Hard Questions, Straight Answers

When you set down a heavy load, people notice, and some ask hard questions. Many who see these things differently love Jesus very much. We are not against them. We are taking the Bible straight to the teaching.

Isn’t the Saturday Sabbath still for Christians?

Paul wrote to believers, “Let no one pass judgment on you... with regard to... a Sabbath” (Colossians 2:16). He told the Romans each one should be convinced in his own mind about days (Romans 14:5). The apostles left the Sabbath off their list in Acts 15. And under the Law, breaking the Sabbath carried the death penalty (Exodus 31:14-15). Drop the penalty and you are picking the parts you like. Paul said a person who takes on the Law is ὀφειλέτης opheiletēs, a debtor “obligated to keep the whole law” (Galatians 5:3). Jesus already paid that debt.

Isn’t Sunday the new Sabbath?

Sliding a shadow to a new day does not make it the real thing. We gather on Sunday because Jesus rose that day. It is a celebration, not a new Mount Sinai. Our Sabbath is not a day. It is a Person.

If you don’t tithe, aren’t you cursed?

The curse in Malachi was spoken to Israel under the Law, and “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Any ministry that uses fear to get money, or says “pay us first and God will pay you back,” is wrong. Jesus got angry when people used God’s house to make money (Matthew 21:12-13). But freedom is not stinginess. Love often gives far more than ten percent.

Didn’t Jesus keep the Sabbath and tithe?

Yes. He was “born under the law” (Galatians 4:4) while the temple stood, and He kept every bit of it for us. Then He said, “It is finished.” He did not keep the Law so we would have to. He kept it so we could rest in Him.

Isn’t this just lawlessness?

Paul answered that with a strong no (Romans 6:1-2). He was ἔννομος Χριστοῦ ennomos Christou, under the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21), and that law is love. “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Fulfilling is πλήρωμα plērōma, the full measure. The Law said do not steal; love gives. The Law said do not murder; love forgives.

Isn’t freedom dangerous?

Freedom is ἐλευθερία eleutheria, the life of a free person. Paul warns, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4). Rules plus Jesus is not more. It is less. Going back to the rules is the danger.

So what should I do now?

Rest in Jesus every day. Take a day off each week because rest is a gift. Gather with other believers. Give with a happy heart. Be kind to people who see it another way. That is not a new rulebook. It is what a free heart does.