IS THE SABBATH BINDING TODAY? #1

By David J. Riggs

                         
Intro.
   A. Of the ten commandments given in Ex. 20:1-17 and Deut. 5:1-21,
      there is one that is not re-instated in the New Testament.
      1. There is no command in the New Testament which binds the
         Sabbath on Christians.
   B. There are a number of religious bodies around the world that
      insist that the Sabbath as the day of Worship.
      1. In this lesson, we will examine some of the arguments made
         by those who keep the Sabbath.
      2. In our next lesson, we will seek to ascertain from the New
         Testament which day is binding on Christians.

I. SOME CLAIM THAT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK WAS INSTITUTED BY THE   
   ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND NOT THE NEW TESTAMENT OF CHRIST.
   A. "The first public measure enforcing Sunday observance was the
      Law enacted by Constantine, approximately 321 A.D."
   B. "It was in behalf of the Sunday that the Papacy first asserted 
      its arrogant claims; and its first resort to the power of the  
      state was to compel the observance of Sunday as the Lord's     
      Day."
   C. "When the Sabbath was changed by papal power, the seal was
      taken from the Law."
      1. All the above references can be found in The Great
         Controversy, by Ellen G. White.
   D. It is thus asserted that the transformation from the Sabbath
      (Saturday) to the first day of the week (Sunday) was due to the
      Roman Catholic Papacy and not according to the Gospel of Jesus
      Christ.
      1. This is a position the Catholic Church readily accepts
         because it boasts its claim of authority.
      2. In the Catholic book, The Faith of Our Fathers, by James
         Cardinal Gibbons, on pages 72-73, Mr. Gibbons says, "Now
         the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a
         Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin
         all the duties which he is obliged to practice."
         a. He gives the example of the Lord's day as one of those
            examples. He continued, "But you may read the Bible
            from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a
            single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The
            Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday,
            a day which we never sanctify."
         b. The N.T. Scriptures enforce "the first day of the week"
            as the day of worship. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2
            (1) This should settle the matter once and for all.

II. THEY CLAIM THAT GOD'S SANCTIFICATION OF THE SEVENTH DAY MAKES IT 
   BINDING FOR ALL MEN.
   A. Those who observe the Sabbath claim that God's sanctification  
      of the seventh day in Gen. 2:1-3 is a command for all men of   
      all ages to observe the Sabbath.
      1. The problem with this key passage is that there is no
         command to observe the Sabbath.
      2. The command regarding the Sabbath is first found in Exodus
         16:23-30 and given regarding the manna.
         a. It should be noted that this occurrence was given as a
            test to see if they would walk in the commandments of
            the Lord. Ex. 16:4
      3. Note that the conditions of the Sabbath law were not binding
         as of yet, because some went out to gather on the seventh
         day and were not punished. Ex. 16:27-28
      4. Later, after the Sabbath law was given, a man who gathered
         sticks on the Sabbath was stoned to death. Num. 15:32-36
   
III. IT IS ARGUED FROM THE PASSAGE FOUND IN EXODUS 5:5 THAT THE      
   ISRAELITES WHERE OBSERVING THE SABBATH BEFORE THE EXODUS.
   A. Once again, this is only an assumption. The word Sabbath is not
      found in this verse.
      1. Neh. 9:13-14 - Why would God need to make known to
         them something they already knew and practiced?
      2. Clearly, they did not know anything about Sabbath keeping
         until the Law was given on Mount Sinai.

IV. IT IS ARGUED FROM EXODUS 20:8 THAT THE WORD "REMEMBER" SHOWS THEY
   ALREADY KNEW ABOUT IT; THEREFORE, IT'S BINDING ON ALL MEN TODAY.
   A. The command to "remember the Sabbath day" means from that
      day forward they were to remember it.
      1. God commanded the children of Israel to "remember" the
         Passover feast even though this was the first time they had
         heard of it. Ex. 13:3
      2. From that day forward, they were to remember it.
   B. The obvious fact that is overlooked here is the ones to whom   
      the Sabbath command is directed.
      1. Exodus 20:2; Deut. 5:2-3 - Clearly, it is directed to the
         Israelites.
      2. The Old Testament covenant was made with Israel. Exodus
         34:27; Mal. 4:4
      3. The New covenant is different from the one made with
         Israel. Heb. 8:6-9
   C. It is true that God made a comparison to His resting after
      creation. Ex. 20:10-11
      1. However, the parallel account in Deuteronomy adds some
         very important information. Deut. 5:12-15
         a. Please notice: "...Therefore the Lord your God
            commanded you to keep the Sabbath day." Deut. 5:15
         b. They were once slaves in Egypt without a day of rest.
         c. They were delivered by the mighty hand of God, and the
            Sabbath was given to remind them of this deliverance.
   D. Also, the Sabbath was given as a "sign" between God and Israel
      throughout their generations. Ex. 31:12-17; Ezek. 20:12
   E. Some of those who observe the Sabbath want to make an
      argument on the words "perpetual" and "forever."
      1. However, this is not the same expression "forever and ever"
         that is found in other passages, but it means "age lasting, 
         or until an indefinite period of time."
      2. The words "perpetual" and "for ever" are from the same
         word in the original.
      3. Jehovah Witnesses use this same word, as found in Eccl. 1:4,
         to try to prove that the earth is to abide forever.
      4. Notice how the word "for ever" is used in the following:
         a. Ex. 12:14 - "Keep it (Passover) a feast by an ordinance
            for ever"
         b. Ex. 29:9 - "Priest's office shall be theirs for a        
            perpetual statute"
         c. Lev. 24:9 - "Offerings...made by fire by a perpetual
            statute"
         d. Num. 18:19 - "It is a covenant of salt for ever"
         e. 2 Kings 21:7 - "In this house...will put my name for
            ever"
         f. 2 Chron. 2:4 - "He hath commanded his covenant for
            ever"
         g. 2 Chron. 33:4 - "In Jerusalem shall my name be for
            ever" 
         h. Jonah 2:6 - "Earth with her bars was about me for ever"

V. WHEN SHOWN THAT THE LAW OF MOSES IS NO LONGER BINDING, THOSE WHO  
   KEEP THE SABBATH ARGUE: "THE 'CEREMONIAL LAW' WAS TAKEN AWAY BUT  
   NOT THE 'MORAL LAW.'"
   A. Thus, according to them, the ceremonial law, which included    
      such things as animal sacrifice and the burning of incense, was
      done away; but, the moral law, which included the ten          
      commandments, was not done away.
   B. First, they cannot prove that there was any such distinction in
      the law.
      1. Secondly, keeping the Sabbath appears to be a ceremonial
         law rather than a moral law.
      2. Thirdly, please consider the following chart. (See chart
         below)

Concl.
   A. We have shown that those who keep the Sabbath make weak
      arguments in order to establish their practice.
   B. Remember, in all the instructions to Christians there is not a
      single command for a Christian to keep the Sabbath; instead, we
      are instructed to not keep it. Col. 2:16
   C. While the same sort of restrictions concerning the Sabbath are 
      not repeated, e.g., no cooking, no work, etc., yet, there      
      should be a certain reverence regarding the Lord's day.
      1. Christians are forbidden to forsake the assembling of
         themselves together. Heb. 10:25.
      2. We need to take care so that our work, rest, and recreation
         do not interfere with our worship on the Lord's Day.
   D. The Sabbath is gone forever, but there still remains a God to  
      be praised and worshiped, and we need to make time in our busy
      schedules to faithfully worship Him on the Lord's day.

Chart:
They affirm: "The 'ceremonial law' was taken away but not the 'moral
law.'"

The ten commandments were called the covenant. Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13
God made His covenant with them when He brought them out of Egypt. 1
Kings 8:9
The covenant which was made when they came out of Egypt was taken
away. Heb. 8:6-13

That which was written and engraved in stones is part of that which
passed away. 2 Cor. 3:6-11

The ten commandments were written with the finger of God. Ex. 31:18;
Deut. 9:10
The handwriting of ordinance was taken away. Col. 2:14
This, most definitely, includes the Sabbath as shown in Col. 2:16.