In New Testament times, did the Gentiles have to keep the Sabbath?
11 November 2024 |
Dear Aunt Sevvy,
I believe in the Saturday Sabbath. But I also have many Christian friends who regularly attend church on Sunday.
Jesus, in his Jewish context, spoke often of the Sabbath, though sometimes he was critical of how the Jews regarded it. But where is the evidence in the rest of the New Testament that Gentile converts were urged by the apostles to worship on Sabbath?
Signed, Sabbath Lover
Dear Lover,
That’s a good question—and a hard one.
Aunty, too, loves the Sabbath, and regards it as one of the best things that God has given Adventists.
But was it a requirement in the apostolic church? That’s not entirely clear. The apostles were Jews, and we know they honored Jewish holy days, such as Pentecost and Passover. Many of the first Christians were Jews, too, and we know the apostles preached in synagogues on many Sabbaths.
But when Paul took the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles, did they have to adopt Jewish teachings? We know, as one example, that the Jerusalem council didn’t force circumcision upon the Gentiles. When Peter asked, “Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?” did he mean circumcision only, or other Jewish distinctive practices as well?
Some say it stands to reason that the Jewish evangelists would have taught Gentile Christians to keep the Sabbath. But then why did Acts and the epistles mention the Sabbath so seldom? Because it was taken for granted that people were observing it, or because it was thought merely a Jewish matter?
It would have been helpful had Paul and the other apostles made a strong, clear statement specifically about Sabbath-keeping. None did. We know what Peter told the Jerusalem council, though: “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as [the Gentiles] are.”
There are very good reasons to keep the Sabbath. But in light of the relative silence from the apostles, Aunty doesn’t think we should go around saying that those who don’t keep it as we do aren’t true Christians, as some Adventists have done.
Aunt Sevvy
Aunt Sevvy has collected her answers into a book! You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.
You can write to Aunt Sevvy at DearAuntSevvy@gmail.com. Your real identity will never be revealed.
