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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT - My Personal Testimony

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sscr01
Member



Joined: 2004/11/29
Posts: 275


 THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT - My Personal Testimony

For a long time, I knew that my church didn't worship on the Biblical sabbath. I was told, that, the New Testament christians "changed" the day to Sunday - the day of the resurrection.

Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic law and sabbaths, but The Ten Commandments were written by God, Himself, with his own finger. They reveal His character. Jesus, not only didn't do away with the Ten Commandments, He amplified them (if any look on a woman to lust, he has committed adultery with her in his heart).

This justification for the change cannot, possibly, be true. It is not possible for any man or institution to change God's law. Let's be honest...christians don't even sanctify Sunday. Why is this the only commandment that christians try to excuse themselves from?

Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."(John 14:15) John said, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 Jhn 2:4)

When we keep the Ten Commandments, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we give evidence that we belong to Him.

Rome says, "It's (Sunday's change for Saturday) the MARK (emphasis added) of our authority to over-rule God's law." Father Enright, C.S.S.R., President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., History of the Sabbath, page 802.

There are several other direct quotes from the Catholic church referring to the sabbath change (at The council of Laodicea) as her "mark".

God instituted the sabbath at Creation. It is the day to celebrate Him as our Creator and Lord. Do we love Him that much?

 2005/7/16 23:42Profile
KingJimmy
Member



Joined: 2003/5/8
Posts: 4419
Charlotte, NC

 Re: THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT - My Personal Testimony

Col 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Galatians 4:9 But now that you have come to known God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn your back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

Romans 14:5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

If we are going to be Biblical about Sabbath keeping, let's be Biblical. Biblically speaking, the Sabbath day observance has been done away with entirely, it has not been changed to Sunday. The notion that the Scriptures changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday is simply bad theology that has no basis whatsoever Scripturally. That is not to say one cannot still keep the Sabbath (be it a Saturday or Sunday) if they so feel compelled to do so- but if you are going to do it, do it fully (so turn off your power, phones, air conditioner, don't drive anywhere, etc).

Christ is my Sabbath however, I do not need any days to observe Him as such. I enjoy the Sabbath that God entered into, and never left from, since the beginning of creation so long as I rest in Him. This is the true Sabbath, and is what Hebrews 4 speaks of in detail. The Sabbath as an ordinance though was never observed or handed down to be observed until it was given to Moses.

Christ has freed us from having to observe the shadows of the Law. The Law was but a mere treasure mapfull of various symbols to point us to where the cross marked the spot. Now that we have found the treasure, we no longer need that map. Thus, we are no longer obligated to "keep the Sabbath holy" or to observe Sabbaticals and the like. It matters not if the commandment was one of the ten. Technically speaking, there was nothing special in then ten than the other 613, the ten simply served as the intro to the rest of the Law.


_________________
Jimmy H

 2005/7/17 8:27Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

King Jimmy,

I would like to ask you a question: since you do not literally observe a sabbath, what do you do with your week of 7 days? work?

ginnyrose


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Sandra Miller

 2005/7/17 19:54Profile
gzus
Member



Joined: 2004/10/8
Posts: 31


 Re:

I can't speak for Jimmy but I agree with him, and I worship God every single one of the seven days of the week. On Sunday I listen to the pastor's sermon and congregate with the Body of Christ. I do not work seven days out of the week and that day happens to be Sunday. Not because I am "keeping" the Sabbath, but because it is when my prefered local congregation gets together to listen to our pastor and chat our week and relationship with God.

Peace and God Bless!

 2005/7/17 20:21Profile
letsgetbusy
Member



Joined: 2004/9/28
Posts: 957
Cleveland, Georgia

 Re: THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT - My Personal Testimony

If you worship on Saturday, keep on!

If you worship on Sunday, keep on!

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

If Christ was crucified on Friday, He slept through the Jewish Sabbath, and rose on Sunday. If one chooses the Saturday Sabbath, and keeps all the OT laws, ie: jubilee, passover, etc, let him do it to the Lord. I clearly read,

"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?"

But if somebody doesn't believe that and loves Jesus I'm for them.

Let's just make sure we are loving everbody Jesus loves. John R Rice said, "I'm going to get to heaven one day...I don't want to have to apologize to anybody when I get to heaven because I wouldn't talk to 'em down here."

Good link on the subject:
http://www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/freedomfromsabbathkeeping.shtml


_________________
Hal Bachman

 2005/7/17 21:24Profile









 Re:

Thank GOD for all of your replies.

I've heard numerous of 7-day Advantists (sp!) and Messanic Believers say 'its saturday, we should worship on saturday'.

The living waters article hit it all right on the money.

Thanks guys

 2005/7/17 22:55
KingJimmy
Member



Joined: 2003/5/8
Posts: 4419
Charlotte, NC

 Re:

ginny,

Until this weekend, I worked 14 days in a row at work, due to the fact that I am only one of two people able to fulfill my position (book keeper), and now since the other person has quit, I am the only one until somebody else is hired, and trained (which may take several more weeks). Besides that, even if I only went into work 5-6 days a week, a Biblical Sabbath would require me to do no household chores, nor do anything whatsoever that caused another human being to work. I was reading in Nehemiah recently how zealous he was for the sabbath that as governor, he would not allow anybody into Jerusalem on the sabbath, and forbade tradesman to even so much as setup camp outside the vacinity of the city.

So, for people who are going to talk about keeping the Sabbath, by all means, keep the Sabbath. Prepare all your meals the day before, shut off all your electricity, don't drive anywhere, don't eat anywhere else, do no household chores, etc. Or as Abraham Heschel (a jewish scholar) once told a story of a man who was so zealous for the Sabbath that he thought should he see that his fence needed fixing while on Sabbath, that he would NEVER fix the fence.

Sabbath observation is not simply choosing to hold public worship days on a Saturday instead of Sunday.


_________________
Jimmy H

 2005/7/17 22:57Profile
ravin
Member



Joined: 2004/5/6
Posts: 309
Washington st. u.S. A.

 Re:

"So, for people who are going to talk about keeping the Sabbath"




I don't believe it's about what we want to do,It's about "if ye love me keep my commandments."
I believe we are using the triditions of man to move aside the laws of God. Jesus said pray that you don't have to flee on the sabbath.hmmm sounds like he ment us to keep it.
It all comes down to am I going to keep his word. if not why am I calling my self a christain?
I just pray to keep his word right and to walk as he wants me too.

 2005/7/18 1:46Profile
philologos
Member



Joined: 2003/7/18
Posts: 6566
Reading, UK

 Re:

The 'sabbaths' were a unique sign between God and his ancient people of Israel. This is not just the weekly Sabbath but all the 'sabbaths' which included the seventh year Sabbaths and the year of Jubilee which was two Sabbath years back to back. These 'sabbaths' were the outward expression of Israel's faith and obedience.Ex. 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
Ezek. 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
Ezek. 20:20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

The personal sign of faith and obedience was circumcision.Rom. 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: If you insist upon the one you should also insist upon the other. This was not so 'visible' in ordinary life but was a lasting brand that the man belonged to God.

The distinguishing mark of old Israel was its 'sabbaths'. Coming under the law did not only necessitate keeping the 'sabbaths' but keeping the whole of the law. This will be found in Exodus 20-24. The breaking of these laws could only be mitigated by the sacrificial system and Levitical priesthood. They have to go together; it is not possible to separate one from the other;Heb. 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. ... and as that priesthood is no longer available there is no possibility of sin being mitigated.

It is a package deal. You cannot commit yourself to a single law of your choice; it is all or nothing. James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.


_________________
Ron Bailey

 2005/7/18 4:03Profile









 Re: Every time I get caught up in one of these....

....discussions, I tell myself it is the last time. Yet here I am again, reading your posts and groaning in my spirit. Oh how I pray for revelation of the Holy Spirit to decend upon each of you about this matter of the Sabbath.

It is very difficult to serparate justification and sanctification these days. Preachers and teachers seem to want to homoginize them as they would spirit and flesh. This is confusing and very unfortunate.

No one is ever justified by keeping the law. That does not abolish or relieve the saint from keeping God's moral law. Once we are justified by faith in the finished work of the cross, there is a life to be lived. It is God's will that this life be lived holy and pure. Our holiness and our purity of flesh can never be perfected, however our spirit is perfected from the moment of new birth. If this were not so, no man could enter the throne of grace boldly.
The flesh must be conquered and made to submit to behavior that fits within the framework of God's moral law. Otherwise, we are not ambassadors of God's kingdom, but kingdoms of our own making.
The Sabbath day was made for man. As our brother so well stated, it was made for rest and a sign. It is still a sign today. A sign of communion with God. It is an act of worship, and a blessing of rest from our labors. It was made for us to joy in our God and a sign of His love and blessing made for us. Do you take communion? Why? Is it not a sign to you? A remmemberence? Is not the Sabbath a rememberence also? We remember that we have a new covenant with God and rest from the sacrifices. When do we do that? When we rest from our labors and spend the day in fellowship with God.
How one "keeps the Sabbath" can only be defined by the leading of the Holy Spirit, that likely changing from week to week as we grow in faith and the intimacy of our relationship with God deepens. But to say that Jesus nulified the Law is not scriptural in my humble opinion. He fulfilled it's just requirements, so there is no penalty. But He never relieved us from the resposibility of living according to the law. That is why we do not have idols. You don't have any idols, do you? That is why we don't take God's name in vain. You don't do that, do you? That is why we don't lust after our neighbors wife and goods. You dont' do that do you? That is why we don't bare false witness. You don't lie do you? That is why we dont' steal. You dont' steal do you? Why don't you? Because God's law is witnessed in spirit in your hearts.
But we as modern day beleivers have been conditioned by catholic dogma that says Sunday is the day of rest. Since we compromised on that, there is now no rest day. Commerce is in full swing in most places in this country each and every day. Since there is no respect for God, why would there be any respect for His law.
Paul asked the question, does our liberty give us occasion to follow the lusts of our flesh and live like our flesh would have us do? NO! Does this mean our flesh is perfected? No! And never shall it be. Our flesh is destined for the grave and corruption. But that does not mean that we are to give in to the dictates of our passions and lusts and live like hellions.
We are to honor God in all we say and do. This includes keeping His moral law. Ceremonial law was clearly abolished by the once and for all sacrafice of the Lamb of God. But the moral law is not set aside, nor shall it ever be. For the moral law is revelation of the nature of God and His holiness. We cannot say we walk with God and live like the heathen. we are liars if we do.
While I'm on the soap box here, I might just as well say that the liberty that some folks take in dress when they come to church is a gross dishonor to our God and I have to question the validity of your claim to be His. How dare we show up in church immodestly dressed or worse yet, wearing T shirts that advertise products that are involved with sinful living. ICABOD!
It is time for reform saints. If we are going to turn around, should we not endeavor to raise the bar all the way back up to the top? Is obeying our God worth anything at all to you? It is to me. I'm blessed when I walk in obedience. I'm loved by my heavenly Father when I walk in obedience. Jesus manifests Himself to me when I walk in obedience. I want to walk in obedience not to justify me, but to honor my God. How dare the catholic church or anyone else change God's law at their own choosing?
I'll stop with this. I do think that we should go back to Sabbath keeping. I have to work on Saturday, and this continues to grieve my soul. But I am a care provider for seniors and care is required 7 days a week. It's like what Jesus was talking about when he mentioned someone's donkey being in a ditch or hole. Yes you go get it out. But keep the spirit of the law. I can't define, nor do I believe any one has the right to define how you or I keep the spirit of the sabbath. That is between you and God. Surely how you keep it will be easily discerned by others in that we are His and honor and obey His law through some manifestation of rest and worship.
If you think you have the privilege of being "lawless", you had better rethink your place with God. God's will is within His law. If you are not in His will to "do" it, you are not His and will not enter in. "Do" in spirit, not in perfection of flesh. If anyone ever perfected flesh, the message of unmerited favor would die forever. But we are not relieved from obedience to any of God's moral law. We surely are not at liberty to make exceptions about one of them either, or to set it aside.
The sabbath was changed by the catholics. While the great reformers (most catholic priests) identified many schisms and harlotries within the catholic church, they did not renouce the church and leave the priest hood. Nor did they renounce Sunday as the day of rest. Some were excommunicated. But that was not their choice. Let me remind you that Jonathon was in covenant with David. But Jonathon did not leave his father's side and died with his father. Hello?
So there is still plenty of room for reform today, in your life and mine. But if the Holy Spirit is not convicting your heart to change, then you likely won't. Yeilding to Him in obedience is the only obedience that God recognizes, not in letter, but in spirit. For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. That life is one that hungers after obedience and righteousness, even though we often fall short. The desire is always there. Have you no desire to love God completely? If so, why is it so difficult for you to not desire to honor Him in the rest He made for you. Yes Jesus is our rest, rest from sacrifice. But Jesus is not our rest from our labors. Otherwise we would never get tired. I just finished working 12 hour days for 9 days and 12 days in a row. I can tell you I was worn out. I needed rest. I could not just proclaim that Jesus was my rest. I needed to rest. I cannot proclaim that Jesus is my righteousness and continue to steal. I also need to set my heart on not stealing. Come on folks. Compromise is so seductive. It's time we give up the seduction and say to hell will tradition, pleasure, and comfort. I want to obey my God!

In Him,

Lahry

 2005/7/19 9:54





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