In the opening verses of Colossians Chapter 2, Paul speaks of having “the full assurance of understanding” and that in Jesus Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and understanding.” And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words” (See Colossians 1:2-4). Well respected and highly educated theologians and various preachers can be quite convincing in the arguments they present to show, even “prove,” that the sabbath day was either totally abolished or at least changed to the first day of the week. They even use the “enticing words” of Colossians 2 assuring their hearers that this was definitely the practice of the early church – even the Christians spoken of in the Book of Acts. They cite the 20th chapter of Acts as their primary proof text as well as statements made by the apostle Paul in his letters to the Romans (chapter 14), the Corinthians (chapter 16, I Corinthians), and the Colossians (chapter 2).
But dwell a bit further on the careful foundation Paul lays down in Colossians Chapter 2, when he directs these believers’ attention to how it is in Jesus Christ “are HID all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (verse 3). He then goes on to speak of how believers are “rooted and built up in Him,” telling the Colossians that they are “complete in Him” (see verses 7 and 10). He warns these believers “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, AFTER THE TRADITION OF MEN, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (verse 8). The sabbath was never a mere tradition of men, nor was it a rudiment of this present evil world. Those who walk in error cannot cite one thing Jesus Christ said to support them in their spurning of God’s eternal, holy sabbath and adopting Sunday as their “new” sabbath! Therefore, many of them erroneously argue that during His earthly ministry Jesus Christ said nothing to New Covenant believers but all He said was addressed solely to the Old Covenant Jew and no one else! They simply ignore the last three verses of Matthew’s gospel account: “And Jesus came and spake unto them (the eleven disciples), saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS (Romans, Greeks, Europeans, Orientals, Asians, Americans, etc.), baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Spirit), TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU, and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Most Sunday observers probably mean well and really do think Paul authorizes abandoning the sabbath for Sunday observance, but they fall prey to what Peter warned about Paul’s writings, when he said, “Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you, as also in ALL his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned (in the scriptures) and (spiritually) unstable wrest (twist, distort, misinterpret), as they do also the other scriptures (not just Paul’s epistles), to their own (spiritual) destruction” (See 2 Peter 3:15-16). One learned in the Hebrew scriptures, to which Paul refers, knows that God’s sacred sabbath day would never be changed and would, indeed, be kept and honored in the new heavens and new earth yet to come. (See Isaiah 66:23).
Well, since all the treasures and wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus Christ, and since we are to be rooted and built up in Him, and since we are complete in Him, let’s see what Jesus had to say about the sabbath, whether He gave any indication that it was to be changed in any way at any time. I know of no better place to start than our Lord’s ” Sermon on the Mount.” Beginning with verse 17 of Matthew 5, Jesus says, “Think NOT that I am come to destroy the law (the Books of Moses), or the prophets (the remaining Hebrew scriptures). I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily (truly) I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass , one jot or one tittle (or, not one iota) shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.. Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven (even if he does make it into the kingdom of heaven he will be counted among the least with citizenship therein), but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (verses 17 through 19, Matthew 5). And to make certain there was no doubt as to which commandments Jesus was referring, He cites two of those commandments word-for-word: “Thou shalt not kill” (verse 21) and “thou shalt not commit adultery” (verse 27). Folks, our Lord is talking about the Ten Commandments, and He clearly said that heaven and earth would have to pass away before there could be the slightest change in any of these commandments! That, of course, would include the fourth commandment, “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy!” In fact, it is the only commandment that begins with the injunction REMEMBER. Yet it is the only one of the Ten Commandments multitudes say we can forget!!! Satan is without peer in his ability to deceive even the most intelligent and religious members of the human family. Only uninterrupted, total submission to Jesus Christ can keep one from being deceived by Satan.
In the 14th verse of Colossians 2, Paul writes of how the cross succeeded in “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.” Paul would never have used such language in speaking of the Ten Commandments, especially the fourth commandment to “remember the sabbath day to keep it holy,” for he knew quite well that the sabbath keeper was blessed by God. (See Isaiah 56:2). Through Isaiah, God said that one who kept the sabbath was pleasing to Him. (See Isaiah 56:4). God told His people to “call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable.” (See Isaiah 58:13). God’s holy sabbath was never against us or contrary to us. how absurd to even think so.
It is the 16th and 17th verses of Colossians 2 that have proven to be the stumbling block for so many. Those verses read “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.” Notice that the little word “is”is in italics in the King James Version of the Bible. Such italicized words were meant to indicate that the translators added the italicized word in an effort to make the meaning clearer in some passages. Generally they did make the meaning clearer, but in Colossians 2:17 Paul’s meaning is obscured by adding the word “is” in that verse. Paul actually wrote “Let no man 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 of Christ (the church)” was to judge such matters.
Judaizers were insisting that these Gentile converts were obligated to offer meat and drink offerings to God on the annual holy days and new moon festivals observed by ancient Israel. Paul said, “Not so! Let the elders in the church arbitrate and decide such issues.” Nothing whatsoever is said about God’s eternal holy sabbath day being set aside, changed or abolished. God help you to understand is my prayer.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley
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