BIBLE
DIGEST - Number 72
June
1997
THE SABBATH - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
By Allon Maxwell
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There are many well-meaning
and sincere Christians, for whom the keeping of the Sabbath on the seventh
day of the week, is mandatory. Most of them also sincerely believe that other
Christians who do not keep the "Seventh Day Sabbath", cannot be
true Christians, and will be condemned eternally for their failure to obey! On the other
hand, many of those who do not keep a seventh day Sabbath, tend to label
those who do, as amongst the "cults"! It is obvious
that this is a very important question. If the Sabbath
Keepers are right, many devout Christians who live otherwise clearly holy
lives, are lost, because of their failure to obey on this one contentious
issue. But, if they are wrong, they may themselves be in danger of rejection
for their failure to recognise and welcome other brethren of Jesus. (Matthew 25:40, Matthew
25:45) Where
does the truth lie? WHEN IS THE
SABBATH FIRST MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE? The first
mention of a seventh day rest is in Genesis 2:2-3.
When God had completed the work of Creation, He rested. DID GOD COMMAND
AT CREATION, THAT THIS "GENESIS SABBATH" SHOULD ALSO BE KEPT BY
MEN? No!! It is not
written anywhere in Genesis, that He did issue any such command! WAS THE SABBATH
KEPT BY THOSE WHO LIVED BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES? The Bible does
not say either way , whether or not the Sabbath was kept at any
time before Moses. However, to
support their claims, some Sabbath keepers speculate that it
was kept by the faithful men mentioned in Genesis, and then turn that speculation
into fact! (That is a dangerous way to formulate doctrine claimed to be
essential to salvation!) WHEN IS THE
NEXT MENTION OF THE SABBATH AFTER GENESIS CHAPTER 2? In the
wilderness, the Children of Israel were commanded to gather twice as much
manna on the sixth day. There would be none provided on the seventh day. The
people were to remain in their place and rest. (Exodus 16:5 & 23 & 26 & 29-30) WHEN WAS THE
SABBATH FIRST COMMANDED AS A PERPETUAL DAY OF REST? In Exodus 20:8-10, it was written into the Ten
Commandments as a legal obligation binding on the Jewish
nation, as a perpetual covenant. It was to be a sign (reminder)
for ever, to the Jewish people that God had
created heaven and earth, (and we speculate, therefore also
themselves) in six days, and then rested on the seventh. (Exodus 31:17) No work was to
be done. (Exodus 35:2 & Leviticus 23:3) The penalty for
disobedience was death . (Exodus 31:14-16
& Exodus 35:2) WERE THERE ANY
OTHER PERPETUAL "SABBATHS" BESIDES THE SEVENTH DAY? Yes! There were
a number of major religious festivals, which are also described as
"Sabbaths".
These
"extra" Sabbaths were also legally binding on the
Jews as a perpetual covenant. (Exodus
12:14, Leviticus 16:31
& Leviticus 23:14 & 21 & 41) TO WHOM WAS THE
SEVENTH DAY SABBATH LAW GIVEN? It was given to
the Jews. (Exodus 19:3-6) WAS THE SABBATH
LAW EVER COMMANDED TO GENTILES? Yes!
..... It was commanded that foreigners living in the land of
Israel should also keep the Sabbath. (Exodus 20:10) However .....
there is no direct command anywhere in the Bible, which binds foreigners
not living in the land of Israel , to keep the seventh day Sabbath. DID JESUS KEEP
THE SABBATH? Yes! As an
obedient Jew, He kept the law perfectly! That must have included the Sabbath. And we do know
that it was His custom to go to the Synagogue on the Sabbath day. (Luke 4:16) But it should
be noted that His view of real Sabbath keeping differed
markedly from that of the Pharisees. (Matthew 12:1-8 &
Matthew 12:9-10) DID JESUS LEAVE
A DIRECT COMMANDMENT FOR HIS DISCIPLES TO CONTINUE KEEPING THE SABBATH? No! He nowhere
left or implied any such direct commandment. It would appear
from the Acts, that early Jewish Christians continued to attend the Synagogue
(often with a fair amount of controversy and persecution). This attendance
must, of course, have been on the Sabbath. However, it was
not long before Paul found it necessary to withdraw the disciples from the
Synagogue in Ephesus. (Acts 19:9) After that
incident there is no further positive record that believers continued to
worship on the Sabbath. On the contrary, they are recorded as meeting on the
first day of the week. IS MEETING ON
THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK A DIRECT COMMAND? It is certainly
true that Christians are commanded to assemble together.
(Hebrews 10:25) It is also true
that believers in Troas met with Paul on a first day (Acts 20:7) and that in Galatia and Corinth,
the first day of the week was selected as the day to set aside money which
was being collected for the poor in Jerusalem. (1 Corinthians 16:2) However, while these give an
indication of what was being done, neither reference contains a direct
command that Christians everywhere must meet on the
first day of the week! Early Christian
historians, from the second century onwards, also testify to the traditional
practice for Christians to meet for fellowship on the first day of the week. However, it
cannot be proved that meeting on the first day of the week is a
direct command for Christians, any more than it can for the Sabbath. There is
no such direct command for either day. To insist
otherwise, can only be based on mere speculation. Such speculation
is a very poor foundation for anything which is claimed to be essential for
salvation! IS THERE ANY
INDICATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT OF A PROPER CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TO INSISTENCE
ON SABBATH KEEPING AS A LEGAL OBLIGATION? Yes, there are
several useful references. The first of
these in Colossians 2:16-17. "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you
in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or
a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance
belongs to Christ." It is argued by
Sabbath keepers that the Seventh day Sabbath is excluded from this verse! That is another
unreasonable speculation! If it was
sufficiently important to exclude the seventh day Sabbath from this verse, as
a matter of salvation, it ought to say so plainly ..... and it does
not! It is much more
reasonable to take the verse at face value. Sabbath keeping was only a part
of the shadow which looked forward to the Christian reality. The real
substance in Christ does not allow itself to be judged unworthy over food or drink
or celebrating special festivals. Nor does it submit to any such legalistic
insistence on the keeping of any Sabbath (including the seventh day). The second
reference is found in Romans 14:1-6. "As for the man who is weak in faith,
welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions ...... One man esteems one
day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let everyone
be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honour
of the Lord ..... while he who abstains, abstains in honour of the Lord and
gives thanks to God." Three things
are worthy of note here.
Of course,
Sabbath keepers are prone to argue that seventh day Sabbaths are excluded
from the "days" discussed here. However, the same comment applies
as that made above, about the verses in Colossians. It is much better to take
these verses at face value also. If we do that,
these references actually oppose any claims that seventh day Sabbath keeping
is a matter of salvation! WHAT ABOUT HEBREWS 4:1-13? This chapter
does speak about Christians entering into a rest, in the context of that
first day of rest at the creation. The
"rest" is twofold. "Whoever enters God's rest also ceases
from his labours, as God did from His" (Hebrews 4:10) That this verse
is NOT speaking about the seventh day Sabbath, is obvious in Hebrews 4:8. "For if
Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day." We see then
that this chapter contains both a requirement that Christians should rest
now from their own sinful works, and a promise of a
future inheritance in the Kingdom of God. (see also Hebrews 4:1). WHAT IS
"REAL" SABBATH KEEPING? Real Sabbath
keeping is contrasted with false, in Isaiah 58. Isaiah
58:6-7 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose
the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed
go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the
hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked,
to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" Isaiah
58:13-14 "If you turn back
your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call
the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honourable; if you honour
it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
then you shall take delight in the LORD." Those things
are a Christian obligation seven days a week! THE
"JERUSALEM CONFERENCE" At the
"Jerusalem Conference" (Acts 15:1-32)
important issues were raised about whether circumcision, and the keeping of
the law of Moses, should be imposed on Gentiles, as a condition of Salvation. For Jews, this
was a very valid question. After all, circumcision predated the
law of Moses as a perpetual obligation for all of Abraham's
descendants. (Genesis 17:9-14) And
circumcision and the keeping of the Law (which included both the Seventh day
Sabbath, and all the other perpetual Sabbaths) were required of Gentile
converts to Judaism. Why should that not also be required of Gentile
Christians? The conference
concluded that circumcision was not to be required of Gentiles.
It also decided that only three other ordinances
from the Law of Moses, were important enough to be required of Gentile
Christians. These did not
include Seventh Day Sabbath keeping! If this is a
matter of salvation, surely this is the place where it really ought to have
been specially mentioned. CONCLUSION *
We respect the sincerity of
Seventh Day Sabbath Keepers. *
We "forbid them not"
their right to respect the day. *
We will not enter into
"disputes over opinions" about it. *
But .... our personal faith
"esteems all days alike", and does not accept that seventh day
Sabbath keeping, by Gentiles, is a matter of Salvation. When others
insist that Seventh day Sabbath keeping is an issue affecting salvation, and
then reject us as eternally lost, because of our failure to agree, that in
itself is a serious matter ..... for them! Whatsoever is done
to the least of the brethren of Jesus, is done to Jesus Himself! (Matthew 25:40 & 45) If we do the
same to them solely on the ground of whether or not to keep the
seventh day Sabbath, then we also are guilty of the same thing! Therein lies
the seriousness of this question. No man who
labels us as heretics, or who we label as heretics, can possibly be our
brother in Christ. The two terms
are mutually exclusive! "The
kingdom of God is not food and drink."
(Romans 14:17) This statement
by Paul is also valid for the other significant issue mentioned in the same
context. Neither is the Kingdom of God about "esteem for special
days". Rather, The
Kingdom of God is all about: "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". APPENDIX CONSTANTINE
AND THE OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY It is often
claimed by Sabbath keepers, that the Roman Emperor Constantine was
responsible for changing God's law of Sabbath observance, in favour of
Sunday. This claim is then said to be a fulfilment of Daniel 7:25. The assumption is made that the
times and seasons which were prophesied to be changed, included the
forbidding of Sabbath keeping. The next step, of course, proceeds to make the
Sabbath still binding on Gentile Christians! This is a
"one eyed" distortion of history, which results from the bias and
wishful thinking of seventh day Sabbath keepers looking for support for their
position. Early Christian
historians testify to the observance of Sunday as a day of worship and
fellowship, dating back to the earliest Christian times. The ancient Church
viewed Sunday as a new institution. It was not in any way, a
continuation of, or replacement for the Jewish Sabbath. However for the
first three centuries, the Church had no civil legal support. For the pagan
Romans, Sunday had no more significance than the Jewish Sabbath. This left
Christians exposed to interruptions from the hostile pagans, and the world of
commerce. What
Constantine did in AD321 did not set out to change or replace the Jewish
Sabbath. It merely forbad the public desecration of Sunday by manual labour,
judicial transactions, and military exercises. The effect was to give
legality and the protection of the Empire to a practice that was already
established by Church tradition. There is no mention in his law of either the
fourth commandment, or the resurrection of Christ. We must also
remember that Constantine's law was enacted in a time of transition from the
rule of paganism to that of Christianity. It was not designed exclusively
for Christians. It also favoured the many pagan Sunday
observers in the Empire, as well as Christians. (And it also specifically
exempted country districts where "non Sunday" paganism still
prevailed.) Information
Source This information
is summarised from :- Philip Schaff -
"History Of The Christian Church", Vol 3, pp378ff. First published
1910 - reprinted by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. September 1989. |