The Sabbath in the New Testament-
COMMANDED or
Must
we keep one specific day, or may we ''let our conscience be our
guide"? This article dares to show what the Scriptures really say.
Last
month in an article
entitled "What Was the Apostolic Sabbath?" we examined all the
scriptures where the Sabbath was mentioned after Christ was
resurrected. We found that there were 10 such texts in the book of Acts
and in the epistles.
Then
we checked all the places that mentioned the "first day of the week."
When we read them carefully, we found no hint of any change from
Sabbath to Sunday.
There was no text that indicated Sunday was a day
of rest and religious worship for the apostles and converts, whether
Jew or gentile.
We
found that the Sabbath of the apostles was what we commonly call
Saturday, the seventh day of the week, the same day as commanded in the
Old Testament.
But some may still believe that there is no New Testament command to keep the Sabbath. Some may also believe that the Sabbath is
condemned in the New Testament. Obviously, the Sabbath was an Old
Testament institution, but some believe it is not a New Testament institution.
Part
of the problem is the belief that since we are a
New Testament Church, the Old Testament has been done away with. Others
who profess to believe in both the Old and the New Testaments use only
those parts of the Old of which they "approve," or that they believe
the New Testamment supports. So that there is no doubt, we will address
our questions to the New Testament alone!
Three New Testament proofs
To
begin, let us investigate the common belief that there is no
command or clear statement showing that we should keep the
Sabbath. We are now going to see three separate proofs that this is not
true.
The first is based on a text in Hebrews.
In
chapters 3 and 4 we find a discussion of the rest that is promised to
God's people. Because of unbelief and hardness of heart, ancient Israel
never did enter into the promised rest (Heb. 3:11).
We are
warned
not to make the mistakes they made, lest we too, fail to receive that
rest (Heb. 4:1). That rest, by implication, is immortality as spirit
beings in God's Kingdom. The Sabbath day is a physical type of that
rest (verse 4).
Verse 8 is improperly translated in some
versions and should read "Joshua" not "Jesus." Actually, the two names
are the same, they are just from different languages. The reference
obviously applies to Joshua, the son of Nun, not Jesus of Nazareth.
In
these two chapters the word rest usually is translated from the
Greek word katapausis (Heb. 3:11, 18, 4:1, 3, 5, 10-11).
The Greek word is defined as "a resting, rest." But in Hebrews 4:9 a
totally different and unrelated word is used:
sabbatismos. This word literally means "a keeping sabbath" or "a
sabbath rest."
The Authorized or King James Version reads,
"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." The marginal
reading in the Cambridge and other Bibles is "keeping of a sabbath,"
rather than "rest."
Now read the text that way: "There rernaineth therefore a keeping of a Sabbath to the people of God."
A
word-for-word transliteration from the Greek text to English is,
"Therefore remains a keeping of a Sabbath for the people of
God." The Lamsa translation reads, "It is
therefore the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath."
Note
that this Sabbath remains! It was not done
away. It was not nailed to the eross. It was, not abrogated. It
still remains — it still exists!
The next verse reinforces this
point: "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from
his works as God did from His" (Heb. 4:10, Revised Authorized Version).
After
we are baptised and receive God's Holy Spirit, but before we enter
into the final rest of God, we enter into a preliminary rest or
foretaste of the final rest. This is possible since we have been
forgiven of past sins and are no longer under the bondage that sin
brings, and we are at peace with God.
If we have entered into
that rest, having been forgiven of sin and received God's Holy Spirit,
then we, too, will follow God's example and
cease from our work or labor as God did.
This obviously is not
talking about retiring or no longer working, as God still works (John
5:17). It refers to resting on the Sabbath just as God did (Gen. 2:2-3,
Heb. 4:4).
Why should we follow Christ and Paul?
The
second main proof is based on I
Corinthians 11:1: "Imitate me," wrote Paul, "just as
I also imitate Christ."
This is the same principle we saw last
month in I Peter 2:21. I John 2:6 and John 13:15, Jesus Christ set us a
perfect example of obedience to God. He did not sin (Heb. 4:15). Sin is
the transgression of the law (I John 3:4). Jesus Christ did not live a
perfect life in our stead so that we can live any way we want. Instead,
these scriptures show we are to follow His example.
The true
Christian will, then, also follow those who follow Christ. Christ kept
the Sabbath (l.uke 4:16) and so did Paul (Acts 17:2).
It should
now be obvious that we ought to keep the Sabbath, too,
If we don't we are not following the example of Paul or Christ or the
early Christians as recorded in the New Testament.
Are the Ten Commandments done away?
The third main proof relates to God's commandments.
God
lilerally spoke the Ten Commandments to ancient Israel (Ex. 20:1) and
later wrote them with His own finger on two tables of stone (Ex.
31:18). These Ten Commandments are commonly referred to throughout the
Bible
as "the commandments."
Christ kept these
very same Ten Commandments (John 15:10). That includes the Sabbath
command, which is the Fourth Commandment (Ex. 20:8-11).
From
I Corinthians 10, especially verses 4 and 9, it is obvious that
the God of the Old Testament was the same one who
became, through human birth, the Jesus Christ of the
New Testament. Many other scriptures, such as John 1:1-18. also make
this clear.
Jesus Christ, the Word (John 1:1-2. 14). had
received the Ten Commandments from the Father and then spoke them to
Israel at Mt Sinai. We should expect, then, that the One who spoke
the Ten Commandments to Israel (Ex. 20:1) would later, as Jesus
Christ, keep these same commandments!
If we
ever expect to receive eternal life, we will need to keep the
commandments, which include the one about the Sabbath: "So He said to
him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments* " (Malt.
10:17).
If we really know Jesus Christ, we, too, will keep His
commandments, including the one about the Sabbath: "Now by this we know
that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says. I know Him
and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him" (I John 2:3-4).
These commandments are not some new
commandments of "love," but the same commandments of love to God and
love to neighbor that were given in the
beginning (verse 7). Compare Mark 12:29-31 with Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and
Leviticus 19:18.
If we want to express the real Christian love
of the Bible instead of a false, pseudoreligious love, John says that
we will keep God's commandments. That includes Sabbath observance. John
says that these commandments are not grievous or burdensome, contrary
to what many claim (I John 5:3).
John also said that the
remnant, or those in the last Church era of this age, would keep the
commandments, which include the Fourth: "And the dragon was enraged
with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of
her
offspring [the Church], who keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 12:17). The end time
true saints of God will still keep the commandments, which includes
keeping the Sabbath holy: "Here is the patience of the.saints; here are
those who keep the commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus" (Rev.
14:12). Those in Judea are to pray that they will not need to flee for
safely on the Sabbath during the beginning of the Great Tribulation
(Matt. 24:20). The Sabbath command will still be in effect!
From
all these scriptures, it should be crystal clear that the
commandments, including the proper day of rest and worship,
are commanded in the New Testament, just as they were commanded in the
Old Testament.
Some may still believe, lhough, that this proof is nullified by texts that condemn the Sabbath.
There
are three texts that some people believe do just that. We
now need to examine them, in context, to see if they really
say what some believe they say.
What are days, months, times and years?
The first commonly misunderstood text is Galatians 4:10, AV: "Ye observe days, and months, and times and years."
Is
Paul here condemning the Galatians for observing the Sabbath? Almost
everyone thinks so but we had better make sure what Paul was writing
about.
If Paul had in mind the Sabbath and Holy Days commanded
in the law, which months were commanded? Which times were commanded?
The fact is that God's law commands no months or times to be observed!
But
the law does have something to say ahout times. Notice Deuteronomy
18:9-1 2, AV. This passage condemns the practices of the heathen
nations that Israel was to drive out: "There shall not be found among
you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, Or an
enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer or a consulter with familiar
spirits or a wizard, or a necromancer" (verses 10-11)
One thing prohibited here is observing times. Rather than commanding such a practice, the law condemned such a practice.
If
Galatians 4:10 is condemning days, times, months and years, then they
must not have been any periods of time given in the law.
In
Galatians 4:12. Paul says that instead of doing what they were doing
about these periods of time, they should "become as I am " We have
already seen that he kept the Sabbath.
Some apparently believe
Paul was a hypocrite. He lived one way and condemned others for
following his example. The problem here is not with Paul or with the
Scriptures, though, but in the false ideas of people.
In order
to understand what Paul is referring to in this scripture, we need to
understand an important point Who were the Galatians, and what was the
problem?
The Galatians were children of God by faith in Christ
(Gal. 3.26) and therefore children of Abraham by faith, rather than
birth (verse 29), Previously they had not known God (Gal. 4:8). The
Galatians had been idolaters. In other words, they had been gentile by
birth and pagan by religion. They had not known God, but had now come
to know God through God's ministers and God's Church.
But what
was the question? "But now after you have known God, or rather are
known by God. how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly
elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?" (verse 9).
The
Galatians had turned back to their pagan, idolatrous ways by observing
days, months, times and years. They were not turning to the days
commanded in the law, because they had not known the law; rather, they
were turning again to the religious days and times of the pagan
religions from which they had come.
When they came into the true
Church of God. they learned for the first time about the Sabbath and
Holy Days that the New Testament Church observed, but now they had
turned from them, back to their old pagan religious days.
When
you understand that they were gentiles, formerly practicing the ways of
the heathen, and that they had returned to those same ways, you realize
that this text has nothing whatever to do with any days commanded in
the Old Testament law.
Actually, what was happening in the
Galatian church continued from time to time until the church that was
seen by the world had completely turned to these same days, months,
times and years and renamed them with Christian-sounding names. these
pagan observances finally were incorporated into the religion, while
the days God commanded were rejected.
Can't we decide for ourselves?
The
second text that is commonly misunderstood is Romans 14:5: "One person
esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let
each be fully convinced in his own mind."
What could this text
mean? Does it mean that each person can decide for himself which day to
observe, or whether to observe any day? Does this mean that you can
"let your conscience be your guide"? Does it mean that you can esteem
all days alike and thereby void any day of worship?
Some believe
that this scripture means you can select any day of the week unless it
is Saturday, and that if you observe Saturday you will be under a curse!
There are two main points we should understand.
First,
this text says nothing about what God esteems, only what man esteems.
Christ said. "What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in
the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
What does God esteem regarding
the Sabbath? He set it apart on the last day of re-creation week (Gen.
2), commanded it forever (Ex. 20:8-10, 31:17) and sent Israel and Judah
into captivity because they did not keep the commandments or hallow His
Sabbaths. God has high esteem for His Sabbath. The problem is that some
people do not so highly esteem it! What is really important is not what
man esteems, but what God esteems.
Paul is not saying here that
we can decide for ourselves what is holy. Only God can decide what is
holy. He has already decreed that the Sabbath is holy and that it will
be holy forever. He is concerned as to whether we keep holy what
He has made holy.
The second point to notice is the context.
What is the subject of Romans 14? Notice verse 2: "For one believes he
may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables."
Some
people in the Church believed it was all right to eat vegetables and
meat; others who were weak in faith (verse 1) thought that Christians
should only eat vegetables. As a result, these people were judging each
other (verse 4).
Paul explains in verse 17 that "the kingdom of God
is not food and drink." The main point is stated in verse 21: "It is
good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your
brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak"
The subject of
this chapter from start to finish has to do with what people eat. But
what does this have to do with verse 5, which relates to esteeming "one
day above another"?
In Rome some people had the pagan idea that
on certain days certain foods should or should not be eaten. This
practice from Rome has come down even to our day, when some believe
that you should not eat meat on Friday, or
that
one should abstain from feasting
during 40 days of Lent. In this whole chapter Paul was just showing
that we should not offend others, particularly weak
members who have not
yet learned the truth about the proper Christian diet, and
that we should not judge them. This passage has nothing to do
with the Sabbath. It does not give
us license to decide for ourselves what is holy or not holy.
Who is to judge?
The
third commonly misunderstood text we should note is Colos sians
2:16-17. Since that text was covered in detail in last month's article,
let me briefly summarize.
Paul here instructed the gentile
Colossians, who had been, observing the Sabbath and Holy Days, not to
let religious ascetics criticize or judge them in respect to that part
of the Sabbath command relating to what they ate or drank.
Rather,
they should let the Church judge in such matters. We have been reading
in this article, in part, how the Church would judge such matters.
When was Christ resurrected?
There is one other major reason that many people give as to why they observe Sunday instead of the Sabbath.
They
believe that Christ rose from the grave on Sunday and
that Sunday observance honors that great event.
This basic
premise of a Sunday resurrection is commonly believed, but is
completely erroneous. The Scriptures nowhere say that
keeping Sunday honors the resurrection of
Christ. And, more surprising, the
Bible nowhere
says that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Sunday!
This
commonly believed and cherished tradition did not come from the Bible!
This belief resulted from people having preconceived ideas that they
inject into the Scriptures, instead of reading carefully what the Bible
says.
Notice these points; When the three women came to Christ's
tomb early on Sunday morning, they were told,
"He is risen" (Matt 2:6,
Mark 16 6, Luke 24:6). They were not told
"He is rising" or "He just rose a few minutes ago" or "He will rise in
a few minutes," but that He was already risen. The time of Christ's
rising is not stated.
In fact, John reports, regarding an
earlier visit to the tomb, that Christ was already gone from the tomb
"while it was still dark" (John 20:1).
If Christ was already resurrected and it was yet dark, before sunrise on Sunday morning, when was He resurrected?
The
answer is found in Luke's statement in Luke 24:7, quoting Christ
"saying. 'The Son of Man must he delivered into the hands of sinful
men,and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "
For a full explanation of that statement, with startling proof from your Bible, write for our free booklet The Resurrect ton Was Not on Sunday. Anyone who observes Sunday because he thinks that was the day Christ rose has the wrong day!
What does all this have do do with today?
Now
that we have seen from the Bible that the Sabbath is commanded in both
Old and New Testaments, and that Sunday was never
observed by the early Christians,
we need to understand the importance of this knowledge at this end time.
While
Moses was on Mt. Sinai talking with God for 40 days and nights at the
giving of the Ten Commandments, an important event took place. After
the covenant had been made (Ex. 19-20). God made a new, separate and
distinct additional covenant with His people This covenant, de scribed
in Exodus 31:12-17, was a Sabbath covenant.
This Sabbath
covenant was to last "throughout your generations" (verse 13), which
meant as long as they and their descendants were still having children.
It was perpetual (verse 16) it was to last forever (verse 17).
This covenant is commonly believed to have lasted only about 1,400 years, until the cross!
But even today, Israel is still begetting children, "Perpetual" has not ceased, and "forever" has not ended!
An important sign
The
main point in this passage is that the Sahbath is a sign to both God
and His people "Speak also to the children of Israel,
saying: "Surely My
Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and
you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord
who sanctifies you" (verse 13).
A sign identifies.In this case
the sign identities God to His people. It was God who gave the sign to
His people. This sign also identifies God's people to Him.
In Ezekiel 20:12, 20 the Sabbath is again called a sign to God's people.
In
Deuteronomy 6:8, the Ten Commandments are also referred to as a sign
upon the hand and between the eyes (forehead). At that time they were
literally writ-ten down and fastened on the hand and forehead to remind
the Israelites to obey. Now the Holy Spirit serves this function,
re-minding us of God's commandments and leading us to truth.
Why
the hand and the forehead? Because the forehead is the seat
of intellect, will or knowledge, while the hand carries out the action
of whatever the will directs. In other words, the mind relates to
knowledge, and the hand relates to what one
does with that knowledge.
You may be able to keep the Ten
Commandments without other people noticing, except for one command, the
Sabbath. People may not notice that you do not steal or lie or worship
other gods, but sooner or later they will notice that you keep the
Sabbath.
It is a sign that identifies that you are different
from most other people People probably will not recognize that it
is a sign between you and the Creator God, but they will recognize the
sign that you are not the same as most other people.
Here is a counterfeit "sign"
Satan
often tries to counterfeit what God commands or does. God has do's and
dont's. Satan has his, too. They appear right to the world, but deceive
the whole world (Rev. 12:9). Sometimes Satan's counterfeit is just a
little distorted — almost the same, but still different. Look at the
satanic counterfeits in regard to the Sabbath. Satan has deceived one
religion into having its "sabbath" on Fridays and another religion into
having it on Sunday! Just as close as possi-ble without being the same.
Those
who have a counterfeit do not know the true Creator God They have
another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel (II Cor. 11:4). They have
another god, the god of this present evil world (II Cor. 4:4). They do
not have the correct sign in their forehead or hand — they have a
counterfeit sign. Actually it is not a sign, but a mark that brands
instead of identifying.
The beasts mark enforced
This
mark has great significance for our day. This mark will soon make it
possible for those who have it to buy and sell, while those who do not
have it (but who have the sign of God) will not be able to buy or sell:
"And
he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no
man might buy or sell, save he that had the Mark, or the name of the
beast. or the number of his name" (Rev 13:16-17, AV).
This mysterious mark has aroused much speculation. Since it has to do with buying and selling, many ideas have arisen.
When
I was young, some were claiming that it was the NRA (National Recovery
Act) of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. Many people have not even
heard of that today. Others have thought it is a social security number
or a computer number or some kind of credit card.
How foolish!
Such speculation comes as a result of people not recognizing who the
beast is. They also have not known who has in the past and will yet
again in the future, control the beast.
The beast in this
passage is a nation or government with a strong
ruler or dictator. It has had
several resurrections already.
The next and final one will consist of 10 nations joined together. In the past, it has been known as the Holy Roman Empire.
For more information, please request our free booklet Who is the Beast?
This beast has been ruled over by a world church that does not observe he Sabbath, but that has enforced another day of worship.
The
2911- Canon of the Council of Laodicea (364-365) says:
"Christians must not Judaize by resting on the
Sabbath, but must work on that day. rather honoring the Lord's
Day, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be
found Judaizing, let them be anathema from
Christ.' Those who disobeyed this
canon law were persecuted or put to death.
The
time is coming again when Sabbath observance will bring severe
persecution and, for some, death, unless one is in a place of refuge
provided by God at that time (Rev. 12:14). For a short time the mark of
the beast will be enforced.
But those who have that mark will then, very soon, receive of Gods plaques (Rev. 14:9-10).
We
must obey the commandments and have the Sabbath sign instead of the
mark of the beast, or we will not inherit the Kingdom of God — we will
not receive immortality as typified by the tree of life:
"Blessed
are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the
tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Rev
22:14).
You have seen the proof from God's Word Now, what will you do about it?
by L. Leroy Neff Good News August 1983
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