Interesting info about observence of the Sabbath(Shabbat).

I was doing for me what I consider light reading, when I came upon this article.

The New Testament never commands or even recommends that Gentile believers observe the Sabbath after the Jewish fashion. In Acts 15 we read how the issue of what should be expected of Gentile believers was resolved. Some of the Jewish believers thought Gentile believers should become full converts to Judaism, but the final determination in Acts 15:28 boils down to basic morality. Absent are all special covenant signs such as special days, circumcision and dietary laws. The apostle Paul specifically tells us not to make an issue of Sabbaths and special days. (Colossians 2:16, Galatians 4:10, 11) The Christian custom of gathering together on the first day of the week is based on the fact that the Lord was raised from the dead on that day. This is a tradition however, and not a commandment. It should not be construed as the Christian Sabbath. There is no Christian Sabbath except in the sense that every day is now a Sabbath rest based on the fact the work of Christ for salvation is already done. In the light of the Scriptures cited above, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday would be out of keeping with the Torah of Grace. Neither is it appropriate to discourage Sunday worship (or worship on any other day, for that matter).

Originally, Sabbath worship was not a matter of going anyplace or doing anything other than setting the day aside by refraining from work to enjoy God. The synagogue was established relatively late in Biblical history, so that Jews could pray together and hear the Torah and the prophets read. The Bible itself contains no specific commandments or directions regarding this. It arose to fill a need, not to fill a commandment. By New Testament times, synagogues were common, and Jewish believers naturally carried this very useful institution with them as they discipled non-Jews to live for the Messiah.


David Brown
AMF International
http://www.amfi.org