Alpha Ωmega Chicago Campus Ministry

On the surface, Sabbatarianism may seem like a simple difference of the day of worship. But the ideals behind Sabbath-keeping are ones that are of a heretical standpoint and from the misconstruing of scripture. Not that worshiping on the Sabbath is wrong, but the Sabbath-keepers impose the idea the Sabbath as well as certain laws, mainly the Ten Commandments, are still binding on Christians today. However, there are a multitude of reasons as to why the laws that are considered binding with this group are not in action today.

1. 1. The Ten Commandments are moral commands for all times and for all covenants of God with men.

The truth is that only nine of the Ten Commandments are restated in the New Testament along with the principle behind the Sabbath. The command to keep the Sabbath is found nowhere within the New Testament. Romans 7:4-7 indentifies the law we died to as people of Christ. In that identification, there is a mentioning of the “law of coveting”, which is actually part of the Ten Commandments. Hebrews 8:7-12 mentions us being under a new covenant. 1 Kings 8:9, 21 demonstrate that the Old Covenant included the Ten Commandments. Along with this, 2 Corinthians 3 mentions the Old Covenant being done away with, including the part written in stone. Basically, the Old Covenant is in fact old because of the new and improved covenant given by Christ. The whole point of that distinction between Old and New is that the new covenant ensures salvation for all whom are with Christ. No one whom is a Christian identifies with the Old Covenant at all. This is not to say that without the Ten Commandments we can steal, kill and do other things. After all if you go to another country, does that mean everything is legal? The New Covenant restates only nine of the Ten Commandments because Jesus fulfills the Old Covenant and has a standard under him as well. As a person of Christ, our standard comes from him and not the Ten Commandments.

1. 2. Ceremonial Law = Nailed to the Cross             Ten Commandment Moral Law = Still Active

While there are laws related to ceremonies and morality, there is no biblical distinction between them. In fact, the phrases “ceremonial law” and “moral law” are found nowhere within scripture. Also, this distinction insinuates that there is nothing moral within the laws related to ceremonies and nothing ceremonial within the laws related to morals. Within scripture, God gave the law referred to as the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6) and Moses gave the law referred to as the Law of God (2 Ch 34:14). Along with this, the “ceremonial parts” are distinguished as the Law of the Lord (2 Ch 31:3) and the “moral parts” are distinguished as the Law of Moses (Mark 7:10). These distinctions along with the interchanging of the “Law of Moses” and “Law of God” in Nehemiah 9:13-14 and Luke 2:22-23 demonstrate that the laws crucified at the cross include all the laws. Moreover, the distinction leaves out some crucial points. Because laws against homosexuality, drunkenness, pride and pre-marital sex are not found within the “Ten Commandment Moral Law”, these laws are ceremonial and are nailed to the Cross. Even if these laws were considered moral, there is still the issue of the penalties for breaking them, like death for homosexuals (Lev 20:13). Basically, the distinction between ceremonial law and the Ten Commandment moral law is non-existent and the entire Old Covenant has been crucified with Christ. Even Jews never made this kind of distinction and they are strictly under the Old Covenant. To say that the crucifixion only abolished part of the law is to limit the power of it and makes salvation conditional and grace non-existent. There is no way one could say that we have grace while being bound to law. Christ died in order for us not be subjected to performance. Everyone who has Christ has salvation (Mark 16:16). The Old Covenant has more to do with performance and less of faith.

1. 3. Sabbath observance was to be a perpetual, everlasting covenant based on Exodus 31:14-17.

There are many inconsistencies even with just reading this scripture. The passage in the opening demonstrates that the Sabbath was given to the new nation only and was a sign between the nation and God. The words “perpetual” and “everlasting” are qualified by the phrase “throughout your generations”. The reference is to the generations of the Jewish covenant, which ended at the Cross. Had the Sabbath been for all generations, the passage simply would have said so. Along with this, the idea that the Sabbath came at the creation of the world before Mount Sinai is false. Nehemiah 9:13-14 and Ezekiel 20:12, 20 clarify that the Sabbath was not given until Mount Sinai. In fact, nowhere is the word Sabbath even found until Exodus 16:23. Had the Sabbath been given at the beginning of time, there would be a question as to why God gave it to Adam and Eve. God only gave Adam two rules (Gen 2:15-16) and toiling work did not exist until after the fall of man (Gen 3:17-19). In addition, if the Sabbath is accepted as perpetual for all, then the other things that are mention as perpetual are as well (Ex 29:9; 30:8, 21; Lv 23:41; Nu 10:8). Overall, the Sabbath was meant for the Jews only up until the death of Christ. The Sabbath-keepers claim of this is simply out of poor reading of scripture. Again, our new covenant with Christ is what is perpetual and everlasting until his return.

1. 4. The 7^TH day of the week is the day of emphasis for the church.

While Jesus lived under the law and the early preacher went to the synagogues to preach on the Sabbath, the first day is the emphasis for the Christian church. Jesus rose on the first day (Mk 16:1-9) and appeared to his disciples on two different first days (Jn 20:19, 26). The Christian church was established on the first day at Pentecost (Acts 2). Also, the early disciples observed the first day as the day of assembly (Acts 20:7; 1 Co 16:2). While assemblies aren’t necessarily processes of worship, they eventually lead to the first day being the emphasis of worship. For these reasons, the first day has always been synonymous with the Christian church. Along with this there is no evidence within legitimate church history that shows that the Sabbath was ever emphasized with the Christian church. The Sabbath is only synonymous with those whom are under the Old Covenant.

1. 5. The Old Testament food laws promote good health in their design and should be kept.

While the Old Testament food laws were partly for health reasons, these are not reasons to prove that they are still upheld today. In Mark 7: 17-19, Jesus declared all foods clean because the desire to sin does not come from them. 1 Timothy 4:1-5 states that food is created from God to be received in thanksgiving and should not be rejected. In addition, God can accept the man who chooses to eat everything, which should also be the same for other disciples (Romans 14:3). Along with this, food and drink have nothing to do with one’s spirituality and should not be a basis for judgment (Col 2:16-23). Overall, the food laws are not upheld either. Should one make the personal choice to abstain from certain food or not, there is no sin in whatever is decided. This claim should do nothing for Sabbath-keepers anyway because the food laws are contained in “ceremonial law”. The preoccupation with food laws is only a mere distraction (1 Tim 4:1-4) and does not nullify our salvation with Jesus in anyway.

On the whole, neither the Sabbath nor the Ten Commandments are upheld today because they have been nailed the Cross. But even with the refutation of the principles of the Sabbath-keepers, there are other concerns.

• Jesus broke the Sabbath and Sabbath-Keepers are possibly breaking it as well.

While most Sabbath-keeper attempt to use Christ as an example to keep the Sabbath, it is not an example that holds. One fact within scripture states that Christ himself broke the Sabbath in John 5:8-18. Even if Jesus did not break the Sabbath, there are still other concerns. Jesus kept the entire laws, both “ceremonial” and “moral”; He calls for submission to the law (Mt 23:2-3), made a call for an animal sacrifice (Mk 1:44; Lk 5:14) and kept the Jewish feast days (Mt 26:17-18). To be clear, Jesus possibly made these callings because he and the other disciples lived in a land under the Old Covenant. In realization of this, the fact that Christ broke the Sabbath definitely hurt the claim Sabbath-keepers make of the Sabbath’s holiness. If Jesus never broke the Sabbath, then Sabbath-keepers would have to acknowledge that he kept the entire Old Covenant as well. Along with this, keeping the Sabbath holy meant more than what the Sabbath-keepers realize. Two extra lambs were offered besides the usual sacrifice on the Sabbath (Nu 28:9-10). Neither man nor animal was to do any work (Ex 20:10) and any workers were put to death (Ex 35:2-3). Along with these restrictions are regulations of the Sabbath within the Old Covenant:

Do Not Work	Exodus 31:15	No work on Saturday
Kindle no fire or heat	Exodus 35:3	No fire or heat can be used
No gathering sticks for fuel	Numbers 15:32	No refueling cars or anything else
Buy no goods	Neh 10:31; 13:15-22; 28:9-10	No purchases or eating out
Stay in one place	Ex 16:29; Act 1:12	No traveling at all unless it is a Sabbath journey (>1 mile)
Carry no burdens	Jeremiah 17:21-22	No gardening or maintenance of anything
Death to Violators	Ex 31:12; Num 15:32-36	Stoning of violators
Strangers have to Keep It	Ex 20:10	Any guest has to keep it as well
Animal Sacrifices specific only to the weekly Sabbath	Lev 24:5-9; Num 29:9-10

In short, the Sabbath had less to do with resting with God and more of a strict observance of him. To say that the law is still standing means that all these regulations are standing as well too. The question for Sabbath-keepers is why are these regulations upheld today? This proves the inconsistency with the principles of the Sabbath-keepers through biases for the Sabbath. Besides, it is not logical to use Jesus as an example of keeping the Sabbath before he died to it anyway. A better example would have included Christ and his followers keeping the Sabbath after his death and resurrection.

• The reason Jesus said “pray that your flight may not be on a Sabbath.” In Matthew 26:17-18.

Many Sabbath-keepers take this passage as an indication that Christ wanted his followers to be sure they were able to worship on the Sabbath before destruction came. However, the meaning behind that reason is illogical. This reason seems to insinuate that the worshipping on the Sabbath is more important than fleeing from death. This can in no way be true seeing that you could save a life on a Sabbath (Luke 6:1-9). Had Jesus not wanted his disciples to break the Sabbath, he could have said “pray that you do not break the Sabbath.” It is likely Jesus told his disciples to pray about this because it would have hindered there escape. Jerusalem kept the entire law and kept the city gates closed on the Sabbath (Neh 13:15-22). If their escape had been on a Sabbath, the disciples would have been arrested and unable to flee from destruction. Along with this the scripture, points out things that would be a hindrance to their escape: pregnant/nursing mothers, winter weather, and the Sabbath. Overall, this scripture does not help the Sabbath keepers and shows a feeble attempt to find enforcement of Sabbath in the New Testament. Even the dialogue of this statement from Jesus says that is not as important as the Sabbath-keepers make it out to be. While worship to God is essential, it is never to a point where you have to risk your life for it. Clearly that is what Christ meant in his statement in Mark 2:27.

• The commands of Jesus exceed the Ten Commandments

The Sabbath-Keepers assume that since Christ restated some of the Commandments, His command and the Ten Commandments are the same. However, this is not seen within the scriptures. In John 15:10-12, Jesus distinguishes the law as the commands of his father and mentions a command of his own. 1 Corinthians 14:37 states that a command of the Lord is to acknowledge the word written as it is from him. The command for the wives within verse 34 in 1 Corinthians is a command not within the Ten Commandments. The great commission of Christ is a command making a call for obedience to everything he taught, including the Lord’s Supper and baptism (Mt 28:20). Jesus gives a new command in John 13:34 for us to love one another as Christ loved us. The scriptures, 2 John 1:5 and 1 John 1:1, refer to the beginning as the start of this command and not to the beginning of time. 2 Peter 3:2 makes a distinction of Christ’s commands. Along with this, Matthew 22:36-40 includes the two greatest commandments stated by Christ, neither of which is within Ten Commandments. Along with this Jesus, never restates the fourth commandment at any point. Had Jesus commanded the Ten Commandments, He could have said to do so at any time. The distinction between the Old Covenant and Christ’s commands prove that Jesus calls us to a higher standard than the law ever could. Moreover, no one could hold to the standard of Christ in vain like they could with the Old Covenant.

• Why the Sabbath is not a moral law

The reason why the Sabbath command is not restated is because the many scriptures indicating that the day was not as holy as the Sabbath-keepers indicate. Priests were allowed to profane, or violate, the Sabbath (Mt 12:5; Nu 28:9-10; Js 6:15; 1 Ki 20:29; Jn 5:10). Jesus broke the Sabbath without sinning (John 5:18). There is no charge of the Gentiles breaking the Sabbath despite them breaking the other nine commandments. In addition, God grows weary of the people keeping the law (Isa 1:13-14). There is no instance where God tires of us doing moral things like purity, humility or love. Overall, these scriptures indicate that the Sabbath is not anymore special that the other shadows of the Old Covenant. In fact, most should instantly recognize that the Sabbath has nothing to do with morality. Worship in itself does not make one righteous. Had that been the case, righteousness could be determined by whom worships the most often. While the Sabbath-keepers may find the Sabbath still enforced, the question is why is it that a moral law has so many conditions for following and breaking it? The laws that are considered moral usually have no grey areas or conditions to which they are followed or broken.

• Why did Peter abstain from unclean meat in Acts 10:9-28?

When reading the passage in its context and with understanding, it is clear that the Sabbath-keepers use the scripture out of context. The passage indirectly states that the distinction between clean and unclean food is not upheld because God making both common. God is directly giving Peter a command to eat. However, Peter takes this meaning further and states that people, whether Jew or Gentile, are open to the privileges of Christ. While Sabbath-Keepers use part of this scripture in an attempted proof of the food laws being active, the scripture reinforces that the law has passed and determines that Christ was given to all. Even if he had come to the conclusion to abstain from unclean meat, Peter’s decision does not override Christ’s authority. Again, the laws regarding food have nothing to do with righteousness and have no place because of Christ’s fulfillment.

On the whole, the principles regarding Sabbath-keeping are ones that skewer the word and how Christians receive salvation. Our authority is given to Christ only and to what he determines. While the Old Covenant, and the Bible as whole, can be used to rebuke, teach and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16), the majority of the laws within it are shadows of Christ and are not active today. Again, the Sabbath in itself is not the wrong day of worship, nor any day we choose to give to God (Rom 14:5-6). However, the Sabbath-keepers wrongfully attempt to go back under the law (Gal 4:9-10) and pass judgment for those who do not (Col 2:16-17). Going under the principles of the Sabbath-keepers inevitably force one to base their salvation on performance. Performance-based salvation makes Christ obsolete and brings conceit regard our spiritual standpoint. No one can rationally say that we have grace while being subjected to law in any aspect. The salvation of a person of Christ is not found in Sabbath-Keeping but if they give authority to and has love for Jesus. Christ promises salvation to those who believe n him and are baptized under him. Furthermore, the Sabbath-keeping doctrine is definitely one that is irrational and deceitful because of the twisting of scripture. Anyone who has a clear understanding of scripture would not come to the same conclusion as the Sabbath-keepers. Overall, Sabbath-keeping is a doctrine that should be avoided and ironically makes understanding scripture more important.

Questions for Sabbath-keepers

1. If Ellen G. White revealed that the Sabbath was to be upheld, what did this mean for people who died before this revelation?
2. Why is it that the Sabbath-keepers don’t stone those whom break the Sabbath?
3. How is it that the Sabbath-keepers don’t realize how they break the Sabbath?
4. Why isn’t there any discussion found in history about the changing of the day of worship if it was originally the Sabbath?
5. If the Sabbath is meant for all nations to keep from sunset to sunset, what does this mean for people in the Arctic and Antarctic circles? These areas have points where the sun does not rise or set from 24 hours to a month. Does this mean the Sabbath lasting from a modern day up to a month?
6. If part of the law is ceremonial because Moses wrote it, then why do we credit the Bible as the word of God when it is written by men?

For more refutations of Sabbath-Keeping and other false doctrines

www.bible.ca

http://evidenceforchristianity.org/