What convinced you of the Sabbath?

austinww · #1 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 04:13 PM

In the past, I have always held the non-Sabbatarian, Lord's Day-observant view, believing the Lord's day to be something different than the Sabbath and that the Sabbath is ceremonial in nature. However, for the past few months, I have been studying the issue and reading and listening to pro-Sabbatarian material, and have come to understand the strengths of the position. I have also implemented a Sabbatarian practice while I am searching this out and have been very blessed in doing so. Here is my question:

What is the one argument or one resource that helped the most to convince you once-and-for-all of the Lord's Day Sabbatarian position? Is there a particular book, article, sermon, lecture, etc. that really settled the issue for you? This question especially applies to those who have been non-Sabbatarian in the past. I am looking for the strongest evidence possible. What convinced you?

N.b. I know there are many people in the last century who have fallen into a non-Sabbatarian position merely from laziness and a desire to watch football on the Lord's day instead of spending time in the Word, etc. I am not coming from that side of things. I desire to obey God's Law. I am coming from an exegetical perspective (i.e. I have always thought there was exegetical and early church historical strength in the non-Sabbatarian position). Please don't assume that I just want to watch football instead of praying. That is far from the truth. Help a fellow out and give me your best resource to read or listen to on the subject.

I know there are other threads on this. The reason I am posting a new one is because I am specifically asking for the one thing that convinced you once-and-for-all - the one argument or reference that settled the issue in your mind. It is very important to me that I get to the bottom of this.

(Note: This is a request for Sabbatarian arguments and resources only. It is NOT an attempt to engage in a debate on the subject, for 2 reasons: (1) I believe it is against the rules to advocate an unconfessional opinion, and so I will not attempt to do so, and (2) I am not convinced that what I have always believed is right, so arguing for a position I am unconvinced of would be foolish.)

-----Added 9/26/2009 at 04:07:37 EST-----

The more I have studied this and practice it, the more Sabbatarian I have become and the stronger my desire for it to be true, but I am still at the threshold and need someone to tip the scales. Basically, I have always though D.A. Carson had the right idea on this one (in his book From Sabbath to Lord's Day).

-----Added 9/26/2009 at 04:13:14 EST-----

Anyone who invokes early church fathers in their response gets a gold star. That is the big deficiency I have noticed in the resources I have used so far - no mention of early church practice and interpretation. Are the non-Sabbatarians the only ones who read the Fathers? I am sure that's not true.

Scottish Lass · #2 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 04:45 PM

The others will blow past me with heaps of scholarly evidence, but for me it was asking myself why I would treat one commandment differently than the others. That may not have convinced anyone else here, and is probably not what you're looking for, but there you go.

austinww · #3 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottish Lass

The others will blow past me with heaps of scholarly evidence, but for me it was asking myself why I would treat one commandment differently than the others. That may not have convinced anyone else here, and is probably not what you're looking for, but there you go.

Thank you. It is a point I dare not overlook.

jwithnell · #4 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 05:10 PM

Two things, really -- as Anna mentioned, as I became convinced that the moral law was binding on all, it made little sense to me to differentiate one law from the others.

Secondly, the way the law is written -- (off the top of my head) -- for in six days God created the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh. That placed the sabbath outside of Mosaic law and in some ways, more binding. Also, the sabbath law was applied to all kinds of people, even the stranger within your gate. Nothing in the ceremonial law was applied to those outside of the covenant, except to call them "unclean" at times.

I can't point to any one sermon or book -- this teaching was intrinsic to what I was hearing from the pulpit and reading on my own.

OPC'n · #5 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 05:19 PM

Well, for me I never had any intensions of changing my views on the Sabbath. It was Jewish, and I had done about a years worth of studying to think so. However, Rev Lang (Greenbaggin) was able to show me differently. The only thing that he couldn't convince me on was the day change. However, having the Sabbath on Sundays is not a problem for me.....I just wouldn't be able to give a good defense to a non-sabbatarians on why it was changed.

Richard Tallach · #6 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 05:29 PM

It was changed because it is the first day of the New Creation as the OT Sabbath was the first day of the Old Creation. Christ rested from His work of salvation on that day as God rested from His on the former day (see Hebrews 4:9-10).

I've always believed it from a youth, by God's grace.

Some texts like "the Sabbath was made for Man" - not the Jews only - are particularly persuasive.

Walter Chantry's "Call the Sabbath a Delight" (BoT) has a good exposition of Hebrews 4 which shows that "there remains the keeping of a sabbath unto the people of God" even under Christ as well as Moses.

The writer to the Hebrews is explaining why we still need a Sabbath in the New Covenant - because we haven't yet entered our full rest of the Heavenly Kingdom - and why the day changed - because Jesus didn't enter His full rest, body and soul, until He rose from the dead, the first day of the New Creation, which is fully anticipated at the Second Advent.

Blue Tick · #7 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

What is the one argument or one resource that helped the most to convince you once-and-for-all of the Lord's Day Sabbatarian position? Is there a particular book, article, sermon, lecture, etc. that really settled the issue for you? This question especially applies to those who have been non-Sabbatarian in the past. I am looking for the strongest evidence possible. What convinced you?

Continuity of the moral and civil law pretty much settled it for me.

Scott1 · #8 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Exodus 20

8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

.

Quote:

Deuteronomy 5

12Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

13Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

14But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Quote:

Matthew 28

1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

austinww · #9 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott1

Quote:

Exodus 20

8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

.

Quote:

Deuteronomy 5

12Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

13Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

14But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

I'm looking for a resource or argument demonstrating that this is moral in nature rather than ceremonial. I know it *exists*...heh.

Scott1 · #10 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 06:29 PM

(The Scripture reasons creation in Exodus and redemption in Deuteronomy as a basis and continues it normatively it at Jesus' resurrection- that convinced me)

The Lord's Day by Joseph Pipa.

Amazon

***Contra_Mundum*** · #11 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 06:50 PM

Jesus is God. Jesus calls his meetings, we refer to it as the Call to Worship.

Jesus set the NT 7-day pattern starting with his bodiliy resurrection appearances. The occasional 8th-day Sabbath of the OT foreshadowed the change of day.

As God, Jesus can change the day-of-the-week (7th to 1st) if he wants to. He left the week alone, and the meeting every 7th day. He shows thereby the Sabbath principle is always tied to Creation.

If the Sabbath was unimportant to the NT, a significant question is: why did Jesus spend more time correcting erroneous ideas concerning it than practically any other single subject?

By comparison, when it came to the Samaritan woman and her wrong view of OT sacrifice, Jesus told her she was wrong, and then went on to explain that the whole Temple system was being done away. He made no such statement when correcting abberant Sabbath views.

As for an exegetical reason the 4th commandment is moral, its sitting between 3 and 6 other "moral" dicta, the natural-creational cornerstone of the Mosaic administration. The basis for the Sabbath is found in Gen.2:3, a long time before Moses.

austinww · #12 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contra_Mundum

Jesus is God. Jesus calls his meetings, we refer to it as the Call to Worship.

Jesus set the NT 7-day pattern starting with his bodiliy resurrection appearances. The occasional 8th-day Sabbath of the OT foreshadowed the change of day.

As God, Jesus can change the day-of-the-week (7th to 1st) if he wants to. He left the week alone, and the meeting every 7th day. He shows thereby the Sabbath principle is always tied to Creation.

If the Sabbath was unimportant to the NT, a significant question is: why did Jesus spend more time correcting erroneous ideas concerning it than practically any other single subject?

By comparison, when it came to the Samaritan woman and her wrong view of OT sacrifice, Jesus told her she was wrong, and then went on to explain that the whole Temple system was being done away. He made no such statement when correcting abberant Sabbath views.

As for an exegetical reason the 4th commandment is moral, its sitting between 3 and 6 other "moral" dicta, the natural-creational cornerstone of the Mosaic administration. The basis for the Sabbath is found in Gen.2:3, a long time before Moses.

Thank you very much for the excellent points.

Hamalas · #13 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 07:29 PM

The Bible.

Ok, so that and Dabney's discussion in his systematic theology on the topic. Very helpful!

Chapter 31: The First Table of the Law-Commandments 1-4

(Just scroll partway down the page to the discussion of the fourth commandment.)

Rev. Todd Ruddell · #14 (**permalink**) 09-26-2009, 09:22 PM

Open the Westminster Confession Chapter 21, and the Larger Catechism Q's 115-121, and read the portions on the Sabbath, and trace out the Scriptural arguments. Read "The Day Changed, the Sabbath Preserved" by AA Hodge (available online Sabbath, The Day Changed: The Sabbath Preserved ) Remember that, as was said above, that the Sabbath is a Creation-Ordinance, and not ceremonial, although there were ceremonial sabbaths which have passed away (sabbath years, etc). Finally, find a Church that gives the Lord His due on the Sabbath day and live in and among a people who honor the Lord on His Holy Day. You will never turn your foot on the Sabbath day again to trample upon it, for you will grow to love the Day, and the Lord for giving it to you.

JonathanHunt · #15 (**permalink**) 09-27-2009, 04:51 AM

Although I never refer to the Lord's Day as the Sabbath, what ultimately convinced me about how it should be kept (when I actually thought it through instead of just accepting what I was told to do as a child) are the two points already made:

1. Are there 9 commandments or 10?
2. It is a creation ordinance.

I have never seen anybody sufficiently argue against #2.

The best thing about the name 'The Lord's Day' is that it tells people what they need to know - it is HIS, not ours. Of course, if we give the day to Him, it is not He that benefits - but we ourselves.

J

SRoper · #16 (**permalink**) 09-27-2009, 04:07 PM

I used to think that Christ being our sabbath rest meant that we no longer need to keep the sabbath, but then it was pointed out to me that Christ is the bridegroom and that marriage is the other creation ordinance. We don't think that this means marriage has been done away with, so why do we think that with the sabbath? Maybe in the new heavens and the new earth things will be different, but for now there is an abiding sabbath day.

Also, I found that the sabbath required mercy towards those who are slaves in providing a day of rest. Today it is often those who are most poor who have to work on the Lord's Day. Keeping the sabbath day holy is loving your neighbor and is a matter of justice to the poor.

**Marrow Man** · #17 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austinww

Anyone who invokes early church fathers in their response gets a gold star. That is the big deficiency I have noticed in the resources I have used so far - no mention of early church practice and interpretation. Are the non-Sabbatarians the only ones who read the Fathers? I am sure that's not true.

This online work by F.N. Lee might be useful to you: The Covenantal Sabbath. In one of the chapters he addresses issues in the early church, and addresses some of the documents from period.

austinww · #18 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marrow Man

Quote:

Originally Posted by austinww

Anyone who invokes early church fathers in their response gets a gold star. That is the big deficiency I have noticed in the resources I have used so far - no mention of early church practice and interpretation. Are the non-Sabbatarians the only ones who read the Fathers? I am sure that's not true.

This online work by F.N. Lee might be useful to you: The Covenantal Sabbath. In one of the chapters he addresses issues in the early church, and addresses some of the documents from period.

Thank you, I will read it.

**Marrow Man** · #19 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 06:05 PM

Do I get a gold star?

Nathan Riese · #20 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 06:25 PM

Not everything that we reformed people practice in our church is "prescribed" as a "thou shalt." Much of what we do is in applying the practices of the apostles and New Testament church as being as good as prescriptive, because the New Testament records normative worship standards for us to use today (i.e. presbytery at Acts 15).

Taking this into consideration, there are compound Scriptural arguments for Sabbatarianism on the prescriptive level (fourth commandment) as well as the descriptive level (God resting on the 7th day, the Apostolic New Testament practice of conducting worship and sacrament on Sunday). That's what did it for me.

Richard Tallach · #21 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 06:52 PM

Before the Fall Adam and Eves' souls rested in God Who had entered His rest from the work of the Old Creation on the Seventh Day, but they didn't despise the opportunity to enjoy that rest in a special way on the Sabbath, while they were on their way to the perfect eschatalogical realm (Heavenly Kingdom) - where work, play, worship and rest were to be rearranged.

In the New Covenant believers' souls rest in the God-man, Christ, Who entered His rest from the work of the New Creation on the First Day, as God did on the Seventh Day (For He that is entered into His rest, He also hath ceased from His own works, as God did from His. (Heb. 4:10, KJV)). But we shouldn't despise the opportunity to enjoy that rest in a special way on the Lord's Day or Christian Sabbath (So therefore,there remains therefore the keeping of a Sabbath for the people of God (Heb. 4:9) ), while we are on our way to the perfect eschatalogical realm (Heavenly Kingdom) - where work, play, worship and rest will be rearranged.

The perfectly numbered Seven Day Week and Sabbath Day, which are of special revelation - rather than general revelation, like days, months and years - were pointers to (types of) that perfect Kingdom before Man fell, and they still are.

Kauffeld · #22 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 07:37 PM

For me it was meditating upon the place of God's Law, and the symbolism of the ten commandment's being placed within the ark of the covenant- atop of which was the mercy seat from where God spoke to His people. This really opened my eyes to realize the eternity of God's Law, and therefore the continuation of the Sabbath, though today practiced as the Lord's Day via the institution of Christ.

austinww · #23 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marrow Man

Do I get a gold star?

Maybe 2.

Thanks everybody.

**PuritanCovenanter** · #24 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 08:18 PM

A study on the triad that a friend Richard Barcellos pointed out in one of his books helped me a lot. I quote a portion of it below and part of an article on Hebrews 4:9 by Robert Martin out of the Reformed Baptist Theological Review.

A lot of Baptist and non sabbattarians like to quote Colossians 2:16 as a passage that declares we need not keep a weekly Sabbath day to the Lord.

Richard Barcellos is the author. Please forgive my inept mistakes in copying it from a pdf to here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuritanCovenanter

Here is a portion of an article taken from the Reformed Baptist Theological Review.

http://www.shop.rbap.net/product.sc?...1&productId=13

I am posting it here for an examination of Colossians 2:16 and the triad phrase that is used in this passage along next to the Old Testament passage in Hosea 2:11.

Quote:

(Col 2:16) 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:

Quote:

(Hos 2:11) I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

A lot of Baptist and non sabbattarians like to quote Colossians 2:16 as a passage that declares we need not keep a weekly Sabbath day to the Lord.

Richard Barcellos is the author. Please forgive my inept mistakes in copying it from a pdf to here.

Quote:

1. The Old Testament prophesies the abrogation and cessation of the Sabbath under the New Covenant.

The OT clearly prophesies the abrogation and cessation of ancient Israel‘s Sabbaths. It does so in Hos. 2:11, which says, ―I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths--all her appointed feasts." We will make several observations that bear this out. First, Hosea‘s prophecy is dealing with the days of the New Covenant. The phrase ―in that day" (vv. 16, 18, 21) is used prophetically of New Covenant days in Is. 22:20. Revelation 3:7 quotes Is. 22:22 and applies it to Christ. The prophecy in Is. 22:20 mentions the Lord‘s servant, who is Christ. Isaiah 22:20-22 says:

Revelation 3:7, quoting Is. 22:22, says:

The phrase, ―in that day,
' refers to the days of Christ–the days of the New Covenant. Paul references Hos. 1:10 and 2:23 in Rom. 9:25, applying them to Christians. ―As He says also in Hosea: ‗I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved‘" (Rom. 9:25). Peter references Hos. 1:9-10 and 2:23 in 1 Pet. 2:10 and applies them to Christians as well. He says, ―who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Pet. 2:10). Hosea is clearly speaking of New Covenant days. According to the NT usage of Hosea, he is speaking of the time in redemptive history when God will bring Gentiles into a saving relationship with Jews. Much of the NT deals with this very issue.

Second, Hos. 2:11 clearly prophesies the abrogation of Old Covenant Israel‘s Sabbaths, along with ―all her appointed feasts." Hosea uses a triad of terms (―feast days, New Moons, Sabbaths") that is used many places in the OT (1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 31:3; Neh. 10:33; and Is. 1:13-14). Clearly, he is speaking of the abrogation of Old Covenant ceremonial laws. When the Old Covenant goes, Israel‘s feast days, New Moons, Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts go with it.

Third, the NT confirms this understanding of Hos. 2:11. It uses this triad of terms in Col. 2:16, which says, ―So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths." In the context, Paul is combating those who were attempting to impose Old Covenant ceremonial law on New Covenant Christians. So Col. 2:16 is clear NT language that sees Hosea‘s prophecy as fulfilled. It is of interest to note that Paul uses the plural for Sabbath in Col. 2:16 (σάββατον). It is not too hard to assume that Paul had the OT triad in mind and Hosea‘s prophecy while penning these words. The NT announces the abrogation of the Old Covenant in
many places. For instance, 2 Cor. 3:7-18; Gal. 3-4; Eph. 2:14-16; and Heb. 8-10 (cf. esp. 8:6-7, 13; 9:9-10, 15; 10:1, 15-18) are clear that the Old Covenant has been abrogated.

(Heb. 8:6-7)

(Heb. 8:13)

(Heb. 9:9-10)

(Heb. 9:15)

(Heb. 10:1)

(Heb. 10:15-18)

The Old Covenant and all its ceremonies are obsolete and have vanished away (Heb. 8:13). Taking these passages and Col. 2:16 together, they clearly teach that when the Old Covenant goes, the triad of Col. 2:16 goes as well.

2. The Old Testament prophesies the perpetuity and continuation of the Sabbath under the New Covenant.

Just as there is evidence from the OT that the Sabbath will be abolished under the New Covenant, so there is evidence that it will continue. At first glance this appears contradictory. But on further investigation, it is not contradictory and, in fact, fits the evidence provided thus far for the creation basis of the Sabbath and its unique place in the Decalogue in its function as moral law. Two passages deserve our attention at this point, Is. 56:1-8 and Jer. 31:33. Isaiah‘s prophecy of the Sabbath under the New Covenant is explicit and Jeremiah‘s is implicit.

Isaiah 56:1-8

(Isaiah 56:1-8)

Several observations will assist us in understanding how this passage prophesies explicitly the perpetuity and continuation of the Sabbath under the New Covenant. First, the section of the book of Isaiah starting at chapter 40 and ending with chapter 66 points forward to the days of Messiah and in some places to the eternal state. This section includes language pointing forward to the time primarily between the two comings of Christ, the interadvental days of the New Covenant. It is understood this way by the New Testament in several places (see Matt. 3:3; 8:16, 17; 12:15-21; and Acts 13:34).

Second, Is. 56:1-8 speaks prophetically of a day in redemptive history in which God will save Gentiles (cf., esp. vv. 7 and 8). The language of "all nations" in v. 7 reminds us of the promise given to Abraham concerning blessing all nations through his seed (see Gen. 12:3 and Gal. 3:8, 16). This Abrahamic promise is pursued by the great commission of Matt. 28:18-20. Isaiah is speaking about New Covenant days.

Third, in several New Testament texts, using the motif of fulfillment, the language of Is. 56:1-8 (and the broader context) is applied to the days between Christ‘s first and second comings (Matt. 21:12-13; Acts 8:26-40; Eph. 2:19; and 1 Tim. 3:15). Compare Matt. 21:13, “My house shall be called a house of prayer," with Is. 56:7, “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." This anticipates the inclusion of Gentiles in the house of God, a common NT phenomenon. Compare Acts 8:26-40 (notice a eunuch was reading from Isaiah) with Is. 56:3-5, which says:

(Is. 56:3-5)

The Old Covenant placed restrictions on eunuchs. Deuteronomy 23:1 says, ―He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD. Isaiah is prophesying about a day in redemptive history when those restrictions will no longer apply.

In Eph. 2:19 the church is called the "household of God" and in 1 Tim. 3:15 it is called "the house of God."The context of 1 Tim. 3:15 includes 1 Tim. 2:1-7, where Paul outlines regulations for church prayer. Now consider Is. 56:7, which says:

(Is. 56:7)

Quote:

Even them [i.e., the foreigners (Gentiles) of v. 6a] I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

The NT sees Isaiah‘s prophecy as fulfilled under the New Covenant. However, the privileges, responsibilities, and the people of God foretold there (Is. 56) are transformed to fit the conditions brought in by the New Covenant. The people of God are transformed due to the New Covenant; the house of God is transformed due to the New Covenant; the burnt offerings, sacrifices, and altar are transformed due to the New Covenant; and the Sabbath is transformed due to the New Covenant (i.e., from the seventh to the first day). Isaiah, as with other OT prophets, accommodates his prophecy to the language of the Old Covenant people, but its NT fulfillment specifies exactly what his prophesy looks like when being fulfilled. Jeremiah does this with thepromise of the New Covenant. What was promised to "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah" (Jer. 31:31), is fulfilled in the Jew-Gentile church, the New Covenant people of God, the transformed Israel of OT prophecy.

With these considerations before us, it seems not only plausible but compelling to conclude that between the two advents of Christ, when the Old Covenant law restricting eunuchs no longer restricts them, and when the nations (i.e., the Gentiles) are becoming the Lord‘s and frequenting his house, which is his Church, a Sabbath (see Is. 56:2, 4, 6) yet remains. Isaiah is speaking prophetically of Sabbath-keeping in New Covenant days. The English Puritan John Bunyan, commenting on Isaiah 56, said, "Also it follows from hence, that the sabbath that has a promise annexed to the keeping of it, is rather that which the Lord Jesus shall give to the churches of the Gentiles."7

Again, the essence of the Sabbath transcends covenantal bounds. Its roots are in creation, not in the Old Covenant alone. It transcends covenants and cultures because the ethics of creation are trans-covenantal and trans-cultural. The Sabbath is part of God‘s moral law.

Also concerning the Hebrews 4:9 passage concerning a Sabbath rest...

Those guys who quote the Colosians and Hebrew verses need to know that there are legitimate discussions and commentaries that support a sabbatarian view. I read an article by Robert P. Martin in the Reformed Baptist Theological review were he spoke on these verses. I am going to leave a quote from this article here concerning the Hebrews passage and the terms used.

Reformed Baptist Theological Review
vl. 1.2 A Sabbath Remains.. The Place of Hebrews 4:9 in the New Testament's Witness to the Lord's Day by Robert P. Martin
(Heb 4:9) There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

In it he notes the Word used here is σαββατισμός and not κατάπαυσις

(rest).
G4520
σαββατισμός
sabbatismos

This is an obscure term evidently that is used in just a few other places outside of the scriptures but used only once in the New Testament. Robert Martin says,

Quote:

"I think that it is of interest that "in each of these places the term [σαββατισμός] denotes the observance or celebration of the Sabbath," i.e., not "a Sabbath rest" as a state that is entered into but "a Sabbath-keeping" as a practice that is observed. This, of course, corresponds to the word's morphology, for the suffix -μός indicates an action and not just a state. see A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934), 151.
Reformed Baptist Theological Review Vl. 1;2 p.5

In other words there is still a 1 in 7 day where we are still required to observe a sabbath.

Obviously the article consists of the surrounding verses but it is a good read and quotes John Owen who is one of my faves

Berean · #25 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marrow Man

Do I get a gold star?

I think that's an early Halloween Alfred E. Newman....