The Law And The Sabbath

The Law And The Sabbath

The Law of Moses was written for the Jews and was only to last until the time of Christ. In the Law of Moses, the blood of animals was required to atone for the sins of the people. These sacrifices were temporary. Now, we have the perfect sacrifice. God's only begotten son, being without sin, offered Himself as a sacrifice to forgive sins from the time of His death until His return. When Jesus died on the cross, the temporary Law of Moses was fulfilled and is no longer necessary.

v Galatians 3:19,16 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; .... to your Seed, who is Christ.

v Ephesians 2:14,15 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,

v Galatians 3:24,25 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

v Hebrews 8:6,7,13...He [Christ] is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant [the Law of Moses] had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second....In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

v Hebrews 9:13,14 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

v Hebrews 9:15-18 And for this reason He [Christ] is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.

Since Christians are not under the Law of Moses today (only Jews ever were), we are not under the Ten Commandments written in the Law. Christians today are to follow Jesus Christ. Since He Himself reinstated all but one of the Ten Commandments (the Sabbath), Christians are obligated to obey nine of the Ten Commandments.

v Exodus 20:2-17 [#1] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [#2] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. [#3] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [#4] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. [#5] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. [#6] Thou shalt not kill. [#7] Thou shalt not commit adultery. [#8] Thou shalt not steal. [#9] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. [#10] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. (KJV)

v Exodus 34:27,28 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

v Matthew 19:18,19...Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "

v Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "

v Romans 13:9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

v Matthew 5:27,28"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

v Matthew 5:21,22"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire."

Seventh Day Adventists and other Sabbatarians cite Exodus 31:13-17, to prove that the Sabbath is to be observed "forever." It is "a perpetual covenant." Hence, Christians must observe the Sabbath "throughout (their) generations." Is this true? If not, why not?

First, even if it could be proven that the Sabbath is to be observed, it would not apply to Gentiles, but only to fleshly Jews. The Sabbath was "a sign between (God) and the children of Israel (Ex. 31:17). Gentiles were not included.

Second, the burning of incense was also a "perpetual" commandment which was to be observed "throughout (their) generations" (Ex. 30:8). Must Christians "burn incense"? To be consistent, Adventists should do so, but they do not.

Third, circumcision was "an everlasting covenant" (Gen. 17:13). However, today, the Spirit tells us that "in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision" (1 Cor. 7:19; Gal. 5:6). If one keeps the Old Testament law of circumcision, "Christ shall profit you nothing" (Gal. 5:2). Do Adventists bind circumcision because it was "an everlasting covenant"? No, they do not. So, why bind the Sabbath? To bind either the Sabbath or circumcision, means: (1) that Christ profits us "nothing;" and (2) that we "are fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:4).

Throughout their generations, perpetually, forever, as long as the nation of Israel existed under the law, they were to burn incense, practice circumcision, and keep the Sabbath. We are not under the covenant made to Abraham, nor to the law of Moses. We are "under law to Christ" (Rom. 7:4-7; 1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 2:16, 21; Col. 2:14-16). Thus, we do not practice circumcision, burn incense, or keep the Sabbath (Jn. 1:17; Rom. 2:28, 29; Gal. 5:1-4).

Although many today refer to the Sabbath as Sunday, the Sabbath of the Bible was on Saturday. Even though many think of Sunday as the weekend, most modern calendars show Sunday to be the first day of the week. In the Old Testament, the Jews were commanded to rest on the Sabbath. Since Christians are not under the law, we are not commanded to keep it.

v Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

v Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

v Colossians 2:16,17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

v Mark 3:4,5 Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

v Luke 6:2-5 And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

v Luke 13:14-16 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"

v Luke 14:5 Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"

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