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Last Updated on : November 23, 2014

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Should We Keep the Biblical Sabbath?

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F. B. wrote:
Dear fellow Bible Students,
I have studied about this subject on and off now for several years and happened to find your home page and another "Stillwaters Revival Books" which discuss this overlooked and avoided New Testament subject. This subject and the roles of men and women in the Church always (as you know) will bring you back to Genesis, as Paul faithfully did. I've attached a letter I recently wrote to a group we no longer fellowship with for the reasons stated in the letter. I have to go now, but I'd like to communicate with you more on the subject. I think you may be right about headcoverings being worn all the time. However, my better half isn't convicted yet. I'll send you more of what I have written about head coverings if you're interested. We homeschool and observe the Biblical Sabbath.
F. B.

Dear F.B,
Thank you for reviewing our website and for considering at least some of the material contained therein. We are pleased to hear from anyone who has a common interest in the Holy Scriptures and would enjoy discussing with you on anything contained therein, as long as it is well supported by Scriptural quotation.
Yes, I would be very happy to receive material you have written concerning the Bible.
Briefly we feel that a sister in Christ should wear a headcovering whenever she is praying or prophesing (teaching) . The rest of the time the headcovering would be used only if desired. We are not advocating that it should be worn every second of the day.
You indicate that you homeschool and observe the Biblical sabbath. We agree that teaching one's children at home rather than sending them to the public schools is a wise decision.
You indicate that you observe the Biblical sabbath, if by this, you mean treating Saturday as a special case of a holy day, then we would be in disagreement. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ made a major difference with reference to this commandment in that He never prescribed the keeping of the fourth commandment whenever an opportunity of describing what commandments to keep were presented. Instead by word and deed we believe that He expected everyone to keep every day alike. He indicated that we were supposed to take up our cross DAILY and follow him. This meant that we were to put to death the natural man at ALL times and do the will of God instead. This actually is what the [Mosiac] Law concerning the keeping of the sabbath was really teaching. There was to be no opportunity to ever serve one's self again! This fact is clearly established in Col. 2:8-23, particularly noting verses 16-17:
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 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.

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,
19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
(Col. 2:8-23 KJV)

This note is starting to turn into an epistle, therefore, we will call it quits for right now.
Respectfully yours,

Julio B. Scaramastro

 

Wednesday, August 6, 1997 T
Subject: The Sabbath 8/3/97

Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 21:03:52 -0800

From: "Julio B. Scaramastro" <wm@antipas.org>

To: F. B.

Dear F.B.,
You were wondering how I handle Gen. 2:2, Matt. 5:17-20, Acts 15:20-21 and Romans 14:5-6. Let us briefly consider these passages.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3, KJV).
Here we have a statement of natural fact. It does become the basis of a spiritual fact as we shall see, but first looking at it from the natural standpoint, there is no commandment or charge given to Adam at this time. In fact, until Ex. 20:8-11 is written, there is absolutely no reference to sabbath-keeping from creation until the giving of the law at Sinai. This is a very important point to remember.
Note what is said in Ex. 20:8-11:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.(Exodus 20:8-11, KJV).

Here we see the distinction between what is done on 6 days, namely that which refers to the necessities of the flesh and that which is done on the 7th day, which is the satisfaction of the spiritual. This is why I said in my previous letter that the Lord Jesus Christ extended the sabbath day to include the whole week; for the Lord Jesus Christ requires us to live EVERY day unto God and never serve the flesh.
There is an additional point that must be made and that is what the Spirit is teaching concerning God's plan and purpose with the earth. This teaching is the spiritual lesson and the one that carries the most importance.
The Spirit through the Apostle Paul establishes this particular point in I Cor. 15:46:
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. (I Corinthians 15:46, KJV).

This is a common method of instructing people unto salvation. You are first given that which is natural, which is concrete and easily to be understood. Then follows the spiritual based on it. When we look at the Jewish calendar and the week which is a basic unit thereof, we are not dealing with just a literal, natural calendar, but the basis for teaching man about God's plan and purpose with the earth. As you might know, in I Cor. chapter 15 the Spirit through the Apostle Paul is establishing the future resurrection of those who are responsible to that resurrection upon the Jewish calendar. Therefore, it is quite easy to establish from Heb. 4 that the 7th day rest was a type of the millenial rest, or the rest in the kingdom age, that all the faithful look forward to.
The fact that the millenium is 1000 years is easily established from Rev. 20. In this manner the type of the week, or the spiritual lesson is that there are 6 days of 1,000 years each, preceeding that stage in which the Rest of Yahweh is finally realized in the milleniurn or Kingdom age.

The above points become the basis of the spiritual lesson contained in the teachings of Christ. According to Rom. 6 when we are baptised with Christ, we become co-crucified with him, putting to death the flesh. We then are resurrected to a newness of life (Greek: zoe). The word "zoe" is not only associated with this newness of life that comes after the symbolical resurrection -- a type of the saints' future real resurrection from the dead -- but the word "zoe" is the word for "life" selected to be joined together in such phrases as: "everlasting life", "eternal life", "tree of life", "crown (Greek: stephanos) of life", "the promise of life", etc. And thus is always associated with the type of life that the glorified saints enjoy in the milleniurn or kingdom age.

What is being said is, that being symbolically resurrected from the waters of baptism (or symbolical death) we are to walk in newness of life (Greek: zoe) and thus be living symbolically the life of the kingdom age now! In this manner there is no single day of our life that is represented as the type of the kingdom age, or rest of Yahweh, but every day is lived alike, because typically we are living out the life of the kingdom age. It is for this reason also that the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matt. 11:28-30:
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV).

Notice that he will give rest to us if we take his yoke upon ourselves. It is provided typically now and in reality in the millenial rest. In addition, it will be noted that the Lord Jesus Christ constantly worked on the sabbath day. He explained this by indicating that he was doing the works of his Father, which of course, the legalistic pharisees could not understand. As has been said, we are supposed to be living typically in the kingdom age, and thus always doing the works of the Father.

One more point can be made in this area, and that is in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ referring to himself as the Lord of the Sabbath, in various scriptures where he is attacked by the pharisees for doing work on the sabbath. Being lord of the sabbath, or being the lord of the millenial age, the fulfillment of the type of the sabbath, he was only and always doing the work of the Father. Who were the pharisees to condemn the King of the Kingdom Age or millenial. sabbath?

In regards to Matt. 5:17-20 which says:
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.(Matthew 5:17-20, KJV).

There is nothing in these words of the Lord Jesus Christ that reinstitutes the 4th commandment. What it DOES say is that all of the shadow of the law would be fulfilled in him. For the parable, shadow or type of the law all taught about the Lord Jesus Christ as Paul picks up and says in Gal. 3:24-25:
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galatians 3:24-25, KJV).

Thus we are no longer under the Law of Moses. This point is picked up in Col. 2:8-23 as has already be said in the previous email. Again I would like to bring your attention to verses 16-17:
16 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. (Colossians 2:16-17, KJV).

Note that in harmony with this passage indicating that the Lord Jesus Christ took the handwriting of ordinances that was against us out of the way through His sacrifice upon the stake (vs. 14), and then clearly establishes the significance of what was done in the above 2 verses which refer to all of the different aspects of the Law including the sabbath as the shadow of things to come, but the reality was the Body of Christ.

Now let us consider Acts 15:20-21 which says:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. (Acts 15:20-21, KJV).

Again we just have a statement of fact that verifies what has been said above, for in verse 20 we have the only principles that the Gentiles were expected to keep and thus setting aside what all the Judiasers were trying to do. And verse 21 indicates that throughout the Roman world, the law had been being read every sabbath day in the Jewish synagogues. Verse 21 is a statement of what Jews had been doing, not what was commanded by Christ to Christians to be doing.
In Romans 14:5-6 which says:
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. (Romans 14:5-6, KJV).

Again we have no charge to keep the sabbath day, but a warning about making ANY issue about ANY day by anybody, thus this statement actually goes completely against the position of those who want to establish Saturday, or for that matter Sunday, as a sabbath day

This has been a bit longer than brief, and therefore we will close here with the intention of looking at your two letters later on, Lord willing. The letter to Dr. H. needs to be re-sent as part is missing.

Sincerely,
Julio B. Scaramastro


 

 

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