Some Christians feel strongly about a Saturday Sabbath, and we should respect their convictions. But a Saturday Sabbath is not commanded under the New Covenant.(1)
Christians are commanded to meet together, but no particular day is mentioned (Hebrews 10:25). The fourth commandment is the only commandment not re-commanded in the New Testament. The principle still exists (a day set apart for rest and worship), but the day is not specified.(2)
Hebrews 4 discusses the Sabbath, explaining that Christians have entered a permanent Sabbath rest. Every day is a Sabbath to the Christian.(3)
Any day we choose to have a worship service is a good day. The Galatians were rebuked for thinking they must obey rules about days (Galatians 4:9-10).
We must follow our conscience regarding the Sabbath, but we must not condemn our brother for holding a different view:
"So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths." ~ Colossians 2:16
Romans 14:5 tells us it’s a personal preference, not a command.
Satan would like to divide Christians over this and other non-essential issues. Let's not let him!
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(1) The Old Testament Sabbath was observed from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. If a Christian chooses to rest and worship during that time out of respect for God, that's fine. If they feel doing so makes them better than those who worship on another day, they violate the commands and principles of the Scriptures linked above.
(2) Mark 2:27 tells us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. This means the Sabbath was created by God to provide weekly rest and worship for man. It was designed for our well-being, not as a legalistic duty.
(3) Exodus 20:8-11 explains that the Sabbath is connected to the seventh day of creation. Hebrews 4 also makes this connection when it says that Christians have entered their Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:3-4).
For more in-depth discussion, see What Day is the Sabbath?
Bible Love Notes
The new covenant is described by God as a spiritual process wherein His laws are to be written on your heart Hebrews 8:8-13. The 4th commandment is one of those laws.
ReplyDeleteYou should not be leading people astray Matthew 5:19.
Hi UCG,
DeleteYou obviously feel very strongly about this since you accuse me of leading people astray.
You are pulling Matthew 5:19 out of context and ignoring other Scriptures which clarify this issue.
The majority of missionaries, martyrs, and Bible scholars have not believed in a Saturday Sabbath, so you judge all of them in your judgement of me.
And you ignore Scripture when you do this:
Romans 14:5-6,10: "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord…You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat."
I do not judge you for worshipping on Saturday, and Scripture tells me that I should have this attitude toward your judgement of me:
Colossians 2:16: "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." (emphasis mine)
I am going to trust Scripture.
this was a timely post for questions I've been pondering regarding exactly this! thank-you and God bless you as you bless-challenge-encourage your readers!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that it was helpful, Janet.
DeleteHi Janet Martin. Please study this for yourself with the Holy Spirit as your guide. That's exactly what I did and came to the conclusion that as a command the 7th day Sabbath still stands. It's described as a non-essential debate but how can discussing a commandment be non-essential. I don't believe the 10 commandments need to be reiterated in the new testament to be valid as they are totally different from the laws of sacrifice that we are now free from. Who gave us authority to write the rules and play God? James is quite clear that if we break one of the commandments we break them all! Ask yourself does it make sense that God would do away with one commandment and not any others?
DeleteDear Welshlady,
DeleteYou need to carefully read the very clear commands linked in this devotion because you are violating them.
These commands specifically tell us not to judge others about Sabbath days.
You are free to do what you desire, but you are violating direct commands of Scripture to insist others must do what you do in this area.
Scripture is very specific about judging others about Sabbaths: "So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths."
According to book of Acts, chapter 20:7-12, the worship day in the New Testamento is the first day of the week (Sunday)...
ReplyDelete7 On Sunday we all met together to eat the Lord’s Supper. Paul talked to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he continued talking until midnight. 8 We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lights in the room. 9 There was a young man named Eutychus sitting in the window. Paul continued talking, and Eutychus became very, very sleepy. Finally, he went to sleep and fell out of the window. He fell to the ground from the third floor. When the people went down and lifted him up, he was dead.
10 Paul went down to where Eutychus was, knelt down beside him, and put his arms around him. He said to the other believers, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” 11 Then Paul went upstairs again, broke off some pieces of bread and ate. He spoke to them a long time. It was early morning when he finished, and then he left. 12 The Lord’s followers took Eutychus home alive, and they were all greatly comforted.(Easy to Read Version).
I hope this scripture be useful, God bless You all...
Thank you for this additional information. Most Bible scholars agree that this refers to Sunday, and an early church father and thelogian, Justin Martyr, who lived 100 years after Christ's death, also refers to Sunday as the day of worship.
DeleteThis scripture does not mean we are commanded to keep the first day of the week. There are reasons why we meet on different days. This was a meeting to say goodbye to Paul who was going away the next day. If people have been keeping Sunday since that time why did Constantine feel it necessary in 321 to make a law for shops to be closed so people could worship?
DeleteDear Welshlady,
DeleteI could have chosen not to publish your repeated comments about this subject, but I feel they are a good representation of the fervor this false teaching about Sabbaths has inspired in some Christians.
I pray you will do as Scripture commands and allow others to do as their conscience guides them in this non-essential area:
Romans 14:5: One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are told in Scripture the FIRST day of the week which under the New Covenant is Sunday. We, of course, are to live our lives in worship of God continually every day. The Body of Christ, His Church, is to corporately worship togethr,bring our tithes and offerings and partake of the Lord's Supper on the FIRST day of every week.
http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=2022
http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1254
Thanks, Fran, for these additional resources. The comments don't allow live links, but they can cut and paste those links into their browsers.
DeleteHi Fran, the new covenant just means God's laws have been inscribed on our hearts, see UCG's comment above. It's not about a change of worship day
DeleteDear Welshlady,
DeleteI appreciate you giving me opportunity to more fully explain the laws and the New Covenant:
The Old Testament contains sacrificial, dietary, ceremonial, civil, and permanent laws.
Christ fulfilled sacrificial laws that foreshadowed His death (Hebrews 10:1).
Dietary laws were fulfilled when Jesus said, "What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth" (Matthew 15:11).
Ceremonial laws reminded Israel of their spiritual history. We can observe feasts and festivals, but these laws also were fulfilled by Christ. Christians have new reminders such as communion and baptism (Luke 22:19-20; Matthew 28:19).
Civil laws governed Israel for a specific time in history. Christians glean principles from these laws but don't obey them.
Permanent, universal laws are confirmed in New Testament commands.
There are a number of groups today claiming that Christians must observe Old Testament Sabbaths, ceremonial and dietary laws. This view contradicts Scripture.
Christ didn't delete Old Testament laws, He fulfilled them (Matthew 5:17). Following dietary and ceremonial laws does not make anyone a better Christian (Romans 14:4-6; Colossians 2:16-17).
New Testament commands deal with moral choices, not food or holidays. We obey these commands because we love Jesus (John 14:21; Romans 8:1-17).
Dear Welshlady, if you genuinely believe the New Covenant simply means all of the Old Testament laws were written on our hearts, then I assume that you are keeping all Old Testament laws, not simply those regarding the Sabbath. And Scripture says this is attempting to win God's favor by outward, not inward godliness.
I pray you will see the truth in this area.
Gail I would really like to discuss this issue further with you. This is a really important subject and I feel you are misunderstanding the Sabbath command. I'm sure you've been a Christian a long time and it's really hard to think we could be wrong in a certain area but getting this wrong could have devastating consequences as it is a sin that is being ignored. You provide some really good 1 minute devotionals but I pray you will seek the Holy Spirit's guidance on this. As I say I'd like to discuss further my email is juliegregory51@yahoo.co.uk. If I don't hear from you I'll still be praying for you
DeleteDear Welshlady,
DeleteI thank you for keeping your remarks kind. I can tell that you are genuinely concerned, and I appreciate that so much more than the legalistic rants we Christians can sometimes make regarding our differences.
I have studied this question is great detail, reading information from those who promote it as well as those who disagree. I've also studied Scripture on this subject independent from the views of men. I feel like I've given it enough research to make my decision that this is a Romans 14 non-essential doctrine.
I can respect your reasons for observing a Friday evening to Saturday evening Sabbath because that was how it was worshiped in the Old Testament. And I can respect your reasons for a Saturday Sabbath that is one possible New Testament twist on that Old Testament Sabbath. I hope you can respect my reasons for not observing that prescribed Sabbath but setting apart Sunday as my day of worship to the Lord.
I think this is an area where we will need to agree to disagree.
Gail
I had this very dilemma early in my career. I worked a 6-2 rotation, which meant that for 4 weeks I worked Saturday and Sunday. The 5th and 6th weeks I had Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. Sooo, I had to consciously set aside one day during those 4 weeks just for God.
ReplyDeleteI grew up when all stores, except the bakery, were closed on Sunday. So I used that same idea when setting aside my day...just me and my Bible and God. No shopping, no phone, no tv.
So thankful for those times!!!