An Open Letter to Christian Pastors and Theologians: A Call to Return to the Biblical Sabbath

28May

An Open Letter to Christian Pastors and Theologians: A Call to Return to the Biblical Sabbath

by Douglas Bible Interpretation, Sabbath, Torah

An Open Letter to Christian Pastors and Theologians

A Call to Return to the Biblical Sabbath

By Dr. Douglas Hamp M.A., Ph.D.

www.Thewaycongregation.com

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

May 28, 2018

As teachers of God’s Word, our job is to teach the text; we’re not to add or take away. (Dt 4:2) Why, then, have we abandoned the seventh-day-Sabbath? How do most pastors hold it in contempt and no longer remember or observe it? Moreover, how can some say observing it is putting oneself back under the Jewish laws and one risks going to Hell when God created it as a blessing to humanity? Where did God change it? God the Father never said it would change. Nor did our Lord Jesus, nor did Paul or the other apostles. It’s time we get back to the Sabbath; a gift from God to humanity.

The Bible never changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day; the Catholic Church openly admits they changed it. “The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!” —Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50.

We can no longer claim we don’t need to keep it because it is not reiterated in the NT when in fact it was kept by Jesus, Paul, and the apostles. Bestiality isn’t reiterated in the NT, but we teach our congregations it’s wrong; why is the Sabbath different? Why should Jesus need to restate it when He never rescinded it?

Paul’s Acts 20:7 message took place in the evening of the first day of the week, which was Saturday evening from sundown until midnight (biblical days begin after sunset not at the Roman-established midnight). Nevertheless, even if his teaching had taken place Sunday evening, that would still not constitute a change in the Sabbath. Setting aside an offering on the first day (cf. I Cor 16:2) likewise would not constitute a change. The first day of the week, not Sabbath, was when they would handle money. John being in the Spirit on the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) is not a change in the Sabbath; God declares His day is the Sabbath. “Call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable.” (Isa 58:13) There simply is no New Testament directive to abandon the Sabbath. None.

Let’s go back to the beginning for perspective: God the Son (Jn 1:1-3) created the seventh day and rested [וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ vayishbot, shabbat] from his work. Adam and Eve were there to witness God blessing and resting (lit. “shabbating”) on the seventh day which He modeled for them to continue practicing.

Nehemiah reminds us it was God himself who “came down also on Mount Sinai, spoke with them from heaven…You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant.” (Neh 9:14) The law of Moses is God’s law which is the law of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus himself kept the seventh-day Sabbath and never rescinded it; rather He reminded those who had made it a burden, that it was a day He created for man to rest and enjoy. He said we ought to keep his commandments as he kept the Father’s: “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (Jn 15:10)

The apostle Paul repeatedly stated that we don’t “make void the law through faith…on the contrary, we establish the law. (Rom 3:31) He said “the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. (Rom 7:12) Paul echoed King Solomon’s words: “keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” (I Cor 7:19) We must ask ourselves why most pastors no longer keep something that God the Son blessed, created for us, commanded us to keep and never rescinded.

Therefore, let’s boldly tell our congregations the joy of the Sabbath, God’s gift to mankind: “Call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable…then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth… the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isa 58:13-14)

Click to download: Open Letter to Pastors about Sabbath by Douglas Hamp

10 comments

Pastor Don Long June 14, 2018 at 4:58 pm

When large volumes have been written about the Sabbath, it is doubtful that Doug’s very short challenge to the church can bring forth more than cursory responses ( mine included). My first cut at this subject is to ask myself: “What did Jesus do? And what do I think he would do today?” It seems obvious to me that the gospels show us a Jesus who observed the 7th day Sabbath. It was “how” he observed it that brought him into conflict with the religious leaders, not whether or not we should observe it. He told us that he only did what he saw the Father do – so it is apparent he thought the 7th day Sabbath was important to the Father. I keep looking in the gospels for a place where Jesus told us to stop observing it? The 40 days after the resurrection would have been a great opportunity for him to teach the church that now, post resurrection, things are changed. Changing the day God said we are to observe would hardly be an inconsequential change! Then we find Paul observing not only the Sabbath but the festivals as well. I don’t want to go down that road however, for Paul is not my Lord – Jesus is! The Scriptures indicate that throughout the millennium those who worship God will do so from Sabbath to Sabbath. Somehow I find it difficult to perceive of Jesus in that time setting aside Sunday as the day of worship.
Final thought – I am not convinced the issue is about when to worship – one can worship on any and all days. It is, however, a question “What are you going to do with God’s Sabbath?”

Douglas July 1, 2018 at 9:01 pm

Amen, Don!

David Richardson June 12, 2018 at 8:13 am

Over the past few hours, on Facebook, I have heard remarkable assertions from Douglas Hemp and those who agree with him. For example, I pointed out that the Sabbath Day was established for Israel under the Old Covenant. The Torah clearly sets forth regulations for Israel’s proper observance of the Sabbath. This begins in Exodus. In Genesis, no such regulations existed for observing this holy day. The story of Abraham records no such requirements; nor does Genesis record such requirements for his sons, Israel’s patriarchs.

Though Genesis records the day of rest that God blesses, Exodus establishes something new for Israel–a distinctive. But Hemp seems to think that God’s Genesis rest and the Exodus Sabbath are identical. He offers no textual support for this belief. There is none. To claim that the day of rest in Genesis and the Sabbath established in Exodus are the same is logically indefensible. Though both refer to the point at which God ended Creation, God required Israel to observe the Sabbath in a way that he did not require of any gentile nation or even of Israel’s patriarchs.

The requirements in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are quite specific. Nothing like them can be found in Genesis. Nonetheless, Hemp believes that the Genesis day of rest and the Exodus Sabbath are equivalent, which essentially makes the illogical claim that a relationship entails an identity. Hemp is simply mistaken. He ignores the biblical text in order to establish the doctrine of his Open Letter.

But let us take Hemp seriously. He claims that the Church has abandoned the Sabbath. This violates, he claims, God’s express command. As Hemp is fond of saying, God does not change his mind. He keeps repeating this phrase with an aura of invincible authority, as if he has perceived the mind of God and now serves as a prophet to show the Church its errors. In essence, he has made an argument that claims divine authority. His view, consequently, should dramatically transform the way the Church offers its worship to God. So Hemp is not making a suggestion. He is using Scripture illicitly to force an authoritarian view that violates Christian liberty. He is calling the Church back to the Law.

I won’t explore the difference between the Old Creation (Saturday and God’s rest) and the New Creation (Sunday Morning and Christ’s Resurrection). Others have done that for Hemp to read. Nor will I invoke passages such as Colossians 2:16, which offer Christians liberty in how they regard holy days. But I will make this challenge. If Hemp believes that we should observe the Sabbath, then what does he really mean? He claims the Sabbath was never rescinded. But what about the requirements for its proper observance, which can be found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Where has Scripture rescinded these divine ordinances, which define the Sabbath’s proper observance? If Scripture has not abolished them, then observing the Sabbath requires observing the ordinances. One cannot claim the Sabbath as holy but then ignore how God commands people to keep it.

Does Hemp advocate the ordinances, and does his Sabbath observance follow them? On the other hand, if Hemp is merely saying that we should change the day of worship to Saturday (actually Friday evening to Saturday evening), then what is he really recommending. For that would certainly not be Sabbath observance as Scripture defines it. Instead, it is an equivocation that the Scriptures falsify. So what is he really talking about?

The Scriptures clearly define what it means to keep the Sabbath. What are the divine ordinances governing the proper observance of this holy day–ordinances that Hemp should be following in his Sabbath observance. Let’s look at some:

Exodus
1. …bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
2. …abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
3. …whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
4. …children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. (Israel’s covenant distinctive, not required of any gentile nation)
6. …on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
7. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day. (Don’t touch that thermostat.)

Leviticus
8. …It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
9. …the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
10. …he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Without a reinterpretation, that might prove difficult for the average church, but this is an ordinance governing Sabbath observance).

Numbers:
11. And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. (This is a serious matter. Does Hemp follow this rule?)

Deuteronomy
12. Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. (The ordinances define how God wants the Sabbath observed. Where have these ordinances been rescinded?)
13. …the LORD thy God brought thee out (from Egypt) thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day. (Again, a distinctive of Israel)

I would wager that Hemp is not too keen on including the death penalty for gathering sticks in his church’s by-laws. But that is what the Torah commands if one is to properly observe the Sabbath. It is incumbent upon Hemp to explain how these Old Testament commands do not apply to a modern observance of the Sabbath. If he believes, however, that they do, then he should make that clear and square it with the idea of Christian liberty.

The New Testament calls the Sabbath a shadow of things to come. But it also offers liberty. If one should wish to worship on the Sabbath, the Scriptures do not prohibit it. So Christian brothers and sisters may gather on that day. But worshipping on a Saturday is simply not Sabbath observance. To do the latter requires observing restrictions that the Scriptures stipulate as necessary to honor that holy day. If God still requires the Sabbath, then he also must require obedience to the ordinances. This should not be a difficult idea to follow. It should also not be difficult to see that making such a demand violates Christian liberty. Consequently, advocates for the Sabbath who recommend church-wide acceptance of their views employ the Bible illicitly to support an authoritarian agenda. It is simply the re-emergence of legalism—just another expression of the flesh that seeks its gratification through an outward expression.

The Church must reject Hemp’s views.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:3

Steven Garren June 12, 2018 at 2:38 pm

Thank you David for such an excellent reply. Doug has many good views but this is not one of them. Why is it that many Christians feel the need to contribute to their righteousness when Christ has “done it all.”? Christians that want to return to the Mosaic laws only pick and choose what they want to obey while ignoring all the others. Israel and the Church are two distinct entities. Let’s keep it that way. The Sabbath was for the old creation. Jesus came to give us a new creation and with his resurrection on the first day of the week the early church worshipped primarily on that day.

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Now did the Catholic Church really originate Sunday worship or was it just another one of their lies? Show me the evidence, not some hearsay. See this website regarding the topic. http://www.truthorfables.com/Pope_Did_Not_Change_Sabbath_Sunday.htm

Douglas July 1, 2018 at 9:04 pm

If the Sabbath was for the old creation, then why will be keep it forever in the age to come?

Douglas July 2, 2018 at 6:47 am

Hi Steven,

Where did God change the Sabbath? The Chatholics fully admit they changed the observance from Sabbath to Sunday because they believe they have the authority to do that. Check out the Catholic Mirror 1893 – where they urge Protestants to go back to the biblical Sabbath – they make a great argument that “Sabbath Rest” in Hebrews is not a generalized statement but is specifically stating we are to rest on the seventh day.

Here is part of it.
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (King James Version)…Because of this erroneous translation, and Protestant hostility against the seventh-day weekly Sabbath—the Fourth Commandment—in preference to Sunday, this verse is almost universally misinterpreted and misunderstood. In fact, the true meaning of Hebrews 4:9 is the very opposite of the false interpretation assumed…Today, mainstream “Christianity” teaches that Christians are no longer required to observe the seventh-day Sabbath, because they deliberately misconstrue this verse to mean, “Christ has given them ‘rest’ (or, as some say, a ‘release’) from commandment-keeping.” This false claim feeds the premise that Jesus has “fulfilled the Law” for them. As a result, people are told, the Christian has entered into a “spiritual rest” from sin, and that Jesus Himself is their “spiritual Sabbath.”

Getting together on a day doesn’t invalidate the Sabbath created and mandated by Almighty God – what makes you think it would change it?

Zach M June 12, 2018 at 7:10 pm

Very well laid out David and I agree with you. Doug is an excellent teacher and I love listening to many of his videos. He has a lot of good points on many subjects but I cannot subscribe to the view that the Sabbath is to be kept in what the Old Covenant demands it to be.

I’ve always been under the understanding that the Sabbath is kept through Christ as he is our rest and it’s His yoke that is light. The same goes with all of the 10 Commandments; these are all kept by faith in Christ. The 10 Commandments are a ‘surface level’ form of righteousness that is a rough outline of what Christ came to accomplish. Jesus commands us to love God and neighbor; all the law hinges on this. So it seems that the law kept through Christ is a truer and fuller keeping of all the commands of God because they are now all kept in love and through Christ. They were meant to point us to Christ, only He kept them perfectly. Love is the glue and is also the deeper meaning that helps us to keep the commandments even in their surface level (shadow) form.

I think sometimes that their is a knee jerk reaction to extremes such as hyper grace and then on the other spectrum there is Torah observant believers. The fact is there is a middle ground that is much more difficult to understand sometimes because it seems so easy to obtain.

Douglas July 1, 2018 at 9:03 pm

Zach, Have you considered that simply keeping God’s commandments is the middle ground you are looking for? I find them very simple and full of love for God and my neighbor. Jesus said to keep them…let’s keep them.

Douglas July 2, 2018 at 7:01 am

David,

Thanks for writing. My name is Hamp, not hemp.

Who was watching when God created the Sabbath Day and blessed it? Adam and Eve. In Genesis 2:3 – the Hebrew text says God [וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙] literally – he sabbathed – it says that twice. Hence, the Sabbath and the seventh day are one and the same. This mandate never changed. It was not something new at Sinai. Of course, your suggestion that Sabbath was only for the Jews is very Marcionite since it pits the God of the OT against the God of the NT. Your view biforcates the Bible in ways it should not be divided. You also fail to follow the example of the Lord Jesus. Your view is without merit and without support from the Bible. You post some examples to show how awful it was to keep Sabbath – yet Jesus, our Lord kept it. He challenged some of the WAYS the Pharisees were keeping it…but never challenged whether we ought to keep it. Paul kept it, Peter kept it. Myriads of first century, Jesus-believers kept it. Only if you follow Marcion can you make a case against the Sabbath, which is what you are doing. To suggest that Paul had any authority to deny, reject, rescind, or reverse the Sabbath is blatant heresy on your part. Paul never suggested any such thing – he kept and taught Torah. The Col 2 – is telling the new, formerly pagan believers, that now that they were keeping Sabbath and eating clean, they should not let their pagan neighbors judge them for doing so.

The Old Covenant was a marriage contract. It was changed and replaced because of the adultery which Israel committed. However, the Torah remains the same in both covenants – just read Jerermiah 31:31-35. Read Heb 8:8-12. Your Marcionite theology has clouded your vision so that you feel justified in twisting the writings of Paul to substantiate your claim that the Law isn’t for us…which is nonsense. Let me know if you would like to come on my show and debate this – we will keep it brotherly and I will get a moderator.

David Richardson June 11, 2018 at 6:15 am

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:

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Col 2:16-17

Doubtless, you know this verse. I would suspect that you have a maneuver to show that it does not apply to the observance of the Old Covenant Sabbath. The Sabbath will again be observed in the Kingdom to come. That is why Paul calls it and the other observances shadows of things to come.

Of course, the verse also allows you to observe the Old Covenant Sabbath. If you do, I should think you are also observing the commands that go with that observance. Are you cooking meals the day before? Are you limiting your travel? Do you keep your hands off the thermostat in order to avoid kindling a fire on the Sabbath? And you are waving your sheaf on that day? Are you avoiding work? The penalty for disobeying that command, incidentally, is death. Should a church agree with you on Sabbath observance, do recommend that they include that penalty in the church’s statement of faith?

Again, Paul in the verse above gives liberty for you to obey the Old Covenant Sabbath. Consequently, I would say, “Good for you and be at peace.” But your letter implies that the Church stands in disobedience to God in this matter. The freedom of which Paul speaks you would deny to fellow Christians. I am sure you stand ready to defend your efforts to bring the Church under such bondage. So why stop at the obligation to observe the Sabbath? Why not embrace the Galation’s view of the Gospel and imitate the Jewish community’s obedience to the Law? Lots of dietary restrictions there. When will you publish that open letter? I can hardly wait.

An Open Letter to Christian Pastors and Theologians: A Call to Return to the Biblical Sabbath

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10 comments

Pastor Don Long June 14, 2018 at 4:58 pm

Douglas July 1, 2018 at 9:01 pm

David Richardson June 12, 2018 at 8:13 am

Steven Garren June 12, 2018 at 2:38 pm

Douglas July 1, 2018 at 9:04 pm

Douglas July 2, 2018 at 6:47 am

Zach M June 12, 2018 at 7:10 pm

Douglas July 1, 2018 at 9:03 pm

Douglas July 2, 2018 at 7:01 am

David Richardson June 11, 2018 at 6:15 am