Re: RE: SHOULD CHRISTIANS KEEP THE SABBATH?" -- UNITED APOSTOLIC BIBLE TALK

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Date Posted: 11:17:32 08/21/03 Thu
Author: Gerry Anderson
Subject: Re: RE: SHOULD CHRISTIANS KEEP THE SABBATH?"
In reply to: Scarborough Apostolic United Ministry Apostolic 's message, "RE: SHOULD CHRISTIANS KEEP THE SABBATH?"" on 11:12:28 08/12/00 Sat

>SHOULD CHRISTIANS KEEP THE SABBATH?"
>
>
>
>
>Groups such as the Seventh-Day Adventists have raised
>many questions about the Sabbath in the minds of
>Christians. Should we still keep the seventh-day
>Sabbath of the Old Testament? Should we keep Sunday as
>the Sabbath? Has Sabbath keeping been abolished under
>the new covenant? What meaning does the Sabbath have
>for us today?
>
>The Command and Its Significance
>The command to keep the Sabbath was first given in the
>law of Moses and is part of the Ten Commandments
>(Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). The word
>sabbath comes from a Hebrew root that means "to rest,
>cease, desist, leave off" (Gesenius). On the pain of
>death, the Israelites were not to do any work on the
>Sabbath-not even cooking, lighting a fire, gathering
>firewood, or traveling (Exodus 16:23-30; 20:8-11;
>31:12-17; 3@:1-3; Numbers 15:32-26). While the Sabbath
>was a day of worship, sacred assembly, and special
>sacrifices in the Tabernacle and Temple ("an holy
>convocation"), for the average person it was primarily
>a day of rest at home ("a sabbath of rest...in all
>your dwellings") (Leviticus 23:3). Historians agree
>that synagogues and local Sabbath worship at them did
>not come into existence until after the destruction of
>the Temple in 721 B.C.
>
>Several passages of Scripture disclose that the
>Sabbath was given uniquely to the nation of Israel:
>"Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign
>between me and you throughout your generations; that
>ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you"
>(Exodus 31:13). (See Ezekiel 20:12-13.) "And remember
>that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and
>that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through
>a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore
>the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath
>day" (Deuteronomy 5:15).
>
>These passages also reveal a twofold significance for
>the Sabbath law. First, as we have already seen, the
>Sabbath provided a weekly day of rest from all work.
>It was instituted for people's physical, mental, and
>spiritual well-being, not because the day itself was
>sacred. As Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man,
>and not man for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27). This
>provision of rest was especially significant to the
>Israelites, for the Sabbath was a constant, vivid
>reminder that God had delivered them from slavery and
>entered into covenant relationship with them.
>
>Second, the Sabbath served to sanctify the nation of
>lsrael, that is, to set it apart or separate it from
>all other nations, for no other nation observed the
>Sabbath. Along with laws concerning diet, farming
>practices, and clothing, the Sabbath law distinguished
>the Israelites from everyone else and identified them
>physically as Jehovah's chosen people.
>
>
>The Sabbath and the New Covenant
>The church today is not under God's covenant with
>lsrael as epitomized by the Ten Commandments, but
>under the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34-; Romans
>7:5-6; Galatians 3:23-35; 4-:21-31). As a result, the
>church no longer observes the physical signs and
>ceremonies of the old covenant, such as circumcision
>(Galatians 6:15). God and His Word are unchanging, but
>some of His commands relate only to certain people or
>a certain time. While God's moral law never changes,
>Christians are not subject to the ceremonial law of
>the Old Testament (Mark 7:14--19; Acts 11:5-9;
>15:1-29).
>
>The Jewish Sabbath was part of that ceremonial law;
>the Sabbath is not inherently moral. In Isaiah 1:10-20
>God contrasted ceremonial observances-including blood
>sacrifices, feasts, and Sabbaths-with moral standards,
>saying He detested the Israelites' keeping of the
>former because they did not live up to the latter.
>
>If Sabbath keeping were a universal, eternal moral
>duty, God would not have expressed displeasure with it
>under any circumstances.
>
>Similarly, Jesus compared the Sabbath to other
>ceremonial law, which could be superseded even under
>the old covenant in cases of higher moral need
>(Matthew 12:1-13). Jesus and Paul affirmed the moral
>law of the Old Testament; they referred to some of the
>Ten Commandments as stating eternal moral standards,
>but it is notable that they did not mention the
>Sabbath law in these references (Mark 10:19; 12:28-31;
>Romans 13:8-10).
>
>God used the ceremonial law including blood
>sacrifices, dietary laws, circumcision, Sabbaths, and
>feasts-as types and shadows of truth to be found in
>Christ and His gospel. Since we now have the
>substance, or reality, we no longer need to observe
>the types and shadows. "Let no man therefore judge you
>in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or
>of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a
>shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ"
>(Colossians 2:16-17).
>
>Other New Testament passages also show that Sabbath
>keeping is not a requirement of the new covenant. It
>is permissible to regard a certain day as special, but
>it is wrong to make it a moral duty for oneself or
>others. "One man esteemeth one day above another:
>another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be
>fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the
>day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth
>not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it...Let
>us not therefore judge one another any more" (Romans
>14-:5-6, 13). "How turn ye again to the weak and
>beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in
>bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and
>years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon
>you labour in vain" (Galatians 4-:9-11).
>
>Jesus observed the Sabbath because He was a Jew living
>under the old covenant. For the same reason, He was
>circumcised and observed the Jewish feast days. At the
>same time, Jesus claimed to be the Lord of the
>Sabbath, indicating that He could apply or change it
>as He saw fit (Mark 2:28).
>
>At first, Jewish Christians apparently kept the
>Sabbath as part of their culture. In Acts 10-11 Peter
>and the Jewish church were still adhering to Jewish
>dietary laws for the same reason. In Acts 21 Paul
>underwent a Jewish purification ceremony, which
>included a Temple offering, in order to reassure Jews
>that he was not trying to destroy their culture. He
>also attended synagogues often in order to preach to
>Jews. But in Acts 15 the Jerusalem Council ruled that
>Gentile Christians did not have to keep the law of
>Moses, except for four items that they listed in a
>letter to all the Gentile churches. Significantly, the
>Sabbath was not one of them.
>
>Some people point to the creation story as proof that
>the Sabbath law is eternal. God "ended his work" of
>creation and "rested" on the seventh day; moreover, He
>"blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it" (Genesis
>2:2-3). When God gave the Ten Commandments, He cited
>this precedent as justification for the Sabbath law
>(Exodus 20:1 1; 31:17).
>
>Since Genesis was one of the five books of the law
>originally written for Israel, the creation story was
>naturally used to support the Sabbath command to
>lsrael. While the Genesis account indicates the need
>for a weekly day of rest, it does not command Sabbath
>observance as such. The Bible nowhere states that
>people before the law observed the Sabbath as a day of
>rest or worship. Moreover, due to many changes in
>calendars over the centuries, it is impossible to say
>that the seventh day of Genesis 2 is the modern
>Saturday.
>
>We should also note that the Bible nowhere indicates
>that the Sabbath has been changed to Sunday or that
>God intends for Sunday to be a new Christian Sabbath.
>
>It should be pointed out that few persons keep the
>Sabbath law today. in order to do so, a person could
>not perform any work or light a fire. Thus he could
>not use any type of stove, heater, internal combustion
>engine, or electricity. Moreover, he could not cause
>anyone else to violate the Sabbath, which he would do
>if he ate in a restaurant or used utilities, the
>telephone, or the radio.
>
>
>Worship on Sunday
>Christians are to be faithful to local church meetings
>whenever they are held (Hebrews 10:25), and any day is
>appropriate for a special spiritual observance (Romans
>14-:5-6).
>
>From the earliest times, Christians have usually
>conducted their main worship services on Sunday. Early
>believers chose the day of Christ's resurrection to
>emphasize that they were not under the old covenant,
>which the Sabbath symbolized, but under the new
>covenant, which His resurrection instituted. Thus the
>believers at Troas met on the first day of the week
>for worship (Acts 20:7), and Paul instructed the
>Corinthians to collect offerings on the first day (I
>Corinthians 16:2). John was "in the Spirit on the
>Lord's day" when Jesus appeared to him in a vision
>(Revelation 1:10).
>
>Jesus Himself established the precedent of meeting on
>the first day. Not only did He first appear to His
>assembled disciples on the evening of His resurrection
>day (John 20:19), but His next appearance to the group
>was on the same day one week later (John 20:26).
>("After eight days" is reckoned in the ancient Jewish
>manner, counting both the starting and ending day.)
>And the Holy Spirit fell on the assembled disciples on
>Pentecost Sunday.
>
>Sunday was a normal work day in the pagan Roman
>Empire, so Christians usually met on that day in the
>early morning or in the evening. After Emperor
>Constantine made Christianity legal and then began
>supporting it, he proclaimed Sunday an official
>holiday. He did not originate Sunday worship but
>merely legalized and facilitated the existing
>practice. However, his action did encourage the view
>that Sunday was a new Christian Sabbath.
>
>
>Spiritual Application
>From the Sabbath law we can draw a principle of
>enduring importance and continuing application: the
>need to provide a time of rest for our bodies and our
>spirits. In addition, Colossians 2:16-17 speaks of a
>deeper significance, describing the Sabbath as a type
>or foreshadowing of a greater reality to be found in
>Christ. Like the Levitical sacrifices, the Sabbaths
>are fulfilled in Him.
>
>In other words, the Sabbath points to the spiritual
>rest that Jesus promised. "Come unto me, all ye that
>labour and are heavy laden," He invited, "and I will
>give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
>for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
>rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
>burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Significantly, in
>the passage immediately after this statement, Jesus
>indicated that the Sabbath law was ceremonial in
>nature and asserted His lordship over it (Matthew
>12:1-13).
>
>It is specifically through the baptism of the Holy
>Spirit with the initial sign of speaking in tongues
>that we partake of the spiritual rest Christ provides.
>Isaiah 28:11-12 promises, "For with stammering lips
>and another tongue will he speak to this people. To
>whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause
>the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing."
>
>The Apostle Peter apparently alluded to this promise
>when he preached in Acts 3:19, "Repent ye therefore,
>and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
>when the times of refreshing shall come from the
>presence of the Lord." The last clause of this verse
>describes the gift of the Holy Spirit, as shown by
>Acts 2:38, a parallel statement from another sermon of
>Peter's: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
>the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
>and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
>
>We also receive sanctification, or power to separate
>from sin and identify with Christ, through the
>indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter
>1:2). Just as the physical Sabbath provided physical
>rest and sanctification for the Israelites under the
>old covenant, so the indwelling Holy Spirit, the
>Spirit of Jesus Christ, provides spiritual rest and
>sanctification for the church under the new covenant.
>Just as the Sabbath was a constant reminder of
>Israel's deliverance from bondage and of their
>covenant relationship with God, so the Holy Spirit is
>a constant reminder of our deliverance from sin and of
>our new covenant relationship with God. The Spirit
>gives us power over sin (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:4-), and
>the Spirit effects the new covenant in our hearts (II
>Corinthians 3:3; Hebrews 8:8-11). By living in the
>Spirit, we enjoy the true Sabbath every day.
>
>The enduring significance of the Sabbath is
>beautifully described in Hebrews 3:7-4-:11. Because of
>their unbelief, the Israelites did not enter into the
>rest that God provided for them, but the church today
>still has a promise of spiritual rest. And according
>to Hebrews 4-:4-, this spiritual rest is the true and
>ultimate fulfillment of God's rest on the seventh day
>of creation.
>
>Hebrews 4-:9 states emphatically, there remaineth
>therefore a rest to the people of God:' The word rest
>here a translation of the Greek word sabbatismos,
>which literally means a Sabbath keeping or a Sabbath
>rest (Thayer). Does this verse refer to physical Old
>Testament Sabbath observance? No. The next verse
>states that our Sabbath consists of resting, or
>ceasing, from our works,just as God did from His
>(Hebrews 4:10). In other words, to enjoy true
>spiritual rest, we must renounce the works of the
>flesh and stop trying to earn salvation by our own
>works. Instead, we must exercise faith in Christ's
>work on our behalf. Through faith, we receive His Holy
>Spirit and live daily by the Spirit's guidance and
>power. The Spirit works in us to regenerate and
>sanctify, thus preparing us for the eternal Sabbath
>rest.
>
>Of course, true faith is not passive; it is an active
>reliance upon God that issues forth in obedience. Thus
>Hebrews 4-:11 admonishes, "Let us labour {be diligent,
>make every effort} therefore to enter into that rest,
>lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."
>
>Yes, we have a Sabbath rest-the refreshing presence
>and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit that we enjoy
>every day. And, yes, the ultimate Sabbath rest awaits
>us still-eternal rest in the presence of the One to
>whom the Old Testament Sabbath points: Jesus Christ
>our Lord.

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Re: RE: SHOULD CHRISTIANS KEEP THE SABBATH?" -- Darrell K Whitfield, 13:22:31 03/20/06 Mon