ALL OF GOD'S LAWS ARE FOR MANKIND'S BENEFIT, PERIOD!
If God is righteous and good then all of His commands to men are for our benefit. For example, the Sabbath Law is for our good and THIS is made plain by the words of the Son of God.
Mark 2:27, “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’” (NKJV)
It seemsobvious that at least two reasons exist for why the seventh day Sabbath benefits us and was not made for God but people. God does not need the rest and rejuvenation.
- It strengthens mankind and rejuvenates us physically and spiritually.
- The Sabbath strengthens our relationship with God and shows to all who is our God.
Why is our relationship with God so vulnerable and in need of rejuvenation every week? The Bible is full of warnings, especially throughout the Old Testament, that the effects of ungodly leadership leads to disaster for a nation. Abolishing the Sabbath or altering it eventually leads toward paganism and moral decline with all its many harmful pitfalls. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, wrote that a Sabbath rest still exists for new covenant believers.
Hebrews 4:4-9, “For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; 5 and in this place again, They shall not enter into my rest.
“6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, 7 he again defineth a certain day, To-day, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as hath been said before), To-day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts.
“8 For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God.” (ASV)
Protestants after breaking away from Papal authority, now needed some biblical evidence to keep celebrating Sunday instead of the Sabbath which is in the heart of the Ten Commandments. They did not inherit Sunday from Papal authority they claim.
IS THERE EVIDENCE FOR ALTERING THE SABBATH ?
If you were a Sunday keeping cleric who looked for scriptural evidence to support your assertion that the Sabbath law was quietly altered at the sunrise resurrection of Christ where would you go? One verse that fits into this hope is below:
Galatians 4:9-10, “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (KJV)
These PROTESTANT clerics have said that this church was under pressure to leave Sunday by Judaizers. Problem number one with this interpretation of those verses is that Paul would never call the laws of God “weak and beggarly.” Note what he said about the law of God just prior to this section of the letter:
Galatians 3:21, “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.” (NKJV)
Romans 3:31, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, weestablish the law.”
Paul, an author of the New Testament, clearly states that the law –– which includes the seventh day Sabbath –– is not contrary to grace or faith in the promises of God. What then is Paul referring to regarding “times?” The Galatians were never Jews but as gentile pagans they were under pressure to slip back into paganism with its times as well as pressure from the right.
Deuteronomy 18:14, “For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”
If the church had altered the Sabbath at the rising of Jesus then these gentile Galatians would never have been taught about the Sabbath. The church for the last 25 or so years would have only kept Sunday. This clearly is not the case. However the people were under pressure from both sides, pagan neighbors and Judaizers inside the church and in some ways they were both similar in following human traditions in a slave like manner. Instead Paul said learn to obey God with appropriate freedom.
Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Clerics found a few other verses that they could put a false narrative into regarding a quiet altering of the Sabbath without any public discussion justifying this major change.
THE TOP TWO MISUNDERSTOOD REASONS FOR A SABBATH CANCELLATION
Sunday sunrise doctrines were common among pagans in Rome who worshiped the Sun. These clerics searched the scriptures and decided that Christ rose on Sunday at sunrise, note:
John 20:1-2, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet DARK, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.”
NO MATTER WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE TOMB Jesus was already gone. He had been resurrected some time before the start of the first day of the week. NO one witnessed His actual rising, but it had to occurred on the Sabbath. Based on the sign of Jonah, He was risen during the twilight at the dawning of the Sabbath since Christ was rushed into the grave just before sun down. Another verse that can be interpreted mistakenly is below:
Colossians 2:16-17, “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…17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
They interpreted these verses to imply that Jewish pressure to get you to switch from Sunday away from the Sabbath is wrong and that Paul is saying don't do it. Several problems exists with this scenario. A number of verses in the Bible show Paul keeping these Holy Days of God. Further, the context of Paul's words in this section reveal a different story.
Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [or elements] of the world, and not after Christ.”
Paul is saying to resist criticism based on the traditions of the world and men, not the holy words of God. What did these traditions of men include?
Colossians 2:18, “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind…”
According to Paul what is the main issue these people are pressured about?
Colossians 2:22-23, “…in obedience to mere human injunctions and teachings? 23 These rules have indeed an appearance of wisdom where self-imposed worship exists, and an affectation of humility and an ascetic severity. But not one of them is of any value in combating the indulgence of our lower natures.” (WNT)
Pagan asceticism was the main issue. If the church had been keeping Sunday for the last 25 years or so it would seem out of place for Paul to be saying don't let these groups pressure you into not keeping the Sabbath since in that scenario you were never taught the Sabbaths.
What Paul is saying is, “You Galatians have been enjoying feasting on the Sabbaths both weekly and annually based on the Hebrew calendar and don't let these ascetics turn you away from these wonderful truths –– these Holy Days also are a key or shadow of things to come or God's plans for the future.” Otherwise Paul would be contradicting his own words. Note I Cor. 5:6-8.
