KBC wrote: One cannot sin wilfully after knowing about Christ unless the laws and commandments that define what sin is are still in effect, and now with the new covenant Christ has magnified his fathers laws so that they are also considered in effect on the inward man as well and since one of those commands is to 'remember to keep the sabbath day holy' then we should always assert the honoring of that day just as God has defined that we should if we love him.
RickD wrote:KBC,First, the 10 commandments were given specifically to the Jews. Why some people keep ignoring that fact just shows they're not correctly interpreting scripture.
Rick I have never asserted that the 10 were not given to the Jews. However, The fact that they were first given to the Jews does not mean they are a Jewish only requirement. This would be like telling my children...
Daughter you are commanded by me not to steal... then many years later telling my son... Son you don't have to obey the command about stealing that I gave your sister because it was specifically given to her in another time.
According to the rationale you are using Rick no one is obligated to not murder, steal, covet, etc. because in your own words those "commandments were given specifically to the Jews" and since those were only specifically and absolutely given just to the Jews and we are not Jews then we are not obligated to obey them. This would mean that God intentionally gave the Jews rules of conduct that he knew would not be necessary for salvation and essentially a burden greater than a man can bear.
The obvious question would be why God would have greater requirements for the Jews than any other humans. Does the fact that we are gentiles in God's view somehow allows us to perform actions that were denied to the Jews to attain the same place in heaven?
RickD wrote:Romans 14:5-6 tells us that it is between a believer and God, if one wants to hold one day as more important than another. Romans 14:5-6 nasb 5 One person [c]regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, [d]does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.l
You seem to think this small section of scripture is of itself the context of all meaning in reference to days but if you consider the context of who was being spoken to and also backup a chapter you will see some additional truths about its context.
First this epistle was to the romans. The roman government had the rule over all these people who were joining into the body of Christ as non-jews at that time so when the epistle was written its context in this part was in regard to dealing with earthly governmental control as is clearly shown here;
Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
It is clearly pointed out that the gentiles are subjects of a government other than God directly and the government had different considerations than God does so we are to do as the government directs with the POV that we are always doing it ultimately for God since no government exists without his authorization.
Note further that just a few lines down from this understanding was this gem;
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Remember those commandments that you assert are for the Jews only? Well it is clearly being shown here in this message to gentiles that all those commandments apply to them as well because they were derivitives of the half of the royal law to love your neighbor. You cannot be deemed to love your neighbor if you break any of these commandments;
Rom 13:9 ...Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
So if you look at what was written just prior to your snip of scripture we find that it is in reference to the new gentile roman recruits into the faith / body of Christ;
Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
This message is entirely in reference to new recruits who were previously living under strictly roman laws with their own traditions and customs. You should certinly read up on the life of a typical roman from Christs time and see their POV as it would apply when they made a decision to join with the newly forming Jewish / Christian religion.
Roman festivals
Festivals in ancient Rome were an important part of Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. Feriae ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singular also feriae or dies ferialis) were either public (publicae) or private (privatae). State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games (ludi), such as the Ludi Apollinares, were not technically feriae, but the days on which they were celebrated were dies festi, holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families.[1] This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods or families held simultaneously throughout Rome.
Feriae were of three kinds:
Stativae were annual holidays that held a fixed or stable date on the calendar.
Conceptivae were annual holidays that were moveable feasts (like Easter on the Christian calendar, or Thanksgiving in North America); the date was announced by the magistrates or priests who were responsible for them.
Imperativae were holidays held "on demand" (from the verb impero, imperare, "to order, command") when special celebrations or expiations were called for.[2]
Keeping the feriae
Varro defined feriae as "days instituted for the sake of the gods."[3] Religious rites were performed on the feriae, and public business was suspended. Even slaves were supposed to be given some form of rest. Cicero says specifically that people who were free should not engage in lawsuits and quarrels, and slaves should get a break from their labors.[4] Agricultural writers recognized that some jobs on a farm might still need to be performed, and specified what these were. Some agricultural tasks not otherwise permitted could be carried out if an expiation were made in advance (piaculum), usually the sacrifice of a puppy.[5] Within the city of Rome, the flamens and the priest known as the Rex sacrorum were not allowed even to see work done.
On a practical level, those who "inadvertently" worked could pay a fine or offer up a piaculum, usually a pig. Work considered vital either to the gods or preserving human life was excusable, according to some experts on religious law. Although Romans were required not to work, they were not required to take any religious action unless they were priests or had family rites (sacra gentilicia) to maintain.
List of festivals by month
Following is a month-by-month list of Roman festivals and games that had a fixed place on the calendar. For some, the date on which they were first established is recorded. A deity's festival often marked the anniversary (dies natalis, "birthday") of the founding of a temple, or a rededication after a major renovation. Festivals not named for deities are thought to be among the oldest on the calendar.[7]
Some religious observances were monthly. The first day of the month was the Kalends (or Calends, from which the English word "calendar" derives). Each Kalends was sacred to Juno, and the Regina sacrorum ("Queen of the Rites," a public priestess) marked the day by presiding over a sacrifice to the goddess. A pontiff and the Rex sacrorum reported the sighting of the new moon, and the pontiff announced whether the Nones occurred on the 5th or 7th of that month. On the Nones, announcements were made regarding events to take place that month; with the exception of the Poplifugia, no major festivals were held before the Nones, though other ceremonies, such as anniversaries of temple dedications, might be carried out. The Ides (usually the 13th, or in a few months the 15th) were sacred to Jupiter. On each Ides, a white lamb was led along the Via Sacra to the Capitolium for sacrifice to Jupiter.
The list also includes other notable public religious events such as sacrifices and processions that were observed annually but are neither feriae nor dies natales. Unless otherwise noted, the calendar is that of H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_festivals
Just as we observe labor day, easter, New Year's Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day,Thanksgiving.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_hol ... ted_States
So did the roman citizens, however, most of their festival days had a religious background that would conflict with the gospel teaching about a single God and the Christ who was the only way to heaven. So when gentiles with such a background were coming into the faith there would certainly be questions about how to deal with the plethora of government sanctioned festival days and the proper conduct of a 'roman Christian'. How would it look to other romans if you as a roman citizen did not comply with governmental rules and regulations about these 'holi-days' because you were a Christian?
The message from Paul to the romans was of course;
Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.-----Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
So the esteemed days in question were not in reference to the only day of the week that God made holy but rather, the vast plethora of government sanctioned holi-days that God had nothing to do with and the message from Paul was that they (the roman citizens) should continue to observe these days and times as the government demanded... as long as... They did so with the understanding that they are ultimately obeying God since it is by him that the power to govern exists.
The apostles new that roman holidays were not Gods holidays and the new recruits new this as well and if you had been a roman citizen at that time who was changing their faith to Christianity then you would also be asking about this part of daily living under a government that was not directly God or Christ. We are to live in the world but not become of the world. We should certainly obey whatever government has the rule over our body but we are not to let them rule our minds / spirits, so if it was a state sanctioned holi-day to make an observance to the goddess estere we would be obligated to bodily go through the motions dictated by the government but we are supposed to make sure that our inner man does not follow it with belief.
...You are practically equating the gospel of Christ with some Jewish laws. Your focus does not seem to be on Christ at all, its on his Jewishness and how big a law abider he was, you are still fascinated by the shadows and that is after you have the substance in Christ, of which the Torah was a mere shadow of. 