EJW the Sabbath is a relationship

[CynamonKis]

I came across 2 informative articles written by Non-Adventists, each expressing opposing views & Biblical support on whether Sabbath-keeping is binding on Christians today. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to post the links to the articles here.

One article is by a former Seventh-day Baptist (SDB) Pastor. You may recall that it was the SDB's who introduced Adventist pioneers to Sabbathkeeping.

The other article was written by a Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. The early Eastern Orthodox Christian practice, well into the 5th Century, was to keep BOTH the Saturday Sabbath and Sunday. Although most Orthodox Churches now worship on Sunday, there are some orthodox churches, such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, that still keep the Sabbath.

"Confessions of a Former Sabbath Keeper" at ukapologetics.net (search for "Confessions")

"Is Sunday the Orthodox Christian Sabbath" at allsaints-stl.org (follow the the "Writings" link on the home page).

 

[keeping an open mind]

Fozzy I enjoyed your post. I have only heard that higher level of interpretation about the Sabbath one time before, and that was from a visiting seminar professor from another continent.

The essence of our faith, that we rest in our salvation and that we acknowledge God as creator, are both portrayed in this view. And that, IMO, is why the Evil One works so hard to distort the Sabbath or to redirect us from the essence of it.

 

[Alawishis]

God is Spirit, therefore the rest that He took after creation was spiritual rest. There was no physical weariness incurred in creating the earth. "The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary" (Isaiah 40:28). Creation was not a physical work; it was wholly spiritual. God spake, and it was. And His word is spirit. Therefore, to keep God's Sabbath, or rest, is to enjoy spiritual rest. The Sabbath is not designed for mere physical rest, but for spiritual. It has a higher meaning than is commonly attached to it. True, we are enjoined from doing our own labor on that day, but the cessation from physical labor on the Sabbath day is but an emblem of the spiritual rest which God gives to those who accept Him as the Creator of all things. Without spiritual rest there is no true Sabbath-keeping. The Lord says that they who turn away their feet from the Sabbath, and do not do their own ways on His holy day, but call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, shall delight themselves in the Lord. (Isaiah 58:13, 14). A man may refrain from labor on the seventh day as scrupulously as ever the strictest Pharisee did; yet if he does not know and delight in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is not keeping the Sabbath of the Lord. True Sabbath rest can be found only in Christ.

The Gospel in Creation by E.J Waggoner - chap. 7

Well lets think about this for awhile. So you're saying that our loving selfless giving God as one of His first acts of scripture did something completely for Himself? The seventh-day of creation He did something completely selfish when the previous six days were gifts to mankind? Can you point me at least one other instance in scripture where God did something solely for Himself?

There is truth buried in what you said there. God was not tired, the Sabbath was not designed for mere physical rest. And yes, there is higher meaning than just physical rest. You have touched on a truth. Spiritual rest is found in God it is more intense when, for man, it is combined with physical rest.

If you had been looking at a beautiful car for many years. You have all the magazines that feature this car. You have put up posters of it in your house. It's all you can talk about to your friends. You figure out a way to make it happen. You wanted this car so much you saved for it for months. You build a special garage for it to sit in. You buy special driving gloves and a driving jacket. Then the day arrives where you have your money saved up and you make your payment sign the papers and your new car arrives delivered to your driveway. Yahoooo! What do you do next? Do you go in the house and take a day off and watch TV all day? No way! You want to get in that car and take it for a drive. You want to spend time with your new car. This is what the first Sabbath was. God wasn't tired, man hadn't worked yet. God wanted to spend time with His creation and He wanted his creation to spend time with Him. The first Sabbath was a glorious time an entire day together God and man, no distractions just enjoying each others company and celebrating the wonders of creation. That is what the Sabbath is about and that is what we should be trying to recapture when we keep the Sabbath every week.

Sorry for the clumsy car illustration.

God bless.

 

[Alawishis]

I came across 2 informative articles written by Non-Adventists, each expressing opposing views & Biblical support on whether Sabbath-keeping is binding on Christians today. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to post the links to the articles here.

One article is by a former Seventh-day Baptist (SDB) Pastor. You may recall that it was the SDB's who introduced Adventist pioneers to Sabbathkeeping.

The other article was written by a Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. The early Eastern Orthodox Christian practice, well into the 5th Century, was to keep BOTH the Saturday Sabbath and Sunday. Although most Orthodox Churches now worship on Sunday, there are some orthodox churches, such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, that still keep the Sabbath.

"Confessions of a Former Sabbath Keeper" at ukapologetics.net (search for "Confessions")

"Is Sunday the Orthodox Christian Sabbath" at allsaints-stl.org (follow the the "Writings" link on the home page).

I read them. Did you really read them all the way through? The second one is worth the read yes. The first one starts out OK but degrades into a dizzying sophistry with incomplete reasoning. I mean it's an interesting opinion piece but he has some gaping holes in his logic. All of this is based on eastern orthodoxy he completely ignores that for a long time orthodox churches kept both the sabbath and the first-day, many still do. For example the Ethiopian Orthodox Church still observes both Saturday and Sunday as Sabbaths. He's convinced they would not have changed under influence of the Bishop of Rome. They didn't they did it gradually but many of them never did fully.

Then he goes back to the same Sunday defense scriptures, and he makes some strange presumptions. For example he states why would the followers of Christ not have gathered with Paul on Sabbath and if they did why is it not mentioned. It is though the first day the week that is mentioned when they were gathered together and Paul talked into the night is actually what we would call Saturday night. They were gathered on Sabbath and Paul got long winded and talked past sundown which is then the first-day of the week (Sunday).

He is trying to be logical but ultimately degrades into the same tired, and might I add thoroughly refuted, first day texts and arguments. Then he goes thought all the same old tired pro-first-day arguments which I will not revisit because we all know them and how they distort scripture. One thing huge detail he completely ignores is, if the first-day is significant if it is the "New Sabbath" or meant to be kept holy if it is "The Lords day" why then, when the scriptures were recorded some 30 or more years later do they just call it the first-day of the week. This is akin to telling a Christmas story where something significant happens on the 25th of December and just saying. It came to pass that on the 25th day of the month of December ... Are you kidding me? If this was the new day of worship, that somehow Christ had somehow conveyed to them without saying it, why would they not use a name of significance. Why was it not recorded as the Lord's day? Why was it not written "Early on the Lord's day when they gathered together...." ? But no instead Sunday is always and without exception referred to as the first-day of the week, just as though it was not a day of significance. I won't even go into the number of languages that use the word Sabbath for the seventh-day.

Sorry I guess kind of got going there. I understand how the author got confused. I've never seen an first-day apologist that could argue there case from the bible alone. They always have to go to extra-biblical sources. I'm not saying we never should but it's a dangerous path, and certainly we should never base doctrine on it. He starts out on this journey by putting extra-biblical sources at a higher authority than the plain reading of scripture. His mistake, and you can clearly see it when you read his account, is when he goes back into the bible with a clear idea of what he is looking for. He goes in with an idea in his head already an idea of what it is he wants to find. You can see it in his reasoning he is making the biblical account fit the reasoning he already has in his head. This is exactly the wrong way to study the bible.

 

[Robert Bee]

ADAM & EVE were there in person the day GOD created the SABBATH for them. LOL there was not even one JEW in sight even MOSES was not a JEW.
Human LODGIC is without HOPE !
1 Cor.2:14 sure is a MIRACLE !
"The WORLD cannot receive the SPIRIT of TRUTH."
GOD sure knows best .!!!!!!

 

[ricker]

Well lets think about this for awhile. So you're saying that our loving selfless giving God as one of His first acts of scripture did something completely for Himself? The seventh-day of creation He did something completely selfish when the previous six days were gifts to mankind? Can you point me at least one other instance in scripture where God did something solely for Himself?

There is truth buried in what you said there. God was not tired, the Sabbath was not designed for mere physical rest. And yes, there is higher meaning than just physical rest. You have touched on a truth. Spiritual rest is found in God it is more intense when, for man, it is combined with physical rest.

God bless.

You don't think God could have rested foreshadowing the Sabbath rest he would later command the nation of Israel? Would that fact make it a necessity this specific day of rest would be automatically transferred to the new Christian church made up of believers of all nationalities?

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

The Sabbath is as much a part of God's character as are the other nine. God's character does not take 'breaks' in time... what we call the ten commandments were a principle that was before this earth was created, since before there was anything and will be for eternity.

We know that the commandments were known and followed and when broken, were considered transgressions pre-Sinai.
Cain killing Abel (6)
Lot's daughters fornicating with him (5)(7)
Lot's wife's desire for what was left behind (10)(1)
Sarai taken as Abimelech's wife (7)(9)
Jacob's receiving the blessing (9)(5)
Laban's idols (3)(8)
Joseph seduced by Potiphar's wife (7)
Moses killing the Egyptian (6)
Gathering manna (4)

If you believe that the other nine commandments are still binding upon the new Christian church then why would the only one that says to 'remember' be mysteriously absent? Can you show scripture where this sanctified and holy day that was made for man and kept by Christ and the disciples, is now done away with? You know I can show you many NT, post ascension scripture that says otherwise.

Don't become wise in your own eyes and risk becoming a fool before the judgment seat...