Argument #5:
Many cite the following Colossians 2:14-16:
Col 2:14-16
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:"
o This verse is referring to the Mosaic Law (some say Sinaic Law or Levitical Law, some say ceremonial law) and this is evident by the inclusion of the "new moon" phrase as well as reference to the meat and drink offerings that would take place (compare to
Leviticus 23:37). There are two sets of laws in play here, two types of sabbaths; one was described as being grievous to us (Col.2:14-16), and the 10 Commandments which were not grievous to us (
1 John 5:3). How can the same law be grievous and not grievous at the same time? It cannot; clearly there are two sets of laws. Additionally, there isn't a single "ordinance" in the 10 Commandments. See definition of "ordinance" in any dictionary - it discusses festival regulations and the like.
I. DEUT. 31:26
Take this book of the law (Moses' Law), and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee
By comparison Moses' Law was written in a book on paper; God's Law was written with His finger on stone - don't let the symbology there escape you either. Also, the Commandments were put inside the ark (
Exodus 40:20) not in the side (Deut 31:26) of it.
II.
Hebrews 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth (limited to) a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
(Ill touch upon this verse again later in this essay for it is a biggie.)
III.
Leviticus 23:37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: 38 Beside(in addition to)
the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
Notice the verse in
Leviticus 23:37; the word beside means
in addition to, these feasts were the
sabbaths that were
in addition to the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. It is these sabbaths, not the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, that Col 2:14 is talking about this is verified when one looks at the descriptors of meat and drink which are in reference to the offerings that would take place under Mosaic Ceremonial Law. So, again we see that the seventh-day Sabbath was different than these ceremonial sabbaths and it was the ceremonial sabbaths that were done away with according to Col. 2-14.
Argument #6:
"Jesus is my rest."
o Jesus is not a "day" nor is He ever symbolically/metaphorically linked to being a day in the Bible; He's linked to being "the vine", "the lamb", "the door", "the rock" and many other things but never, not once, a "day". We must stick to the Bible and the Bible only.
o To "rest in Jesus" actually has three meanings;
1) to rest on the Sabbath day (Heb 4:4&9) or
2) to be one of the righteous dead (1 Thess. 4:14) for you are literally
resting in Jesus' love and protection. Matthew 11:28 -
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus can absolutely give us
3) spiritual rest, but we cannot "cease from all work" seven days a week. To do so is not holy, it's lazy.
Argument #7:
"Unlike the other 9 commandments, Christ doesnt repeat the Sabbath commandment in the New Testament. As such, we dont have to observe it.
o Do people who say this also look at
Hebrews 4:1-11? (*see verse below in Argument #11 or
click here for an in-depth study.) The Sabbath commandment is most certainly repeated in the NT both in word as well as example.
o According to the following verse Id say that Christ had every intention that His Sabbath would still be observed after His death:
Matthew 24:20 -
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
The context of this verse is that Christ was warning the disciples about the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 AD at the hands of the Roman army. Christ prophesied that this event would happen and it did (Christ is never wrong). Why would Christ be concerned that people observe the Sabbath day at a time that would have been about 40 years after His death if His death was supposed to abolish it? Simple, He wouldnt be concerned if that were the case but since the Sabbath, like all His Commandments last forever, He was very concerned and told them to pray concerning it.
o Also, the Holy Spirit expressly calls it the Sabbath day in
Acts 13:14. Arent the words of the Holy Spirit good enough since the Holy Spirit is the one who now convicts us of our sin?
o Mary, Christs mother, observed the Sabbath according to the commandment after Christs death. (See
Luke 23:56) And I don't think anyone would argue that Mary was most certainly Christian.
o In the great Christian council, A.D. 49, in the presence of the apostles and thousands of disciples, James calls it the "sabbath day." (
Acts 15:21) Notice, that in all these verses, and many more, Sabbath isnt referred to as
a Sabbath, but instead
the Sabbath day. There is only one weekly Sabbath day and that falls from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.
Argument #8:
"The Holy Spirit descended on the people on the day of Pentecost; and that was a Sunday, so we observe Sunday as Sabbath."
o The Holy Spirit descended on people at other times in the Bible yet that has never constituted a change to God's Sabbath; why would it this time? The Bible never mentions a change to Gods holy day at all in connection with Pentecost. This argument is totally inconsistent with scripture and is the result of improper exegesis, hermeneutics, and apologetics. There is no place in the Bible that says "
when Pentecost comes the Sabbath day will be changed to that day" nor is it even inferred.
Argument #9:
"Sunday is the Lord's Day - I observe the Lord's Day."
o "The Lord's Day" is only found in one place in the Bible,
Revelation 1:10 -
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
John was the writer of the book of Revelation, that's why he is known as "John the Revelator". John was a Jew. As such, he knew and followed the seventh-day Sabbath. So, for him to use the phrase "
The Lord's Day" would mean, if anything regarding a day of the week, Saturday (from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown to be exact)!
o Also, I recommend reading all of
Revelation 1; not one time does it say what day the "Lord's Day" is. To assume it was a Sunday is wild speculation at best; sorry but there isn't any other way to say it. The truth is the "Lord's Day" or "Day of the Lord" has always referred to
the day that Christ returns - His second advent. Any lexicon, unbiased concordance, Biblical scholar, or theologian will tell you that.
Argument #10:
"We observe Sunday in honor of the Resurrection."
o I am in no way belittling Christ resurrecting from death, but where is the scriptural authority to change God's holy day in honor of the resurrection? There isn't any scriptural authority for the change.
o
How did Jesus tell us to honor His resurrection? With baptism! (
Romans 6:4 and
Colossians 2:12) So why disregard Christ's instructions or add to them? We have no authority to do such. Jesus' words are the truth - and we all know what happens when you add or take away from the truth (Revelation 22:19).
o Also, Christ specifically told us to take
communion in remembrance of Him. (
Luke 22:19) He never once said "
change My Father's holy day".
o If Sunday observance is to commemorate Christ's resurrection then what is Easter for again? Which is it; Sunday observance or Easter that commemorates Christs resurrection? We cannot just make it up as we go along folks; the Bible is our guide.
o I challenge any good Christian to find scripture that says the redemption of our sin is in the resurrection. The Bible
always refers to redemption being by, in, or through the
BLOOD of Christ. (
1 John 1:7 is one of my favorite verses). I will never overlook the importance of Christ rising from the dead, for that shows us that through Christ we will be resurrected as well, but let us be careful that we never overlook the fact that He died for us on a Friday, for that is the reason we even have a chance of salvation.
(end Part 2)