In Him Ministries:

Seventh-day Adventism Refuted: The Sabbath and the First Day of the week according to the New Covenant (an outline)      1) The Sabbath was not a commandment before the time of Moses. The first time God commanded anyone to keep the seventh day as a Sabbath rest was only after the exodus, as a prelude to God giving Israel the Mosaic Law at Mount Sinai (Exod. 16; 20:8). • Paul tells us in Romans 5:13-14 that there was no law given from the time of Adam until the time of Moses (Gal. 3:17; cf. Gen. 15:13; Exod. 12:40-41; Acts 7:6). From Adam to Moses there is no record of anyone keeping the Sabbath. In Genesis 2 God speaks of the seventh day of creation week and not the Sabbath. Genesis 2:1-3 was a description of what God did, not what God requires us to do. There is no reason to believe that God viewed every seventh day as holy. God declared that particular day (the actual seventh day of creation week) special and holy because He had completed His work of creation on it. 2) The Sabbath was meant for Israel alone and served as a ceremonial sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:16-17; Ne. 9:13-14; Ezek. 20:12, 20). Christians live under the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3; Heb. 8). We were never required to observe any of the signs of the Mosaic Covenant. Circumcision (Gen. 17:9-14; Lev. 12:1-3); the Passover (Exod. 12:13-14; Lev. 23:4-8); and the Sabbaths (Exod. 31:13) were all made obsolete by the New Covenant (Acts 15; Gal. 5:11; 6:15; Col. 2:11; 1 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 4:10-11; Col. 2:13-17; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-16). 3) The Gentile nations were never commanded to keep the Sabbath in the Old Testament, or condemned if they did not. If Sabbath observance was meant to be a universal, eternal moral principle then you would expect to find scripture references that condemn the Gentiles for breaking it but there are none. • The stranger was commanded to keep the Sabbath while in Jerusalem. A person could choose to live in Israel but just like here, they had to keep the constitutional laws of the land. If they were out trying to buy and sell, they would be tempting God’s people to sin. If they wanted to keep Passover and the other Jewish feasts they had to be circumcised and become a Jew (Exod. 12:43-49). Those who became followers of God would be Israelites in God’s view (Jer. 12:16) and could participate in the Passover (Exod. 12:48-49), and the other feasts. 4) There is no command anywhere in the New Testament for Christians to keep any day of the week holy. 5) The Old Covenant was temporary by its very nature:   • The law had to change for Jesus to become our new High priest (Heb. 7:12). • The law was weak, useless and made nothing perfect (Heb. 7:18-19). • God found fault with the Old Covenant and created a better covenant, enacted on better promises (Heb. 8:7-8). • The book of Hebrews said Old Covenant was obsolete, growing old and ready to vanish away (Heb. 8:13). [The book of Hebrews was written before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70.] • The law written on stone tablets were part of the obsolete covenant (Heb. 9:1-4; 2 Cor. 3:1-11; 3:12-18). • The Law was only a shadow of the good things to come and can never make someone perfect (Heb. 8:1-5; 10:1; cf. Col. 2:17). 6) The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 did not order Gentiles to keep the Sabbath.   • The Jerusalem Council contains no reference to Sabbath keeping. The Mosaic Covenant (Acts 15:1-5), and the covenant sign of circumcision were discussed and deemed unnecessary (Acts 15:19-20; 15:28-29). The Apostles agreed that forcing the Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Covenant would be like placing a yoke of bondage around their necks (Acts 15:10-11; cf. Gal. 5:1-4). If Sabbath-keeping was a requirement for the New Covenant Church, it would have been mentioned in the discussion because it would have been an unfamiliar practice for many of the Gentile converts. Sabbath-keeping was not discussed because it was not made a requirement for Christians who live under the New Covenant. • The Law of Moses is obsolete. In Romans 10:4 Paul tells us that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness. Galatians 3 says the law came 430 years after, and was added to the Abrahamic Covenant of circumcision. The law was given until the “seed should come.” In Christ, the seed has come. The book of Hebrews teaches that the Mosaic Law provided the basis for the Levitical priesthood, but for a new priesthood to be established (on the order of Melchizedek), a change in the law was required (Heb. 7:18-22). Paul specifically refers to the Decalogue in 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 by saying the commandments written in stone have come to an end. 7) The Sabbath law is not written on the unregenerate man’s conscience like the other laws of the Decalogue are. In Romans 2:14-15, we are taught that the universal principles of God’s Law are instinctively written on man’s heart . There is a universal agreement that murder and theft are immoral and wrong in societies all around the world, but we do not see a natural tendency for people to keep the seventh day Sabbath anywhere. 8] In Galatians 4:10-11, Paul had to rebuke the Galatians for thinking God expected them to observe special days as holy, including the weekly, seventh day Sabbath. 9) The New Testament explicitly teaches that Sabbath-keeping along with the other ceremonial requirements of the Old Covenant Law are not required under the New Covenant (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-28; 2 Cor. 3:4-11; Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:6-9:4; 10:23-25). 10) Acts 20:7 says that the church met on the first day of the week to break bread, which was the common meal associated with the communion service (1 Cor. 11:20-22). And 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.” • Sunday (the First day of the week), was called the Lord’s Day by the early church. It was the day the church regularly gathered for worship in remembrance of Christ’s resurrection. (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; 1 Cor. 16:2). The writings of the Early Church Fathers confirm that the church met on Sunday, the Lord’s Day by the close of the New Testament period (contrary to the claims of many seventh day Sabbatarians who claim that Sunday worship was not instituted until the fourth century). • The phrase in 1 Corinthians 16:2 that says, “that there will be no collecting when I come” shows that Christians were told not to save up their offerings at home each week, but to put it into a common treasury every Lord’s Day. • The Sabbath was not transferred to Sunday either. Every day is a Sabbath rest for believers who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their eternal salvation (Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:9-11). 11) In Romans 14:5-13, Paul forbids those people who held certain days higher, or with greater esteem than another day (a Sabbath day, Feast Days, and fasting days are all in view), to condemn those who do not (Gentile believers). We are not to bind another person’s conscience with commands that are not applicable to the Christian life. There are two commands we are to pursue where our Savior gets all the glory, loving God and loving our neighbor. When we do those two things we fulfill the law of Christ. 12) In Colossians 2:16-17, false teachers were evidently insisting on abstinence from certain foods and observance of certain days. Paul said that those were only shadows of what was to come and they have been made obsolete by the coming of Christ (Heb. 8:13). We are told not to judge anyone over those issues. The phrase “a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” refers to the annual, monthly, and weekly holy days of the Hebrew calendar (cf. 1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Ne. 10:33; Isa. 1:13-14; Ezek. 45:17; 46:1-11; Hosea 2:11). The weekly, seventh day Sabbath is clearly meant because Paul had already mentioned the festivals and new moon celebrations and would have no reason to repeat himself. 13) Hebrews 4:1-11 tells us that the rest God wants us to enter is the rest of faith. It is not about keeping a day. The book of Hebrews is talking about resting in Christ’s offer of salvation freely. The Jewish Christians were warned not to go back to Judaism and leave Christ behind by backsliding or apostatizing (Heb. 5:11-6:20). Trying to keep the Sabbath day as a moral obligation is lapsing back into Judaism and putting yourself back under the law. Returning to Judaism is described as going back to perdition because only Jesus can save us, not the Old Covenant system of rules and regulations. Jesus Christ is the only “source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb. 5:7-9). 14) The Apostle Paul warned Christians not to judge other Christians regarding the Sabbaths and Holy days of Judaism (Col. 2:14-17; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-16). 15) The command to observe the seventh day Sabbath is the only one of the Ten Commandments not repeated after the resurrection. The writers of the New Testament repeated the nine moral commandments of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments), but never repeated the Sabbath commandment as binding. • The Old Covenant predicted the Sabbath would be brought to an end (Isa. 1:13; Lam. 2:6; Hosea 2:11). Sabbath-keeping along with the other ceremonial requirements of the Old Covenant Law are not required in the New Covenant (Acts 15:1-28; Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18). • Jesus Christ promises to give us His true rest in Matthew 11:28-30, and Hebrews 4:1-11 describes His rest for the New Covenant believer. • Christians are never told they have to keep the Old Covenant Law. We are told to keep the law of Christ. • The law of Christ, or the law of the Spirit of life is the only binding law for the New Covenant Church (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Rom. 6:14; 8:1, 2, 10, 11). It is made up of Christ’s law of love (John 13:34-35; Matt. 5:44; Gal. 6:2; Rom. 13:8-10; James 2:8-12; 1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3), Christ’s commands and teachings (John 13:34; Phil. 2:4-12; Matt. 28:20; 2 Pet. 3:2); and the commands and teachings found in the New Testament epistles (Acts 1:1-2; 15:1-28; 2 Pet. 3:2; Rom. 8:1-4; Eph. 2:20; Jude 1:17; 1 Jn. 5:3). • The law of Christ and the Law of Moses have similar commandments, but just because nine of the Ten Commandments can be found in the New Testament, it does not mean that the Law of Moses is still in effect. If a Christian steals something, they break the law of Christ, not the Law of Moses. If we choose to keep part of the law, such as the dietary restrictions, we are free to do so, but keeping the Law of Moses out of the belief that we are obligated to do so denies the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. • The Apostle Paul wrote over one third of the New Testament and never once told his Gentile converts to keep the Mosaic Law, or the Sabbath. Paul gave his churches instruction on everything they needed to know about Christianity: morality, giving, leadership principles, church organization, spiritual gifts, theology, and everything else they needed to know to live the Christian life and never even once commanded anyone to keep the seventh day Sabbath. 16) The Mosaic Covenant served as a dividing wall, or partition that was meant to separate Israel from the unbelieving Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-15; John 7:35; Acts 14:1, 5; 18:4; Rom. 3:9; 3:29; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:22-24; etc.), Christ brought unity between the two groups by doing away with the partition. The Old Covenant separated the people of Israel from the rest of the world (John 4:22; Rom. 9:4-5). The Gentiles were separated from the commonwealth of Israel and they were strangers to the covenants of promise. The New Covenant made both groups into one, “the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). The New Covenant fulfills all the divine promises from the previous covenants in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20; Heb. 7:20-22; 8:6; 9:15). Christ abolished the dividing wall by fulfilling it and removing the law’s condemnation for all those who believe (Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:1; Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-10). When we are in Christ, we become a new person, part of a new human race made in the image of Christ, the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, 49; Eph. 4:24). The “new” refers to something completely unlike what it was before. It refers to being different in both kind and quality. Spiritually speaking, when someone comes to Christ they are no longer a Jew or Gentile, they are simply a Christian (Rom. 10:12-13; Gal. 3:28). Christians live under the New Covenant, not the old. The New Covenant is not the Old Covenant repeated all over again. Each covenant has its own laws. The Law of the Old Covenant has come to an end! The New Covenant is the legal code Christians are told to live by. Paul said he wasn’t under the Law of the Jews any longer because he was under the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:19-23). The only laws Christians are required to keep are the laws expressed in the New Covenant; not a mixture of laws from both the Old and the New Covenants.   See also: The Law of Christ: The Sabbath and the New Covenant Understanding the Old & New Covenants The Old Covenant Law Has Come to an End What was the law placed beside the ark of the covenant? “Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible” “Used by permission. All rights reserved.” ESV Text Edition: 2016 Seventh-day Adventist Resource Page Links to Helpful Websites, Books and Videos on the SDAs The Seventh-day Adventist Church: (Beliefs and Errors) Learn more about our beliefs Read more Local Ministries Available Serving Denver, Colorado and the Front Range. Email us at: Webmaster@In-Him.com