Sabbath Links
- You can view or download a very important sermon by the Reverend John Wesley pertaining to the law. It was presented around 1765 when there was much more freedom and acceptance concerning the foundational issues. Check it out here: WesleyOnLaw
- One of my favorite expositors through the years is John MacArthur. There is so much you can glean from his careful and insightful work. However, none of us is immune from Satan’s attacks, particularly the ones that have culturally affected us. John is a proponent for the Sabbath shift to Sunday. The link below is from Michael McCaffrey who provides a response to John MacArthur’s arguments.
- Response to John MacArthur on the Sabbath
- It is also Michael who shares my theory regarding the shift involving Christians who tried to distance themselves from the Jewish persecutions. He says this in that web article: “As Christianity grew, there also grew a bitterness between the Jews and the Christians. Christians wanted a more distinct way to separate themselves from the Jews and worshipping on the first day of the week started to become a common practice much earlier than the fourth century.”
- This link takes a look at a Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (1871) on Hebrews 4.
- I thought it was an interesting perspective that might be helpful when looking at the Sabbath.
- Hebrews 4 Sabbath Perspective
- Dealing with Hebrews 4:
- However, some argue that this means we should just rest from our sinful works in our new life in Jesus. But notice what is added in the next verse: “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Did God “rest” from His work of SIN? Of course not. He rested from CREATING – which was his occupational work as the Creator. And on what day did God “rest” – setting us the example? “God rested on the seventh day from all His works” (v. 4). And so must we.
- Additionally, the context of these verses does show that the Sabbath is more than just a memorial of creation. It is indeed a physical TYPE of something else – and we should observe it as such. But that something is NOT primarily the Christian life in this age. It is, rather, our life in the future millennial rest of TOMORROW’S WORLD – when Jesus Christ sets up the Kingdom of God over the entire earth.
- Notice what the Commentary on the Whole Bible by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown has to say about Hebrews 4:9. “This verse indirectly establishes the obligation of the Sabbath still; for the type continues until the antitype supersedes it.” As the coming millennial Sabbath “will not be till Christ… comes…, the typical earthly Sabbath must continue till then.” Yet, as we will later see, even in Tomorrow’s World human beings will continue to keep God’s weekly Sabbath holy.
- How clear! Here in the book of Hebrews we find a direct New Testament command for Christians to “rest” on the seventh-day Sabbath! It was probably given, interestingly enough, through the Apostle to the Gentiles – the very Apostle whom so many Protestant theologians insist “did away” with God’s law!
- This section in Hebrews 4 concludes thus: “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience” of those in ancient Israel (v. 11). The phrase, “the same example of disobedience,” should resonate deeply with students of the Bible. For, just as Sabbath-breaking and idolatry factored heavily in the Israelites’ national captivity and slavery, these two sins were also major reasons that most of their forefathers died during the 40 years of wandering before inheriting the Promised Land.
- A list of Roman Catholic and Protestant Confessions about Sunday Link.
- This link has various claims that credit the Catholic Church for changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
- I caution you on the above link as I don’t endorse this entire website. There seems to be some strong political biases which always end up skewing one’s views as there is no God-blessed political party. Below are some excerpts from the site:
- “Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was her act… And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” -H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons. Nov. 11, 1895
- “Sunday is our MARK of authority. . .the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact” -Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1,1923.
- “The Bible says, Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. The Catholic church says, No! By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day, and command you to keep the first day of the week. And lo, the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic church!” -Fr Enright, C.S.S.R. History of the Sabbath, p. 802
- “Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; –she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” -Rev. Stephan Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, “On the Obedience Due to the Church,” chap. 2, p. 174. (Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, archbishop of New York.)
- “Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” -James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp. 72, 73.
- “Is not yet too late for Protestants to redeem themselves. Will they do it?… will they indeed take the written word only, the Scripture alone, as their sole authority and their sole standard? Or will they still hold the indefensible, self contradictory, and suicidal doctrine and practice of following the authority of the Catholic church and wear the SIGN of her authority? Will they keep the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, according to Scripture? Or will they keep the Sunday according to the tradition of the Catholic church, – Rome’s Challenge, (Why do Protestants keep Sunday?) page 31
- This one has a $10,000 challenge for anyone who has a definitive Bible verse to show the Sabbath change from Saturday to Sunday.
- Reward Challenge Article
- To be fair, there is also a rebuttal link offering a reward for anyone providing definitive proof that the 4th commandment is reiterated in the New Testament and therefore valid. Reward Rebuttal Link
- This link has a good treatment on various aspects of the Sabbath but from a source that is highly suspect in many circles.
- Tread Lightly Link
- I debated on avoiding this article for the reasons below, but I think it is good to check out, if only for the purpose of making some good general points on seeking the truth of any matter.
- There is a strong tendency to pigeon-hole people. A young person I knew had some training in hermeneutics and he aggressively was trying to figure out just where to assign me. What happens when you do this, is that you don’t engage in the argument but rather look for an excuse to dismiss the argument altogether because you believe it comes from a distorted or radical view. You see this happen a lot in politics where a politician always tries to associate his opponent with the extremes, either right or left wing.
- There is much good within this article (which I’ve only slightly perused) that requires the reader to carefully draw out the good from the bad; the bad not being what is counter to your view or prejudice, but what is definitely unbiblical or not correctly classified as a theory.
- The author is part of what some see as a cult, so although this article might be very good and beneficial, you must be careful of scrutinizing anything else you might also find of interest that comes from this group. I haven’t researched it well enough to give you a better assessment at this time. I would encourage you to search the internet a bit and check them out before embracing any doctrine that appears deviant from the Bible.
- There is a general principle when looking for the truth. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Just be sure to study God’s word and use it as your guide for what is true and what is suspect. Satan has been busy destroying the truth, often by drawing good people and information down a path that is errant and then which taints the good in a library with the bad. Or, by adding just a tiny drop of leaven to a good lump of dough.
- Here are some more warning sites about this group which I haven’t checked out closely, so be on your own personal guard:
Ralph Wendt