Any scriptural evidence that evangelized Gentiles are to keep the Sabbath?

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Friedrich Rubinstein

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There is no verse in the Bible that tells us gentiles to keep the Sabbath. In fact when you look at Acts 15:28-29 the Apostles gave the gentiles only the following orders:
"It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things."

But there is a passage in Isaiah 56 that reads like this:

"Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant — to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant — these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

That's a valuable passage, don't you think?

And consider this as well: even if we gentiles were not "forced" to keep the Sabbath - would it not be a much better testimony to other people to keep it? If the people around us see us working on Sundays while we claim to be Christians, they would think we don't take God very seriously and we would be negligent with other commands as well. Simply because "keeping the Sabbath" is like the best known "Christian rule".

Plus, according to 1Jn 2:6 we shall live as Jesus did. And Jesus kept the Sabbath (except when He did good works, healing people and such). So, the priority-list might look like this:
1) Helping our neighbour on Sabbath if he really needs it
2) Resting on Sabbath
 
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TruthSeek3r

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"Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant — to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant — these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Isn't this passage talking about the old covenant? Is there scriptural evidence of gentiles being expected to keep the Sabbath in the new covenant?

And consider this as well: even if we gentiles were not "forced" to keep the Sabbath - would it not be a much better testimony to other people to keep it? If the people around us see us working on Sundays while we claim to be Christians, they would think we don't take God very seriously and we would be negligent with other commands as well. Simply because "keeping the Sabbath" is like the best known "Christian rule".

Isn't the Sabbath on Saturdays?
 
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Friedrich Rubinstein

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Isn't this passage talking about the old covenant? Is there scriptural evidence of gentiles being expected to keep the Sabbath in the new covenant?

Yes, it is. But it tells us that God is happy when we keep the Sabbath :) That won't change in the New Covenant because God does not change. What pleased Him in the past will please Him in the future as well.

Isn't the Sabbath on Saturdays?

In the Jewish culture, yes. Because their week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday (so that Saturday is their 7th day of the week). In our culture the week starts on Monday and the 7th day is the Sunday.
You probably know why we are supposed to rest on the 7th day, right? God created the universe within 6 days and rested on the 7th day. That's why we rest on Sundays in our culture.

Edit: If I misunderstood your original question and you want to know whether the gentiles have to rest on Saturday according to the Bible - the answer will be a simple "No" :)
 
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eleos1954

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Is there any evidence in the Bible indicating that evangelized Gentiles are expected to keep the Sabbath? If not, is there any scriptural evidence against it? Or are scriptures rather silent in this regard?

It's in the middle of the 10 commandments .... hmmmm .... let's see are we supposed to keep the commandments????? ummmm YEAH we are.

It's a special day the Lord created for us .... and said ....

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy .... it's a blessing .... a true blessing.

Go do a search on the forums ..... lots of info about it.

Not sure why you say "gentiles" ... like only Jews are the only one that are supposed to keep it?

Not so ..... there were not any "gentiles" nor Jews when the Lord created it ... there was Adam & Eve ... the beginning of mankind.

and also now reaffirmed in the NT ..... we are all one in Christ. neither Jew, Greek nor male or female.

We are to follow in the steps of Christ .... He kept the Sabbath even in His death.

All the apostles kept the Sabbath.

For me and my house we will serve the Lord and are thankful for the Sabbath he created for us. Amen!
 
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TruthSeek3r

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It's in the middle of the 10 commandments .... hmmmm .... let's see are we supposed to keep the commandments????? ummmm YEAH we are.

It's a special day the Lord created for us .... and said ....

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy .... it's a blessing .... a true blessing.

Go do a search on the forums ..... lots of info about it.

Not sure why you say "gentiles" ... like only Jews are the only one that are supposed to keep it?

Not so ..... there were not any "gentiles" when the Lord created it.

and also now reaffirmed in the NT ..... we are all one in Christ. neither Jew, Greek nor male or female.

We are to follow in the steps of Christ .... He kept the Sabbath even in His death.

All the apostles kept the Sabbath.

For me and my house we will serve the Lord and are thankful for the Sabbath he created for us. Amen!

Then why weren't Gentiles asked to keep the Sabbath in Acts 15:28-29, as @Friedrich Rubinstein has just explained?
 
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eleos1954

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Then why weren't Gentiles asked to keep the Sabbath in Acts 15:28-29, as @Friedrich Rubinstein has just explained?

It was status quo .... teaching about the Lord was done on the Sabbath in the synagogue and that's where the gentiles went to learn about the Lord.

Acts 13:42

New King James Version
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
 
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eleos1954

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Yes, it is. But it tells us that God is happy when we keep the Sabbath :) That won't change in the New Covenant because God does not change. What pleased Him in the past will please Him in the future as well.



In the Jewish culture, yes. Because their week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday (so that Saturday is their 7th day of the week). In our culture the week starts on Monday and the 7th day is the Sunday.
You probably know why we are supposed to rest on the 7th day, right? God created the universe within 6 days and rested on the 7th day. That's why we rest on Sundays in our culture.

Edit: If I misunderstood your original question and you want to know whether the gentiles have to rest on Saturday according to the Bible - the answer will be a simple "No" :)

God created the 7th day Sabbath .... can man or "culture" change that which God created? No ... of course not.

Daniels 7

25He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

1 Peter 2:21 “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also SUFFERED for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.”

Simple ... follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
 
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TruthSeek3r

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It was status quo .... teaching about the Lord was done on the Sabbath in the synagogue and that's where the gentiles went to learn about the Lord.

Acts 13:42

New King James Version
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

According to the context, isn't this just a matter of convenience given that the Jews were already gathering in the synagogues on sabbath ("5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister") rather than a commandment that Gentiles were ordained to keep? The context seems to indicate that Paul and other disciples took advantage of the fact that Jews were gathering in synagogues on sabbath to get their attention and preach the gospel. And consequently the Gentiles were drawn to hear. But nothing in the text indicates that Gentiles are ordained to keep the sabbath as commandment. They were just hearing the preaching that was conveniently taking place on sabbath.
 
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Kenny'sID

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Following are some lists many of you are familiar with. They get right down to the nitty gritty with the sins that will damn people to hell if they live such a lifestyle. In those or any other mention in the bible of such sins and their penalties, I have never once heard it said, not keeping the sabbath will end one up in hell.

You don't really need to read them but here they are just the same.

1 Cor 6:9-10 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were.

Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Eph 5:3-6 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No sexually immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

Rev. 22:12-16 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

Matt 25:41-46 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
 
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eleos1954

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According to the context, isn't this just a matter of convenience given that the Jews were already gathering in the synagogues on sabbath ("5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister") rather than a commandment that Gentiles were ordained to keep? The context seems to indicate that Paul and other disciples took advantage of the fact that Jews were gathering in synagogues on sabbath to get their attention and preach the gospel. And consequently the Gentiles were drawn to hear. But nothing in the text indicates that Gentiles are ordained to keep the sabbath as commandment. They were just hearing the preaching that was conveniently taking place on sabbath.

Keeping the Sabbath isn't a convenience ... it's in the heart of the 10 commandments.

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Jesus kept the 7th day Sabbath (even in His death).

1 Peter 2:21

21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

Simple ...

Choose to follow the Lamb ..... or not.
 
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Friedrich Rubinstein

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God created the 7th day Sabbath .... can man or "culture" change that which God created? No ... of course not.

Daniels 7

25He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

1 Peter 2:21 “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also SUFFERED for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.”

Simple ... follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

God wants us to rest on the 7th day of the week. Because He created the heaven and the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. In the Jewish culture the 7th day is called Sabbath, in our culture the 7th day is called Sunday. We keep God's command when we rest on Sundays.
 
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TruthSeek3r

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eleos1954

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God wants us to rest on the 7th day of the week. Because He created the heaven and the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. In the Jewish culture the 7th day is called Sabbath, in our culture the 7th day is called Sunday. We keep God's command when we rest on Sundays.

Not so .... the Sabbath is Saturday .... where did Jesus keep Sunday as the Sabbath? NEVER.

In the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, we read:
Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.

Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday….

Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.

Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!
—Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50.

In Catholic Christian Instructed,
Q. Has the [Catholic] church power to make any alterations in the commandments of God?
A. ...Instead of the seventh day, and other festivals appointed by the old law, the church has prescribed the Sundays and holy days to be set apart for God’s worship; and these we are now obliged to keep in consequence of God’s commandment, instead of the ancient Sabbath.
—The Catholic Christian Instructed in the Sacraments, Sacrifices, Ceremonies, and Observances of the Church By Way of Question and Answer, RT Rev. Dr. Challoner, p. 204.

In An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine,
Q. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
A. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.

Q. How prove you that?
A. Because by keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin; and by not keeping the rest [of the feasts] by her commanded, they again deny, in fact, the same power.
–Rev. Henry Tuberville, D.D. (R.C.), (1833), page 58.

In A Doctrinal Catechism,Q. Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her. She could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.
–Rev. Stephen Keenan, (1851), p. 174.

In the Catechism of the Council of Trent,The Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday!
–p 402, second revised edition (English), 1937. (First published in 1566)
In the Augsburg Confession,They [the Catholics] allege the Sabbath changed into Sunday, the Lord’s day, contrary to the decalogue, as it appears; neither is there any example more boasted of than the changing of the Sabbath day. Great, they say, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the ten commandments.
—Art. 28.
 
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eleos1954

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God created the 7th day Sabbath .... can man or "culture" change that which God created? No ... of course not.

Are you trying to say that the Sabbath is a commandment since the creation? I'm afraid some people disagree with this. Check out this site: Did Abraham Observe the Sabbath?. It raises interesting points against this view. For example:

1) Did Abraham observe the Sabbath?
2) Did Joseph keep the Sabbath?
3) Did Israel keep the Sabbath in Egypt?

Check out that site.
 
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TruthSeek3r

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eleos1954

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Are you trying to say that the Sabbath is a commandment since the creation? I'm afraid some people disagree with this. Check out this site: Did Abraham Observe the Sabbath?. It raises interesting points against this view. For example:

1) Did Abraham observed the Sabbath?
2) Did Joseph keep the Sabbath?
3) Did Israel keep the Sabbath in Egypt?

Check out that site.

JESUS (who is God) kept the Sabbath .... that's all I need to know!
 
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