Expert: Dr. Ronald E. Shultz - 5/4/2007

Question
I first learned of the Seventh Day Baptist about 10 years ago. I grew up in the Baptist church (Missionary) and heard of and visited several kinds of Baptist churches from freewill to primitive, but had never heard of Seventh Day Baptists until researching different sabbath keeping groups. When I first came across the name, I thought it was one small independent church but to my surprise it was a small denomination with roots in United States as early as the 1600s and even before then in Europe as an independent group of believers that followed the Waldenses. I would constantly mention and inquire about them to other Sunday keeping Baptist pastors who said they had also never heard of them, not even the Baptist Conference in Augusta Ga. They seemed to be surprised at their existence and well established history. But, I surprisingly found a link to a letter written by the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference to Sunday Keeping Baptists in 1843, titled "An Address to the Baptist Denomination of the United States On the Observance of the Sabbath From the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference." You can read it if you go to their home page and select Beliefs/History and then Historical Resources, and finally Letter to the Baptists. With their books, articles, magazines, quarterlies, publishing houses and two or three colleges they began, Alfred University in NY and Salem in W. Va and one other, I'm surprised that more Baptist clergy aren't familiar with them. Although still small, there are still active congregations as old as 350 years old in the US alone. Do you know of them and why are they not that well known among their Sunday keeping brethren? According to their website, with the exception of worshipping on the Sabbath, they share the same beliefs as Sunday Baptists. If you've ever heard of them, do you know about any history or interaction they've had with Sunday Baptist brethren over the years and why not more cooperation being that with the exception of the Biblical Sabbath observance, they have more doctrine in common with traditional Baptists than do the primitive Baptists?


Answer
I have heard of them but have never met one. I would suspect they would be less willing to cooperate with the Sunday lads then the other way around.  Most other Saturday groups teach that the rest of us are going to Hell at worst and or we are sorry Christians at best.  It would depend on how they view the thing. If I ever meet one and we can discuss this we might be able to fellowhip depending on if he thinks I am saved or not.

On that issue, I ran across a site that offered big money if I could prove any of the Apostles approving of a shift to Sunday.  They haven't sent me a check or rebuttal but this was my answer to them and they thought all of us Sunday dudes were damned.
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We are under a new covenant.

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.  (KJV)

Here is a meeting with Paul preaching on the first day of the week when they met to share in a meal and worship.  Bread breaking was a part of worship as we see throughout Acts.  The Jews met on the Sabbath and Christians on the first day.  We are not Jews nor under the Law.

1 Cor 16:1-2
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.  (KJV)

Why the first day?  That is when they met and the best time to collect the offering for the poor in an orderly fashion rather than having chaos when he arrived.

Col 2:13-17
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.  (KJV)

The Law was a shadow of Christ and now He is here and fulfilled the Law.  The Sabbath was made for man not the man for the Sabbath.  Paul said to let no man judge you because of those things and yet you damn all who choose Sunday to worship instead of Saturday.  

Rom 14:1-6
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?  to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.  Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.  He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
(KJV)

Yea, you prove that you are weak in the faith since Paul says that as long as you give thanks to God the day does not matter.

I don't expect a check because you shall never be convinced if Christ sent you an email.  It is your tradition and you cannot leave it.  I do not judge you for worshipping on Saturday but if you hold Saturday like it was in the Law be sure to remember that your are debtor to the whole Law not just the parts you like and by the Law no flesh is justified thus you are in grave danger of missing the grace of God.  
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If a group wants to meet on Saturday as their preference and all other doctrine is straight I will not cast them into outer darkness but again I would think they are in error or misguided. Technically we should meet everyday if we really want tobe 1st Century NT Christians. Groups like this tend to be like the Church of Christ who use the thing about not having music in the service as a "gimmick" or anchor doctrine to keep people from straying since there are only a very few groups that share that belief.  Get someone to believe that one and they almost can't leave.  The Saturday thing works like that as well. Since only Jews and SDAs do the Saturday thing where could a believer in that doctrine go since the only other groups are way too diverse in doctrine or don't believe in Christ at all.  As I have seen with other groups that have a passion for one or two "special" doctrines you can't fellowship or get anything done because those topics will always come up and you spend your whole time rehashing the same points.  If these lads are saved and doctrinally sound on everything else then they will need to work the North 40 acres of the field and I will work the South 40 or we will never get the field plowed let alone seeded or harvested.  Speaking of Primitive Baptists they are passionate about the 5 points of Calvinism as are some other groups and you hear more about Calvin or the TULIP than anything else.  Sometimes Calvin is quoted more than Scripture and you just can't hook up and get anything done with folks like that.  It just wasn't predestined to be.  ;-)

The best you can do is find a church of like faith, live holy and win souls to Christ and let the others do what they do allowing Christ to sort it out.  If they are heretics, we are to reject or have nothing to do with them after the second admonition. If they are misguided brethren, just pray for them and love them as much as they will let you but don't spend time debating that would be best used in the field working for Christ.

May God bless you as you study His Word and serve Him in the beauty of holiness.