It's no secret to those who know me that I love Israel - - the country and its people, its history and cultures. I marvel at the promises God made to the Hebrew people and long to see them all ultimately fulfilled. When I arrived in Israel last January, it was at the beginning of the Sabbath. Greetings of "Shabbat Shalom" were heard, from one person to another. This phrase means "sabbath peace be upon you".
Ironically, though, the Sabbath concept can be very contentious among Christian groups and between Christians and observant Jews (Jews who practice Judaism). There are several reasons for this.
We are looking at this topic because we are studying here in the blog the book of Genesis. Throughout this post, I will give scripture verses for you to explore, as you study this topic with me; and, I strongly encourage you to look all of those scriptures up, to read them all.
It is not my aim to be offensive to anyone, but, rather, to study this topic. I invite you to comment as you feel led, in the comments section.
1. As far back as Genesis 2, God established the Sabbath - - a day of both rest and observance. The word "sabbath" comes from the Hebrew root, Shin-Beit-Tav, which means "to cease, to end, to rest".1
(For a quick overview of how observant Jews and many Messianic Jews "keep the Sabbath" see item #1 under Sources.) Messianic Jews are people (with or without actual Jewish heritage/parentage) who worship Jesus Christ but who also, according to their consciences - - Romans 14:5 - - observe the Sabbath as well as the other holy convocations (Jewish religious holidays).
Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8, 23:12, 31:12-18; Leviticus 16:30-31, 26:2; Deuteronomy 5:12-15.
The Sabbath was SO important in the Law God gave to Moses for His chosen people that the death penalty was imposed on those who did not observe it properly.
In Exodus 31:17, mentioned above, we find that God "refreshed" Himself on the Sabbath. The Hebrew word there is "naphash" ( וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ ), a word that only appears three times in Scripture, here, and also in Exodus 23:12 and in 2 Samuel 16:14. Psalm 104:31 says that God rejoices in His works. Sabbath has an element of not only rest, but also of a joyful contentment in reflecting on the work of our hands in service to our God, and worshipping Him for all His wondrous works.2
Interestingly, in Genesis 2 the Sabbath was not designated as an "evening and morning" format (as were the previous six days), which some believers take to signify that the Sabbath has no end, making it a foretaste of the believer's eternal rest, eternity.
2. What has happened, then? Why do so many Christians worship on Sunday, making that "the Christian Sabbath"? In fact, when I was growing up in the Baptist church, I frequently heard Sunday referred to as "the Sabbath". Back then, general society also practiced a Sunday sabbath, because most places of business were closed on Sunday.
Let's look explicitly at what the New Testament says, as opposed to what we think it says on the matter.
A. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of the week, not on a Sabbath. This is incontrovertible. If Christ was not raised, His entire work would have been rendered useless and we would still be spiritually dead, enslaved in our sins (John 20:1; 1 Corinthians 15:17).2
This first day of the week is henceforth referred to in the New Testament as "the Lord's day" (Revelation 1:10)
B. The Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost, which was on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1-36).
C. Acts 20:7 records that early believers practiced coming together on the first day of the week to "break bread", although Acts 2:46 states that early believers met every day, in homes and sometimes in the Temple courts.
D. 1 Corinthians 16:2 establishes the first day of the week as the day each Christ follower should consecrate his or her tithe. This is why "collecting the offering" is a key part of Christian worship services.3
E. The writer of Hebrews 8 (specifically 8:3-7 and 8:13) explains that the old covenant of the Law was made obsolete by the new covenant that Jesus established.
F. Romans 14 likewise makes it clear that choosing to honor God by esteeming certain days as holy is a matter of personal conscience and conviction.
1Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
Romans 14:1-10 NIV
The scriptural principle of a day of rest, observance, rejoicing and worship is clear. As followers of Jesus Christ we are to have a sabbath rest one day each week, in addition to honoring God every moment of every day, in all we do. Beyond that, we are not to judge our brothers or sisters in Christ for which day they choose to worship Him, or other Old Testament practices they choose to reverence (such as the Jewish feast days).
You will notice in the New Testament that Paul as well as other Christians ministered in Jewish synagogues on the Saturday Sabbath. They did this to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their fellow Jews, as this was the day the Jewish people gathered in worship. This past Saturday evening I worshipped with a group of Messianic believers and Native American believers. What a joyous time! The preachers told of how they have been able to reach some very religiously orthodox Jews in Israel. In order to do so, they honored the kosher rules and some of the other requirements of orthodox Judaism. Even the apostle Paul said this on the matter:
19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV)
Let's be clear on this point: this type of reconciliatory and unifying talk does not extend to the approval of clear sin. Paul was not suggesting that Christians approve sin in order to reach people with the gospel or to help believers grow deeper into Christ. At present there is a move afoot in the Southern Baptist Convention, a movement which advocates approval of homosexual behavior in order to be more "loving" toward the LGBTQ community, for example. This type of compromise and capitulation to the culture is not what is meant by making ourselves "slaves to everyone". Even the apostle Paul spent much of his writing to the young churches correcting their leaps off into theological error, usually into relational, sexual sin. The most loving way we can reach out to those who do not know Christ is by standing strong on the truth which is the revealed, written Word of God.
So....."Brethren, let us love one another." (1 John 4:7) and avoid controversies that threaten to tear Jesus Christ's church apart (Titus 3:9). As you worship the Lord Jesus Christ, seek His face in all matters of practice and follow His Holy Spirit in "keeping the sabbath".
Shabbat Shalom!
Sources:
1 https://www.gotquestions.org/shabbat.html
2 https://www.ligonier.org/blog/why-christians-worship-sunday/
3 https://www.gotquestions.org/worship-on-Sunday.html
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