, who will confess a sin, or breaking of a commandment of God, who thinks such to be no sin? Are these not in danger?

The danger comes when men add to the Word of God without acknowledging that "without a parable spake he not unto them" (Matthew 13:34). Christ's parables do not remove the historical account; they reveal the unseen, spiritual gospel hidden within it.

The ceremonial laws themselves were shadows pointing to Christ. They were never an end in themselves but served as God's teaching pictures until their fulfillment.

Aaron's two sons provide a solemn warning. They added what God had not commanded by offering strange fire, and God judged them immediately. The lesson is that we must not add our own inventions to God's revealed worship. Human additions cannot improve what God has already spoken.

The Sabbath is another example. The word simply means rest. As born-again believers, we enter God's eternal rest whenever we hear His voice and refuse to harden our hearts.

Hebrews 4:3 (KJV)

"For we which have believed do enter into rest..."

The writer of Hebrews points beyond the shadow to its fulfillment in Christ. The Sabbath was never merely about one day; it testified beforehand of God's eternal rest in His Son.

Translation can also influence how we understand these passages.

Matthew 28:1 (KJV)

"In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week..."

Matthew 28:1 (Young's Literal Translation)

"And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre."

Likewise,

Luke 18:12 (YLT)

"I fast twice in the week..."

Here it is helpful to remember the languages of Scripture. The Hebrew word for week is שָׁבוּעַ (shābûaʿ), meaning a period of seven. It is used in places such as Genesis 29:27 and Daniel 9:24.

The New Testament, however, was written in Greek. In passages such as Matthew 28:1 and Luke 18:12, the inspired writers did not use a Greek equivalent corresponding to the Hebrew shābûaʿ. Instead, they used σάββατον (sabbaton), a word derived from the Hebrew shabbat, meaning Sabbath or rest.

Because Jewish time was commonly reckoned from one Sabbath to the next, many English translations render sabbaton as "week" in certain contexts. Yet the inspired text itself continues to use the word connected with Sabbath.

I believe this repeated use of sabbaton keeps the reader's attention on God's rest rather than on a mere calendar cycle. The emphasis is not simply counting seven days but entering the rest to which the Sabbath pointed.

The Pharisee in Luke 18 illustrates the danger of missing that spiritual meaning.

"I fast twice..."

His confidence rested in his religious performance. He measured righteousness by works rather than by God's mercy. The lesson is not about earning favor through repeated observances but about trusting God's provision.

The Reformation spoken of in Hebrews points believers away from confidence in ceremonial works and toward Christ Himself. We rest, not because our works save us, but because His finished work is sufficient.

The visible Sabbath pointed to an invisible and eternal reality. The shadow remains a beautiful testimony, but the substance belongs to Christ. As born-again believers, we enter that seventh-day rest whenever we hear His voice, believe His Word, and cease from trusting in our own works, resting instead in the finished work of our Lord.