The Sabbath Conundrum
There are some sup****ters for posting the 10 Commandments who do
agree
that obeying them is indeed a part of the Christian experience. But for
many, this leads to another irony.
If the government summons you to court at a certain time, it expects
you to be there-not three days earlier or a day after. If it asks you to
testify at a trial, it expects you to answer questions and not read a
s****ts
magazine. Neither does it want you to show up late or leave early. It also
considers you in contempt of court, a lawbreaker, if you ignore the judge
while he or she is trying to speak with you.
I have no doubt that most sincere Christians citizens would be
angered
by such disrespect for the institution for justice, yet these same
Christians do not respect God's government regarding time with Him in His
chamber. They don't show up when asked, and if they do, it's often on
another day and they don't do the things asked of them.
Many Christians exclude the fourth Commandment from the other nine as
a
law meant only for the Jews. Others say that it is still a Commandment to
obey, but one that Christians should practice on the first day of the week
instead of the last day. Others still argue that it doesn't matter what
day,
as long as time is given to God. Yet can you ever imagine finding a judge
who orders a trial on Wednesday to accept: "I showed up on Thursday! As
long
as I show up, does it really matter" Of course, God will accept praise any
day and time, and He will bless you for it. But this Commandment asks for
your presence at a particular place and time!
Why is it then that when a judge tells us to show up, we know we are
breaking the law when we don't and will suffer the penalty-but if the
Judge
of the universe asks us to show on a certain day, it's really just our
call
By ignoring or altering the fourth Commandment, it is no longer a relevant
part of the 10 Commandments as written in the Bible-the inspired Word of
God. Indeed, if it can change on the whims of a person, why not the others
But Jesus Himself emphatically said this would never be the case. "Think
not
that I come to destroy the law . but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17,18). He
also
said not one part of it would change, not even if the earth and its people
passed into history. It's for all time and for all creation! In addition,
He
said the wording of the law would never change (Luke 16:17), which is what
exactly has to happen if we are to accept that the first day is the
Sabbath.
Can you imagine changing a court summons date and passing it off as lawful
Many are surprised to hear that neither Jesus nor the New Testament
writers ever tell Jewish converts to wor****p on the first day of the week.
You might guess that many Jews would be put off by such a statement-after
all, the Commandments are an essential part of their lives (their
ancestors
were stoned for not following it!) and they had heard with their own ears
Jesus tell them to keep the Commandments. Public defenders would be
outraged
if a judge told them one day to be ready for trial on Thursday, then
suddenly moved it to Wednesday to appease the prosecutors without telling
the defense! Yet we hear about no such controversy regarding the Sabbath
in
the Bible.
This becomes even more problematic when Paul puts a stop to the
practice of cir***cision, replacing the commitment, or altering it, with
baptism (Colossians 2:11). His act of transforming the cir***cision
ceremony
created a deep division in the church, yet we are to believe the
transformation of the Sabbath did not Many claim the fact that Jesus
doesn't
vocally reinforce the Sabbath in the New Testament proves, from silence,
that He must have not considered it im****tant. But since He did observe
the
Sabbath, and because we see no Jewish outcry, the argument from silence
works best the other way around. Indeed, Jesus often mentions a
Commandment
to add more meaning to it. It isvery possible that the light on the
Sabbath
in the Bible is sufficient, so He saw no reason to mention it. Of course,
Jesus does mention the Sabbath while defending it from legalists (Matthew
12:1-12), and He honored the Sabbath by going to the synagogue, as "was
his
custom" (Luke 4:16).
Would you consider yourself loyal to the government if you didn't
show
up to a trial where your testimony could convict a terrorist Why then
would
you consider yourself loyal to God if you failed to show up on a day He
specifically asks of you
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