Is The Seventh-Day Sabbath Still Important If You Believe in Grace?

Is the seventh-day Sabbath still important if you believe in grace?
By
J. David Newman, D. Min.

Senior pastor of New Hope Churcha contemporary Seventh-day Adventist congregation in the Chesapeake Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Revised December 3, 1999 Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /1
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Organization of this Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A. WHY MOST CHRISTIANS DO NOT KEEP THE SABBATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychology and Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Tragic Mistake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Agreement through Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 B. WHY THE SABBATH IS IMPORTANT TODAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Grace Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sabbath Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sabbath reminds us of creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sabbath as Holy Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Sabbath and Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Progressive Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Legalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sabbath Reminds us of Redemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Sabbath Rest in Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Sabbath Given to Build Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Sabbath and Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 C. SABBATH KEEPERS WHO REJECT THE SABBATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 D. HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Think for Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 For Further Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Romans 14:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Are holy days discussed in this passage? By Dr. J. David Newman Colossians 2:16-17 Is the weekly Sabbath a part of this text? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Dr. J. David Newman How shall we keep the Sabbath? By Dr. John Brunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 19
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Introduction I am writing this article for friends of the gospelthose who love grace, have discovered the precious truth of righteousness by faith and never want to lose it, and may even fear that if any other truth is emphasized, it will eclipse the wonderful message of salvation. I have read several books recently published on the Sabbath and other material discussing whether it is still valid for new covenant Christians. When you boil down everything that is being said, cut through all the verbiage, you can sum up the current discussion in just a few words: Those who believe the fourth commandment is still literally binding on Christians are legalistic; while those who believe the fourth commandment is no longer literally binding, but the other nine still are, are NOT legalistic. How can gospel-loving people have such different understandings? I hope the following discussion will help clarify rather than further muddy the issues swirling around the Sabbath. This is not an exhaustive study of the subject, and at the end of this article, I have listed other sources you may want to review. Organization of this Article I will cover four big questions that people have recently been asking me: A. Why do the majority of Christians not keep the seventh day as the Sabbath? If this day is so important, if it is clearly set forth in Scripture, clearly part of the Ten Commandments, why do so many Christians worship on or keep another day? B. Is the Old Testament Sabbath still relevant for New Testament Christians? Is there something unique or special about this day? Does it only point us back to creation, or does it also symbolize grace, righteousness by faith, and resting in the finished work of Jesus? C. Why would people who have kept the seventh-day Sabbath stop keeping it and, in some cases, actually become antagonistic Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /3
toward it? D. How can I make a decision about the importance of the Sabbath when scholars and pastors cannot agree? A. WHY MOST CHRISTIANS DO NOT KEEP THE SABBATH Why do the majority of Christians not keep the Sabbath? Can people like Billy Graham and Bill Hybels be wrong? Since they are godly men, why does God not reveal the Sabbath truth to them if it is, in fact, still relevant? Isn't it just a little arrogant of us to think we have more light on the Sabbath than the majority of Christians in the world today? Godly people have disagreed over many things down through the centuries, such as baptism by immersion or sprinkling, what happens to the soul at death, and the existence of an ever-burning hell. Although there may be far more Christians who believe one way than those who believe another on any given issue, truth is never determined by majority vote. Fortunately for us, God does not grant salvation based on the correctness of our theology, but whether or not we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are not saved by our knowledge, but by Gods grace. This point is very important in the present discussion. Sabbath keeping never has been and never will be the basis of anyones salvation. From the time of Adam to the present, people have always been saved in the same wayonly by grace. Psychology and Experience So why do good people differ in their thinking? Psychology, which is the study of the mind and behaviorexperience, if you willis the answer. Our life experiences, what we were taught, how we were treated by others, all influence our frame of referencethe lens by which we view ourselves, others, the world, and even Scripture. So to a large degree each
persons experience in life determines how he or she interprets the Bible. For instance, suppose two girls grow up in non-Christian homes, and in their late teens both attend meetings where they learn about God. Now suppose one comes from a stable, loving home where both parents have consistently provided nurture and support, and the other girl comes from an unstable home where she has been physically or sexually abused by her father much of her life. When they hear God described as a Father, the girl from the nurturing home will have a dramatically different picture than the girl from the abusive home. In the same manner, someone who grows up in a home where the Sabbath is treasured and looked forward to each week will view it in a much different light than someone who grows up in a home where the Sabbath is kept without joy and seen as a requirement rather than a blessing. In each case, the persons beliefs are greatly colored by their own personal experiences. I give these illustrations to help frame the current discussion about the Sabbath. We like to believe we are totally objective, or nearly so, when it comes to interpreting Scripture. But if this were true, then most of us would agree on the important topics in the Bible; and we do not. Obviously, we each interpret Scripture through our own life experiences. God speaks to each of us through our individual experiences. He has no other way. If He talked to me in German, I would not understand. That is not my experience. If he talked to me as an African American, I would not understand. That is not my experience. If he talked to me as a Hebrew scholar, I would not understand. I am not well versed in Hebrew. So God speaks to me in my experience, and to you in yours. Does this mean there is no objective truth? Certainly not. There are Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /4
absolutes. There are things that are clearly good and things that are clearly evil. But all truth is given within a context, and we neglect that context at our own peril. Tragic Mistake Joshua, chapter 9, is a classic illustration of relying on experience alone. The Gibeonites fear they will soon be swallowed up by the Israelites who are conquering Canaan, so they pretend their country is far away, thus removing any apparent threat and enabling the Israelites to enter into an alliance with them. Their delegation comes with worn out sacks, old wineskinscracked and mended, worn and patched sandals, and moldy bread. When the Israelites hear their story, they accept it because experience teaches that people who start a journey with new provisions which become old and worn before reaching their destination, have traveled a long time and come a long way. So the Israelites sign a treaty with the Gibeonites, only to discover a few days later, to their chagrin, that the Gibeonites live just over the next hill. A very telling verse says, "The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord (verse 14).1 Without special revelation, the Israelites were deceived. Experience was not enough. But experience is all we have. The Bible is a special revelation from God, but our under-standing and interpretation of it come from our individual experiences. It cannot be any other way. One reason those who keep Sunday are not convicted about the sanctity of the seventh day may be because the only Sabbath keepers they have known majored in the negative aspects of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is known more for what we are NOT supposed to do than for the blessings we may enjoy. Worse still, people are sometimes given
All references to Scripture are from the New International Version.
the impression that accepting the seventh day as the Sabbath is a salvation issue; and if they don't accept it, they will be lost. Similarly, non-believers may reject the gospel because of their experience with Christians who practice hate while preaching love, who kill rather than redeem. Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland who fight each other can hardly convince others there is value in Jesus' command to "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39) or love your enemies" (v 44). I believe the same applies to our witness for the Sabbath. Now at this stage some of my more theologically-oriented friends may say, "Hold it! Newman is treading on dangerous ground. He is making experience the criteria for interpreting Scripture. This is precarious because experience is subjective, not objective, whereas truth is objective and absolute. And the Bible is truth, therefore, it is objective Yes, I quite agree. But this is where the tension lies. We arrive at objective truth through our subjective individual experiences. There is no other way. Agreement through Discussion Does that mean we will never agree? No, not at all. We reach agreement by comparing our experience with the experiences of others. If the girl from the abusive home finds that many of her close girlfriends know men who are kind and loving, then, hopefully, she will begin to question her own experience to realize that her experience, true as it may have been, was actually abnormal. History is replete with Christians who learned new truths while not learning all truths. Martin Luther discovered justification by faith but not baptism by immersion. For centuries, most Christians believed in an ever-burning hell and even considered Christians who did not as cultic. But today, prominent evangelical scholars like John Stott are expressing belief in
the annihilation of the wicked rather than everlasting torment.2 Seventh-day Adventists did not invent the Sabbath. They learned of it from Seventhday Baptists, who themselves carried on the long tradition of seventh-day Sabbath observance begun in Eden which has existed among some Christians ever since the beginning of the Christian church. "Recent studies have shown that Sabbatarians constituted a respectable group at the time of the Reformation, especially in such places as Moravia, Bohemia, Austria, and Silesia.3
B. WHY THE SABBATH IS IMPORTANT TODAY As I seek to discover the real meaning of the Sabbath, I find it is an eternal trutha blessing, in any time, in any culture, and in any place. The fourth commandment makes it clear that the Sabbath blessing was intended for all humans. In his commentary on Genesis, Dr.Fretheim makes this comment: Exodus 20:11 and 31:17 (which make sense only if the days are actual days) appeal to Genesis in order to claim that Sabbath observance belongs to the creation as God intended it to be; hence its importance for all peoples, not just Israel.4 Grace Alone Before turning to a discussion of why the Sabbath is important for Christians today,
John Stott, John Stott on Hell in World Christian, May 1989, p. 52. Samuelle Bacchiocchi, Devine Rest for Human Restlessness (Berrien Springs, Mi.: Bacchiocchi Pub. 1980), pp. 42-57. Terrence E. Fretheim in The New Interpreters Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), vol. 1, p. 347.
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let me reiterate the basis upon which our salvation is assured. The Bible is clear that we are saved by Christ alone. Here are just a few texts: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12 ). I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Rom. 1:16). For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24-25). However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:5). For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10). For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18 ). For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Gal. 5:6 ). May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which
the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal 6:14). And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Col. 1:20). For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 1:18,19 ). And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood (Rev. 1:5). I answered, Sir, you know.' And he said, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14).
Not only are we saved totally by Jesus death on the cross, but ever since mankind fell, we have been saved in this same way: "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beastall whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). Whether living under the old covenant (Old Testament) or the new covenant (New Testament), people have always been saved in the same way. There will not be two groups in heaven: one saved by their keeping the law and the other saved by Christ keeping the law.5
Much has been written about the covenants in Scripture and some people make it seem very complicated. Actually it is very simple. Unless you
While Jesus was not actually "slain" when the world was created, people were still saved in anticipation of that "slaying." Adam and Eve deserved to die the moment they ate the forbidden fruit, but God gave them grace and they lived because of Christ's willingness to die for them in the future. They were saved by looking forward. We are saved by looking back. But all are saved by looking to the same event. No one can do enough good deeds to merit eternal life, period. The good news of the gospel is that someone else has paid the price for us. Someone else lived the life we needed to live and died the death that we justly deserved. He was good enough. That is why we experience such joy when becoming a Christian. All the guilt is gone, all the hard work is pointless. We are now perfect in Christ, "because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Hebrews
believe, as some do, that God had different ways of saving people there is only one covenant that God made with humans and that is the everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:13, Heb. 13:20) to provide a Savior from sin. This covenant was given in different forms to Adam (Gen. 3:15), Noah (Gen. 9:12, 15, 16), Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:18; 17:1-7), and the Israelites at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8; 24:3-8) in a more formal way. The Israelites turned it into a covenant of works which is why God later said it must be written in the heart to be effective (Jer. 31:3134). The book of Hebrews makes it clear that the failing of the Old Covenant (before Christ) was peoples reliance on rules for salvation. The failure was on the peoples part not Gods. Once the reality came in Christ, God could now proclaim his everlasting covenant in a new way because salvation was no longer anticipatory, looking forward, but reality, seen in the life and death of the God-man Jesus (Hebrews 8:7-13). The covenant became operative in Eden once humans sinned but was not ratified until the blood of Christ was shed on the cross (Heb. 13:20). The old covenant, which is one part of the everlasting covenant, was a temporary arrangement designed to enable those bound by its provisions to enter into the privileges and responsibilities of the new or everlasting covenant and this part of it was ratified at Sinai by the institution of the formal sacrificial system (Exod. 24:3-8).
10:14). He has made us holy in Him, not in ourselves. Now we work to become what God says we already are in Christ. Work is now the fruit, not the root. Its the result of our salvation, not the basis for it. Work is now the joy, not the fear. As we clearly see from Scripture, Sabbath observance is not a salvation issue; it never has been, it is not now, and it never will be in the future. God will not take anyone to heaven because they have kept the Sabbath. He will not keep anyone out of heaven because they did not keep the Sabbath. Since a person is saved by grace alonetrusting totally in Jesus, he or she is only lost when that person decides to stop trusting totally in Jesus. This principle also applies to the other nine commandments. No one is saved or lost because they kept or did not keep the other nine. Our salvation is always totally dependent on the doing and dying of Jesus Christ. Having firmly laid this foundation, we can now consider why the Sabbath is important for the Christian. Sabbath Origin "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 1:31-2:3). What did it mean for God to "finish" His work and "rest" on the seventh day? God was not tired; He did not rest because of fatigue. The verb "rest," shabath (from which we get Sabbath), means literally "to cease" from labor or activity (see Gen. 8:22; Job 32:1; etc.). Just as an artist completes a painting and stands back to admire it, so God stood back to admire what he had done. God completed the creation of the world by ceasing to produce anything new, and then He "rested." Since God does not require rest (see Isa. 40:28), His rest was not the result of exhaustion. Instead, it was
a cessation from previous occupation. Allen Ross in his commentary on Genesis describes it this way: It [shabath] is not a word that refers to remedying exhaustion after a tiring week of work. Rather, it describes the enjoyment of accomplishment, the celebration of completion.6 This is a very important point when we consider the real meaning of the Sabbath. When I studied at Andrews SDA Theological Seminary, I spent one year in the bachelors apartments (Phyllis was studying for an MA 140 miles away in East Lansing). Some of my fellow roommates studied so hard during the week that they just crashed on Sabbath, sleeping until noon. When I mentioned this, they replied that the Sabbath was a day of rest, and they were resting. But is this really what the Sabbath is about? Is it a day for crashing? Sabbath does not mean to cease from ALL activity and do nothing. God did not spend the first Sabbath doing nothing, nor did He spend it in rest and sleep. Rather, he spent the day enjoying the world He had just created. While Sabbath may be just as busy as any other day, God desires our busyness, or business, to consists of totally different activities than those we commonly do on the other six days. When Adam and Eve kept the first Sabbath, they did not do so because they were tired or had spent six days in toil. Their first Sabbath was also their first full day of life. And it was a day in which they enjoyed God to the full. God had said their joyful task would be to cultivate the earth and care for all the creatures. While thus engaged, they would not be concentrating fully on Him. But on the Sabbath day, God said they were to cease from their normal activities and spend one whole day in fellowship with their Creator.
So, while the fourth commandment tells us to rest on the Sabbath day, it is not talking about idleness or inactivity. It is talking about resting from our normal activities so we may spend time in other activities, activities which our work during the week prevents us from fully enjoying and appreciating. Sabbath reminds us of creation "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Exodus 20:8-11). The Sabbath Commandment begins with the word remember because the Sabbath points back to something; and the last part of the Commandment tells us whatcreation. The Sabbath reminds us of who we are and where we came from, that there is a God who created the universe, and that this day is for celebrating the creation of our world and getting to know our Creator better. So the first reason for keeping the Sabbath is to remind us that there is a God. If the Sabbath had been faithfully kept and practiced, there would never have been an agnostic or an atheist. Memorials are important reminders of the past. Every time you drive through Trafalgar Square, in London, and see Lord Nelson standing on top of a high column in the middle of the square, you are reminded of his victory at the battle of Trafalgar. Every time you visit the Vietnam Memorial, in Washington, D.C., you are reminded of the Vietnam war. And every time you visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., you
Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing, a guide to the study and exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids,
are reminded of the terrible suffering inflicted upon the Jews by Nazi Germany. Memorials prevent us from forgetting our past. And because they commemorate actual historical events, memorials never loose their significance. There is no instance in Scripture of a memorial being instituted thousands of years after the event it commemorates. Jesus gave us the Lord's Supper at the time of His death. God gave the Passover at the time of the Israelites exit from Egypt. And God blessed the seventh day in a special way at the end of the creation week, giving the Sabbath as a reminder of creation. True, the Sabbath came to also commemorate other events, such as the Israelites leaving Egypt (Deut. 5:12), but this neither exhausts its meaning nor limits it. Commenting on Exodus 20:8-11 in his book The Forgotten Day, Dr. Desmond Ford says this about the meaning of the Sabbath: As for manthe Sabbath tells us who he is. He alone of all creatures can worship. He is surrounded by beautiful things, but by the Sabbath he is reminded that while without things man cannot live, he who lives for things alone is not a man. All man's primary questions are answered by the Sabbath institution. Who am I? From whence did I come? Where am I going? How do I get there? find their answers in this Edenic ordinance ... Man's work will always tend toward perfection, like the creative work of God. But he is to learn to stop, and find fellowship with his Maker long before his ultimate ideal is realized. Thus, God becomes his God indeed, instead of some thing' secured and accomplished. As the first face man saw was that of God, and his first whole day the Sabbath, so the vision of God is the end of life. The Sabbath reminds the creature of his chief characteristicdependence upon the Life-
giver7 Sabbath as Holy Time Genesis tells us God "blessed" and "made holy" the Sabbath day. He gave it a blessing that He has never given to any other day. It was to be a special day of divine favor, a day that would bring blessing to His creation. Since this blessing was given before sin entered the world, each of the previous six days had already been perfect in itself, so God could not have made the seventh day any more perfect than the first six. And yet the Bible says He blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Obviously, the seventh day has a special significance not found in any other day. Have you ever wondered about this? How can you make one day more special than another? Gordon Wenham stresses that it is very unusual for a day to be "hallowed." Places, people, things, are declared holy, but not time. Then he says: The seventh day is the very first thing to be hallowed in Scripture, to acquire that special status that properly belongs to God alone. In this way, Genesis emphasizes the sacredness of the Sabbath. Coupled with the threefold reference to God resting from all his work on that day, these verses give the clearest of hints of how man created in the divine image should conduct himself on the seventh day.8 In understanding the Sabbath, Abraham Heschel makes this powerful observation: The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are
Desmond Ford, The Forgotten Day (Newcastle, CA.: Desmond Ford Publications, 1981), p. 24. Gordon J. W enham, Word Biblical Commentary (W aco: W ord Books, 1987), vol. 1, p. 36.
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called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world.9 What was the first thing in our world God blessed or made holy? A place? A thing? No! It was a specific portion of time. Not just any time, but a specific day, the seventh day (Gen. 2:3). When did God first make a place holy? Not until after sin entered the world. Because people had wandered so far from Him, He finally consecrated a placethe tabernacle, later the templethat was holy, set apart, a place where people could come especially into His presence. Places and things belong to people. They can be removed, transferred, changed, bought, sold. But time is universal. It is available to everyone, everywhere. No one has more than anyone else. Time is the great leveler. It cannot be bought or sold. God knew we would become absorbed in things, preoccupied with things. So He gave us something that cannot be quantified, placed in a bottle, stretched or compressed. God sanctified, made holy, a specific portion of time, thereby making it different from the other six days. He had been busy the first six days indulging all of His creative urges. But now He restednot because He needed to, not because He was tired, but to revel in His completed work of creationto stand back and enjoy life, if you will. God told Adam and Eve that their work would be to rule over and subdue the perfect world He had placed them in. Yet, even before sin had entered the world, God said on the seventh day, in a special way, I want you to cease from your rule, as I ceased from my activities of creation, because I have set that day aside to spend completely with you. Now, of course, I am with you all the time, but I want
a day when we can visit together without distractions. During the week, you are busy tending the garden, caring for the animals, attending to all your different needs. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath day, I want you to take a break from your necessary duties, perfect as they may be, to contemplate who created you, who formed you, who gave you life, who loves you. I want you to enjoy this day as a day of hope, a day of joy, a day of blessings, a day of love, a day of relationships. This is why I have sanctified this day, not for myself, but for you. God has given us holy time to spend with Him and each other. The seventh day is holy because God said so. He never made any of the other days holy. Time does not change. The need to know God does not change. The need to rebuild our human relationships does not change. God blesses every sincere soul, and everyone who accepts Him by faith is assured of salvation. There will be countless Sunday keepers in heaven, just as there will be countless Sabbath keepers absent from heaven. But God has promised a special blessing to those who truly honor the seventh day Sabbath. God did not bless an object or sanctify a place. He did not set apart some physical entity. Rather He blessed a specific unit of time, something that is available to anyone anywhere. Time is the most precious resource we have, and God made sacred a special time in the week when we can relax, turn from our stresses, and come together to worship Him. Moreover, when God set aside that specific unit of time, He picked that which has no astronomical origins. The year, the month, the day, can all be determined through astronomy, but the week is totally arbitrary. A week could be made up of eight days, or ten, or even six. The only basis for our seven-day week, and thus the Sabbath, is a "thus saith the Lord."
Abraham Herschel, The Sabbath, (New York: The Noonday Press, 1951), p. 10.
Sabbath and Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil In the Garden of Eden, God forbid Adam and Eve to eat from a particular tree. Now there was nothing wrong with this tree, for God had made all things good. But God selected this tree as a test of their obedience to Him. Their faithfulness would be based not on reason, logic, or science, but on faithon what God had said. And this is exactly why some try to divorce the fourth commandment from the rest of the commandments. Unlike the other nine, there is no logical, rational reason why one day should be more holy or important than another, except that God said so. Thus, in some ways, it is easy to miss the significance of this commandment. As created by God, Adam and Eve were perfect. Their world was perfect. Yet even in that perfection, God saw their need for the Sabbatha change of pace, a break in their routine, a time devoted to fellowship with Him. Some believe there was no need for a Sabbath prior to sin. If one sees the Sabbath in negative terms, it might tend to support this belief. But according to Genesis, God instituted the Sabbath on the seventh day of creation week, while the world was in a perfect state. Of course, sin made the Sabbath even more important than it already was. If we needed a break before sin, how much more do we need one now? And the blessings imparted by Sabbath observance before the entrance of sin still apply today. How kind and gracious God is to give us a day when, without guilt, we can forget all the thousand and one things that our regular work week demands. We can relax and enjoy God, our families, and each other. And all this for 24 hours. Why would anyone give up this life-healing practice? Even from a practical standpoint, people who try to work seven days a week become exhausted, suffer severe health problems, and Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /11
fall prey to all manner of stress-related illnesses. While most would agree that we need a weekly break, many do not realize that the benefits we derive from such a break are directly proportional to its length of time. Just going to church a few hours each week is not enough for us to fully experience the spiritual and physical blessings God longs to bestow upon us. Progressive Truth Some may say that the Sabbath rest, a literal 24-hour period of time each week, is but a partial understanding of what it means to truly rest in Jesus, that Christians today who understand they are saved only by grace have now entered into a complete or full rest in Jesusan ongoing walk with Him that pervades and permeates each moment of their lives. Surely we all long for such a relationship with God, but does this mean that setting aside a specific 24-hour block of time to spend with Him each week no longer imparts a blessing? Adam and Eve walked and talked with God face to face in the garden, and yet, in His wisdom, He gave them this weekly 24-hour period of time to more fully unite their hearts with His. Indeed, God tells us we will celebrate with Him in Heaven from one Sabbath to another. If the Sabbath was a blessing to Adam and Eve in their perfect state, if we will celebrate it in Heaven while dwelling in Gods very presence (Isaiah 66:23), then why would it not impart a blessing to Christians today?10
10
Sabbath before Sinai There are those who argue that God gave the Sabbath for himself, that Adam and Eve never kept a Sabbath and it was not kept until Sinai. There is no record between Genesis and Sinai of Sabbath keeping, it is said. That is not true. In Exodus 16, before the ten commandments were given, God gave the Israelites manna with strict instructions not to gather any on the Sabbath. It is evident that the Israelites were aware of the Sabbath before Sinai. In Exodus 5:5 we read: And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens. It is significant that
This raises still another question. If the literal 24-hour Sabbath of the fourth commandment is but a partial understanding of truth, an area in which we would gain insight and knowledge (progressive truth, if you will), than Gods gift to our first parents was uncomplete, imperfect. And why would God give an imperfect gift to perfect humans living in a perfect world? However, it did not become the symbol of salvation until Jesus died on the cross. Then it became an even greater event because now it reminds people of recreation as well as creation. Whats more, to say that every day is now holy makes meaningless the word "holy," since it means "to set apart for a special use." Of course we are to worship God every day, pray to Him every day, live for Him every day. But there is one day God says we are to treat differently. And since this day is so important, God has not given us a list of rules for how to keep it. Because each persons experience is uniquely his own, each will keep the Sabbath a little differently. But God asks us to make a distinction between the Sabbath and the other six days, even though we are to grow in Christ every day of our lives. Legalism Some reason that literal observance of
the word Pharaoh used for rest is shabath. There are five other Hebrew words for rest but they are not used here. It is evident that Pharaoh was complaining that Moses had instituted Sabbath reform and was encouraging the people not to work on the seventh day. As slaves they had no rights and were being worked seven days a week. So out of six different words for resting, not working, Moses inserted the one that is used for ceasing to work on the seventh day. Gods law while not written down before Sinai was known by His people. Genesis 26:5 says Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." It was not until Israel was organized as a nation that God formalized the verbal instructions He had given to His people.
the fourth commandment is not relevant for Christians today since we are saved by grace, not by keeping the law. While we are, indeed, saved by grace, carrying this reasoning to its logical conclusion presents some obvious dilemmas. First, the Bible teaches that all humans everywhere have always been saved by grace and grace alone. Thus Sabbath never has been relevant to salvation. It was not so before the cross than after the cross; it has not been so since the cross. The relevancy of the Sabbath has never diminishedit is as relevant today as when God first gave it to Adam and Eve. Now, does the realization that we are not saved by Sabbath keeping release us from obedience to the fourth commandment? If the answer is yes, then what about the other nine? Are we now free to worship idols, kill, commit adultery, steal, lie or covet, since we are saved not by keeping the law, but by Christs perfect life? Paul says, Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law Romans 3:20. Yet in Romans 7:12, Paul declares, So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. How then are we to regard the law? Christs death for our sin releases us from the condemnation of the law, but does this make null Gods will for our lives? In Matthew 22, the Pharisees ask Jesus which of the commandments is the greatest. He answers, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest command-ment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments (verses 37-40). Here Jesus underscores the relevancy of the Ten Commandmentsnot as a means of salvation, but as a reflection of Gods will for our lives. The first four tell us how to relate to God, our creator, and the last six tell us how to
relate to our fellow man. All ten are guidelines for living. As a revelation of Gods own character, they are eternal, everlasting, unchanging. Do the commandments save us? Never! Are they relevant for the Christian? Always! Some say those who insist on keeping the Sabbath should practice the penalty for Sabbath breakingdeath. But these same people do not advocate death for breaking the seventh commandment (which forbids adultery), even though it, too, carries the death penalty. God does not desire obedience from His children based on fear, but on love. For the Christian, obedience to the Ten Commandments is neither an attempt to gain salvation nor legalistic behavior motivated by fear of punishment. Flawed and scarred as our obedience may be, it is our response to His marvelous love. We live by love. Love rules the universe. Often sinful humans do not know how to practice love without specific details. But love does not tell us WHAT to do; it tells us HOW to do it. In the Ten Commandments, God tells us how to practice love. In John 14:21, Jesus puts it like this: Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
Sabbath Reminds us of Redemption After dying on the cross, Jesus rested in the tomb on the Sabbath day. He could have risen on that day. There was no need to remain in the grave until Sunday morning. But just as He had rested after His work of creation, so He now rested after His work of recreation, expanding the Sabbath to a magnificent remembrance of God's recreation in us, a weekly reminder of His glorious and wonderful gift of redemption. As God rested in His finished work of creation on that first Sabbath, so the Christian rests in God's finished work of recreation in Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /13
him or her each Sabbath. God looked at the world and saw that it was goodnothing more needed to be added. In the same way, each Sabbath, Christians who look to Jesus are reminded that they are perfect in Himnothing more needs to be added. Just as we had no part in Gods original creation, so we have no part in God's recreation except to accept it. The Sabbath is a time to worship God, our Creator, and rejoice in the good news of salvation through Him who is also our ReCreator. We need not work or strive for salvation. God has provided our salvation, and He calls us to rest in Him. Rightly understood, the Sabbath rest points not only to creation, but also redemption and even eternal life in Him in heaven. Dr. Desmond Ford explains the significance of the Sabbath for salvation in the most eloquent language: At the close of the record of the Gospels, John was inspired to present Christ's redemptive work as a new creation. He had hinted at that by his introduction with his reference to the coming of the Light in the beginning.' But now in the account of the Cross he repeatedly refers to a finishing' on the sixth day before Christ entered into the Sabbath of redemption rest. He portrays the second Adam naked like the first, and also like the first Adam, in that He is tested by a tree of the knowledge of good and evil located in a garden. See John 19:28, 30, 33, 41; Acts 5:30. As Adam had his side opened on the sixth day so that he might have a bride, so John tells of the side of the second Adam being opened that He too might have His bridethe church. (See 19:4). It was not by chance that our Lord finished His mighty work of Atonement on the sixth day. It was not by chance that, unlike the thieves, He died on that day. (The legs of the thieves were broken, for they were still alive when taken down from the Cross, but this was not necessary for the lifeless Christ.) It was not
by chance that He was placed in Joseph's new tomb before the sun set on the sixth day. And likewise it was no coincidence that led our divine Lord to remain in the sepulcher through all the holy hoursthe only complete day He spent in the grave. This was His original rest day (for it was Christ who made the world and who rested on the first seventh day) stamped with a new glory and made the memorial of the second creation, as one day it will also be a memorial of the third (see Isaiah 66:22, 23).11 This is why Satan attacks the Sabbath so vehemently. He does not want us reminded of creation or our Creator. He does not want us reminded of redemption or our Re-Creator. And he surely does not want us reminded of the Second Coming, when our Creator and Redeemer will take us home with Him for all eternity. Except for salvation, the Sabbath, this special period of time which points to our creation, our redemption and our ultimate restoration, is God's greatest gift to us.
Sabbath Rest in Hebrews Hebrews 4:9-10 states: "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his" (Hebrews 4:9-10). After discussing the many exhortations that the writer of Hebrews gives to appreciate the better ministry of Jesus, Dr. Ford says: The full significance of these exhortations is only found by comparing the records of Hebrews three and four when we are told of a Sabbath rest that we can all by faith enter. The word enter' is found about a dozen times here. The rest of Eden's Sabbath, the rest of Canaan from the wilderness wanderings, the future rest of heaven, are all used as symbols of the rest of conscience all can have who believe in the efficiency of Christ's finished
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atonement. Whoever enters God's rest ceases from his own labors as God did from his (4:4). These words testify that all who see the meaning of the Cross no longer depend upon their own works. They refuse to be either encouraged or discouraged by their own deeds, and find rest from sin and guilt by faith's entrance into Christ. Believers look to His perfect work instead of their own which is tattered and stained. The physical rest of the Sabbath then becomes an emblem of the rest of conscience enjoyed all week long. By believing the gospel we enter the most holy place, the presence of God symbolized by the sacred rest-day from the beginning of time.12 On the Sabbath, we rest from our regular work and we rest in the finished work of Jesus. The Sabbath reminds us of how special we are to God and how important our world is to Him. He made us (for full fellowship with Him), He died for us (to restore the possibility of that fellowship after we had lost it), and He is coming soon (to finally unite us with Him in that fellowship forever). This gives the Christian tremendous self assurancewonderful peace, hope and joy. Thus, the Sabbaththe sign of Gods creation, redemption, and final restorationis truly a blessing, a gift of love from God to us, the high point of every week. The Sabbath Given to Build Community God gave us the Sabbath not only for developing our vertical relationship with Him, but also for developing horizontal relationships with each other. Dr. Ford introduces the idea that fellowship, or community, is a very important part of the Sabbath. God says, I have set this day aside especially for community building, depending upon others in the community. This is a day to spend with me and with each other without concern for the
12
Ford, p. 200.
Ibid., pp. 202-202.
regular activities of the week. God gave six days in which to earn a living and conduct our normal affairs of life. During that time, we are more task oriented than relationship oriented. Work must be done. But building healthy relationships takes time. In order for relationships to grow, those involved must share together, learn about each other, gain understanding of one another, and develop mutual trust. In the same way, it takes time to build a relationship with God. So God gives us one day each week when we can lay aside our normal pursuits to focus on becoming better acquainted with Him and each other. Yes, we are to worship God every day of the week. The Christian lives every day, every moment, under the atmosphere of God's grace. Any moment, we can breathe a prayer to God. But during the week, we are not primarily building community with God or each other. We are involved in tasks, earning a living, and caring for our families or ourselves. God says I am giving you a 24-hour block of time dedicated completely to building community with me and with those around youvertical and horizontal relationships. Obviously, many things must continue seven days a week. Crime does not take a vacation on the Sabbath, so police need to be on duty. Fires can occur any time, so fireman must be ready. Sick people require care even on the Sabbath, so doctors and nurses must work. Farm animals need care seven days a week, so some farm chores are necessary. Unfortunately, some must sacrifice in order for necessary things to continue; and, in so doing, they may miss the blessing that comes from worshiping God in community on the Sabbath. Thankfully, most jobs do not require us to work seven days a week. But those whose jobs do require them to work on the Sabbath in service for others have the assurance that what they do for someone else, they do for God, Himself. And to these God imparts a special blessing. Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /15
To keep the Sabbath in a positive way, we must live balanced lives during the week so we will not be exhausted when the Sabbath arrives. Although this is easier said than done, the result will be increased blessings for the entire family as we are rejuvenated, refreshed, encouraged, and brought closer to God and one another. It is especially a time for building community between parents and children. It is a time when families can pray together and study the Bible together. But it is also a time to play together, do fun things together, have special meals together, and take trips together. It is a time for families to help and encourage other families. In this way, Sabbath can be the high time of the week for children and parents, alike. Sabbath and Worship What is worship? The Hebrew word shachah literally means "to bow down." In the New Testament, proskuneo used is, meaning "to prostrate oneself before." Our English word for worship actually means "giving God His worth." We give God our respect and our love when we worship Him and desire to obey His wishes. The Bible says we are to worship God alone, giving Him our absolute loyalty and obedience (Exodus 20:1-4). As Christians, we seek to worship God every moment of every day because of what He has done for us in Jesus. The Bible also tells us it is important to "not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). People may gather in homes, in small groups, to study the Bible and worship God together on any day. But God has also set aside a specific day to meet with His people each weeka day when they refrain from their normal work and focus on their relationships with Him and each other. The fourth commandment does not specifically tell us to congregate and worship
God together on the seventh day because Sabbath observance encompasses so much more than simply corporate worship. But it does tell us to keep the seventh day holykeep it differently from the other six days of the week. Scripture says little about how to accomplish this because it is an area where God wants us to each explore our relationship with Him in a very personal way, without a defining list of rules. Each person, each family, decides how they will honor God on this special day; and one persons way of honoring God may be quite different from anothers. But because Sabbath is not a regular workday, it is the time when, among other things, we gather together for corporate worship. Ezekiel develops this concept of worship on Sabbath: "On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to that gateway" (Ezekiel 46:3). The remainder of the chapter then details how we are to worship on the seventh-day Sabbath. Some may be perplexed by the reference to New Moons. Ezekiel mentions these because the Israelites worshiped God in special gatherings on other days in addition to the weekly Sabbath. But unlike the weekly Sabbath given at creation, these special times did not exist before Sinai. There were six annual Sabbaths which fell on days other than the seventh (see Leviticus 23); and the Israelites also worshiped God on the first day of each month, or the new moon (1 Sam 20:5). They were a worshiping community. Perhaps there are some lessons here for us, as well. God has placed within our hearts the desire to worship our Creator, and this need can only be met as we spend time with Him. Thus, if we had more corporate time to worship God throughout the week, in addition to Sabbath worship, it could only result in increased blessings. Like His people, Israel, God wants us to be a community that gathers often to worship Him. Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /16
Isaiah makes the clearest reference to Sabbath worship in a passage that many scholars believe applies to the earth God will make anew. "From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD" (Isaiah 66:22). Apparently, in heaven the New Moon will again have significance, and maybe this is something to consider now. The discovery of additional truth (or rediscovery of forgotten truth) concerning worship does not contradict, but rather amplifies, previous truth. Rather than detracting from the Sabbath or equating it with the other days of the week, expanding our concept of corporate worship only strengthens our relationship with God and the joy we experience as we truly worship Him. And Jesus, combines worship with truth like this: Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (John 4:23). May we continue to grow in our understanding of worship, accepting additional truth in all areas as God reveals it to us.
C. SABBATH KEEPERS WHO REJECT THE SABBATH While it may be understandable that those who have always kept Sunday are not convicted of the Sabbath truth, why would anyone who has kept the Sabbath give it up and count all days the same or transfer his or her allegiance to another day? The Sabbath was given as a blessing, something to look forward to each week. The prophet Isaiah says to call the Sabbath a delight (Isaiah 58:13). I believe some give up the Sabbath because they have never known its blessings, its joys, its delights, and its symbolism of salvation. Could it be that most of us do not really
understood the true meaning of the Sabbath? If we see it as a duty, a sign at the end of time, a day of restrictions, and/or a time to refrain from doing our own pleasure, then we cannot fully experience the Sabbath blessing. So why keep it? We become susceptible to arguments suggesting the Sabbath is no longer valid for new covenant Christians who now live by grace. But if the Sabbath was a blessing before the cross, why would it cease to be a blessing after the cross? It was Jesus who said, "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). The reason the Sabbath was created in the first place was not affected by His death on the cross. Speaking of the law, Jesus, Himself, said, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished (Matthew 5:17, 18). In other words, Jesus saying His life and His death will never change the law. Gods law is eternal; it cannot be changed. This is the very reason Jesus died in our placebecause the law could not be changed and its requirements had to be met. If any part of the law could have been changed or abolished, then His death, itself, would have been unnecessary. If I grow up with the subtle misunderstanding that Sabbath keeping is connected to my salvation, a prerequisite to my entering heaven, and then discover grace, that I am saved ONLY by what Jesus did for me at Calvary, I will suddenly have a very different view of the Sabbath. I will want to discard it, and I should, as a means of salvation. But the relief of discovering grace can be so overwhelming that it is quite possible to throw out blessings simply because we have previously seen them as "have tos" or "musts" or "shoulds." Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /17
Also, some may give up the Sabbath because of loyalty to a charismatic or persuasive leader. They begin to allow someone whom they love and respect to do their thinking for them. When we learn the gospel from someone, we naturally feel a great indebtedness to that person. But this does not necessarily mean he or she will be correct in all areas. A person may be right on one issue and wrong on another. He or she may have great light in one area without having light in all areas. It is dangerous to accept anyone elses interpretation of Scripture without first testing all things for ourselves.
D. HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION Think for Yourself It is human nature to let someone else do our thinking for us, especially if we respect that person. Don't accept anothers view, including mine expressed herein, unless you validate it for yourself through your own personal study. When it comes to eternal life, we must each understand for ourselves, study for ourselves, and step back and examine our own experience to determine how much it is coloring our view of the Bible. This is not easy, and that is why group Bible study, as well as individual Bible study, is important to allow us the benefit of others' experiences. Remember, psychology, as well as theology, affects our understanding of the Bible. Ellen White, who always made it clear that the Bible was the only rule for our faith,13
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The Bible, and the Bible alone, is to be the rule of our faith. It is a leaf from the tree of life, and by eating it, by receiving it into our minds, we shall grow strong to do the will of God. By our Christlike characters we shall show that we believe the word, that we cleave to the Bible as the only guide to heaven. So shall we be
stressed the importance of us learning truth for ourselves: We must study the truth for ourselves. No man should be relied upon to think for us. No matter who he is, or in what position he may be placed, we are not to look upon any man as a criterion for us. We are to counsel together, and to be subject one to another; but at the same time we are to exercise the ability God has given us, in order to learn what is truth.14 The fourth commandment is the only one of the ten to occasion controversy. Regardless of where you come down on the Sabbath question, may we each affirm our love for Jesus, knowing we are saved by grace alone. Jesus asks us to keep his commandments out of love (John 14:23), and because we do love Him. May we each strive to do all he asks of us to the best of our understanding and ability, not to gain heaven, nor to avoid hell, but as a love offering to our God. I commend to you Pauls counsel to Timothy to study and use the Scriptures wisely and personally: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). And with all our breath may we each with Paul declare, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).
Springs, Mi., 49103, 1998, 15 post paid). This book examines the Pope's latest letter on the Sabbath and also reviews Dale Ratzlaff's book, Sabbath in Crisis. Ford, Desmond, Clarifying the Covenants (Auburn, Ca.: Good News Unlimited, 11710 Education St., Auburn, Ca., 95602, $1). This excellent booklet which Dr. Ford has just published examines the covenants as they relate to the Sabbath and includes a reply to the charge that GNU, by its loyalty to the principles of the Decalogue, has let the gospel slide. Ford, Desmond, The Forgotten Day (Auburn, Ca.: Good News Unlimited, 11710 Education St., Auburn, Ca., 95602, 1981, out of print), Available on loan from Good News Unlimited. This is one of the best theological studies of the importance of the seventh day Sabbath. Strand, Kenneth, ed. The Sabbath in Scripture and History (Hagerstown: Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 1982). This volume contains 16 articles on Sabbath and Sunday in Bible times and throughout Christianity, as well as a theology of the Sabbath.
For Further Study Bacchiocchi, Samuele, The Sabbath Under Crossfire (Berrien Springs, Mi.: Biblical Perspective, 4990 Appian Way, Berrien
living epistles, known and read of all men, bearing a living testimony to the power of true religion. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 4, 1897.
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp. 109-110.
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APPENDIX
Romans 14:5
Are holy days discussed in this passage? By Dr. J. David Newman
Colossians 2:16-17
Is the weekly Sabbath a part of this text? By Dr. J. David Newman
How shall we keep the Sabbath?

Jesus at the center will do more to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath than any number of rules ever could. By Dr. John Brunt
Are holy days discussed in Romans 14:5? Dr. J. David Newman There are some people who quote Romans 14:5 as proof that the seventh-day is no longer the Sabbath and that holy days, including Sunday, no longer exist. These people like to use the New International Version to buttress their claim: One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind (NIV). The Message Bible also says something similar: One person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience. However, this is not what Paul wrote. We need to remember that Paul wrote in Greek not in English. Here is how the New American Standard Bible translates this verse: One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind Notice two things about these translations: 1. The NAS says nothing about days being sacred or holy; 2. The NAS places alike in italics which means that this word never appeared in the Greek. So what did Paul actually write? Here is Youngs Literal Translation: One doth judge one day above another, and another doth judge every day {alike}; let each in his own mind be fully assured. The Greek literally reads: One judges or considers day from day, while another judges or considers every day. There is a clear hermeneutical principle (how to interpret) which says that difficult texts are explained by easy texts and difficult texts should never be used as foundational texts for any argument. When you read the literal translation the Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /20
first question that comes to mind is: What does this mean? Translators work from different sets of assumptions. Some believe that the Bible should be translated exactly as it is written; that is why you have very literal translations like Youngs and The New American Standard. But the English of these versions does not flow in an easy reading style. And when the reader has little knowledge of the history and culture of the times, it is difficult to always understand the meaning in the passage. A second set of translators believe that some interpreting needs to be done but they try and keep it to a minimum. These translations are called dynamic versions as they seek to be as faithful to the original as possible while making it as understandable as possible. Then there is a third set of translations called paraphrases of the Bible like the Message and the Living Bible which translate the Bible into our everyday speech and try and remove as many ambiguities as possible so that the reader will be very clear as to the meaning of Scripture. A good example of the latter is how the Living Bible and other similar bibles translate Genesis 6:1-2, 4 Now a population explosion took place upon the earth. It was at this time that beings from the spirit world looked upon the beautiful earth women and took any they desired to be their wives. . . . In those days, and even afterwards, when the evil beings from the spirit world were sexually involved with human women, their children became giants of whom so many legends are told. Check your Bible version and you will find, most likely, something very different. Some of the Hebrew words in this passage are untranslatable and that is why some versions just transliterate the Hebrew into English letters such as Nephilim. How do translators decide how to translate a particular passage which is not clear in the original? They use their theological framework, their presuppositions, some of
which they may not even be conscious of. Others will use other parts of Scripture which are clear to help illuminate a more difficult passage. In this passage some use Colossians 2:16, which talks about the Sabbath, as a parallel passage, and that is where they get the idea of inserting holy or sacred into the text. Others insist that the immediate context must be the primary guide and since there are 23 verses in this chapter and 21 of them are discussing food it would seem reasonable to conclude that the other two verses (5, 6) are connected to food in some way as well. The key question concerns what the people in Rome understood this passage to mean. They did not have the book of Colossians to consult. Since most scholars believe that the four gospels were written after Pauls letters they did not have those either. The letter to Rome was the only book they knew. Listen to what John Murray, professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, says in his commentary on Romans (published by Eerdmans), The Sabbath institution is a creation ordinance. It did not begin to have relevance at Sinai when the ten commandments were given to Moses on two tables (cf. Gen. 2:2, 3; Exod. 16:21-23). It was, however, incorporated in the law promulgated at Sinai and this we would expect in view of its significance and purpose as enunciated in Genesis 2:2, 3. It is so embedded in this covenant law that to regard it as of different character from its context in respect of abiding relevance goes counter to the unity and basic significance of what was inscribed on the two tables. Our Lord himself tells us of its purpose and claims it for his messianic Lordship (Mark 2:28). The thesis we are now considering would have to assume that the pattern provided by God himself (Gen. 2:, 3) in the word of creation (cf. Exod. 20:11; 31:17) has no longer any relevance for the regulation of mans life on earth, that only nine of the ten Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /21
words of the decalogue have authority for Christians, that the beneficent design contemplated in the original institution (Mark 2:28) has no application under the gospel, and that the lordship Christ exercised over the Sabbath was for the purpose of abolishing it as an institution to be observed (pp. 257-258). Dr. Murray while standing firm on the value of the fourth commandment believes that it has been transferred to Sunday simply by the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week. In other words he still wants a holy day. And he quotes the eight texts in the New Testament that speak of the first day of the week; none of these make any reference to that day being sacred or holy. So how does he explain the meaning of this text? He says: Romans 14:5 can properly be regarded as referring to the ceremonial holy days of the Levitical institution. The obligation to observe these is clearly abrogated in the New Testament (p. 259). And I agree with this part of his interpretation. Since Paul is talking about eating and drinking it makes sense to see these verses as discussing feast and fast days of which there were many in the Jewish system. A German scholar named Rauer gives three reasons why he considers this to be talking about fast days. 1. Paul was writing to Christians in Rome. All would have had a day of worship. It was highly improbable that some Christians observed all days the same or no days at all. If they worshiped together, they had to observe days. 2. The terminology is different from Gal. 4:10 and Col. 2:16 where the observance of days does seem to have significance. 3. The phrase to judge every day is a very strange way to say keep no day holy if that was Pauls intent. (quoted in Romans by John Brunt, p. 242). Now the big question: How can I, who
have not been trained in Hebrew and Greek, know whether the translator has followed a theological bias in his translation? You need just two study aids: 1. Make sure you have several Bibles in your library with at least one being a literal translation like the New American Standard Bible. I suggest at least four different translations to make up your basic study library. For example you could have The Message for the fun of reading Scripture; the New American Standard as a basic study bible; the New International Version for ease of reading and fairly faithful translation of the text; the New Revised Standard Version which is very literal but seeks to be gender inclusive. 2. Buy a copy of Strongs concordance. This means that you need a copy of the King James version since Strongss is keyed to this version. Strongs concordance lists EVERY word in the KJV and by each word there is a number. When you look up this number in the back of the concordance it will tell you what Hebrew or Greek word has been translated by that word. In this way you can tell exactly what words have been added by the translator. Here is an example taken from Romans 14:5. [3303] One man [2919] esteemeth one [2250] day [3844] above another: [3739] another [2919] esteemeth [3956] every [2250] day alike. Let [1538] every man be [4135] fully [4135] persuaded in his [2398] own [3563] mind. Since this passage does not use Sabbath day, seventh day, holy or sacred day, worship day, it cannot be used to prove that holy days have been abolished. Paul is simply saying that if someone wishes to keep a feast or fast day they may and no one is judge if they do or do not observe that kind of day. It is not an honest use of Scripture if someone quotes a particular version as a proof text when the original language never said what that translator says it says. That is why it is important that everyone be a student of the Word. Do not let others do Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /22 22
your thinking for you. You, too, can be a serious Bible student.
Colossians 2:16-17
Dr. J. David Newman 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. (Colossians 2:16-17, NIV). There are many people who consider this text to prove that the seventh day Sabbath has been abolished and is no longer valid for Christians today. In order to understand this passage we must first look at what it is NOT saying before we can discover what it is saying. Verse 16 lists four specific points. Lets work backwards to see what is being said. Lets say, for the sake of argument, that this verse means that these practices are no longer in force. This includes the seventh day Sabbath, New Moons, religious holy days other than the Sabbath, and eating and drinking. When we get to the fourth item we have a problem. Everyone immediately recognizes that it cannot literally mean what it says. If we did not eat or drink we would die. So we must interpret these words. If we have to interpret these words it is also quite likely that we have to interpret the other words in the passage. If we have to discover the deeper meaning of NOT eating and drinking, we also need to find out the deeper meaning of religious festivals, new moon celebrations, and Sabbath days. Interpret consistently It is a principle of interpreting Scripture that we are consistent in our use of a passage. When there is a list of items all linked together we interpret them as a whole. We do not take some literally and some spiritually, or just ignore them. A good example of the misuse of lists is how some interpret Isaiah 3:16-26. This is the well-known passage of the women of Zion and how they dress. Some Adventists in their use of this passage stop at verse 21 and Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /23 23
ignore the rest of the items in the list. I can point to a page in a much circulated book where the author spends several pages on the last item in verse 21ringstrying to show how evil they are and yet says nothing about the evils of capes, cloaks, purses, mirrors, linen garments, which are also part of this passage. The passage stands or falls as a unit. I know of no biblical principle that allows me to take some items as moral and the others as amoral or immoral. Ascetic teachers To understand this passage we need to look at the wider context. What is the book of Colossians about? What is its theme? There were leaders in the church at Colossae who taught that though Christ provided a good spiritual beginning there was a deeper fullness available to those who searched for spiritual things. This knowledge was called gnosis and came from fresh revelations of following rites and legalistic asceticism. In Colossians 1:9 Paul uses the word knowledge (epiknosis, full knowledge). For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the KNOWLEDGE of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. In chapter 1:15-20 Paul recites in dramatic detail the all sufficiency of Christ and that Christ is supreme in everything and nothing more is needed than to know Christ. Then he tells the church not to be deceived by these people teaching a wrong gospel. I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you
this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments (2:1-4). Paul says that in searching for truth it is possible to be deceived by fine-sounding arguments. He wants people to know Jesus Christ, to understand the gospel, to know what is primary and what is secondary. In the next three verses he encourages the church to continue to be rooted and built up in Jesus. Then he gives the second of his cautions: See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (2:8) Here Paul is laying the groundwork for what is to come. He lays out the principle that human tradition and worldly philosophy have no moral value or eternal consequence for the Christian. Everything the Christian does is motivated by the desire to serve and follow Jesus. Since salvation is totally of grace rules and regulations and traditions have no place as the basis of eternal life. They do not enter into why God takes a person to heaven. However, God does want people to grow and mature in Christ and distinguish between eternal moral principles given by God and the many rules and customs that humans develop. Paul constantly in this passage talks about not conforming to worldly rules as the main emphasis of the Christian. In verses 18 and 19 he tells about people who are promoting ascetic ideas which only results in separation from Jesus rather than a closer walk with Him. The passage ends with a clear statement of the issues at hand: 20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /24 24
their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (2:20-23) The whole context of this passage is clearly about man made rules which have no place in the life of the Christian. They do not promote spiritual growth. There were many in the early church that believed the way to come closer to Christ was to fast, consider the body to be evil, separate completely from the world, and live a life of apparent humility which was really pride in a different dress. Here is a summary of what Paul is saying in this letter: 1. Brilliant revelation of the cosmic Christ (1:15-20). 2. They share in Christs fullness (2:910). 3. They died in Christs circumcision (2:11-15). 4. They must not be subject to legalism (2:16-17), mysticism (18-19), and asceticism (20-23). 5. They must fix their hearts and minds on the grand gnosis above (3:1-3). 6. Then they will be able to rise above their earthly nature (3:5-11). 7. They will put on the qualities of the new nature (3:12-17). 8. They will live as they oughtas wives, husbands, children, slaves, and masters (3:18-4:1). This background and understanding of the key points in this letter are crucial to our understanding of the issue surrounding the Sabbath. Paul gives four examples of how Christians are to avoid letting the world set the agenda for the Christian life (2:16, 17). Pauls negative and positive law statements This seeming negative statement on the Sabbath also mirrors Pauls seeming negative statements about the law. Law in the New
Testament usually meant the revealed will of God as given in the Old Testament. This law is made up of civil, ceremonial, health, and moral elements. It is obvious that not everything that is taught in the OT is abolished or of no value to Christians. The difficulty is sorting out what we are to keep and what we are to discard. If you read one set of texts you find Paul totally opposed to the law. Read the following texts: Romans 7:1-4; 10:4; Galatians chapter 2-5; 2 Corinthians 3; Ephesians 2:14 and on. Some use these texts to prove that the law is irrelevant to Christians. However, there are some Christians who ignore another whole body of texts which show a very positive view of the law. Just read the following texts: Romans 3:31; 7:12, 14; 8:4, 7; 13:8-10; 1 Cor. 7:19; 9:21; 15:56; Eph. 6:1, 2. Jesus also had some very positive things to say about the law: Matt. 5:17-19; 19:17-18; 22:36-40; Luke 10:25-28. The clue is found in 1 Timothy 1:8: We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. So there is a proper use of the law and a wrong use of the law. God gave the laws in the OT. The people kept ignoring these laws and as a result kept being conquered by their enemies. Finally after centuries of failure and repentance, failure and repentance, capture and deliverance they entered into the most terrible of their captivities, the Babylonian captivity. When they came back from that one they decided to follow the Lord their God. They no longer worshiped idols. Instead they went to the other extreme where they became so rule conscious they lost sight of the reason for these rules and even more important they came to believe that they were saved by keeping these rules. This understanding is summarized in the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees who asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the law (Matt. 22:36). Jesus, who had given the law, the ten commandments, pointed to something deeper, Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /25 25
something that undergirded all law. He told them that law without love to God and love for ones neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40) has no value whatsoever. This did not mean that what God gave to the Jews was invalid, but they needed to understand the purpose behind those laws and why God had given them. So Paul begins a vendetta against keeping the law or any part of the law as a means of salvation. In Romans 10:4 Paul makes it clear that the law as a method of getting acceptance with God is completely rejected by Him. As a prime motivator of obedience it is a failure (Romans 7:1-6). There is a new dispensation, a new covenant, because God has finally come and revealed Himself on the cross. Jesus is greater than Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6). The life and death of Jesus is far superior to all the rituals and practices that pointed to Jesus (Hebrews 8:1-13) But at the same time not everything in the Old Testament is discarded in the New. Christians agree that the commands against incest, idolatry, adultery, murder, and so on are still valid for Christians today. Christians believe that moral laws stand forever in this world. And many Christians believe that the Ten Commandments, the only words of Scripture directly written by God (Exodus 31:18) and the only words kept in the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 10:3-5) are moral absolutes. In addition many Christians believe that God would not insert in the middle of these moral absolutes one that was only temporary and had no permanent significance. They also believe that teaching the continuing significance of the fourth commandment is no different from teaching the continuing significance of the other nine. And this brings us back to our passage. Is the weekly Sabbath, the fourth in the list of ten, a law that has been abolished? Attached shadows Colossians 2:16 talks about eating and
drinking, weekly, monthly, and yearly holy days. If we still need to eat and drink it seems obvious that Paul is talking about how we use eating and drinking and not discarding eating and drinking. He only wants us to get rid of the shadows attached with eating and drinking. If this is the case then he is not against weekly, monthly, and yearly holy days but the shadows that have also become attached to them. Verse 16 of Col 2 begins with therefore. Paul is drawing a conclusion from what he has already written. In verses 13-15 he has made it clear that in Christ all condemnation by the law has been nailed for good to the cross. When a person accepts Jesus as his or her savior they can kiss the law good by. As Paul wrote to the Romans, there is now no condemnation to those who walk in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). God did not abolish the law at Calvary otherwise there would no longer be any sinners and God would have to take everyone to heaven since there would be no law to break (without the law there is no sin, Romans 7:7). What he did abolish was the condemnation of the law and all the rituals that the Jews followed that pointed to Christ, the shadows. Now the Lamb of God had died there was no need to keep sacrificing lambs and all that went with that sacrificing. God had never intended that people believe they had to keep the law, the rituals, in order to be saved. This was a conclusion the people drew. God saves in the same way all through time. Only as people trust in God completely for their security are they saved. It was so with Abraham (Gen. 15:4) and it was so with everyone else. After his therefore he says that no one is to judge you regarding eating and drinking, festivals, new moons, and Sabbath days. When writing to the Corinthians Paul had said that the strong should not be stumbling blocks to the weak and practice stricter rules than might be absolutely necessary (1 Cor. Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /26 26
chapters 8-10) but here he is saying that the strong are too strong and the scrupulous were threatening to impose their rigid principles on the rest of the congregation. Christian liberty needed to be asserted in the light of false attempts to undermine it. What you eat or drink is not referring directly to the OT food laws. The Greek words that Paul uses for eat and drink are brosis and posis. These words are never used with reference to meal and drink offerings. There is a technical word for sacrifice or offering, thusia, and if Paul had been intending to suggest this meaning he would have used this word. Also posis was never used for any kind of drink offering because spendo was the term that meant to offer a libation or drink offering. In addition while the OT did list some prohibitions on eating there were none on drinking except in some very rare cases such as in a Nazirite vow. Since the context of the letter is refuting gnostic practices Paul is here referring to stringent regulations being imposed by those who practiced false humility and the worship of angels (2:18). According to Peter OBrien in the Word Biblical Commentary on Colossians p. 138 some practiced asceticism since it was bound up with their views of purity. Others thought that by fasting one served the deity, came closer to him or prepared onself for receiving a divine revelation, a point that is important in the light of verse 18. So Paul was not speaking against eating and drinking but the wrong use of food and drink in living the Christian life. It did not curry any favor with God and could hinder ones relationship with God. How does the Sabbath fit into all of this? It is clear in the next part of the list that the weekly Sabbath is under consideration. These three sets of days often appear in the same list in the OT (See Ezek. 45:17; 1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:3; 31:3). Some people have suggested that the Sabbaths mentioned here
were ceremonial Sabbaths. But these are already covered under the religious festivals and it would be redundant to speak of them again and the OT passages where these three practices occur are clearly speaking of three separate events. The keeping of these holy days was further evidence that the Israelites were obedient to Gods law and were the special people of God among the nations. But the situation was very different in Colossae. As OBrien says on page 139 At Colossae, however, the sacred days were to be kept for the sake of the elemental spirits of the universe, those astral powers who directed the course of the stars and regulated the order of the calendar. So Paul is not condemning the use of sacred days or seasons as such; it is the wrong motive involved when the observance of these days is bound with the recognition of elemental spirits. Paul still keeps Sabbaths and festivals Paul still observed festivals and Sabbaths (13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4, 21; 20:16; 27:9). He still ate and drank (Acts 20:7; 27:35). But he was opposed to those aspects of eating and drinking, and holy days that were no longer needed because Christ had come. The realty was now here. But eating and drinking still went on. Keeping holy days still went on. People still met and worshiped on Sabbath. Even Jesus reminded his disciples that years in the future, when they saw persecution come and destruction imminent, to pray that calamity would not happen on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20) when they would be forced to run. If the Sabbath was abolished at the cross Christ missed a golden opportunity to tell his disciple not to worry about sacred days like the Sabbath because they would no longer be in force after his death. But here he is looking far into the future where the Sabbath still has great significance. Paul is talking about motivation and Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /27 27
practice. Do not let anyone judge you, implies that we must also know what motivates the person in this area. Why are people following these practices? Do not condemn or support people. Leave them alone. In the reference to these are a shadow what does these refer to? Does it refer to the actual practice of eating, drinking, and keeping holy days, or does it refer to the manner in which a person ate, drank, and kept holy days? The Jews developed, for example, 1,547 rules for keeping the Sabbath; all developed with the best of intentions but now that the reality, Jesus, had come there was no need for them. Those advocating ascetic practices were very strict in matters of diet and worship. But this was not the way to heaven. If any of these practices stated in this chapter are no longer valid for Christians today we will need to look elsewhere for a command invalidating them. Those who accept what the Bible says about the origin of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation and made for humans (Gen 2:1, 2; Mark 2:27, 28) from the beginning of this world will understand that as long as this world stands the remembrance of its birthday still carries significance and if it was made for humans before the cross as a blessing why would it cease to be a blessing after the cross? If for thousands of years people rested one day a week for their good why would God say that Christians no longer need to rest today for their good? Jesus magnifies the Sabbath When Jesus died he rested over the Sabbath and in the process magnified it and expanded its meaning. Before Calvary it reminded us of Gods original creative act. After Calvary it reminds us of Gods recreative act in Jesus. In shadowing form it pointed forward to the rest in Jesus. But now that Christ had died it became a powerful symbol not just of creation but of recreation. Christ
rested on the Sabbath because he had completed His work of creation. Christ rested on the Sabbath because he had completed His work of salvation. The Christian rests on the Sabbath because he or she is complete in Christ. There is nothing to add, nothing to do, nothing to earn. God gave humans six days to earn their living and one day to not earn their living. This one day was to be a powerful reminder of trust in God. Here is one day on which we are to forget the worries and caries of the daily grind. Here is one day to let God take care of our affairs. Yes, God cares for us seven days a week. Yes, we worship God seven days a week. But it is too easy to rely on our work rather than Gods that is why he gave us a whole 24 hours to forget our work and let Him work. This also reminds us that we need Him the other six days as well. But now that Jesus has risen we are to trust God not just to provide for our daily break but also for our spiritual bread. When sundown comes on Friday we are reminded that salvation is of grace, that works can never enter into the reason for our salvation, that God is there for us and not against us, that we are to always trust in the finished work of Christ. Think about it! Fifty two times a year a powerful reminder of grace comes into our lives. Look how Christ gives new and added meaning to the Sabbath. The realty has come. We no longer focus on the shadows, the thousand and one things we think we must not do or do on the Sabbath but instead think of Jesus. The author of Hebrews punches this point home by referring to the Sabbath rest as a symbol of the rest in Jesus: There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:911). God rested from His work. We are to Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /28 28
rest from our work. We are to enter into Gods restthe finished work of Jesus. We rest every day in the assurance of our salvation and every seventh day, in case we are tempted to forget, God gives us a powerful reminder of what grace means and His awesome love in saving us.
How shall we keep the Sabbath?

Jesus at the center will do more to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath than any number of rules ever could.
John Brunt John Brunt, Ph.D., is vice president for academic administration at Walla Walla College, Walla Walla, Washington. For where shall the likeness of God be found? There is no quality that space has in common with the essence of God. There is not enough freedom on the top of the mountain; there is not enough glory in the silence of the sea. Yet the likeness of God can be found in time, which is eternity in disguise. The art of keeping the seventh day is the art of painting on the canvas of time the mysterious grandeur of the climax of creation: as He sanctified the seventh day, so shall we.1 With these magnificent words the late Jewish philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel describes the beauty of holy time, time sanctified by God and celebrated with Him. Most of the Christian world today has lost all sense of holy time. The whole idea of keeping a period of time for special relationship with God apart from the usual activities of the week has all but disappeared. This was hardly true in an earlier day. In the United States, many Christian churches observed Sunday with strict rules. Most Christians today, however, would look at Puritan rules as hopelessly obsolete, if not simply humorous. Even in Sabbatarian Christian communities, such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, there is a developing pluralism with regard to how the Sabbath is kept. When I was a child in the 1940s, rules for Sabbath keeping were clear. Running and playing were all right, but no balls of any kind were to be used in our play, and all playground Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /29 29
equipment was out. Hikes were all right, but swimming was wrong, although wading up to the knees was generally acceptable. It was amazing how common these rules were, even though they were never written down. Today, however, there is much less agreement on a generally accepted body of rules. Even in Sabbatarian Christian communities, the idea of sacred time may be having a hard time. Pluralism and diversity in keeping the Sabbath warn of the danger of losing the sanctity of Sabbath, unique time spent with God all together. If Heschel is right and God did sanctify time as a memorial of Creation, what are we to do? How do we preserve the sanctity of Sabbath in a secular world? Rules are not enough It would be tempting to argue for a new emphasis on rules for governing Sabbath observance. As tempting as it might be, however, our argument here is that we cannot accomplish the task of preserving the sanctity of Sabbath by simply getting out the old rulebook and reestablishing these rules. Before we see why this is not the answer, however, let=s first of all admit that it would be a tempting option, for there are advantages to rules. First, rules provide security. In a complex world, it is often confusing to know how best to keep the Sabbath. Rules give us a benchmark to let us know how we=re doing. They ease the confusion and make us more comfortable. Second, rules help us preserve institutions and activities such as Sabbath. There can be no sense of holy time if there is no difference between Sabbath and the other days of the week. Rules help define that difference so that we can take care to preserve the Sabbath=s unique character. Finally, rules help keep us together in unity. When there are no rules and everyone simply does what is right in their own eyes, it is difficult for a community to keep Sabbath
together. And yet at the heart of the Sabbath is the idea of community, people of God joining together in worship and fellowship. Can two walk together if they don=t agree? How can you have community observance of Sabbath unless there are generally accepted rules to preserve the community? With all of these advantages, the old rulebook looks pretty good. But there is one reason we must reject this approach as our basic methodology for preserving the sanctity of Sabbath in a secular world. That one reason is Jesus. You see, when Jesus was on earth, He took on the way of rules with regard to the Sabbath. Let=s look at what He did. Jesus' encounter with Pharisees Notice, first, Jesus= encounter with the Pharisees, a party of Jewish leaders, concerning His disciples= activity on Sabbath. AOne Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, >Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?= He answered, >Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.= Then he said to them, >The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath=@ (Mark 2:23-28, NIV). The story is a marvel in its simplicity. First, there is the plain statement of Jesus and the disciples= activity. As they walked through the grainfields, the disciples plucked heads of grain and presumably ate. But the Pharisees objected: AWhy are the disciples doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?@ Notice that the basic issue about Sabbath here involves the rules. Jesus responds with a story from their own tradition. Hadn=t they heard that when Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /30 30
David was hungry he and those with him ate the shewbread from the sanctuary, food that was lawful only for priests? Then Jesus concludes with a saying about the Sabbath. AThe Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.@ Gospel scholars call this kind of story that ends with a saying of Jesus a pronouncement story. The main feature of such stories is a saying of Jesus that serves as a punch line at the end of a controversy. In a sense, the whole story leads up to the punch line. It is generally believed that the church was interested in pronouncement stories and preserved them during the time Jesus= sayings and stories about Him were passed on orally because these pronouncements were especially helpful for the church in its conflicts. These sayings of Jesus helped the church resolve difficult problems and gave it ammunition as it sought to defend its actions against its accusers. There can be little doubt that this story fits this general situation. Undoubtedly the church saw itself in the situation of the disciples, accused by opponents and vindicated by what Jesus said. The church, in essence, became the disciples who were with Jesus. Understood this way, we find nothing in the story that would hint at either a change in the day for keeping Sabbath or an end to Sabbath keeping in the early church. The dispute between the disciples and the Pharisees had to do with how the Sabbath was to be kept. The issue was not which day to keep or whether Sabbath should be kept; rather, it was a question of Sabbath observance. The very fact that it was Jesus= disciples who were accused probably made this story especially useful for the church. History repeated itself. The disciples, those who followed Him, were again being accused of improper Sabbath observance and found their vindication in this story.
Mishnah and Sabbath observance Jesus= saying seems to reject a whole way of approaching Sabbath observance, the way of rule-making. It is impossible for us to know exactly what the Pharisees taught about the Sabbath, since the oral traditions that they passed along were not written down until about the year A.D. 200, in a work called the Mishnah. There is no doubt that the Mishnah records oral traditions that date back much further. We know that the first-century Pharisaic rabbis accepted a whole body of oral traditions that built a fence around the law by making additional rules to avoid even coming close to breaking the law. But we can never be sure which of the specific rules recorded in the Mishnah actually dated from the first century. We can, however, get a general idea of the shape of the oral tradition that they would have held, and that Jesus seems to reject. For the Pharisees, proper Sabbath observance was spelled out via a system of detailed prohibitions. This does not mean that there was any lack of sincere appreciation for the Sabbath. The prohibitions were to preserve its sanctity. The Mishnah, for instance, classifies 39 classes of unlawful work on Sabbath.2 In our incident Jesus would have broken at least two of these by threshing and winnowing. The degree to which rules were created for almost every conceivable situation can be seen when the Mishnah spells out rules for how to observe Sabbath, even in the specific situation in which one=s home is burning down.3 Such a case presented at least a couple problems for those who adopted the rabbinic rules. Putting out a fire was illegal on Sabbath, as was carrying things from one=s home. However, certain exceptions were made if one=s house was burning down. One could carry food out of the house, but only enough to get each member of the family through the rest of the Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /31 31
Sabbath. One could not carry clothes out of the house, but one could wear as many clothes as one could get on. The rabbis differed as to whether or not one could go back into the burning building and put on a second array of clothes. Putting the fire out was not allowed, but if a Gentile volunteered, a good Jew could allow the Gentile to put it out. One could not, however, ask a Gentile for such a favor. All this may sound humorous, but we must understand the positive appreciation of the Sabbath that motivated these rules. By observing the rules, the pious follower of God would be sure that he or she did not even come close to breaking the Sabbath. The problem in rule-making It would be a mistake to think that the rabbis were unreasonable with their rules. They frequently put human need above the letter of the law. Healing, for instance, was permitted on Sabbath if life was actually in danger. If this approach to rules was motivated by a positive regard for the Sabbath and its sanctity and made reasonable exceptions, what was so wrong with it? One problem was the continual need for increasing rules. Every rule has an exception, and if you really want to spell things out, then you need to have rules to cover the exceptions, and rules to cover the exceptions to the exceptions, and finally, the exceptions to the exceptions to the exceptions. This methodology leads to a continually increasing need for more and more rules. Second, this method led to an inevitable spirit of criticism. Once the rules are established, it is very difficult not to be judgmental toward those who break them. Here in our story, it seems that the religious leaders of the day were actually watching to see if Jesus and His disciples would break the rules. Although this incident would be sufficient to see that Jesus rejected the whole
system of rule making, the next incident, which follows in the first part of Mark 3, makes this even more clear. AAnother time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, >Stand up in front of everyone.= Then Jesus asked them, >Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?= But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, >Stretch out your hand.= He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus@ (Mark 3:1-6, NIV). The Jesus alternative Notice that Jesus takes the initiative to heal this man. He does it in a very open way. He brings him to the center of the synagogue. Nothing secret here. And yet Jesus picks a case that is as far from the rules for Sabbath healing as possible. The rules permitted healing if life was in danger, but this man=s life was hardly in danger from his withered hand. He had the withered hand for years, probably. In this healing story, as well as the incident in the grainfield, Jesus seems purposefully to take on the rules and offer an alternative. What, then, is the alternative that Jesus offers? Jesus takes rules away from the center of the Sabbath, and instead places Himself and human beings in that center. Jesus= way gives priority to the value of people. Human needs take priority over literalistic observance of rules. According to Jesus= way, the whole purpose of the law is to meet human needs and to enhance human life. For Him the whole law exists for human beings, and this is seen particularly in the Sabbath. The Sabbath is Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /32 32
made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath. This is related to Jesus lordship of the Sabbath. For many years, scholars have debated whether the last part of Jesus saying, The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. means that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, or should be taken in a more general sense. In Aramaic son of man simply means human being. Is Jesus saying that humans are Lord of the Sabbath? This would seem to fit with the first part of the saying recorded in Mark, and yet it seems clear from the Gospel that ASon of Man@ carries more weight than that. It is Jesus who is Lord of the Sabbath, but it is also clear that as Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus offers the Sabbath to humans for their benefit, and offers them freedom in Sabbath observance. At the heart of the Sabbath is Jesus in relationship with human beings. What does this mean for our Sabbath observance? Three clear implications come to mind. 1. There must be commitment to Jesus. Sabbath keeping cannot merely be a matter of rules, because such an approach would detract from the real center of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ. How we observe the Sabbath must flow from our relationship with Jesus. Sabbath is an invitation to spend special time with Him and receive the healing that He took the initiative to offer on Sabbath. In this sense it is like a special occasion, those special occasions we celebrate in life such as birthdays and wedding anniversaries. When a husband and wife want to be together on their wedding anniversary, it is because there is a unique relationship they share. The day of their marriage has meaning because of that relationship. We would wonder about a husband who had a list of rules in hand, saying, ANext week is my anniversary, and I=ve got to keep all these rules. I=ve got to buy my wife a card, I=ve got to buy my wife flowers, I=ve got to make reservations at a restaurant, I=ve got to take her out to eat.@ On the other
hand, these kinds of activities are what make anniversaries special. They come, however, not from a rule-book, but from the heart. They grow out of a relationship. Sabbath-keeping, too, grows out of a relationship with God, who sanctified the Sabbath. 2. Proper Sabbath observance involves the mind. We must use our reason and think. God has not provided us with a detailed list of rules. The Sabbath commandment, in Exodus 20:8-11, does provide some basic guidelines, such as not working on Sabbath, for example. But God calls on us to reflect on our relationship with Him and think about what Sabbath means. This is part of what it means to love God with our whole heart and soul and mind. Although it is easier to follow rules than to have to reason on the basis of a relationship, God knew that the latter would lead to spiritual growth. 3. Jesus way means freedom. If we must each reason from our relationship with God, we will not all come to the same conclusions. There must be a tolerance for diversity in Sabbath observance. This hardly means that anything goes. A community must have certain boundaries. But these boundaries should be based on the explicit statements of the commandment. Within that general guideline there is room for a good bit of diversity. Living with diversity will help us grow in grace and learn to love each other. All of this does point out a certain irony. On the one hand, we are always tempted to think that without rules we will forget the Sabbath, but on the other hand, the Sabbath itself reminds us that the way of rules will not do, for Jesus uses the Sabbath to attack the whole system of rules that existed in His day. This does not mean that laxity and a lack of concern for Sabbath observance should prevail. It does mean that the community that follows Jesus=s way will be a certain kind ofcommunity. It will be a community that thinks about the meaning of the Sabbath. It will Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /33 33
be a community that reflects together on how the Sabbath can best be kept in a way that both contributes to its meaning and benefits the people to whom God has given it as a gift. Thus, people in the community will plan together to find positive ways of actualizing the meaning of Sabbath in their lives. It is this thinking, reflection, and planning on the part of the members of the community, always with a focus on the scriptural materials on the Sabbath, that will keep the community serious about the sanctity of the Sabbath. And if we truly keep Jesus at the center, this will do more to preserve the true sanctity of the Sabbath than any number of rules ever could. Portions of this article are adapted from John Brunts Jesus Way With the Sabbath, in Festival of the Sabbath, edited by Roy Branson, copyright 1985, Takoma Park, Maryland, Association of Adventist Forums. ------------1.
A b r a h a m J o shu a He s c he l, The E a r t h I s t h e L o r d's a n d T h e S a b b a t h (N e w Y o r k: H a r p e r a n d R o w, 1 9 5 1 ), p . 1 6 . S a b b a t h 7 :2, i n H e r b e r t D a n b y, t r a n s ., T h e M i s h n a h ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n P r e s s , 1 9 3 3 ), p . 1 0 6 .

3. 2.
S a b b a t h 1 6:1 - 6, i n D a n b y , p. 1 1

Is The Seventh-Day Sabbath Still Important If You Believe in Grace?

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Is The Seventh-Day Sabbath Still Important If You Believe in Grace?

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Is the seventh-day Sabbath still important if you believe in grace?

J. David Newman, D. Min.

Revised December 3, 1999 Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /1

Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /2

All references to Scripture are from the New International Version.

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Sabbath and grace (revised 12/3/1999) /8

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Ibid., pp. 202-202.

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Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp. 109-110.

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How shall we keep the Sabbath?

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How shall we keep the Sabbath?

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