[soc.religion.christian] Was Sabbath - A question for those married and in Love

davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton) (05/26/91)

Let us say that you were married on June 15 and have for years been
celebrating June 15 as your anniversary date.  On that day, each year,
you go out of your way to demonstrate to your wife that you love her.
June 15 has become a special date for the two of you.

Your wife travels to Europe to see the land of her roots.  And then
you receive that fateful phone call.  The plane she was on was hi-jacked.
The news develops and it appears you will never see her again.  Weeks
go by.  Some sort of a hostage deal.  She is alive after all.  And
finally the plane load of former hostages arrives back home.  She
is on board.  She is returned to you alive on June 16, the day after
your anniversary date.

Now for my question - would you two henceforth celebrate your
anniversary on June 16?  That is the day on which she was returned to
you alive again.

Note that the Sabbath was created by Jesus, the Lord and creator of the
Sabbath, to be a weekly memorial of creation week.  It was created for
man before Adam sinned, and Adam and Eve were not Jews.

Note that the Bible emphasis is on Christ's death - He died for me and
for you.  Paul says - "I die daily".  So, if the Bible emphasis is on
His death for you and me, then would not Friday bear more significance
than Sunday?   A careful examination of the NT makes it clear that
Christianity did not convert to Sunday during the life time of those
who wrote the NT.  History bears out that the conversion to Sunday came
later during a time when many new innovations came into the church -
many of these rejected by the Protestant Reformation.

In the NT we find that baptism and the Lord's Supper were added before
Christ's death.  From the following texts it should be clear that anything
added to the New Covenant after Christ died cannot be considered a part
of the New Covenant.  In Luke it is made especially clear that Jesus
"rested" over the Sabbath day, clearly establishing that this be an
established part of the New Covenant.  And we see the women waiting
until after the Sabbath before they come to annoint Him with their
potions.  Again making clear that nothing has changed with regards to
the Sabbath over the week-end.  The New Covenant is established with
the Sabbath intact.

     "For where there is a testament, there must also of  necessity  be  the
     death  of  the  testator.    For  a testament is in force after men are
     dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. "  --  Heb
     9:16,17  (NKJ)

     "Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though  it  is  only  a  man's
     covenant,  yet  if  it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. "  --
     Gal 3:15  (NKJ)

The tradition based change to Sunday many years later did not add Sunday
to the New Covenant.  Clearly it could not have according to what Paul
is saying about the New Covenant in Hebrews and Galations.

So, what are birthdays, anniversaries, rememberances of creation week;
what are these all about?  They have to do with relationships,
relationships with those we love.  What does it say about a husbands
love if he refuses to celebrate his wife's birthdays and their
anniversaries?  What does it say about the Christian who refuses to
celebrate the day of which Jesus is Lord and Creator?  In the OT I find
repeated the warning of prophets that God's people will be taken into
captivity if they don't return to the Sabbath.  Is God drawing a line in
the sand and shouting - cross that line and I'll beat you up?  No, not
at all.  When God's people cannot find the time for their relationship
with God, they end up more and more caught up in materialism and
imported the idolatry around them.  After awhile they have lost their
relationship with God and how then can they be God's special people?

Two days ago my boss asked me to work on Sabbath.  I explained why I
cannot.  He accepted that.  But the friend I ride to work with each day
has his 'Sabbath' for a couple hours Sunday morning.  He frequently
works the week-ends and thinks nothing of it.  This anyday will do
philosphy has resulted in a rather low priority for time spent with God.
How can Sunday really be a special day with God when He has not ordained it?
The any day philosophy comes from a missunderstanding of what Paul was
talking about.  From the above texts it should be clear that Paul is not
proposing that any weekly day of the week will do.  He is rather saying that
it is up to each individual to decide what to do about the annual Sabbath
dayS.  These are clearly identified in the OT as Passover, Feast of
Tabernacles, etc.  These are annual feast days pointing to the cross.
Their symbolism pointed to the cross and not beyond the cross.  That was
the big time issue of Paul's day.  The Judaisers were urging a
continuance of the sacrificial system.  Paul is clear that these ended
at the cross.  There are far too many NT examples of Paul worshiping
with the gentiles on the Sabbath, not Sunday, to establish that Paul
was not proposing that anyday, Sabbath vs Sunday, will do.

    " 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with 
    their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship 
    Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'""  --  Mat 15:8,9  
    (NKJ)

The any day will do philosophy has resulted in a rather liberal approach
to the worship of God each week.  That is for most people and I will
acknowledge that there are the exceptions who do worship God on Sunday
the way He would have them worship Him on the Sabbath.  It is God who
reads the heart and is the final judge.

Dave (David E. Buxton)

jclark@sdcc6.ucsd.edu (John Clark) (05/28/91)

In article <May.26.02.25.18.1991.14009@athos.rutgers.edu> davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton) writes:
+cannot.  He accepted that.  But the friend I ride to work with each day
+has his 'Sabbath' for a couple hours Sunday morning.  He frequently
+works the week-ends and thinks nothing of it.  This anyday will do
+philosphy has resulted in a rather low priority for time spent with God.
+How can Sunday really be a special day with God when He has not ordained it?

Would you prefer compulsory Sunday observance? Or conversely, why
isn't every day a 'special' day for communion with your diety. The
Catholics have mass every day, but for most protestants there is
only Sunday service(some may have a mid-week 'prayer' service or
informal 'breakfasts' but nothing formalized).
-- 

John Clark
jclark@ucsd.edu

[Nowhere has Dave suggested compulsory observance, and if he were to,
I seriously doubt it would be on Sunday...  His position has been that
Christians should celebrate the Sabbath, which is Saturday (or Friday
night/Saturday, depending upon how literal you want to get).  --clh]