Sabbath Debate: Review Part V

SABBATHS POST-CHRIST

(This is posted to show the Catholic view of the Sabbath by EWTN's foremost apologist, Jimmy Akin.)

In this review I am going to focus on the arguments Pastor Batchelor presented for Christians being obligated to keep Sabbath from the time of the Apostles till today. The last post review will deal with Sabbaths and the future.

One thing I want to begin with is that many people have gotten the impression that I dislike Pastor Batchelor. On the contrary, I really appreciate him. I was a big fan when I was a Seventh-day Adventist. My post isn't personal. Pastor Batchelor is simply defending the orthodox SDA position and since he is an orthodox SDA pastor I would expect that of him. There is no emotions in my commentary at all. I hope you will take that into consideration as you read the rest of the post.

SABBATH IN LANGUAGES

Pastor Batchelor pointed out that in 105 languages, the seventh day of the week is called Sabbath. He supposes that this should awaken Christians to the fact that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath and not the first. What Doug Batchelor should know is that in most of those languages the first day of the week is named, "the Lord's Day." So while these nations understood that Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, they also accepted that the first day of the week was a day of Christians commemorating Christ's resurrection.

Mr. Batchelor does not understand the vast majority of Christians do not see the first day of the week as the sabbath. The ubiquitous idea of Sunday being a Christian Sabbath was made popular by the Calvinist Puritans who came to the shore of the New World in the 17th century. This is not a Catholic or Orthodox position. The reason why we have a weekend today is because the Eastern half of the early church in the often rested on the Sabbath (seventh day) and celebrated the Lord's Day, first day of the week. This posed no problem for the church for St. Paul told Christians that it was a matter of conscience as to whether they keep a day holy or not.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Romans 14: 5 

SABBATH BEFORE SIN

Adventists teach that the Sabbath day mandatory rest was instituted before sin and Pastor Batchelor brought up this point. While we at this blog have written numerous times proving this is simply not the case, I would like to bring up one point. The Sabbath Commandment says:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

Sabbath means ceasing labor. The Sabbath commandment is all about physically resting from six days of work. If a rest from labor was required each seventh day at creation before sin what was man needing to rest from? Adam's punishment for sin was to labor! Before sin, man did not need to labor and would not need a rest from labor. So Pastor Batchelor is in error. Ceasing from labor could only happen only after labor was instituted. Therefore Adam and Eve would not need a weekly Sabbath until after sin.

BETTER-PROMISE SABBATH

Please go to minutes 28: Pastor Batchelor claims the Ten Commandments are the law of both the Old and New Covenant. He said that the issue with the New Covenant is that it is made on better promises and it is written on a different substance. "The Old Covenant is written on stone; the New Covenant is written on the heart. They're both the law of God. The fault with the Old Covenant—God said finding fault with them—in Hebrews chapter eight—the them is Israel." So the difference for the believer is all about sincerity—not an actual change of laws. And he also said that God is basing this New Covenant on "better promises." "It's a promise of God." 

What? Is the pastor saying that the Old Covenant was not based God's promise? I think the pastor could be buried in scriptural texts where God talks about His promises to Israel in the Old Covenant. However the greater point the pastor was trying to make is that the problem was with Israel not the Old Covenant. However, scripture disagrees with Pastor Batchelor. Look at Jeremiah. 31: 31-33 which states that the New Covenant is NOT LIKE the on given at Mt. Sinai. Also St. Paul explicitly tells us that, yes, Israel was unfaithful but  the Old Covenant with the Ten Commandments itself was faulty:

But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one. God finds fault with them when he says: "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt…In speaking of "a new covenant," He has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear. Hebrews 8:6-13

The Old Covenant with the Sabbath regulations was replaced by a better covenant and the Old Covenant (Ten Commandments) is obsolete.

Steve Gregg pointed out that in the early church (as it is for most Christians today) did not keep one day. In fact they worshipped daily. He showed the viewers Romans 14: 5, "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind." He pointed out that Doug Batchelor was wrong, that St. Paul was indeed speaking about the weekly Sabbaths here. All days would mean all days—each day of the week—was alike. If all days had equal holiness that would be the very antithesis of a requirement to keep Sabbaths.

JUST-IN-CASE SABBATH

(Minute: 104) Pastor Batchelor must have realized the scantiness of the scriptural evidence for his position so he defaulted to the argument of: what if you stand in front of God and He did want you to keep the Sabbath—so you better keep it just-in-case you are wrong in your assumptions that Christians don't have to keep the seventh day holy. "Where is the danger in keeping the sabbath day, where is the harm?" He asked.

There is danger in adding requirements to God's law.  The early church condemned Judaizing! St. Paul would condemn this just-in-case fallacy.

So don't let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don't let anyone judge you about holy days. I'm talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days. Colossians 2: 16

[N]ow that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. Galatians 4: 9-10

St. Paul would have a few harsh words for Pastor Batchelor I am afraid. The last part of this review will be published soon.