Strengthen your faith in God's word

EXO 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

ROM 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

In order for these verses to constitute a contradiction, both writers would have to be talking to the same person(s) under identical circumstances; however, this is not the case.

Have you ever noticed that all of the other 9 commandments are moral laws, but the 4th commandment is ceremonial in nature and is later defined as a "sign" between God and Israel:

"And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God." - Ezekiel 20:20

We read in Colossians 2:14, 16, 17 - "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross...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"

There is the solution. The Jews in the Old Testament had to obey every ordinance that came their way. In fact, a man was stoned to death in Numbers 15 simply for picking up sticks on the sabbath day!

Fortunately for us, Jesus Christ blotted out these ordinaces when he died on the cross. Notice how Paul says that it is the "weaker" brother eateth herbs in Rom. 14:2, and how Peter was told to "kill and eat" the unclean animals in his vision in Acts chapter 10. Well, the sabbath is another one of the ordinances that were blotted out according to Colossians 2.

You are probably saying at this point, "You mean that we don't have to keep the 10 commandments any more! That's heresy!" I didn't say that, I simply told you that 1 of the 10 commandments is ceremonial in nature and as such it was blotted out at calvary. But don't take my word for it, listen to what Paul has to say about the 10 commandments after the resurrection:

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
- Rom 13:8-9

Notice what Romans 14:5 does not say. It does not say forget the sabbath day and don't keep it holy. It simply says that "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

In Matthew 5:27, 28 it says "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

I believe that the same principal applies. If a man is not persuaded in his own mind about the Sabbath he can never keep it as God intends as the keeping of the Sabbath is an act of love toward God. You can not force love.

One thing to note is that there are 2 different things spoken about when the term Sabbath is used. There is the weekly Sabbath instituted at creation. (Genesis 2:2,3) and then there are the yearly feasts which were also referred to as Sabbaths. The Passover is one example of the yearly or annual Sabbaths.

The weekly Sabbath was instituted at creation before there were any Jews. Jesus said in Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." He does not say the Sabbath was created for the Jews.

The weekly Sabbath is an eternal institution which will even be kept in heaven. Isaiah says in chapter 66 verses 22 & 23 "As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD.

Notice it says all mankind. In other words if you are in the earth made new then you will be keeping the weekly Sabbath.

The 4th commandment was never done away with, per se. However, the Jewish understanding was incomplete ("through a glass darkly"). The original sabbath was a picture and a type of Christ. It pointed forward toward a time when born again children of God would cease from their own works and rest (trust) in thier Saviour, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we do indeed honor the sabbath- and certainly keep it holy- because Jesus Christ IS the sabbath!!