MY ANSWER TO SOMEONE'S PROBLEM REGARDING THE SABBATH
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: My antwoord op iemand se probleem met die Sabbat
Translator: Lynda Botha
Someone asked me, if the Sabbath is not on a Saturday and whether it is completely wrong to make a Sunday the Sabbath, as our Lord rested on the seventh day.
Personally, this sort of thing does not bother me, because it does not have eternal value. My main goal with my ministry is to help people to start a love relationship with Jesus.
Like Paul, I have the following goal in mind with my ministry:
1 COR 2:2: “For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified.”
This is how I see this matter:
Although this subject like many other topics can be interesting in theology, it does not have any eternal value. What I mean is this – our Lord will not let anyone go to hell after His Son died on the cross, simply because he/she does not have the Sabbath on the same day that you or I have it. For Jews living under the Law of Moses, our Saturday would be the Sabbath.
For most Christians, the first day of the week became our Sabbath, because our Saviour rose on that day and made that day special in our hearts. On this day we celebrate, what most people would call a church service but according to the law of Moses, it is the first day. Let's see how Jesus looked at the Sabbath laws:
LUKE 6:1-5
1 "One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grain fields, His disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands and ate the grain.”
2 "But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
3 "Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?”
4 "He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.”
5 "And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Here is the way I see the Sabbath. The Sabbath, as understood by many people, is part of the Law of Moses and I am no longer under the law:
GALATIANS 3:23-26
23 “Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.”
24 “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.”
25 “And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.”
26 “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
I would feel like a hypocritical person, if I lived Sundays differently than on any of the other remaining days of the week. For me, every day is the day of our Lord. There is a chorus which I love, and it starts like this:
“This is the day that the Lord has made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
This has obviously originated from PSALM 118.
PSALM 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Our Lord is not less present in my life on a Monday, as for instance on a Saturday or on a Sunday.
Those who want to hold a Saturday as their Sabbath because it is stated as part of the law in the Word, must of course also remember, that there are other festivals under the law which you must honour if you want to be consistent. While they should also remember that if they only recognize Saturdays as the Sabbath and do not honour the other festivals under the law, they have a big problem.
JAMES 2:10: “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.”
Fortunately, it does not apply to me because I'm free from the law.
GALATIANS 5:1-4
1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
2 “Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.”
3 “I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favour with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.”
4 “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
From my perspective then –
What counts for circumcision, counts for everything else under the law.
Every day is the day of our Lord for me, and I strive to serve our Lord in full every day. Not that I always succeed, but it is my aspiration.
Regarding the day our Lord rested, and whether it was a 24-hour day, I do not know, but for me it does not really matter. What I do know is that it is written in the Word:
2 PETER 3:8: "But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”
In the meantime, I am content to obey:
LUKE 9:23: "Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.”
Then to summarize how I perceive and proclaim this matter: One day is not less sacred then for instance a Sunday. In other words – A Sunday is just as holy as all the other days of the week.
Greetings,
Sakkie