9-3-2 The Sabbath And Salvation

Mr. Philip Bartlett:

Duncan Heaster’s argument for the discontinuance of the Sabbath day is typical of most people who adhere to his position. Let us examine it point by point and then add a few additional comments. His first argument is

The Change In The Law

He argues that the old system of animal sacrifices of priests was done away after the death of Jesus Christ. He then uses Hebrews 7:12 to support his position that the entire law as expressed in the Old Testament has been completely abrogated. Is this the case however? Christ states in Matthew 5 that whoever fails to teach the least of the Old Testament commandments will be called least in the kingdom. In addition, I have already proven from my previous paper that the law in the Old Testament, with the exception of the ceremonial regulations was binding not only upon the Jews, but all of the Gentile nations. It is of course fitting then to find that in the context of Hebrews 7:12 the author is only talking about the priesthood, temple, and sacrifices. These were things only peculiar to the Jews and not binding on Gentiles. The author is saying that with a change of the priesthood, there must also come a change in the ceremonial law, or that law which is only binding on the Jews. Read Hebrews 7 and you will see that the inspired writer is only talking about the ceremonial law, there is no mention of any of what I would define as moral laws in the entire chapter. In addition, to say that the moral law has changed is to say that God’s eternal moral character has changed. This presents incredible theological difficulties for Duncan.

Problem Of Trying To Keep The Law

Heaster then argues that because I urge you to keep the Sabbath I am promoting salvation by works. Not correct. Calvinism and Lutheranism are the origins of the doctrine of justification by faith alone during the Protestant Reformation. I believe that you are justified by faith alone. Nowhere have I claimed that we are justified by keeping the Sabbath day. Because we are in Christ, the law no longer has the power to condemn us. Do we nullify the law because we have been saved by faith alone? Is the moral law completely done away as our standard of conduct now that we have faith? Paul says by no means in Romans (Romans 3:31, 6:1-2)! Rather we uphold and follow the Old Testament law of Christ as He commands in Matthew 5:

The Victory Of Jesus

I too promote and endorse the victory of Jesus. Part of the victory of Jesus as world history progresses will be the eventually spread of His law-word to the ends of the earth, and the conformity of every nation to that Word. There will come a day when mankind will obey the law of God from cover to cover, before Jesus returns again as prophesied in numerous places including the Psalms. Duncan argues on the basis of Col 2:14-17 that we no longer have to regard the entire Old Testament law. However, if you look at the quote he provides you notice all the specific things Paul lists in verse 17 are ceremonial laws binding only upon the Jews! I have already explained that the word “Sabbath” in this verse must be understood as the ceremonial Sabbaths in Leviticus 23 and not as the moral Sabbath of the Ten Commandments which was also binding on Gentiles. You can find this reference in my first paper.

The New Torah

Duncan is right to say that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Torah law. Notice however that Jesus in Matthew 5:17-20 is absolutely adamant in stating that His fulfilling the Torah does not mean that we are free to disobey the Old Testament law!

The Sabbath And Israel

In this section Duncan argues that because the Sabbath would now be the first day of the week according to my argument, it cannot be the fourth commandment since the fourth commandment mentions the seventh day. I have answered this already in my previous article. The commandment only commands six days of work followed by a seventh day of rest, it does not demand that it be on the seventh day of the roman calendar week.

The Sabbath Is Part Of The Old Covenant

In this section Duncan argues that since work had to be done in circumcising a baby on the Sabbath, then the law of circumcision took precedence of the Sabbath. Therefore, since it seems from this that circumcision is more important than Sabbath keeping, and that circumcision has been done away in the New Testament, how can we argue for retaining the Sabbath? First of all you will notice that God specifically makes an exception for religious work on the Sabbath. The priests and religious leaders were able to work on the Sabbath, and Christ affirms this into the New Testament. The Sabbath never means a day of idleness. Idleness is not the biblical definition of Sabbath. Christ commands us to perform works of worship (Christ worshipped in the synagogue on the Sabbath), teaching (Christ read in the synagogue on the Sabbath), mercy (Christ healed people on the Sabbath), and nourishment (Christ allowed people to glean and eat on the Sabbath). Therefore, circumcising a baby on the Sabbath is absolutely no problem, because religious work is not only required on the Sabbath, but it is commanded on the Sabbath! Proof that the Sabbath is more important than circumcision lies in the fact that the Gentiles and even the animals had to rest on the Sabbath (see the fourth commandment), but only the Jews were required to be circumcised.

The Sabbath Is Irrelevant To Salvation

Here Duncan continues to argue from verses that tell us we no longer need to observe special days. These passages are referring only to the ceremonial Sabbaths and feasts, not to the moral Sabbath which was even binding on the Gentiles and animals. The Gentiles did not have to keep the Jewish feast days in the Old Testament. He quotes: . “Ye observe days (e.g. the Sabbath), and months, and times, and years (i.e. the Jewish festivals). I am afraid of (for) you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain" (Gal. 4:9-11). This is the seriousness of attempting to keep the Sabbath as a means to salvation. It is clear that observing the Sabbath is irrelevant to salvation: " One man esteemeth one day above another (i.e. in spiritual significance): another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that observeth (A.V. mg.) the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that observeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it" (Rom. 14:5,6). Duncan readily admits that these verses refer to the Jewish festivals, yet for some reason he lumps the moral Sabbath in there which was binding not only on the Jews but also on the Gentiles as is clearly stated in the fourth commandment itself. The strangers were bound to observe the Sabbath as everyone else, even the animals were! It is a universal commandment. To prove that Paul is referring to Sabbaths other than the moral Sabbath in these verses all one has to do is look at Leviticus 23:23-32, where we see that there are ceremonial Sabbaths that have nothing to do with the moral Sabbath which is still binding for us and on all Gentiles.

The Example Of The Early Church