Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: the Sabbath Message-ID: Date: 23 Apr 91 07:01:34 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 73 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu < Subj: Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. < I know what my former religion taught about this, basicly nothing. < I know what my current religion teaches, and I agree. < I am wondering how other interpret and incorporate this commandment into < their lives. < 1) what things should/must you do on the sabbath? < 2) what things are forbidden on that day? < What is the basis for 1 and 2? My Bible says: Col. 2:16 let no man therefore judge you in meat, drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are A SHADOW of things to come; but the body is of Christ. The Sabbath day is something from the Old Testament law. In the Old Testament, man to be pleasing was require to keep the law. But in the New Testament, salvation is a matter of faith, not the keeping or rituals and ordances. The principle of the law has been abolished, but not the commandments have not. No, instead of being abolished, the New Testament uplifts the OT commandments and requires even a higher standard. Although our contact with God is not based on the principle of the law, we must still observe the uplifted commmandments of the law. At this point the Seventh Day Adventist might say, "yes, we must keep all the commandments of the law. One of these commandments is to keep the Sabbath. Based upon what you have said about not abolishing the commandments of the law, we tell you that you must keep the Sabbath." Although the commandments of the God have not been abolished, one of these commandments, the law about keeping the Sabbath, is not related to morality. Rather, it is a ritual law. A ritual is a form, a shadow, that we need no longer observe today. For example, we do not need to offer animal sacrifices, do we? Likewise, we no longer need to keep the Sabbbath. In the OT, the age of shadows, there was the need for the sacrifices, the feasts, and the keeping of the Sabbath. But today is an age of reality. Our sacrifice is not a lamb or a goat; it is Christ, the reality of all the OT sacrifices. In like manner, our rest is not a particular day; it also is Christ. because christ, the reality, is here, all the shadows are over. Because the commandment to keep the Sabbath is a ritual commandment, not a moral commandment, we are not obliged to keep it today. This commandment is not related to morality, but to the shadow, the form, which is now over. We need to be impressed concerning the principle of the law. God's dealings with His people always depend upon a principle. For example, God's dealings with Abraham were based upon God's promise. God did not give Abraham the commandments of the law; He gave him only the promise. Thus, God dealt with him according to this promise. The promise given by God to Abraham became the principle according to which God dealt with him. Later, god gave the law to the children of Isreal through Moses. The law given on Mount Sinai thus became the principle accoding to which God deal with the children of Isreal. In this way the law became the principle for God's dealings with His peopl in the Old Testament. Now in the New Testament God deals with the believers according to faith, no longer according to the law. This is fully developed in the books of Romans and Galatians. If you read these books, you will see that God deals with the believers in Christ not according to the law, but according to faith. In OT times God accepted people according to the law. If anyone wanted to be accepted by God, he had to meet the standard. But today God accepts us, not according to the law, but according to whether or not we believe in Christ. Thus, God's acceptance of us today is based on faith. ----- Robert W. Johnson Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland robert@kontu.utu.fi (InterNet) robert@firien.bitnet (BITNET) The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer and furthermore has nothing to do with my employment.