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.