Sabbath – Ignored – Fouled – Hated – Without justification

Deutsch

The Sabbath is not simply one of God’s ten commandments, but the central commandment upon which the entire law depends. Everything rises and falls with the Sabbath, which was instituted to complete creation. It is all the more astonishing, then, that this very commandment is the most controversial, even opposed. Often simply ignored, frequently frowned upon, and even hated. All attempts at justification for this are ultimately futile.

Shirking responsibilities

When it comes to avoiding a law of God that might be perceived as unpleasant or inconvenient, it would seem very practical if this commandment were no longer obligatory, but merely optional. Because this also leads to the desired result, people cling tenaciously to the justifications that seem to warrant their own “choice to disregard the law.” If this is practiced long enough, it even becomes a “rock-solid conviction.”

The Ten Commandments describe God’s will and character. These are the Ten Commandments that God Himself inscribed on two stone tablets and gave to His faithful servant Moses on Mount Sinai. They are not merely a “new” law formulated exclusively for Israel, but rather the everlasting, unchanging law that God brought to His chosen people in writing on stone, reminding them of its meaning and emphatically admonishing them. The Ten Commandments begin with “You shall have no other gods before me” and end with “You shall not covet.”

Self-initiative required

Unfortunately, even this seemingly minor challenge of learning about the Ten Commandments presents a hurdle. The numerous opponents of the Gospel have long since intervened, attempting to modify the true Ten Commandments. Not in terms of God’s actual will—that is impossible to change—but in terms of the informational materials provided. A quick glance usually reveals a list of the Ten Commandments that no longer reflect God’s will.

This is particularly evident in Commandments 2, 4, and 10. The first has simply been omitted. Commandment 4 thus became Commandment 3 and was also reformulated from “Sabbath” to “holiday”, if not (cheeky) to “Sunday”, and Commandment 10 was split into 2 parts in order to reach the total number 10 again (Info).

Gnostic source texts for modern Bibles

Since poisoning wasn’t enough, they’ve long since resorted to the serpent’s strategy. Entire Bibles are simply being rewritten according to the “New Gospel.” The simple recipe behind this is to simply set aside the historical Majority Text (Textus Receptus) and use Gnostic writings from the Alexandrian region as the basis for translation. One must have a truly profound love of truth to turn a cold shoulder to these diabolical circumstances. But they still exist: Bibles based on the Majority Text (Info).

Adjustments to God’s Law

The Roman Catholic Church pioneered the field of legal reform. It argued that the actual Ten Commandments, according to Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, are not numbered and therefore the numbering of the commandments could be arranged differently. Furthermore, they claimed that Commandment 2 was not actually deleted, but rather considered an integral part of Commandment 1. This is a very flimsy justification, since it was necessary to divide Commandment 10 into two.

Indeed, the biblical Second Commandment is found in the Roman Catholic Catechism as an integral part of Commandment 1, but the apparent calculation worked. Who cares? After all, who actually looks it up, reads it themselves, and worries about it when something seems unclear? Ultimately, and this is the only thing that matters, the priest says so, and therefore it is so.

The Reformation missed its chance.

Protestantism was highly inconsistent on this point from its inception. It not only simply continued the modified principle of adapted commandments of God, but also cultivated a whole range of Roman Catholic traditions. While “Sola Scriptura” was introduced as a defining characteristic of Protestantism, practice reveals a more nuanced picture. This is particularly true of the (original) fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment. It was clearly recognized, as it is explicitly stated in several places in the Bible, and it was discussed, but ultimately Martin Luther commented that “one should not go faster than the people.” Thus, the Sunday service introduced by the Roman Catholic Church was maintained, and the Sabbath was effectively abandoned.

A “technique” that is still consistently applied today is the declaration of the Sabbath commandment as a ceremonial commandment. This was already enshrined in stone in the Augsburg Confession of 1530 during the Reformation (Info). One could imagine it metaphorically as if one were to take the first tablet of the Ten Commandments and simply whitewash the fourth commandment with filler in order to then write a new formula. The commandment itself ultimately ended up in the box of statutes for ceremonies, holidays, and sacrificial services, which were also dictated by God to Moses but written down by him personally.

Everything was predicted

The Reformation era is prophetically reflected in Revelation 3. The church in Sardis embodies the Reformation era both chronologically and in terms of content (Letters to 7 Churches). Jesus Christ had an unambiguous assessment of this:
“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Revelation 3:2-3)

Double standards

Things get particularly interesting when non-Catholics, especially Lutherans, Evangelicals, and Reformed Christians, strongly protest the Roman Catholic Church’s practice of prioritizing its own tradition over the Bible, yet not only cling to such traditions themselves but defend them as “rock-solid doctrine.” This is despite the fact that a sober, unbiased, and objective reading of the Bible at the relevant passages reveals something quite different. Then, something usually emerges that psychologists are far more familiar with. It’s like a child closing its eyes, covering its ears, and screaming because it simply refuses to hear the unpleasant truth.

Where there’s no will, there’s no way.

The prophet Jeremiah was familiar with this phenomenon,
“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16),
and Jesus Christ anyway,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37).

This unwillingness, and the resulting spiritual blindness, applies especially to the church in these end times. Jesus Christ offered a helpful remedy for this:
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” (Revelation 3:18)

Approaches of false justification

The attempts to justify disregarding the fourth commandment, the seventh-day Sabbath, are very diverse. While personal interpretations, such as “one should instead observe the day of Jesus’ resurrection,” or “the apostles gathered on Sundays,” are naturally not valid grounds for justifying the abolition of the Sabbath, people resort to “Sola Scriptura” and select the appropriate passages in Scripture. After all, it’s written there, and that’s considered irrefutably proven.

If there were a chart for the top explanations, the following biblical statement would be on the winner’s podium: Romans 14:5-6:

That makes it crystal clear. It doesn’t matter at all whether you choose Saturday, Sunday, or even Wednesday. Everyone can do as they please. It’s right there in the text!

Collect favorite raisins

Herein lies another, potentially consequential phenomenon. Following the motto “Sola Scriptura Versus Isolati” (Scripture alone, verses isolated), one or two verses are cherry-picked and placed within a framework of one’s own choosing. With the Epistle to the Romans, the argument is simply that Paul explained it, and he must know, after all.

To cherished tradition come group pressure, the pressure of the majority, the potential social price to pay, and the reputation of neighbors, friends, acquaintances, and family if one truly wants to do God’s will. “Everyone observes Sunday. Of course I do too!”

A verse presented in isolation like this is open to all sorts of interpretations, as long as it’s left standing alone, without considering the context.

A common analogy for how scripture is treated would be a man who goes to a car dealership and loudly complains that his vehicle consumes an enormous amount of fuel and that the rear brake pads constantly need replacing. Recently, he even needed new brake discs. It turns out he’s been driving with the handbrake on all the time. “Yeah, right, it says so in the manual. ‘Put on the handbrake!'”

“Yes, but not while driving!” “What are you talking about! It’s written right there in the manual! Don’t you know your own vehicles and you call yourself car dealers?!”

Simply turning back one page to fully grasp this passage would have been enough to understand its meaning. This statement is located in the section: “Secure Parking”.

It’s actually a tragedy.

As simple and even ridiculous as it may seem, this is exactly how we should deal with the statement in Romans 14:5-6. The immediate question should be: who is saying this, to whom is he saying this, and under what circumstances is he saying this? Reading the chapter from the beginning will provide the answer. Paul is talking about not burdening the non-Christians arriving in the still-young church with prohibitions against their old traditions. These traditions pose no problem at all, as long as they do not violate God’s commandment. The first verse in chapter 14 reads:
“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.” (Romans 14:1)

If someone feels they must eat fish on Fridays and kale every Tuesday, why not? They’re free to do so. If someone wants to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, that’s fine too. And if it’s still their tradition to eat unleavened bread at Passover, by all means. But none of this justifies nullifying God’s fourth commandment, simply declaring it abolished, nullified, and obsolete!

Law of God & Law of Moses

It is essential to note that in both the Old and New Testaments, a crucial distinction exists between the Ten Commandments (the Law of God) and the ceremonial laws (the Law of Moses). This is extremely important because, while the ceremonial laws were indeed abolished with the crucifixion of Jesus, the Ten Commandments of God remained completely unchanged. And so it will always be (Info).

Adding something doesn’t negate the old.

“We at the automobile club wear helmets when we drive, so we don’t wear seatbelts anymore.” “Who does that?” “We all do.” “Since when?” “Always.”

What will the judge say when he opens the law book and reads that there is a “general seatbelt requirement”? A helmet, even a bomber jacket and aviator goggles while driving, do not negate the law requiring seatbelt use. The verdict will reflect this.

The biblical Sabbath is no different. Nowhere in the Bible is the fourth commandment of God abolished (Info). On the contrary, a veritable war has been waged against the biblical Sabbath since the time of the “Church Fathers” of the Roman Catholic Church, a war that continues to this day (Info).

One might expect that the irate driver, with his handbrake constantly engaged, would see reason after the car dealer enlightened him about the “truth of the manual.” Far from it. In the case of the Gospel, it is much more likely that the one who points to the truth is glared at and insulted as “false teacher, legalist, false prophet, cult member, Judaizer, divisive!” The Bible is then slammed shut and the matter is closed.

Whoever recognizes Jesus wants to keep the Sabbath

But the Sabbath, like all the other nine commandments of God, is universally valid, to this day, in the future, and even for all time (Matthew 5:18). Whoever has truly come to know Jesus Christ (1 John 2:4) also understands the Sabbath He gave (Luke 6:5). Such a person doesn’t feel obligated to keep the Sabbath, but rather desires to do so. Commemorating Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday? Of course, no problem. But don’t skip the Sabbath for that!

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)