You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? —Gal. 3:1-3
Dear Sabbatarians,
Why is there such a renewed focus pointing to the 4th commandment to support a Sabbath rest? I do “get” the timeliness of your books, videos, conferences, etc. Rest, or lack of rest, is completely relevant to a culture that thrives on living life in the fast lane. It’s true; no one is slowing down. In fact, more of us, including our kids, are climbing aboard the “Busy Bus” with no intention of exiting. With smart phones and laptops glued to our fingertips we keep busier than ever, often into the wee hours of the night.
I have to humbly admit, as a wife and mother of three who is trying to be intentional about living a slower paced life for my self and my family, I more often fail than succeed on this point. Understandably, it’s extremely difficult to do with excessive access to so many things, activities, and choices. Which brings me to this question. Is the solution for our busyness really the discipline of a Sabbath rest or is it Jesus?
Keeping busy is a trap to keep us distracted from Jesus and Satan knows it. So the current focus on the topic of a Sabbath rest also begs the question; do we need to justify our rest with a special day each week? Why can’t we just stop and rest when we are weary? Is busyness really out of our control? Perhaps more importantly we should take a long, hard look at the root of our busyness. Does it distract us from the dull ache of emptiness or loneliness? Is busyness how we seek to fulfill? Why is Sabbath observance a better remedy than Jesus alone?
It seems our sin of busyness is evidence of other sins like pride and self-importance or maybe low self-esteem. At the end of the day we’ve made idols out of work, school, home, family, hobbies, media, things, activities—frankly our own selfish desires—for our own personal gain. So again, is the solution for the sin of busyness really a Sabbath rest or is it Jesus?
When Paul lovingly chastised the church in Corinth for their numerous sins including pride, jealousy and sexual immorality, he didn’t point them to the ten commandments or to a Sabbath rest as a means to see Jesus or to live righteously. Instead, he pointed them to Christ and His death and resurrection power. Paul was angry at the church in Galatia for putting believers back under the Law. Paul called these believers bewitched fools—mesmerized by the Law instead of Christ alone.
To Sabbatarians who understand New Covenant grace and the freedom that Christ’s blood affords, you have the freedom to observe a Sabbath any way the Holy Spirit convicts you (Rom 14:5). Why are you pointing anyone back to the Law to support a Sabbath? This is what Paul called Judaizing and he didn’t condone it. Some of your brothers and sisters are already in bondage to the Law. The Law is their stumbling block to seeing and knowing Christ. Please hear my heart; when you point them back to the Law to justify your cause, it only serves to perpetuate their bondage.
If anyone is keeping a Sabbath because of the Old Covenant Law, then shouldn’t one keep it according to that Law? Making Sabbath a day or time period about you—your desires, fulfilling your needs to unplug and rest—is really turning an altar to the Lord into an idol; isn’t it? Then indeed no one is obeying God’s Laws at all (James 2:10) nor pleasing Him.
Each of us is responsible to understand what Sabbath rest is via Scripture, but more importantly if you believe in Jesus, you should understand it via the New Covenant. If you are keeping and/or teaching a Sabbath according to the Old Covenant Law, then you are putting yourselves and/or others back into bondage and slavery.
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, —Gal. 4:9-11a
Resting in Christ,
Cherie
Read “Part I: The Law Fulfilled – Righteousness In Christ” HERE.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSCN0187_2_2.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Cherie Skrivan was born and raised in the Seventh-day Adventist church and school system. She spent nearly 10 years working for the SDA church in publishing and communications. In 2005, Cherie’s life was changed forever as she was born into a new life with Christ. By the grace of God she exchanged her knowledge of Christ for a relationship with Christ alone as her Savior. Today she is happily married to Jim and is a stay-at-home mom to their three kids —Kai, Mila and Marika. They live in Omaha, NE where they are members of Christ Community Church. Cherie is passionate about encouraging and helping people grow their faith and relationship in Christ and enjoys helping teach a discipleship class at their church.[/author_info] [/author]
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Beautifully said!
Thanks Cherie. Rather than physical rest being the primary purpose of sabbath for Israel, it was a sign that God would be their guiding influence and they were to be different from the gentile world to draw attention to god.
With the fullfillment of the old covenant in Christ, we now receive a better promise–not Messiah-to-come but Messiah-has-come. We are now to fill the earth with this gospel. As the veil to the MHP was torn in two the barrier between Israel and the gentile world was removed and all can be children of the promise.
Aside from never being binding on post-Messiah people, Sabbatarianism becomes a wall between fellow Christians and can denigrate to a rule upon which our salvation depends. It’s easier to think one is keeping a rule than to follow the Holy Spirit within the heart in matters which go far beyond any written code.
Our going to church on a specific day as a means of salvation is, with all due respect, a misguided gesture compared with the joy of receiving Christ in our hearts. If anything is to set Christians apart from the world it would be their capacity to genuinely love, and that doesn’t separate but draws to Christ through us. The gospel of Christ is amazing, yes, Amazing Grace.
Hi Laurel,
I agree, the Sabbath was given to Israel as the sign of the Old Covenant. It also had a beginning and an end (more on that to come!).
My emphasis on physical rest in this blog is because that seems to be the primary focus of non-SDA Sabbatarians. The idea of a Sabbath rest is gaining momentum in today’s Christian culture (as a solution to busyness) and they largely support it via the Old Covenant or 10 commandments. Their emphasis on the Law “tickles” SDA ears, though they certainly don’t agree with a Sunday or otherwise Sabbath rest.
Your comment regarding Sabbatarianism as a wall makes me think of Eph 2:14-15 which says Christ abolished the Law (commandments/ordinances) through His flesh so that in Himself He might make two groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one new man (in Christ). While circumcision is certainly in view in this passage, Sabbath observance was also the very sign of the Old Covenant that set God’s people (Jews) apart from pagan Gentiles. Certainly this Old Covenant sign (Sabbath observance) that distinguished between two groups of people would also be necessary to be done away with (as was circumcision—Acts 15).
This very idea is confirmed in the letters to the early churches. In these letters where disputes between new converts (both Jews and Gentiles) are being addressed, we never see a seventh-day Sabbath taught or re-enforced. This kind of instruction would have been necessary to these churches—particularly for new Gentile converts. Sabbath-keeping instruction would have been absolutely necessary for them.
In the New Covenant we never see any instruction pointing back to the Law and instead we see explicit instruction pointing away from it. When we go to the Law we are in danger of getting stuck in self-effort or solutions that are not rooted in Christ or Spirit-living (2 Cor. 3). I agree whole-heartedly with you; living according to the Law (rules) is in stark contrast to living in the Spirit (which the New Covenant Christian is called to do).
His grace is AMAZING! Thanking you for emphasizing that point!!!!!
Thanks, Cherie, for texts and note that worshippers are becoming interested in idea of a sabbath rest due to modern schedules, which is new to me. As an SDA I looked forward to sabbath as it was a time for corporate worship and for study at home afterward. Only problem was the organization kept us so busy at church and for so long there wasn’t much time for reflection at home. Now I still look forward to studying after my new church which lasts one hour and is packed with reverence, relevance, and genuine friendliness. We don’t indoctrinate or haggle over small or obscure details but study from the Bible as a whole, with focus on Christ. I find the same joy in study and prayer on Sunday and any other day for that matter. People need to give themselves permission to rest from work, media, and cares of life and can do so without a command from God. Listen to Him. He will enable you to do this with a willing and grateful heart if you let Him and you can enjoy more quality time with your family.