“He who observes the Day,
observes to the LORD”
“One person esteems one day above another,
another esteems every day alike. Let
each be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who observes
not the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he
who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and give God thanks.” (Rom.
14:5-6)
These
verses have often been used to defend the position of Sunday observance in
preference to the Seventh Day Sabbath.
The point they are making is this: “You worship God on Saturday and I
worship Him on Sunday. Both days of
worship are acceptable to Him.” In a
way this is true because God wants us to worship Him every day. Actually if you read the whole chapter 14 of
Romans you will see that Paul was not writing about the Seventh Day Sabbath at
all.
In
this discussion we are talking about public worship and not private ones. If this is the case then Sabbath worship is
not an option because God has mandated it to be observed by His own people
(Heb. 4:9-11). The Sabbath was
instituted at Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). It
was included in the Ten Commandments and it is the duty of every man on earth
to keep them for it will be the standard of judgment by God (Ex. 20:8-11; Ecc.
12:13-14). Every one of the Ten
Commandments must be kept (Jas. 2:10-13).
Violation of God’s Commandments is sin (1 Jn. 3:4). Our Lord Jesus Christ kept the Seventh Day
Sabbath throughout His days on earth (Lk. 4:16). Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath and He said that it was made
for man, therefore it is not only given to the Jews but to mankind (Mk.
2:27-28). The early Apostolic Church
that consisted both Jews and Gentiles kept the Seventh Day Sabbath (Acts
13:42-44). When Paul wrote the above
verses he was not giving the Roman congregation a choice to either worship God
publicly on Saturday or Sunday. When
God established the Seventh Day Sabbath it is not for man to decide whether or
not to observe it. Observing the
Seventh Day Sabbath is a commandment of God.
In
order to understand the key verses in their proper context and perspective one
has to consider the background of the subjects to whom they were
addressed. The apostle Paul was writing
to the church in Rome that
consisted of Jewish and Roman converts.
Gentiles were predominant in this church (Rom. 1:13; 11:13, 28-31;
15:15,16). There were also Jewish
believers (Rom. 2:17–3:8; 3:21–4:1; 7:1-14; 14:1-15:12). Both of these ethnic
groups have very different cultures.
The Jewish converts might have regarded keeping the Feasts of the LORD
(Lev. 23) as important and insisted that the Gentiles also kept them. The Roman converts might have wanted to
continue celebrating some of their Roman feasts in the church. When both groups wanted to have their own
ways there was bound to be conflicts in the church.
Feasts
of the LORD are given only to Israel
Some
religious groups insist the seven Feasts of the LORD (Leviticus 23) are given
to all mankind just as the Seventh Day Sabbath. A careful study will show that this is not true. Let us look at some of their arguments and
examine if they are correct.
Signs
and Seasons
They often quote these verses: “Then God said,
‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the
night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let
them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth;
and it was so. Then God made two great
lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens
to give light to the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to
divide the light from the darkness. And
God saw that it was good.” (Gen. 1:14-18)
Then they connect these verses to Leviticus
23:4: “These are the feasts of the LORD, holy
convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.” They say that
the words “seasons” and
“appointed times” have
the same root word in Hebrew “moed”. They claim that
by this Hebrew word “moed” alone
God had established the Feasts of the LORD at the time of Creation. If this argument is correct then astrologers
can also use it to claim that God had established the legitimacy of astrology
at Creation because “He made the stars also.” It is unfortunate that people do
misinterpret the Scriptures to fit their false beliefs. The Holy Bible do not say that God made the
sun, moon and stars so that people can use them to observe the Feasts of the
LORD. They were created “for
signs and seasons, and for days and years.”
Any boy or girl who studies geography in school
knows what they mean. The word “seasons”
in this context
refer to spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Seventh
Day Sabbath included in the Feasts? The twenty third chapter of Leviticus begins
with these verses:
“And
the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to
them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which
you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh
day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all
your dwellings.” (Lev. 23:1-3)
Please
pay special attention to the God’s opening words: ‘Speak
to the children of Israel, and say to them: . . . .” In Exodus chapter 16 God has revealed the
Seventh Day Sabbath to the children of Israel six weeks after their exodus from
Egypt. Here God is reminding the
children of Israel to keep the Seventh Day Sabbath. After saying these words God continued:
“These
are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their
appointed times. On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the
LORD’S Passover. And on the fifteenth
day of the same month is the Feast of the Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven
days you must eat unleavened bread.” (Lev. 23:4-6)
In
the twenty third chapter of Leviticus there are listed seven feasts of the LORD.
1. Passover
2. Unleavened
Bread
3. Firstfruits
4. Pentecost
5. Trumpets
6. Day
of Atonement
7. Tabernacles
The
Seventh Day Sabbath is separated and distinctive from the Feasts of the LORD in
many ways. The table below will show
the differences.
Seventh
Day Sabbath
|
Feasts
of the LORD
|
|
Established at Creation. (Gen 2:1-3) |
Given at the Wilderness of Sinai (Lev. 7:38) |
|
Made for man – mankind (Mk. 2:27) Includes Christians (Isa. 56:1-3) |
Mainly given to the children of Israel” (Lev. 23:1-2,
10, 24, 34, 43-44) |
|
One of the Ten Commandments that must be kept (Jas.
2:8-13) |
Ordinances abolished and nailed to the cross when Jesus died (Col.
2:14-17; Eph. 2:15) |
|
After the burial of Jesus Christ’s body, His disciples kept the Sabbath
Commandment. (Lk. 23:56) Jewish and
Gentile Christians were also observing the Sabbath. (Acts 13:42) |
In the Early Apostolic Church only Jewish believers kept
the Feasts. Non-Jewish Christians
were told not to allow anyone to judge them for not keeping the Feasts. (Col.
2:16) |
Paul
reminds each of these groups that if they are servants of Christ, then they
must follow the lead of Christ in these matters as well. Each man should be
"fully assured in his own mind." We must allow Christ to exercise His
authority over His body. Christ is able to correct and rebuke. We do not need
to be the one that keeps others in line. It is the job of the Spirit of God to
lead believers to all truth, not mine. We must have confidence that God is
alive and working in the church. If we have confidence that God is working, we
will have no need to judge other Christians in these matters.
Each of us
has a role to play in the body of Christ. There is no need for another that
thinks and acts exactly like you or me. We are each unique individuals and
Christ is wonderfully equipped to bring us together and make us one. Let us
encourage one another to live to the fullest extent of our faith. Let us have
confidence that the God who called us is capable of leading others to His truth.
This Article is the response of Paul Wong
to a discussion in the ARK Forum on July 29, 2003
For comments please write first to: [email protected]
May God bless you.
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.
 |
|
|
|
