The Sabbath

Its Place For the Christian

Introduction:

1. What is the Christian view of the Sabbath? Do we observe it? Do we have our own Sabbath on Sunday? Do we not observe it but have a special day that is similar to it? Or do we ignore it altogether?

2. How the commandment was distorted by the Jews

1. By Jesus' day, Jews had taken this wholesome instruction to extremes

2. The Mishnah contained 39 acts forbidden on Sabbath (separating 2 threads, tying certain knots, writing 2 or more letters of alphabet)

3. They had added precautionary measures (tailor not allowed to take his needles home on Friday, or a scribe his pen)

4. Jewish legalism made a beautiful event into a harsh and hateful ritual.

(Mark 2:27) "And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:"

1. Important Considerations

1. Definition: It was a weekly day of rest for the Israelites. It was part of the covenant between the Jew and God.

2. There was more than one Sabbath in the Law

1. Weekly Sabbath is the one we are most familiar with and the one addressed in the Ten Commandments

2. There were other Sabbaths that coincided with other feast days

3. This is behind the “problem” of the exact day of Christ’s crucifixion. Which Sabbath was John speaking of we he said that it was on the “day after the Sabbath.”

3. The OT Sabbath was not a day of worship, only a day of rest

4. It was during the intertestamental years that the synagogues were started and worship began on that day.

1. Prior to that, worship was carried on seven days a week, with two offerings made daily.

2. Temple worship was daily, not weekly.

5. The Sabbath was made for man, not vice versa

1. It was not observed, as far as we know, prior to the giving of the Law.

2. Just as the Law was temporary, so too, the Sabbath observation was temporary

3. The Law did not exist prior to Moses, neither did the Sabbath

4. The Law was done away with in Christ, so too was the Sabbath

6. There were four basic reasons for the Sabbath command.

1. To memorialize deliverance:

(DEU 5:15) "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."

2. To memorialize creation.

(EXO 20:11) "For in six days the lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

3. Special sign to Israel.

(EXO 31:16-17) "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. {17} it is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

4. A day of rest.

(DEU 5:14) "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the lord thy god: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou."

7. Sunday is not the “Christian Sabbath”

8. SDA suggests that it was erroneous Christians that changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday

1. Catholics did not start Sunday worship (though some claim they did)

2. Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2. Rev. 1:10

9. JRR quote: “HOWEVER, NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS HAVE NO COMMAND FROM GOD TO ABSTAIN FROM LABOR ON ANY CERTAIN DAY, NOR EVEN TO MEET FOR WORSHIP ON A GIVEN DAY OF THE WEEK.” (All caps in the original)

2. SDA View of the Sabbath

1. Quotes

“. . .[T]he divine institution of the Sabbath is to be restored. . .The delivering of this message will precipitate a conflict that will involve the whole world. The central issue will be obedience to God's law and the observance of the Sabbath… Those who reject it will eventually receive the mark of the beast” (Ibid., pp. 262-63). In one of her most revered works, Ellen White wrote that Sabbath observance would be the “line of distinction” in the “final test” that will separate God's end-time people who “receive the seal of God” and are saved, from those who “receive the mark of the beast” (The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, p. 605).

Describing a supposed vision direct from God, Ellen White wrote, “I saw that the Holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers” (Early Writings, p. 33; emphasis added). She also wrote of some Adventists failing to understand that “Sabbath...observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers” (Ibid., p. 85).

2. Law

1. Teach that it is for today

2. They teach specifically that the 10 Commandments are the Law

3. They focus on the Sabbath commandment

1. Varying degrees of SDAs

1. Some teach that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast

2. Some teach that Sunday worship is wrong

3. Some allow salvation for those who worship on the wrong day, but still insist on Sabbath keeping

2. They ignore the punishment for breaking this commandment

3. The Law Has Been Made Inoperable

1. Gal. 3:19-25

2. Eph. 2:14-16

3. Col. 2:14-17

4. 2 Co. 3:7, 11

5. The Law was for Israel. It was done away with at the cross.

4. Arguments Against the Sabbath

1. The Law was given to Israel and the Sabbath was a sign between Israel and God (Ex. 31:12, 13, 16, 17; Neh. 9:13-14 “madest known thy holy Sabbath...” Ez. 20:10-20)

2. No command or evidence that the Sabbath was kept PRIOR to the giving of the Law

3. OT regulations were done away with in Christ (Col. 2:14)

4. Council in Jerusalem in Acts 15 did not require the Gentiles to keep the Sabbath

5. In the NT we are not to judge people based on their observance of the Sabbath (Col. 2:16-17; Gal. 4:10-11)

6. The penalty for breaking this commandment was death (as well as for breaking other commandments). If we are under the law then why do SDAs not practice the penalty phase of it?

7. Rom. 2:14 shows that people without the law have a moral conscience teaching them that murder, etc. was wrong. Yet, people do not have a conscience about the seventh day or any other ceremonial matter such as abstaining from certain meats, being circumcised, etc.

8. If we are to follow the Sabbath, then we must follow all of the regulations concerning it

1. They don’t follow Ex. 35:3 about “not kindling fires on the Sabbath”

2. If you are going to keep the weekly Sabbath, then you should also keep the other Sabbaths (Lev. 23:1-44)

1. There are other Sabbath days besides the weekly one

2. Either all of these Sabbaths are ceremonial and therefore null and void or they are all moral and should be enforced.

1. They are all “holy convocations”

2. You cannot make one or some moral and the others ceremonial. They must ALL be moral or ALL ceremonial.

9. Other days are acceptable to God (Ro. 14:5-6)

10. If the Sabbath is moral then why:

1. Is another day acceptable to God? (Rom. 14:5,6)

2. Why did it apply to animals? (Ex. 30:10)

3. Why are not Gentile nations condemned for this sin also in the OT?

4. Why in the list of sins in the NT is Sabbath Keeping not mentioned while the rest of the 10 Commandments are mentioned?

1. Other nine commandments are mentioned 109 times in the NT

2. They are moral in nature and were in force both before and after the Law

5. Principles For Christians Gleaned From the Sabbath

1. A day of rest, while not required, is good for man

2. Though there is no Sabbath requirement, it does not absolve us from being faithful in “gathering together” (He. 10:24-26)

1. The practice of the early church was to meet together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:17; Ro. 16:2; Rev. 1:10)

2. Setting aside a day for God is a good practice

3. While we are not under the Sabbath regulations, Sunday should not be business as usual

1. It was a special day for Christians from the very beginning.

1. The Lord was raised on Sunday (Mt 28:1)

2. The church was empowered on Sunday (Act 2:1)

3. The Lords Supper was taken on Sunday (Act 20:7)

4. The collection was taken on Sunday (1 Cor 16:1-2)

5. The Lord's Day was Sunday (Rev 1:10)

2. We should for our own sakes make a difference in Sunday and other days

4. It helps us to remember

1. It helps us to remember the value of time

1. Poem

To realize the value of ONE YEAR

Ask a student who has failed his final exam.

To realize the value of ONE MONTH

Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE DAY

Ask the daily wage laborer who has ten kids to feed.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR

Ask a couple waiting for the wedding ceremony.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE

Ask a person who has missed the train.

To realize the value of ONE SECOND

Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND

Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.