Are Christians to keep the Sabbath?

[Gordon]

I read a book recently and the author suggested it's important for Christians to keep the Sabbath and that it was Saturday and not Sunday. I have also heard that it is on Sunday, or that we as Christians are not required to observe it. I actually promised God that I would not work on the weekends anymore if he led me to a new job monday through friday. I currently work friday and saturday third shift which leads into Sunday. If you think we are to keep the Sabbath do I have to quit my job or is it something we just should do? I'm still confused any help would be great.

 

[jasoncran]

I read a book recently and the author suggested it's important for Christians to keep the Sabbath and that it was Saturday and not Sunday. I have also heard that it is on Sunday, or that we as Christians are not required to observe it. I actually promised God that I would not work on the weekends anymore if he led me to a new job monday through friday. I currently work friday and saturday third shift which leads into Sunday. If you think we are to keep the Sabbath do I have to quit my job or is it something we just should do? I'm still confused any help would be great.

no, see acts 15. particulary vs 20.

the shabat and the law given to moses was only for the nation of isreal for the time being till christs arrival.

 

[Gordon]

Thanks again for your input Jason.

 

[John 8:32]

no, see acts 15. particulary vs 20.

the shabat and the law given to moses was only for the nation of isreal for the time being till christs arrival.

Interesting how you put that, in other words these are the only rules for gentiles?

Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

 

[WIP]

I actually promised God that I would not work on the weekends anymore if he led me to a new job monday through friday.

I don't want to derail this thread but I would ask you to reconsider this a moment within yourself. You gave God an ultimatum?

 

[Gordon]

I don't want to derail this thread but I would ask you to reconsider this a moment within yourself. You gave God an ultimatum?

No you misunderstand. I am not sure if this is what God wants for me. I said that as I would take it as a sign that God wanted me to keep the Sabbath if he led me to the new job in a new city. If God were to show me here in this thread I am to keep the Sabbath without the job I would take that as a sign as well.

 

[John 8:32]

Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath...

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

If He were going to change it why did He keep doing it?

Paul kept the Sabbath...

Act 13:13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Act 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

Here are Gentiles asking Paul to preach to them on which day of the week? The Sabbath day.

Act 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Not just the Jews, but the whole almost all of the city.

Here is Paul teaching on the Sabbath day again, won't he ever learn?

Act 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

I guess he didn't learn.

Act 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Greeks as well as Jews.

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Sabbatismos - a keeping of a Sabbath.

If the day of worship was changed, why was the change kept such a secret?

If you want to know who really changed the day of worship...

http://www.godssabbathtruth.com/catholicchurchchangedsabbathsunday.html

 

[Gordon]

Ok so would you say I need to keep the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday? Would you suggest I quit my job? Currently the weekend is the only time I am working so it's not really a time of rest from work for me. How important to God is it that I observe on this day? What am I supposed to do on this day as well just go to Church and read the Bible? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[John 8:32]

Ok so would you say I need to keep the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday? Would you suggest I quit my job? Currently the weekend is the only time I am working so it's not really a time of rest from work for me. How important to God is it that I observe on this day? What am I supposed to do on this day as well just go to Church and read the Bible? Any help would be appreciated.

Doesn't matter a hoot what I say you need to do, I did not make the Sabbath holy time, God did...

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

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 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:
Exo 20:11 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.

Deu 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
Deu 5:13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
Deu 5:14 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Deu 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Exo 34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Now at the end time, why in the world would anyone be concerned about the Sabbath unless it was still in effect?

What will people be doing after the return of Christ?

Isa 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

Notice the time frame? And notice it is all flesh, not just the Jews.

You must decide what you will do concerning your employment and the Sabbath, the only question I would ask is, where is your faith? In your employer or in the Creator of the universe who created the Sabbath on the seventh day of creation week?

 

[John 8:32]

Ok so would you say I need to keep the Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday? Would you suggest I quit my job? Currently the weekend is the only time I am working so it's not really a time of rest from work for me. How important to God is it that I observe on this day? What am I supposed to do on this day as well just go to Church and read the Bible? Any help would be appreciated.

You are not the only one who ever faced that dilemma, I can tell you for a fact that God is faithful.

 

[Webb]

Hi Gordon---Don't quit your job yet untill---

Hi John 8:32---Will you discuss the sabbath with me on the one-on-one?

God bless to you both, Webb.

 

[Tri Unity]

I would like to point out that NONE of the above mentioned scriptures categorically "prove" that the Sabbath was commanded to be followed. That the Apostles found themselves preaching at this time in a Jewish world is not unexpected. Paul also shaved his head to "appear" to follow the law:

Acts 21:23 "We have four men who have taken a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law. 25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided that they should avoid meat that has been sacrificed to idols and blood and what has been strangled and sexual immorality. 26 Then Paul took the men the next day, and after he had purified himself along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice of the completion of the days of purification, when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them."

These scriptures cannot be used to validate shaving our heads "in conformity with the law." I have not heard that argued, but the same principal applies as to the sabbath.

Another example is where Paul instructed circumcision:

Acts 16:3 "Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek."

Again, those who argue from scripture to observe the Sabbath do not also advocate circumcision... why not?

The use of the scriptures to validate the Sabbath are based on two basic reasons: 1/. the custom of the Jews to maintain "Saturday" as holy. Saturday was not even the original sabbath day; this day was decided in a council after the lunar calendar was conformed to blend with the solar calendar. The original Hebrews did not have names for the days of the week, they had numbers. The Jews "Saturday" Sabbath is itself an error; although it was practiced as their custom. 2/. The misuse of scripture. The scriptures are somewhat distorted and twisted to force this expectation on Christians. This teaching is not a natural understanding; it is forced.

Another "plumb-line" to gain an absolute testimony of what the first church taught on the Sabbath is gained from examining the documents of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. These were the Christians who immediately followed after the Apostles, and some of them knew the Apostles personally (Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna). I will examine these documents in a follow-up post. These fathers are often dismissed as being not a credible testimony because "error crept into the church". I do accept that error did creep into the church, but this was not until the 4th century. The 2nd and 3rd century fathers were extremely orthodox. More to come...

Tri

 

[felix]

I read a book recently and the author suggested it's important for Christians to keep the Sabbath and that it was Saturday and not Sunday. I have also heard that it is on Sunday, or that we as Christians are not required to observe it. I actually promised God that I would not work on the weekends anymore if he led me to a new job monday through friday. I currently work friday and saturday third shift which leads into Sunday. If you think we are to keep the Sabbath do I have to quit my job or is it something we just should do? I'm still confused any help would be great.

I suggest stop reading Christian books and start reading your Bible.

John 5: 16-18 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

Matt 12:5 "Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

Jesus Himself did not obey Sabbath and even profaned the Sabbath by working. Yet He is blameless because He is our High Priest.

Today Christ is mediating to Father on Sabbath days too because, the true Sabbath is the rest with Him which is yet to come.

Heb 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

Not only Christ didn't follow Sabbath He neither asked His disciples and followers to follow it. Sabbath is a part of the onsolete old covenant not of the new covenant. If you follow Sabbath, you go to the Father as a divorced wife but if you follow new covenant you go to the Father as a bride of Christ. Following old covenant (ie inc Sabbath) after new covenant is given is an abommination.

Sent from mobile.

 

[jasoncran]

Interesting how you put that, in other words these are the only rules for gentiles?

Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

yes and the ancient sages would call them the seven noahide laws.

 

[nmwings]

I read a book recently and the author suggested it's important for Christians to keep the Sabbath and that it was Saturday and not Sunday.

Yes, that's right! It is important for anyone who believes in God for several reasons. Gen 2:3 gives us 3 of the reasons by telling us He does something very special with the 7th day: Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

1. He made the Sabbath a blessing for mankind (Messiah confirms this in Mk 2:27 The sabbath was made for man..â€) When we honor this day we become blessed and we also receive blessings.

2. He sanctified it. When something is “sanctified†either to the Lord or by the Lord, it means it is set apart from everything else to serve a specific purpose. We see in Col 2:16-17 that all of the Holy Days (given in Lev 23) and the Sabbath serve as “dress rehearsals†for certain future events. When we observe the Sabbath, we practice living in the Kingdom!

3. God rested. Did He really NEED to rest? I don’t believe so, but I DO believe that He did so to teach us about His Plan and His Kingdom. I believe that when we observe the Sabbath, we invite the Lord into our homes. What better day is there to seek the Lord than on the day that He is resting also?

Look on your calendar and it shows the 7th day being on Saturday. Even though the Church has changed THEIR observance day, their actions do not change the fact that HIS day remains a blessing to those who observe it, and it STILL serves as a “dress rehearsal†for the Kingdom and the Lord STILL rests with you in your home!

I actually promised God that I would not work on the weekends anymore if he led me to a new job monday through friday.

And if He provides that avenue, you had better be prepared to be tested! He WILL test you to see if your heart is in it or not (to see if you will obey or not.) But you have made that very important first step of actually WANTING to be obedient to His word!

How important to God is it that I observe on this day?

It is so important to God that He made it an eternal sign (like a wedding ring on your finger) between you and Him that shows you are His son and that He is your God (See Ex 31:16-17.)

What am I supposed to do on this day as well just go to Church and read the Bible? Any help would be appreciated.

There are only 6 commandments concerning the proper observance of Sabbath:

1. A double commandment to not only “remember†that God made the heavens and the earth in 6 days and then He rested on the 7th day, but also to “keep†it holy. Meaning, we guard ourselves against profaning it with the mundane and common things of the 6 working days.

2. Not to kindle a fire (Ex 35:3)

3. Not to travel far from home (Ex 16:29)

4. Not to work, nor allow anyone else to work for you (or on your behalf), including your animals (Deut 5:14)

5. To cease from you labors….. to REST!!

6. To cook all your meals for the Sabbath day on Friday (Ex 16:23)

Yes, these commandments are pretty vague. And the Pharisees and religious leaders jumped all over this “vagueness†and set up what they called “fences†which they claim “protects†the original 6. These “fences†in Judaism today total over 1,600 “do’s and don’ts†regarding Sabbath, alone! One of those “fencesâ€include the prohibition of making mud with your spit on the Sabbath, which is how they falsely accused the Messiah of “breaking†the Sabbath when He healed the blind man in John 9! See, the Messiah did not break HIS laws of Sabbath, but He trampled all over their laws of Sabbath!

And that is the exact same point that Paul was making in Acts 15. He knew that the Pharisees had appointed themselves as so-called “Sabbath Police†over the people and that they were trying to get them to observe THEIR laws. But Paul emphatically tells us, "do not to allow the “Sabbath Police†to impose their stupid “fences†on you!"

But Gordon, until Messiah teaches us more about the Sabbath when we are in the Kingdom with Him, you must use your own judgment as to how to observe it.

 

[Tri Unity]

The Seven Noahide laws are:

1. Prohibition of Idolaty
2. Prohibition of Murder
3. Prohibition of Theft
4. Prohibition of Immorality
5. Prohibition of Blasphemy
6. Prohibition of eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive
7. Establishment of courts of law

No Sabbath here.

The oral law of the Jews, the Talmud, was the law introduced by the Pharisees to "explain" the OT bible. It was the "tradition" of the Jews that Christ often referred to. They say it goes back to Moses, but they are liars. It is one of the sources that all the corruptions of understanding began, including the corruption of the Sabbath. The earliest copies of the Talmud date from the 5th century AD (the Kabbalah came later). The people who translated the Jewish Masoretic OT were the same ones who gave us the Seder Olam, the Talmud, and the Kabbalah. This is a good reason why we should not follow the Jewish customs - they are almost entirely Pharisee inventions.

“With the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.) the Sadducees disappeared altogether, leaving the regulation of all Jewish affairs in the hands of the Pharisees. Henceforth, Jewish life was regulated by the Pharisees; the whole history ofJudaism was reconstructed from the Pharisaic point of view, and a new aspect was given to the Sanhedrin of the past. …Pharisaism shaped the character of Judaism and the life and thought of the Jew for all the future." (The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1905)

“Pharisaism became Talmudism, Talmudism became Medieval Rabbinism, and Medieval Rabbinism became Modern Rabbinism. But throughout these changes in name ...the spirit of the ancient Pharisees survives unaltered... Nor is it merely the outer accruements of Pharisaism which have survived in his life, the spirit of the doctrine has remained quick and vital.” (Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, The Pharisees, the Sociological Background of their Faith, Vol 1)

When anyone looks into the traditions of the Jews they really mean the traditions of the Pharisees. The Pharisees interpreted the OT for Jews in the same way that the Catholic Church interpreted the NT for the Church in the Middle Ages. The doctrine of the Sabbath - the day (Saturday) - and every other distortion - came down from the Pharisees. We need to be careful what we believe. The entire Jewish nation was deceived and the same deceiver is still at work.

 

[rrowell]

There are only 6 commandments concerning the proper observance of Sabbath:

1. A double commandment to not only “remember” that God made the heavens and the earth in 6 days and then He rested on the 7th day, but also to “keep” it holy. Meaning, we guard ourselves against profaning it with the mundane and common things of the 6 working days.

2. Not to kindle a fire (Ex 35:3)

3. Not to travel far from home (Ex 16:29)

4. Not to work, nor allow anyone else to work for you (or on your behalf), including your animals (Deut 5:14)

5. To cease from you labors….. to REST!!

6. To cook all your meals for the Sabbath day on Friday (Ex 16:23)

And every one of them were Nailed to the Cross:

Colossians 2:14 (KJV)
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Making a new covenant making the old obsolete:

Hebrews 8:13 (KJV)
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

No longer subject to the ministry of death and condemnation:

2 Corinthians 3:7 (KJV) But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

Our instruction for doctrine and practice now come from the law of Christ, the New Testament.

We now receive our message,take collections, and partake of the Lords Supper in remembrance of Him upon the first day of the week (Not the Sabbath):

Acts 20:7 (KJV) And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

1 Corinthians 16:1-2 (KJV) 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

 

[Tri Unity]

Making a new covenant making the old obsolete...

Amen. If it wasn't for that fact none of us would be saved; only Israelites who perfectly fulfilled the Law. Not even observing the Sabbath would be enough to save us. These are good scriptural references you gave. Obviously, if you have already contracted your belief system to include the sabbath, you are not easily going to change your views. This is the trap for every Christian with every teaching he/she entertains. Once you "believe" something, you are contracted (mentally). You best make sure that belief is accurate, for it very difficult to undo a belief.

 

[JLB]

Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath...

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

If He were going to change it why did He keep doing it?

Paul kept the Sabbath...

Act 13:13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Act 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

Here are Gentiles asking Paul to preach to them on which day of the week? The Sabbath day.

Act 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Not just the Jews, but the whole almost all of the city.

Here is Paul teaching on the Sabbath day again, won't he ever learn?

Act 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

I guess he didn't learn.

Act 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Greeks as well as Jews.

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Sabbatismos - a keeping of a Sabbath.

If the day of worship was changed, why was the change kept such a secret?

If you want to know who really changed the day of worship...

http://www.godssabbathtruth.com/catholicchurchchangedsabbathsunday.html

But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Act 13:13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

How far did Paul travel on Saturday to "keep the Sabbath"?


Why would Paul write this -

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

and again, why would Paul write this -

4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. Romans 14:4-6

When you are in Christ, you have entered His rest! Thats the reality of the shadow of the sabbath!

He is your rest!

He is your righteousness!

He fulfilled the Law in your place, because you can't!

JLB

 

[jasoncran]

nwings theres a lot more on that shabat. alot more. work must be defined. that is different from temple to temple and from rabbi to rabbi.

orthodox dont even go on the .net, its considered work. i might do shabat one time but not all the time.