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NASB | Exodus 20:8 ¶ "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 20:8 ¶ "Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). |
Bible Question:
Are Christians to keep the Sabbath? "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Exodus 20:8 (ESV) 1. Are Christians obligated to keep the Sabbath—the Sabbath of Old Testament Judaism? 2. Are Christians obligated to turn Sunday into a kind of a Sabbath with similar restrictions? 3. Are Christians to reject all Sabbath Law and enjoy freedom from that Sabbath Law and leave any other designated day alone, as to prescribing any specific restrictions? 4. What is the Lord's Day, as Sunday is called in the Scripture? Who instituted it, and to what degree are we obligated to it? Before you submit an answer to one or more of the above questions, make sure your post is biblically based and, whenever possible, you have included Bible references to support it. |
Bible Answer: Part 2 of 2 …If you refrain from breaking the Sabbath, from taking your own pleasure on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath ‘Delightful’, and the day sacred to Yahweh ‘Honourable’, if you honour it by abstaining from travel, from seeking your own pleasure and from too much talk, then you will find true happiness in Yahweh… (Isaiah 58:2-14) Today’s argument is no different! We seek to get closer to God not by faithful obedience but by sanctimonious adherence to the letter of the Law, while simultaneously breaking any command of our choosing! We seek to be pious, at least more pious than the next person, but our zealousness is not to abide in Christ’s love but to bask in our own egos. Again, this is nothing new; Paul address the Sabbath issue in Romans 14:5-6: One person thinks that some days are holier than others, and another thinks them all equal. Let each of them be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who makes special observance of a particular day observes it in honour of the Lord… In the beginning there were no names set for the various days in which God worked and the day He rested: God rested on the seventh day! Did God wait around for a particular day to rest? He completed Creation on the 6th day and rested on the 7th day! The Sabbath day is a day to be sanctified for the Lord. As Paul says, some people may hold all days holy for the Lord; while others may decide on one particular day to be held as holy, for that same Lord! “4. What is the Lord's Day, as Sunday is called in the Scripture? Who instituted it, and to what degree are we obligated to it?” The early Church stayed faithful to the doctrine taught by the Apostles, which included the breaking of the bread (Acts 2:42). Though, at the beginning, they adhered to Temple worship, their Christians practices were observed in additional gatherings, in their private homes (Acts 2:46). And the day of the Lord, the day of His resurrection (Sunday), was observed with the breaking of the bread and worship, sometimes celebrated all through the night (Acts 20:7-12). There are changes in the lives of the disciples that are not specified in the Bible. As an example: we know that the Temple was totally destroyed in 70 AD making it impossible to gather and worship in the Temple; but prior to this particular event, the Apostles and disciples had kept the practice of worship and gathering in the Temple and the various synagogues. Yet, due to the constant persecution of the non-Christian Jews, who actively expelled the Apostles and disciples not only out of the synagogues but even towns and whole geographic regions! The Bible does not speak of a congress (general meeting) where the Apostles and disciples decided to stop gathering in the Temple and synagogues; but we know it happened! Another salient example is the institution of the Church: Jesus did not leave a written account (manual/workbook) for the establishment of the Church. He promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would come and reveal the complete Truth, as He would guide and instruct the Church (John 16:12-15). It was through His tutelage and guidance that the Apostles established the organic Church with all its doctrinal and organizational functions. One clear example of a new revelation received through the organic Church is Christ’s name given to the Apostles and disciples--a particular practice that did not come into existence until Paul’s and Barnabas’ year-long stay at Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). As new observances were introduced, the activities of the early Church began to shift from the old Judaism practices and traditions (sacrificial offerings, worshipping in the synagogues and the Temple, etc.) to a more Church centered practices and traditions. The constant celebration of the Day of the Lord, where the Apostles would gather with the disciples in the breaking of the bread and worship, incrementally replaced Saturday as the 7th day of rest (the Sabbath). I cannot say if this decision was a simple evolution or if it was a direct effect of the exile of the Christians from the Jewish synagogues. The fact remains that Jesus is honored (Day of the Lord) and the day of rest is honor (Sabbath) by many Christians as one and the same day--consequently, since Saturday only fulfills one of the two conditions, Sunday has become the New Testament Sabbath! Now as far as the Lord's Day, there is also a second reference which designates the Lord's Day as the Second Coming--on this I have not spoken, nor am I confusing both terms. God Bless! Angel |