That phrase does describe the lives of many who profess to be Christians: they are so caught up in the outward show of appearing to be "holy" that they accomplish little for their fellow creatures here upon earth-- it must be stated that such lives are not pleasing to our Creator either.
But if something is TRULY heavenly holy it will be of the utmost earthly good!
A life truly in union with Christ will produce much good, so how and why is it that so many professing Christians are producing so little in terms of actual benefit for all creation?
The Lord Jesus Himself went about "doing good", yet many of those who claim to be His are pretty much like the rest of the world, in fact, more "good" seems to come from some unbelievers than from many Christians!
In addition, Sabbath keeping is not just "going to church" though having a holy convocation is part of the commandment (Leviticus 23:2,3). The real significance of the Sabbath is that it is to be a day of REST for all the land's inhabitants-- but Sunday is the busiest day of many Christians' week!
Moreover, the Sabbath is an entire day in which we should DELIGHT to seek the LORD's pleasure in our lives. Here is the most precious promise regarding Sabbath keeping:
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My Holy Day; and 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:
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 thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah 58:13,14
As for considerations of the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant, the book of Hebrews makes it plain that the New Covenant is better, because it is based upon better promises. Yet Hebrews 8:8-13 explains that the New Covenant is simply that the LORD has written His Laws in our hearts and put them in our minds, so that we could KNOW Him!
The "better promise" of the New Covenant is that the Lord Jesus will abide IN us (John 15:4,5)-- not just the Law being written in our hearts, but the LAWGIVER abiding there! He who is the fulfillment of the Law-- He who kept the Law perfectly all His earthly life ABIDES in us!
It was prophesied of Jesus that "He shall magnify the Law and make it honourable" (Isaiah 42:21). In His earthly Life He showed us the exact way to live according to the commandments and He makes it possible for us to live the same way! He kept the Sabbath holy, resting and worshipping according to the Law, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He still keeps the Sabbath holy, and will perfect us in that also.
The laws written in our hearts include the Ten Commandments, and remembering the Sabbath is one of those Ten. Many may think that it is the least of the Ten, but Jesus said that those who break the least of the commandments would be least in the Kingdom of Heaven... However, the main point of this article is that it is the keeping of the Sabbath that is the key to a fruitful life in Christ Jesus-- the Sabbath is the Keystone Commandment that holds in place our respect for all the commandments.
As we take the time to wholly seek the LORD on the Sabbath Days, the days that He has appointed for us to rest and delight ourselves in Him, he raises us up to the high places of the earth and feeds us at His Table. Some hypocrites claim that every day is holy to them and that every day is their Sabbath, yet if that is so, then they are violating the part of the Sabbath Commandment that says "Six days shalt thou LABOUR AND DO ALL THY WORK...!
Consider also, that the apostle James wrote that if any offend in one point of the Law, he is guilty of all. Now let us look at Christianity's guilt regarding the keeping of the Commandments:
THOU SHALT MAKE NO GRAVEN IMAGES OR IDOLS} most churches have stupid pictures of a long haired hippy "Jesus", and worse yet, the idol in their hearts is a god who does not expect his commands to be obeyed.
THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN} most churches make vain His Name by failing to show forth His holiness (Holy and reverend is His NAME-- Psalm 111:9).
REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY} most churches have forgotten the Sabbath day and do not keep it holy.
HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER...} most of the church thinks no ill of those who put their fathers and mothers into the world's nursing homes rather than keeping them in their own homes, and most of the church sends their children to public schools, where they learn dishonour for their Father and their fathers' faith.
THOU SHALT NOT KILL} most of the church takes a neutral stance towards abortion, because they murder their own babies through contraception... likewise most of the church takes no strong stand for capital punishment which God commands, because they disregard His commands.
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY} most of the church is in adultery with the world, not speaking out against immorality and nakedness in the world's media and fashions.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL} most of the church has stolen from the poor, widows, orphans, and ministers by not sharing the portion of the tithe that is supposed to be theirs (Deuteronomy 14:28,29), and by endorsing the world's usury-based financial systems (Exodus 22:25), at the same time forsaking the year of release, Jubilee, inheritance laws, and debt remedy system of the Bible.
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR} most of the church bears false witness to all by not declaring that sin is the transgression of the Law, and that Jesus was manifested to take away those transgressions.
THOU SHALT NOT COVET} yet most of the church is world renowned for covetting money to heap it together in costly buildings, furnishings, and homes, so much so that the "faith message" these days equates gain with godliness.
No professing believer would claim that it is acceptable to break any of the other Ten Commandments, yet by failing to take the time to keep the Sabbath, by failing to delight themselves in Yah's Words, ways, and pleasures, the church has digressed over time to break ALL the Ten Commandments.
If we love the LORD, we must keep His Commandments, and if we love our neighbor as ourself, we must teach him all things that Jesus commanded-- including those things He spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai! The Sabbath, as well as the rest of the Law, was made for man, FOR OUR GOOD ALWAYS! (Deuteronomy 6:24).
"Now to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, TO HIM IT IS SIN". This article is written about the blessings of keeping Yahweh's Sabbaths because it can be plainly seen how much the individuals, families, and institutions of our nation NEED that blessing of taking heed to the Word, ways, and pleasures of Yah.
The Scriptures make it clear that the Sabbath and other feasts will be kept as long as the new heavens and new earth remain (Isaiah 66:23, Zechariah 14:16-19). Therefore, it is profitable for us to consider just exactly what the LORD would have us do in respect of His Holy Days-- which ARE a shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:17).
The Holy Days are not yet fulfilled-- Passover and Pentecost have been significantly enhanced, yet the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles still await their future Unveiling by Yah's Great Hand. All the nations of earth will eventually keep the feasts throughout eternity, and the church should lead in this regard, in the Unity of the Faith.
Most people think it's a horrible thing to be abiding in the "shadow of things to come", yet he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High SHALL ABIDE under the SHADOW of the Almighty! The Secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant (Psalm 91:1 & Psalm 25:14)!
His Covenant put simply is this:
"The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul! Psalm 19:7
"It is time for Thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void Thy Law.
Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold.
Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way."
Psalm 119:126-128
footnote: I wrote the above article several years ago and am adding this footnote to explain how the sabbath relates to Islam:
By instructing Muslims to stop their daily routine 5 times each day in order to pray, Allah has incorporated the underlying principle of the sabbath into their daily lives.
Therefore, He did not repeat the sabbath commandment for Muslims to observe: the people of Israel were first given the sabbath and they failed to keep it, then the followers of Jesus (as) "inherited" the sabbath command, yet they too failed to keep it.
That is not to say that there is presently no value in keeping the sabbath! Quite the opposite, for Christians and Jews, it is a fundamental instruction from the Most High given to order their lives. Yet, the people of Islam were given the daily prayer regimen and the weekly Friday prayer meeting to fulfill the necessary functions of the sabbath command in their lives yet making them distinct from Judaism or Christianity at the same time.
Though I will personally ever be thankful for the many blessings I have received on sabbath days in the past, and though I still generally tend to "take it easy" on the sabbath anyway (it is one of my days off from scheduled work), I am not anymore a strict "sabbath keeper" as I once was. I recognize that the Most High has moved on from sabbath worship to the daily worship system of Islam and so I now rejoice therein.