There are good works, and there are evil works.
Good works are always good works, and evil works are always evil works.
Good people, out of the treasures of their good hearts, will produce good works.
Evil people, out of the treasures of their evil hearts, will produce evil works.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. — Matthew 12:35
Who said this? Christ Jesus; God Incarnate. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He knows truth. He IS Truth.
He further elaborates on this theme here:
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? °Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. °A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. °Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. °Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. — Matthew 7:16-20
What can we conclude from these words of Christ Jesus?
That each group of people can only produce fruits commensurate with what they are.
What then can we reasonably conclude when it comes to those deemed “corrupt trees” who, being in possession of a “deceitful and desperately wicked heart” would do?
They would try to make their evil works look like good works, and make the works of good people look like evil works in an attempt to flip the narratives in their favor.
Enter, the works of the law.
They are pawned off as good works, and any transgression of the works of the law to be evil works.
Specific to this today with modern day Sabbatarians is the manipulation of the Sabbath so that an otherwise good work any other day transforms into an evil work if done on the Sabbath, in direct contradiction to what Jesus, the “Lord of the Sabbath” had to say in that regard, where He declared good works lawful on the Sabbath, where the work in question is already established as a good work regardless of the Sabbath.
Through this manipulation of works in relation to the Sabbath, those whose works are all evil in the sight of God can not only give the appearance of doing good by keeping the Sabbath, they can also use the transgression of the Sabbath by those who are otherwise producing good works even on the Sabbath to be charged with evil and sin, fulfilling the desire of an evil hearted person to vent their evil through accusations against otherwise good works and those good people carrying them out.
Evil revelry
And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand. °I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. °And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. °And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD. — Hosea 2:10-13
They had a dedication to the Sabbath, new moons, and festivals, even taking delight in them. They kept the Sabbath “of God” while ignoring God, embracing foreign intrigue, a form of adultery in the eyes of God. God removed the Sabbath and those other observances from her.
Hearts far from God
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. — Matthew 15:8
They went through the motions of religious obeisance.
It can hardly be claimed that the “obedience” to the law by the Pharisees and people was anything but outward show and appearance. Jesus still referred to those Pharisees as children of the devil, doing the will of their father the devil… and they kept the Sabbath, with the result in keeping with what the devil wants; people deceived so that they think they are good, when in fact they are not, in denial over their true nature, all thanks to the works of the law, such as the Sabbath, convincing them they are good because they keep the law and Sabbath.
Prophetic end of the Sabbath
As pointed out above, through the prophet Hosea, God was going to put an end to the Sabbath, holy day festivals, and new moon celebrations. The interesting twist to the prophecy is in how it occurred, for prophesies rarely, if ever, are fulfilled in the manner people assume. The Hebrews / Jews ended up with another Sabbath that was not “the” Sabbath, in 359 AD, where Rabbi Hillel II created a new calendar that operated in similar fashion as did the Roman calendar, with fixed weeks, where the Jewish people at that time, with few exceptions, embraced the new calendar with a Sabbath based on the fixed week schema where the new moon celebrations were dropped due to a calendar no longer tied to the phases of the moon to determine the beginning of a lunar month. Holy days, such as Passover, were no longer observed in the manner prescribed by scripture, where only those residing in the land of Israel could observe it, and a number of feasts that could only be properly observed by being present in Jerusalem at the temple.
Ironically then, today’s Sabbatarians who take delight in accusing Christians of not keeping the Sabbath, thereby sinning against the law that to them defines sin through the transgression of that law; specifically the Decalogue, are themselves not keeping “the” Sabbath of Scripture that was dependent upon when the day of the new moon came about.
Of course, today’s self-proclaimed Sabbatarian rejects all this, as pointed out above, because it does not match up with their established beliefs whereby they in turn use them to interpret scripture to their liking.
There is no Sabbath to keep, and no Sabbath to transgress, as God did exactly as He said He would; do away with the weekly and annual Sabbaths, as well as the new moon celebrations, where they all accepted imitations; substitutions, apropos when you consider the constant mantra by Sabbatarians that others are keeping the wrong day; Sunday, that is actually an apples and oranges comparison. The Sabbath was strictly a day of rest from the labor performed the previous six days, where the day of the new moon was not a work day nor counted as such. Sundays, aka the first day of the week, was used, not for rest from labor, but for the early Christians to gather together for communal worship and prayer, either before going to work on that day, or later, after work, where any first day of any calendar was acceptable, seeing as none of this was in response to any Christian commandment to do so. It was done because they desired to do so, under the influence of the Holy Spirit guiding them.
Is it any wonder then that the same Sabbatarians decrying others not keeping their Sabbath would also attack and vilify the worship of God on what they perceive to be the “wrong day?”
Evil needs an outlet for their evil, often through accusations, even as the devil levels accusations against Christians before God.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. — Revelation 12:10
Today’s Sabbatarians seek to alter good works into evil works through the use of a day; the Sabbath, in order to maintain the facade that works of the law, such as the Sabbath, and keeping the Sabbath, is a good work, even a part of the fruit of the Spirit… a “good work” on a day where one rests from “any” and all work...
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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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