Expert: Cooper P. Abrams III - 12/16/2005

Question
I read your response to a question about keeping the Sabbath.  I do my best to follow the Bible in all aspects and in all of its teachings.  I find it interesting that we all keep the Ten Commandments which was given to the Jews under the old law, yet conviently fail to keep everything else, like the dietary regulations and the seventh-day Sabbath.  But now, my question is where does the Sunday observance come from, and where is it Bibically based?  If the Bible is God's word to us, and guides us in how we are to worship Him, shouldn't it also mention which day we are to worship?  In the New Testament Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law, not to change it and though He rose from the grave, He still kept the seventh-day Sabbath as did the early Christians for about 300 years.  I am trying to understand what us being under grace has to do with us being faithful to His word.  Are we to pick and choose which commandments we are to keep and how we are to follow them though they are cleary stated?  And doesn't James admonish us that in breaking one we are breaking all?

I look forward to your reply.

P.S. I do believe there is a difference in Sabbath and sabbath. Sabbath being the the divine day of worship and sabbath being the various feasts and holidays which the Jews observed.  

Answer
Hi Rachel,
  There is a great deal of confusing about the Sabbath.  The following should help.
God first gave the sabbath as a duty to man in the book of Exodus. It is true that the sabbath originated at the completion of the creation (Ge. 2:1-3), but that was God's rest, not man's. There is no record in Genesis that God gave the sabbath to man, and there is no record of men keeping the sabbath before Israel in the wilderness. Ne. 9:13,14 plainly states that the sabbath was first given to Israel. Seventh-day Adventists teach that men kept the sabbath from the days of Adam onward, but this is contrary to the Bible's own record.

Ex. 31:12-18 says the sabbath was a special sign between God and Israel. If mankind in general had been given the sabbath following creation, it could not have been a sign for Israel. The fact is that the sabbath belongs to the nation Israel and not to any other people. It is also important to note that the sabbath will be an eternal possession of Israel (Ex. 31:16). This sign will never be annulled or transferred to another people. This explains why the prophets foretell that Israel will keep the sabbath even after the kingdom of Christ is established on earth (Is. 66:23). It also explains why Jesus Christ mentioned the sabbath in His prophecies of the Tribulation (Mt. 24:20). Israelites in the land of Palestine still keep the sabbath today.

In their writings to the churches, the Apostles only mentioned the sabbath three times. (1) The sabbath is a symbol of salvation rest in Christ (He. 4). (2) The N.T. believer is not bound to keep the sabbath (Col. 2:9-17). (3) The N.T. believer has liberty in the matter of holy days (Ro. 14). Those who teach that the sabbath is binding upon the Christian, are going contrary to what the Apostles taught.

Why, then, did Jesus keep the Sabbath? He kept the sabbath for the same reason He kept all the other Mosaic laws. He also observed the feasts. Jesus did these things because He was born a Jew, born under the law, that He might fulfill it and redeem His people from its penalty and bondage (Ga. 4:4; Ro. 9:5).