A message for all Sabbath breakers.....Owned!!

[Jay T]

So what do you do on only one day of the week, Jay T., that you don't do on any other day?

Going to church is the only thing that comes to mind, at the moment, as Jesus Christ did.
I have visited nursing homes, this year, if that counts.

Are we forbidden to worship God on other days of the week?

Not to my knowledge.

The Jews on Masada all killed themselves because the Romans destroyed the temple which is the only place they coudl worship.

Well, I say right off hand those jews were not very smart people, won't you ?
They lost their eternal lives, by doing so.....as it is written: "THOU SHALT NOT KILL"

In the book of Acts, Paul met with people by the river, on the Sabbath day
Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted [thither].
16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide [there]. And she constrained us.

 

[Heidi]

So how come you only visit nursing homes and go to church only one day of the week? What do you do the rest of the week? Ungodly work? :o If you're really concerned about not breaking the law, Jay T., then it would be wise to remeber this; John 6:27, "Do not work for food that spoils." Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men." If you concentrated on obeying that commandment, then you would not have to worry about ever resting from that.

And again, when did Jesus rest?

 

[Soma-Sight]

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." Isaiah 58:13-14
[/quote]

 

[Heidi]

Hebrews 4:7, "Therefore God again set aside a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke to David, as was said before: 'Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." Heb. 4:9, "There remains then a sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his."

Hebrews clearly explains what the Sabbath rest is and what the word "day" means. You ignore it at your own peril. Christians who keep everyday holy cannot ever break the Sabbath. But those who see the Sabbath rest as only one day of the week are always in danger of picking the wrong day.

Again you see the Sabbath exactly the way the Jews do who do who have not entered God's rest. Those who do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit have no choice but to see the Sabbath as a day of the week because they cannot discern through the Holy Spirit.

 

[Jay T]

So how come you only visit nursing homes and go to church only one day of the week?

Oh, there is Wednesday night Prayer meetings, also.

What do you do the rest of the week?

Oh, Just a regular job, like most other people have.
And then when I come home, I spend a lot of time visiting different Christian forums.

If you're really concerned about not breaking the law, Jay T., then it would be wise to remeber this; John 6:27, "Do not work for food that spoils." Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men." If you concentrated on obeying that commandment, then you would not have to worry about ever resting from that.

Oh, I don't worry much anyway....as I totally believe, in Psalms 119:165,166.......

[/quote] 119:165 "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them".

119:166 " LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments".

And again, when did Jesus rest

Which time ?

At the end of creation week ?

Or, during His time here, as a human being ?

 

[Soma-Sight]

Quote:
And again, when did Jesus rest

Which time ?

At the end of creation week ?

Or, during His time here, as a human being ?

Thats the biggest blow to the Sunday argument, Christ observed Saturday Keeping of the Sabbath...

 

[Heidi]

You're joking, I hope. Where in the bible does it say that Jesus observed any Sabbath the way the Jews understood the Sabbath? They accused him of breaking the Sabbath because they had no clue what it means, nor do you.

 

[Soma-Sight]

You're joking, I hope. Where in the bible does it say that Jesus observed any Sabbath the way the Jews understood the Sabbath? They accused him of breaking the Sabbath because they had no clue what it means, nor do you.

Well lets see....


Jesus preaches on the Sabbath: Luke 4:16-30

The first mention of the Sabbath in the life of Jesus Christ is Luke 4:16: "So He [Jesus] 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 to read."

In this, the Gospels' first mention of the Sabbath, at the very beginning of Christ's ministry, we find that Jesus' customâ€â€His normal activityâ€â€was to go "into the synagogue on the Sabbath day." This was not an isolated incident; He would later continue to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath as well (Mark 6:2; Luke 13:10).

Continuing in Luke's account: "He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.' Then He closed the book...And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'" (Luke 4:17-21).

Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1 and 2, which those in the synagogue recognized as a prophecy of the Messianic age. By saying, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing," Jesus claimed to be fulfilling this prophecy; He proclaimed Himself the expected Messiah! Jesus went on to compare His ministry to that of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. His listeners, clearly understanding His meaning, promptly tried to kill Jesus for this claim, but He escaped from them (verses 23-30).

This is the first mention of the Sabbath during His ministry. On that day Jesus Christ first proclaimed that He was the prophesied Messiahâ€â€introducing His mission as Savior of all humanity. This was a significant event. Nazareth was where He grew up. The people of Nazareth were the first to hear, on that Sabbath, that He was the Messiah. He pointed them to the hope of His future reignâ€â€the gospel, or good news, in both its present and future fulfillment.

Jesus heals and casts out demons on the Sabbath: Luke 4:31-39

Immediately, Jesus began to use the Sabbath to proclaim the coming Kingdom of God and to manifest His miraculous power as the Messiah. "Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority" (Luke 4:31, 32).

Next, Jesus ordered a demon out of a man, and those in the synagogue "were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, 'What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out'" (verses 33-36).

Jesus then went to Peter's house, where He healed Peter's mother-in-law of a fever. Finally, as the Sabbath day drew to a close, "all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, 'You are the Christ, the Son of God!' And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ" (verses 38-41).

As the Savior, Jesus understood the purpose of the Sabbath, that it was a perfectly appropriate time to bring His message of healing, hope and redemption to humanity and to live that message through His actions. Even the demons recognized that He was the prophesied Messiah (which is the meaning of "Christ," John 1:41). Jesus used the Sabbath to point people to Him as the Healer and Savior of mankind.

Jesus confronts Pharisees over disciples' actions on the Sabbath: Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5
Passages in Matthew 12, Mark 2 and Luke 6 are misconstrued to imply that Jesus broke the Sabbath commandment. But let's see what really happened. From Mark's account, "He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, 'Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?'" (Mark 2:23, 24).

http://www.ucg.org/booklets/SS/christsabbath.htm

 

[Servant_2000]

Explain Isaiah 66:22, 23: "'For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,' says the Lord, 'so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,' says the Lord."

This is a common SDA "proof text" for requiring the old covenant Sabbath in the new covenant age. It goes like this: If Isaiah prophesies that "new earthers" will keep the Sabbath, then "this earthers" will have to keep it here and now.

But how do we know that everyone in the new earth will keep the Sabbath? SDA's simply ignore what Dale Ratzlaff in his excellent book SABBATH IN CRISIS* (page 284) calls “an important characteristic of OT prophecy. The old covenant prophets, when describing the age to come, described it through old covenant eyes. In other words, old covenant eschatology [“end-time writingâ€Â] is set forth in old covenant terminology.â€Â

Isaiah 66:20-21 provides a good example of this “old covenant terminologyâ€Â: The Lord says to captive Israel, “I will also take some of [the Israelites returning from Babylon to the restored nation of Israel] as PRIESTS and for LEVITES.â€Â

At this point, Ratzlaff asks the Adventist apologists, “Will the Levitical priesthood be restored in the earth made new? The purpose of the Levitical priesthood was to perform the many ceremonies which POINTED FORWARD TO CHRIST. In the presence of God, there would surely be no need for the restoration of this old covenant priestly function.â€Â

Ratzlaff’s point here is this: If you drag the old covenant Sabbath into the new covenant “new earth†setting, then don’t you also have to drag in the whole priestly-Levitical sacrificial system right along in with it?

For wasn't one prophesied just as strongly, just as legitimately, and with just as much divine fire and inspiration as the other? Why spotlight one part of the prophecy and hide the other? Why keep one and chop off the the other?

In other words, if you’re going to drag one old covenant Christ-pointing shadow into the new-covenant new earth, then aren’t you going to have to drag in ALL the Christ-pointing old covenant shadows? If Isaiah could foresee that one old covenant shadow (the Sabbath) as a new-covenant “must,†then would he not also foresee another old covenant shadow (Levitical priestly system) as a "must†as well?

The SDA logic is flawed with inconsistency: It drags in the Sabbath shadow and leaves out the priestly shadow. It insists that the Sabbath shadow must remain while the sacrificial shadow can be safely ignored.

Or can it? To whom does this "earth made new" property belong to anyway? The SDAs? Or the SOVEREIGN God? Remember, God is never mocked, God is never "outshown," God is never outsmarted.

Consider the parable of the elephant. Let’s call our great and noble beast Old Works, for he represents the old covenant expression of “the law and prophets.â€Â

Having been always faithful to his duty, Old Works has carried all humankind forward through the ages on his back to God’s drawn “line in the sand,†where the cross of Christ stands forever planted.

Good Old Works. His wrinkled trunk is the Sabbath requirement. His battered right tusk is dietary restriction, such as “no shrimp cocktail.†His scarred left tusk is the tithing requirement. And his vast back and sides and belly make up the priestly sacrificial system.

Good “Old Works"! The job he was covenanted to do is now done. And very well done at that.

With a mighty sigh of relief Old Works looks forward to a well-earned retirement in the pastures of the Lord where the grass grows tall and green and the crystal rivers cascade from the sparkling white granite cliffs into purest lakes shaded by the Creator’s towering broadleaf trees. "Ah," sighs Old Works in the pleasure of upcoming ease.

“But no!†cry Adventists all.
“Old Works cannot retire!
His work is not yet done!
Nor will it ever be,
until the remnant we,
do hang upon his trunk,
with Mediator none,
and vindicate the character of God!â€Â

And with that they grab his trunk, singing, “Don’t forget the Sabbath...."

For in their view Old Works must cross God's line in the sand and step from the line of the covenant old into the land of the new!

They grab his right tusk – “And we need to keep from eating any meat at all, just to be safe. For, quoting Ellen G. White, they protest that "Those who persist in eating the flesh of dead animals will go from God’s people to walk with them no more.â€Â

They grab his left trunk – “To go into the kingdom you must pay your tithe. But – psst! – you can keep nine tenths of your increase! For the law says you don’t have to give it ALL to God! Only a measly tenth!â€Â

At his point up steps the aged Isaiah, that far-eyed prophet of Messiah. “What ho?†he cries indignantly. "If you take the trunk and tusks, you must also take the bulk – that vast and messy sacrificial system. For the elephant is but one beast and you shall not carve up Old Works as you propose to do!âÂ

“Yea! Amen!†chime in all 123 Christian Forums in unison. “You SDAs leave Old Works alone! That mighty beast of burden has done his job so well. Now let Old Works depart in peace and not in pieces! Christ is sufficient for us now!â€Â

And so, in the purity of new covenant grace alone, I go,

Praising him who died and rose again for all,

 

[Heidi]

You have not shown where the bible says that Jesus rested on the Sabbath, Soma. Nowhere. He preached on the Sabbath like he did on any other day of the week. He entered the temple on the Sabbath because that's when the Jews were in the temple. Again, when did Jesus ever rest from his work? :o

 

[Soma-Sight]

You have not shown where the bible says that Jesus rested on the Sabbath, Soma. Nowhere. He preached on the Sabbath like he did on any other day of the week. He entered the temple on the Sabbath because that's when the Jews were in the temple. Again, when did Jesus ever rest from his work?

I dont think you even want to go here.....

If what you say is true.... that being, Christ did not rest on the Sabbath as the Law required.....

would lead us to a conclusion that Christ led an IMPERFECT life in that He did not fulfill the Law.

Even hard core Sunday supporters recognize that the OT meaning of the Sabbath rest is just that.... a day of rest.....

Christ by definition MUST have rested on the Sabbath otherwise He is not the Son of God and NOT the perfect sacrifice for mans sin.....

And by the way.... I didnt see Christ swinging the hammer on the construction jobsite as a normal "worker" would do on the Sabbath. You seem to think that all things are either intrinsically evil or intrinsically good. Working construction is a good thing but it is misplaced on the Sabbath day. Do you see the distinction here Heidi? I notice you like to point out that we are to totally reject the world and live as Saints of the Most High every day in all ways. Well that is impossible if you have a job I am afraid...... You cannot "work" at a worldy job and fulfill the "rest" requirement of teh Sabbath every day of the week as you imply.

That is why we work six days a week and rest one day a week. Not rest 7 days a week as you imply....

At any rate I give up and may just hang myself after all this insanity....

Have a good night though.....

 

[guibox]

If what you say is true.... that being, Christ did not rest on the Sabbath as the Law required.....

would lead us to a conclusion that Christ led an IMPERFECT life in that He did not fulfill the Law.

Exactly. More vain attempts to try and throw doubt because their arguments don't hold water. Let's contradict ourselves to throw as much mud as possible shall we? That's the same tactic that OJ Simpson's lawyers did to get their client off. They tried to make the cops in a frame-up conspiracy AND make them incompetent that they also screwed up in the laboratory with cross contamination. Pick one or the other.

The 'Sabbath abrogators' say that Christ is the 'fulfillment' or the 'end' of the law, therefore because He kept that law, we no longer have to under the New Covenant. That means that he would have had to live up to the just requriements of the law by observing it all. That says two things:

1) That the way Christ kept the Sabbath was the true way and not that of the Pharisees

2) If He didn't rest on the Sabbath, He truly didn't meet the laws demands.

Then they go and say that Christ DIDN'T keep the law and didn't rest on the Sabbath. Then Heidi uses the "It doesn't explicitly say that Christ didn't rest so you can't say he did!" argument. You can't have it both ways, Heidi and the rest of you.

The Bible doesn't say that little green men came from space and became baptized either. So it could be true! :roll: It doesn't say that Christ worked on the Sabbath either. So which is true when looking at the context of the whole scripture? You will see that the evidence falls in the Sabbath's favor based on Christ's words, example and the fact that the Sabbath was taken for granted in Christ's time even by the disciples. And yet they say that people rested on the Sabbath and did their work on the 'first day'.

But no! If it doesn't say that Christ rested on the Sabbath, then it could be that He didn't keep the Sabbath! Oh, please! And yet it says that He went to preach in the synagogue 'as His custom was'.

So Jesus being of the Jewish faith goes to church according to custom but doesn't 'rest'??

Do you know how illogical and desperate your unbiblical reasoning is?


Quit throwing whatever misconstrued arguments you can to cast doubt on the validity of the Sabbath. Instead look back at your own arguments that don't hold much water.

 

[Soma-Sight]

Do you know how illogical and desperate your unbiblical reasoning is?

This one is especilly bad my friend!

Its quite insane when you know how smart these people really are, its pride and nothing more.....

 

[Scott]

Exactly. More vain attempts to try and throw doubt because their arguments don't hold water. Let's contradict ourselves to throw as much mud as possible shall we? That's the same tactic that OJ Simpson's lawyers did to get their client off. They tried to make the cops in a frame-up conspiracy AND make them incompetent that they also screwed up in the laboratory with cross contamination. Pick one or the other.

Ironically, you throw more mud here than anyone else guibox. Why don't you discuss the topic instead of trying to instigate problems with asinine comparisions like that. This is a Christian forum, not a courtroom. So act appropriately.

 

[Heidi]

You have not shown where the bible says that Jesus rested on the Sabbath, Soma. Nowhere. He preached on the Sabbath like he did on any other day of the week. He entered the temple on the Sabbath because that's when the Jews were in the temple. Again, when did Jesus ever rest from his work?

I dont think you even want to go here.....

If what you say is true.... that being, Christ did not rest on the Sabbath as the Law required.....

would lead us to a conclusion that Christ led an IMPERFECT life in that He did not fulfill the Law.

Even hard core Sunday supporters recognize that the OT meaning of the Sabbath rest is just that.... a day of rest.....

Christ by definition MUST have rested on the Sabbath otherwise He is not the Son of God and NOT the perfect sacrifice for mans sin.....

And by the way.... I didnt see Christ swinging the hammer on the construction jobsite as a normal "worker" would do on the Sabbath. You seem to think that all things are either intrinsically evil or intrinsically good. Working construction is a good thing but it is misplaced on the Sabbath day. Do you see the distinction here Heidi? I notice you like to point out that we are to totally reject the world and live as Saints of the Most High every day in all ways. Well that is impossible if you have a job I am afraid...... You cannot "work" at a worldy job and fulfill the "rest" requirement of teh Sabbath every day of the week as you imply.

That is why we work six days a week and rest one day a week. Not rest 7 days a week as you imply....

At any rate I give up and may just hang myself after all this insanity....

Have a good night though.....

No, Christ did not rest from his work on any day of the week! He healed on the Sabbath to show that the Sabbath is not a day of the week but that He is the Sabbath, which you do not understand, Soma. And neither did the Jews, which is why they also thought he broke the Sabbath, just like you think. The Sabbath is explained in Hebrews 4:1-9, which you ignore. And because you ignore that, then you are accusing Jesus of also breaking the Sabbath.

Your misinterpretation also leads you to believe that God wants us to perform ungoldy work all week long & rest from it on only one day, or rest on one day from Godly work, which is absurd. Therefore, your understanding of the Sabbath is skewed and contradictory, just like the Jews.

In addition, the bible never said that the word "day" referred to days of the week which were not even in existence when God created the world! The word "Day" in the bible again refers to an age or an era rather than the new standards of time that men set up. You don't understand the Spirit of the law but only from human wisdom, Soma, which is always fallible and contradictory.

 

[Servant_2000]

Exactly. More vain attempts to try and throw doubt because their arguments don't hold water. Let's contradict ourselves to throw as much mud as possible shall we? That's the same tactic that OJ Simpson's lawyers did to get their client off. They tried to make the cops in a frame-up conspiracy AND make them incompetent that they also screwed up in the laboratory with cross contamination. Pick one or the other.

Ironically, you throw more mud here than anyone else guibox. Why don't you discuss the topic instead of trying to instigate problems with asinine comparisions like that. This is a Christian forum, not a courtroom. So act appropriately.

Scott, you earned the title Scott on the Rock.

You remind me of Apollos:

"When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia [northern Greece], the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."

Blessings,

 

[guibox]

Ironically, you throw more mud here than anyone else guibox. Why don't you discuss the topic instead of trying to instigate problems with asinine comparisions like that. This is a Christian forum, not a courtroom. So act appropriately.

That is definitely an assumption that cannot be proven true at all. Don't tell me to act inappropriately when I haven't. So now I can't bring in analogies from courtrooms? My comparison is showing that smoke and mirrors doesn't seem to just work in a courtroom. Heidi wants to play it both sides instead of sticking with one argument. Apparently specific references to specific courtroom events aren't allowed on this forum. Do you monitor everyone's discussions so intently Scott, or just mine?

How am I 'instigating problems'? Please inform me or are you just going to warn and unfairly threaten me again like you did the last time for no good reason?

"Let it be known, forum members...no courtroom analogies as they are 'asinine' and will 'instigate problems'." I've never heard of this before.

Sounds like someone's on a 'power kick' to me or I'm being unfairly persecuted.

In addition, the bible never said that the word "day" referred to days of the week which were not even in existence when God created the world! The word "Day" in the bible again refers to an age or an era rather than the new standards of time that men set up. You don't understand the Spirit of the law but only from human wisdom, Soma, which is always fallible and contradictory.

For someone so intent on squelching heresies such as 'Mary worship' and 'universalism', you just created another: denial of special creation. I hope that Scott and others so intent on squelching personal opinions on this forum bans your views as well.

Instead of promoting progressive creation or theistic evolution using the bible, you might want to take a closer look at the Hebrew. In the Genesis account, the Hebrew word for day -'yom' when followed by a number always signifies a 24 hour, literal day. This is in contrast to usage in the context of the 'day of the Lord'. The seven full days of creation week are 24 literal hours according to the Hebrew reckoning.

 

[Vic C.]

This thread was trouble from post #1. :-?

 

[Heidi]

Hebrews 4:9-10, "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his." So Guibox, where does the bible say that on the seventh day God rested and then returned to work on Monday? :o Since we are supposed to rest just as he did, then why do you rest on the seventh day then return to work on Monday? :o According to your understanding, we aren't supposed to rest from our own work just as God did from his. So which is it?

 

[guibox]

[/b]

So Guibox, where does the bible say that on the seventh day God rested and then returned to work on Monday?

First of all, it would be Sunday, not Monday.

Second, have you looked at Genesis 2:2?

And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it becaue that in it He had rested from all the work which God created and made.

And Exodus 20:11:
[quote:62354]For in six days (literal 24 hour periods - 'yom') 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.

[/quote:62354]

You see, Heidi, the Sabbath is holy, set apart and blessed because God entered that rest. Not because of anything the people did or who they were. The Sabbath's sanctity is wrapped up in the Creator, not Jewish rituals.

As God entered His rest on the seventh day, so a 'literal sabbath keeping' is left behind for the people of God. Though the sanctuary services and priesthood has been 'done away' and 'abolished', the Sabbath is 'left behind' or 'remains' for the people of God.

You see Heidi, you're both right and wrong with your interpretation of Hebrews 4. A spiritual rest does not negate a physical rest, but rather magnifies it and becomes the vehicle.

Dr. Bacchiocchi puts Hebrews and Christ's in perspective perfectly! Read on!

"In the NT, the coming of Christ is seen as the actualization, the realization of the redemptive typology of th Sabbath. Through His redemptive mission, Christ offers to believers the expected sabbatical "release" (Luke 4:18) and "rest" (Matthew 11:28). In the light of the Cross, the Sabbath memorializes not only God's creative but also His redemptive accomplishments for mankind. Thus, "the Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9) is not only a physical cessation from work to commemorate God's perfect creation, but also a spiritual entering into God's rest (Hebrews 4:10) made possible through Christ's complete redemption. The physical act of resting becomes the means through which believers experience the spiritual rest. We cease from our daily work on the Sabbath to allow God to work in us more freely and fully." - "Sabbath Under Crossfire, p. 173"

He continues:

In the NT, the Sabbath is not nullified but clarified and amplified by Christ's teaching and saving ministry. Viewing the rest and redemption typified by the OT Sabbath as realized by Christ's redemptive mission, NT believers regarded Sabbathkeeping as a day to celebrate and experience the Messianic redemption-rest by showing "mercy" and doing "good" to those in need. This means that for believers today, the Sabbath is the day to clelebrate not only God's creation by resting, but also Christ's redemption by acting mercifully toward others.

(Bolding mine)

Heidi and servant2000, I encourage you to read this book as it explains it in ways that I never could. After you have read it, then make your decision on what the Sabbath is about. If you cannot get this book, you can access important chapters on the Sabbath, Paul and the Law and Christ and the Sabbath at:

http://www.biblicalperspectives.com

Scroll to the bottom where it says you can access selected chapters from the books. Then go to Sabbath Under Crossfire"

At least you can say that you made an informed decision when you've done so.

[/i]