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The Sabbath: It's Not Just a Good Idea, It's a Command from God!

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The Sabbath

It's Not Just a Good Idea, It's a Command from God!

by Randy D'Alessandro 10 comments Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
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Recently, on the television morning show Fox and Friends, I saw an interview with Senator Joe Lieberman discussing his new book, "The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath."

Mr. Lieberman, as you recall, is not only a United States Senator but a former vice-presidential nominee and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

The need for a day of rest

As a Sabbath-keeper I was intrigued by this man, who despite his high profile lifestyle, spoke on how the Sabbath has anchored, ordered, and inspired his life. Mr. Lieberman also expressed his encouragement of others who pick a day of the week to rest and keep in a special way.

Setting aside one day in seven as a special day of rest is indeed a good principle, but the real questions are: What does God think, and what does the Bible say? Is resting once a week just a good idea whose time has come in a hectic world, or is resting and worshiping God on a specific day of the week a command from God himself—not just to the Jewish people but to all peoples at all times?

Confusion about the Sabbath

Leaders and authorities from many religious denominations candidly acknowledge that Saturday is the biblical Sabbath day and that there is no biblical basis for Sunday observance. For example, note the following quotes:

"Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible" ("To Tell You the Truth," The Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947, p. 9).

"But since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn't it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible, and not the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Yes of course, it is inconsistent; but this change was made about 15 centuries before Protestantism was born, and by that time the custom was universally observed. They have continued the custom, even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text in the Bible" (Dr. John O'Brien, Faith of Millions, pp. 543-544).

"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify" (James Cardinal Gibbons, Faith of our Fathers, 88th ed., p. 89).

"We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday" (Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1957, p. 50).

"The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word 'remember,' showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?" (Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting, pp. 47-48).

The Sabbath is a gift—and a command—from God

Jesus Christ, in condemning the practices of the religious leaders of His day, said, "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition" (Mark 7:7-9).

According to Christ's own statements, it is possible to worship Him in a way that does no good—that is, it is in vain. God does not give us the choice of how to worship Him—only whether we will worship Him according to His instructions or not.

Bravo to Senator Lieberman for bringing attention to this important command from God! The United Church of God offers you literature that will walk you through the scriptures offering more information about this special gift from God to all mankind. Our booklet Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest is available at no cost or obligation.

The Gift of Rest Saturday Sabbath day of rest commandment Sabbath God's Church Doctrinal Beliefs

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Comments

  • mlovethunder
    Matthew L. Thun...

    Nowhere is any of mankind's current naming of any day of the week. God numbered the days to keep is simple as mankind even has the days numbered correctly.
    Use 'seventh day' in almost any concordance and it can been seen from the beginning that God had especially Created and set apart the last day of His Works; Gen 2:3; And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

    Many will overlook the fact that the Jewish folks have NEVER forgotten that day there was no manna. If the Jews of Christ's time had been going to synagogue on the wrong day, Luke 4:16; And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Jesus would never had this custom.

    Finally it is a matter of faith: Hbr 11:6;
    But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

    (KJV)

  • raylynn
    Rachel

    I was just wanting to know places in the bible to look up for myself to see where it clarifies that Saturday is the Sabbath?

  • H.G. Hennis
    H.G. Hennis

    Mr. Winslow,

    In addition to what was just posted regarding Colossians 2:16-17 specifically, I thought you might find some Scriptural facts concerning the Apostle Paul's life in general interesting. Acts 21:24 makes it plain that Paul himself "...walk[ed] orderly and ke[pt] the law," long after his conversion to Christianity, "...that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you [Paul] are nothing..." A few verses later, we find that one of the false accusations against Paul was, "This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place..." (Acts 21:28). In Acts 25:8, Paul defends himself saying, "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all." While giving his testimony before King Agrippa, Paul also underlines that he had taught "...no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come" (Acts 26:22).

    Having had many false assumptions made about him, it is interesting what Paul writes to the Romans: "And why not say, 'Let us do evil that good may come?' -- as we are slanderously reported [of] and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just" (Romans 3:8). In the same chapter, Paul exclaims, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31).

    In Acts 13:42-44, the following is written: "So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God." Although the minority manuscripts in the Alexandrian family have a significantly different wording in verse 42, both majority and minority manuscripts agree that "almost the whole city" came together "on the next Sabbath" in verse 44.

    It is interesting to note that the first Gentile person to be baptized after the Macedonian call of Acts 16:9-10 was found "...on the Sabbath day... out[side] of the city [of Philippi by] the riverside, where prayer was customarily made..." (Acts 16:13-15). In the city of Thessalonica, "...Paul, as his custom was, went in to [the synagogue of the Jews, Acts 17:1] and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures" (Acts 17:2). In Corinth, where Paul lived for several months, it is written that "...he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks." Even after some Jews in Corinth rejected him, we still find Paul following a similar practice of seeking out a Jewish synagogue in the Gentile city of Ephesus (Acts 18:19).

    A couple of verses later, in Acts 18:21, Paul states the following, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus. In some minority manuscripts which appear to have anti-Semitic tendencies at times, a significant part of this verse has been omitted. However, the vast majority of 5000+ Greek source texts used for the New Testament contain Paul's desire to keep the feast in Jerusalem. Regardless of what manuscript family you favor, when Paul writes back to Corinth, Greece he states, "Therefore let us keep the feast...," even after describing "Christ [as] our Passover [who] was sacrificed for us" (1Corinthians 5:8, 5:7).

    In his letter to the Romans, Paul repeatedly has good things to say about the law of God which was something he "delighted in" (Romans 7:22). In a paraphrase of Romans 7:7, which literal translations confirm with different wording, the NLT states, "Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, 'You must not covet.'" In the same chapter, Paul says "...the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12, NASB). In Romans 2:13, Paul makes a similar statement to James, the half-brother of Jesus, in that he indicates, "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous" (NET; compare James 1:22-25).

    Much more could be elaborated on this subject, but in the last book of the New Testament, which was written long after the death of Paul, we find that genuine faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to what God says to do, are not mutually exclusive. As it is written, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God AND the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12). The same Apostle John, also writes, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome" (1John 5:3).

  • H.G. Hennis
    H.G. Hennis

    Mr. Winslow,

    Thank you for your post regarding the UCG's desire to follow the New Testament practice of observing the Sabbath and the holy days, which Jesus Christ and the Apostles all kept –- including Paul.

    I completely understand your position regarding Colossians 2:16-17, and recognize that it is the most popular explanation of these verses among Protestant Christianity today. However, we believe a much closer examination of these verses, the surrounding context, and the life of the Apostle Paul himself as recorded in the book of Acts and his other epistles do not agree with the popular explanation of these two verses.

    Certainly, Jesus Christ –- who is the Creator of the universe (Colossians 1:16-18; John 1:1-3,14,17; Hebrews 1:2, etc.) and is also the Lord of the Sabbath rest (Mark 2:28; compare Isaiah 58:13) which reflects back on the Creator's own choice to rest (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:11), and also represents a spiritual rest for believing Christians (Hebrews 4:1-11, 4:9) –- certainly, Christ is much more important than any symbolic shadow, but that is not the focal point of the passage in Colossians 2:16-17 as it is written in the Greek New Testament.

    In an article published in the Journal of Biblical Literature, the Greek scholar Troy Martin correctly points out the following about Colossians 2:16-17.

    ----- article quotes begin -----

    "The short clause το δε σωμα του χριστου at the end of Col 2:17 is misunderstood by an exegetical tradition that ignores the grammatical structure of the clause... The completely negative assessment of the shadow conception among some commentators is not present in this text."

    "When the clause το σωμα του χριστου is [mis]understood as a nominal clause with an ellipsed εστίν, then it becomes an independent clause. Syntactically, a coordinating conjunction cannot link this independent clause with the subordinate relative clause α εστιν σκια των μελλοντων." After an analysis of various popular explanations, Martin concludes, "...the only remaining grammatical option is to connect το δε σωμα του χριστου with the independent clause μη ουν τις υμας κρινετω at the beginning of the sentence."

    "The construction μη ουν τις υμας κρινετω... το δε σωμα του χριστου is an antithesis. The negative member is stated first; the contrasting positive member introduced by an adversative conjunction occurs second... A common ellipsis in antitheses occurs when the verb of the first member is not repeated in the second member. A clear example is 1 Cor 10:24... This example from Corinthians indicates that perhaps the verb κρινετω is ellipsed in the second member of the antithesis in Colossians. When this ellipsed verb is supplied, the antithesis in Col 2:16-17 reads, μη ουν τις υμας κρινετω... το δε σωμα του χριστου [κρινετω]...”

    Martin's "...investigation of the clause το δε σωμα του χριστου in Col 2:17 suggests that the practices mentioned in 2:16 are those of the Colossian Christians and not the opponents... early Christians observe both feasts and sabbaths."

    ----- article quotes end -----

    If none of that makes sense to you, the Greek text "μη ουν τις υμας κρινετω... το δε σωμα του χριστου" was fairly literally translated by the KJV as, "Let no man therefore judge you... but the body… of Christ." The italicized word "is" in the KJV and most modern translations is not explicitly written in the Greek text, and supplying it yields some inconsistencies with the overall Greek grammatical structure for these two verses which make up one long sentence. The word "reality" from your translation corresponds to σωμα which literally means "body" and is also translated as "body" repeatedly throughout the rest of the epistle to the Colossians.

    The "body of Christ" is earlier defined in Colossians as "the church" of whom Christ is the "Head" (Colossians 1:18, 1:24; compare Colossians 2:19). The surrounding context of Colossians 2:4, 2:8, 2:18, 2:23, etc. contains warnings against allowing ungodly influences that are not of Christ to deceive or cheat us. In contrast, the "body of Christ" that truly follows the lead and example of Christ as the "Head" is a good influence.

    The scholarly article cited above suggests that an understanding of the imperative verb κρινετω ("let ___ judge") in Colossians 2:16 applies to the rest of the sentence, which includes the final clause in 2:17 ("but the body of Christ"). If the implicit understanding of an ellipsed κρινετω ("let ___ judge") and possibly υμας ("you" plural) were added back into the closing clause, then we get a clearer understanding of, "Therefore, do not let [just] anyone judge you... but [let] the body of Christ [judge/correct/administer you]." This idea can still be implicitly understood without any ellipsed words or translator helper words added: "Therefore, do not let anyone judge you... but the body of Christ." The rest of the verse describes the practices of the early New Testament church "which are a shadow of the coming things" (YLT). The way these practices were being observed by the first century church were not to be influenced by anyone outside of the body of Christ (the true Spirit-led believers in the church). The idea of corrections within the church was not a foreign concept to Paul or Jesus Christ as 1Corinthians 5:12 - 6:6, Galatians 2:11-16, Matthew 18:15-17, etc. make plain; neither were administrative decisions (Acts 15:19-20).

    This is a general synopsis of some of our beliefs regarding the specific verses you cited. There is a good UCG article by Larry Walker that offers more details on this subject in Colossians and highlights the Gnostic tendencies behind those who were attempting to judge/mislead the true Church members, if you are interested.

  • Alexander Winslow
    Alexander Winslow

    • Belief that Church members should follow the example[18] of Jesus Christ[19] in worship, including the fact that during His earthly ministry He observed the seventh-day Sabbath[20] and the annual Holy Day (High Day) Festival seasons[21], including the Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Festival of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and the Last Great Day.

    This is in opposition to the Apostle Paul’s instruction at Colossians 2:16, 17] “16 Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; 17 for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to The Christ.” NMTCS

  • Alexander Winslow
    Alexander Winslow

    Regarding your• Belief that Church members should follow the example[18] of Jesus Christ[19] in worship, including the fact that during His earthly ministry He observed the seventh-day Sabbath[20] and the annual Holy Day (High Day) Festival seasons[21], including the Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Festival of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and the Last Great Day.

    This is actually in opposition to the Apostle Paul’s instruction at Colossians 3:16, 17 “16 Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; 17 for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to The Christ.” NMTCS

  • mlovethunder
    Matthew L. Thun...
    Perhaps this may be helpful: After I was a Deacon for E.G. White's church, aka, SDA - Seventh Day Adventist; a co-worker at a new job suggested the information found in; http://www.ucg.org/booklet/united-states-and-britain-bible-prophecy/ Scriptures tell in KJV - Exd 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. Israel? Does this mean Jacob? What of his decendents? SDA never did explain to me who were the Biblical or Spiritual decedents of Jacob. Or how the Sabbaths are more than just weekly. God does reveal these details throughout His Word, but a good starting point is found in KJV - Gen 48:16; The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. Gen 48:17; And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. Gen 48:18; And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. Gen 48:19; And his father refused, and said, I know [it], my son, I know [it]: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. Gen 48:20; And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. Pro 8:17; I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. 1Jo 5:3; For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. Mat 22:36; Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? 37; Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38; This is the first and great commandment. 39; And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40; On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
  • Derek Strauss
    Derek Strauss

    Ex 20:11 "...the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and hallowed it..." He set it aside for Holy Purpose. By keeping the Sabbath, we participate in that blessing over and over again! It is exciting to think that one day all mankind will again keep the Sabbath and will enjoy its blessings. Gut Shabbos, everyone!

  • Alex
    Alex Liebenberg

    I have been mislead most of my life into believing that Sunday was the day of Worship and that the Sabath is not important anymore. I was taught that the Law was nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ. Praise God that He chose to open my eyes. Since we started to keep the Sabath, our lives changed drastically!!! I really pray that the world will start to realise that the Commandments of God is different than the old Jewish laws. This will make them realise that we all have been mislead all our lives. UCG, thank you for your wonderfull site: I started following you about 3 years ago and I received your magazine for about a year. I have learned a lot.

  • mlovethunder
    Matthew L. Thun...

    It is somewhat common, in my experience as business owner and Director of an NPO, for me to explain that I do not engage in any fund-raising, or anything business related from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
    Sometimes just simply saying; "I am not available" during this time will suffice - other times I am asked if I am Jewish. Or why am I stuck in the OT?

    99.5% simply chuckle and tell how I am shortchanging my businesses for archaic beliefs, or something like that in other words.

    Maybe .5% will ask, pseudo-seriously to tell where does Bible show this as neither Saturday or Sunday is written? Even after I, 'show & tell' a few key verses and ask "What did Jesus do?" The scoffing answer is; "He was Jewish!"
    NONE of those scoffers has God "Called" to understanding yet as far as I know.

    Nevertheless, to Him goes the GLORY!!!

    This experience keeps me humble as I know God will "Call" everyone in His own time. And who wants to; 'cast pearls before swine'?
    I have learned, over time,to keep it even more simple and simply remind that Scriptures do tell us to 'prove all things for ourselves'.
    This seems to be the best way for me to answer any Sabbath/Saturday questions.

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