Is Sabbath Keeping Required Today?
Note: Below is an article by Mike Morrison about Sabbath with my comments/rebuttal in blue
Is the Sabbath Required for Christians Today?
Can the fourth commandment be obsolete?
By Mike Morrison
The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8). God’s people were told to rest on the seventh day of every week. Nevertheless, most Christians today do not observe the seventh-day Sabbath—they say it is obsolete. This article explains why.
We will examine the major questions, and give brief answers. We have longer explanations available for each question, but this article will give a concise overview.
1. Was the Sabbath commanded at creation, even before humanity sinned?
There is no evidence in the Bible that God commanded the Sabbath before the days of Moses. Genesis says that God rested, but nowhere does it say that the first humans were commanded to follow his example. Before humans sinned, they lived in a blessed and holy time, in which they were in a state of peace with God, trustful and obedient. They did not need to labor in the way they later did. They did not need to set aside a day for communion with God, for they had it continually. The first human did not need to rest on the second day of his life.
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, but that does not mean that he required people to rest on it. As the Jubilee year shows (Lev. 25:8-12), time can be holy without requiring a rest. In the days of Moses, the creation week was used as a pattern for commanding the seventh-day Sabbath, but that pattern does not prove that the Sabbath existed ever since creation.
First, Jubillee year is not Sabbath day. Its specified observance is different from that of the Sabbath day. God did not say that we should keep everyday of the whole Jubillee year like we do Sabbath day. Being holy does not necessarily involve rest. For instance, Passover day is holy but its specifed observance is not rest but preparation instead. But as far as the days referred to as Sabbath is concerned, rest is required.
The Bible says of Sabbath:
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Here we clearly see that God rested on the seventh day and blessed and sanctified it (v.3).
We know that that day is Sabbath because Christ says:
Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Here we see clearly that Christ calls that day the “Sabbath”. And He says that the Sabbath was made for man. The word “for” is from Greek dia, which means “by occasion of, of, by reason of, for the sake of” . In other words, the Sabbath was made for the sake of man, or to serve and benefit man. Christ had to say this because in the preceding verses we see that the Jews were trying to impose their man-made rules about the Sabbath, making Sabbath something to serve and a burden, which was not God’s intention. For the Sabbath to be "for man", it had to be kept. It is of no use to man if not to be kept. So, the inevitable conclusion is that after creating Sabbath, God gave Adam and Eve instruction to observe it. Otherwise, Christ had no reason to say that the Sabbath was made for man. Instead, He would have said. “The Sabbath was made, therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath”.
If God commands the Sabbath, then we should keep it, of course, even if we have to adjust our schedules, suffer financially, and alienate our families. But if God does not require the Sabbath, then it would be wrong to put this unnecessary burden on anyone. When the effect on our lives is so great, we need to make sure that we have a clear command from God, not a questionable inference. Genesis does not command the Sabbath, never mentions the word, and never pictures anyone as keeping it.
What chutzpah, for Mr. Morrison to brand as "burden", the day that God says is "a delight" and "glorious" (Isa. 58:13) .
God said:
Deu 5:33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
You see, even in the time of Moses there is such thing as faith. It takes faith to trust God's promise for obedience. Israel had problem with faith. Alas, the same is true with us in this 21st century. With faith lacking, it is easy to reason out around God’s commandments. How sad.
Abraham kept all of God’s commands (Gen. 26:5), but this does not mean that he kept all the annual festivals, sacrificed his firstborn animals, or did any of the other laws that Moses gave. This verse tells us that Abraham was obedient to all the laws that applied to him, but it doesn’t tell us which laws applied. The Jewish Talmud says that Abraham did not keep the Sabbath; the Jews believed that the Sabbath was given, as the Bible describes, through Moses to the Israelite people.
The Bible likewise does not say Abraham did not. The Talmud is a collection of human oral tradition, where we find the added “tradition of the elders” and man-made commandments which God expressly prohibits and warns against. So Talmud is not a good basis of discussion on what God commands.
2. The Sabbath was called holy time. Doesn’t it remain holy forever?
Not necessarily. In ancient Israel’s worship system, many things and places were holy. Firstborn animals and children were holy (Ex. 13:1-2), but they are not holy in the same way today. The Jubilee Year was holy, but it is not so today. The laws of holiness told the Jews how to worship God, and although we might think that worship laws telling us how to show love to God are the most important, the fact is that many of ancient Israel’s worship laws are now obsolete. God does not expect us to worship him in exactly the same way that the Israelites did.
Well, we can’t conclude that Jubillee year is no longer to be observed [unless a clear passage shows so]. In Christ’s many encounters with the Jews about the Sabbath, Christ never took the opportunity to declare the Sabbath abolished or to be abolished at His death.
3. The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. Shouldn’t Christians keep the Ten Commandments?
Christians generally agree that nine of the Ten Commandments still apply today. The last six commandments are quoted several times in the New Testament—but it is a mistake to assume that the Sabbath command is also commanded today. We are asking whether all Ten of the Commandments are still required—we cannot assume in advance that all Ten must stay together. We need to see what the Bible says about it.
It is dangerous to assume that the Sabbath has been done away, when there is no text that explicitly says so. And I can’t understand why Christ’s declaration in Mat.5:17-19 is not enough to dispel all arguments about the subject of law and Sabbath:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
It is so clear.
The “New Testament” is not the place where to find the complete list of commandments. God already gave the law through Moses. Christ did not come to give any law. That's not His job. Christ rather, came to administer grace, which now complete the salvation "ingredients". Notice:
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
The Bible refers to the Ten Commandments as a group in only three places. They are called the covenant that God made with his people through Moses (Ex. 34:28 and Deut. 4:13)—and this covenant is now obsolete (Heb. 8:13).
Christians are not required to keep "the law of Moses" (Acts 15). The law-code of Moses, although containing some eternally-valid laws, also contains some temporary laws that became obsolete when Jesus Christ came. All Christians agree that some of these God-given laws became obsolete; the question now is whether the list of obsolete laws happens to include the Sabbath. We cannot judge the law by its neighbors—we cannot assume that it is valid, nor can we assume it is obsolete.
We likewise cannot assume that it is now "invalid". The truth is, the old covenant is not equal to the ten commandments. The old covenant was an agreement between God and the nation Israel, where God promised blessing and protection if Israel obeyed God’s commandments and the “law of Moses”. The covenant was instituted and the “law of Moses” was introduced because the [unwritten] law of God was being rampantly transgressed by man. God had to send flood as well as fire [Sodom and Gomorrah] to curtail man's wickedness. The old covenant was instituted to emphasize the importance of keeping the commandments.
To answer our question, we must turn to the New Testament. Although some of the commandments are quoted at various places in the New Testament, the only place in the New Testament where the Ten Commandments are mentioned as a group is in 2 Cor. 3. There, Paul talks about tablets of stone when Moses’ face was shining in glory (vs. 3, 7). Clearly, Paul is talking about the Ten Commandments. Notice what he says: They are the letter that kills, a ministry of death and condemnation, which came in glory but its glory is now fading away (vs. 6-11). The new covenant, in contrast, is a ministry that brings life, is much more glorious, and is a ministry that does not fade away.
This cannot be the ten commandments, because the ten commandments do not pronounce death or curses on its violator.
In Deut.27:1-8, we read of another set of stones (great, massive stones, apparently v.2) on which God instructed Moses to write [some of] the content of the “book of the law” or the “law of Moses” . These stones were to be set with plaster (lime, “cement”) on Mt. Ebal (v.4). On these stones were written the curses and blessings (Josh. 8:32-35). These stones, were clearly the ones Paul was referring to in 2 Cor.3. Those were one ones fading away, not the ten commandments.
Paul did not praise the Ten Commandments as part of the Christian way of life. Rather, he pointed out ways in which the gospel of Jesus Christ is different from the Ten Commandments. They were part of a ministry that was fading away. Since Paul says that the ministry of the letter is fading, it should be no surprise if we find that one of the Ten was a temporary command. Something about those stone tablets is fading away; we cannot assume that all Ten Commandments are eternal.
To the contrary, Paul said:
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God…
1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Much of Paul’s reference to law that appears “negative” is to the “law of Moses”. But he was not criticizing the “law of Moses”, but rather its wrong use by the Jews [1 Tim.18].
4. Didn’t Ex. 31:16 declare the Sabbath to be a perpetual covenant between God and his people? Yes, but so was circumcision (Gen. 17:13) and the weekly showbread (Lev. 24:8). The same Hebrew word is used to say that the Day of Atonement is a lasting ordinance, and the Levitical priesthood will continue (Lev. 16:29; Ex. 29:9; 40:15). Obviously, the Hebrew word does not mean eternal. The covenant that God made with the Israelites is now obsolete (Heb. 8:13).
God gave the Sabbath to the Israelites as a sign between God and the Israelites (Ex. 31:17). The Sabbath made the Israelites different from other nations—but Paul says that the laws that separated Jews and Gentiles have been done away by the cross of Christ (Eph. 2:11-18).
Mr. Morrison obviously does not understand what God was doing with and through the Israelties.
First of all, the ten commandments do not contain anything that even tend to create “enmity” between the Israelites from other nations. Secondly, God actually commanded the Israelites to love the “strangers” that were among them (Lev.19:33-35, Ex.22:21, Ex.23:9, etc). Thirdly God was not trying to make Israel different from other nations for the sake of making them different. Mr. Morrison probably had the impression that "peculiar" [Ex.19:5, Deut.14:2] meant "strange" or "odd". The word translated as peculiar in KJV actually means "jewel", "proper", "good" or "special". God was trying make Israel and example or a schowcase to the world [which has strayed too far from God] - to show His way of life. Notice:
Deu 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
The fact is, the Sabbath and other commands were intended also for all “strangers” who happened to be among the Israelites (see Ex.12:19, 48-49, Ex.20:10, Lev.17:8,10-13, 20:2, 22:18, etc.)
One thing we should realize is that, among the nations, God made covenant only with the Israelites. He made no covenant with any other nation. The gentiles according to Paul were:
“...without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” (Eph.2:12).
All promises pertain to the Israelites. The gentiles were without hope – not even a true God. However, [and this is the good news for us gentiles], through the blood of Christ we gentiles “are made nigh”. Therefore, as Paul continues:
Eph 2:19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”.
There. God brought us “nigh” and made us “fellow citizen with the saints and of the household of God”. Now spiritually speaking we are part of the commonwealth of Israel. This is a wonderful truth. God made a covenant with Abraham (Gen.17) which He reiterated to Isaac and Jacob (Ex.2:24), and which He formalized with the nation Israel (Ex.6:5) and culminating with the inclusion of the gentiles (Eph.2:19-20). God did not make any covenant with the gentiles. It you read the text of the “New Covenant” it is with the “house of Israel” and the “house of Judah” only. We gentiles were only included in the covenant that God began with Abraham, as a result of Christ’s atoning blood. The inclusion of Gentiles is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham:
Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So we gentiles cannot boast over the Israelites. It would be a great mistake to look down upon the Jews. God gave salvation to them first and then to us gentiles. We should be thankful to the God of Israel!
5. Didn’t Isaiah say that Gentiles would be blessed for keeping the Sabbath?
Yes, he did. He also said that Gentiles will offer burnt offerings and sacrifices (Isa. 56:7). The prophets predicted that people will observe new moons (Isa. 66:23; Ezek. 46:3), discriminate against uncircumcised people (Isa. 52:1-2; Ezek. 44:9), sacrifice in the temple (Ezek. 20:40; Zech. 14:20-21) and observe other laws that Christians do not need to. The prophets lived under the old covenant, and they described devotion to God in terms of the old covenant. We cannot assume that those specifics apply to Christians in this age.
Mr. Morrison doesn’t seem to realize that God is the one speaking in Isaiah 56 and not the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah did not write “in terms of the old covenant” or with a myopic vision, but rather he was writing AS God moved him. Mr. Morrison assumes that there will be no sacrifices, but the Bible does not say there will be none, either. It is true that there will be no more “offering for sin”. (Heb 10:18) but it doesn’t say there will not be any offering at all. Offerings may also done as thanksgiving or as memorial.
The setting of Isa.66:22-23 is unmistakable. It is during the “new heaven and new earth”, during which “all flesh shall worship” before God, from Sabbath to Sabbath. Obviously there will be humans during the “Millenium”, either on earth or elsewhere.
6. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Shouldn’t we follow his example?
Yes, Jesus kept the Sabbath. He kept all the Jewish laws, because he was born under the law and kept it perfectly (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 4:15). He killed Passover lambs, tithed to the Levites, told cleansed people to make offerings commanded by Moses (Matt. 8:4), and he observed Hanukkah (John 10:22).
It didn't say He observed Hanukkah. He just went to the porch of Solomon - not even to the temple. Anyway, Hanukkah is a national celebration, much like Thanksgiving and it is no problem observing them.
He would have worn blue threads on his garments (Num. 15:38) and done a lot of other things that Christians aren’t required to imitate. When we look at the example he set, we must remember the historical context.
What kind of example did Jesus set on the Sabbath? The Bible never says that he rested—we are told only of his activity. He never commands anyone to keep the Sabbath, nor praises anyone for it. Rather, he constantly criticized people who had rules about what could or could not be done on the Sabbath. He always taught more freedom, never any restrictions. Although he told people to be very strict about some laws (Matt. 5:21, 28, etc.), he was always liberal about the Sabbath.
In his encounters with the Jews regarding the Sabbath, Christ was addressing the manner by which the Sabbath was being observed. As a result of their bitter experience with slavery as a result of profanation of the Sabbath, the Jews built many man-made rules around the Sabbath. One of these is mentioned in Mat 12:1-2:
“At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. "
Christ did not agree that what they did was unlawful. Because if it was, then Christ broke the law – and we have no savior. The above passage is relating an incident where He and the disciples happened to pass through a cornfield – apparently after a Sabbath service – and became hungry [apparently not having brought anything to eat] and began plucking corn to eat. In the same account in Mark 2, Christ said:
Mar 2:27 The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
The Greek word for “for” is dia which means “by occasion of, of, by reason of, for the sake of”. In other words, the Sabbath was made for the sake of man – to serve man, not to burden or enslave man. On the other hand, the Bible does not say that Christ and the disciples habitually went out, long distances on Sabbaths to look for and harvest many bushels of corn or to start doing normal work or earning a living. When Christ said that He is the “Lord of the Sabbath” He was asserting the fact that He is the authority on how to “interpret” the Sabbath.
Jesus always compared the Sabbath to ceremonial laws, not to moral laws. When his disciples were picking grain, he used the example of the showbread, and the work of the priests in the temple (Matt. 12:3-6). Those rituals were just as important as the Sabbath. He said that circumcision could be done on the Sabbath (John 7:22), which indicates that circumcision is a more important law than the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a ritual law—it says that behavior that is perfectly good one day, is forbidden on another, simply because the earth has rotated. But true morality does not change from one day of the week to another. When ritual laws became obsolete when Jesus died, it should be no surprise that the ritual of the Sabbath also became obsolete.
Resting and focusing on God during the day that He “sanctified” may not seem “moral” to us humans. But as God says:
Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Jesus said that daily chores could be done on the Sabbath (Luke 13:15).
Even hard labor could be done in an emergency (Luke 14:5). He told a healed man to carry his sleeping mat, even though there was no hurry (John 5:8).
Christ showed that feeding and watering animals is lawful on Sabbath. Same is true with healing. But it doesn't say the same thing about normal routine of earning a living or our own leisure.
He even used the word "work" to describe his activity (v. 17).
That is the spiritual work of saving man. not the servile work that Mr. Morrison wants to do.
Many Christians follow this example.
That doesn't make it right.
They remember that Jesus consistently criticized the Sabbath rules of the Pharisees, and that he treated it as a ritual law.
The first part is correct. He criticized the rules made by the Pharisees - but He never criticized the Sabbath itself. And Christ likewise did not say Sabbath is ritual law.
Christ never once even hinted that we can do our usual work on the Sabbath. He was talking emergencies or exceptions not of normal routines.
7. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27).
Circumcision was made for man, too. All of God’s laws, even the obsolete ones, were made for humans. The Sabbath law was made to benefit humans, to serve them, not become an unpleasant burden. Jesus said this to argue for liberty, not for making requirements. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath—he has authority over it, and he can set it aside if he wants to.
The Bible is clear about physical circumcision being replaced by the “circumcision of the heart” (Rom.2:29). But it does not say the same thing about the Sabbath. When Christ said He is the Lord of the Sabbath, He did not give the slightest hint that He was abolishing the Sabbath.
8. Luke 23:56 tells us that even after Jesus’ crucifixion, the women "rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Does this show that the Sabbath is still commanded for Christians?
The women rested on the Sabbath, but their example does not tell us whether that commandment is still in effect. They did not yet understand that God no longer required ritual laws. Luke’s readers might have wondered why the women rested even though they were faced with an urgent need, so Luke told them why—the women rested because of the commandment.
Luke used the word "commandment," but that does not prove that the commandment was required for Luke's readers. Paul used the same word to describe the rules that divided Jews from Gentiles (Eph. 2:15), but Paul says that those commandments do not have any validity for his readers. The word "commandment" does not imply any validity or permanence. Luke is simply using ordinary words to explain why the women rested. He is not commanding
his readers to follow that example.
Neither did Christ nor the disciples say that the Sabbath was abolished, nor did they classify the Sabbath as “ritual law”.
9. Jesus said that his disciples should pray not to flee on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20). Doesn’t this mean that we should be keeping it?
No. It is permissible to flee for your life on the Sabbath. But Jesus said that people in Judea (v. 16) could find it difficult, just as they would find it difficult but not sinful to flee in winter (v. 20). This verse does not say whether the disciples would be keeping the Sabbath or not—it just recognizes that other people in Judea would be, so it would be difficult for the disciples to flee when city gates were closed, shops were closed, etc. This verse does not command the Sabbath—it only shows that it would be difficult for people in Judea to flee on the Sabbath.
Mr. Morrison seem to imply that Christ differentiates between Greek and Jews. Paul wrote:
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
What applies to Jews also applies to gentiles. As mentioned in Eph 2:13, God had brought the Jews and gentiles together under the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the nation Israel.
10. Heb. 4:9 says that a Sabbath-rest still remains for believers today.
Hebrews 4 is talking about a future rest. People did not have this rest in Joshua’s day, nor when Psalm 95 was written (v. 8), so this chapter is not talking about the weekly Sabbath. This rest is entered by faith in Christ (v. 2). By using the word "Sabbath-rest," Hebrews is saying that the weekly Sabbath symbolized the real rest that God wants his people to enter. Just as the Levitical sacrifices symbolized the work of Christ, the weekly Sabbath pictured our final salvation. This symbolism says nothing about whether Christians should continue observing the
symbols.
And our "final salvation" hasn't come. So why stop observing the day that points to this yet future "rest"?
In one way, symbols are obsolete, but in another way, they are still required. Circumcision is a great example. Christians do not have to be physically circumcised (Rom. 2:29)—but we should be circumcised in the heart. We are to keep this ritual law, but we do so in the spirit, not the letter. In one sense, Christ has made the law obsolete; in another way, he has transformed it and still requires it in its transformed way. The same is true of the Levitical rituals: although we do not offer animal sacrifices, we are obedient to those laws when we have faith that Jesus Christ fulfilled those sacrifices. The requirement has been transformed.
In a similar way, since the Sabbath points toward our final salvation, and this salvation is in Christ, we are abiding by the purpose of the Sabbath command when we put our faith in Christ. It is in him that we find the rest that we need (Matt. 11:28-30). The requirement for rest has been transformed to focus on Christ rather than a day of the week. If we have faith in him, we are entering God’s rest and we are therefore keeping the spiritual intent of the Sabbath.
Christ did not even say "focus on me" - but He insteaddirected us to the Father {Mat. 6:9). Christ says:
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments... 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Hebrews consistently used the Greek katapausis to refer to the “rest” which God wants us to enter. Only in Heb.4:9 was the Greek sabbatismos or “keeping of the Sabbath” used. Our ultimate rest is still in a far future (Rev.21). Besides God did not just command Sabbath to remind us of the coming “rest”, He also commanded the Sabbath to remind us of the creation and who our true Creator is (Exo. 20:11) as well as who our true Deliverer is (Deut. 5:15). Mr. Morrison may have super memory, but God knows we need to be reminded constantly.
11. Revelation says that the end-time people of God will be keeping God’s commandments (Rev. 12:17).
This verse does not say which commandments are still valid. It is wrong to assume that it means the Ten, when God has actually given many more commandments than that.
John wrote:
1Jo 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
Christ did not promise new laws or new commandments. He did not give any new commandment. He just explained the full and spiritual intent of the law that He has already given to us. And He said he did not come to destroy the same law. And he warned against adding, subtracting, changing it. Would Christ be one to break His own injunction?
12. Didn’t Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, keep the Sabbath?
When Paul was preaching the gospel in a new city, his custom was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:2). But this does not mean that he kept the Sabbath. Paul wanted to preach to Jews first, and the best place to do this was in a synagogue, and the best day to do it was the Sabbath, when the Jews were there. It was simply a good evangelistic strategy to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. However, Paul never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath.
But in preaching to the Jews [and gentiles], Paul also never mentioned that Sabbath was no longer necessary. Why?
It is because there was no issue at all about whether to keep the Sabbath or not. The law of Moses has been preached [and observed] in synagogues for a very long time [Acts.15:21]. So, it was actually an assumed fact.
Paul sometimes kept Jewish laws such as circumcision, making vows, and participating in temple rituals (Acts 16:3; 18:18; 21:26). When he was with Jews, he lived like they did—but he did not consider himself to be under the old covenant law (1 Cor. 9:20). When with Gentiles, he could live like a Gentile, just as Peter could (v. 21; Gal. 2:14). In the first century, neither Jews nor Gentiles believed that Gentiles should keep the Sabbath. If Paul had a different view, we should expect to see some evidence, but there is none.
Paul was no hypocrite, he used the law carefully and lawfully (I Tim.1:8)
In the Gentile cities of Lystra, Derbe and Athens, nothing is said about the Sabbath. In some places, Paul preached every day (Acts 17:17; 19:9). When he was in Troas, we do not hear anything about the Sabbath. Rather, the church waited until the first day of the week to come together and break bread (Acts 20:7). The example of Paul, like that of Jesus, is always liberty, and makes no restrictions or commandments about the Sabbath.
Preaching is not confined within Sabbath day. Preaching or "evangelism" can be done any day [or all day] of the week. But the day of weekly worship is the Sabbath and not “any day”. It is the only day that Gold sanctifies for the purpose.
Before we see what Paul taught about the Sabbath, let us summarize our observations.
The first place we see a command for the Sabbath is in the law of Moses. So?
The law of Moses contains many commands that Christians do not have to keep. How do we know which?
Even laws that came before Moses, such as circumcision, can be obsolete. We can’t generalize. It depends.
To see which laws are obsolete, we need to study the New Testament. Right.
The New Testament never commands the Sabbath. It also never said it was abolished.
Jesus always criticizes Sabbath rules, and never tells anyone to be careful about what they do on the Sabbath. The rules made and added by the Jews – He did not criticize the Sabbath.
Jesus always groups the Sabbath with ceremonial and ritual laws. Maybe. But did He say Sabbath was abolished?
Peter and Paul could live like Gentiles if they wanted to. It doesn’t mean they were free to break the law.
Paul said that something about the Ten Commandments was fading away. The old covenant – not the law [Heb8:13].
Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath? Is the command clear enough to require people to lose their jobs and alienate their families? No—the only place that the Sabbath is commanded is in a covenant that the New Testament calls obsolete.
That’s why it takes faith to keep the Sabbath and to obey God’s commandments.
The Bible says:
Exo 16:25 And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
This was a good many days or weeks before the "law of Moses" was given. So it is clear God has laws and commandments the old covenant was introduced.
True, the New Testament does not explicitly say that the Sabbath is obsolete. Instead, it says much more—that the entire old covenant is obsolete. It says that Christians do not have to keep the law of Moses. It says a large category of law is no longer required, and it never tells Christians to keep the Sabbath. None of the Sabbatarian arguments proves that the Sabbath is still commanded.
The old covenant is obsolete. Not the Sabbath or the ten commandments.
If the Sabbath were required, it is surprising that the New Testament never repeats the command. It has space for all sorts of other commands, from holy kisses to avoiding idolatry, but it never commands the Sabbath. It never criticizes anyone for breaking it.
The New Testament likewise does not repeat the third commandment. Can we now take God's name in vain?
Paul dealt with numerous problems of Christian living, but he never tells slaves or others how to keep the Sabbath. He lists numerous sins that can keep a person out of the kingdom of God, but he never mentions the Sabbath. If the Sabbath is important, the silence of the New Testament is astounding.
It's silence about its abolition is as deafening as it is astounding to those against the law.
This should not be surprising because Sabbath observance was an assumed fact and practice during the apostles’ time.
But the evidence against the Sabbath goes even further than what we have covered. The New Testament not only fails to command the Sabbath—it says that it is wrong to require it.
The Bible says:
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
13. Christians should not judge one another regarding the Sabbath.
The only time that Paul mentions the Sabbath by name is in Col. 2:16-17. He says, "Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." Here, Paul groups the weekly Sabbath with the annual festivals, the monthly rituals, and eating and drinking restrictions of Judaism.
There is no translation problem here—Paul is talking about the weekly Sabbath and saying that it, like the other rituals of Judaism, is not a basis for judging. The Christians at Colossae should not let other people judge them by what they do on the Sabbath day—and in the same way, they should not judge other Christians by what they do on the Sabbath. In other words, they are not to say it is wrong for other Christians to be working on the Sabbath. Christians should not let anyone make them feel guilty for what they do on the Sabbath.
Colossians 2 is not talking primarily of the Sabbath or commandments. The Sabbaths were only incidental to the discussion. Paul was here addressing a heresy that has to do with “philosophy”, “tradition of men” , “rudiments of the world” (v.8), “voluntary humility”, “worshipping of angels”, “touch not, taste not” , etc.
What are these? Did God command these to Moses? Of course not. Paul was clearly addressing the problem about Gnosticism. Gnosticism is some kind of belief that does not tend to overthrow an existing belief system, but merely to modify or improve it. Incidentally, much of Christianity today actually appears to be based on some form of Gnosticism which in some ways made modifications or changes on God’s original commandments.
The Colossians adopted the apostles’ teachings, but some [inside or outside the congregation] attempted to “modify” or “improve” it by “voluntary humility” much like what some Filipinos do during “Holy Week” where they flagellate themselves or even have themselves crucified. In other words these Colossians are trying to do something in addition to, or as supplement to the sacrifice of Christ. Which Paul was trying to correct here.
The “handwriting of ordinances” in Col.2:14 that was “blotted out” hardly refer to the ten commandments. Recent findings from the “Dead Sea Scrolls” reveal that the phrase “cheirographon tois dogmasin” which is translated “handwriting of ordinances” in KJV was used of written notes of debt or bonds in their ordinary transactions. In the case of Col.2:14 it would mean “note or certificate of debt”. This view is apparent from the phrase "which was against [Gr.kata=against,accusative] us". The ten commandments which is good, holy and righteous, according to Paul, does not accuse us of anything. What accuses us rather is the record of our sins, which God through Christ erased and removed "out of the way” and "nailed to the cross".
Now, the expression “in meat or in drink” in verse 16 (KJV) is a misleading translation. Paul used Greek words en brosei kai en posei which is better translated as "in eating and in drinking". If Paul had meant “food and drink”, he would have used brõma and poma. As W. Robertson Smith put it:
The question is not altogether between lawful and unlawful food, but between eating and drinking or abstinence. Asceticism rather than ritual cleanness is in his mind. The Law is not ascetic in its character, its prohibitions of meats rest on the view that they are unclean, and drinks are not forbidden, save in exceptional cases, and then not for ascetic reasons (Expositor's Greek Testament, by W. Robertson Smith, vol. 3, p 530).
So apparently, there were some ascetics who criticized the Colossians for feasting during festivals or Sabbaths. It was hardly about “clean and unclean meat”. In short, the critics of the Colossians were taking exception about how they observed the Sabbaths and festivals, not that they were questioning whether to keep the Sabbath or not. Paul wrote:
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Here, Paul was hardly hinting abolition of the Sabbaths. In fact the present tense used in v.17 “which are a shadow of things to come” shows that the Sabbath was current as Paul was writing and the “things to come” clearly talks about things that are yet future. So what happened was that like in Christ’s encounter with the Pharisees, Paul encountered issues about how to keep the Sabbaths, in this Colossian controversy – there were no “Judaizers” and the Colossian gentiles were certainly not Judaizers. So Col.2 instead, actually shows that the Sabbaths are still to be observed today. Paul actually said we "must keep" the feasts long after Christ's death (1 Cor.5:8, Acts 18:21). See it for yourself!!
The reason for this, Paul says, is because Christ is the reality that these rituals symbolized. Since Christ has canceled our debts (v. 14), we should therefore not let anyone criticize us for what we do on the Sabbath. Because of the cross, the regulations about the Sabbath (as well as the new moons and annual festivals) are obsolete.
Good prelim analysis, but wrong conclusion. Colossians says that it is the debts that were cancelled. It says nothing about cancellation of the Sabbath or the ten commandments.
Paul told the Galatians that the promises of salvation were given to Abraham (Gal. 2:16). Then a law was added 430 years later—meaning all the laws added through Moses (v. 17). This law was temporary, in effect only until "the Seed" (Christ) had come (v. 19). This law was put into effect until Christ, but now that he has come, we are not under the supervision of that law (vs. 24-25). The New Testament message is consistent: the old covenant, the law of Moses, is obsolete. If a command (such as the Sabbath) can be found only within the temporary law, then it is not likely to still be required.
But Abraham has been keeping "commandments", "statutes" and "laws" 430 years before Moses!
Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
So clearly it is the sacrifices and ritual laws that God added 430 years later - not the ten commandments or the Sabbath!
14. In Christianity, every day may be treated alike.
In Romans 14, Paul writes that some Christians consider "one day more sacred than another," whereas other Christians consider "every day alike." In the Roman church, partly composed of Jews and partly composed of Gentiles, it is obvious what kind of days might be considered sacred.
The subject of Romans 14 from beginning to end is pretty clear: it is about whether to eat vegetables only or meat also (v.2) and on what day [as in the case of Catholic abstinence from certain food on certain days]. Notice that there is not even a mention of Sabbath here. Paul’s concern was actually about the offense of eating meat in the presence of those whose conscience cannot accept consumption of meat. This has nothing to do with Sabbath observance.
But Paul says, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." In other words, he is saying that it is permissible for a Christian to think that every day is alike! He did not feel any need to explain that one day of the week should be considered different. He was quite content for Christians to consider them all the same. His concern here, as it was in Colossians, was that Christians should not judge one another about their different customs (v. 4).
Paul was indifferent about the question of days—and the only reason that he could be indifferent about it, was that he considered the Sabbath command to be obsolete. If Christians work on the Sabbath, we are not to judge them or call them wrong, because they are not wrong. The Sabbath command does not apply.
First-century Jews did not think that the Sabbath applied to Gentiles, anyway. Paul would have had an uphill battle if he had wanted to teach otherwise. The reason that Paul could be so indifferent about days, that he could tell people not to judge one another about them, is that they were not commanded.
Our concern is about what God says and not what the Jews think. Paul wasn't indifferent about which day. He was just not being hounded by issues about whether to keep Sabbath or not.
15. God accepts us on the basis of Christ, not on whether we keep a certain day of the week.
The Sabbath (or any other distinctive practice) can deceive a person and subtly reduce the importance of Jesus Christ. The tendency is to think, "I please God because I keep the Sabbath. I am counted as one of his people because I keep the Sabbath." But God knows us as his people through Christ, not through a day of the week. The Bible says that the only reason that we please God is because of Jesus Christ:
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7).
Sabbath does not reduce the importance of Christ. Sabbath was instituted to help us focus of Christ, God and His plan. Christ said:
Mar 2:27 “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:”
Sabbath was made to serve man – to help man. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath because He was the one who made it. The Sabbath was instituted to give us humans, weekly pause from work and something to look forward to each week - to focus on God, His kingdom and His plan. The fact that God sanctified it, separates it as a special time for the purpose. And the fact that He didn’t do the same thing with the the other days, shows that he wants us to treat Sabbath day in a special way. Man is an incomplete creation. When we reach 75 or so, that will be the end of the road for us. We will perish like any animal. But to God, we are a special creation, and Sabbath is his invitation, His way of involving us in the unfinished creation is us. It would be tragic, if like the Israelites, we would ignore this invitation – and go our merry way – during the day which He uses to remind us of the ultimate “rest” that He intends for us – the time when the creation that is in us will finally be completed.
No matter how many laws we keep, we are sinners, and the only reason that we can be saved is because Jesus died for our sins. But a focus on laws, especially laws that make us different from other people, tends to put the focus back onto ourselves—and what we do. For some people, the badge of betterness is a certain style of worship. For others, it is a certain belief, or the avoidance of alcohol, or a style of dress. For Sabbatarians, it is the Sabbath. Not everyone falls into this trap, of course, but the more distinctive the doctrines, the more likely that people will value them too highly.
God knows better than to let us decide which laws to keep. God simply laid down the law before us. And it is up to us - whether to keep it or not:
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Suppose we come to the Day of Judgment and we are asked, "Why should we let you into the kingdom of God?" How will we answer? Will we talk about what laws we kept? Or will we trust in Christ alone? Will we try to claim part of the credit? The Bible says that our only basis of salvation is faith in Christ, and that no one has anything to boast about (Eph. 2:8-9). Our works don’t count for anything; our only hope is Jesus Christ, and any doctrine or practice that obscures this fact is an enemy of faith. Anything that tempts us to look at what we do, tempts us to take away some of the trust that we should be giving to Christ.
Christ says:
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things.
Christians try to obey God, but our obedience does not count anything for our salvation. There are many reasons to obey God (faith in his wisdom, gratitude for his mercy, personal love for him, desire to spread the gospel, etc.), but salvation is not one of them. Salvation is a gift; obedience is a response—and that is for laws that are still valid in the New Testament era. If obeying a valid law counts for nothing, what good does it do to keep an obsolete one?
That may sound good and kind, but the fact remains that Christ Himself said:
Mat.19:17 if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
I find no reason to argue with Christ and say “But Lord, isn’t that salvation by works?”. Wouldn’t Christ and the Father be glad if we just obeyed their simple command without much ado? It is amazing how that simple command would keep bouncing off our think coconuts. God says:
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Yes God’s way often do not make sense to us. We sometimes feel we know better than God. Wasn’t that the problem of King Saul who just can’t seem to understand God’s simple instructions? God says one thing and King Saul does another. King Saul had a lesson that we today cannot afford to ignore.
Of course, Christians may refrain from work one day a week if they wish. Spiritual disciplines like that can be helpful to a person’s spiritual growth, but they can also become obstacles, if people begin to think that these particular practices make them better than others. And these practices can become spiritually dangerous, if people think that everyone else ought to measure up to the way they worship God. Christians should not place themselves "under the law" (Galatians 3:25) as if the laws of Moses still had authority over them.
Jesus criticized people who taught requirements that God did not have: "You experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them" (Luke 11:46). When we teach requirements, we need to be very careful.
It is Christ who said:
Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Sabbath, Christ says, was made to serve man and not to burden man.
The Sabbath has nothing to do with salvation, and nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was never part of the message of the New Testament church. The message is always one of liberty, never one of restrictions on a particular day of the week. God accepts us because of Jesus Christ, not because of anything that we do. It is by grace, not works. We are to trust in Christ for our salvation.
It has everything to do with salvation. I recommend reading Hebrews 4, and try your best to understand its message. Because by failing to obey God’s simple instruction we would not be allowed to enter that “rest” as what happened to the ancient Israelites (Heb.4:11).
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace
Is the Sabbath Required for Christians Today?
Can the fourth commandment be obsolete?
By Mike Morrison
The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8). God’s people were told to rest on the seventh day of every week. Nevertheless, most Christians today do not observe the seventh-day Sabbath—they say it is obsolete. This article explains why.
We will examine the major questions, and give brief answers. We have longer explanations available for each question, but this article will give a concise overview.
1. Was the Sabbath commanded at creation, even before humanity sinned?
There is no evidence in the Bible that God commanded the Sabbath before the days of Moses. Genesis says that God rested, but nowhere does it say that the first humans were commanded to follow his example. Before humans sinned, they lived in a blessed and holy time, in which they were in a state of peace with God, trustful and obedient. They did not need to labor in the way they later did. They did not need to set aside a day for communion with God, for they had it continually. The first human did not need to rest on the second day of his life.
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, but that does not mean that he required people to rest on it. As the Jubilee year shows (Lev. 25:8-12), time can be holy without requiring a rest. In the days of Moses, the creation week was used as a pattern for commanding the seventh-day Sabbath, but that pattern does not prove that the Sabbath existed ever since creation.
First, Jubillee year is not Sabbath day. Its specified observance is different from that of the Sabbath day. God did not say that we should keep everyday of the whole Jubillee year like we do Sabbath day. Being holy does not necessarily involve rest. For instance, Passover day is holy but its specifed observance is not rest but preparation instead. But as far as the days referred to as Sabbath is concerned, rest is required.
The Bible says of Sabbath:
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Here we clearly see that God rested on the seventh day and blessed and sanctified it (v.3).
We know that that day is Sabbath because Christ says:
Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Here we see clearly that Christ calls that day the “Sabbath”. And He says that the Sabbath was made for man. The word “for” is from Greek dia, which means “by occasion of, of, by reason of, for the sake of” . In other words, the Sabbath was made for the sake of man, or to serve and benefit man. Christ had to say this because in the preceding verses we see that the Jews were trying to impose their man-made rules about the Sabbath, making Sabbath something to serve and a burden, which was not God’s intention. For the Sabbath to be "for man", it had to be kept. It is of no use to man if not to be kept. So, the inevitable conclusion is that after creating Sabbath, God gave Adam and Eve instruction to observe it. Otherwise, Christ had no reason to say that the Sabbath was made for man. Instead, He would have said. “The Sabbath was made, therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath”.
If God commands the Sabbath, then we should keep it, of course, even if we have to adjust our schedules, suffer financially, and alienate our families. But if God does not require the Sabbath, then it would be wrong to put this unnecessary burden on anyone. When the effect on our lives is so great, we need to make sure that we have a clear command from God, not a questionable inference. Genesis does not command the Sabbath, never mentions the word, and never pictures anyone as keeping it.
What chutzpah, for Mr. Morrison to brand as "burden", the day that God says is "a delight" and "glorious" (Isa. 58:13) .
God said:
Deu 5:33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
You see, even in the time of Moses there is such thing as faith. It takes faith to trust God's promise for obedience. Israel had problem with faith. Alas, the same is true with us in this 21st century. With faith lacking, it is easy to reason out around God’s commandments. How sad.
Abraham kept all of God’s commands (Gen. 26:5), but this does not mean that he kept all the annual festivals, sacrificed his firstborn animals, or did any of the other laws that Moses gave. This verse tells us that Abraham was obedient to all the laws that applied to him, but it doesn’t tell us which laws applied. The Jewish Talmud says that Abraham did not keep the Sabbath; the Jews believed that the Sabbath was given, as the Bible describes, through Moses to the Israelite people.
The Bible likewise does not say Abraham did not. The Talmud is a collection of human oral tradition, where we find the added “tradition of the elders” and man-made commandments which God expressly prohibits and warns against. So Talmud is not a good basis of discussion on what God commands.
2. The Sabbath was called holy time. Doesn’t it remain holy forever?
Not necessarily. In ancient Israel’s worship system, many things and places were holy. Firstborn animals and children were holy (Ex. 13:1-2), but they are not holy in the same way today. The Jubilee Year was holy, but it is not so today. The laws of holiness told the Jews how to worship God, and although we might think that worship laws telling us how to show love to God are the most important, the fact is that many of ancient Israel’s worship laws are now obsolete. God does not expect us to worship him in exactly the same way that the Israelites did.
Well, we can’t conclude that Jubillee year is no longer to be observed [unless a clear passage shows so]. In Christ’s many encounters with the Jews about the Sabbath, Christ never took the opportunity to declare the Sabbath abolished or to be abolished at His death.
3. The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. Shouldn’t Christians keep the Ten Commandments?
Christians generally agree that nine of the Ten Commandments still apply today. The last six commandments are quoted several times in the New Testament—but it is a mistake to assume that the Sabbath command is also commanded today. We are asking whether all Ten of the Commandments are still required—we cannot assume in advance that all Ten must stay together. We need to see what the Bible says about it.
It is dangerous to assume that the Sabbath has been done away, when there is no text that explicitly says so. And I can’t understand why Christ’s declaration in Mat.5:17-19 is not enough to dispel all arguments about the subject of law and Sabbath:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
It is so clear.
The “New Testament” is not the place where to find the complete list of commandments. God already gave the law through Moses. Christ did not come to give any law. That's not His job. Christ rather, came to administer grace, which now complete the salvation "ingredients". Notice:
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
The Bible refers to the Ten Commandments as a group in only three places. They are called the covenant that God made with his people through Moses (Ex. 34:28 and Deut. 4:13)—and this covenant is now obsolete (Heb. 8:13).
Christians are not required to keep "the law of Moses" (Acts 15). The law-code of Moses, although containing some eternally-valid laws, also contains some temporary laws that became obsolete when Jesus Christ came. All Christians agree that some of these God-given laws became obsolete; the question now is whether the list of obsolete laws happens to include the Sabbath. We cannot judge the law by its neighbors—we cannot assume that it is valid, nor can we assume it is obsolete.
We likewise cannot assume that it is now "invalid". The truth is, the old covenant is not equal to the ten commandments. The old covenant was an agreement between God and the nation Israel, where God promised blessing and protection if Israel obeyed God’s commandments and the “law of Moses”. The covenant was instituted and the “law of Moses” was introduced because the [unwritten] law of God was being rampantly transgressed by man. God had to send flood as well as fire [Sodom and Gomorrah] to curtail man's wickedness. The old covenant was instituted to emphasize the importance of keeping the commandments.
To answer our question, we must turn to the New Testament. Although some of the commandments are quoted at various places in the New Testament, the only place in the New Testament where the Ten Commandments are mentioned as a group is in 2 Cor. 3. There, Paul talks about tablets of stone when Moses’ face was shining in glory (vs. 3, 7). Clearly, Paul is talking about the Ten Commandments. Notice what he says: They are the letter that kills, a ministry of death and condemnation, which came in glory but its glory is now fading away (vs. 6-11). The new covenant, in contrast, is a ministry that brings life, is much more glorious, and is a ministry that does not fade away.
This cannot be the ten commandments, because the ten commandments do not pronounce death or curses on its violator.
In Deut.27:1-8, we read of another set of stones (great, massive stones, apparently v.2) on which God instructed Moses to write [some of] the content of the “book of the law” or the “law of Moses” . These stones were to be set with plaster (lime, “cement”) on Mt. Ebal (v.4). On these stones were written the curses and blessings (Josh. 8:32-35). These stones, were clearly the ones Paul was referring to in 2 Cor.3. Those were one ones fading away, not the ten commandments.
Paul did not praise the Ten Commandments as part of the Christian way of life. Rather, he pointed out ways in which the gospel of Jesus Christ is different from the Ten Commandments. They were part of a ministry that was fading away. Since Paul says that the ministry of the letter is fading, it should be no surprise if we find that one of the Ten was a temporary command. Something about those stone tablets is fading away; we cannot assume that all Ten Commandments are eternal.
To the contrary, Paul said:
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God…
1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Much of Paul’s reference to law that appears “negative” is to the “law of Moses”. But he was not criticizing the “law of Moses”, but rather its wrong use by the Jews [1 Tim.18].
4. Didn’t Ex. 31:16 declare the Sabbath to be a perpetual covenant between God and his people? Yes, but so was circumcision (Gen. 17:13) and the weekly showbread (Lev. 24:8). The same Hebrew word is used to say that the Day of Atonement is a lasting ordinance, and the Levitical priesthood will continue (Lev. 16:29; Ex. 29:9; 40:15). Obviously, the Hebrew word does not mean eternal. The covenant that God made with the Israelites is now obsolete (Heb. 8:13).
God gave the Sabbath to the Israelites as a sign between God and the Israelites (Ex. 31:17). The Sabbath made the Israelites different from other nations—but Paul says that the laws that separated Jews and Gentiles have been done away by the cross of Christ (Eph. 2:11-18).
Mr. Morrison obviously does not understand what God was doing with and through the Israelties.
First of all, the ten commandments do not contain anything that even tend to create “enmity” between the Israelites from other nations. Secondly, God actually commanded the Israelites to love the “strangers” that were among them (Lev.19:33-35, Ex.22:21, Ex.23:9, etc). Thirdly God was not trying to make Israel different from other nations for the sake of making them different. Mr. Morrison probably had the impression that "peculiar" [Ex.19:5, Deut.14:2] meant "strange" or "odd". The word translated as peculiar in KJV actually means "jewel", "proper", "good" or "special". God was trying make Israel and example or a schowcase to the world [which has strayed too far from God] - to show His way of life. Notice:
Deu 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
The fact is, the Sabbath and other commands were intended also for all “strangers” who happened to be among the Israelites (see Ex.12:19, 48-49, Ex.20:10, Lev.17:8,10-13, 20:2, 22:18, etc.)
One thing we should realize is that, among the nations, God made covenant only with the Israelites. He made no covenant with any other nation. The gentiles according to Paul were:
“...without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” (Eph.2:12).
All promises pertain to the Israelites. The gentiles were without hope – not even a true God. However, [and this is the good news for us gentiles], through the blood of Christ we gentiles “are made nigh”. Therefore, as Paul continues:
Eph 2:19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”.
There. God brought us “nigh” and made us “fellow citizen with the saints and of the household of God”. Now spiritually speaking we are part of the commonwealth of Israel. This is a wonderful truth. God made a covenant with Abraham (Gen.17) which He reiterated to Isaac and Jacob (Ex.2:24), and which He formalized with the nation Israel (Ex.6:5) and culminating with the inclusion of the gentiles (Eph.2:19-20). God did not make any covenant with the gentiles. It you read the text of the “New Covenant” it is with the “house of Israel” and the “house of Judah” only. We gentiles were only included in the covenant that God began with Abraham, as a result of Christ’s atoning blood. The inclusion of Gentiles is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham:
Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So we gentiles cannot boast over the Israelites. It would be a great mistake to look down upon the Jews. God gave salvation to them first and then to us gentiles. We should be thankful to the God of Israel!
5. Didn’t Isaiah say that Gentiles would be blessed for keeping the Sabbath?
Yes, he did. He also said that Gentiles will offer burnt offerings and sacrifices (Isa. 56:7). The prophets predicted that people will observe new moons (Isa. 66:23; Ezek. 46:3), discriminate against uncircumcised people (Isa. 52:1-2; Ezek. 44:9), sacrifice in the temple (Ezek. 20:40; Zech. 14:20-21) and observe other laws that Christians do not need to. The prophets lived under the old covenant, and they described devotion to God in terms of the old covenant. We cannot assume that those specifics apply to Christians in this age.
Mr. Morrison doesn’t seem to realize that God is the one speaking in Isaiah 56 and not the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah did not write “in terms of the old covenant” or with a myopic vision, but rather he was writing AS God moved him. Mr. Morrison assumes that there will be no sacrifices, but the Bible does not say there will be none, either. It is true that there will be no more “offering for sin”. (Heb 10:18) but it doesn’t say there will not be any offering at all. Offerings may also done as thanksgiving or as memorial.
The setting of Isa.66:22-23 is unmistakable. It is during the “new heaven and new earth”, during which “all flesh shall worship” before God, from Sabbath to Sabbath. Obviously there will be humans during the “Millenium”, either on earth or elsewhere.
6. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Shouldn’t we follow his example?
Yes, Jesus kept the Sabbath. He kept all the Jewish laws, because he was born under the law and kept it perfectly (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 4:15). He killed Passover lambs, tithed to the Levites, told cleansed people to make offerings commanded by Moses (Matt. 8:4), and he observed Hanukkah (John 10:22).
It didn't say He observed Hanukkah. He just went to the porch of Solomon - not even to the temple. Anyway, Hanukkah is a national celebration, much like Thanksgiving and it is no problem observing them.
He would have worn blue threads on his garments (Num. 15:38) and done a lot of other things that Christians aren’t required to imitate. When we look at the example he set, we must remember the historical context.
What kind of example did Jesus set on the Sabbath? The Bible never says that he rested—we are told only of his activity. He never commands anyone to keep the Sabbath, nor praises anyone for it. Rather, he constantly criticized people who had rules about what could or could not be done on the Sabbath. He always taught more freedom, never any restrictions. Although he told people to be very strict about some laws (Matt. 5:21, 28, etc.), he was always liberal about the Sabbath.
In his encounters with the Jews regarding the Sabbath, Christ was addressing the manner by which the Sabbath was being observed. As a result of their bitter experience with slavery as a result of profanation of the Sabbath, the Jews built many man-made rules around the Sabbath. One of these is mentioned in Mat 12:1-2:
“At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. "
Christ did not agree that what they did was unlawful. Because if it was, then Christ broke the law – and we have no savior. The above passage is relating an incident where He and the disciples happened to pass through a cornfield – apparently after a Sabbath service – and became hungry [apparently not having brought anything to eat] and began plucking corn to eat. In the same account in Mark 2, Christ said:
Mar 2:27 The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
The Greek word for “for” is dia which means “by occasion of, of, by reason of, for the sake of”. In other words, the Sabbath was made for the sake of man – to serve man, not to burden or enslave man. On the other hand, the Bible does not say that Christ and the disciples habitually went out, long distances on Sabbaths to look for and harvest many bushels of corn or to start doing normal work or earning a living. When Christ said that He is the “Lord of the Sabbath” He was asserting the fact that He is the authority on how to “interpret” the Sabbath.
Jesus always compared the Sabbath to ceremonial laws, not to moral laws. When his disciples were picking grain, he used the example of the showbread, and the work of the priests in the temple (Matt. 12:3-6). Those rituals were just as important as the Sabbath. He said that circumcision could be done on the Sabbath (John 7:22), which indicates that circumcision is a more important law than the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a ritual law—it says that behavior that is perfectly good one day, is forbidden on another, simply because the earth has rotated. But true morality does not change from one day of the week to another. When ritual laws became obsolete when Jesus died, it should be no surprise that the ritual of the Sabbath also became obsolete.
Resting and focusing on God during the day that He “sanctified” may not seem “moral” to us humans. But as God says:
Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Jesus said that daily chores could be done on the Sabbath (Luke 13:15).
Even hard labor could be done in an emergency (Luke 14:5). He told a healed man to carry his sleeping mat, even though there was no hurry (John 5:8).
Christ showed that feeding and watering animals is lawful on Sabbath. Same is true with healing. But it doesn't say the same thing about normal routine of earning a living or our own leisure.
He even used the word "work" to describe his activity (v. 17).
That is the spiritual work of saving man. not the servile work that Mr. Morrison wants to do.
Many Christians follow this example.
That doesn't make it right.
They remember that Jesus consistently criticized the Sabbath rules of the Pharisees, and that he treated it as a ritual law.
The first part is correct. He criticized the rules made by the Pharisees - but He never criticized the Sabbath itself. And Christ likewise did not say Sabbath is ritual law.
Christ never once even hinted that we can do our usual work on the Sabbath. He was talking emergencies or exceptions not of normal routines.
7. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27).
Circumcision was made for man, too. All of God’s laws, even the obsolete ones, were made for humans. The Sabbath law was made to benefit humans, to serve them, not become an unpleasant burden. Jesus said this to argue for liberty, not for making requirements. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath—he has authority over it, and he can set it aside if he wants to.
The Bible is clear about physical circumcision being replaced by the “circumcision of the heart” (Rom.2:29). But it does not say the same thing about the Sabbath. When Christ said He is the Lord of the Sabbath, He did not give the slightest hint that He was abolishing the Sabbath.
8. Luke 23:56 tells us that even after Jesus’ crucifixion, the women "rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Does this show that the Sabbath is still commanded for Christians?
The women rested on the Sabbath, but their example does not tell us whether that commandment is still in effect. They did not yet understand that God no longer required ritual laws. Luke’s readers might have wondered why the women rested even though they were faced with an urgent need, so Luke told them why—the women rested because of the commandment.
Luke used the word "commandment," but that does not prove that the commandment was required for Luke's readers. Paul used the same word to describe the rules that divided Jews from Gentiles (Eph. 2:15), but Paul says that those commandments do not have any validity for his readers. The word "commandment" does not imply any validity or permanence. Luke is simply using ordinary words to explain why the women rested. He is not commanding
his readers to follow that example.
Neither did Christ nor the disciples say that the Sabbath was abolished, nor did they classify the Sabbath as “ritual law”.
9. Jesus said that his disciples should pray not to flee on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20). Doesn’t this mean that we should be keeping it?
No. It is permissible to flee for your life on the Sabbath. But Jesus said that people in Judea (v. 16) could find it difficult, just as they would find it difficult but not sinful to flee in winter (v. 20). This verse does not say whether the disciples would be keeping the Sabbath or not—it just recognizes that other people in Judea would be, so it would be difficult for the disciples to flee when city gates were closed, shops were closed, etc. This verse does not command the Sabbath—it only shows that it would be difficult for people in Judea to flee on the Sabbath.
Mr. Morrison seem to imply that Christ differentiates between Greek and Jews. Paul wrote:
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
What applies to Jews also applies to gentiles. As mentioned in Eph 2:13, God had brought the Jews and gentiles together under the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the nation Israel.
10. Heb. 4:9 says that a Sabbath-rest still remains for believers today.
Hebrews 4 is talking about a future rest. People did not have this rest in Joshua’s day, nor when Psalm 95 was written (v. 8), so this chapter is not talking about the weekly Sabbath. This rest is entered by faith in Christ (v. 2). By using the word "Sabbath-rest," Hebrews is saying that the weekly Sabbath symbolized the real rest that God wants his people to enter. Just as the Levitical sacrifices symbolized the work of Christ, the weekly Sabbath pictured our final salvation. This symbolism says nothing about whether Christians should continue observing the
symbols.
And our "final salvation" hasn't come. So why stop observing the day that points to this yet future "rest"?
In one way, symbols are obsolete, but in another way, they are still required. Circumcision is a great example. Christians do not have to be physically circumcised (Rom. 2:29)—but we should be circumcised in the heart. We are to keep this ritual law, but we do so in the spirit, not the letter. In one sense, Christ has made the law obsolete; in another way, he has transformed it and still requires it in its transformed way. The same is true of the Levitical rituals: although we do not offer animal sacrifices, we are obedient to those laws when we have faith that Jesus Christ fulfilled those sacrifices. The requirement has been transformed.
In a similar way, since the Sabbath points toward our final salvation, and this salvation is in Christ, we are abiding by the purpose of the Sabbath command when we put our faith in Christ. It is in him that we find the rest that we need (Matt. 11:28-30). The requirement for rest has been transformed to focus on Christ rather than a day of the week. If we have faith in him, we are entering God’s rest and we are therefore keeping the spiritual intent of the Sabbath.
Christ did not even say "focus on me" - but He insteaddirected us to the Father {Mat. 6:9). Christ says:
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments... 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Hebrews consistently used the Greek katapausis to refer to the “rest” which God wants us to enter. Only in Heb.4:9 was the Greek sabbatismos or “keeping of the Sabbath” used. Our ultimate rest is still in a far future (Rev.21). Besides God did not just command Sabbath to remind us of the coming “rest”, He also commanded the Sabbath to remind us of the creation and who our true Creator is (Exo. 20:11) as well as who our true Deliverer is (Deut. 5:15). Mr. Morrison may have super memory, but God knows we need to be reminded constantly.
11. Revelation says that the end-time people of God will be keeping God’s commandments (Rev. 12:17).
This verse does not say which commandments are still valid. It is wrong to assume that it means the Ten, when God has actually given many more commandments than that.
John wrote:
1Jo 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
Christ did not promise new laws or new commandments. He did not give any new commandment. He just explained the full and spiritual intent of the law that He has already given to us. And He said he did not come to destroy the same law. And he warned against adding, subtracting, changing it. Would Christ be one to break His own injunction?
12. Didn’t Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, keep the Sabbath?
When Paul was preaching the gospel in a new city, his custom was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:2). But this does not mean that he kept the Sabbath. Paul wanted to preach to Jews first, and the best place to do this was in a synagogue, and the best day to do it was the Sabbath, when the Jews were there. It was simply a good evangelistic strategy to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. However, Paul never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath.
But in preaching to the Jews [and gentiles], Paul also never mentioned that Sabbath was no longer necessary. Why?
It is because there was no issue at all about whether to keep the Sabbath or not. The law of Moses has been preached [and observed] in synagogues for a very long time [Acts.15:21]. So, it was actually an assumed fact.
Paul sometimes kept Jewish laws such as circumcision, making vows, and participating in temple rituals (Acts 16:3; 18:18; 21:26). When he was with Jews, he lived like they did—but he did not consider himself to be under the old covenant law (1 Cor. 9:20). When with Gentiles, he could live like a Gentile, just as Peter could (v. 21; Gal. 2:14). In the first century, neither Jews nor Gentiles believed that Gentiles should keep the Sabbath. If Paul had a different view, we should expect to see some evidence, but there is none.
Paul was no hypocrite, he used the law carefully and lawfully (I Tim.1:8)
In the Gentile cities of Lystra, Derbe and Athens, nothing is said about the Sabbath. In some places, Paul preached every day (Acts 17:17; 19:9). When he was in Troas, we do not hear anything about the Sabbath. Rather, the church waited until the first day of the week to come together and break bread (Acts 20:7). The example of Paul, like that of Jesus, is always liberty, and makes no restrictions or commandments about the Sabbath.
Preaching is not confined within Sabbath day. Preaching or "evangelism" can be done any day [or all day] of the week. But the day of weekly worship is the Sabbath and not “any day”. It is the only day that Gold sanctifies for the purpose.
Before we see what Paul taught about the Sabbath, let us summarize our observations.
The first place we see a command for the Sabbath is in the law of Moses. So?
The law of Moses contains many commands that Christians do not have to keep. How do we know which?
Even laws that came before Moses, such as circumcision, can be obsolete. We can’t generalize. It depends.
To see which laws are obsolete, we need to study the New Testament. Right.
The New Testament never commands the Sabbath. It also never said it was abolished.
Jesus always criticizes Sabbath rules, and never tells anyone to be careful about what they do on the Sabbath. The rules made and added by the Jews – He did not criticize the Sabbath.
Jesus always groups the Sabbath with ceremonial and ritual laws. Maybe. But did He say Sabbath was abolished?
Peter and Paul could live like Gentiles if they wanted to. It doesn’t mean they were free to break the law.
Paul said that something about the Ten Commandments was fading away. The old covenant – not the law [Heb8:13].
Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath? Is the command clear enough to require people to lose their jobs and alienate their families? No—the only place that the Sabbath is commanded is in a covenant that the New Testament calls obsolete.
That’s why it takes faith to keep the Sabbath and to obey God’s commandments.
The Bible says:
Exo 16:25 And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
This was a good many days or weeks before the "law of Moses" was given. So it is clear God has laws and commandments the old covenant was introduced.
True, the New Testament does not explicitly say that the Sabbath is obsolete. Instead, it says much more—that the entire old covenant is obsolete. It says that Christians do not have to keep the law of Moses. It says a large category of law is no longer required, and it never tells Christians to keep the Sabbath. None of the Sabbatarian arguments proves that the Sabbath is still commanded.
The old covenant is obsolete. Not the Sabbath or the ten commandments.
If the Sabbath were required, it is surprising that the New Testament never repeats the command. It has space for all sorts of other commands, from holy kisses to avoiding idolatry, but it never commands the Sabbath. It never criticizes anyone for breaking it.
The New Testament likewise does not repeat the third commandment. Can we now take God's name in vain?
Paul dealt with numerous problems of Christian living, but he never tells slaves or others how to keep the Sabbath. He lists numerous sins that can keep a person out of the kingdom of God, but he never mentions the Sabbath. If the Sabbath is important, the silence of the New Testament is astounding.
It's silence about its abolition is as deafening as it is astounding to those against the law.
This should not be surprising because Sabbath observance was an assumed fact and practice during the apostles’ time.
But the evidence against the Sabbath goes even further than what we have covered. The New Testament not only fails to command the Sabbath—it says that it is wrong to require it.
The Bible says:
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
13. Christians should not judge one another regarding the Sabbath.
The only time that Paul mentions the Sabbath by name is in Col. 2:16-17. He says, "Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." Here, Paul groups the weekly Sabbath with the annual festivals, the monthly rituals, and eating and drinking restrictions of Judaism.
There is no translation problem here—Paul is talking about the weekly Sabbath and saying that it, like the other rituals of Judaism, is not a basis for judging. The Christians at Colossae should not let other people judge them by what they do on the Sabbath day—and in the same way, they should not judge other Christians by what they do on the Sabbath. In other words, they are not to say it is wrong for other Christians to be working on the Sabbath. Christians should not let anyone make them feel guilty for what they do on the Sabbath.
Colossians 2 is not talking primarily of the Sabbath or commandments. The Sabbaths were only incidental to the discussion. Paul was here addressing a heresy that has to do with “philosophy”, “tradition of men” , “rudiments of the world” (v.8), “voluntary humility”, “worshipping of angels”, “touch not, taste not” , etc.
What are these? Did God command these to Moses? Of course not. Paul was clearly addressing the problem about Gnosticism. Gnosticism is some kind of belief that does not tend to overthrow an existing belief system, but merely to modify or improve it. Incidentally, much of Christianity today actually appears to be based on some form of Gnosticism which in some ways made modifications or changes on God’s original commandments.
The Colossians adopted the apostles’ teachings, but some [inside or outside the congregation] attempted to “modify” or “improve” it by “voluntary humility” much like what some Filipinos do during “Holy Week” where they flagellate themselves or even have themselves crucified. In other words these Colossians are trying to do something in addition to, or as supplement to the sacrifice of Christ. Which Paul was trying to correct here.
The “handwriting of ordinances” in Col.2:14 that was “blotted out” hardly refer to the ten commandments. Recent findings from the “Dead Sea Scrolls” reveal that the phrase “cheirographon tois dogmasin” which is translated “handwriting of ordinances” in KJV was used of written notes of debt or bonds in their ordinary transactions. In the case of Col.2:14 it would mean “note or certificate of debt”. This view is apparent from the phrase "which was against [Gr.kata=against,accusative] us". The ten commandments which is good, holy and righteous, according to Paul, does not accuse us of anything. What accuses us rather is the record of our sins, which God through Christ erased and removed "out of the way” and "nailed to the cross".
Now, the expression “in meat or in drink” in verse 16 (KJV) is a misleading translation. Paul used Greek words en brosei kai en posei which is better translated as "in eating and in drinking". If Paul had meant “food and drink”, he would have used brõma and poma. As W. Robertson Smith put it:
The question is not altogether between lawful and unlawful food, but between eating and drinking or abstinence. Asceticism rather than ritual cleanness is in his mind. The Law is not ascetic in its character, its prohibitions of meats rest on the view that they are unclean, and drinks are not forbidden, save in exceptional cases, and then not for ascetic reasons (Expositor's Greek Testament, by W. Robertson Smith, vol. 3, p 530).
So apparently, there were some ascetics who criticized the Colossians for feasting during festivals or Sabbaths. It was hardly about “clean and unclean meat”. In short, the critics of the Colossians were taking exception about how they observed the Sabbaths and festivals, not that they were questioning whether to keep the Sabbath or not. Paul wrote:
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Here, Paul was hardly hinting abolition of the Sabbaths. In fact the present tense used in v.17 “which are a shadow of things to come” shows that the Sabbath was current as Paul was writing and the “things to come” clearly talks about things that are yet future. So what happened was that like in Christ’s encounter with the Pharisees, Paul encountered issues about how to keep the Sabbaths, in this Colossian controversy – there were no “Judaizers” and the Colossian gentiles were certainly not Judaizers. So Col.2 instead, actually shows that the Sabbaths are still to be observed today. Paul actually said we "must keep" the feasts long after Christ's death (1 Cor.5:8, Acts 18:21). See it for yourself!!
The reason for this, Paul says, is because Christ is the reality that these rituals symbolized. Since Christ has canceled our debts (v. 14), we should therefore not let anyone criticize us for what we do on the Sabbath. Because of the cross, the regulations about the Sabbath (as well as the new moons and annual festivals) are obsolete.
Good prelim analysis, but wrong conclusion. Colossians says that it is the debts that were cancelled. It says nothing about cancellation of the Sabbath or the ten commandments.
Paul told the Galatians that the promises of salvation were given to Abraham (Gal. 2:16). Then a law was added 430 years later—meaning all the laws added through Moses (v. 17). This law was temporary, in effect only until "the Seed" (Christ) had come (v. 19). This law was put into effect until Christ, but now that he has come, we are not under the supervision of that law (vs. 24-25). The New Testament message is consistent: the old covenant, the law of Moses, is obsolete. If a command (such as the Sabbath) can be found only within the temporary law, then it is not likely to still be required.
But Abraham has been keeping "commandments", "statutes" and "laws" 430 years before Moses!
Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
So clearly it is the sacrifices and ritual laws that God added 430 years later - not the ten commandments or the Sabbath!
14. In Christianity, every day may be treated alike.
In Romans 14, Paul writes that some Christians consider "one day more sacred than another," whereas other Christians consider "every day alike." In the Roman church, partly composed of Jews and partly composed of Gentiles, it is obvious what kind of days might be considered sacred.
The subject of Romans 14 from beginning to end is pretty clear: it is about whether to eat vegetables only or meat also (v.2) and on what day [as in the case of Catholic abstinence from certain food on certain days]. Notice that there is not even a mention of Sabbath here. Paul’s concern was actually about the offense of eating meat in the presence of those whose conscience cannot accept consumption of meat. This has nothing to do with Sabbath observance.
But Paul says, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." In other words, he is saying that it is permissible for a Christian to think that every day is alike! He did not feel any need to explain that one day of the week should be considered different. He was quite content for Christians to consider them all the same. His concern here, as it was in Colossians, was that Christians should not judge one another about their different customs (v. 4).
Paul was indifferent about the question of days—and the only reason that he could be indifferent about it, was that he considered the Sabbath command to be obsolete. If Christians work on the Sabbath, we are not to judge them or call them wrong, because they are not wrong. The Sabbath command does not apply.
First-century Jews did not think that the Sabbath applied to Gentiles, anyway. Paul would have had an uphill battle if he had wanted to teach otherwise. The reason that Paul could be so indifferent about days, that he could tell people not to judge one another about them, is that they were not commanded.
Our concern is about what God says and not what the Jews think. Paul wasn't indifferent about which day. He was just not being hounded by issues about whether to keep Sabbath or not.
15. God accepts us on the basis of Christ, not on whether we keep a certain day of the week.
The Sabbath (or any other distinctive practice) can deceive a person and subtly reduce the importance of Jesus Christ. The tendency is to think, "I please God because I keep the Sabbath. I am counted as one of his people because I keep the Sabbath." But God knows us as his people through Christ, not through a day of the week. The Bible says that the only reason that we please God is because of Jesus Christ:
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7).
Sabbath does not reduce the importance of Christ. Sabbath was instituted to help us focus of Christ, God and His plan. Christ said:
Mar 2:27 “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:”
Sabbath was made to serve man – to help man. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath because He was the one who made it. The Sabbath was instituted to give us humans, weekly pause from work and something to look forward to each week - to focus on God, His kingdom and His plan. The fact that God sanctified it, separates it as a special time for the purpose. And the fact that He didn’t do the same thing with the the other days, shows that he wants us to treat Sabbath day in a special way. Man is an incomplete creation. When we reach 75 or so, that will be the end of the road for us. We will perish like any animal. But to God, we are a special creation, and Sabbath is his invitation, His way of involving us in the unfinished creation is us. It would be tragic, if like the Israelites, we would ignore this invitation – and go our merry way – during the day which He uses to remind us of the ultimate “rest” that He intends for us – the time when the creation that is in us will finally be completed.
No matter how many laws we keep, we are sinners, and the only reason that we can be saved is because Jesus died for our sins. But a focus on laws, especially laws that make us different from other people, tends to put the focus back onto ourselves—and what we do. For some people, the badge of betterness is a certain style of worship. For others, it is a certain belief, or the avoidance of alcohol, or a style of dress. For Sabbatarians, it is the Sabbath. Not everyone falls into this trap, of course, but the more distinctive the doctrines, the more likely that people will value them too highly.
God knows better than to let us decide which laws to keep. God simply laid down the law before us. And it is up to us - whether to keep it or not:
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Suppose we come to the Day of Judgment and we are asked, "Why should we let you into the kingdom of God?" How will we answer? Will we talk about what laws we kept? Or will we trust in Christ alone? Will we try to claim part of the credit? The Bible says that our only basis of salvation is faith in Christ, and that no one has anything to boast about (Eph. 2:8-9). Our works don’t count for anything; our only hope is Jesus Christ, and any doctrine or practice that obscures this fact is an enemy of faith. Anything that tempts us to look at what we do, tempts us to take away some of the trust that we should be giving to Christ.
Christ says:
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things.
Christians try to obey God, but our obedience does not count anything for our salvation. There are many reasons to obey God (faith in his wisdom, gratitude for his mercy, personal love for him, desire to spread the gospel, etc.), but salvation is not one of them. Salvation is a gift; obedience is a response—and that is for laws that are still valid in the New Testament era. If obeying a valid law counts for nothing, what good does it do to keep an obsolete one?
That may sound good and kind, but the fact remains that Christ Himself said:
Mat.19:17 if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
I find no reason to argue with Christ and say “But Lord, isn’t that salvation by works?”. Wouldn’t Christ and the Father be glad if we just obeyed their simple command without much ado? It is amazing how that simple command would keep bouncing off our think coconuts. God says:
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Yes God’s way often do not make sense to us. We sometimes feel we know better than God. Wasn’t that the problem of King Saul who just can’t seem to understand God’s simple instructions? God says one thing and King Saul does another. King Saul had a lesson that we today cannot afford to ignore.
Of course, Christians may refrain from work one day a week if they wish. Spiritual disciplines like that can be helpful to a person’s spiritual growth, but they can also become obstacles, if people begin to think that these particular practices make them better than others. And these practices can become spiritually dangerous, if people think that everyone else ought to measure up to the way they worship God. Christians should not place themselves "under the law" (Galatians 3:25) as if the laws of Moses still had authority over them.
Jesus criticized people who taught requirements that God did not have: "You experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them" (Luke 11:46). When we teach requirements, we need to be very careful.
It is Christ who said:
Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Sabbath, Christ says, was made to serve man and not to burden man.
The Sabbath has nothing to do with salvation, and nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was never part of the message of the New Testament church. The message is always one of liberty, never one of restrictions on a particular day of the week. God accepts us because of Jesus Christ, not because of anything that we do. It is by grace, not works. We are to trust in Christ for our salvation.
It has everything to do with salvation. I recommend reading Hebrews 4, and try your best to understand its message. Because by failing to obey God’s simple instruction we would not be allowed to enter that “rest” as what happened to the ancient Israelites (Heb.4:11).
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace
posted by fssantos @ 9:28 PM
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