CHARLIE WAS REALLY OPEN MINDED TO BIBLICAL TRUTH, WOW!
Charlie describes his finding of the true Sabbath and how it enriched his life during
interviews. This is a wonderful example of being open to truth, accepted or not. Mr. Kirk went back into the word of God to the beginning. How God rested on the seventh day and made it Holy. Note Gen. 2:2-3. He also saw that it was the marker or sign of “who is your God.” The God of creation is the real God.
Exodus 31:12-14, “And the LORD spoke...13 ‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”’” (NKJV)
It is a sign as to which God you belong to and Charlie found it to be a wonderfully refreshing rest. God's laws actually work. Charlie felt in 2021 that he was burning out with work. He learned from men like Dennis Prager about the Sabbath rest. He tried the seventh day rest and found it rejuvenating. Charlie discovered the blessing meant for all mankind regarding the fourth commandment of God.
Mark 2:27-28, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” (KJV)
Christ told the self righteous leaders that the Sabbath was made to serve and benefit mankind. They, with all their extra rules were making the people serve the day instead of it serving them. Further, that Jesus was also in charge of the Sabbath –– not them.
Note that God was very serious about it.
Exodus 31:14, “You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death;”
We are no longer in a theocracy like ancient Israel, but God's laws are still good for us, as Charlie discovered. The Sabbath is the identifier of which God we worship.
WHO IS YOUR GOD ?
The seventh day Sabbath is something that was MADE by God, created FOR man! It is made for our delight and rejuvenation –– our blessed end of the weekly gift. Charlie in the last four years of his life enjoyed it and, continued being very successful thereby.
Isaiah 58:13-14, “If thou … call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob…"
The Sabbath should be a family day and Charlie and Erika really put their focus on that aspect and, it no doubt helped their marriage in spite of his grueling schedule. He realized that Jesus himself kept this day and its origins come from the original creation of mankind. Therefore he ignored the theologians arguments for Sunday. Did Christ keep the Sabbath all His life?
Luke 4:16 , “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.” (NKJV)
Jesus kept the seventh day Sabbath all His life and this is uncontested by scholars.
HOW IMPORTANT TO ALL JEWS WAS THE SABBATH LAW?
All the Jews came out of the captivity of Babylon with the help of Ezra and Nehemiah, determined to never fall back into idolatry or Sabbath breaking again. Altering the Sabbath would have been a huge issue in that nation, period. Anyone suggesting to alter it to match the pagan day of the Sun god would have been anathema.
When the church expanded significantly into the gentile world, what was the big issue? It was circumcision. This makes no sense if they had also altered the Sabbath to accommodate gentiles or even a pagan sunrise event. Actually Christ was resurrected before sunrise, John 20:1-3. Note what was commanded of gentiles for entry into the church:
Acts 15:20-21, “…but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
These are the things that Jews felt that gentiles needed to abandon immediately upon entering the church with them. Mostly involving bloody food and immorality which the gentiles were considered marinated in and would pollute services and fellowship.
Verse 21, “For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
When would these newly converted gentiles learn all the other Biblical things needed for spiritual maturity? It would be on the Sabbath at the public synagogues where the the Bible was available. Printing and inexpensive Bibles had not yet been invented. Clearly, allowing exceptions for adult gentiles regarding circumcision was the hot issue.
Acts 22:19-22, “So I said, ‘Lord…in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. 20 … when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21 Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the GENTILES.’ 22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices … said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!’”
The sect of Christians may not have been popular but what really infuriated Jews was uncircumcised gentiles being allowed to worship their God, the true God, with them. Sabbath altering was never debated in all the New Testament. Note:
Galatians 5:11-12 , “As for me, brethren, if I am still a preacher of circumcision,how is it that I am still suffering persecution? In that case the Cross has ceased to be a stumbling-block! 12 Would to God that those who are unsettling your faith would even mutilate themselves.” (WNT)
Over time, the issue in which the sect of Jesus of Nazareth was finding persecution from main stream Judaism was their allowing in gentiles as equal members. Paul was quite angry at these false teachers, for the Jerusalem conference had already solved the issue as we read in Acts 15. The Apostle Paul also kept the Sabbath just as Christ had, note:
Acts 17:2, “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,” (NKJV)
If they had altered the Sabbath, it would have been a much, much bigger issue than the circumcision exception for gentiles. Mr. Kirk was correct in keeping the Sabbath rest.
Hebrews 4:4-9, “he has said…regarding the seventh day, And God rested on the seventh day from all his work … Today if you hear his voice, Continue not to harden your hearts… 9 So there remains a Sabbath Rest for the people of God.” (MNT)
