In Matthew 1:21 it is written that Jesus came to earth “to save His people from their sins.” Two things stand out about that statement: 1) He came to save people FROM–NOT WHILE THEY REMAIN IN–THEIR SINS. 2) Christ’s people are ISRALITES–NOT GENTILES. First we will look at number one. We must distinguish between the terms “from,” meaning “to remove out of a geographical location or situation” and “in,” meaning “to remain in a geographical location or situation.”

One of Satan’s premier lies by which he has seduced salvation seeking man is that one can remain “in (allowed to continue to) sin,” have no intention of leaving sin, and be a Christian in good standing. In each of his various versions (cults, sects, denominations, etc.) of Christianity, several “Bible truths” can be found, one of which is that man has no choice but to sin due to Adam’s fall. Knowing this, Jesus supposedly died to enable church people (“sinners saved by grace”) to continue to sin after supposedly being saved/born again, etc. This deadly error is exposed in the series titled Sin Is A Choice. Key word–Choice. There the reader will find that God refutes that church “truth.” Sin, the reader will find, has no place in the life (“walk”) of the truly converted saint. Where sin continues, true conversion has not taken place. False conversion is one of the main characteristics of the Catholic/Protestant Religious System, also known as “the church.”

The second part of the focal statement concerns Christ’s people whom He came to save. The Messiah came to save Israelites, who make up less only a small percentage of the world’s population. John 3:16 tells us that God loves Gentiles and sent His Son to die for them. If Jesus will save only HIS PEOPLE, the Gentiles must become Israelites. Is this possible? Yes, in the spiritual realm Gentiles must become SPIRITUAL ISRAELITES in order to be a child of God. The Bible Truth is that worldly Israelites, including Jews, must also be converted and become spiritual Israelites. Until they do, they are no different from unconverted Gentiles in the eyes of God. Those Biblical Truths are the focus of this series, AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE BIBLE. As the Lord makes plane many times in His Holy Scriptures, NO HUMAN BEING HAS A GUARANTEED RIGHT TO ETERNAL LIFE. ALL MUST OBEY GOD’S LAW.

Recall that God appointed the Israelites to be His “light to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). The Gentiles (heathen) would “come to the light” of the Israelites which would then light the “whole house”–world (Mat. 5:15). Recall that Jesus called His apostles “the light of the WORLD,” which is the title He gave Himself. Only spiritual Israelites (true converts–Law keepers) are the Lord’s people. Therefore, in order to become one of His people one must become a spiritual Israelite. The question is–How?

God tells us in Matthew 2:6 where He says that His Son would “RULE My people Israel.” Jesus came to earth to rule God’s people, all (true converts–Law keepers) of whom He calls “ISRAEL.” The message is clear: IN ORDER TO BE SAVED WE MUST BECOME GOD’S PEOPLE. GOD’S PEOPLE ARE THOSE ISRAELITES AND GENTILES WHO ARE RULED BY JESUS CHRIST. HIS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CLEANSED OF SIN AND CHOOSE TO REMAIN SO. THIS IS POSSIBLE ONLY BY BEING RULED BY HIM–THEIR KING. A KING RULES BY HIS LAW. GOD’S PEOPLE ARE RULED BY GOD’S TEN COMMANDMENT LAW. THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY IT ARE NOT HIS PEOPLE AND HE IS NOT THEIR GOD. GENTILES AND ISRAELITES BECOME SPIRITUAL ISRAELITES BY OBEYING THE LAW OF ISRAEL’S KING.

In Exodus 31 we find the Lord talking with Moses concerning His (God’s) rulership over the Israelite people whom He has recently freed from Egyptian slavery. He tells Moses that He is going to use one of the Ten Commandment Commandments as THE SIGN of His ownership. This commandment would serve as THE “SIGN” of His ownership that will distinguish them from all other people. That “sign” is the fourth commandment–the 7th day Sabbath Law which, as would the other nine commandments, remain His “sign” of ownership (vss 12-17) The Lord chose the fourth commandment to identify His true saints BECAUSE HE HAD BLESSED AND SANCTIFIED THAT SPECIFIC DAY at the end of creation week (Gen. 2:2,3). Later, in Isaiah 58, He refers to His weekly 7th day Sabbath as: “… MY HOLY DAY; THE HOLY OF THE LORD.” (vs 13). WHAT GOD CALLS HOLY, MAN MUST NOT CALL UNHOLY. Religious man calls His Sabbath unholy every Saturday then again the next day.

The Almighty identifies with HIS HOLY DAY. He commands those who identify with Him to treat that day with the same reverence with which He treats it. He gave His Holy Sabbath to man as THE weekly day of rest on which He commands man to congregate, fellowship and learn about Him. Though He gave the day to man, HE IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH AND DICTATES WHAT MAN IS ALLOWED TO DO AND IS REQUIRED TO DO ON HIS HOLY DAY (MAT. 12:8). Those who obey Him relative to His “sign” of ownership are His true saints. Two and a half billion people meet on Sunday where they unknowingly pay homage to Satan by bearing his “sign” of ownership–the Sunday Sabbath. Adding salt to the spiritual wound, they treat God’s Holy Day like any other day. Admittedly, I did the same thing for many years. I WAS A CHILD OF GOD IN NAME ONLY.

One day soon that same sign (the Sunday Sabbath) will distinguish between God’s people and those who bow to the world-ruling BEAST and his FALSE PROPHET who will rule the world with an iron fist. The “sign” of allegiance to them will be one’s embrace of the Sunday Sabbath which, as I stated in an earlier series, will soon become a governmentally-enforced Day of Rest for the entire world. Anyone who does not acknowledge and revere that day will suffer the consequences. As Jesus warned in Matthew chapter 10, it will be a time of world-wide upheaval, strife and conflict. Family members will betray their own relatives to the authorities. Children will betray parents and parents their children in order to remain in good stead with the authorities. The Sunday Sabbath will be the nexus around which the global conflict will revolve. As Jesus warned in Matthew 10, only those who make it to the end of their lives with their holiness intact will be saved. L.J.