It is clear that they are needed, because without them it is impossible to build a church. At best, only the first tier can be brought out, it is impossible to complete the entire building.

Are they changeable?

Again, it is clear that yes. As the development of the path progresses, the external aids must become higher and more complex, adapting themselves to this development. Milk is needed for children, solid food for adults (1 Cor. III, 2).

As the tree grows, it is necessary to lengthen the stick to which it is tied.

But is it enough to confine oneself to the construction of scaffolding, that is, to the fulfillment of external rites and precepts, as the Pharisees limited themselves to?

Of course not. It is pointless to build scaffolding if you do not build a temple. By themselves, they are not needed for anything.

It must be firmly remembered that if the Lord is to be the center of all human life and reign in the human soul, then the first concern of a Christian should be to build in the soul a temple worthy of Him, that is, to purify and prepare, to educate the soul.

This is the main concern. All forces and attention should be directed here, and all religious life and activity should be considered from this point of view.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor. III, 16). You are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people (2 Cor. VI, 16).

Chapter III, Articles 1-6

 Again the Evangelist tells of a clash that took place between the Lord and the Pharisees, and again this clash took place on the question of the Sabbath.

On the question of the Sabbath, the scribes and Pharisees were especially unyielding and jealous, for here they relied not simply on an ancient custom or the tradition of the elders, but on a certain command of God. The fourth commandment of the Sinai legislation stated:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; Six days thou shalt work, and thou shalt do all thy work, and the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt not do any work therein, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he rested; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it (Exod. XX, 8-11).

And the thirty-first chapter of the book of Exodus spoke even more emphatically: And the Lord said to Moses, saying, Say to the children of Israel, Keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. and keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you: whoever defiles it shall be put to death; whoever begins to do work in it, that soul must be cut off from among his people; six days, let them do the work, and on the seventh the Sabbath of rest, which is consecrated to the Lord: whosoever does the work on the Sabbath day, let him be put to death. XXXI, 12-15).