CAN GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?

by Adam Harbinson

I was in the company of a member of The Lord’s Day Observance Society one day as he was locked in a heated debate with a chap I knew. Suddenly the Lord’s Day man’s loud protests petered out and dribbled down his chin onto his tie.

‘How did you do that?’ I asked my friend. ‘What did you say to him?’

‘I just said, “If Sunday is the Lord’s day, who owns the other six?”’

There really is no answer to that one, is there? Or maybe there is, for several times in the Old Testament it’s clear that the Sabbath was given to people. For example, Exodus 16:29 says; ‘The LORD has given you the Sabbath.’ And seventeen hundred years later Jesus said, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’ (Mark 7:27). So I’m not sure that the Sabbath was ever referred to in the Bible as the Lord’s Day. Isn’t that interesting, for Paul the Apostle had much to say about people making laws and dressing them up as God’s laws.

Now I know the fourth commandment states, ‘Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,’ but let’s consider the question; does it still apply?

‘Oh?’ says the Lord’s Day man, ‘so God changed his mind did he?’

Maybe he did. Could it be there are dinosaurs in dark corners in some churches whose beliefs are stuck in history? People who have never read Hebrews chapter eight? Who deny the possibility that things changed – including God’s mind – with the coming of the New Testament.  

Now, there are those who will call me Antinomian – one who believes that Christians are under no obligation to obey religious laws – for even suggesting that the status of the Law of Moses could change. But wasn’t it Paul the apostle who said, ‘God’s grace has set us free from the law’? (Romans 6:15). And in another place he said, ‘We were kept in ‘protective custody’ until we could put our faith in the coming Saviour. But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guard’ (Galatians 3:24,25) – how on earth can anyone argue with that?

So there’s a couple of things we should think about. Firstly, is the fourth commandment still in effect? Paul didn’t seem to think so, here’s what he said about it: ‘Don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days… or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ is that reality’ (Colossians 2:16,17).

That’s pretty clear, but I sometimes wonder if the Great Apostle himself were to stand in a pulpit and proclaim liberating truth, would there still be those who would close the parks and chain up the swings on a Sunday.  

Secondly, if Paul was right and that law has passed away, why do people who should know better still observe it, and enforce it? Because it makes them look good. Paul again; ‘These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires’ (Colossians 2:23).

Jesus said much the same. He said, ‘The Pharisees crush you with impossible religious demands…’ and then he turned to a bunch of them and added, ‘You are like whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside but filled with dead men's bones and all sorts of impurity’ (Matthew 23:4 & 27).

You can see the parallels can’t you? So, what to do? Well, it’s back to my one-stringed violin again, isn’t it? ‘If the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.’ Don’t let anyone steal your freedom.