We shouldn’t judge, that is not anyone’s place, but Jesus commissioned us to teach each other the commandments quoting from the Ten,
SabbathBlessings, we're about to have good fellowship. I'll respond some.
which includes the Sabbath commandment Matthew 5:19-30 which He kept Himself Luke 4:16 John 15:10 and is our example of how someone in Christ lives 1 John 2:6
Now I think we need to proceed with caution. Sometimes Jesus went out of His way to break the Sabbath intentionally.
He did set that example when He drew attention to the fact that HE Himself was the real rest all must come to.
Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)
You may sit at home on the couch on Saturday all you want.
But if you are not with the Lord Jesus you still will not have true rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (v.29)
Jesus lived by the Father. And Jesus tells us to live by Him as He lived by the Father. He tells us to LEARN from Him.
If we learn this living our souls will find Sabbath rest truly. If we do not learn, ritual keeping of Saturday rest will not be the TRUEST divine
rest.
If we "eat" the Lord Jesus, enjoying Him all the time as our moment to moment feast, we will find His yoke is easy.
Even if busy we learn to rest in Him.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (v.30)
Here we see Jesus teaching us that as He lived we must learn the same. And we learn by "eating" Him - internalizing Jesus Christ all the time.
John 6:57 - As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.
That said the two scriptures most Christians use to make an argument against one of God’s eternal commandments are out of context.
The problem with arguing from "most Christians" is that you are likely to meet exceptions.
I point to Christ Himself as the reality of the Sabbath. True rest is Jesus Christ enjoyed moment to moment.
When Jesus said His disciples dare not annul even the least of these commandments, I think He was speaking more of the moral side than on the ritual side. He set an example of sometimes deliberately ignoring the ritual of keeping the Sabbath.
I am not "Anti Saturday Sabbath". I wish to see His teaching in true perspective.
I am not offended if a brother insists the he must as a Christian be a Sabbath keeper.
Romans 14:6,7 holds for me in the normal church life.
He who regards that day, regards it to the Lord; and he who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself;
I have no desire to correct the Apostle Paul by saying "No Paul, you don't understand. The Lord commanded all His disciples to rest on Saturday."
If you back up to
Col 2:14 KJV it makes this passage abundantly clear it is not referring to one of God's commandments.
I think you err here. Paul
IS talking about the written ordinances of the Law.
Wiping out the handwriting in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. (v.14 RcV)
There is more than one Sabbath in the Bible.
This I know.
There is the weekly Sabbath that is a commandment of God and part of God’s eternal Ten Commandments and the annual sabbath(s) that are the yearly feasts days and are ordinances. The weekly Sabbath came before sin Genesis 2:1-3 the annual sabbath(s) was because of sin- after the fall. God said we can’t edit the commandments Deut 4:2 so we need to make sure we are not working from a faulty premise. Plus the weekly Sabbath is shown in scripture being kept decades after the cross and eternity Acts 13:44, Acts 13:42, Acts 18:4, Matthew 24:20 Isaiah 66:22-23, so this verse is not referring to the weekly Sabbath commandment. The animal sacrifices and annual feast days called sabbath(s) is what ended as they pointed to Jesus who became our sacrificial Lamb for sins. Instead of sacrificing animals in the New Covenant, we can go directly to Jesus who is our High Priest and repent when we have a change of heart. Hebrews 10:1-10. Sin is the same as it always has been, its the transgression of God’s law and Paul points right to the unit of Ten to define sin. Romans 7:7 1 John 3:4
There are many of passages for me to look up there. The jist of your point, I think, is that any Sabbath Paul is saying we should not feel in bondage to is some OTHER Sabbath from the one commanded in the Ten Commandments.
I am willing to consider this in time. But this still would not make the exhortation of Romans 14:6,7 irrelvant.
As with DIET, so also with making ANY day more important than another.
Be convinced in your own heart but do not judge another saint according to your conviction.
DIET -
One believes that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables. (Rom. 14:2)
This is just a representative example for the principle.
He who eats, let him not despise him who does not eat;
and he who does not eat, let him not judge him who eats, for God has received him. (v.3)
SACRED DAYS - One judges one day above another; another judges every day alike. Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind.
He who regards that day, regards it to the Lord; and he who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. (vs.5,6)
The same principle is applied to sacred days.
The principle of not judging of
Romans 14 is similar to that of
Colossians 2.
Who are you who judge another’s household servant? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will be made to stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Rom. 14:4)
Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, (Col. 2:16)
Also Paul says
"THE Sabbath" as in the specific ordinance. This is not general, meaning a traditional non-cononical Sabbath.
Col 2:14 KJV
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;
So we know this from Colossians 2:14:
1. They are handwritten
2. They are ordinances
3. They are contrary.
He is referring to what was written and learned by memorization by good kings, studious scribes and experts in the Law.
Paul says that the nature of such rules, even of divinely instructed, are
"the elements of the world."
If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances: (Col.2:20)
The believers have died to such ordinances as the elements of the world - the elementary principles of rule keeping.
The believers must learn not to let philsophy, religion, culture, distract from living Christ HImself.
I think Paul's tone in Colossians is stronger.
His tone in Romans is of toleration for a peaceful church life where there are levels of maturity.
In both cases he says judging one another according Sabbath keeping should not occur.
Do you insist on judging brothers and sisters in Christ as deficient for not regarding the Sabbath as you do?
Does this fit the Sabbath commandment in any way? Absolutely not.
Apparently, in
the church in Colossia as even today, believers may exalt the Sabbath over the Son of God.
They had fallen to this subtle tactic of the enemy also with their culture, their philosphy, their ethnic customs, and other things.
Satan's stradegy against the church is to REPLACE Christ with something ELSE.
That something else may even be something commanded as an ordinance according to God in the OT.
To be judge for adherance to these things is to be defrauded of the PRIZE of the enjoyment of Christ Himself.
Verse 18a - Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your prize,
Such things can be only a shadow of the solid reality of Jesus Himself.
Verse 17 - Which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.
Daily - Christ is to our enjoyment.
Weekly - Christ is to be our enjouyment.
Monthly - Christ is to be our enjoyment.
Yearly - Christ is to be our enjoyment.
The daily, weekly, monthly, yearly ordinances were shadows pointing to the solid body of Christ to be constantly enjoyed throughout
the entire course of the Christian life.
This is to hold tightly to the HEAD Christ, from whom the rich nourishment of divine life builds up the Body of Christ.
This is to not be distracted by the rules of the dos and don'ts about THINGS.
And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances:
Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch, (Col. 2:19-21)
1. The Sabbath was finger-written by God (not by hand) Exodus 31:18 Exodus 32:16
Which they then COPIED and did many things with those copies. Ie. have kings memorize the writings. Or they even put some of the writings in clothing recepticals to wear as reminders. I am sure you can locate the verses about this.
2. The Sabbath is a commandment of God (not an ordinance). Exodus 20, Exodus 34:28 Deut 4:13
This now seems as a back up argument. But as Paul speaks of
"THE Sabbath" (Col 2:16) however you wish to designate it, it is placed right along other things commanded concerning, diet, feasts, periodic ceremonies.
Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath,
You are going to have to work real hard to convince me that these are OTHER things besides those things commanded in the Law.
Paul says these matters have a reputation and show of prudence to the religious.
But it is more effective to live by the living Christ.
Such things indeed have a reputation of wisdom in self-imposed worship and lowliness and severe treatment of the body, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh. (v.23)
I think I hear you objecting maybe that in verse 23 he is not speaking anymore about things like
"THE Sabbath".
After reading carefully though, I believe it is all apart of the same seamless message.
Nothing should compete with Christ.
Nothing should replace Christ.
Nothing should be paid attention to above Christ.
Indeed, in chapter two as we received this living Person we must learn to continue to WALK in Him.
As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, (v.6)
Step by step we must learn to be in Him, in union with Him, abiding in Him, and directed and regulated inwardly by Him.
We are ROOTED in Christ, drawing up into our being all the nutrients of His life.
2:7Having been rooted
We are only built up together in Him.
and being built up in Him,
and being established in the faith even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Christians must be on the lookout, to
"beware" that we are not carried away FROM Him even by something noble, good, traditional, religious.
Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ; (v.8)
We are made full in Him by enjoying Him constantly and all the time. The fullness is in Christ Himself.
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
And you have been made full in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority.
3. God said the Sabbath is holy and blessed (not cursed and contrary) Exodus 20:8-11 Genesis 2:1-3
Note: once God blesses something man cannot reverse it Num 23:20, so one would need a thus saith the Lord to do away with God's holy Sabbath day, which does not exist.
If you read all of Romans 14 you will not find the Sabbath commandment mentioned once, this is not what this verse is speaking about.
I do not see that that is not the Sabbath. But even if it is some OTHER Sabbath, the principle of being accommadating with others holds.
The principle of generalization, accommadation, tolerance applies if it is THE Sabbath or some OTHER Sabbath.
