How do you "break" the Sabbath?

[Arriving]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

Sabbath observance was a major point of contention between Jesus and the Pharisees, who kept it according to the OT restrictions. Jesus travelled, taught in the synaguoges, healed, harvested food, argued with the Pharisees, etc. on the sabbath day. Of course this also involved all those with whom he interacted. Jesus was actually doing the same things on the sabbath that he did any other day.

The sabbath was to be observed according the rules that were proscribed for their time and purpose. The commandment is stated differently in different places. It changes from "Thou Shalt", to, "Remember, and keep holy". Jesus clearly meant to remove the sabbath from the strict parameters of the old covenant, and update it for his time. The disciples and Jesus continued to observe the sabbath ritually as well, because the Levitical priesthood was still in authority. When it ended the old covenant dispensation ended, along with the manner in which those laws were to be observed.

But, from that time the sabbath has remained a point of contention in the church.

The sabbath was to be a 'delight', and not a burden. Observing 'the' sabbath day is still a ritual that can become burdensome, even for those with the best of intentions.

I did a word search of sabbath in the NT. Note the very last reference:

Colossians 2:16
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:

This indicates to me, much freedom of expression in glorifying God on that day.

 

[ttreg]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

well u can do anything u want on sunday well other then sin (duh) but its the Sabbath u should be wondering about

 

[QuantaCura]

Don't do any unnecessary labor, but rather engage in rest and spiritual pursuits.

 

[woobadooba]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

1. Sunday isn't the Sabbath. Saturday is. Go here when you get a chance: http://amazingfacts.org/items/free_library.asp?SelSec=Pocketen&SelCat=All&CurrPage=2

And click on the little book entitled: Is Sunday Really Sacred

2. Follow QuantaCura's advice in post #4

 

[tall73]

The advice given in Isaiah is good. He starts out describing what fasting should be like, (as some were merely making it an outward show), and then speaks of Sabbath observance:

Isa 58:13 "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
Isa 58:14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Make it a day to focus on the things of the Lord. For me, if it brings me closer to the Lord, it is a good thing to do. If it doesn't, it is not.

 

[HisKid1973]

Don't do any unnecessary labor, but rather engage in rest and spiritual pursuits.

Good point QC but sometimes people need some help with emergencies and we can help them as unto the Lord..Shalom..Kim

 

[QuantaCura]

Good point QC but sometimes people need some help with emergencies and we can help them as unto the Lord..Shalom..Kim

I wholeheartedly agree (because that is what Jesus did of course). I think that would be both a necessary labor (I don't think it should even be considered labor) and a spiritual pursuit

 

[Cliff2]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

Sunday not being the Sabbath would not pose too many problems for me.

Nor would Sabbath pose too many problems.

We do have to be practical in this and make sure that whatever we do we honour God.

When you have small children it becomes a different matter again.

Sometimes I will take the kids for a nature walk or a bike ride. We even had a whole day off Church and went walking in the hills.

That does not happen very often and probably only once in the last 10 years. After Church we will often go for a bike ride.

 

[Angel of God]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

Matthew 12, 11..12 can be a way.......
And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.


That is not to sweat.......

 

[humbledbyhim]

Exodus 31
13Speak 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.

14Ye 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.
15Six 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.
16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17It (AKA the sabbath) 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.


I say to you all, I am not a child of Israel and therefore, I don't have to remember the sabbath because it was not established for me.

Acts 15


5But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
6And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
7And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (WHY?!)
11But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
12Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
13And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
14Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
16After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
19Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day...



24Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
25It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
28For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

from a commentary on Biblegateway.com
"The dispute raised by Judaizing teachers.



Some from Judea taught the Gentile converts at Antioch, that they could not be saved, unless they observed the whole ceremonial law as given by Moses; and thus they sought to destroy Christian liberty. There is a strange proneness in us to think that all do wrong who do not just as we do. Their doctrine was very discouraging. Wise and good men desire to avoid contests and disputes as far as they can; yet when false teachers oppose the main truths of the gospel, or bring in hurtful doctrines, we must not decline to oppose them. (Ac 15:7-21)"

 

[woobadooba]

I say to you all, I am not a child of Israel and therefore, I don't have to remember the sabbath because it was not established for me.

It's funny that you should say this! Weren't the Ten Commandments given to Israel?

So are you free to break the other 9 commands, just as you are free to break the fourth one?

Is it lawful for you to be lawless?

Acts 15
5But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
6And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
7And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (WHY?!)
11But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
12Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
13And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
14Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
16After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
19Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day...

It's also funny that you would refer to Acts 15 to support this false idea of yours. Did you even read verse 20?

It says:

"But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood."

Things strangled , and from blood?

Isn't that a part of the Levitical system, the so-called old ways that have been abolished, and really don't matter anymore?

So do you think Paul was a Judaizer too?

You should be careful to read things in context!

 

[jgonz]

I say to you all, I am not a child of Israel and therefore, I don't have to remember the sabbath because it was not established for me.

So you're not saved? We who have been saved/born-again are Adopted into Israel. Therefore we Are children of Israel and the Sabbath is very much a commanded rest for us.

 

[Naomi4Christ]

We go to church, obviously, and then try to devote the rest of the day to fellowship. We usually have a Sunday Lunch with other families in our church (either someone comes to our house or we go to their's).

We rarely shop on a Sunday, but wouldn't run out of milk for the sake of a principle.

We don't mind doing odd jobs around the house, especially if we can engage the children in them, or gardening.

 

[OntheDL]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place or if it's a duplicate thread, but anyway...
What is okay to do on Sunday and what isn't?

Hi,

Sunday is not the sabbath of the bible. Sunday is the first day of the week. Saturday (friday sundown to saturday sundown) is the sabbath/seventh day of the week.

Luke 23
54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Luke 24
1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

Jesus died on Friday and rose on Sunday. According to Luke 23 and 24, His followers/new christians didn't even have time to put spices on His body because they observe the 7th day sabbath.

To answer the question what we should do on Sabbath, the commandment is clear: we shouldn't do our own labor (secular), we should devote our time with the Lord.

And those things essential to life, it's still lawful to do: go to the bathroom, change your child's diaper, eat, breath air ...

Jesus also said it's lawful to do good.

 

[humbledbyhim]

It's funny that you should say this! Weren't the Ten Commandments given to Israel?

So are you free to break the other 9 commands, just as you are free to break the fourth one?

Is it lawful for you to be lawless?

funny how you don't notice that there are certain things that we don't have to follow from levitical law because they were used to set the Jewish people apart from heathen nations and their idolatry much like sanctification sets us apart from sin.

It's also funny that you would refer to Acts 15 to support this false idea of yours. Did you even read verse 20?

It says:

"But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood."

Things strangled , and from blood?

Isn't that a part of the Levitical system?

No, it was established by God to Noah before Abraham even existed. You should read Genesis.

So do you think Paul was a Judaizer too?

No, I think he had discernment like the apostles did when they recognized that certain parts of the law
-(i.e. circumcision) represented a covenant between the Jews and God specifically.

-or (i.e. not eating crabs and shrimp) represented how God's people were to be seperate like we do by the process of sanctification.

-and some rules (i.e. no eating blood, not murdering, not being disrespectful to parents)were meant for the whole of mankind

You should be careful to read things in context!

I do. That's why I know what I'm talking about.

 

[humbledbyhim]

double post

 

[humbledbyhim]

So you're not saved? We who have been saved/born-again are Adopted into Israel. Therefore we Are children of Israel and the Sabbath is very much a commanded rest for us.

Matthew 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Matt.24:13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
John 3:16-18 (King James Version)

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Acts 2:21
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 16:29-31 (King James Version)

http://www.biblegateway.com/help/faq/?id=2#10
http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgclick.php?what=34 http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgclick.php?what=24 http://www.biblegateway.com/bg_versions/bgclick.php?what=2



29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Matthew 19:15-19

16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

I don't see any sabbath requirements here in these verses. do you?
Matthew 12




Would you say that we should not minister to people on the sabbath? would you say that we should put undue stress on people and say that they should quit their jobs if they have to work on saturday? would you? When you got saved did you read a verse that said "observe the sabbath and you shall be saved? I haven't seen that one...

11And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

replace "sheep" with anything that is of great value to you and then leave me alone with your judgemental tone

 

[Sophia7]

16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

I don't see any sabbath requirements here in these verses. do you?

Do you see any mention in these verses of the commandments regarding having other gods or worshiping graven images or taking the Lord's name in vain? Should we thus begin doing those things? No, obviously Jesus was particularly emphasizing those commandments that deal with how we treat our neighbors (loving our neighbors as ourselves). He did not address in this passage the commandments regarding loving God. The Sabbath is included in the principle of loving the Lord our God with all our hearts and all our minds and all our souls. We keep the Sabbath out of love for God, in order to focus completely on Him for one day--without the distractions of work and other secular activities--not in order to be saved.

 

[Sophia7]

funny how you don't notice that there are certain things that we don't have to follow from levitical law because they were used to set the Jewish people apart from heathen nations and their idolatry much like sanctification sets us apart from sin.

No, it was established by God to Noah before Abraham even existed. You should read Genesis.

No, I think he had discernment like the apostles did when they recognized that certain parts of the law
-(i.e. circumcision) represented a covenant between the Jews and God specifically.

-or (i.e. not eating crabs and shrimp) represented how God's people were to be seperate like we do by the process of sanctification.

-and some rules (i.e. no eating blood, not murdering, not being disrespectful to parents)were meant for the whole of mankind

I do. That's why I know what I'm talking about.

Actually, the Sabbath commandment was never given exclusively to the Jews:

Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Gentiles who lived in Israelite territory had to abide by many of the OT laws, many of them involving food (not eating blood or roadkill, for instance). Aliens in Israel also had to rest on the Day of Atonement. The OT says several times that the Gentiles among them were to be subject to the same laws as the Israelites and that they were also to be treated as native-born and loved as they loved themselves.

In the NT, the directives to avoid blood, food sacrificed to idols, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality were given even to the Gentile Christians as a result of the Council of Jerusalem:

Acts 15:19 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

The Gentiles who were grafted into the olive tree (see Romans 11:17-24) still had to follow some of the supposed Jewish-only laws because they were not Jewish-only laws. They were not the laws that pointed forward to Jesus' death and resurrection, like sacrifices. They were also not the laws that would make it difficult for Gentiles to become Christians, like circumcision, which I imagine would have been quite painful for an adult and which was replaced by baptism as the outward sign of our entering into the new covenant. These were laws that people would have assumed would apply only to the Jews but which concerned actions that were particularly abhorrent to God, which was why even the aliens in the OT had to follow them.

The earliest Gentile Christians were like the OT aliens living in Israel in many ways. They were supposed to be loved and treated well but often were not. They were looked down upon by even the Jewish Christians, who still viewed themselves as more worthy of salvation than the Gentiles because they were the natural-born children of Abraham. They worshiped together in the Jewish synagogues, where, according to Acts 15, they heard the teachings of Moses every Sabbath. There never was a controversy over whether they should keep the Sabbath because they were doing that already. Like the commandments regarding worshiping other gods and killing and stealing, the Sabbath was not a commandment that anyone thought was only for the Jews. Disagreements arose over those things that particularly separated Jews from Gentiles, like circumcision and dietary issues.

The Sabbath never separated Jewish and Gentile Christians; it brought them together to worship God in spirit and in truth. While there may have been disputes over how to keep the Sabbath (just as there are today) because some of the Jews still clung to their unbiblical traditions, nowhere does the Bible record any arguing over what day was the Sabbath or even whether it should be kept. Christians who keep the Sabbath today (Jews and Gentiles alike) should keep it not according to Jewish tradition but according to the new covenant, which, contrary to popular opinion, does not set us free from the law; it sets us free from our sin and from man-made legalistic requirements and writes the true meaning of the law on our hearts. The true purpose of the Sabbath is to more fully love God and others as we fix our eyes on Jesus and on the grace that He has given us.