What Day Of The Week Is The Sabbath?

[tall73]

1. "The son of Man has come...to OFFER HIS LIFE as a Ransom for many..." Matt. 20: 28

2. "When Jesus took the wine, he said "Now it is finished." then he bowed his head, and delivered over his spirit."
John 19: 30

3. "...he did that once for all when he offered himself...
now he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sins once for allby his sacrifice..." Heb. 7: 27, & 9: 26

My Question is...HOW LONG IS THE DURATION OF CHRIST'S OFFER ?.......
Was His OFFER;
1. that moment at the cross when he bowed his head and handed over his spirit?

Was His OFFER;
2. all of his 33 years of life in the flesh?

Is His OFFER ;
3. Etrnal, Perpetual, on-going for all people of all time ?


Is the Right arm of God still outstretched to us as we speak ?

How do you perceive THE DURATION OF CHRIST'S OFFER ?

Please keep it simple.
so a Sixth Grader can grasp it.

Since I already referenced the text, I don't see that more elaboration is needed. Did you in some way disagree that Jesus offered Himself once for all for our salvation?

Heb 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Heb 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him

Heb 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
Heb 10:13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
Heb 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Don't forget Acts 2: 42-47 and 15: 10

How do you "keep the Sabbath" ? what does it consist of ?
do you still sacrifice bulls and goats ?
Do yo have an Altar ?
Do you keep the "old covenant", or "The New Covenant"?

The Sabbath is kept by spending a day with God.
Nope, don't sacrifice, Jesus did that.
Nope, no altar.
new covenant, where the law was written on the heart.

They were clearly meeting in the syagogue however, which gets to the real topic in this thread.


Joh 9:22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)

The text here reveals two things. First that the Christians did not voluntarily leave the synagogues. Second it strongly suggests that even during the time of the writing of the gospel this was still occurring. christians continued to attend the synagogue because they saw Jesus as the fulfillment of Judaism, with the gentiles brought in, not a radical separation. It is also of note that the formula curse in the synagogues against the Nazarenes is believed to have been instituted between 70 AD to 90 AD, and even later by some, indicating that the writing of this text would be around the time of that development.

Act 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
Act 9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Act 22:19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.

When Saul (Paul) went to find Christians he went to the synagogue as they were still meeting there.

Act 13:14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
Act 13:15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it."
Act 13:16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: "Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.

This is the first of a number of passages in which Paul attended the synagogue. While he did go at times to preach it is not clear from this passage that this was his intent. He was sitting there and was asked to speak, as happened in synagogues, especially with guests. Whether this was by pre-arrangement we are not told, though later it clearly was.

Act 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Act 17:2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

It was Paul's costom to attend synagogue and to reason with the Jews. This was for evangelistic purposes, but also fits with Paul's identification of himself as a Jew, who holds to the traditions of the fathers, and part of the sect of Judaism called the Nazarenes:

Act 24:14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets.

Even when there was no synagogue Paul observed the Sabbath by finding a place of prayer.

Act 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

Over long spans of time Paul continued to meet with both Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath of each week, never telling them to meet on Sunday, or suggesting a cessation of Sabbath observance.

Act 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

James, during the discussion of Acts 15 regardin salvation by faith and circumcision, the law of Moses etc. makes reference to the continuing preaching of Moses in the synagogue and assumes familiarity with the practice on the part of all present, from the various churches throughout the world:

Act 15:21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."


In these texts the Sabbath day is continually called just that. There is no indication that it was considered anything but the Sabbath.

 

[holo]

How do SDAs understand the concept of "writing the law in our hearts"? What does it mean?

 

[woobadooba]

How do SDAs understand the concept of "writing the law in our hearts"? What does it mean?

Well, it certainly doesn't mean the law has been done away with, but that it has been put somewhere else--in our hearts.

But it is important to note that the law spoken of in this context is that which pertains to the ten commandments (the moral law).

In other words, we don't have to look to tablets of stone to know what God wills for us to do morally; rather, by manner of the Holy Spirit who guides us in all truth, we have become aware of the presence of the value of this law in our lives, not in a condemnatory fashion, but in a manner of love.

However, those who detest the law of God, and seek to find fault with it, are condemned by it; but those who love God delight in carrying it out, because it is written in their hearts.

You can't be condemned by what you love, but only by what you hate.

 

[chevelledc788]

I am a SDA and the way I view it is this: the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, I don't think there is anyone who will argue that. Jesus was a Jew and thus that is the Sabbath he kept while he was here on this earth. It is the same Sabbath his disciples kept as well. And though people say in the NT it doesn't matter anymore there is no place where the people are instructed to change their day of worship. And because Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath that is one reason how we know which day it is today. Correct me if I'm, but the Jews have never changed their day of worship.

 

[Splayd]

To be honest - there are two things that astound me when discussions of the Sabbath come up in christian circles.

The first is the number of Christians who have such strong reactions to someone choosing to keep the Sabbath on a Saturday (or even more specifically Friday evening through to Saturday evening). They contend that we're free from law and that we don't need to keep the Sabbath any more... BUT surely that same freedom allows us to also choose to keep the Sabbath if we want. They contend that it doesn't matter which day of the week we set aside for Him yet they seem to get offended if someone decides to keep Saturday. They quote verses saying they can't be judged by if, how and when they keep the Sabbath, while at the same time judging others for how and when they keep it, never recognising the hypocrisy of it all. It seems to some that it would be perfectly fine to set aside any particular day of the week and that would be ok... but setting aside Saturday is legalistic?

That brings me to the second thing that confuses me. While some would be fine with the idea of congregating on any given weekday, there are many others that get outraged at the mere suggestion of meeting on say a Thursday instead of a Sunday. They defend their right to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday with claims like "We're no longer under law" and "Jesus is our Sabbath now" and other such claims proving they don't have to keep the Sabbath, yet treat Sunday as if it is some special, set aside day that noone can tamper with. For that matter there are still others that get all uptight if people don't go to church every Sunday, while insisting all the while that there is no Sabbath. I don't understand their concern. If the Sabbath is just a general guideline (at most) now, and it doesn't matter which day they keep (in theory) why would the frequency of observing any given day matter. The letter of the law says every 7 days, but the spirit of the law is just a regular observance, why not every 8th day or every 14th day?

I know I'm exaggerating some points a little and I know I'm not speaking about everyone who doesn't keep the Sabbath. Many people in this thread aren't like that, but I do see these inconsistancies a lot in the wider church community and I'm not even coming from a place of defense as I don't keep the Sabbath. That said - Having read through such threads and prayerfully considered it, I think I'm going to start keeping the Sabbath (Fri/Sat) in addition to meeting with my church on Sunday... not because Christ demands it of me as conditional of His love, not because my salvation is dependant on my strict observance of law... but because my freedom in Christ extends to allowing me to keep the Sabbath as well.

 

[tulc]

Having read through such threads and prayerfully considered it, I think I'm going to start keeping the Sabbath (Fri/Sat) in addition to meeting with my church on Sunday... not because Christ demands it of me as conditional of His love, not because my salvation is dependant on my strict observance of law... but because my freedom in Christ extends to allowing me to keep the Sabbath as well.

Hope you are blessed by your decision!
tulc( )

 

[holo]

Well, it certainly doesn't mean the law has been done away with, but that it has been put somewhere else--in our hearts.

But it is important to note that the law spoken of in this context is that which pertains to the ten commandments (the moral law).

In other words, we don't have to look to tablets of stone to know what God wills for us to do morally; rather, by manner of the Holy Spirit who guides us in all truth, we have become aware of the presence of the value of this law in our lives, not in a condemnatory fashion, but in a manner of love.

However, those who detest the law of God, and seek to find fault with it, are condemned by it; but those who love God delight in carrying it out, because it is written in their hearts.

You can't be condemned by what you love, but only by what you hate.

I think I understand the reasoning, but I'm still unsure what it means to have the law written in our hearts. Especially if it's the ten commandments, and if it means that we're somehow driven to keep them instinctively (as children of God) - I mean, I find the will to not steal, kill etc, esp. after meeting Jesus, but I don't experience any kind of inward drive to keep one day above another, and certainly not saturday more than thursday or monday.

Do you SDAs actually feel some kind of inward urge to do this? Or am I mistaken as to what it means to have the law written in our hearts?

 

[Sophia7]

I think I understand the reasoning, but I'm still unsure what it means to have the law written in our hearts. Especially if it's the ten commandments, and if it means that we're somehow driven to keep them instinctively (as children of God) - I mean, I find the will to not steal, kill etc, esp. after meeting Jesus, but I don't experience any kind of inward drive to keep one day above another, and certainly not saturday more than thursday or monday.

Do you SDAs actually feel some kind of inward urge to do this? Or am I mistaken as to what it means to have the law written in our hearts?

When a person has experienced the Sabbath as God intended it--as a day to focus completely on communing with Him and worshiping Him and doing good to others, without having to go to work or deal with all of the distractions that inevitably come up during the rest of the week to keep us from spending as much time with Him as we would like to--then, yes, it becomes an inward urge. It becomes such a blessing to our spiritual life that we look forward to it the whole week as a time to throw off all of our worries for one day and truly rest in the salvation that God has given us by His grace.

 

[ThreeAM]

I think I understand the reasoning, but I'm still unsure what it means to have the law written in our hearts. Especially if it's the ten commandments, and if it means that we're somehow driven to keep them instinctively (as children of God) - I mean, I find the will to not steal, kill etc, esp. after meeting Jesus, but I don't experience any kind of inward drive to keep one day above another, and certainly not saturday more than thursday or monday.

Do you SDAs actually feel some kind of inward urge to do this? Or am I mistaken as to what it means to have the law written in our hearts?

Personaly I think most SDA do feel the urge to honor God by keeping His Sabbath.

Holo sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit on our lives it is a process of a lifetime. I'm sure that today you don't do certain things that you did before coming a Christian. Sometimes God has His own time schedule. Who knows you may have been drawn to this thread to cause you to think and pray about this subject. I always say if you ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and truely listen you can't go wrong. It our job to give others the correct information its the Holy Spirit's jod to convince us.

 

[woobadooba]

I think I understand the reasoning, but I'm still unsure what it means to have the law written in our hearts. Especially if it's the ten commandments, and if it means that we're somehow driven to keep them instinctively (as children of God) - I mean, I find the will to not steal, kill etc, esp. after meeting Jesus, but I don't experience any kind of inward drive to keep one day above another, and certainly not saturday more than thursday or monday.

Do you SDAs actually feel some kind of inward urge to do this? Or am I mistaken as to what it means to have the law written in our hearts?

For me, the urge isn't so much to observe the Sabbath day by resting from my work, as it is to remember the God who created us for good works.

This is something that most people, including Sabbath keepers, fail to grasp. The Sabbath is not merely about resting from our work, but about remembering the God of creation. Thus by keeping the Sabbath day holy we are in essence pledging our allegiance to God.

If God is not given the throne of the heart, then His law is not written there in it.

 

[TheDag]

Let me make this as simple for you as I can. I DID ask him to prove it from the scriptures. My point in asking him if he believed in Sola Scripta was to say I reject mere opinion on the ridiculous premise that Sunday was the Sabbath I want proof from the scriptures.. I wanted him to get off of OPINION and prove it from the final authority on the issue..the scriptures. Sola Scripta means the Bible is the Final Authority

* ThreeAM looks for his roll of duct tape to wrap his head before TheDag makes it explode*

Really just give it a rest you are making yourself look bad.

Interesting how seem to have ignored the last sentence of my post and instead highlighted one part and answerwed that. The one part you answered needs to be read with other sentences to get the proper meaning out of what was being said. You are right in saying Sola Scripture says the bible is the final authority but what you have not been able to grasp is that asking someone if they believe in sola scripture is not the same as asking them to answer only from the bible. Maybe I will give it a rest as it seems you are not able to understand that.

 

[TheDag]

In other words, we don't have to look to tablets of stone to know what God wills for us to do morally;

If your talking about the tablets of stone that God wrote on and gave to moses then most Jews could not look at those either so if you mean the written law instead of specifically what it was written it raises the point why do some seem to be so upset at the ten commandments being removed from public spaces in the US if it is now written on our hearts. Just a thought.

 

[TheDag]

When a person has experienced the Sabbath as God intended it--as a day to focus completely on communing with Him and worshiping Him and doing good to others, without having to go to work or deal with all of the distractions that inevitably come up during the rest of the week to keep us from spending as much time with Him as we would like to--then, yes, it becomes an inward urge. It becomes such a blessing to our spiritual life that we look forward to it the whole week as a time to throw off all of our worries for one day and truly rest in the salvation that God has given us by His grace.

I've experienced that about sundays. I have friends who work weekends and experience that about wednesdays. Which is why I'm in the it doesn't matter which day group.

 

[woobadooba]

If your talking about the tablets of stone that God wrote on and gave to moses then most Jews could not look at those either so if you mean the written law instead of specifically what it was written it raises the point why do some seem to be so upset at the ten commandments being removed from public spaces in the US if it is now written on our hearts. Just a thought.

People are upset about it because they believe in absolute morality. Take absolute morality away, and what are you left with, but lawlessness which = anarchy.

 

[woobadooba]

I've experienced that about sundays. I have friends who work weekends and experience that about wednesdays. Which is why I'm in the it doesn't matter which day group.

But this is why it is important to grasp the purpose for keeping the Sabbath day holy.

It's not about you, and your feelings, but about God.

By keeping the Sabbath day holy you are in essence pledging your allegiance to God by remembering Him who created you. No other day holds such significance. So it may not matter to you which day you keep holy, but it matters to God that you obey Him in the manner in which He prescribed. God blessed and sanctified the 7th day, and commanded that we keep it holy.

Remember Cain? His thoughts were similar to yours. He didn't feel that it mattered to God what offering he rendered to Him, as long as an offering was rendered. But it did matter to God. And not only was Cain's offering rejected, but he was cursed because he chose to worship God according to the dictates of his own heart, rather than adhering to the method of worship that was prescribed by God.

Now then, should we listen to God, and do what He says, or should we follow Cain's example, and listen to our heart?

 

[tulc]

Remember Cain? His thoughts were similar to yours. He didn't feel that it mattered to God what offering he rendered to Him, as long as an offering was rendered. But it did matter to God. And not only was Cain's offering rejected, but he was cursed because he chose to worship God according to the dictates of his own heart, rather than adhering to the method of worship that was prescribed by God.

...wait are you comparing everyone who doesn't keep Saturday as the sabbath are like Cain? hey...this isn't the mark of Cain is it?
tulc(not sure you did that, just checking)

 

[woobadooba]

...wait are you comparing everyone who doesn't keep Saturday as the sabbath are like Cain? hey...this isn't the mark of Cain is it?
tulc(not sure you did that, just checking)

I don't need to clarify what I said. You know what I meant.

 

[tulc]

I don't need to clarify what I said. You know what I meant.

Let me explain: when I ask a question I generally am really looking to understand what someone is saying. Now you said:

Remember Cain? His thoughts were similar to yours. He didn't feel that it mattered to God what offering he rendered to Him, as long as an offering was rendered. But it did matter to God. And not only was Cain's offering rejected, but he was cursed because he chose to worship God according to the dictates of his own heart, rather than adhering to the method of worship that was prescribed by God.

and I asked:

...wait are you comparing everyone who doesn't keep Saturday as the sabbath are like Cain?

and I asked because it sounded like you were saying everyone who doesn't keep the sabbath you believe are (in a way) following in Cains footsteps (ie: trying to worship God differently then He desires) is that what you believe?
tulc(seriously, I'm not very subtle, if I ask something I really am looking for an answer)

 

[woobadooba]

Let me explain: when I ask a question I generally am really looking to understand what someone is saying. Now you said:


and I asked:

and I asked because it sounded like you were saying everyone who doesn't keep the sabbath you believe are (in a way) following in Cains footsteps (ie: trying to worship God differently then He desires) is that what you believe?
tulc(seriously, I'm not very subtle, if I ask something I really am looking for an answer)

But did you read the post to which I responded?

The person had said that he is of the "it doesn't matter what day you keep holy" group.

My response was based on his statement.

Now, I would urge you to go back and read what he said, and then read my response.

This should clear things up for you as to what I meant.

 

[stone]

this thread just keeps going and going. lol

Man can make every day holy, father made one:

Ge 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.