Ron Garber Ministries  

                            The True Sabbath

There seems to be those who claim we should keep the Sabbath while others argue that we should worship on Sunday. So what does the word of God teach concerning this issue?

Under the law the Sabbath was the day designated by God as a day of rest and the people took time to worship and honor God on that Day. Sunday evolved into the day that most Christians took to worship God and is a tradition and not Scriptural. Because Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday, the first day of the week, it became a tradition for Christians to worship on that day.

So what is the correct day to worship on, the Sabbath or Sunday? Jesus told the Samaritan Woman in answer to her question as the right place to worship, "The the time is coming and now is, when the true worshippers would worship God in spirit and truth." His answer let her know that there is no particular place or time to worship God if you worship in the spirit. If you worship on the Sabbath you are worshipping according to the law and not in spirit. On the other hand if you worship on Sunday because you believe the traditional way is correct, you still are not worshipping in spirit but in tradition.

If you are worshipping God in spirit you can worship Him on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. For God is Spirit and we worship Him in spirit and not the day.

Let us examine the Scriptures closely to see if it is necessary to keep the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was part of the Law that was given to Moses. Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Mat.5:17-18) Jesus accomplished what He said He came to do, "to fulfill the Law." "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law." (Gal.4:4-5) Having been redeemed by Jesus from the Law, we are now free from the requirements of the Law. Just as it is written, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." (Gal.5:18) "Jesus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Rom.8:3-4)

We as Christians are justified by faith, the same as Abraham, the father of faith. "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" (Rom.4:3) Abraham was justified by faith, not by the Law or the keeping of the Sabbath, which was not given until four hundred and thirty years later. (Gal.3:17)

"For no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col.2:16-17) What Paul is saying no one is to judge you because you do not celebrate festivals, such as Christmas or Easter, or keep the Sabbath. He says the Sabbath is a mere shadow. Now a shadow has no substance or real form; it is an unreal appearance.

So what is the true Sabbath? "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." (Gen.2:3) God did not rest because He was tired not does it speak about another day. Because the rest He entered into is eternal; He is still resting from all His work. "So there is nothing NEW UNDER THE SUN." (Eccl.1:9)

"For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;' and again in this passage, 'They shall not enter MY REST.' therefore since it remains for SOME TO ENTER IT, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience." (Heb.4.4-6) And in verse 9 through 10, it says, "So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest (God's rest) has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His." What works do we rest from when we enter God's true rest? It is the works of the Law: do not touch, do not taste, etc.; none of which produced justification through faith. Grace does not come as a result of what we do, but it is the free gift of God.

The works of man is justifying oneself by keeping the works of the Law and circumcision and keeping the Sabbath. "Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The righteous man shall live by faith.' However the Law is not of faith."  (Gal.3:11-12)

In the first century there were men who were "...of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed  ...saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise and to observe the Law of Moses;'" which included the keeping of the Sabbath. So, "The apostles and elders came together to look into this matter," and "...it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourself free from such things, you will do well." ( Read: Ac.15:5-29) They did not give any instructions that they were to keep the Sabbath.

Sabbath keepers often refer to the fact that the apostle Paul went into the synagogues on the Sabbath. (Ac.9:20, 13:5, 14:1, 17:2, 18:4) They misunderstand why he did this. It was because the gospel was to the Jews first and then to the gentiles. (Rom.1:16) So where would you find Jews? In a synagogue! And when would you find them there? On the Sabbath! So it was Paul's custom to go into the synagogue to tell the Jews about Jesus, not to gather for worship with Christians. (Ac.17:2) You would not find Christians in a synagogue. "But when they (the Jews) resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, 'Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the gentiles.'" (Ac.18:6)

Because we have entered into the true rest of God, we are free to worship God in a home or in a building or outside; we can worship Him on any day and as many days as we like. So worship God where you want and on any day you choose, but WORSHIP HIM.

Ron

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