Dear 7th day adventists help me to answer this?

Greetings,

You are attempting the impossible because you are not arguing against JWs, but God’s Word!

Christ did not continue the 7th day Sabbath for Christians. When the question of which Mosaic laws were required for Christians, God’s Word stated only three: Idolatry, fornication and blood (Ac,15:28,29). The Apostolic decision was "Adding no further burden, except these necessary things," and the Sabbath was not mentioned.

There is no requirement for a weekly Sabbath in the NT. ALL the Mosaic Laws including those in the Decalog are either summed up in "Love God and Neighbor" (Rm.13:10) or Christ replaced them with a higher or more intensive requirement: Murder with hate, adultery with lust, love your neighbor with love your enemies (Mt.5:21ff).

Many have been led astray by Sabbatarians, but God’s Word repeatedly and clearly states that "the Law was done away with" (Rm 7:2,6; 10:4; 6:14; Eph 2:13-15).

In order to support their dogma, Sabbatarians must arbitrarily separate the so-called "ceremonial laws" from the "moral laws." But there is no such distinction in the Scriptures; so Sabbatarians must arbitrarily define words such as "law" and "commands" as it fits their theology. If it says we must obey "law" or "command" then it must mean the Decalogue, but if it says "law" is not binding it must only mean "ceremonial laws." This is theologically driven eisegesis and a dishonest method of interpretation.

The claim that Christians must keep the Sabbath depends upon it being given at creation. But the Bible explicitly states that the Sabbath was *not* given before the Exodus (De.5:3,15; Ps.147:19,20; Gal.3:19). And it was only given to natural Israel, no one else (Ex.31:13,16-17; Ezek.20:12).

Until the Exodus there is no hint that anyone kept the Sabbath. The creation account does not command humans to observe a weekly day of rest.

Col.2:16 shows that the Sabbath is no longer binding. This verse employs a technical formula used to designate ALL the Sabbaths: Yearly festivals, Monthly, and Weekly. The clear chronological pattern is an all inclusive enumeration which includes the WEEKLY Sabbath (2Chrn. 2:4; 31:3; Ezek. 45:17; Hos. 2:11, cf Gal.4:9-11). The Greek word "Sabbath" here is used 62 times in NT and every time it denotes the WEEKLY 7th DAY SABBATH! (except where it occurs with a numeral where it means "week").

These facts REQUIRE the conclusion that the whole system of Sabbaths, including the 7th, was brought to its end with the rest of the Law by the sacrifice of Christ.

God’s Word says that "Christ is the end of the Law" and Christians were "discharged from the law" just as a wife is "discharged" from a dead husband (Ro.10:4). It specifically mentions one of the Ten commandments--coveting--as part of that discontinued "law." So the Law has absolutely no authority (Ro 7:2,6).

The Bible directly states that the Ten Commandments "written on stones" came to an end! (2Cor. 3:6-11). The grammar of verse 11 shows that what was "done away with" was the Decalog, NOT *just* the "glory."

This is clear by the phrase "THAT WHICH is done away with was with glory." The pronoun identifies the subject as the "ministration of condemnation." It is the *subject* which "passed away" NOT the adjective "glory"!!!

The clear teaching is that the whole Mosaic Law covenant, including the Decalogue, was done away with. It does not say "only the ceremonial part was done away with."

Sabbatarians also distort Scriptures when they claim that the 7th day Sabbath is binding "forever" (Ex.31:17). What they deceptively hide is that the word translated "forever" (OLAM) here does not actually denote forever but only means for a "long period of time." In fact, if the Sabbatarians’ interpretation were correct then we would also have to believe that the ceremonial laws are binding forever. Because this same word is also used of the Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, Day of Atonement, lit lamps, priests wearing linen underwear, &etc. (Ex 12:14,24; 12:17; 27:21; 28:43; 29:28; Lev 16:29,31).

It is clear that EVERY argument by those supporting a Sabbath requirement is based on a faulty interpretation and selective use of Scriptures.

Christians were not commanded to keep any certain day as "holy" (Rm.14:5-9; Heb.4:3,9,10; 2Cor.3:7,11; Rm.7:4-8). They were to keep every day as "holy to Jehovah." The Christian Sabbath is a spiritual one which is an entering "by faith" into God's 7th creative "day"of rest which has continued for millennia (Heb.4:3,9,10). We put Gods work first in our lives every day, not just one.

Yours,

BAR-ANERGES

It won't shut his mouth because as much as I disagree with the doctrines taught by the watchtower bible and tract society, on the issue of the sabbath, they are correct.

However I can tell you the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) response.

They draw a distinction between the ceremonial law (most of the Old Testament) and the divine law (ten commandments). They use purely human arguments for example the divine law was written on tablets of stone (imperishable and by the finger of God) and this divine law is never repealed but the ceremonial law is only for the Jews and was repealed with the instigation of the New Testament as it was only a shadow of the things that were before.

They attempt to justify this with scriptures like

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do.

To justify that there is a divine law and a ceremonial law.

compare with

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

So long as you don't think too hard about this it has an air of reason to it, however like all false doctrines it quickly falls down under scrutiny.

Firstly neither Jesus nor the apostles ever draw a distinction between divine law and ceremonial law as pertains to Torah. The distinction between the decalogue and ceremonial law is artificial and read into James,there is no evidence that this was James' intent, a better interpretation would be that the perfect law is Christ's interpretation of the law in the sermon on the mount, this is further supported by the observation that the book of James contains many parallels with the sermon on the mount, parallels that take on even stronger meaning when we realize that the book was written by James the Just (half) brother of Jesus.

Lastly consider Paul's comments:

Col 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- 17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Seventh Day Adventists will say yes let no one judge you for observing the sabbath but then you'd have to interpret that Paul also wishes you to keep kosher diets and celebrate new moon festivals, which is against the natural reading of the passage, especially in the context that these things including the Sabbath are a mere shadow of what is to come but the substance (or reality) is in Christ.

Now you have the counter argument that you sought and ahead of time you already know the counter-counter arguement that you will receive when you try to shut this Jehovah's Witness' mouth. If you really want to shut this Jehovah's Witnesses mouth I suggest you engage him/her on another scriptural battleground because on this topic he/she is on very secure grounds and it is you and the other Seventh Day Adventists that are skating on thin ice.

Jehovah's Witnesses aren't supposed to say that any individual person is "wrong" about anything, but it IS correct that Christians are not required to keep a Sabbath day.

Are Christians under obligation to keep a weekly sabbath day?

Ex. 31:16, 17: “The sons of Israel must keep the sabbath, so as to carry out the sabbath during their generations. It is a covenant to time indefinite [“a perpetual covenant,” RS]. Between me and the sons of Israel it is a sign to time indefinite.” (Notice that sabbath observance was a sign between Jehovah and Israel; this would not be the case if everyone else were also obligated to keep the Sabbath. The Hebrew word rendered “perpetual” in RS is ‛oh·lam′, which basically means a period of time that, from the standpoint of the present, is indefinite or hidden from sight but of long duration. That can mean forever, but not necessarily so. At Numbers 25:13 the same Hebrew word is applied to the priesthood, which later ended, according to Hebrews 7:12.)

Rom. 10:4: “Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness.” (Sabbath keeping was a part of that Law. God used Christ to bring that Law to its end. Our having a righteous standing with God depends on faith in Christ, not on keeping a weekly sabbath.) (Also Galatians 4:9-11; Ephesians 2:13-16)

Col. 2:13-16: “[God] kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document against us, which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us . . . Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath.” (If a person was under the Mosaic Law and was judged guilty of profaning the Sabbath, he was to be stoned to death by the whole congregation, according to Exodus 31:14 and Numbers 15:32-35. Many who argue for sabbath keeping have reason to be glad that we are not under that Law. As shown in the scripture here quoted, an approved standing with God no longer requires observance of the sabbath requirement given to Israel.)

How did Sunday come to be the principal day of worship for much of Christendom?

Although Christ was resurrected on the first day of the week (now called Sunday), the Bible contains no instruction to set aside that day of the week as sacred.

“The retention of the old Pagan name of ‘Dies Solis,’ or ‘Sunday,’ for the weekly Christian festival, is, in great measure, owing to the union of Pagan and [so-called] Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine [in an edict in 321 C.E.] to his subjects, Pagan and Christian alike, as the ‘venerable day of the Sun.’ . . . It was his mode of harmonizing the discordant religions of the Empire under one common institution.”—Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church (New York, 1871), A. P. Stanley, p. 291.

Was the requirement of sabbath keeping given to Adam and thus made binding on all of his offspring?

Jehovah God proceeded to rest as to his works of material, earthly creation after preparing the earth for human habitation. This is stated at Genesis 2:1-3. But nothing in the Bible record says that God directed Adam to keep the seventh day of each week as a sabbath.

Deut. 5:15: “You must remember that you [Israel] became a slave in the land of Egypt and Jehovah your God proceeded to bring you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why Jehovah your God commanded you to carry on the sabbath day.” (Here Jehovah connects his giving of the sabbath law with Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, not with events in Eden.)

Ex. 16:1, 23-29: “The entire assembly of the sons of Israel finally came to the wilderness of Sin . . . on the fifteenth day of the second month after their coming out of the land of Egypt. . . . [Moses] said to them: ‘It is what Jehovah has spoken. Tomorrow there will be a sabbath observance of a holy sabbath to Jehovah. . . . Six days you will pick [the manna] up, but on the seventh day is a sabbath. On it none will form.’ . . . Jehovah said to Moses: . . . ‘Mark the fact that Jehovah has given you the sabbath.’” (Prior to this, there had been a marking off of weeks of seven days each, but this is the first reference to a sabbath observance.)