It's been my experience from being part of a Saturday Sabbath church (Worldwide Church of God) that Sabbatarians often think they are better than non Sabbatarians, and often accuse the non Sabbatarians of not being saved at all..because the Sabbatarians think they are more faithful to God than non Sabbatarians.
And the same is true with how the non-Sabbatarians view those who do keep the Sabbath. Somehow, if we observe the Sabbath and the Law, we are not saved because we're negating gracious salvation. Not all, but some. And I would say it's the same percentage on both sides that incorrectly label the other.
I would ask them to look at the practice of the New Testament Church....what was the practice of the New Testament church? There's no better place to look than Acts.
Here, we can see that the New Testament church worshipped EVERY DAY...
Acts 2:[SUP]42 [/SUP]And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [SUP]43 [/SUP]And awe[SUP][e][/SUP] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [SUP]44 [/SUP]And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [SUP]45 [/SUP]And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [SUP]46 [/SUP]And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [SUP]47 [/SUP]praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Here we can see that the New Testament church worshipped EVERY DAY.
Certainly the apostles went to synagogue on Saturday after the resurrection, but this was because it was a good place to engage unsaved Jewish believers. They themselves were Jews as well, and their history was wrapped around the Jewish tradition. And, there was nothing wrong with them attending synagogue on Saturday, as Romans 14 gives Christians the liberality to observe whatever day they want.
All Christians, both Law-keepers and non should be worshipping every day and getting into church or fellowship as often as they can. But God set apart the Sabbath as different than the rest of the week. The Levites were always ministering, there was always worshipping no matter the day. But God still set the Sabbath apart as unique.
As the church became more Gentile, since the Jews largely refused the gospel, the day migrated to Sunday in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The focus of Christianity is, after all, Christ and him crucified, and raised from the dead.
I agree, and the Sabbath-keepers in this forum will agree with you. And I would venture to say the majority of Sabbath keepers everywhere would agree as well.
As an additional note, many who insist that the Sabbath still applies are implicitly stating that they are more righteous than other Christians who don't. Some even consider others who don't keep the Sabbath of being unsaved, as they are breaking God's commandments. They won't generally come right out and tell their other Christian friends that, but it is very much a part of the whole mindset. I know as I was a Sabbatarian and I believed that anyone who didn't keep the Saturday Sabbath was a pagan. My feelings on that were not unique.
Those attitudes might not have been unique, but they aren't the majority by any means. And as I mentioned before, I've seen just as many non-Sabbath keepers consider themselves more righteous because they don't need to follow the commandments because they're saved by grace. Again, it's a 2-way street
Being a Sabbatarian for me meant that God's grace was not the focus of my beliefs. I was caught up in works oriented salvation. I did not believe that I was saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. I did not have assurance of my salvation, as I thought my behavior would cause me to lose my salvation. The focus was not on Jesus Christ; it was on me and my works. And, those works were not on greater things such as "love one another"...which is the law of Christ..but they were on my pathetic works such as keeping the Sabbath, the holy days of Leviticus 23, tithing, and the clean/unclean meats laws. If such legalistic thinking is your major focus, then you don't really have a good relationship with the person of Jesus Christ..you have a relationship with the law. Scripture plainly teaches that no one will be justified by keeping the law...it is all by grace through faith.
I encourage any such individual to read the book by RC Sproul called Faith Alone. It explains exactly what it means to be saved by grace through faith alone, and why the Reformation was so important.
And as you can see now, that was erroneous thinking on your part. And those that get caught up in that mindset are erroneous in their thinking. What needs to be remembered though, is that attitude is not the mindset of God, nor was it when he gave the Law. The Law was never given to overshadow God's mercy and gracious salvation. It is man who got their priorities out of whack.
Just because we mess up what God gave us, doesn't mean we get rid of what God gave us.
So that my remarks are not misinterpreted, I believe that God desires us to be obedient. RC Sproul believes this too. Most Christians believe this. The issue is, be obedient to what? The Old Covenant or the New Covenant? The New Covenant obviously. Does the New Covenant include the Sabbath?
Yes it does. The New Covenant includes the teachings and instructions of the Old. Obviously the sacrifices and atonements are taken care of with Jesus' death, but the practical instructions and morals of the Old are still applicable. That's is why Jesus told His disciples to follow and teach the Law (Matt 5:19). That is why He told them to do what the Pharisees said, not what they did (Matt 23:3). He knew the Pharisees had their priorities out of whack physically. But He also knew they were teaching God's instructions.
And..if you believe the Sabbath is required of Christians, are you being consistent with the verses you use to justify your position? Let's try this one..
Colossians 2: [SUP]16 [/SUP]Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. [SUP]17 [/SUP]These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
For the most part, yes. But on the flip side, are non-Sabbath keepers being consistent and not passing judgment on those who do keep the feasts?
Be aware that all of the broad generalizations that you are making about Sabbath Keepers and their motives are very identical to the non-Sabbath keepers, but on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Two questions:
1) If you use this verse to justify your position that Christians should keep the Saturday Sabbath, then you must also observe festivals and new moons. Do you do so, or are you only picking and choosing what you want? With my church, they never observed new moons..I doubt most knew anything about them.
Our church does. We physically and intentionally observe all of the Biblical Feast days and the New Moons.
2) Do you read this verse in context? Do you read the verses before and after the verse? What it says is that these things were shadows of the reality, which is Jesus Christ. Why worship the shadow when you have the reality? We have Jesus Christ now, and can worship Him.
If someone is "worshiping the Feast days, they're out of line. But there is nothing contradictory in observing them while worshiping God. The shadow of the sun obviously not the sun itself, but it does serve a purpose, and we are thankful for it. The "shadows" can remind us of the truth. But if the shadow's are faulty, why do folks celebrate Easter or Christmas? Aren't those "shadows"? Why have a sunrise service? He's already risen. We don't need to celebrate it anymore.
The Sabbath pointed to Jesus Christ as your spiritual rest from works. The mindset of those who kept the law was that they were seeking their justification, their right standing, before God through observing the Law. When Jesus Christ came to die on a cross, he fully paid the cost for our sin. When we realize the depths of our sin, and asked God to forgive them and to apply the shed blood of Jesus Christ to them, we were given right standing before God. We were clothed in the robes of Christ's righteousness. When God looks at us, he sees us clean and pure. We trade our sin for Christ's righteousness in this great exchange that occurs at conversion.
Jesus is our spiritual rest, and in that way He is our Sabbath..worship the Reality and not the shadow.
Warm regards,
Robert
Again, if people are seeking justification/salvation through their works, they are in error. But what was God's intention behind the Law? The Sabbath? Did they have anything to do with justification? They didn't. And again, just because man has messed up the application of the Law, doesn't mean God's instruction for it is faulty.
So in summary:
The Law was never meant to justify. Its always been by grace.
If anyone is seeking salvation through the Law, they are wrong. It is only by grace.
They Law provides practical instruction on how to live a life that worships God. They Holy Spirit helps us with that.
Jesus taught His disciples to follow it and teach others to do so. We should follow His example.
Final re-emphasis: If anyone is seeking salvation through the Law, they are wrong. It is only by grace.