Bible Truth Versus Adventist Truth The Sabbath

Adventist Truth about the Sabbath Here are the main points Adventists use to prove Sabbath observance: 1. God instituted the Sabbath at Creation when He rested upon the Seventh day (Gen. 2:2,3). Adam and Eve were instructed to keep the Sabbath holy, and the Sabbath was kept by the true followers of God before and after the flood. 2. The Ten Commandments were given for all of mankind and perfectly represent how mankind is to love and honor God and love their neighbor. The fourth commandment is the most important of all the commandments and shines brighter than the others. 3. Jesus and the Apostles kept the Ten Commandments and taught others to keep them. Jesus said the Ten Commandments would last as long as heaven and earth lasted (Matt. 5:17). When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he needed to do to be saved, Jesus pointed him to the Ten Commandments (Mark 10:19). After Jesus died, the Apostles continued keeping the Sabbath (Acts 13:14,27,42,44, 16:13, 17:2) and taught their followers to keep the Sabbath (Rom. 3:31, James 1:25, 1 John 3:4). 4. There is no divine directive to change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday, so Saturday must still be the correct day of worship. In fact, the Bible says in Isaiah 66:23 that in Heaven we will still be worshipping on Sabbath. 5. The Catholic Church, in the Dark Ages, changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday, a pagan day of worship. 6. The Sabbath is the great dividing issue that will separate the true believers in God from those who are not true Christians. Sabbath observance is the identifying mark of the remnant church (Rev. 12:17). At the end of time, every Christian will be tested upon whether or not they are willing to accept the Sabbath truth. Those who do not accept the Sabbath will receive the Mark of the Beast and go to Hell. Those who accept the Sabbath will receive the Seal of God and go to Heaven.

Problems with Adventist Truth about the Sabbath 1. The Sabbath Before Sinai - Genesis says nothing about Adam and Eve “resting” with God on the first seventh day. It says only that God rested. There is no Biblical evidence that Adam, or Eve, or anyone else was commanded to imitate God's rest on the seventh day of creation until 2,600 years had passed and the Israelites had left Egypt. Pastor Sydney Cleveland writes: Contrary to Sabbatarian assertions, the Bible is completely silent upon the subject of the “Sabbath” until the time of the Exodus. In fact, the word “Sabbath” is not even mentioned in the Bible until 2,600 years after Creation week. Check your Bible Concordance and you will discover the Hebrew word for “rest” (“Shabbat”/Sabbath – in the sense of resting from one’s work) is not mentioned until the Exodus, 2,600 years after Creation! 1 The first recorded Sabbath observance dates from approximately 1450 B.C. at the time when manna was given in the desert of Sinai. Shortly afterwards, God made the Sabbath regulation known to the Israelites when He gave them the Old Covenant: You came down on Mount Sinai...You made known to them (Israelites) your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. (Neh. 9:13-14) You cannot "make known" something to someone if they already "know" what you are telling them. The fact that God "made known" the Sabbath to the Israelites implies that a Sabbath law was not heretofore known or followed by them. The idea that God's people prior to the Exodus kept the Sabbath is not found in Scripture. Adventists make up for the lack of Biblical proof by relying on their inspired prophet, Ellen G. White: "The Sabbath was instituted in Eden and observed by our first parents before the fall. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were expelled from Eden; but they observed the Sabbath after their fall."2 "Hallowed by the Creator's rest and blessing, the Sabbath was kept by Adam in his innocence in holy Eden; by Adam, fallen yet repentant, when he was driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs, from Abel to righteous Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob."3 Not only does Ellen White tell us that all the good folks kept the Sabbath, she also said the evil ones did not keep it: "The Sabbath was honored by all the children of Adam that remained loyal to God. But Cain and his descendants did not respect the day upon which God had rested."4 Therefore, the Adventist teaching that the Sabbath was kept from Adam to the Exodus by "good" people and ignored by "bad" people lacks Biblical support and must rely upon the inspiration of Ellen White. 2. The Ten Commandment Covenant - Adventists portray the Ten Commandments as a universal law for all of mankind for all of time. Is this how the Bible portrays them? The Bible portrays the Ten Commandment law as God's Covenant with the Israelites, commonly known as the "Old Covenant". The Bible makes it very clear that the Ten Commandments were God's covenant with Israel, not with the entire world: He declared to you (Israelites) His covenant, the Ten Commandments, which He commanded you (Israelites) to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. (Deut. 4:13) Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant--the Ten Commandments. (Ex. 34:28) The Bible is clear that the Ten Commandments were not previously known as a covenant to the ancestors of the Israelites: The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb (Mount Sinai). It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here (at Mount Sinai) today. The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (Deut. 5:2-4) Paul explicitly states that the law of God was not "introduced" until Sinai, and was surpassed by the New Covenant that Christ instituted: The law, introduced 430 years later {after Abraham}, … was added because of transgressions until the Seed (Christ) to whom the promise referred had come. (Gal. 3:17-19) One reason Adventists place so much emphasis on the Sabbath is because their prophet, Ellen White, had a "vision" showing the Sabbath is the most important of the Ten Commandments: Soon I was lost to earthly things and was wrapped in a vision of God's glory...I saw the ten commandments written on them with the finger of God. On one table were four, and on the other six. The four on the first table shone brighter than the other six. But the fourth, the Sabbath commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was set apart to be kept in honor of God's holy name. The holy Sabbath looked glorious--a halo of glory was all around it.5 Adventists emphasize the importance and universal application of the Sabbath law. However, the Bible record indicates the Sabbath law was instituted as part of God's old Covenant with Israel and there is no Biblical evidence that it applied to any humans before that time. 3. Sabbath in the New Testament - Jesus was a Jew and the people Jesus ministered and preached to were Jews. Therefore, it should be no surprise to anyone that Jesus went to the synagogue on Sabbaths to teach and heal the people. Jesus kept the entire law of God perfectly. He had to keep it in order to be the perfect sacrifice. Adventists like to point to Jesus' keeping of the Sabbath and say that Jesus left us an example of how to live, so we should also keep the Sabbath. However, Jesus also kept the feast days and ate meat (the Passover lamb). Adventists do not keep feast days and discourage their ministers from eating meat. Therefore, even Adventists have to admit that just because Jesus did something does not mean Christians should do it. The Greek word for "law" in Matthew 5:17-19 is literally the "Torah", which contains 613 laws or commandments which are found in the first five books of the Old Testament. The Israelites were expected to follow all 613 of these laws. Adventists insist that Jesus was talking about the Ten Commandments in Matt. 5:17-19, and that they will be in effect until heaven and earth pass away. However, the subsequent context of Jesus' teaching proves Jesus was talking about the commandments in the Torah, which includes the Ten Commandments, but also includes 603 other commandments. Looking at the verses following Matthew 5:19, we find Jesus expounding upon laws that are not only found in the Ten Commandments (murder, adultery), but also laws found elsewhere in the books of Moses (oaths--Lev. 19:12, Num. 30:2; "eye-for-an-eye"--Ex. 21:24, Lev. 24:20, Deut. 19:21; loving neighbors--Lev. 19:18). So, does this mean the entire 613 laws of the Torah are in effect until heaven and earth pass away? In Matthew 5:18 Jesus says the law will stay in effect until it is "fulfilled". Christians have debated for thousands of years over what parts of the law have been "fulfilled" and what parts are still in effect. Most Christians agree that dietary restrictions, feast days, new moons, and Sabbaths are parts of the Torah that have been fulfilled and are no longer binding upon Christians. This is based upon Paul's explanation: 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. (Col 2:16,17 RSV) In this passage Paul classes the Sabbath with the Feast Days, New Moons, and dietary laws as no longer binding upon Christians. If they were binding, then Paul would have permitted Christians to pass judgment upon other Christians for breaking God's laws. However, since they are no longer binding, Paul says Christians cannot judge other Christians for how they eat or for the days upon which they worship. Adventists say that the Apostles worshipped on the Sabbath and point to 84 instances in the book of Acts where the Apostles gathered with the Jews on Saturday. It was Paul's "custom" to attend the Jewish Synagogue on Sabbath to "reason with them from the Scriptures" (Act. 17:2,3). The reason that Paul and the other Apostles preached on the Sabbath to the Jews is because that is the only day of the week where the men were gathered together in the Synagogue. The Jewish men worked the other six days of the week ("six days shalt thou labor" Ex. 20:9). It made the most sense for the Apostles to be ministering to the Jews on the Sabbath day because that is the day that they were available to be taught. Paul went to Jerusalem on Pentecost, which falls on a Sunday (Acts 20:16). Does this mean that Paul was honoring the feast days? Or did he simply see it as a good opportunity to reach all of the Jews who assembled together at that time? Obviously, he was attending Pentecost because it was a preaching opportunity. Likewise, Paul attended Sabbath services at the synagogues because it was an opportunity for him to preach to the Jews. While Adventists point to the Apostles preaching on Sabbath as evidence the Sabbath is still binding, they are inconsistent when it comes to other holy days. For example, at least some of the Apostles kept the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), Feast of Unleavened Bread (Acts 12:3; 20:6), and days of purification (Acts 21:26). If Adventists are to be consistent and say that Sabbath-keeping is still binding because the Apostles taught on the Sabbath, then shouldn't they also say that feast days are still binding since the Apostles also taught on them? While it is true that the Apostles taught on some feast days and some Sabbaths, Paul makes it clear that these days were a "shadow" and that no one should be judged by their observance or non-observance of a day of worship. 4. Change in the day of worship? - It is true that God never established another specific day of worship for Christians. Does this mean we should keep the Jewish Sabbath since it has not been superceeded by another God-ordained day? God also did not establish holy days to replace the feast days and new moon celebrations for Christians. Adventists do not keep these holy days because they say these days are part of the ceremonial law that has been fulfilled. But we have just seen in Col. 2:16,17 that Paul classified Sabbaths in the same category as new moons and feast days. If new moons and feast days are no longer binding upon Christians, then why are Sabbaths? They are all in the same category of "holy days". Adventists point to Isaiah 66:23 as proof that Sabbath will be kept in Heaven: ‘From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,’ says the LORD. Please note that it says the "new moon" will also be celebrated. If this verse is indeed evidence that the Sabbath is an eternal and universal institution, then why don't Adventists keep the new moon also?6 The only verse in the New Testament that specifically says the "new moon" is no longer binding upon Christians is the same verse that says the Sabbath is no longer binding upon Christians! If Adventists are justified in ignoring the "new moon" because Paul said it was a "shadow", then why aren't all Christians justified in ignoring the "Sabbath" for the exact same reason? 5. Did Papacy Change Sabbath? - Much of Adventist prophetic teaching is built upon the idea that the Catholic Church is the "little horn" that appeared upon the fourth beast of Daniel 7 and changed "times" and "laws". According to Adventists, the "times" that the "little horn" changed is the time of the Sabbath. They claim that the papacy transfered Sabbath observance to Sunday during the dark ages. Prophet Ellen White saw in vision that the Pope changed the day of worship to Sunday: "I saw that God had not changed the Sabbath, for He never changes. But the pope had changed it from the seventh to the first day of the week; for he was to change times and laws."7 The Catholic Church does claim that they transferred the day of rest from Sabbath to Sunday, but then again, they also claim that Peter was the first Pope. Do Adventists believe Peter was a Pope? No, so why should they accept the teaching that the Catholic Church changed the day of worship? Seventh-day Adventist theologian Samuele Bacchiocchi had access to the Vatican vaults and researched the oldest material on Sabbath-keeping. His research led him to conclude Sunday-keeping was largely practiced long before the first pope came on the scene: "I differ from Ellen White, for example, on the origin of Sunday. She teaches that in the first centuries all Christians observed the Sabbath and it was largely through the efforts of Constantine that Sundaykeeping was adopted by many Christians in the fourth century. My research shows otherwise. If you read my essay HOW DID SUNDAYKEEPING BEGIN? which summarizes my dissertation, you will notice that I place the origin of Sundaykeeping by the time of the Emperor Hadrian, in A. D. 135."8 In the first centuries of Christianity there were varied opinions on the day of worship. Many Jewish Christians continued to observe the seventh day Sabbath. Some Christians observed both days, while others gathered for worship only on Sunday. There is evidence that Sunday-keeping was widely practiced by Christians by the generation following the Apostles, and perhaps even while some of the Apostles were still alive. The Didache is an ancient "church manual" dating from the first century. In it, the "Lord's Day", understood by comparison to other literature of that time period to mean "Sunday", is mentioned as the day that the Lord's Supper is celebrated:9 90 A.D. Didache - "Christian Assembly on the Lord's Day: 1. But every Lord's day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure."10 Here are a couple of other early quotes indicating an early introduction of Sunday worship in the Christian Church: 100 A.D. Barnabas - "Moreover God says to the Jews, 'Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.' You see how he says, 'The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested [heaven: Heb 4] from all things, I will make the beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world.' Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven."11 110 A.D. Ignatius - "[T]hose who were brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e. Jews] have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him and by his death".12 If Sunday-keeping is indeed an apostacy, then it occurred much earlier than Seventh-day Adventists have traditionally taught. It began during the era when at least some of the Apostles were still alive. If the Sabbath was indeed the "one great truth" that was to divide the true believers from the false ones, then why didn't the Apostles ever emphasize it in their writings? And why didn't they teach it to their disciples as a matter of utmost importance? 6. Sabbath a Dividing Issue - Is the Sabbath the great separating truth that will decide who the true believers are? According to the prophet Ellen White, the Sabbath is what separates real believers from false believers: "I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of God's dear, waiting saints."13 Such a teaching is contrary to the New Testament. Never is the Sabbath described as a crucial issue by Jesus or the Apostles. Paul wrote: 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]. (Rom. 14:5,6) Stop and read Ellen White's quote again, and then read Paul's quote again. The two are completely incompatible! In Romans 14 Paul goes through a lengthy passage warning Christians not to judge each other on points of minor importance. He concludes by saying, "Let us not therefore judge one another" (Rom. 14:13). If Paul thought the Sabbath was the "dividing wall", he would have fought strenuously for its observance. Throughout the New Testament Paul fights with all his might to establish the important doctrines of the Church: Faith, Hope, Love, Grace, Forgiveness, Salvation, Mercy. Paul also fights against the sins of the flesh. But on the subject of the Sabbath, Paul has little to say, except that brethren should accept each other no matter what day they choose (or choose not) to worship on. How could Paul discuss the Sabbath issue in this manner if it was indeed the great "dividing wall" between true believers and false believers? If it was truly the great "dividing wall", then Paul would have been all over the issue, warning Christians of their duty!

Bible Truth about the Sabbath There is nothing wrong with a person setting aside a day to worship God upon. Christians have done this throughout history. Today, there are over 300 Christian groups and denominations that worship on the Seventh-day Sabbath. There are other groups that observe feast days and new moons. According to Paul, there is no reason for the observance of days to separate Christians (see Rom. 14). Sabbath observance becomes a problem when it is made a requirement for salvation, or when it becomes a requirement to receive the "seal of God", or when it separates believers, familes, or frinds, or when it becomes an "us versus them" battleground, or when it becomes an "I'm better than thou" issue of spiritual pride. Adventists view the Sabbath as a test of their loyalty to their Creator, and a separating wall between true believers and false believers. In effect, they are passing judgment upon other Christians based upon their observance of a day--the exact practice which Paul forbid. Most Christians look at the writings of the New Testament and find that the Apostles laid out many duties and obligations for Christians to follow, but said nothing about the importance of Sabbath observance. As Paul said, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." (Rom. 14:5) The issue of observance of the laws of the Torah was an issue in the early church. A council was convened in Jerusalem and the Apostles debated over which laws applied to the Gentile converts to Christianity. During that council the brethren settled upon three laws for Gentile converts: For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. (Acts 15:28,29) Notice that it was the "Holy Ghost" which made these requirements, and the Apostles were careful to say that "no greater burden" from the law of Moses was to be laid upon the Gentiles than these three requirements. In fact, in the same letter, the Church leaders make it clear that they never placed a burden of keeping the law of Moses upon the Gentile converts: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment. (Acts. 15:24) This verse makes it abundantly clear that the Apostles never commanded their followers to "keep the law". In fact, they considered such legalism to be "subverting your souls." For the Jews, it was considered an offense for a Gentile to attempt to keep the laws of the Torah. The Jews taught that God had given a set of laws especially for Gentile believers, and these laws were called the "Seven Laws of Noah". The Apostles' decision in Acts 15 seems to be consistent with Gentile believers following the "Seven Laws of Noah" instead of the Ten Commandment Covenant. "The Seven Laws of Noah (Hebrew: Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach), often referred to as the Noahide Laws, are a set of seven moral imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by God to Noah as a binding set of laws for all mankind. According to Judaism any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as a Righteous Gentile and is assured of a place in the world to come (Olam Haba), the Jewish concept of heaven. Adherents are often called "B'nei Noah" (Children of Noah) or "Noahides" and may often network in Jewish synagogues. "The Noahide Laws were predated by six laws given to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Later at the Revelation at Sinai the Seven Laws of Noah were regiven to humanity and embedded in the 613 Laws given to the Children of Israel along with the Ten Commandments. These laws are mentioned in the Torah. According to Judaism, the 613 mitzvot or 'commandments' given in the written Torah, as well as their reasonings in the oral Torah, were only issued to the Jews and are therefore only binding upon them, having inherited the obligation from their ancestors. At the same time, at Mount Sinai, the Children of Israel were given the obligation to teach other nations the embedded laws. It is actually forbidden by the Talmud for non-Jews on whom the Noahide Laws are still binding, to elevate their observance to the Torah's mitzvot as the Jews do. "The seven laws listed by the Talmud are Prohibition of Idolatry: - There is only one God. You shall not make for yourself an idol. Prohibition of Murder: - You shall not murder. Prohibition of Theft: - You shall not steal. Prohibition of Sexual Promiscuity: - You shall not commit adultery. Prohibition of Blasphemy: - Revere God and do not blaspheme. Prohibition of Cruelty to Animals: - Do not eat the flesh of an animal while it is still alive. Requirement to have just Laws: - You shall set up an effective judiciary to fairly judge observance of the preceding six laws. "... Judaism holds that gentiles (or goyim, non-Jews, [literally "nations"]) are not only not obligated to adhere to all the laws of the Torah (indeed, they are forbidden to fulfill some laws, such as the keeping of the Jewish Sabbath in the exact same manner as Israel)."14 "Although not mentioning the Noahide Laws directly by name, the Christian convention of Apostles and elders in Jerusalem mentioned in Acts 15 appears to validate the idea that all gentiles follow the constraints established by the covenant of Noah. Supporting this idea, the list of constraints to be applied to the gentiles that are converted to Christianity, verse 15:20, is similar to the Noahide laws."15 Conclusion While there are many issues of profound importance in the New Testament, the Sabbath is not among them. Christians should focus on the important themes of the New Testament and leave battles over the requirements of the law of Moses for those who have nothing better to do. If a person feels convicted to keep a day of worship, then permit him to do so without looking down upon him. Likewise, if a person chooses not to worship on Sabbath, then let no one judge him and let no one erect a separating wall to keep him out of the kingdom of God.

Your Questions about the Sabbath QUESTION: Did the Apostles ever worship on a Sunday? ANSWER: The only instance recorded where Christians assembled together for a Sunday worship service is found in Acts 20:7: And upon the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them. Adventists like to dismiss this passage as being irrelevant because they insist the only reason it took place on that particular day was because Paul was planning to leave on Monday. However, there is no reason to believe that the disciples did not meet together regularly on Sunday. This Sunday service does contain two elements of a typical Christian worship service, which includes communion (breaking bread), and preaching. Therefore, it qualifies as a Sunday worship service. Whether or not it occurred repeatedly or was a one-time event cannot be ascertained from the Scripture. QUESTION: My SDA pastor told me Collosians 2:16-17 refers to the annual Sabbath days and not to the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath. Is he correct? ANSWER: I'm sure your SDA pastor would agree that we should let the Bible interpret itself. In the Bible, when an author wanted to draw attention to the entire set of ceremonial holy days, he would refer to the yearly, monthly and weekly events to represent the entire system. Your Adventist pastor has told you the "Sabbath" of Colossians 2:16 refers to the annual Sabbaths. However, the annual sabbaths were already included in the verse as part of the annual "festivals", so it would make no sense to mention them again. Notice that the Week-Month-Year pattern is used in Colossians 2:16: 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. (Col. 2:16 RSV) If we use the Bible to intrepret the Bible, the overwhelming evidence points to Colossians 2:16 as referring to the weekly Sabbath. Now notice how the same pattern occurs repeatedly in Scriptures that make reference to the weekly Sabbath: 1 Chron 23:31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD. 2 Chron 2:4 Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate [it] to him, [and] to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This [is an ordinance] for ever to Israel. 2 Chron 8:13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, [even] in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. 2 Chron 31:3 [He appointed] also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, [to wit], for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as [it is] written in the law of the LORD. Neh 10:33 For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy [things], and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and [for] all the work of the house of our God. Isa 1:13-14 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them]. Eze 45:17 And it shall be the prince's part [to give] burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. Eze 46:1-9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened....Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons....But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts.... Hsa 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. QUESTION: Is there any reason for a Christian to keep the seventh day Sabbath? ANSWER: Many people find that setting aside a certain amount of time dedicated to spiritual growth is a benefit to their spiritual life. Many people set aside a certain time every day. Some set aside a whole day, such as Sunday or Saturday. Others dedicate their time on new moons and festivals. Some people need the discipline of setting aside a specific time to escape from their hectic lives and spend time with the Lord and their families. But is there any special benefit to resting on the same day that God "blessed" and "hallowed"? We have already discussed in this study the wrong reasons to keep the Sabbath: In order to earn God's favor To obtain the seal of God or avoid the Mark of the Beast To prove our superiority over other Christians To obey the Old Covenant God made with Israel So is there ever a right reason to keep the seventh day Sabbath? Let's look at one example of how following God's Old Testament law has benefited people. Paul made it clear that the practice of circumcision had nothing to do with gaining God's favor: Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing... (1 Cor. 7:19) For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. (Gal. 5:6) Does Paul's teaching indicate that one should not be circumcised? There is certainly no spiritual reason to do so, since it is no longer an identifying sign of God's people. However, is there benefit to it? In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine it was revealed that circumcision reduces the incidence of certain types of cancer to "essentially zero" among circumcised men. In addition, "Several studies reported that circumcised boys were between 10-to-39 times less likely to develop urinary tract infections during infancy than uncircumcised boys. In addition, circumcision protects against bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a variety of other conditions related to hygiene. The extremely low rate of cervical cancer in Jewish women (nine-to-22 times less than among non-Jewish women) is thought to be related to the practice of circumcision."16 Some Sabbath-keepers have argued that just as there has proven to be some benefit in keeping some of the Old Testament laws on circumcision and avoiding unclean meats, there is also benefit to worshipping on the exact day that God hallowed. There is certainly no harm in keeping the Sabbath if it is done for the right reasons. If you are persuaded in your mind that one day is superior over another, then keep it. As Paul said so eloquently, One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Rom. 14:5)

Links for Deeper Study about the Sabbath Sabbath Keepers Refuted Large number of articles and material on the Sabbath-Sunday issue. Sabbath Facts by Pastor Cleveland

 

1. Sydney Cleveland, "Sabbath Facts", http://www.christiancommunitychurch.us/sabfacts.html.

2. Ellen G. White, "The Signs of the Times", February 6, 1879, paragraph 15.

3. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (1888), page 453.

4. Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (1890), page 80.

5. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 32.

6. Bible commentators propose that this verse is not even talking about keeping sabbaths or new moons in heaven, but is simply saying, "From week to week, and from month to month, all people will come and worship before the Lord."

7. Early Writings, p. 32.

8. Samuele Bacchiochi, Ph.D., E-mail message to the "Free Catholic Mailing List" catholic@american.edu on Feb. 8, 1997.

9. Wikipedia, Article "Lord's Day" states the following: "Lord's Day" is the English translation of the ancient Greek kyriake hemera, a term that first appears in Christian literature in the latter half of the first century. ... Perhaps the second appearance of kyriake as a reference to Sunday is in the The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles or Didache, a document that may have been written in the latter decades of the first century, or perhaps in one of the early decades of the second. Didache 14 says, "But on the Lord's Day (kyriake de kyriou, literally, "the Lord's [day] of the Lord"), after that ye have assembled together, break bread and give thanks, having in addition confessed your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure." This is apparently an early reference to the weekly Sunday Eucharist (cf. Acts 2:42, "breaking bread"; and Acts 20:7, breaking bread on the first day of the week). But the double possessive form kyriake de kyriou is unique and not found elsewhere, and it is not known why the author of the Didache used that unique construction. However, Didache 14 was at least understood by later Christians as a reference to Sunday worship, as seen in the parallel passages of the Didascalia and Apostolic Constitutions.

10. Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter XIV.

11. The Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD, 15:8f, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 147.

12. Ignatius, letter to the Magnesians 8 [A.D. 110].

13. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 33.

14. Wikipedia, "Seven Laws of Noah", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahide_Laws.

15. Widipedia, "Halakha", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halakha.

16. "Guide to a Jewish Circumcision", http://www.hanefesh.com/edu/Circumcision.htm.