SDA Belief #20: The Sabbath
"The gracious Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts." (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; 31:13-17; Lev. 23:32; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Eze. 20:12, 20; Matt. 12:1-12; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:16; Heb. 4:1-11.)
Part 1: A New Covenant Critique of SDA Belief #20: The Sabbath (The Statement of Belief #20)
From the perspective of New Covenant Theology, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) position on the Sabbath relies on a hermeneutic that flattens the distinction between the Old (Mosaic) Covenant and the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ. While we respect the desire to honor God, we submit that this statement elevates a "shadow" of the Old Testament above the "substance" found in Christ.
Below is a point-by-point critique based on sound exegesis and the progressive revelation of Scripture.
1. Critique of the "Creation Ordinance"
SDA Statement: "The Sabbath is... a celebration of God’s creative... acts. (Gen. 2:1-3)"
The Argument: The SDA view asserts that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation for all mankind, long before the Jewish nation existed.
New Covenant Response:
From a hermeneutical standpoint, Genesis 2:1-3 records a historical fact: God rested. However, it contains no imperative (command) for Adam or Eve to keep the Sabbath.
Argument from Silence: There is no biblical record of any patriarch (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) keeping the Sabbath.
The First Command: The command to observe the Sabbath is first revealed in Exodus 16 (manna) and codified in Exodus 20. Nehemiah 9:13-14 states: "You came down also on Mount Sinai... and made known to them Your holy Sabbath."
Exegesis: The Hebrew implies that the Sabbath was a revealed law at Sinai, not a remembered practice from Eden. If it was "made known," then it suggests it was not known or binding before.
Conclusion: The Sabbath is not a universal creation ordinance binding on all humanity, but a specific covenant sign given later to Israel.
2. Critique of the "Perpetual Sign of the Eternal Covenant."
SDA Statement: "The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. (Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12, 20)"
The Argument: SDAs believe the Sabbath identifies God’s people in all ages.
New Covenant Response:
We must apply strict exegesis to Exodus 31:13-17.
The Text: "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever." The covenant partner is explicitly ethnic Israel, not the church or Gentiles.
The Meaning of "Forever" (Olam): The Hebrew word olam does not always mean "unending time." It often means "for the duration of the age." The Levitical priesthood and animal sacrifices were also called statutes "forever" (Exodus 40:15), yet Hebrews 7-10 confirms these were annulled by the priesthood of Christ.
The New Covenant Reality: Jeremiah 31:31-34 promises a New Covenant not like the one made at Sinai. The writer of Hebrews argues that "In that He says, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete" (Hebrews 8:13).
Conclusion: The "sign" of the Old Covenant (Sabbath) is not the sign of the New Covenant. The sign of the New Covenant believer is the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), not a day of the week.
3. Critique of "Symbol of Redemption and Sanctification."
SDA Statement: "It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification... a foretaste of our eternal future."
The Argument: The Sabbath is viewed as a means of sanctification and a token of allegiance.
New Covenant Response:
This is where the distinction between Shadow and Substance is vital.
Colossians 2:16-17: "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."
Exegesis: Paul groups the weekly Sabbath with other Jewish holy days. He calls them "shadows" (skia). A shadow has no substance of its own; it only points to the body casting it. Now that the "Body" (Christ) has arrived, focusing on the shadow is spiritually redundant.
Galatians 4:9-11: Paul fears for the Galatians because they are observing "days and months and seasons and years." Returning to these observances is equated to returning to slavery.
Conclusion: Our sanctification is not signaled by observing a day, but by faith in the finished work of Christ. To mandate the shadow is to obscure the sufficiency of the Savior.
4. Critique of "Evening to Evening" Observance
SDA Statement: "Joyful observance... from evening to evening, sunset to sunset..."
The Argument: The specifics of the timing are binding.
New Covenant Response:
This requirement enforces Jewish civil and ceremonial timing upon the universal Body of Christ.
Romans 14:5-6: "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind."
Context: Paul was addressing disputes between Jewish and Gentile believers. If the Sabbath were a moral absolute (like "Do not murder"), Paul could not have said, "Let each be fully convinced in his own mind." He effectively makes day-keeping a matter of Christian liberty, not moral obligation.
Galatians 5:1, 3: If we bind ourselves to one part of the Mosaic Law (like the Sabbath timing), we are debtors to keep the whole law. The New Covenant believer is released from the law as a regulatory code (Romans 7:4-6).
5. Critique of "Hebrews 4" Application
SDA Statement: "(Heb. 4:1-11)" is cited to support weekly observance.
The Argument: The Sabbath remains for the people of God.
New Covenant Response:
Hebrews 4 actually teaches the opposite of a weekly observance.
The Argument of Hebrews: The author argues that Joshua could not give Israel true rest in Canaan.
Verse 9-10: "There remains therefore a rest (sabbatismos) for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."
The Application: This is not a command to keep Saturday. It is a command to enter the Spiritual Rest of salvation, ceasing from our own works/efforts to earn righteousness, just as God rested from Creation. We do not rest one day a week; we live in a perpetual Sabbath rest in Jesus every day.
Summary Conclusion
The SDA Statement #20 is beautiful in its language, but hermeneutically flawed because it attempts to graft Old Covenant distinctives onto the New Covenant church.
From a New Covenant perspective: Christ is our Sabbath. He is the fulfillment of the type. The Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) is our standard, focusing on love and the Spirit, not the Mosaic code written on stone (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).
True Allegiance: Our "token of allegiance" is not a day, but our love for one another (John 13:35). We are not under the supervision of the schoolmaster (the Law), for faith has come (Galatians 3:24-25).
Part 2: A New Covenant Critique of SDA Belief #20: The Sabbath (Whole book commentary of Chapter 19)
We must approach this extensive document with a heart of humility. The SDA writers speak with deep love for the Creator and a desire to honor Him. However, as students of the Word, we must gently but firmly test these claims against the progression of the Covenants. From a New Covenant Theology perspective, the error lies in failing to recognize the major shift that occurred at the Cross, where the Old Covenant (and its sign, the Sabbath) was rendered obsolete to make way for the New.
Here is a respectful, point-by-point refutation.
1. Critique of "The Sabbath at Creation" (Gen 2:1-3)
SDA Argument: The text argues that God instituted the Sabbath for Adam and Eve in Eden. It claims God "rested," "blessed," and "sanctified" it for humanity before sin entered.
New Covenant Response:
This is a classic example of reading later revelation back into early history (anachronism).
Hermeneutical Principle (Prolepsis): Moses wrote Genesis after the Law was given at Sinai. In Genesis 2:1-3, Moses explains the theological reason for the Sabbath that Israel was now keeping.
The Argument from Silence: The text says God sanctified the day, but it contains no command for Adam to keep it. There is zero record of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob keeping the Sabbath.
Nehemiah 9:13-14: The Levites pray: "You came down also on Mount Sinai... and made known to them Your holy Sabbath."
Exegesis: The Hebrew verb for "made known" implies introducing something previously unknown. If the Patriarchs had kept it for 2,500 years, God would have said "You reminded them," not "made known."
Conclusion: The Sabbath was a "creation ordinance" only in the sense that it was grounded in the creation pattern, but it was not a "creation command" binding on mankind until Moses.
2. Critique of "The Sabbath at Sinai" (The Seal and The Law)
SDA Argument: The Sabbath is the "Seal of God" because it contains the Name, Title, and Territory of the Lawgiver. It is the "heart" of the unchangeable Moral Law.
New Covenant Response:
This creates a distinction between "Moral" and "Ceremonial" law that the Bible does not support.
The Unity of the Law: The Bible views the Mosaic Law (Torah) as a single unit. In 2 Corinthians 3:7-11, Paul refers to the law "written and engraved on stones" (The Ten Commandments). He calls this specific stone-law the "ministry of death." He says it was "passing away" (Greek: katargeo - to be rendered inoperative/abolished).
The Nature of a Seal: In the New Covenant, the Seal is not a day; it is a Person.
Ephesians 1:13-14: "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." To insist on the Sabbath as the seal is to replace the Spirit with a shadow.
3. Critique of "The Sabbath and The Covenant."
SDA Argument: The Sabbath is a "perpetual covenant" and an eternal sign (Ex 31:16-17).
New Covenant Response:
We must analyze the Hebrew word for "forever" or "perpetual."
Hebrew Exegesis (Olam): The word olam usually means "for the duration of the age" or "as long as the conditions last."
Exodus 40:15: The priesthood of Aaron is called an "everlasting (olam) priesthood."
Hebrews 7:11-12: The New Testament explicitly says the Aaronic priesthood has been changed and set aside for the Priesthood of Christ.
Logic: If the "everlasting" priesthood ended when the Old Covenant ended, the "everlasting" Sabbath sign also ended when the Old Covenant ended. The sign belongs to the specific covenant it signifies.
4. Critique of "The Sabbath and Christ."
SDA Argument: Jesus kept the Sabbath, is the "Lord of the Sabbath," and expected His disciples to keep it (citing Matt 24:20, "pray your flight be not... on the Sabbath").
New Covenant Response:
This ignores the historical context of Jesus' ministry.
Galatians 4:4: "God sent forth His Son... born under the law." Jesus was a Jewish man living under the Old Covenant terms. He was obligated to keep the Sabbath, Passover, and Temple rituals to fulfill all righteousness. His obedience does not bind the New Covenant Church.
Matthew 24:20 Exegesis: Jesus was warning Jewish disciples living in Jerusalem about the destruction of the city (A.D. 70). Why pray not to flee on the Sabbath? Not because it is a sin to flee, but because the city gates of Jerusalem were locked on the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:19), hindering escape. This was a practical warning, not a moral command.
5. Critique of "The Apostles and The Change of Day."
SDA Argument: The Apostles kept the Sabbath (Acts 13, 16, 17). There is no text authorizing a change to Sunday. The Catholic Church changed it.
New Covenant Response:
This is a misunderstanding of descriptive vs. prescriptive texts.
Missionary Strategy: Paul went to synagogues on the Sabbath because that is where the Jews were gathered and the Scriptures were being read. He went to evangelize, not to hold a Christian worship service.
The "Catholic Change" Myth: Historical data prove Christians worshipped on Sunday (The Lord's Day) centuries before the Catholic Church or Constantine had power.
Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 107): Writes that Christians are "no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day."
Justin Martyr (A.D. 150): "On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place."
These men wrote 200 years before Constantine's law (A.D. 321). The change was not a conspiracy; it was a recognition of the Resurrection.
6. Critique of "Colossians 2 and Galatians 4."
SDA Argument: When Paul speaks against "days" or "sabbaths" (Col 2:16), he only means the "Ceremonial/Annual Sabbaths," not the weekly Sabbath.
New Covenant Response:
The Greek text and context do not support this separation.
Colossians 2:16: "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths."
The Sequence: Paul uses a common Jewish formula: Yearly (Festivals) -> Monthly (New Moons) -> Weekly (Sabbaths).
The Grammar: The Greek word sabbaton (plural) is used consistently in the Septuagint and New Testament for the weekly Sabbath.
The Conclusion: Paul explicitly groups the weekly Sabbath with the "shadows." He says, "Let no one judge you" regarding these. If the SDA argument is true, Paul should have said, "Let no one judge you regarding festivals, but be sure to keep the weekly Sabbath." He did not.
7. Critique of "Righteousness by Faith."
SDA Argument: Keeping the Sabbath is a sign of "Righteousness by Faith" because we rest from our own works.
New Covenant Response:
This is a beautiful sentiment, but functionally, it turns the Sabbath into work.
Hebrews 4 (The True Rest): The author argues that the weekly Sabbath was insufficient (Heb 4:8).
Verse 10: "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."
NCT Application: We do not rest by observing a day. We rest by ceasing from the "work" of trying to earn salvation. The Sabbath was a shadow of the spiritual rest we have in Jesus 24/7. To go back to the shadow is to suggest the substance (Christ) is not enough.
Summary Conclusion
- The SDA exposition is thorough but built on the foundation of Covenant Continuity, the idea that the Old Covenant Law continues into the New.
- The Bible teaches Discontinuity: The Old Covenant (including the Ten Commandments/Tablets of Stone) is obsolete (Heb 8:13).
- The New Standard: We obey the Law of Christ (Gal 6:2).
The Verdict: The Sabbath was the special sign between God and national Israel. The Church is the Body of Christ, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and we are not under the "tutor" of the Law (Gal 3:25). We are free to esteem all days alike (Rom 14:5).
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