It’s striking that discussions initiated on social media, even those that are sometimes extensive, tend to be rather muted, with only a few exceptions. It depends primarily on the topic. From the silence of a dense forest, it suddenly becomes as lively as a folk festival. It turns out that three topics in particular trigger the most reactions, predominantly protests and resistance:
1. The Sabbath, the 7th day of the week (“Saturday”), instead of Sunday
2. The mortal soul of man, instead of an immortal soul
3. Limited consuming fire, instead of an eternally burning hell
Three topics, of all things, are quite relevant to salvation. The Sabbath is one of God’s Ten Commandments, specifically the 4th Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). The immortal soul is equally crucial, as it forms the basis for far more than a handful of other errors. Furthermore, the belief in the existence of spirits of the dead already enters the realm of spiritualism. The third point, a supposedly eternally burning hell, completely distorts the actual character of God and thus often also the position taken by the believer.
A “model discussion” on the Sabbath
Real interest required
Unfortunately, discussions about the Sabbath rarely remain objective. Simply highlighting biblical statements using quotations can trigger quite strong reactions. But it’s pretty quickly apparent whether there’s any interest in getting closer to the truth through discussion, or whether the discussion is merely deliberate provocation. In such a case, one really shouldn’t throw one’s pearls around or waste them. It’s pointless.
Such a discussion about the Sabbath, assuming it remains objective at all and avoids personal attacks, often looks something like this:
Topic: Sabbath
“The 7th day of the week, the Sabbath, is valid for all people“
A: “We are not under the law alone, but under the law of the Spirit.”
B: “The law of God, the 10 Commandments, is still valid.”
A: “That’s not true; that was given to Moses for the people of Israel. We are Christians and are no longer under the law. Love God and love your neighbor. That’s it.”
B: “The commandments of love are the summary of the law and the prophets.”
A: “Furthermore, the commandments were under the Old Covenant. Today, the New Covenant applies.”
B: “The commandments of God have never been abolished, so logically, the Sabbath.”
A: “That only applies to Jews. We Christians rest in Christ; for us, he is the Sabbath.”
B: “Jesus Christ is also Lord over the Sabbath. He cannot be Lord over something and be itself at the same time.”
A: “Nowhere in the New Testament is the Sabbath repeated as a commandment.”
B: “The Sabbath was made for man, according to Jesus Christ. Furthermore, a given law does not need to be periodically updated to remain valid.”
A: “If I were wrong, the Spirit of God would have already told me.”
B: “How do you know if you are acting and thinking according to God’s will?”
A: “I allow myself to be led by the Spirit, and that is always the case.” right.”
B: “Are you sure that the spirit is also the spirit of God?”
A: “What the spirit tells me makes me feel good. A sure sign that it’s right.”
B: “But feelings are not the measure, but the written Word of God.”
A: “I already said, laws are abolished.”
B: “Does what comes to mind also agree with the Word of God? Think of Isaiah 8:20.”
A: “Isaiah is the Old Testament and belongs to the Old Covenant. The Old Testament is no longer valid.”
B: “The New Covenant does not abolish God’s laws. Whoever loves me keeps my commandments, according to Jesus Christ. The Sabbath is a Commandment”
A: “By grace we are saved. Keeping the Sabbath is righteousness by works. You are legal!”
Defended with hands and feet
‘Allergy’ to the Sabbath
A literal vicious circle. As if one were shoving oneself against the doorframe with one’s hands and feet to avoid entering the Sabbath. Murder, manslaughter, theft, lying, bearing false witness, adultery, honoring parents, only God alone, honoring God’s name, no idols—all “logical” and self-evident, except for the Sabbath. Commandment 4 of 10. Yet the references in the Word that the Sabbath is absolutely binding for all people are actually impossible to miss (Info).
Strangely enough, it doesn’t help to point out directly who actually moved the 7th-day Sabbath to Sunday, as is proven (Info).
The problem here is that hardly any effort is made to test one’s faith, let alone any inspiration, against Scripture. Because the “good feeling” prevails, and this means that one must ultimately be right. Furthermore, there is hardly any reason to study Scripture, since, on the other hand, roughly half of the Bible is considered obsolete. It is indeed true that (spiritually) blind people are primarily plagued by their inability to see, rather than by their unwillingness to see (Info).
You can’t ignore the Word of God
No alternative route available
Jesus Christ had a weighty hint for this, especially for the last church, Laodicea, Revelation 3:18:
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
At this point, however, you still need the will to actually buy the eye ointment, because you can’t find it in the supermarket, but only in the Scriptures, and to do that you have to actually pick up the Bible.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7
Um dir ein optimales Erlebnis zu bieten, verwenden wir Technologien wie Cookies, um Geräteinformationen zu speichern und/oder darauf zuzugreifen. Wenn du diesen Technologien zustimmst, können wir Daten wie das Surfverhalten oder eindeutige IDs auf dieser Website verarbeiten. Wenn du deine Zustimmung nicht erteilst oder zurückziehst, können bestimmte Merkmale und Funktionen beeinträchtigt werden.
Funktional
Always active
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugang ist unbedingt erforderlich für den rechtmäßigen Zweck, die Nutzung eines bestimmten Dienstes zu ermöglichen, der vom Teilnehmer oder Nutzer ausdrücklich gewünscht wird, oder für den alleinigen Zweck, die Übertragung einer Nachricht über ein elektronisches Kommunikationsnetz durchzuführen.
Vorlieben
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist für den rechtmäßigen Zweck der Speicherung von Präferenzen erforderlich, die nicht vom Abonnenten oder Benutzer angefordert wurden.
Statistiken
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff, der ausschließlich zu statistischen Zwecken erfolgt.Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff, der ausschließlich zu anonymen statistischen Zwecken verwendet wird. Ohne eine Vorladung, die freiwillige Zustimmung deines Internetdienstanbieters oder zusätzliche Aufzeichnungen von Dritten können die zu diesem Zweck gespeicherten oder abgerufenen Informationen allein in der Regel nicht dazu verwendet werden, dich zu identifizieren.
Marketing
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist erforderlich, um Nutzerprofile zu erstellen, um Werbung zu versenden oder um den Nutzer auf einer Website oder über mehrere Websites hinweg zu ähnlichen Marketingzwecken zu verfolgen.
