Sabbath Musings

June 6, 2008, 2:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Articles, David, Featured  | 2 Comments

What do we know about the Sabbath? There was a Sabbath for Jews in the Old Covenant — it was the seventh day of the week, what we now call Saturday. It was ordained of God as a day of rest, so work and travel were forbidden. After the return of the Babylonian captives, Nehemiah and Ezra founded the synagogue and developed the tradition of calling all of Israel together on the Sabbath to be taught their own language and Scripture. All of those facts are still true and in effect in the Jewish religion today.

Now, in the New Covenant, what do we have? The “Lord’s Day,” as John called it in Revelation, the first day of the week, on what we now call Sunday. This was the day Jesus rose from the dead, the day when the early church met to celebrate his Resurrection. It was never called “the Sabbath” in Scripture and the early church did not view it as the Sabbath.

In fact, according to Pliny\’s letter to Emperor Trajan in 110 A.D., the early church met early on Sunday morning, went off to their jobs and livelihoods, then came back together in the evening to share a simple meal together. And these were slaves and poor tradesmen — none of whom had the ability, or the moral compunction, to tell their masters, “I have to be off on Sunday. It\’s the Sabbath.”

So where does the confusion come from over a Christian Sabbath? As with most Christian corruptions, the idea of the Sabbath was introduced into the church when it succumbed to the gentle nurturing of a well-meaning but unspiritual Roman emperor named Constantine.

To quote Henry C. Sheldon’s History of the Christian Church:

“The law of Constantine issued in 321, relative to the observance of Sunday, contains the following prescription: ‘On the venerable day of the Sun, let the magistrates and the people residing in the cities rest, and let all workshops be closed’ ” (Vol. 1, at 487).

To be fair, Constantine did not originate the idea; it\’s something that happened logically in Christianity. The early church felt that their Lord’s Day was emblematic of the Jewish Sabbath, and should carry with it the concept of “not thinking your own thoughts” or “doing your own deeds.” It was to be a day dedicated to the worship of Jesus Christ — but it was only a manner of time until the blundering emperor would cast it into stone as a Sabbath, plunging us back under the law.

Why did the church leadership accept it? The concept of a Sabbath, combined with mandatory tithing, gave them great control over the populace, and access to great wealth. If these things were mandatory, people had to come to church, and they had to bring 10% of their money.

Why did the common man accept it? Because then, as now, it was much easier to conform to a law than to walk with God. Who wouldn’t want to give God one day a week and 10% of their money and be done with it? It\’s a great deal if you can get it. The problem is that he owns every day of your life, and every penny you have. He can ask for any — or all — of it, whenever he likes.

Why should we care? Because you cannot — please listen — you cannot take portions of the Law, drop them into the New Covenant, and expect them to work. The Law, according to Paul, came to produce frustration, ungodliness, and eventually death, to show us our need for Christ. When you apply it to a Christian now, it does the same thing! Preaching the Sabbath or tithing as mandatory obligations for Christians only puts people in bondage and hinders their walk with God.

When should Christians meet? I lean toward Sunday, out of tradition, and because that is when most of my fellow Christians meet. Is it a sin to meet on Saturday? No, no more than meeting on any other day or night. Paul makes it clear that under grace, such things are no longer used to judge us.


Comments

2 Comments to “Sabbath Musings”

  1. Job on June 6th, 2008 5:39 pm

    Encore!

  2. Steve on June 11th, 2008 10:17 am

    I really enjoyed this post. Have you read The Pressure’s Off, by Dr. Larry Crabb?

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