Commandments of God
Characteristics of the the last saints of God
Jesus said only the one who does the will of God, and those who hold fast to the testimony of Jesus will be saved. (Matt 7:21-23 and Rev 14:12) Then, what is the will of God we must know to receive Eternal Life?
About the Sabbath Day
Believers understand that God commanded a day of worship to God’s people. However, some churches keep Sunday worship while others worship on Saturday. Then what day did God command us to keep holy?
We must be clear on the commandments of God for our salvation.
Ex 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.
What day is the seventh day? Today, we refer to days of the week by name: “Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,” and no longer “the first day, the second day, the third day.” The present-day system was adopted from Rome where people call the first day of the week, “Sunday,” the second day, “Monday,” the seventh day, “Saturday.”
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Looking at a calendar, the first day is Sunday and the seventh day is Saturday.
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A dictionary defines Sunday as “the first day of the week,” and Saturday as “the seventh day of the week.”
The Bible testifies that Jesus rose on the first day of the week. All Christians recognize this and celebrate the Resurrection on Sunday.
Mk 16:9 (NIV) When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week…
Mk 16:9 (GNT) When Jesus rose from death early on Sunday…
Since the Bible testifies that the first day of the week is Sunday, then what day of the week is the seventh day, the Sabbath? We can confirm through the Bible
that the Sabbath day is Saturday.
Most people who hear Sabbath day is Saturday think that it is the day of worship given only to the Israelites. However, the Old Testament was a shadow of the good things that were to come in the times of the New Testament (Heb 10:1). The Sabbath day in the Old Testament was called “the Sabbath of Jehovah” (Eze 20:12), while the Sabbath of the New Testament was called “the Sabbath of Jesus" (Matt 12:8).
Jesus and the Apostles Kept the Sabbath Day
The day the Sabbath was to be commemorated has never changed
but the way to keep it was changed in New Testament times.
In the Old Testament times, God’s people offered burnt sacrifices to God but,
in the New Testament times, people worship God in spirit and in truth.
Luke 4:16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom…”
The apostles, too, kept the Sabbath day as Christ showed them.
Acts 17:2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures…”
The Sabbath Day is a Very Precious Commandment of God
No matter how many good deeds a church does, if it has different doctrines than those of Christ it cannot lead God’s people to salvation. The saints who will be saved in the last days are those that follow Christ’s example. We must seek the church that keeps this very precious commandment of God.
About the Soul
People often wonder, “Where do we go when we die?” … “What is the purpose of this life?” Man has taken great interest in these questions and developed many theories and opinions, but only the Creator can answer these questions. Through the words of God, we can see that God urges us to focus on spiritual things. “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63).
Who Am I?
God taught us through creation that we are spiritual beings.
Gen 2:7 … The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being.
Only after God breathed the breath of life into the man did he become a “living being.” The body is made from the dust, but the spirit is made by God and is from God. Solomon wrote, “the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7). Then we should cherish what was given to us by God, our spirit.
Matt 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Therefore, God’s salvation is not for our body, but for our soul.
1 Pet 1:9 “… for you are receiving the end result of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.”
Apostle Paul wrote similarly about his own salvation:
2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
What is away from the body? Paul testified that he wanted his soul to be away from the body and at home with God. He referred to his soul, which is away from the body, as himself—his true self.
Then the body is nothing but a temporary home for the soul. “If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed [if our flesh dies], we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven…” (2 Cor 5:1), and, “… as long as I live in the tent of this body” (2 Pet 1:13).
True Life Is Spiritual Life
Our true essence is not our physical body, but our spirit housed inside our body. Why does the Bible refer to the body as a “tent”? Are tents supposed to serve as permanent shelters? No. Likewise, our life within the body—our tent—is only temporary.
If we focus on satisfying our physical body in this life, it means that we are living for our house. We should live life for ourselves, not for the houses in which we dwell.
Of course, we cannot deny the physical life while we are in our physical body, but our efforts in this life should not be focused on temporary things.
Our eternal home awaits us; we should focus on heaven while we live on this earth.
2 Cor 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
About Baptism
Most Christians understand that we are sinners and we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless we are pure in spirit. Thus, our sins must be forgiven in order to enter heaven. Baptism is the first step towards salvation. Through baptism our sins are cleansed and our souls are made pure.
Why Should We Be Baptized?
The Bible testifies that those without the will to follow God are dead, even though they are physically alive. Furthermore, the sins we commit in this life
can separate us from the grace of God.
Isa 59:1-2 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Eph 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.
In order for us to receive eternal life, our sins must be removed. Our spirit must be born again.
We Are Born Again Through Baptism
John 3:3-5 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
Jesus made atonement for our sins by shedding his blood on the cross, being buried, then resurrecting. In the same way, our bodies must die to pay for our sins. Our body should be buried then lifted through baptism. As Jesus rose from death, we are also raised—born again as the righteous, only after our sins are forgiven through the grace of Christ.
1 Pet 3:21 … and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.
Rom 6:3-11 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through glory of the Father, we too may live a new life … Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him … In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Baptism revives the spirit.
When Should We Be Baptized?
God taught us that we should not boast about tomorrow (Pr 27:1). Some churches require six months or more of studying the Bible before they perform baptism. However, in the World Mission Society Church of God, we do not delay baptism. Instead we follow the examples of Christ and the Apostles and perform baptism immediately
upon realizing the gospel.
Acts 8:36-38 As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Acts 16:33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
Without receiving the forgiveness of our sins, we cannot be given wisdom to recognize God. Therefore, if one wants to believe in God, he should be baptized first.