Sabbath observance isn’t complicated or mysterious. The Sabbath was and

Comment on Christians and the Sabbath by Sean Pitman.

Sabbath observance isn’t complicated or mysterious. The Sabbath was and is intended by God to be a special day, every week, free of secular activities and pursuits that is entirely devoted to spending time with and thinking about Him as the creator and redeemer – and doing the works of God which include relieving the suffering of fellow human beings and even animals. That’s what it means to “keep” the Sabbath day holy to God as a day of rest from one’s own secular activities and a way to recharge one’s spiritual batteries.

As far as your repeated argument that the Sabbath was only made for the Jews, I’ve already covered this in some detail. As already mentioned, not even Martin Luther believed that – arguing that the Sabbath was in fact made in Eden in memorial of creation as cited in the 4th commandment itself and as expressed by Jesus when He said that the Sabbath had been made for mankind (anthropos). Even the Eastern Orthodox Churches continue to recognize the 7th-day Sabbath as a holy day (Link) – that none of the Ten Commandments were done away with at the cross…

Your argument that Jesus was, in fact, trying to “change the Sabbath” simply isn’t true. Jesus never said that He was trying to either change or do away with the Sabbath. On the contrary, Jesus perfectly kept the Sabbath as God originally intended for it to be kept – and as the Jews themselves had in their own law. As Jesus carefully explained, everything that He did on the Sabbath had always been “lawful” for everyone to do on the Sabbath – according to Jewish law. As “Lord of the Sabbath” Jesus was simply stating that He had personally created the day to be a blessing for everyone – not the curse and burden that the Jews of His day had made of it. Yet, you keep arguing that Jesus “broke the Sabbath” in an effort to change it. Of course Jesus broke the Sabbath – but not in an effort to change it. You continue to ignore Jesus’ own claim that He broke the Sabbath “lawfully” – according to the understanding of the Jews themselves. He broke the Sabbath as anyone else could break it – lawfully. Do you really not understand that it is and always has been “lawful” to do good on the Sabbath? – to save life and relieve suffering rather than to kill or allow suffering to continue on the Sabbath day? That’s always been a valid reason, before God, to “break” the Sabbath – since the Royal Law of Love, the fundamental basis of all law, always trumps everything else. Jesus explained this in detail if you care to read what He actually said. This does not therefore mean that the Sabbath can be “lawfully” broken for any reason whatsoever. It can only “lawfully” be broken for very specific reasons, according to the Royal Law, as Jesus repeatedly explained and as the Jews themselves understood.

As far as the Talmud, it teaches that Abraham kept the entire Torah before it was given to the Jewish People at Sinai. The Midrash says that Isaac kept the laws of shchitah (kosher slaughtering), and Jacob kept the laws of Shabbat – before the giving of Torah at Sinai. In other words, essentially all of the patriarchs were keeping the Torah before Moses came along – according to Jewish literature anyway.

Of course, the “Talmud” itself was written after Christ and is not recognized as canonical by Christians – or even some modern Jews for that matter. Yet, the Talmud is still of historical interest when it comes to Jewish thinking and understanding of the Torah.

The older compilation of the Talmud is called the Jerusalem Talmud or the Talmud Yerushalmi. It was compiled in the 4th century AD in Galilee. The Babylonian Talmud was compiled about the year 500 AD, although it continued to be edited later. The word “Talmud”, when used without qualification, usually refers to the Babylonian Talmud. While the editors of Jerusalem Talmud and Babylonian Talmud each mention the other community, most scholars believe these documents were written independently. In any case, it is the Talmud, not just the Medrash, that argues that Abraham kept the entire Torah:

Yoma 28b Rab said: Our father Abraham kept the whole Torah, as it is said: Because that Abraham hearkened to My voice [kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws]…

Raba or R. Ashi said: Abraham, our father, kept even the law concerning the ‘erub of the dishes,’ as it is said: ‘My Torahs’: one being the written Torah, the other the oral Torah.

http://juchre.org/talmud/yoma/yoma2.htm#28b

Of course, you argue that the Medrash “is of no value at all” – which would seem to be the case for the Talmud as well? Again, however, the value of the Talmud (and the Medrash) is in understanding the view of the Jews themselves regarding the origin of the Torah. Philo also, who lived during the time of Jesus, wrote that the Sabbath was created for all of mankind, not just the Jews, in memorial of creation. Clearly, then, this was the common understanding of the Jews themselves – particularly during and after the time of Christ.

You also continue to cite the argument that, “Jesus kept the law to release us from its obligations” and that this concept took a while for the early Christian Church to understand. Of course, what you really mean to say is that Jesus only released us from just one of the obligations of the moral law – just one. The only law you have a problem with in the Decalogue is the Sabbath – the only one that says to “remember.” You cite Colossians 2:16 in support of this conclusion of yours – without addressing the counterarguments I’ve presented regarding Colossians 2:16 (that Paul is speaking about ceremonial Sabbaths and ceremonial observations of the Sabbath which are a “shadow” of things to come). Paul was by no means trying to set aside any of the Ten Commandments, much less the weekly Sabbath Commandment, since these commandments are not “shadows” of a future event, but are eternal in nature – set in place from the very foundations of creation. The weekly Sabbath, in particular, is a memorial of a past event – the creation week. It cannot then be rationally said to be a “shadow of things to come.” Those ceremonial laws and temple services and animal sacrifices that foreshadowed the coming of Christ, His life, and His death, are clearly what Paul is talking about here.

Still, you claim, with seeming sincerity, that the earliest Christians met on Sunday and observed communion (as opposed to Sabbath), but this was a rarity for the early church recorded in the Bible. The vast majority of worship services mentioned in Acts, dozens and dozens of them, took place on Sabbath – as always. On one occasion when a Sunday service is recorded (Acts 20:7), this event took place on Saturday night and lasted late into the night, till midnight, because Paul had to leave town the next morning (Sunday morning). This was the last time many would get to personally see and hear Paul. So, of course there was a late evening meeting after the Sabbath. The rest of the time, of course, it was Paul’s regular “custom” to worship with fellow believers (both Jews as well as gentiles) on the Sabbath. And, as I’ve clearly shown in my article above, Sabbath observance, along with eventual Sunday observance, continued on for most of the early Christian Church for hundreds and hundreds of years. That would not have happened if the Apostles of Jesus had taught their followers that the Sabbath commandment of the Decalogue was no longer binding…

As far as Sunday observance, of course, I agree with you that there is absolutely no biblical mandate in this regard. However, it is a historical fact that the Catholic Church did in fact create such a mandate on their own – outside of any biblical mandate.

As far as your argument of a resurrection “without any judgment”, you can’t be a “saint” without some kind of judgment being made in your favor – since judgment “begins with the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Judgment is not always negative. As the Bible points out, “judgment is given in favor of the saints.” (Daniel 7:22). Of course, no one will be negatively judged, or “condemned” who claims Jesus as their savior and takes on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Anyone who does this receives a positive judgment and will be saved. Of course, those who reject Jesus and who refuse to obey His commands and who not will accept the grace offered to them by God, will be negatively judged and will experience the deeds of their own hands back upon their own heads – followed by the second eternal death.

Remember now that I’m not suggesting that one keeps any of the commandments of the Decalogue in order to earn one’s own salvation. Salvation is a gift of God that is entirely undeserved and that cannot be earned. It is a free gift that must simply be accepted in order for salvation to be realized. Keeping the Sabbath never saved anyone – as I’ve previously mentioned. Never committing adultery doesn’t save anyone either – or avoiding murder. The Law cannot save you. Only Jesus can save you. However, once you realize that you are saved and that God does love you and wants the best for you, the grateful Christian will naturally want to keep God’s Laws and Commandments – and will receive Divine Power to actually do so. Keeping the Law is only “impossible” by human effort – and that includes all of the Ten Commandments (not just the Sabbath). It simply isn’t possible to actually keep the Royal Law through human effort alone. One cannot self-generate true disinterested love for one’s neighbor. That’s simply beyond human capabilities. However, it is not by any means impossible to keep the Royal Law, along with all of the Ten Commandments, through Divine Power – as Jesus kept the Law. This Power is offered as a free gift to us if we will only accept it.

The fact is that we are “co-workers” with Jesus in our own salvation – despite your argument to the contrary. Our job, as free moral agents, is to simply accept what Jesus did for us and open the door when we hear Him knocking on listen to that “still small voice” speaking to us. Jesus already did the heavy lifting. Yet, we have a part to play in our own salvation. We can either accept or reject the gift that is freely offered to us – and that is our part to play. Of course, in accepting the gift of salvation, the honest Christian will in fact strive to keep all of the commandments of God through His grace and Power.

As far as “perfection” is concerned, it wasn’t Ellen White, it was Jesus who said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Jesus wouldn’t have said this if it wasn’t possible for us to be “perfect” (for where we are in our walk with God) if it was in fact “impossible” like you seem to be suggesting. It is only impossible, you see, with our own independent efforts. However, if we let God into our lives, we no longer have to live in sin. It’s a promise and a gift of God that He will Himself give us the ability to break free from our rebellion against the Royal Law and enable us to actually love our neighbors as ourselves and to actually keep all of the commandments of God.

As far as your claims regarding the teachings of Mrs. White on perfection and salvation, you are simply misreading Mrs. White here. While she recognized the fact that a free moral agent is always free to reject a gift that was once accepted (she didn’t believe in the doctrine of “once saved always saved”), she did teach that the Christian is able to have a “present assurance” of salvation. In this line, she specifically said that we should never say, “I don’t know whether I shall be saved or not.”

No one can make himself better, but we are to come to Jesus as we are, earnestly desiring to be cleansed from every spot and stain of sin, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are not to doubt his mercy, and say, ‘I do not know whether I shall be saved or not.’ By living faith we must lay hold of his promise, for he has said, ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ (ST, April 4, 1892, par. 3).

“The message from God to me for you is ‘Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out’ (John 6:37). If you have nothing else to plead before God but this one promise from your Lord and Saviour, you have the assurance that you will never, never be turned away. It may seem to you that you are hanging upon a single promise, but appropriate that one promise and it will open to you the whole treasure house of the riches of the grace of Christ. Cling to that promise and you are safe. ‘Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.’ Present this assurance to Jesus, and you are as safe as though inside the city of God” (10MR 175.1).

Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.’ John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.’ You can never perish while you do this–never” (DA 429.1).

Note that it is a present assurance that is open to the Christian. As long as you depend on Him in active faith, you have the assurance of His acceptance (virtually the same promise found in John 6:37).

Your claim that there were those saved by keeping the letter of the Law “between Sinai and Jesus’ death” is also mistaken. Those people could only receive eternal life as we can receive it – through the unmerited grace of God alone which was made possible by the promise of the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf. Without the fulfilment of that promise, without the actual cross of Christ, no one could have been saved – period. Everyone’s salvation is and was always dependent upon what Jesus did for everyone on that cross. No one will end up in heaven and say, “I earned this myself because I kept the Law.” No one has ever kept the Law without God’s help… which is how Jesus Himself kept the Law.

Table of Contents

1 Sean Pitman Also Commented
- 1.1 Recent Comments by Sean Pitman
2 Related

Sean Pitman Also Commented

Christians and the Sabbath
The church’s position on salvation is quite clear. Our part to play in our own salvation is to simply accept the gift that God has provided – to simply accept what the life and death of Jesus has purchased for us and respond in love to God for who He is and what He has done. Of course, true love for God will cause the Christian to actually want to do God’s will – and God will supply the Power to succeed. However, nowhere are we told that our actions are what save us. That’s never been true.

No one is going to say, “But I kept the Sabbath and so I deserve to be in heaven.” No one who walks through the gates of Heaven is even going to think such thoughts. We keep the Sabbath because of what Jesus has done for us, because of the salvation that has already been purchased for us and freely given to us. We do not keep the Sabbath, or any of the other Divine Laws, in order to earn merits with God. Our only merit with God is and ever will be the life and death of Jesus on our behalf…

Beyond this, God isn’t going to exclude anyone who honestly did not know about the Sabbath. There will be many in heaven who never heard about the Sabbath. There will even be those there who never heard about Jesus or about the Father or who may not even have understood about the existence of God. God takes people where they are and looks at the heart of a person to see if they are being honest and living according to the limited truth that they actually understand at the time.

Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them. Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives. Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.

Ellen White, Desire of Ages, p. 638

Christians and the Sabbath
You miss the underlying point for the commands regarding Sabbath observance. The “no work” command was given so that everyone, as far as possible, could have an entire day off to devote to God. That’s the main point here. Otherwise, people would feel obligated to continue their normal secular activities or fail to strive to give everyone else a day off to do the same. You fail to comprehend the spirit or original purpose of the Law… something that Jesus highlighted in His life.

Yet, you argue that it is impossible to break the law lawfully. That’s because you don’t seem to understand that the fundamental basis of all law, including the Ten Commandments, is the Royal Law of Love. If keeping one of the Ten Commandments would cause you to violate the Royal Law, then that lesser commandment can be lawfully broken. Beyond the fact that the priests regularly “broke” the Sabbath without guilt throughout Jewish history (Matthew 12:5), did you not read where Jesus Himself explained that it was also “lawful to do good on the Sabbath”? (Matthew 12:12) Jesus wasn’t just talking about Himself here. He was speaking for everyone. Why do you think the Jewish leaders kept silent when Jesus specifically asked them if it was lawful to heal or to kill on the Sabbath?

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. (Mark 3:4).

Why did they “remain silent” here? Because, as you should know, it was part of the law that work could be done on the Sabbath day to save the life or prevent the suffering of man or even beast. Do you not recognize this? Do you really not understand this concept? and how it is consistent with the underlying Royal Law of Love? I think you just don’t want to understand it…

I’m sorry, but Jesus only “broke the Sabbath” in order to relieve suffering – right in line with the Royal Law and right in line with Jewish law as well. In other words, He broke the Sabbath “lawfully” and anyone else would have been lawfully able to do the very same thing. And, the Jews themselves could say nothing contrary to this. They remained silent because they knew that Jesus was right in line with their own law.

As far as the Apostles keeping the Sabbath after Jesus was gone, you cite a single Saturday night prayer meeting (held because Paul was leaving the next morning) as evidence that they didn’t continue to observe the Sabbath while you downplay the dozens and dozens of Sabbath worship services that are also mentioned and the fact that they all kept the Sabbath “according to the commandment” when Jesus died. And, you fail to recognize the continuance Sabbath observance by the early Christian Church for hundreds and hundreds of years. You also fail to recognize the qualifying statement of Paul regarding “shadows of things to come”. You quote Colossians 2:16 and argue that this particular passage is all that should be read, “period”. However, the passage doesn’t really end with Colossians 2:16. You fail to read and understand Colossians 2:17 where Paul specifically explains that he is talking here about the laws that were put in place to foreshadow the coming of Christ. There were ceremonial laws, animal sacrifices, and yearly sabbaths that pointed toward the life and death of Jesus. Obviously, these met their reality in Jesus Himself. However, the weekly Sabbath does not point forward, but backward. It is not a “shadow of things to come.” It is for this reason that it was written in stone and placed inside of the Ark of the Covenant with the rest of the eternal moral laws of the Decalogue. You don’t write a temporary “shadow” on stone. And, you don’t place a “shadow” with other eternal moral laws – moral laws that were and are and will forever be binding for all of mankind.

Again, Jesus specifically pointed out that He created the Sabbath for all of mankind / anthropos (Mark 2:27). The language of the 4th Commandment regarding the Sabbath points back to creation before the Fall of mankind. The language of Genesis also points out that God made the 7th-day holy right at the very beginning of Earth’s history before the Fall of mankind. And, the Jews recognized that the Sabbath existed before Moses came along. Philo specifically argues that the Sabbath was universal – for all of mankind. The Talmud also recognizes that the Sabbath existed before Moses and the Medrash (contrary to your claims) argues that the Sabbath existed at creation – that the Torah was used by God in the creation of our world. Even Martin Luther, a Sunday keeper, argued that the Sabbath was obviously created in Eden before the Fall and that after the Fall Adam and Eve taught their children to observe the Sabbath. You simply ignore all of this…

I also continue to be amazed at your confidence that those who do not honestly recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior “obviously will not be granted eternal life”. The Bible is very clear that even those who have never heard the name of Jesus can be saved if they lived honestly according to the best light that they had been given (Romans 2:14-15). But what is especially interesting here is that you are so certain that such people will be lost, despite their honest ignorance, yet, at the same time, you claim that humans have no part to play in their own salvation. How then can anyone be lost if no one has any part to play in their own salvation? Is this not an inconsistent position on your part? Is it not clear to you that we are able to reject the gifts that God wants to give to us? Are we able to actually reject the gift of salvation? The man drowning in the lake, in your illustration, is actually able to tell his rescuer to “get lost”… and the rescuer, God in this case, must honor the man’s wishes.

So, you see, our “part to play” in our own salvation is simply to accept the gift that God freely offers. That’s our part to play. Of course, by accepting God’s gift, our lives are changed and will no longer live the lives we used to live. If we actually love God and gratefully accept His gifts, we will “keep His commandments”. If we deliberately reject God’s commandments, and actively seek to undermine them, once we know the truth of them, we clearly have not accepted God’s gift of salvation nor do we really love God.

Yet, you argue, “Well, if people should be put to death for violating the Sabbath commandment, it follows that those who keep it shall LIVE. Right?” No, that’s not right. Keeping the Sabbath isn’t what makes a person live or be given salvation. Eternal life is an unmerited gift of God – a gift that we can either accept or reject. It is not earned by keeping the Sabbath. Keeping the commandments of God aren’t what saves a person. Keeping the commandments of God are the result of realizing that one has been given salvation by God and wishing to keep God’s commandments because we love Him – not in order to earn our own salvation.

As far as Ellen White “contradicting herself”, well, it only seems like that for someone who is quoting what she actually said and taught out of context. You confuse her statements against the concept of “once saved always saved” and deliberately ignore her teachings regarding the concept of “present assurance” of salvation. However, there really is no contradiction here if you take each statement in context.

As far as your “advice” that I follow the Bible and avoid the sophistries of certain theologians – I fully agree and recommend strongly that you take your own advice. Study these things very carefully and prayerfully for yourself and earnestly ask God to show you the right path. Then, if you honestly follow God’s leading according to the best light that you have been given to understand, even if you don’t get everything right, you will be saved.

Christians and the Sabbath
Of course, Sabbath observance never saved anyone. Salvation is based on a personal relationship with Jesus and acceptance, by faith, of His life and death for us on the cross – and His resurrection. It is by grace only that we can be saved – not by anything that we have done or can ever do for ourselves. However, it is in gratitude for all that Jesus has done for us that we strive, in His power and grace, to keep His commandments – including the Sabbath. After all, His commandments are given for our own benefit and are meant to be a blessing to us. The Sabbath, in particular, was given to us a beautiful gift to be enjoyed. It is a mistaken view of the Sabbath to see it as a curse or a hindrance to one’s happiness. Just the opposite is true…