Sabbath - Saturday or Sunday??

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Permalink Reply by Robert Ricciardelli on April 29, 2008 at 9:17am

The Sabbath is really for our benefit. It could be on a Thursday. The fact is when, I take a Sabbath during the week, I feel refreshsed and renewed. When I do not, I feel worn out and tired. So, instead of making it "law" in my life, I just have realized that it works for me. In Christ there is not one day more important than the other. But the Sabbath is certainly a day, God has presented to us for our benefit, so take one!

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Permalink Reply by Shepherd Abraham Ndawona on August 14, 2009 at 6:48am

You are sure my friend.When Jesus healed the sick he did even on the Sabbath day,saying why not doing good things on this day ,as the Farises says you must never do any work on the Sabbath.

Shepherd Abraham Ndawona

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Permalink Reply by Michael on April 30, 2008 at 8:43pm

I can speak on this topic from personal experience. I was exposed to this doctrine early in my pre-teen years, I was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist for about 1 year, as well as a member of another non-denominational Church for more than 12 years, that believed in Saturday, Sabbath day keeping.

But as I begin to grow older and hear things that I did not agree with, and when I would ask questions, I was not given a satisfactory answer. So I decided that I would ask the Lord concerning my questions and my doubts on those things. After all Jesus did say that He would give us another Comforter and that He would lead and guide us into all truth, and that He would teach us things concerning Christ.

So I begin my study, and going back to the very beginning in the book of Genesis, and, although the word says that the Lord rested and blessed the Sabbath day, there was no command given to Adam and Eve to keep the Sabbath day. The Lord only rested on the seventh day because He had finished His work, there was nothing else for Him to create and make! If you read the 4th chapter of Hebrews it explains the real meaning of Sabbath rest, basically saying that when we cease from our earthly work here and depart this body and enter into the presence of the Almighty, then will we have, true rest (Sabbath).

Then there were certain commands given to Israel in the wilderness of things not to do on the Sabbath, such as picking up sticks, lighting fires, not leaving their tents, carrying items, etc…but when we get to the New Testament, we see Jesus doing some of the very things that were against the law of Sabbath keeping!

That, along with other revelations helped me to see that it is not about a day, but rather about the maker of the days, the stars, the planets…the creator of the world! Even Jesus said in Matthew 12 and Mark 2 that “the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”. “The Son of man is Lord, even of the Sabbath”. It is good to take a rest, but not to take a legalistic stance and make the day the focus. Remember that there are some things that the Lord gave explicitly to Israel to make them separate from the other nations and we the Church, are not bond to a lot of those things.

B-blessed Saints;
Michael

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on May 1, 2008 at 7:24am

Dear Nienie; being a nurse and having to work weekends; as I am sure there are others who are required to work weekends. I beleive that when we set apart a time or day that we do the work of praising and worshiping our Lord and are into his Word that this is our "Sabbath" For instance, this week I work the weekend and have off Monday. I will spend Monday as my time to be with the Lord in worship, prayer and study. So, I believe that God's Word is very important and we apply it to our lives for the present time and not Biblical times. Remeber when Jesus also told those who accused him of blasmphemy when he healed on the Sabbath. His repy was: would you not go a find one of your lost sheep or pull him out of a well if he needed help. So true is then that sometimes there are things that we must do on Sunday. Make your Sabbath day special, no matter which day of the week it falls on. Your friend in Christ

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Permalink Reply by deedee310 on August 14, 2009 at 8:32am

Although a lot of churches and denominations observe the Sabbath day on Sunday, the bible tells us that God took his sabbath rest on the 7th day of the week. The Seventh day of the week is Saturday. My personal belief is that God wants us to observe Saturday (the seventh day) as the Sabbath.

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Permalink Reply by Mary O on August 14, 2009 at 11:13am

I worshiped and observed the day of rest on Sunday for a long time. That's how I was raised. I switched to Saturday because it's what I want to do. I go from midnight on Friday to midnight on Saturday, but I believe originally, it was sundown to sundown. Does anyone have information on that?

I think of it as following the Lord's example. On that day, I relax and take a nap. I read the word and do my bible studies. I get online and pray with people requesting prayer. Some of these things may not seem like rest (like the bible studies), but I think God loves that I love doing them. I think that I can feel His pleasure that I love doing bible studies. I feel closer to Him.

On my day of rest, I try not to even think about my work week, dishes, mowing the lawn, or laundry. I flush it out of my head for one day. Meals are pre-made. We just warm them up.

The Sabbath is something that I tried, and I love honoring it.
God bless,
Mary O.

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Permalink Reply by DR on August 18, 2009 at 8:28am

This is my first post, but as someone who was a Hebrew Roots Christian at one time, I think I might have a unique perspective on it.

As it stands, I believe the Ten Commandments to be universal. Jesus said not one jot or tittle would pass from the Torah (Matthew 5:17-20), but since there is no Temple, none of the ceremonial aspects of the Torah can be carried out (the Feast days, etc.). This is why I think Paul's ministry to the Gentiles didn't stress Torah obedience, as he didn't foresee the Temple being a lasting institution. But its my belief that the "law of commandments contained in ordinances" were the ceremonial laws in Torah. These are no longer applicable (at least to Gentiles), as far as I know.

But the Sabbath was given before these laws were given. In fact, it was given at Creation. Torah itself says it is both "for an age" and "until the Age". There are no scriptural proofs it was switched over to Sunday, although this was later adapted by the Roman Catholic Church. Daniel 2:21 says that the fourth beast would change times and seasons. It is my belief that the little horn of the fourth beast is the Roman Catholic Church (since the four beasts represent the nations that conquered Israel in succession -- Babylon, the Medeo-Persian Empire, the Greeks and Rome). It alone has changed God's laws for centuries until the Protestant reformation challenged its authority, although many Catholic doctrines were still clinged to in its aftermath.

I have posted a blog entry here on this issue. My thoughts on this are not complete yet, but these are my true beliefs on many of the "Jewish roots" of Christianity. I would love to hear people's thoughts on this so I can make any corrections to it, if I'm in error.

As to why I think it is important, I don't want to be considered "least" in Heaven by any sense of the word. I do think God definitely judges the heart, but I see God's universal day of rest as a time to worship and reflect on Him. So while I cannot judge people who don't keep a Friday sunset to Saturday sunset Sabbath, I think its one of those things where, if you know it, you're better off obeying it.

But neither do I believe legalistic observance of the day either. For example, I think hospitals need to remain open on that day, since Jesus has already taught healing on the Sabbath is okay. Obviously, emergencies arise. I think the death penalty was only enforced at Sinai to force Israel to keep it as part of the harsh "school master" in Galatians until Messiah came. Now that the law can be written on the heart, God's Spirit can help us do what's right.

Hope this helps. :)

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Permalink Reply by DR on August 20, 2009 at 10:42am

It does? Where? Only thing I know of is some vague reference where they broke bread on the first day of the week. Breaking bread is a semitism meaning they ate together.

People shouldn't confuse grace with no law because Jesus said He didn't come to abolish the Law (Matthew 5:17-20). Parts of it fell into disuse after His crucifixion and the destruction of the Temple, but as for what remains, it still applies, as far as I understand.

Also, in Matthew 24, why would He tell His disciples not to flee on the Sabbath (the seventh day) if it was no longer going to apply?

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Permalink Reply by Brenda Hughes on August 20, 2009 at 12:39pm

Colossians 2:16 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:

I personally believe that we as the saints of God should not neglect gathering together in honor of His Name!
Every day should be a day of worship and serving the Lord.
So much focus is put upon the Sabbath, whether it is Saturday or Sunday, that it has even brought division among God's people! I don't believe that God wants His children divided!
Should we not rather be busy helping and leading the lost to Jesus, our Lord and Savior,and helping the world to focus on and believe in Jesus of Nazareth!
Let us therefore not judge each other in respect of an holy day or of the sabbath days, as written by Paul to the Colossians.
The Lord desires that we love each other from a pure heart fervently..1 Pet 1:22.
Written with love,
God bless you all!

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Permalink Reply by DR on August 20, 2009 at 6:26pm

I agree it should not be a dividing issue, sister, and I also agree that Christ alone is for salvation. But there were more Sabbaths in the Mosaic Covenant than the seventh day Sabbath. Read Leviticus 23. The others are "olam" (for a time). The seventh day Sabbath alone is "l'olam" (until the Age, which means the world to come).

I posted a blog entry explaining this. Sabbath is given as a day to rest and reflect on God. It is also part of the Ten Commandments. My belief is that only the ordinances (those things pertaining to the Temple, separation of Jews from Gentiles through laws such as kosher and other "clean"/"unclean" ordinances, special Sabbaths that pointed to His sacrifice) are what is being spoken of in Colossians 2. Likewise, Isaiah 66 says that we will worship Him from one Sabbath to another in the world to come. So I definitely believe it to be eternal on that basis alone.

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Permalink Reply by Nienie on August 20, 2009 at 1:10pm

I thank you all for your contributions in this section. So many people have different views about this topic.
It was so important for God to set up one day to rest that HE made it a law.
He set a day apart to rest and to be spiritual rejuvenated.
The hebrew word for Sabbath - shabbath - means to cease, to pause or take an intermission.
God created the world in six days and onthe seventh He rested, He made it a law for He knew that it is of vital importance for us to take a rest, for body and soul to rest and to set apart a day to worship and honor Him. If you read in Isaiah 58:13-14 we read that we should delight ourselves in the Lord and to cease from work activities and set apart time for the LOrd.It is so important for we have to build a relationship with Him and no relationship is built without time spent with that person. Our Father is a jealous God and He wants us to spent time with Him.
We dont have to restrict that time to only once a week, for relationship is built by spending time together.
Go into the "Sabbath rest" daily with the LOrd, set apart your special time for Him daily in building your relationship, but remember it is vitally important to spent one day a week, where you cease from work and daily activities, and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth
BLessings

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Permalink Reply by Bennie L Homes on August 22, 2009 at 5:58pm

Yes I think you should make this a topic . The Bible says that the 7th day is the Sabbath and no matter what calendar you look at , Saturday is always the Seventh day . There's nothing in the Bible that says the Sabbath was switched from Saturday to Sunday . Yes we are supposed to serve the Lord with our whole hearts ...But we are also command to follow All the Commandments . Here are some good websites to help us understand this topic . www.amazingfacts.org and www.sabbathtruth.com

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