The Old Covenant with its Ten Commandments was a perfect, pure and holy covenant. It was perfect for the new child of God. Its commandments were absolutely what was needed for that time in Salvation history. The Bride of Christ was youthful, being prepared and tutored to one day have a husband.
Paul often talks of the Church being the Bride of Christ:
I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. II Cor. 11: 2
He died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be pure and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other wrong thing in it. Eph. 5: 27.
The old covenant law was just what a youthful girl needed and could understand. She should honor her parents, not steal nor kill; she shouldn't be immoral nor covet. But please notice that because she was so young the laws were meant for that timeframe of her life. The laws were negative and self-centered. "Don't do this, don't touch that." The spiritual maturity of the laws were perfect for someone who was not an adult. In the Old Testament book of Tobit, the negative "Whatsoever you do not want to be done to you, do not do to others" is found.
However, this covenant was in place in preparation for a time when the Bride was ripe for marriage.
Now Christ has come and brought in a new covenant. It has a new law that is more spiritually mature than the old covenant because the Bride is now of age for marriage and has been betrothed to the groom. The Christian Church is now in the engagement period of this union, eagerly awaiting our groom to appear and consummate our marriage.
This new covenant law is perfect and holy for this stage of God's people. Our spiritual maturity is such that we can now take our focus off of the me-centered, negative commandments and focus on the love of others. The law is now about loving God and your neighbor as yourself. It is a covenant of the heart as well as the mind and will. Now, we are able to sacrifice our desires for others and place them ahead of ourselves. This law of love turns the negative law into a positive law as Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye wish that others would do unto you, do ye also to them!" This covenant is centered on love and not commandments.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church doctrines and last-day prophecies are still Old Testament focused. They are self-centered. Their sole remnant-hood status that focuses all end times prophecies on themselves shows this spiritually immature status. Their inability to unite with other Christians, their scolding of "do not drink coffee and tea, eat meat, dance and wear jewelry" is not only tending towards the negative commandments, but also treats as children the same people Paul said to, "do not let anyone judge what you eat or drink." Adventist doctrines keeps the flock in a position of immaturity rather than allow them to grow into the spiritually mature adults the New Covenant calls us to.
Adventists, think carefully about your church's doctrines. Are they allowing you to spiritually mature? Are they more me-focused and fearful than other's focused and confident? Does your doctrines allow for true faith in Christ knowing He will sustain you and protect you from false shepherds? If SDA doctrines keep you focused on your denomination, if they keep you immature spiritually, then it is time to discover the New Covenant.
The only real doctrine keeping you from moving on into spiritual maturity is your misunderstanding of the Sabbath commandment. No Christian is going to mind if you keep Sabbath. They will be thrilled for you. The rest of the Christian world just takes Paul at his word when he says that there are no more sabbaths in the New Covenant. Time to throw off the misunderstandings that obstruct your spiritual maturity. Time to enter the epoch of the Bride awaiting her husband in obedience of faith working through love.
Before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Galatians 2: 23-25
[T]he law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives. For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband... Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. Rom. 7: 1-5
Now Christ has come and brought in a new covenant. It has a new law that is more spiritually mature than the old covenant because the Bride is now of age for marriage and has been betrothed to the groom. The Christian Church is now in the engagement period of this union, eagerly awaiting our groom to appear and consummate our marriage.
This new covenant law is perfect and holy for this stage of God's people. Our spiritual maturity is such that we can now take our focus off of the me-centered, negative commandments and focus on the love of others. The law is now about loving God and your neighbor as yourself. It is a covenant of the heart as well as the mind and will. Now, we are able to sacrifice our desires for others and place them ahead of ourselves. This law of love turns the negative law into a positive law as Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye wish that others would do unto you, do ye also to them!" This covenant is centered on love and not commandments.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church doctrines and last-day prophecies are still Old Testament focused. They are self-centered. Their sole remnant-hood status that focuses all end times prophecies on themselves shows this spiritually immature status. Their inability to unite with other Christians, their scolding of "do not drink coffee and tea, eat meat, dance and wear jewelry" is not only tending towards the negative commandments, but also treats as children the same people Paul said to, "do not let anyone judge what you eat or drink." Adventist doctrines keeps the flock in a position of immaturity rather than allow them to grow into the spiritually mature adults the New Covenant calls us to.
Adventists, think carefully about your church's doctrines. Are they allowing you to spiritually mature? Are they more me-focused and fearful than other's focused and confident? Does your doctrines allow for true faith in Christ knowing He will sustain you and protect you from false shepherds? If SDA doctrines keep you focused on your denomination, if they keep you immature spiritually, then it is time to discover the New Covenant.
The only real doctrine keeping you from moving on into spiritual maturity is your misunderstanding of the Sabbath commandment. No Christian is going to mind if you keep Sabbath. They will be thrilled for you. The rest of the Christian world just takes Paul at his word when he says that there are no more sabbaths in the New Covenant. Time to throw off the misunderstandings that obstruct your spiritual maturity. Time to enter the epoch of the Bride awaiting her husband in obedience of faith working through love.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision [the Old Covenant law which allowed you to keep the sabbaths] nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. Gal. 5: 6
