Director of Pastoral Services

Dean, School of Ministry

Seventh Day Baptist Council on Ministry

1990, 1993, 1994

God created the Sabbath when He created the rest of the universe. For six days God created the heaven and the earth. But then, on the seventh day, God rested. God also blessed the seventh day, Sabbath, and made it holy. The Sabbath was not created for the Jews only. Jesus said, "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath is a wonderful gift given to all mankind. The Sabbath was made for the good of man. It is a gift of time given to man so that he can focus his undivided attention on God.

After making the Sabbath at creation, we do not hear anything in scripture about the Sabbath until the Children of Israel are in the wilderness. God sent manna on only six days and declared the seventh day, Sabbath, to be holy.

A short time later, God wrote the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone with His own finger. The fourth of the Ten Commandments is to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The commandment goes on to say that everyone is to rest on the seventh day, Sabbath because that is what God did when He created the heavens and the earth.

Jesus came to earth to make a way for all people to come into a CENTER relationship with God. Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood so that there might be forgiveness of sins. The first creed of the Christian church was the declaration, "Jesus is Lord." The Lord Jesus had something to say about the Sabbath. He said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28).

The Bible tells us that it was Jesus' custom to worship on the Sabbath. (See Luke 4:16.) The are several times in the book of Acts where we are told that Paul worshipped on the Sabbath. (See Acts 18:4.) Regarding the Sabbath, we have the command of God in the Ten Commandments and the example of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul.

Determining which day is the Sabbath is easy. Israel is God's time piece. From the giving of the manna in the wilderness until today, Israel has never lost the seven day cycle for the week. Though calendars have changed, the weekly cycle has never changed. The seventh day of the week on the calendar is the same seventh day of the week begun at creation. The seventh day may be called by different names and be given different dates, but it has always been the seventh day of the week.

In this study material on the Sabbath, we will examine all of the above issues and more. I pray that your hearts and minds will be open to hear God's truth from God's word.

The essence of Christianity is people being brought into CENTER relationship with God. In fact, God created man, as male and female, in order to enjoy a loving relationship with him. God created man (Genesis 1:27) and then created the Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-4) as that period of time in which God could have man's undivided attention. The Sabbath is God's gift of time for the benefit of mankind.

In the beginning, the very beginning, there was nothing except God. From this "nothingness" God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 records that God spoke and there came into existence a beautiful universe full of living things. Among all the things of beauty and all the living things, there was not an object or being that God loved until He created man.

Man was created in such a way that he was enough like God that God could love him. This likeness, which man has, is called the "image of God" (Genesis 1:27). Man was created perfect and in harmony with the rest of God's perfect creation. After God had created the universe he "saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).

Though the creation of the heavens and the earth was complete on the sixth day of creation, there was yet one thing to be created, the Sabbath.

The Bible does not tell us what man was doing on the seventh day of creation; but, that day would have been man's first full day on earth. On that day there was a perfect man in relationship with the perfect God who was keeping the first Sabbath, the seventh day. Man's first awareness of God would see him as the Lord of the Sabbath. On this first Sabbath of creation week, God was at rest to enjoy His creation and His relationship with man.

The story of God's creation of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:2,3) tells us three things that God did with the seventh day, Sabbath. (Though the word "Sabbath" does not appear in the creation story in Genesis, it is clear that the Sabbath was established

First, God rested on the seventh day, Sabbath. The all-powerful God was not tired from creating the heavens and the earth, and yet the Bible shows that God rested on the seventh day, Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath holy by resting was God's first example to man. Here "rest" simply means that God stopped or ceased His work of creation. God's rest was not the rest of inactivity. It was a rest in distinction to his creative activities of the previous six days.

Second, God blessed the seventh day, Sabbath. This means that God gave the seventh day a special quality of goodness. His blessing was the act of creating for the seventh day a quality of blessing not given to any other day of the week. Notice that none of the other days of the week were blessed, only the seventh day.

Third, God sanctified or made holy the seventh day, Sabbath. By sanctifying or making the seventh day holy, God declared and made the seventh day to be sacred or holy time.

God did more than merely rest on that first Sabbath. "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it" (Genesis 2:3). This was God's final act in His creation week. He took the last day (seventh day) of the creation week and set it apart as a special day. God made the seventh day Sabbath special by blessing it and setting it apart from the other six days. The Sabbath is a part of the creation order, and it has its origins there. In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, man, and the seventh day Sabbath.

The seventh day, Sabbath, was the only part of creation that had a human witness. God's rest on that seventh day would be God's first example to man that he would later expect his people to follow.

After the creation of the universe, man, and the Sabbath, there was rebellion which broke the relationship man enjoyed with God. As a result the man and the woman (Adam and Eve) were cast out of the Garden of Eden by God. Nothing is mentioned in the Bible about the Sabbath from then until the time of Moses. God had not abandoned the Sabbath; He was waiting for His people to be ready to receive it.

God led the Children of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt and into the wilderness. Then He wanted to teach them the principle of Sabbath observance. God chose to teach this stubborn people the principle of Sabbath-keeping through their stomachs.

Manna was given by God as a practical lesson that would prepare the Children of Israel to receive the fourth commandment. The manna was a lesson of faith taught by God regarding his day. God gave his instructions regarding the gathering of manna on the Sabbath. The instructions were specific and required faith on the part of the hearers. The manna was an instruction in faith and Sabbath-keeping.

There are three elements or parts to this instruction given by God on faith and Sabbath-keeping.

First, God tells the people to rest on the seventh day, Sabbath. This is a rest designed to make this day different from the other six days of the week.

Second, God again declares that the Sabbath is holy. The seventh day Sabbath is sacred time.

Third, God says that the Sabbath is a Sabbath "to the Lord." The Sabbath is designed so that God is the focus of the Sabbath. The Sabbath requires a turning from the work of the world and a turning toward the Creator of the world.

The purpose of instituting the seventh day, Sabbath, with the children of Israel in the wilderness was to prepare them for the coming of the Ten Commandments. By starting Sabbath observance with the Israelites in the wilderness, they would understand the fourth commandment, "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

God had delivered the Children of Israel from the slavery of Egypt. But they were a people who did not know God. Though they had seen God work many miracles in delivering them from Egypt, they did not know the character of their God. God so desired that His people know Him that He revealed to them part of His character, known as the Law or Ten Commandments. These ten words of law were God's desire for the Children of Israel and for all mankind. This Law showed the people what kind of a God they served by showing the desires of God's heart. God desires that His children should love only Him, worship only Him, not use His name in vain, and keep His Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:3-11). God's other desires are that man should live in harmony with man by not murdering, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, or coveting (Exodus 20:12-17).

God, in love, gave the law to man to show him the way to spiritual health. Medical doctors give prescriptions which are designed to bring physical health, if they are followed. God intended the law to be a prescription for spiritual health which was signed by the finger of the Great Physician, God, Himself. God designed this prescription so that it was necessary to have faith in its writer, God. This prescription for spiritual health called the Ten Commandments was to be taken as a whole with all ten of its parts. Though God's prescription regarding the Sabbath was rather specific, the majority of Christianity has thought they could improve it by changing it to make it better.

The fourth commandment points back to creation as the origin of the Sabbath. The reason that God gives for commanding man to keep the Sabbath is that He, Himself kept the Sabbath at creation. God blessed the Sabbath and made it holy by setting the example for all mankind to rest on that day.

God's prescription regarding the Sabbath is rather specific. God said that man should rest and remember, not one day a week, but a specific day of the week, the seventh day. God specifically said that the "seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord thy God" (Exodus 20:10). The seventh day Sabbath belongs to God. Man can do what he wishes on the first day of the week, or Sunday, but it is the seventh day Sabbath which is the Lord's day according to Exodus 20:10.

The Christian church today makes a distinction between what they call the "Jewish Sabbath" (Saturday) and the "Christian Sabbath" (Sunday). But according to scripture, the Sabbath does not belong to either the Christians or the Jews; the Sabbath belongs to God. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God" (Exodus 20:10 KJV).

God did not create the Sabbath specifically for the Jews. God created the Sabbath for all mankind. "The Sabbath was made for man," Jesus said (Mark 2:27). It was created when God blessed and made holy the day by resting on the final day of creation week. "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:3).

We see from Exodus 20:11 that the foundation of the fourth commandment is God's act of creation, "in the beginning." The Sabbath is not based merely on God's relationship to the Jews, but it is based on his relationship to all of creation.

There are four things to emphasize in the Fourth Commandment.

First, God commands us to remember the Sabbath day. God is not calling his people to a new thing. He is calling them to continue to do what they are already doing, keeping the Sabbath holy (Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 16:23).

Second, God commands us to keep the Sabbath holy. We are to keep the Sabbath holy because God created the Sabbath to be holy (Genesis 2:4). Since the Sabbath is sacred time we are to make the day special by turning away from the routine of our every day life and focusing our attention on Him.

Third, God commands us to rest on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is set apart as a holy and special day in which we are not to do work. The other six days of the week are for our work. The Sabbath is a rest from the work of the other six days.

Fourth, a "Sabbath to the Lord" is a day dedicated to Him. As Christians, every day is dedicated to the Lord. However, on the other six days we have the distractions of the world. God has set aside the seventh day Sabbath to rest from work and turn toward Him.

This Fourth Commandment about keeping the Sabbath holy is a commandment that has a reason attached to it. Why is man to keep the Sabbath holy. The Fourth Commandment goes on to tell us why.

Man is to keep the Sabbath holy and rest because God kept the Sabbath holy and rested on that day. The Sabbath is holy because God "made it holy" at creation. Man is to rest on the Sabbath because God set the example for Sabbath rest at creation.

Some say that we can keep any day holy and rest and still be keeping the Fourth Commandment. The Fourth Commandment says that there is only one day per week that is holy to the Lord. The only day that is holy to the Lord is the one that HE made holy, the seventh day Sabbath.

God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger as a prescription for spiritual health. The Fourth Commandment is part of that law. We see from this commandment that the focus is once again on God. We are told that the "seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10). The Sabbath belongs to God because he created it. From verse 11, we see that the Sabbath is a call to remember God as the Creator. The Fourth Commandment is also a call to rest from the work of the world. But, even this prohibition on work is a focus on God. We are called to stop our work in order that we can give to God our undivided attention.

The stone tablets of the Ten Commandment law are gone. But God's desire for His people is not gone. God's desires for those in a relationship with Him are not gone, nor have they been changed. The desires of God's heart are not changed because they reflect His nature, and His nature is unchangeable. God's law is God's desire for all mankind. In fact, God is so committed to making His law known to all His children that He has written it on the hearts of every believer. (See Jeremiah 31:33, Romans 2:15, and Hebrews 10:16.)

Is the fourth commandment written on the hearts of "Sunday-keepers" as well as on the hearts of those who are Sabbath-keepers? My answer is a necessary "yes." By observation, we can see that they are practicing a corrupted Sabbath principle, which comes from having the law written on their hearts. Their worship follows a seven-day cycle with special emphasis given to a particular day of the week, the first day of the week, Sunday. There are many who even observe an imitation of the Sabbath rest that God wrote on their hearts.

This corrupted imitation of the Sabbath is the product of centuries of tradition which are nearly impossible to break. In fact, the task of breaking this tradition would be impossible were it not for the fact that "the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28).

Jesus did not come to earth to change the law itself. He came to show the CENTERful place of the law. Jesus came to bring men into CENTER relationship with the Father by dying on the cross. He came to show that the proper place of the law is in the context of loving God and loving your neighbor (Matthew 22:40). Love does not do away with the law, because love is the basis for the law. Jesus said,

But the Jews of Jesus' day did not understand the proper place of the law. The Pharisees were the group that had corrupted the role of the law the most. The Pharisees had made the law something that should be kept in order to "buy" their salvation. These Pharisees believed that they could earn their salvation by keeping the law. Christ came and responded angrily to this attitude toward the law. Salvation must be by grace through faith alone, and not by keeping the law. The problem was not with the law, it was with the Pharisees' misunderstanding of the law.

The Ten Commandments are an expression of the very nature and will of God which is unchangeable. Jesus Christ did not come to change even the smallest portion of the moral law. Some say that Christ changed the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week. That would require a change in the law. The moral law says that "the seventh day is the Sabbath" and not the first day of the week. In no place does the Bible tell us of this change in the law from the seventh to the first day of the week.

The Sabbath was the commandment most corrupted by the Pharisees. So, it is not surprising that it was over Sabbath-keeping that Jesus would have most of his conflict with the Pharisees. The Sabbath issue between Christ and the Pharisees is never over which day to worship or over whether the Sabbath was still part of God's desire for man. The issue for Christ was the way in which the Sabbath was being kept and the attitude toward the Sabbath by the Pharisees.

The most powerful statement regarding Christ's commitment to the Sabbath is found in Mark 2:27 and 28. "And he was saying to them, `The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.'" The climax of Jesus' statement comes when he says that he is Lord of the Sabbath day. This means that Jesus has the authority over all the circumstances regarding the Sabbath. Christians should be taught that Jesus Christ can arrange circumstances in order to provide for people the opportunity to keep the seventh day Sabbath holy. God wants the undivided attention of His people on the seventh day Sabbath, and He will use the resources of His kingdom to make this possible.

The story of creation in Genesis gives the origin of the Sabbath but it does not give the reason for God's creation of the Sabbath. However, a clue to the purpose of the Sabbath is given in the fact that the Sabbath was created CENTER after man's creation. Perhaps the Sabbath was created by God with man in mind.

The fact that the Sabbath was made for man is stated clearly by Jesus Christ, the Creator of the Sabbath. "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Here Jesus is addressing the Pharisees who are condemning Him and His disciples for breaking the Pharisaic rules regarding the Sabbath.

There are three things which can be learned from this sentence from the mouth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

First, the Sabbath was made. This is a clear reference back to Genesis 2 showing that the Sabbath was a part of the perfect creation order. The Sabbath existed from the very beginning as the final part of God's creation. This reference to the creation of the Sabbath would also serve as a reminder to the Pharisees that the Sabbath was created by God and not by them.

Second, the Sabbath was made for man. CENTER after the creation of man, God made the Sabbath. (See Genesis 1 and 2.) Jesus, the Creator of the Sabbath, says that the Sabbath was created with all mankind in mind.

The Sabbath does not have its origins in the Law. Its origins go back to creation. The Sabbath was not a Jewish Sabbath alone, because "the Sabbath was made for man and not for just the Jews. When the Sabbath was created in the beginning there were no Jews. This is the clear message of Jesus in this New Testament text.

At creation, man was in perfect harmony with God and with the universe. A part of this harmony of the perfect creation was the Sabbath which God Himself blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2:3). God had created man in such a way that He needed the Sabbath. Then God created the Sabbath to meet that need. "The Sabbath was made for man."

Third, "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." At the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had lost the meaning of the Sabbath. God had created the Sabbath for man's benefit, but the Pharisees had reversed the meaning. For the Pharisees, the Sabbath was more important than man, and they believed that God had created man to keep the Sabbath.

Fourth, "the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath," means that Jesus Christ was and is the one who is in authority over the Sabbath. There would be no need for him to declare his Lordship if he planned to abolish it in the near future with his death. But because he is Lord of the Sabbath, he can and will bring all of his resourses to bear to empower us and to work our circumstances so that we can keep his day holy.

The Sabbath was created for man's benefit. Jesus' life, death, and ministry did not change the original meaning and purpose of the Sabbath. But Jesus did attack the Pharisees for the way they had corrupted and changed the original meaning and purpose of God's holy day.

Is it enough to remember one day of the week to keep it holy? Certainly it is not our task here to sit in judgment as if we are God. But let us see what the scriptures and especially the Ten Commandments say. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10). Within the Fourth Commandment, God has given specific instruction as to which day of the week is the Sabbath, "the seventh day is the Sabbath."

Knowing which day of the week is the seventh day of the week is quite simple. It has been thousands of years since creation and thousands of years since the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Yet the weekly cycle has never changed. You need to simply look at any calendar. Sunday is always the first day of the week and Saturday is always the seventh. Though calendar dates were changed, the weekly cycle has never been changed.)

Another way to discover which day of the week is the seventh day Sabbath is to look to God's "time piece" and "calendar." God's time piece is the Children of Israel, the Hebrew nation, Israel. Before God gave the law on Mount Sinai, He established a weekly cycle with the Children of Israel by sending manna for six days and not sending the manna on the seventh day. It was here that He re-established, for all the world to follow, a seven day weekly cycle. God forever established this cycle by making the seven day week a part of His law, the Ten Commandments.

For forty years the children of Israel were taught the lesson of the Sabbath through their stomachs and the giving of manna from God. It was a Sabbath cycle that the nation of Israel never lost. Though the calendars have been changed, the weekly cycle of seven days has never changed. When the nation of Israel was dispersed over all the world, God's time piece was also sent all over the world so that men would know God's weekly Sabbath. To know which day of the week is the seventh day Sabbath, we need only look to the Jews in our community. This is not difficult because most nations of the world have a Jewish community. As Israel is God's time piece for prophecy, so is Israel God's time piece for knowing the weekly Sabbath that God instituted as part of the creation order.

Besides using Israel to know which is the seventh day, look to the majority of the Christian church. Most of the Christian church celebrates Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday, the first day of the week. Therefore, that would logically make Saturday the seventh day of the week and the Sabbath. You can not have Sunday the first day of the week for Easter and then Sunday again as the seventh day of the week for Sabbath.

In every area of the life, we look to Christ as our supreme example. We believe in baptism because of the example of Christ and the apostles and the command of God. And so it is with the Sabbath. We have the example of Christ and the apostles and the Ten Commandments of God written on the tables of stone and on our hearts. And yet, the majority of Christianity has chosen the tradition of man.

"He (Jesus) went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read" (Luke 4:16). The word of God tells that Jesus was a Sabbathkeeper. It was the Son of God who blessed and sanctified the Sabbath at creation by resting. This rest was the first example that Adam and Eve had in the Garden. When the Son of God became flesh, he once again set the example for Sabbathkeeping.

Some would say that the women simply had not yet been told by Jesus that the Sabbath was abolished. But remember, Luke is writing this several decades after the death and resurrection of Christ. He in no way qualifies the fourth commandment being kept by the women of the text as something that was "done away with" or something that is "Jewish" or "passed away." Luke simply describes their Sabbathkeeping as something "in obedience to the commandment." Apparently Luke, the writer of the gospel, felt that the Sabbath was still one of the commandments of God at the time he wrote it.

The Book of Acts, also written by Luke, is a history of the early church CENTER after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no mention of a change in the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. In fact, throughout the Book of Acts the seventh day of the week is given the title of "Sabbath." If the first day of the week was changed to the "Lord's Day," why is the title "Lord's Day" not mentioned in this earliest history of the church?

When the Apostle Paul was in Corinth he went to the synagogue every Sabbath. This was in spite of the fact that he was trying to reach both Jews and Greeks. "Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks" (Acts 18:4). We have set before us the clear example of Christ and the example of Paul.

Christ's death on the cross brought fulfillment to a great deal of Old Testament prophecy and to the whole ceremonial law of sacrifices and the clean and unclean. This means that He brought these things to completion and fullness. For example, in the Old Testament the people of God had to sacrifice animals for the forgiveness of sins. Christ became the final sacrifice for sins so that it is no longer necessary to sacrifice animals for this purpose. The sacrificial law was fulfilled or completed with the death of Christ on the cross.

Regarding the law, Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them." The relationship between Christ and the law hinges on the word "fulfill." Christ came to fulfill the Law. How Christ fulfilled and fulfills the law is very significant to the role of the law in the life of the believer. Romans 8:3 and 4 tells about the fulfillment of the law in the life of the believer.

The requirements of the Ten Commandment law were not fulfilled in Christ. The Bible says that the law is to be "fulfilled in us" (Rom.8:4). Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). Paul is more specific about the fulfillment of the law when he says that the law is to be fulfilled in the life of every believer who depends on the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 7:12 Paul says that the "Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and CENTEReous and good." In verse 14 he continues by saying, "for we know that the Law is spiritual." But Romans 8:3 says that the law has a very important weakness. The weakness in the law is through what Paul calls the "flesh" or the "sinful nature." The weakness of the law is in man's sinfulness and lack of power to keep the law. The problem and weakness of the law is not in the law itself which is holy, CENTEReous, good and spiritual. The problem with the law is in people.

This would have been a perfect place for God to say that the weakness of the law would be solved by doing away with the moral law. But he does not say this. By doing away with the law there would be no sin for "sin is lawlessness." But Paul upholds the law and declares that what the law could not do, Christ did. The moral law is valid and Christ died to maintain its integrity and pay the price for man's violation of it.

The problem and weakness of the law was that it could not and cannot provide power for obedience. This problem is solved by the death of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:4 says that it is the Holy Spirit who gives to the believer the power to fulfill the law. By Christ's death on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit, "the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

An airplane sitting on the end of the runway is under the law of gravity. The force of gravity keeps the airplane on the ground. But when the engines on the airplane provide the power to move the airplane down the runway, at a certain speed, the law of gravity is overcome and the plane is airborn. As a passenger on the airplane looking down on the earth from thousands of feet, you would hardly be aware that there is a law of gravity. But just let the power on the engines fail, and the passengers will become aware of gravity all too soon.

As believers, we are subject to the law of God, just as the airplane is subject to the law of gravity. We are given power by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the law. The law under the power of the Holy Spirit is the "law of the Spirit of life" (vs.2). The power of the Holy Spirit allows us to "fly" in obedience to the law of God. However, the law without the power of the Holy Spirit is the "law of sin and death" (vs.2). As the airplane requires power to fly and overcome the law of gravity, so we must have the power of the Holy Spirit so that "the CENTEReous requirements of the law might be fully met in us" (Romans 8:4).

The fulfillment of the law is not merely an empty idea or words. The fulfillment of the law is in the life of the believer and it is shown by obedience to all of the Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment regarding Sabbathkeeping. The power for this obedience comes only to those who "walk according to spirit" (Romans 8:4) by trusting him to give victory over sin. The moral law must be valid in order for its CENTEReous requirements to continue to be met in the lives of God's children.

Toward the end of Jesus' ministry he is confronted with the issue of the law. The Jewish leaders are frustrated and are trying to test and trick him. Matthew 22:34-40 and Mark 12 28-34 record Jesus' conversation with a teacher of the law, a Pharisee.

Jesus is clearly stating that the two commandments of love are the two greatest commandments. He does not say that the law of love voids the rest of the law. Jesus goes on to say that on these two great laws "hang" or depend the rest of the law. Loving God and each other is the summary of the Ten Commandments and does not replace them.

Some contend that the Ten Commandments were given to Israel and that they no longer apply to Christians today. They say the only law that applies today is the law of love. But the law of love was given to Israel as well as the Ten Commandments. Both of these laws of love come from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Also, in Mark 12:29, Jesus prefaces his statement of the law of love with the words, "Hear O Israel." Though the law of love was given to Israel it still applies to believers today, just like the Ten Commandments.

James 2:8-11, also gives us some assistance in our understanding that the law of love does not cancel the Ten Commandments.

James calls the law of love the "royal law." He tells us that showing favoritism or partiality to people is a violation of the law of love and makes a person a lawbreaker. He then goes on to talk about the law in more general terms. James says that to keep the "whole" law and offend in "one point" makes a person guilty of breaking all of the law. James is no longer talking just about the law of love. He is also referring to the Ten Commandments. We know this because of the examples that he uses come from the Ten Commandments. Both adultery and murder are quotes from the Ten Commandments. To violate one commandment is to violate them all since they all reflect the will of God, the Lawgiver.

The Apostle Paul also quotes from the Ten Commandments in Ephesians 6:1-3. "'Honor your father and mother'-- with is the first commandment with promise--'that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.'"

It is clear that James and Paul do not believe that the Ten Commandments are done away with because they quote from this law. The law of love is a summary of the whole law but they do not do away with the Ten Commandments.

Most of Christianity believes that the seventh day, Sabbath, is for the Jews. They believe that the Sabbath no longer applies to Christians today. They believe that Christ changed the holy day to the first day of the week and it is now called the "Lord's day." The day was changed from the seventh day to the first day in order to celebrate the day of Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week.

Their argument would continue by showing how Christ appeared to His disciples on the first day of the week (John 20:19). To them this was the beginning of the change from Sabbath to the Lord's day. Next they would show how the Apostle Paul also kept the Lord's day by preaching and breaking bread on the first day of the week in Troas (Acts 20:7). Finally, they would argue that the Apostle Paul "commands" first day, Sunday, observance in I Corinthians 16:1-3.

The Sabbath is for the Jews. - According to the Bible, "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). At creation there were no Jews or Gentiles or races of any kind. There was just man and woman. On the sixth day of creation God created man in His own image. On the seventh day of creation God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. The Sabbath was made for all of mankind and not for just the Jews.

Jesus changed the Sabbath to the Lord's day to be celebrated on the first day of the week. - There is not one place in the Bible where Jesus says that He is changing the Sabbath. In fact to change the Sabbath would require changing the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Jesus said that he did not come to destroy or change even the smallest letter of the law (Matthew 5:17,18). Also, there is no mention in the earliest history of the church in Acts, of the first day of the week becoming the "Lord’s day."

The first day of the week is the Lord's day because we celebrate His resurrection on that day. - The word "resurrection" appears forty times in the New Testament. Most of the times the word occurs, it refers to Christ's resurrection from the dead. The rest of the time it refers to our own resurrection from the dead. The Bible teaches the doctrine of resurrection and we are to believe it. However, there is not one place in the Bible where it says that we are to celebrate His resurrection. There is not one place in the Bible that says the law of God was changed in order to celebrate Christ's resurrection. We do celebrate the resurrection of Christ because it is the promise of our own resurrection from the dead. But the celebration of His resurrection is not a license to violate or change the Ten Commandment law of God written on tables of stone and written in our hearts.

The first day of the week is the Lord's day because Christ appeared to His disciples on that day of the week. - There is no suggestion in the Bible that Christ's appearance to His disciples had anything to do with the specific day of the week in which it happened. The Ten Commandment law is not changed simply because Christ appeared to His disciples on the first day of the week.

The Apostle Paul set the example by preaching and breaking bread on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). - Scripture does record the Apostle Paul breaking bread and preaching on the first day of the week. I am sure that the Apostle preached just about every day of the week when he was there in Troas visiting. This particular day mentioned in Acts 20:7 was not special because it was the first day of the week. It was not even special because the Apostle Paul was preaching. It was special because while Paul was preaching, Eutychus fell out of the window, died, and came back to life. There is this one example of Paul preaching on the first day of the week in Troas. What about the four times in Acts where it is mentioned that Paul worshipped on the Sabbath? (See Acts 13:14, 16:13, 17:2, and 18:4.)

The Apostle Paul "commanded" setting apart the first day of the week for worship in I Corinthians 16:1-2. - In I Corinthians 16:1-2 the Apostle Paul says, "Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made." Paul is not establishing a new day of worship. The issue is not worship but managing church money. A special gift was to be set aside for Paul to take with him as a gift to the Jerusalem church from the church at Corinth. It is wrong to assume that Paul is addressing the issue of worship. It is also wrong to assume that the people in Corinth were worshipping on the first day of the week at this time. According to Acts 18:4, Paul spent "every Sabbath" in the synagogue with both Jews and gentiles.

Throughout the book of Acts the seventh day of the week is given the title "Sabbath." However, throughout the book of Acts the first day of the week is never given a title nor is it ever called the "Lord's day." Though the resurrection is a key in Paul's theology and preaching, the first day is never established in scripture as a celebration of that resurrection.

It is clear that there is no biblical support for a change from the seventh day Sabbath of creation to a first day observance. There is no place in the Bible where there is a command to observe the first day of the week. That would require a change in the Fourth Commandment and Jesus said he did not come to change the law.

The change from the Sabbath to the first day, Sunday, did not occur until after the time of the New Testament. In the book of Acts we see both Christians and Jews worshipping together on the Sabbath. (See Acts 18:4.) But even during the time of Paul, there was growing tension between Jews and Christians because of Jesus' claim to be the Messiah.

During this time Judaism enjoyed a freedom of religion within the Roman world. Christianity, as a sect of Judaism, enjoyed this same freedom. However, there grew up a great deal of tension between Rome and Judaism with the revolt of the Jews that was put down by Titus in 70 AD. The tension and hostility grew until Emperor Hadrian outlawed the practice of Judaism, with its Sabbath observance, in 135 AD.

The most obvious external way to discover and punish Jews was to observe their practice of the Sabbath. Since Jews where in tension with Rome, Christians no longer wanted to be associated with Judaism and suffer the persecution from Rome. This also made Sabbath worship dangerous for Christians since they could be mistaken for Jews.

The change from Sabbath to Sunday observance was a gradual change over many years. For a time the church observed Sabbath as a day of fasting and worship and Sunday as a day of feasting and celebration. The observance of Sunday in celebration of the sun god was also prevalent. It was easier to blend in with the pagan practices of sun celebration on Sunday, than it was to be associated with Sabbath keeping like the Jews. By 321 AD, Emperor Constantine decreed that Sunday would be a day of rest. This was readily received by the Roman Catholic church.

The reasons for the change from Sabbath to Sunday are historical, social, and political; but they are not biblical.

There are three primary texts in the letters of Paul that are used by some Christians to show that the Sabbath does not apply to Christians today. They believe that these scriptures show that the Sabbath was done away with. These texts are Colossians 2:16, Romans 14:5, and Galatians 4:10.

In order for us to explain these texts of scripture we must go back to the Old Testament. From the Old Testament we must understand the distinction between the ceremonial law and the moral law. We must also understand the relationship between the weekly Sabbath, the special holy days, and ceremonial Sabbaths.

In the life of Israel, the people were very concerned about the Law of God. They used the word "law" to refer to the Ten Commandments (moral law), the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament), or the whole Old Testament. To the Israelite, all of the scriptures applied to them and it was all "law." The Israelites did not make distinctions in the law any more than most Americans make distinctions between federal, state, and local laws. But to God who gave the law was there a difference in the laws? The answer is yes.

Deuteronomy 10:1-5 and 12-13 describes the giving of a law. From the context and description of the law involved, it is clear that it is referring to the moral law or Ten Commandments. The text tells us four things about this law.

There is a second law described in Deuteronomy 31:24-26. This law is clearly different than the Ten Commandment law described in Deuteronomy 10. This text also tells us four things about this law.

It should be obvious even to the casual observer that these are referring to two different laws. If the law described in Deuteronomy 10 is the Ten Commandments, what law is described in Deuteronomy 31? The rest of the law of the Pentatuch including the ceremonial law is the one being described in Deuteronomy 31.

It was the ceremonial law with its commands regarding animal sacrifice, festival days, and unclean foods which was completed and fulfilled in the death of Christ. These laws no longer apply to the Christian believer today.

Part of this ceremonial law involved the establishment and regulation of festival days and special holy days which were called "sabbaths." These special sabbaths were not the weekly seventh day Sabbaths. Most of the time these special or "high Sabbaths" did not fall on the seventh day of the week. In Leviticus 23:32, the Day of Atonement was called a "sabbath," even though it did not fall on the seventh day of the week.

The weekly Sabbath is also tied to the ceremonial law because on the seventh day Sabbath, there was to be animal sacrifices as part of worship. (See Numbers 28:9-10.) Finally, the Sabbath is part of the ceremonial law in that it is one of the feasts or "appointed times" listed in Leviticus 23.

Therefore, the weekly, seventh day Sabbath is part of the ceremonial law and also part of the moral law. The weekly Sabbath is part of the ceremonial law in that it is one of many of God's "appointed times." The weekly Sabbath is also part of the ceremonial law because there was sacrifice taking place on that day. But there were also "sabbaths" which were part of the ceremonial law which were not weekly Sabbaths.

The Apostle Paul is dealing with two false teachings in the second chapter of Colossians. First , Paul is dealing with an early form of Gnosticism which had begun to creep into the church at Colosse. This was a pagan belief where everything physical was evil and a person sought fulfillment in mystical experiences and worship of angels.

Second, Paul was dealing with false teachers insisting on strict observance of the ceremonial law and the teaching of the elders.

We must ask what "written code" was nailed to the cross that was "against us." Scholars suggest several good options for interpreting this text. First, in this text the word "written" is literally "handwritten" in the original Greek. Second, the code was that was canceled was "against us." We are then looking for a handwritten code that was against us. We know that this text is not referring to the Ten Commandments (moral law) because Deuteronomy 10:13 says that the moral law was given for "our good." The ceremonial law was handwritten by Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24) and was placed beside the ark, "There it will remain as a witness against you" (Deuteronomy 31:26). There is strong evidence to suggest that it was the ceremonial law Paul is referring to as being nailed to the cross.

If the ceremonial law was taken away and nailed to the cross then we would expect the New Testament to say that the sacrifices, dietary laws, and special festival and holy days (sabbaths) would be taken away also. The Apostle Paul does go on to say this in the same text in Colossians 2.

Examine the progression of thought in Colossians 2:14-16. First the Apostle Paul says the ceremonial law was taken away and nailed to the cross. Then the Apostle Paul uses the word "therefore" to introduce the conclusion or result of having the ceremonial law taken away. The result of having the ceremonial law taken away is that we are no longer to be judged by dietary laws, festivals or sabbath days.

In verse 16, the Apostle Paul is showing examples of items from the ceremonial law that no longer apply. He begins with dietary laws which are ceremonial. He then goes on to religious festivals and New Moon celebrations which are ceremonial. Then he talks about "sabbaths" (not the weekly Sabbath) which are also ceremonial (Leviticus 23:32). It would seem inconsistent for Paul to give clear examples from the ceremonial law and then switch suddenly to an example from the moral law. The "sabbaths" whose observance is not to be judged are the ceremonial "sabbaths" and the ceremonial aspects (burnt offerings) of the weekly Sabbaths.

The fact that the ceremonial sabbaths (not weekly Sabbath) and the ceremonial aspects of the seventh day Sabbath are canceled, does not affect the requirements of the moral law regarding the Sabbath. The Sabbath "was made for man" at creation and written by the finger of God in stone, in the Ten Commandments. Not one tiny aspect of this moral law (Ten Commandments) regarding the Sabbath will be changed "until heaven and earth disappear (Matthew 5:17, 18).

An example of having two laws on the same matter, could come from our own legal system. It is possible for the state and the federal government to have laws which apply to the same matter, such as civil CENTERs. The fact that a state may change or abolish its civil CENTERs law, does not mean that a person is not bound by the federal law on the matter of civil CENTERs. In the same way, God had two laws which applied to the weekly Sabbath. The ceremonial law dealt with the matters of sacrifice on the Sabbath and the moral law dealt with attitude, conduct , and the other issues related to the Sabbath. Abolition of the ceremonial law regarding the Sabbath sacrifices had nothing to do with changing the moral law regarding the Sabbath.

The Apostle Paul is addressing one issue, the ceremonial law. But he gives two examples of its use in this text, both special holy days and items regarding food. The whole point of this text is that people should not be judged in matters related to the ceremonial law.

If this text were talking about the weekly Sabbath, then it would have required a change in the Ten Commandments. The Fourth Commandment tells us to rest and keep the seventh day, Sabbath holy. Paul is not saying that one of the Ten Commandments is optional depending on whether you are convinced in your own mind. That would be like saying that adultery or murder is permissible if a man is "fully convinced in his own mind."

The people of Galatia had begun as pagans "under the basic principles of the world." They believed in the elemental spirits of earth, wind, water, fire, etc. These beliefs included sacred times and places. The Galatians were slaves to "those who by nature are not gods" (Gal.4:8). These could refer to their belief in the elemental spirits which are not really gods at all.

The contrast now is that they know the true and living God or are known by him. Paul goes on to chastise the Galatians for going back to their weak and miserable principles and becoming again enslaved to them.

One argument is that they are turning back to their original pagan, elemental spirits or powers. In this case they would be celebrating or observing "special days and months and seasons and years." This is clearly against the gospel taught by Paul when he started the churches.

The second possibility is that with the coming of the Judaizers they were not going all the way back to pagan elements, they were convinced instead to begin keeping the Law of Moses (ceremonial law). To Paul, slavery to the ceremonial law is no better than slavery to the elemental spirits. In this case they would be celebrating the Jewish festivals of the ceremonial law which was contrary to Paul's teaching for the church.

With either interpretation, the seventh day Sabbath is not in question. The Sabbath is part of the moral law which is just, holy, CENTEReous, and good.

Seventh Day Baptists believe that the Sabbath is important to God and to man. However, we also believe that we are not saved by observing the Sabbath. In fact, we are not saved by keeping any of the Ten Commandments. The Apostle Paul says, "no one will be declared CENTEReous in his sight by observing the law" (Romans 3:20).

Seventh Day Baptists believe that we are saved because "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son" (John 3:16). Jesus Christ came to earth to die and shed His blood so that people could be saved. Only those who surrender their lives to Jesus Christ will be saved.

Though we are not saved by observing the Sabbath, we keep the Sabbath because we love the Lord. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Love is the reason we keep the Sabbath holy and obey all of the Ten Commandments. We also keep the Sabbath holy because we believe Jesus when He tells us that "the Sabbath was made for man." We believe that the Sabbath was given for man's benefit. The Sabbath truly is a gift of time for man's benefit.

The Bible is the inspired word of God. We have in scripture inspired narratives, discourse, songs, poetry, history, and prophecy. God communicates in his word his principles for holy living. The principles of scripture are universal, fundamental truths or laws which can be applied in all cultures and at all times.

Scripture also includes divinely inspired applications or these principles. The applications of these principles are specific to that culture, place, or time. Applications, though inspired by God for that people, place, and time, cannot be forced onto other people, places, and times.

For example, the Apostle Paul commands his readers four time to "greet one another with a holy kiss." The Christian church in America does not follow this command because we understand that the kiss in the Middle East is a demonstration of affection among friends and family. The principle behind the command is to show one another affection (2 Corinthians 6:12). In our culture the kiss would not be an appropriate sign of affection between church members.

As we look at the commands regarding the Sabbath, there are principles and there are applications. The primary Sabbathkeeping is found in the fourth commandment. The fourth commandment is the focal point of the Sabbath which points us also back to its creation which is recorded in Genesis 2:1-3.

Remember the Sabbath day. The Sabbath must be brought back to our minds so that it is not forgotten

Keep the Sabbath day holy. The activities of the Sabbath must be separate and set apart from those of the other six days.

Six days you shall labor. Work was ordained by God from the very beginning. The Sabbath cannot be appreciated without previous work.

The seventh day is a Sabbath. It is only the seventh day of the week that is the Sabbath not one day in seven. Only the seventh day was blessed and made holy at creation.

The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. The Sabbath is time that should be directed toward God. It is time to foster a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father.

On the Sabbath you shall not do any work. Work is for the other six days of the week. The Sabbath is for rest. The focus on this principle is that our six day work activities must not carry into the Sabbath. Our Sabbath activities must be in distinction to our activites the rest of the week. This distinction in activities is our rest.

The Sabbath rest extends to those in our families, our employees, and those we are responsible for. We must provide Sabbath rest for others we are related to.

We are to keep the Sabbath because God kept the Sabbath at creation. The Sabbath is God’s first example that people were to follow.

The Sabbath is blessed and made holy by God. God made sacred time for twenty four hours each week. The day began at sunset and ended at sunset, "the evening and the morning were the ... day." This sacred time has been given the properties of goodness (blessed) and was set apart from the other six days (made holy) so that God could have our attention.

The Sabbath was made for the benefit of all humanity. The Sabbath was not made for just the Jews but for all people. (Mark 2:27)

As the Lord of the Sabbath, everything will be provided to allow us to keep his Sabbath holy. God does not give us a command that is impossible to keep. (Mark 2:28)

The Sabbath is for doing good. Scripture does not record our Lord Jesus Christ being inactive on the Sabbath. He was usually out ministering to those in need, preaching, teaching, and doing good. (Matthew 12:12)

Sabbathkeeping is not to be judged by appearances. The Pharisees were always passing judgment on Jesus for his Sabbathkeeping. They did not understand what Jesus was doing on the Sabbath because they were only able to see the actions of Jesus and they did not know him personally. They also passed judgment based on their own standards and not the principles laid out in scripture. (John 7:24)

The Sabbath is given to be a delightful experience not a burden. The Sabbath was not created for people to be day of restrictions, prohibitions, and boredom. God gave us the Sabbath as a day of joy and delight. (Isaiah 58:13 and 14).

God has set forth these and other principles of Sabbathkeeping for our benefit. Some of the Old Testament items regarding Sabbathkeeping such as the prohibition on lighting a fire (Exodus 35:3), picking up sticks (Numbers 15:32), or carrying a load (Jeremiah 17:21) may be applications of the principle to refrain from work. It seems that it may be helpful to differentiate between principles and applications as we seek to determine what activities are appropriate on the Sabbath.

Each culture and generation needs to make fresh application of Sabbath principles to its own people, place, and time. The local church is the best forum for the open discussion of these issues.

"It is for freedom that Christ set us free" (Galatians 5:1). The Sabbath is designed as a day of freedom. Jesus is in the business of setting people free from anything that is a barrier to intimate fellowship with Him. If God commanded us to keep the Sabbath day holy by resting, He would have to be in charge of all the circumstances that could keep us from obeying His command. That is why God has set his Son in charge of the Sabbath as "Lord of the Sabbath." Now we can be set free from all the labor and work of the Sabbath and be able to give God our undivided attention on His day.

It is on the Sabbath that we are set free from work and the guilt of spending twenty-four hours in rest and service. This could be possible on any other day. But God has not committed Himself and all the resources of the Kingdom to setting us free from work on any day but the seventh day Sabbath. It is only by faith that we can take the resources of the kingdom to set us free from the work of the world on the Sabbath. This faith can only be built upon a relationship with the Son of Man, who is Lord even of the Sabbath day. God provides all of these resources to set us free to give Him our undivided attention for twenty-four hours a week. God wants our attention every day of the week. But because God wants our undivided attention on the seventh day Sabbath, He sets us free from the work of the world. God does all this for us because He loves us and He knows that we need it. And we keep His Sabbath holy by spending time with Him because we love Him.