Previously: the sabbath holiday
Observing the Sabbath is the only holiday which is commanded in the Ten Commandments. I wondered why we think we should not murder because it is prohibited by the Ten Commandments, but it is okay to work on the seventh day, for that is also prohibited by the Ten Commandments. So I began to do some digging.
First I asked the Christians I knew: Should Christians obey the Ten Commandments? To those that said yes, I asked, Should Christians rest on the seventh day (the fourth commandment)? These are the varied answers I got:
1) Yes.
2) Christians should rest one day out of seven, but it does not have to be the seventh day.
3) Christians should rest on the first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord’s Day, not the seventh day.
4) Christians should rest on every day, by entering into the spiritual rest that has been bought for us by Jesus. Cessation of physical labor as a commandment is now an obsolete concept.
And then there are those who said that following commandments as obligations has been done away with by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the “law” that we obey today is the law of love. How we are to live proceeds from our hearts now, and does not require us to adhere to a written code.
So over the next few weeks I want to be a Berean, and study each of these positions Scripturally, and see what it is we are to do. Does God mean for His body to have such divided and diverse opinions on this topic, each of which is right, or has He clearly imparted His will for us, by revealing a way which is God’s way?
By the way, any of you which are interested in this topic of holidays, if you know of any other opinions held by Christians on the question of the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments, can you post them in the comments? We might as well look at the whole gamut while we are at it. Also, if any of you passionately hold to one of the positions mentioned above (or another position not mentioned), and want to make a case for your position on your blog, can you post the link in the comments? It will help me not to miss anything in the Scriptures, and it will also help the readers of this series get the broadest possible exposition of the topic.
So I have my Bible study laid out for me for the next few weeks. I can’t wait to dig in. As for the rest of the day, I am off to prepare for our Sabbath rest starting this evening, LOL. We have had such sweet fellowship with the Lord these past weeks that I am not going to stop observing the Sabbath holiday unless and until I can answer the questions about it Scripturally. When the Psalmist wrote that in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy, he was writing truth indeed.
Continued: sabbath addendum
That sounds like a very worthwhile study. I've asked people the same question for a few years. Recently DH and I have been having to research again because of a co-worker (7th Day Adventist) who says anyone who doesn't follow their doctrine are not entering heaven.
the view that it is wrong to have sexual relations with your spouse on the sabbath? Maybe that doesn't have anything to do with whether or not to observe this holiday, and maybe it is inappropriate. I just ask because when I got married, certain members of the church (of the older generation) told us that it would be a sin to do so… thank you for your opinion, it is highly esteemed!
Or I should say, my answers are posted, my opinions, on both of these questions. Here is the link (I don't know how to make text a link in the comments):
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/christinemiller/365269/
Thank you ladies! Love Christine