Saturday Sabbath

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Malia_Belen

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A few days ago I asked a hypothetical question after reading about seventh day adventists. I decided to look and see what the Bible had to say and I found myself a little nervous upon discovering that God said Keep the Sabbath and I believe one of the passages even mentioned death for those who didn’t. So, my question is how do we know that we aren’t suppose to keep the Saturday Sabbath and are there passages in the Bible that say that Christians don’t need to follow the old testament laws. Thanks for reading…anything here would help because I admit I’m more than a little nervous now :o .
 
Malia_Belen said:
A few days ago I asked a hypothetical question after reading about seventh day adventists. I decided to look and see what the Bible had to say and I found myself a little nervous upon discovering that God said Keep the Sabbath and I believe one of the passages even mentioned death for those who didn’t. So, my question is how do we know that we aren’t suppose to keep the Saturday Sabbath and are there passages in the Bible that say that Christians don’t need to follow the old testament laws. Thanks for reading…anything here would help because I admit I’m more than a little nervous now :o .
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Perhaps this will help Malia. catholic.com/library/Sabbath_or_Sunday.asp
 
Malia_Belen said:
A few days ago I asked a hypothetical question after reading about seventh day adventists. I decided to look and see what the Bible had to say and I found myself a little nervous upon discovering that God said Keep the Sabbath and I believe one of the passages even mentioned death for those who didn’t. So, my question is how do we know that we aren’t suppose to keep the Saturday Sabbath and are there passages in the Bible that say that Christians don’t need to follow the old testament laws. Thanks for reading…anything here would help because I admit I’m more than a little nervous now :o .
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There is plenty of room for debate when one looks at the biblical record alone. One thought that comes to mind is when Christ claimed that “Love of God and of neighbor as self” constituted the “fulfillment of the law” - how do you reconcile His not including the keeping of the Sabbath if it were part of the NT law?
Even more important is Paul’s statement to Timothy on how to “behave in the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of Truth.” Where does Paul ever mention keeping the Sabbath?? No where. He and Peter specifically do away with much of the OT laws including circumcision and “feasts” and dietary laws saying that if you put yourself under them then Christ of no value for you.
Even more important, though, is the fact that the NT which took centuries to be recognized and canonized did not function as the “rule book” for Christians. It was the Church, built by Christ upon the Apostles with Peter as the leader that was given the breath of life by Christ and the guidance to guide the flock of the faithful. Your inclination to “search the Scriptures” is a good one, but the Bible was never intended to stand alone as to what the Christian faith is. The witness of the Apostles and the earliest Christians - many of whom validated their faithfulness through martyrdom - remains a powerful testimony to the truth handed to the Church and preserved by the Holy Spirit to this very day.
 
Malia_Belen said:
A few days ago I asked a hypothetical question after reading about seventh day adventists. I decided to look and see what the Bible had to say and I found myself a little nervous upon discovering that God said Keep the Sabbath and I believe one of the passages even mentioned death for those who didn’t. So, my question is how do we know that we aren’t suppose to keep the Saturday Sabbath and are there passages in the Bible that say that Christians don’t need to follow the old testament laws. Thanks for reading…anything here would help because I admit I’m more than a little nervous now :o .
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You are supposed to keep the Saturday Sabbath, that is if you are Jewish. But then I don’t recall actually reading “Saturday Sabbath” in the Sacriptures. As Christians we keep the Christian Sabbath, Sunday, the day Christ rose from the dead.
 
Malia_Belen said:
A few days ago I asked a hypothetical question after reading about seventh day adventists. I decided to look and see what the Bible had to say and I found myself a little nervous upon discovering that God said Keep the Sabbath and I believe one of the passages even mentioned death for those who didn’t. So, my question is how do we know that we aren’t suppose to keep the Saturday Sabbath and are there passages in the Bible that say that Christians don’t need to follow the old testament laws. Thanks for reading…anything here would help because I admit I’m more than a little nervous now :o .
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First of all in the NT Jesus quoted all of the Ten Commandments EXCEPT keeping the Sabbath. Jesus and the Apostles violated the Sabbath many times. When question about this he replied " the Sabbath was made for man not for God". In the bible, the Apostles (as the new Christians) were already talking about “the Lord’s Day” (Sunday). Also, it was on Sunday that He rose from the dead.
 
Read all of Colossians Chapter 2 especially verses 16 - 18:

Therefore - Seeing these things are so. Let none judge you - That is, regard none who judge you. In meat or drink - For not observing the ceremonial law in these or any other particulars. Or in respect of a yearly feast, the new moon, or the weekly Jewish sabbaths. Verse 17. Which are but a lifeless shadow; but the body, the substance, is of Christ. Verse 18. Out of pretended humility, they worshipped angels, as not daring to apply immediately to God. Yet this really sprung from their being puffed up: so far was it from being an instance of true humility.

It is also documented through the new testament that after pentecost; the aspostles would preach in the synagogues on the Sabbath but break bread (The Eucharist) On Sunday the Lord’s day.

The idea is, as Catholics, we do honour the Sabbath but as Jesus said The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. He also professed to being the Lord of the Sabbath. This is why he healed the sick on the Sabbath. Thus when Jesus created the new covenant, we find our rest in Jesus Christ. Now as Christians What we celebrate, is the Resurrection of our Lord when we break bread on Sunday, the day he rose from the dead just like the Apostles did
 
God is reasonable, always, and all of His commands have purpose behind them.
The prohibitions in Deuteronomy against cooking a goat kid in its mothers’ milk, and Paul’s exhortations not to eat meat offered to idols, are both intended to prevent the Lord’s people from being conflated with pagans, and calls those who were formerly pagans out of their sects and fully into the church.

Today, there is no harm for a Christian to eat a cheeseburger - while it is true that the Law was fulfilled and Christians are Scripturally exempt from the dietary laws, there is also the very good rationale that we are so far removed from the ancient pagan rites that there’s no reason to associate certain actions with paganism. Pagans don’t have a monopoly on symbol or ritual or culture. Should we simply not eat or wear clothing or make love because the pagans ate certain foods or wore certain clothes or had sex during their rituals? The same goes with cultural traditions that have secular relevance today (such as putting up a Christmas tree) but that bore religious significance for pagans eons ago. I had not known that there was such a thing as an Asherah tree until an evangelical friend of mine told me about it and warned me that putting up a Christmas tree went against God. Mind you, I never ever thought of any such association until he told me, and when I do put up a tree, it has nothing to do with Asherah.

What lies underneath all such admonitions against things having pagan significance is a dissociation of religion from intent - those who adhere to the mandate that worship be on the Jewish sabbath (which actually began on Friday night and ended at sundown on Saturday), for example, fail to consider that the intent of those who worship on Sunday to be to commemorate the day of of the Lord’s Resurrection. Instead, in their arguments I generally hear “That’s the day the Romans worshipped the Sun god”. Ironically, this seems to reflect a kind of totemism - as if worshipping the Lord God on Sunday somehow obviates our worship and redirects it towards another deity. It is counterintuitive to tell someone they are worshipping Baal when during a Mass we pray exclusively to the Lord, in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So if you want to honor the Lord on Saturdays - do so. In fact, I don’t think the Lord would mind your dedicating both days of your weekend to Him - indeed if you could worship him every day this week, would you? All that keeps me from going to daily Mass is that they stopped offering a 6:30 a.m. service (which would let me get to work on time), and our infant daughter makes a lot more work in the mornings.
 
Hi Malia:

If I were you, I would begin with reading about God’s covenants with His people. Covenants are made to be fulfilled including the one we are currently enjoying with God. Covenants, contrary to popular belief, are not abolished. They are fulfilled. If you think of the Sabbath this way, you will not run into any brick walls.

It is when we as Christians begin to believe that the Sabbath was abolished that we run into problems. Christ Himself said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Please pay close attention to the part bolded. Christ *did *fulfill the old Covenant just as the prophets said He would. This should help answer questions about the Old Covenant, not just the Sabbath portion of it. The Sabbath was a sign and Christ gave us a new Sign and Seal for His New Covenant with us. Christ never broke a Commandment and He never transgressed the Sabbath Commandment most of all. Christ came to teach us the importatance of the Old Covenant so that we could fully trust God and appreciate the New Covenant which gave us eternal rest.

Baptism + Eucharist = New Covenant

Hope this helps.

HC
 
Malia_Belen said:
A few days ago I asked a hypothetical question after reading about seventh day adventists. I decided to look and see what the Bible had to say and I found myself a little nervous upon discovering that God said Keep the Sabbath and I believe one of the passages even mentioned death for those who didn’t. So, my question is how do we know that we aren’t suppose to keep the Saturday Sabbath and are there passages in the Bible that say that Christians don’t need to follow the old testament laws. Thanks for reading…anything here would help because I admit I’m more than a little nervous now :o .
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Does the OT actually mention a particular day of the week as being the Sabbath? I don’t think it does.
 
Malia_Belen said:
Yes, it does…the seventh day…I just read it. Exodus 20:8, 23:10
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So when do you start counting? Sunday as it was when I was a kid, Monday as is sometimes done today, or perhaps some other day? (And do you count inclusively, as in NT times, or exclusively, as is done today.)
 
Hello Christian Friend,
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 The answer to your question is in your heart and mind and if you and you alone study the Bible completely and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom in this manner God will reveal to you the answers.  no man or organization can give you the answer.  study the Word and allow God to plant the seed of truth in you and then find a church that fits with what God has revealed to you.
May God bless you in your search for truth
Your Christian Friend
 
Malia_Belen said:
Yes, it does…the seventh day…I just read it. Exodus 20:8, 23:10
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You are absolutely correct. Saturday is the seventh day and the Sabbath. It always has been and always will be. However, Christians are called to keep the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Judaism is alive and well in the world and still keeping the Sabbath Holy.

No one should have an argument about when the Sabbath is. The Sabbath IS Saturday.

One should note however that the day of rest mentioned in Genesis was not part of God’s Covenant with Israel until it was given to them in the time of Moses. God did not command His people to keep a day holy until he instituted the Sabbath. The day of rest was then instituted as ‘a’ Sabbath (as there are other Sabbaths) and given to Israel along with other terms of the Mosaic Covenant at Mt. Sinai. It was a way for God to separate them so that He would ‘know’ them.

God had already given man permission to ‘rest’ from their labor. God was now taking this a step further for the people of Israel. God now called the seventh day a ‘Sabbath’ for the people of Israel. They were to keep it Holy in return for their deliverence from slavery and into the Promised Land.

Further, if we as Christians are going to observe any Sabbath, we should not reckon to turn it into a Sabbath of our own making. If we as Christians proclaim to observe the Sabbath, then it should be observed the way in which it was observed at its institution by God.

One cannot claim to keep the Commandment unless you “keep” the Commandment. There are several Mitzvot that go along with the keeping of the Sabbath. One cannot simply ignore those.

I’m always curious by those who hold on to parts of the Old Covenant and reach for parts of the New as if to try and take what’s good from both. All we have to do is trust in God to be our rest through Christ. There is no more need for a Sabbath Day when we have eternal rest in Christ.

Blessings,

HC
 
dear windlessuser friend,

Romans 14 will be of interest to you
and may the Holy Spirit guide you in your study
 
I Thank you For you Post. The idea behind Romans 14 is that we shouldn’t judge each other. Thus making This thread and MOST of the others on CAF. Fruitless. The scripture I quoted in post #7 is just a reiteration of this.
 
Windlessuser,
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I'm glad for the sharing of ideas and hope that you continue to seek our Lord through his Word as we will all have to give an account of ourselves to Him.
May God Bless You.
 
mathematician said:
So when do you start counting? Sunday as it was when I was a kid, Monday as is sometimes done today, or perhaps some other day? (And do you count inclusively, as in NT times, or exclusively, as is done today.)
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I don’t know but one would think the Jews would know since God gave it to them and they were the first to observe it. So, I’m inclined to go with Saturday which is why I was looking for more information about Sunday Sabbath.
 
happilycatholic said:
You are absolutely correct. Saturday is the seventh day and the Sabbath. It always has been and always will be. However, Christians are called to keep the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Judaism is alive and well in the world and still keeping the Sabbath Holy.

No one should have an argument about when the Sabbath is. The Sabbath IS Saturday.

One should note however that the day of rest mentioned in Genesis was not part of God’s Covenant with Israel until it was given to them in the time of Moses. God did not command His people to keep a day holy until he instituted the Sabbath. The day of rest was then instituted as ‘a’ Sabbath (as there are other Sabbaths) and given to Israel along with other terms of the Mosaic Covenant at Mt. Sinai. It was a way for God to separate them so that He would ‘know’ them.

God had already given man permission to ‘rest’ from their labor. God was now taking this a step further for the people of Israel. God now called the seventh day a ‘Sabbath’ for the people of Israel. They were to keep it Holy in return for their deliverence from slavery and into the Promised Land.

Further, if we as Christians are going to observe any Sabbath, we should not reckon to turn it into a Sabbath of our own making. If we as Christians proclaim to observe the Sabbath, then it should be observed the way in which it was observed at its institution by God.

One cannot claim to keep the Commandment unless you “keep” the Commandment. There are several Mitzvot that go along with the keeping of the Sabbath. One cannot simply ignore those.

I’m always curious by those who hold on to parts of the Old Covenant and reach for parts of the New as if to try and take what’s good from both. All we have to do is trust in God to be our rest through Christ. There is no more need for a Sabbath Day when we have eternal rest in Christ.

Blessings,

HC
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I like the way you explain it (not that others didn’t explain it well) 🙂 Saturday is the Sabbath but it is the Jewish Sabbath for the children of Israel and since we are not Jewish but Gentiles/Christians this does not apply to us? Am I understanding it correctly?
 
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