Sabbath Carries the Death Penalty

BEVERLY QUINN BESSADA

Colleen Tinker’s recent article, “Are We Against Catholics?” was, as always, informative and enlightening, and it made me think.

Once in a while, my thoughts get carried off on a trail of their own. The reference to the Catholic “work” of communion (and by association, the Mass which attempts to repeat the sacrifice paid ONCE – Romans 6:10; 1 Peter 5:18; Hebrews 9:27) and the Adventist “work” of keeping the Sabbath got my thoughts going again. I got out my Bible and started praying that the Holy Spirit would make clear the answers to the questions I was pondering.

Sin

The Bible clearly states that ALL have sinned. PERIOD! The basis of all sin is unbelief, and it is the Holy Spirit who convicts when one is born again in Christ. These texts confirm this fact:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:7).

Wages

The Bible clearly states that the wages of sin is death. PERIOD! Those wages are what is due to the sinner, and God is faithful, just, and righteous. Because He is holy and perfect in every aspect, He must judge sin, and sinners will pay the wages due to God—unless one accepts the FREE GIFT of God in Christ. Look, for example, at the following texts:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due (Romans 4:4).

Faith

What is faith? Complete confidence, trust, belief. Whatever is not of faith is sin.

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:2).

We are born spiritually dead and MUST be born again to receive the free gift of saving faith.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:3–6).

By the richness of God’s unmerited favor (grace), we receive the FREE gift of faith that saves us from the just and holy wrath of God. As A. W. Pink says, God’s wrath is His “Holiness stirred into activity against sin.” 

Consider what Paul says in Ephesians 2:

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Ephesians 2:3).

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

The Lord’s Supper

Jesus said to take the bread in “remembrance” of Him. He said this prior to the cross—before His body was given for sin. The Lord’s Supper was to remind us of the immense and priceless gift paid on our behalf:

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).

Paul reminds the believers in Corinth that what we call “communion” is to be done “in remembrance” of Jesus’ sacrifice, and in doing so, we are PROCLAIMING His death until His return. It is a public declaration in humble acknowledgment of and gratitude for the price paid. Here is what he instructed the church at Corinth:

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup (1 Corinthians 11:23–28).

The Lord’s Supper proclaims or announces Jesus’ first coming to die as Savior (THE CROSS), and His Second Coming to rule as Sovereign (THE CROWN). Godet says it this way, pointing out that the Lord’s Supper is “the link between His two comings, the monument of the one, the pledge of the other” (https://www.preceptaustin.org/1-corinthians-11-commentary#11:26).

John MacArthur has an excellent note on what it means to take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner:

One can come to His table unworthily in many ways. It is common for people to participate in it ritualistically, without participating with their minds and hearts. They can go through the motions without going through any emotions, and treat it lightly rather than seriously. They can believe it imparts grace or merit, that the ceremony itself, rather than the sacrifice it represents, can save or keep one saved. Many come with a spirit of bitterness or hatred toward another believer, or come with a sin of which they will not repent. If a believer comes with anything less than the loftiest thoughts of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and anything less than total love for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he comes unworthily (https://www.preceptaustin.org/1-corinthians-11-commentary#11:27).

The Sabbath

From an Adventist perspective, the Sabbath is not a work. Yet in practice, it is a necessary Adventist work that testifies to them that they are committed to Jesus, that they are staying “worthy” of being saved. The Sabbath is a tough subject to address in brief because, when I was an Adventist, it made sense based upon my understanding of the Ten Commandments. It took me several years of consistent reading of Scripture, contextually from Genesis to Revelation, to begin to comprehend the true plan of salvation. Understanding the covenants is the key.

The Mosaic Covenant was given to the nation of ISRAEL which God set apart from all other nations to serve Him. The Mosaic was the only covenant that was CONDITIONAL. That means it was subject to one or more conditions or requirements being met, and it contained two-way promises between God and man. There were blessings for obedience. There were curses for disobedience (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). The 613 commandments summarized in the 10 were to keep Israel separate from and as a witness to the wicked nations. The Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant given TO ISRAEL. Notice this text:

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you’” (Exodus 31:12, 13). 

Furthermore, failure to keep the Sabbath, as commanded by God, was cause for death, as this text shows:

“Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. ‘\So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ “It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:14–17).

Notice that the Mosaic covenant—including the Ten Commandments—was given to Israel at Mount Sinai as it became a nation. It was not given prior to individuals or to any other people, but it was given to ISRAEL as a nation under Sovereign God:

“The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today” (Deuteronomy 5:2, 3). 

Israel failed to keep the commandments—because it is impossible for sinful man to do so. In fact, the Mosaic Covenant was given to show people their sin and their need for a Savior. Speaking to the Galatians regarding the Judaizers’ attempting to undermine the doctrine of faith, Paul addresses the law as the tutor—a thing given to teach  the sinfulness of sin and to lead sinners to Christ through whom came justification (to make right) by faith. Read Paul’s words here:

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians3:23–26). 

Biblically, there were only two groups of people prior to the cross: JEW and GENTILE. And God is not partial. Jews will be judged with the Law, and Gentiles will be judged without the law (see Romans 2). All are equal. All sin. We who are not of Jewish ancestry are Gentile (AKA Greek) and will also be judged—but not by the law. Yet when we believe in Jesus by faith and place our trust in His finished work, we are no longer separate people. In Christ we are one new man. Here is how Paul explains it: 

For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law (Romans 2:11, 12). 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). 

Christ broke down the barrier of the dividing wall of the Mosaic Covenant bringing peace with God and uniting all in Christ. The BELIEVING Jew and the BELIEVING Gentile become united in Christ as “CHRISTIANS.” In Christ, we are no longer condemned, because our judgment was at the Cross where He bore the justice for our sins. Our wages for our sins were paid by Christ. See these amazing words:

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall (Ephesians 2:14).

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).

Adventists need to consider this: in attempting to “keep” the Sabbath according to personal interpretations rather than in God’s specific instructions to national Israel, the Sabbath becomes the “thing” worshiped. It becomes an idol. The Gentiles who attempt to obey something that 1) was never given to them and 2) was done away for the Jew at the cross, is magnifying the day of rest and nullifying the final, eternal REST in Christ to which the shadow of the day pointed. They are asking for the death penalty of the Old Covenant. †