How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 23 Jan, 2012 01:20 PM
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Within the Christian church there are three leading options for answering your question.
Some Christians believe that the Sabbath was an Old Testament ordinance and has no application to the New Testament church. No less a giant than Saint Augustine took the position that the Sabbath was not carried over into the New Testament community and therefore has been fulfilled and was done away with through the work of Christ. There are Christians who feel that there is no particular significance to Sabbath keeping today, although they make up a very small minority.
For the most part, Christian people, while they may disagree as to what day is the Sabbath�the sixth or the seventh day and all that�and how we observe it, still maintain that the Sabbath is to be observed somehow in the Christian community. God ordained the Sabbath, not at Mt. Sinai with Moses and the people of Israel, but at Creation. The later books of the Law certainly filled out the concept of the Sabbath in terms of its specifics and how it was to be observed in Israel, but the Sabbath existed long before the Ten Commandments and other laws were given. This would indicate that as long as Creation is in effect, Sabbath is in effect. In the covenant God made with Israel he says, �This is my Sabbath unto all generations.� The fact that it�s a Creation ordinance is strong evidence that there is still a Sabbath observation requirement for Christians�in fact, not only for Christians, because the Sabbath was part of God�s design for humanity from the beginning. That�s one of the reasons states have had blue laws. Sabbath keeping was not even seen as a violation of the separation of church and state; everybody was required to have a Sabbath whether they were Christian, Jew, Muslim, or whatever.
In the New Testament the church comes together on the Lord�s Day, which is the first day of the week, for corporate worship. We have a clear mandate in the New Testament not to forsake the assembling of the saints (Heb. 10:25). In other words, the New Testament�s simple language says that Christians are supposed to be in corporate worship on the Lord�s Day. That means we�re supposed to go to church. That is usually seen as one of the ways in which the Sabbath is to be observed. All Christians I know of who believe that the Sabbath is still in effect agree that on the Sabbath we should be worshiping, and also that on one day in seven there should be rest from unnecessary commerce and labor. There are still provisions for commerce that must go on�hospital work, pharmacies, and such. But commerce just for the sake of merchandising ought to cease on the Sabbath.
This group of Christians who believe the Sabbath should be observed actually splits into two groups. One holds what we call the Continental view: Recreation is permitted on the Sabbath. The other holds the Puritan view: Recreation is forbidden on the Sabbath. I take the position that recreation is a legitimate form of rest on the Sabbath
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 23 Jan, 2012 05:38 PM
Sad to say, but almost all the Christians who care are Reformed.
So, this is almost a conversation that the Reformed have amongst themselves.
Thanks, for taking the more open minded view Donna.
R.C. is not a Strict Sabbatarian and neither am I.
But, I admit I have struggled with this question for a while.
How to keep the Lord's Day is the only time in my life I have felt pulled towards legalism.
After being like most Christians, and just totally ignoring the commandment, and then being around the TRULY Reformed, and listening to them arguing for strict Sabbatarianism, I have decided that a middle way is best.
Here are the points I try to emphasize on the Lord's Day:
1. I try to make that day about REST.
2. I try to make that day different from all the others.
3. I want to worship God in Public, by going to church, and I make that the main event of that day.
4. I want to have something however small, during that day, that involves me reading and thinking about God.
Yeah, it is easy to be legalistic, and it is easy to just ignore the command, so, I try to do neither of those things, and make sure that day is different than the rest of the week.
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 23 Jan, 2012 07:42 PM
"God ordained the Sabbath, not at Mt. Sinai with Moses and the people of Israel, but at Creation."
ME: Actually there is nowhere in the book of Genesis where the "sabbath" is mentioned or that anyone within it ever practiced it. If there was, then we'd see Abraham doing it in Scripture. And if the author of the article can show proof of Adam and anyone after him keeping the sabbath in the book of Genesis, then I'd definitely like to see it.
As for the whole keeping of the Sabbath ordeal goes, it was nailed to the cross at cavalry (Col. 2:13-17).
Historically, it was in 1844 the first Adventists (known then as Millerites) started keeping the Sabbath. This sudden custom came into practice because of two Anabaptist leaders, Andreas Fisher and Oswald Glait, became the pioneer and promoters of the Sabbath in 1527 AD. They were former priests who had sacrificed the priesthood to become first Lutherans, and then Anabaptists. Both of them had been taught the false doctrine of the Catholic and Lutheran churches, that Sunday is the Sabbath, when they actually read in the Bible that the Sabbath was the day that men were to keep holy.
Here is historical proof that Christians never kept the Sabbath from the early writings.
90AD DIDACHE: "Christian Assembly on the Lord's Day: 1. But every Lord's day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. 2. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. 3. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations." (Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter XIV)
100 AD BARNABAS "We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (The Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD 15:6-8).
100 AD BARNABAS: Moreover God says to the Jews, 'Your new moons and Sabbaths 1 cannot endure.' You see how he says, 'The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested [heaven: Heb 4] from all things, I will make the beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world.' Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven. (15:8f, The Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 147)
110AD Pliny: they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath not to (do) any wicked deeds, never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of good food�but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. (About three years after the death of Ignatius in 250, an important official communication was sent from one Pliny to Trajan the Roman emperor. Pliny, the Roman governor of Bithynia, wrote of the Christians who had been congregating there probably from at least A.D. 62 onwards. In this remarkable it is explicitly stated that these early Christians observed the substance of most of the Ten Commandments, and it is implied that they observed all ten as far as they were able to do so. As far as they were able, for as most of the early Christians were of slave stock or from other lower classes'-, and those who had heathen masters or employers�the vast majority�would be forced to work on their day of rest, which was unfortunately an official working day throughout the empires' until Constantine's "Sabbath" Edict in 321 A.D. gave them some measure of public protection. Hence one reads that after meeting "on a certain fixed day before it was light", the first century Bithynian Christians had "to separate"�many of them having to labour for their masters and/or employers from dawn to dusk�"and then reassemble to partake of . . . food". The "certain fixed day" [stato die"'] on which the Christians met, is regarded by Seventh-day Adventists as Saturday'-. Certainly the expression would seem to indicate a regular day of meeting, probably each week. But Sunday is far more likely to have been the "certain fixed day" than Saturday. For if Pliny had been referring to the old Saturday Sabbath, as a Roman he would doubtless have referred to the "later" meeting first and only then to the morning meeting on the day al ter the "certain fixed day", seeing that the old Saturday Sabbath was demarcated from the evening of one day to the evening of the following day. But Pliny makes no such reference. Instead, he mentions that the pre-dawn meeting took place first�and only afterwards the later meeting; and that both meetings took place on the same "certain fixed day". This rather points to the Roman (and�more importantly!�New Testament) midnight to midnight demarcation of modern Sunday-keepers than to the evening to evening demarcation of the Jews and the Seventh-day Adventists. (The covenantial Sabbath, Francis Nigel Lee, Pg 242)
150AD EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLES.- I [Christ] have come into being on the eighth day which is the day of the Lord. (18)
150AD JUSTIN: "He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us, who in every place offer sacrifices to Him, i.e., the bread of the Eucharist, and also the cup of the Eucharist, affirming both that we glorify His name, and that you profane [it]. The command of circumcision, again, bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath, [namely through] our Lord Jesus Christ. For the first day after the Sabbath, remaining the first of all the days, is called, however, the eighth, according to the number of all the days of the cycle, and [yet] remains the first.". (Justin, Dialogue 41:4)
150AD JUSTIN: ...those who have persecuted and do persecute Christ, if they do not repent, shall not inherit anything on the holy mountain. But the Gentiles, who have believed on Him, and have repented of the sins which they have committed, they shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets, and the just men who are descended from Jacob, even although they neither keep the Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts. Assuredly they shall receive the holy inheritance of God. (Dialogue With Trypho the Jew, 150-165 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, page 207)
150AD JUSTIN: But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish opinion, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh, nor observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined such observances... For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham, or of the observance of Sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses; no more need is there of them now, after that, according to the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin sprung from the stock of Abraham. (Dialogue With Trypho the Jew, 150-165 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, page 206)
150AD JUSTIN: "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration." (First apology of Justin, Weekly Worship of the Christians, Ch 68)
150AD JUSTIN: Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned [after mentioning Adam. Abel, Enoch, Lot, Noah, Melchizedek, and Abraham], though they kept no Sabbaths, were pleasing to God; and after them Abraham with all his descendants until Moses... And you [fleshly Jews] were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, "That you may know that I am God who redeemed you." (Dialogue With Trypho the Jew, 150-165 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, page 204)
150AD JUSTIN: There is no other thing for which you blame us, my friends, is there than this? That we do not live according to the Law, nor, are we circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers, nor do we observe the Sabbath as you do. (Dialogue with Trypho 10:1. In verse 3 the Jew Trypho acknowledges that Christians 'do not keep the Sabbath.')
150AD JUSTIN: We are always together with one another. And for all the things with which we are supplied we bless the Maker of all through his Son Jesus Christ and through his Holy Spirit. And on the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in the same place of all who live in a city or a rural district. (There follows an account of a Christian worship service, which is quoted in VII.2.) We all make our assembly in common on the day of the Sun, since it is the first day, on which God changed the darkness and matter and made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead on the same day. For they crucified him on the day before Saturn's day, and on the day after (which is the day of the Sun the appeared to his apostles and taught his disciples these things. (Apology, 1, 67:1-3, 7; First Apology, 145 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , Vol. 1, pg. 186)
155 AD Justin Martyr "[W]e too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined [on] you--namely, on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your heart. . . . [H]ow is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us--I speak of fleshly circumcision and Sabbaths and feasts? . . . God enjoined you [Jews] to keep the Sabbath, and impose on you other precepts for a sign, as I have already said, on account of your unrighteousness and that of your fathers" (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 18, 21).
180AD ACTS OF PETER.- Paul had often contended with the Jewish teachers and had confuted them, saying 'it is Christ on whom your fathers laid hands. He abolished their Sabbath and fasts and festivals and circumcision.' (1: I)-2
180AD GOSPEL OF PETER: Early in the morning when (he Sabbath dawned, a multitude from Jerusalem and the surrounding country came to see the scaled sepulchre. In the night in which the Lord's day dawned, while the soldiers in pairs for each watch were keeping guard, a great voice came from heaven. [There follows an account of the resurrection. Early in the morning of the Lord's day Mary Magdalene, a disciple of the Lord .... came to the sepulchre. (9:34f.; 12:50f.)
190AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: (in commenting on each of the Ten Commandments and their Christian meaning:) The seventh day is proclaimed a day of rest, preparing by abstention from evil for the Primal day, our true rest. (Ibid. VII. xvi. 138.1)
190AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: He does the commandment according to the Gospel and keeps the Lord's day, whenever he puts away an evil mind . . . glorifying the Lord's resurrection in himself. (Ibid. Vii.xii.76.4)
190AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Plato prophetically speaks of the Lord's day in the tenth book of the Republic, in these words: 'And when seven days have passed to each of them in the meadow, on the eighth they must go on." (Miscellanies V.xiv.106.2)
200AD BARDESANES: Wherever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together (On Fate)
200AD TERTULLIAN: "We solemnize the day after Saturday in contradistinction to those who call this day their Sabbath" (Tertullian's Apology, Ch 16)
200AD TERTULLIAN: It follows, accordingly, that, in so far as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated at its specific times, so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary. (An Answer to the Jews 4:1, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 3, page 155)
200AD TERTULLIAN: Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eighth day because of threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept Sabbath or practiced circumcision, and so were made friends of God. .. ...Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised, and inobservant of the Sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel, offering Him sacrifices, uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, was by Him commended... Noah also, uncircumcised - yes, and inobservant of the Sabbath - God freed from the deluge. For Enoch, too, most righteous man, uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, He translated from this world... Melchizedek also, "the priest of most high God," uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, was chosen to the priesthood of God. (An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 3, page 153)
200AD TERTULLIAN: Others . . . suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians, because it is well-known that we regard Sunday as a day of joy. (To the Nations 1: 133)
200AD TERTULLIAN: To us Sabbaths are foreign. (On Idolatry, 14:6)4
220AD ORIGEN "On Sunday none of the actions of the world should be done. If then, you abstain from all the works of this world and keep yourselves free for spiritual things, go to church, listen to the readings and divine homilies, meditate on heavenly things. (Homil. 23 in Numeros 4, PG 12:749)
220 AD Origen "Hence it is not possible that the [day of] rest after the Sabbath should have come into existence from the seventh [day] of our God. On the contrary, it is our Savior who, after the pattern of his own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of his death, and hence also of his resurrection" (Commentary on John 2:28).
225 AD The Didascalia "The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the oblation, because on the first day of the week our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven" (Didascalia 2).
250AD CYPRIAN: The eight day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath, and the Lord's Day." (Epistle 58, Sec 4)
250 AD IGNATIUS: "If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death-whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master-how shall we be able to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead. If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; " and again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am; " how shall we be able to live without Him? The prophets were His servants, and foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Saviour, saying, "He will come and save us." Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for "he that does not work, let him not eat." For say the [holy] oracles, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread." But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them. And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week]. Looking forward to this, the prophet declared, "To the end, for the eighth day," on which our life both sprang up again, and the victory over death was obtained in Christ, whom the children of perdition, the enemies of the Saviour, deny, "whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things," who are "lovers of pleasure, and not lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." These make merchandise of Christ, corrupting His word, and giving up Jesus to sale: they are corrupters of women, and covetous of other men's possessions, swallowing up wealth insatiably; from whom may ye be delivered by the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ! (Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians, Chapter IX)
250AD IGNATIUS: "On the day of the preparation, then, at the third hour, He received the sentence from Pilate, the Father permitting that to happen; at the sixth hour He was crucified; at the ninth hour He gave up the ghost; and before sunset He was buried. During the Sabbath He continued under the earth in the tomb in which Joseph of Arimathaea had laid Him. At the dawning of the Lord's day He arose from the dead, according to what was spoken by Himself, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man also be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The day of the preparation, then, comprises the passion; the Sabbath embraces the burial; the Lord's Day contains the resurrection." (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians, chapter 9)
250AD IGNATIUS: If any one fasts on the Lord's Day or on the Sabbath, except on the paschal Sabbath only, he is a murderer of Christ. (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philippians, chapter 8)
250AD IGNATIUS: "This [custom], of not bending the knee upon Sunday, is a symbol of the resurrection, through which we have been set free, by the grace of Christ, from sins, and from death, which has been put to death under Him. Now this custom took its rise from apostolic times, as the blessed Irenaeus, the martyr and bishop of Lyons, declares in his treatise On Easter, in which he makes mention of Pentecost also; upon which [feast] we do not bend the knee, because it is of equal significance with the Lord's day, for the reason already alleged concerning it." (Ignatius, Fragments)
300 AD Victorinus "The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord's day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. And let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished" (The Creation of the World).
300AD EUSEBIUS: "They did not, therefore, regard circumcision, nor observe the Sabbath neither do we; ... because such things as these do not belong to Christians" (Ecc. Hist., Book 1, Ch. 4)
300AD EUSEBIUS: [The Ebionites] were accustomed to observe the Sabbath and other Jewish customs but on the Lord's days to celebrate the same practices as we in remembrance of the resurrection of the Savior. (Church History Ill.xxvii.5)
300 AD Eusebius of Caesarea "They [the pre- Mosaic saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body, neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things" (Church History 1:4:8).
300 AD Eusebius of Caesarea "The day of his [Christ's] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord's day, is better than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than the days set apart by the Mosaic Law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the Apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality" (Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186).
345 AD Athanasius "The Sabbath was the end of the first creation, the Lord's day was the beginning of the second, in which he renewed and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that they should formerly observe the Sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first things, so we honor the Lord's day as being the memorial of the new creation" (On Sabbath and Circumcision 3).
350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: Be not careless of yourselves, neither deprive your Saviour of His own members, neither divide His body nor disperse His members, neither prefer the occasions of this life to the word of God; but assemble yourselves together every day, morning and evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord's house: in the morning saying the sixty-second Psalm, and in the evening the hundred and fortieth, but principally on the Sabbath-day. And on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent Him to us, and condescended to let Him suffer, and raised Him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection, on which we pray thrice standing in memory of Him who arose in three days, in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the Gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food? (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 2)
350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: For if the Gentiles every day, when they arise from sleep, run to their idols to worship them, and before all their work and all their labors do first of all pray to them, and in their feasts and in their solemnities do not keep away, but attend upon them; and not only those upon the place, but those living far distant do the same; and in their public shows all come together, as into a synagogue: in the same manner those which are vainly called Jews, when they have worked six days, on the seventh day rest, and come together in their synagogue, never leaving or neglecting either rest from labor or assembling together... If, therefore, those who are not saved frequently assemble together for such purposes as do not profit them, what apology wilt thou make to the Lord God who forsakes his Church, not imitating so much as the heathen, but by such, thy absence grows slothful, or turns apostate. or acts wickedness? To whom the Lord says to Jeremiah, "Ye have not kept My ordinances; nay, you have not walked according to the ordinance of the heathen and you have in a manner exceeded them... How, therefore, will any one make his apology who has despised or absented himself from the church of God? (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 2)
350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: Do you therefore fast, and ask your petitions of God. We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week, and every day of the preparation, and the surplusage of your fast bestow upon the needy; every Sabbath-day excepting one, and every Lord's day, hold your solemn assemblies, and rejoice: for he will be guilty of sin who fasts on the Lord's day, being the day of the resurrection, or during the time of Pentecost, or, in general, who is sad on a festival day to the Lord For on them we ought to rejoice, and not to mourn. (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 5)
350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS "Which Days of the Week We are to Fast, and Which Not, and for What Reasons: But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week. But do you either fast the entire five days, or on the fourth day of the week, and on the day of the Preparation, because on the fourth day the condemnation went out against the Lord, Judas then promising to betray Him for money; and you must fast on the day of the Preparation, because on that day the Lord suffered the death of the cross under Pontius Pilate. But keep the Sabbath, and the Lord's day festival; because the former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter of the resurrection. But there is one only Sabbath to be observed by you in the whole year, which is that of our Lord's burial, on which men ought to keep a fast, but not a festival. For inasmuch as the Creator was then under the earth, the sorrow for Him is more forcible than the joy for the creation; for the Creator is more honourable by nature and dignity than His own creatures." (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 7)
350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS "How We Ought to Assemble Together, and to Celebrate the Festival Day of Our Saviour's Resurrection. On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, that is, the Lord's day, assemble yourselves together, without fail, giving thanks to God, and praising Him for those mercies God has bestowed upon you through Christ, and has delivered you from ignorance, error, and bondage, that your sacrifice may be unspotted, and acceptable to God, who has said concerning His universal Church: "In every place shall incense and a pure sacrifice be offered unto me; for I am a great King, saith the Lord Almighty, and my name is wonderful among the heathen." (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 7)
350 AD Cyril of Jerusalem "Fall not away either into the sect of the Samaritans or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has henceforth ransomed you. Stand aloof from all observance of Sabbaths and from calling any indifferent meats common or unclean" (Catechetical Lectures 4:37).
360 AD Council of Laodicea "Christians should not Judaize and should not be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the Lord's day and, if possible, not work on it, because they were Christians" (canon 29).
387 AD John Chrysostom "You have put on Christ, you have become a member of the Lord and been enrolled in the heavenly city, and you still grovel in the Law [of Moses]? How is it possible for you to obtain the kingdom? Listen to Paul's words, that the observance of the Law overthrows the gospel, and learn, if you will, how this comes to pass, and tremble, and shun this pitfall. Why do you keep the Sabbath and fast with the Jews?" (Homilies on Galatians 2:17).
387 AD John Chrysostom "The rite of circumcision was venerable in the Jews' account, forasmuch as the Law itself gave way thereto, and the Sabbath was less esteemed than circumcision. For that circumcision might be performed, the Sabbath was broken; but that the Sabbath might be kept, circumcision was never broken; and mark, I pray, the dispensation of God. This is found to be even more solemn that the Sabbath, as not being omitted at certain times. When then it is done away, much more is the Sabbath" (Homilies on Philippians 10).
412 AD Augustine "Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these Ten Commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought not to be kept by a Christian . . . Which of these commandments would anyone say that the Christian ought not to keep? It is possible to contend that it is not the Law which was written on those two tables that the apostle [Paul] describes as 'the letter that kills' [2 Cor. 3:6], but the law of circumcision and the other sacred rites which are now abolished" (The Spirit and the Letter 24).
597 AD Gregory I "It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these [men] but preachers of Antichrist, who when he comes will cause the Sabbath day as well as the Lord's day to be kept free from all work. For because he [the Antichrist] pretends to die and rise again, he wishes the Lord's day to be had in reverence; and because he compels the people to Judaize that he may bring back the outward rite of the Law, and subject the perfidy of the Jews to himself, he wishes the Sabbath to be observed. For this which is said by the prophet, 'You shall bring in no burden through your gates on the Sabbath day' (Jer. 17:24) could be held to as long as it was lawful for the Law to be observed according to the letter. But after that the grace of almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has appeared, the commandments of the Law which were spoken figuratively cannot be kept according to the letter. For if anyone says that this about the Sabbath is to be kept, he must needs say that carnal sacrifices are to be offered. He must say too that the commandment about the circumcision of the body is still to be retained. But let him hear the apostle Paul saying in opposition to him: 'If you be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing' (Gal. 5:2)" (Letters 13:1).
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 02:22 AM
Amen James. I do believe it is a reformed thing.
I also believe in resting in God that day. I believe our bodies were made to work 6 days and rest one. I attend worship on the Lord's day, have dinner with the family, and read God's word and pray the rest of the day, and always time for a nap. Being a nurse i have to work every other Sunday, but when i get home, the rest of the day is mine to rest in the Lord.
Sal, I believe the creation ordinance is to be when God created heaven and earth he commanded 6 days we work one day we rest.
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 04:27 AM
Donna,
I see your point, sister, but in actuality, God rested on the 7th day from ALL HIS WORK. With that being said, that "day of rest" is the same day of rest that we will enter in at the last day according to Hebrews 4. I'll post the references then show what the text says along with a few nuggets about how the 7th day was blessed by God.
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
Gen 2:3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Heb 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
Heb 4:2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
Heb 4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."
Heb 4:5 And again in this passage he said, "They shall not enter my rest."
Heb 4:6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,
Heb 4:7 again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
Heb 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.
Heb 4:9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
Heb 4:10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Now, seeing that God rested from all of His works on the 7th day and we who have the promise of entering it through faith in Christ's redemptive work on the cross, then this day is one which we can decide to enter in by decision and one that is YET TO COME. Hebrews is pretty clear on the matter. It shows that those who received the good news of the sabbath (the Jews) failed to enter because of disobedience in Heb. 4:6. And we know by the example of the Jews that they ALWAYS KEPT the commandment of the Sabbath which means that they didn't disobey the command, so the only conclusion we do have to make is that the sabbath rest is not an earthly one but a heavenly one. Besides, Paul said that it doesn't matter what day we worship on in Romans 14.
Now, here is the nugget. We can see that God rested on the 7th day and finished all of His work on it. Yet Jesus said that God has been working as he is and hasn't stopped yet (John 5:17) and that all things are being held together by Jesus' (Heb. 1:3). So, theologically, we are still within the "7 day creation of God and will rest when He does.
And the reason why God blessed the 7th day is because Jesus lay in the tomb on the 7th day according to Scripture and that is what was meant when God said that he had already glorified it. Because by Him choosing for us to be blameless before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5), this already had to happen and we just had to wait to be played out in Jesus' day.
So you see, sister, although there is prescribed a day of rest for mankind, it isn't a set ordained earthly day because the whole world would dispute which day because of timezones and such.
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 08:08 AM
James, brother, I understand what Donna is saying but the whole article is flawed to begin with so I cannot even begin to comment on how because the outcome would always end up being legalistic in nature.
The reason why I say that the article is flawed is because the author of the article already comes in with the "sabbath command" as being passed down from creation to all people when it does not. That is why I quoted a statement from it and showed otherwise.
First off the sabbath rest was NEVER instituted at the creation and no one ever kept it. If there was, we'd see evidence of it in Genesis. But we don't. We do see it implemented in the book of exodus when it was directed to the Jews though. We Gentiles were "strangers" and "aliens" to that covenant and had no part in it.
Then the author even erroneously stated that the Christians who view as the sabbath day rest as being fulfilled in Christ was a minority. I showed where the early believers and then later in history this "sabbath day rest" ideology came from.
See what I'm getting at, brother? If your foundation is flawed then your building on it will be unknowingly flawed too.
I'll show you where you built on that same premise because of the way you commented on it.
You said:
After being like most Christians, and just totally
ignoring the commandment, and then being
around the TRULY Reformed, and listening to
them arguing for strict Sabbatarianism, I have
decided that a middle way is best.
Notice that? You have ignored the fact that this commandment was strictly for the Jews in the old covenant and translated it to a Christian requirement.
Now with that idea one can unknowingly interpret that the assembling of the saints on the Lord's day as being the sabbath rest and following a strict "silent" rule and suddenly legalism comes into play.
The sabbath day rest is strictly a new teaching by way of "covenant theology". That whole view is downright scary from what I researched of it and almost teaches a reversion to the Law.
If one is to go by the way we are to congregate on the Lord's day to celebrate His resurrection, then the new testament model should be followed. All gather together to eat where anyone in the assembly can share, admonish, teach, uplift, cry, sing, pray, and speak of the mighty works of God that has been going on in their lives. And that "model" isn't even being followed at the regular assembling together (except for the beginning and after) because the service is silencing the body to a passive audience.
As to how one should be on their day off, it is of no importance. That is up to the individual and God.
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 08:55 AM
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Luk 6:5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
*** Its as easy as "Doing" it...just pick a day and give it all to GOD...Worship...Study of His Word...Prayer...Meditation...No one makes me do it or controls what or how I do it...there is no Legalisim involved...Its about Him...not me...xo
P.S....brother Agapeton I came across this and thought of the other Thread aways back about the 3 year mission of Christ Jesus so in Luke 6:6 And it came to pass also on [[[ another sabbath, ]]] that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
*** Thats 2 in Luke so far...ima keep readin in Luke... Yall hava Blessed day in Christ Jesus...xo
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 09:52 AM
GodsJude Posted: .brother Agapeton I came across this and thought of the other Thread aways back about the 3 year mission of Christ Jesus so in Luke 6:6 And it came to pass also on [[[ another
sabbath, ]]] that he entered into the synagogue
and taught: and there was a man whose right
hand was withered.
*** Thats 2 in Luke so far...ima keep readin in
Luke... Yall hava Blessed day in Christ Jesus...xo
ME: sister, what do you mean by mentioning Jesus' usual attempt to evangelize the Jews in the synagogues on the sabbath days? I'm confused exactly as to what you are trying to say by it.
Did you also read that it was around the thrid sabbath day within that verse? Because Luke shows several 7th day of the week Jesus does this in. Even before the 6:6 event Jesus was accused of breaking the sabbath then. He never denied it either, btw. :peace:
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 10:06 AM
OPPS~A-Doodle...:winksmile:...Nevermind...I Cornfuzed the Passover and Sabbath...ima Duffus and hada a Brain F~art...:ROFL:...My Pea Brain has been workin OverTime...I be needin a Sabbath right about now...:nahnah:... :-)...xo
How are we to keep the Sabbath in today's society?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2012 01:05 PM
When taken into proper context we see the writier is pseaking about two different dynamics here about rest when comparing the slavtion of the Jews who received Jesus Christ, and those who did not receive the truth becasue of their UNBELIEF/DISOBEDIENCE.
The writier is comparing unbelief to belief and the dnagers of unbelief if one should die and do not belief. He is also speaking about the promise God ahs made to those who do believe and receive the turth of God's word, and compares this to resting on the seventh day. Entering into God's rest in this passage is referncing to dying without Jesus Christ in your life, and those who died and do nto know the truth about Jesus Christ. VERSE 9 in comparing God's rest from His work.
Jesus came to FULFILL THE LAW, and through Him the Ten Commandments have been fulfilled, but that we as believers in Christ are commandment to heed and follow thorugh the power of the Holy Spirit, because this is the ONLY way we as humans can see out sinsfulness, and follow or obey or keep the commandments is through the power of God's Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news(seakign abut the gospel) proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.(they did not obey Moses' law God had given to them)
Now we who have believed (the gospel) enter that rest, just as God has said, �So I declared on oath in my anger, �They shall never enter my rest.�� And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world(the plan of salvation for mankind).For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: �On the seventh day God rested from all his works.� And again in the passage above he says, �They shall never enter my rest.� (those who obey and those who do not obey)
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest (the unsaved to be saved), and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience(those who did not receive the truth of the gospel and rejected Jesus Christ), God again set a certain day, calling it �Today.� This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
�Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.� Here the comparision begins between salvation adn resting from ones laor in Christ physically and spiritually) For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God ( to spend time with the Lord); for anyone who enters God�s rest also rests from their works(boht means belierves who dies and believers who set a day asdie to spend with the Lord) just as God did from his.Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God�s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest Fulled The Law of The Sabbath
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are�yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God�s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jesus poinrs out thatspiritually HE IS THE SABBATH and any day a person sets aside to worship the Lord is fine just as long as a day is set aside, He says this to the Pharisees therefore, The sabbath day is any day one has chosen to rest in the worship and prayers of the Lord. Jesus said HE IS LORD OF THE SABBATH which means anyday of the week you chose to give God the glory it is wonderful before the Lord, just as long as that day is spend in the Lord doing the work of the Lord in honor and worship and prasie to Him.
Luke 13:10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, �Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.� Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, �There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.� The Lord answered him, �You hypocrites! Doesn�t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?�
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
You Sabbath Day for rest and wrshipping the Lord can be on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, it doesn;t matter just as long as you spend that day in quality time with the Lord.
First day of the week in Jesus' days in the 1st century, as is the days of the weeks in the 21st century. Days were counteed differnetly back then,and no where in scriptures are we told that the Sabbath is to be on a Saturday or sevneth days of rest in the 21st century.
Your seventh days may start differently from mine, because of work schedules, Days, times, are not the same... then what?
