The Sabbath
Many people have misconceptions about the observance of the Sabbath. Some, even some ministers, incorrectly call Sunday the Sabbath for Christians. Sunday is called in Scripture, the Lord’s Day, and not the Sabbath.
Most of these same people would fall very short if they were really observing the Sabbath as commanded the Jews. The following are some Scriptures which spell out how the Sabbath is to be observed, and by whom. The italics are mine, added for emphasis on what I have stated above.
Exodus 20
8. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 31
12. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
13. Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
14. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exodus 35
1. And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them.
2. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.
As you can see from these Scriptures, the observance of the Sabbath is for the Jews only. We as Gentile Christians are not commanded or expected to observe it. Certainly even those who profess to keep Sunday as the Sabbath fall very short.
If we were following the Sabbath we would not cook meals on Sunday. Certainly sports and other earthly pursuits would not be done. We would not watch television or read the newspaper. But most of all, we would not work. This means that under no circumstances would we labor either at home or at our jobs. In the days of Moses a person could be put to death for working on the Sabbath.
According to the above Scriptures, those who teach that we should observe the seventh day are wrong. As I stated before the Sabbath is for the Jews, and only the Jews. This is not what I think, or some organization thinks, this is Scripture. Written by Moses, as commanded by God.
Colossians 2
6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7. Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving....
14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: 17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Acts 10
1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2. A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
3. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6. He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. 7. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; 8. And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
9. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10. And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11. And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12. Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
Those who would teach Sabbath keeping also teach other things, which directly contradict the Bible. As you can see in verses 11 through 16 of the tenth chapter of Acts. The Lord commanded Peter that he should eat any creature created by God. in verse fifteen we read “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” We as Christians are not bound by the Old Testament Jewish dietary laws.
This why Christ came into the world, to fulfill the Law not destroy it. His death on the Cross was the atonement for our sins. When you accept Christ the Holy Spirit will guide you in the way that you should go. He will convict you when you do wrong, all you have to do is ask His forgiveness.
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