SABBATH KEEPER? - Don't Kid Yourself!

Introduction

• Is Saturday the Christian Sabbath day?

• Will the "mark of the beast" apply to those who do not recognize the Saturday Sabbath?

• Is Sabbath keeping a sign that one is a true Christian?

If you are a Seventh Day Adventist you have probably been told that the answer to the above questions is yes.  But then why does the Bible say:

Colossians 2:16-17 "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: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

What are Sabbath days a shadow of?  We will see below.  But first of all, we had better be sure we have a correct understanding of God's plan of salvation before we worry about which day of the week is the Christian Sabbath day.

What is necessary for salvation?

Galatians 5:3 - "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law."

James 2:10 - "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

The above to scriptures point out that perfect obedience ALL THE TIME is what is required for salvation. Only Christ fulfilled those requirements and it is His righteousness, imputed to (credited to) a lost sinner, that justifies (makes righteous) any of God's elect.

The issue facing lost, sinful, rebellious, spiritually dead man, is not "does he keep this command or that?", because he is an enemy of God:

Romans 5:10 - "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

Enemies of God cannot and do not wish to keep any commandment perfectly (even if they think they do), but that is exactly what GOD REQUIRES - SINLESS PERFECTION! Hence the need for a perfect, sinless Savior, a scapegoat, to stand in the place of the sinner and to take the wrath of God that the sinner deserves so that the sinner's sins are completely atoned for, and so that God can justly grant a complete pardon to that rebellious hell-deserving sinner.  

YOU are an enemy of God if your are not saved.  YOU are not saved if you think something you DO can contribute towards your salvation.  Not even YOUR faith can save you. Christ's faith is what saves a person, as we see in the King James Bible (but most modern translations mistranslate these verses):

Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Philippians 3:9 "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith"

If you have true faith IN Christ (the real Christ, not the SDA Christ, JW Christ, Mormon Christ or the Catholic Christ), it is because He has already saved you and given you the gift of faith mentioned in Ephesians 2:8.

Salvation is something that Christ ALONE can contribute towards.  

It is CHRIST'S righteousness that we need to be fit for heaven, not our own:

Philippians 3:9 - "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith"

From God's perspective "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" [Isaiah 64:6].

Christ's righteousness COST God more than you can ever imagine.  Imagine eternity in hell, if you can, and no one can fully comprehend that.  That is what it cost God.  And because Christ was and is eternal God, He was able to endure that kind of suffering and able to endure it for everyone He came to save and endure it from the time He declared "my God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?" [Matthew 27:46] until He declared "it is finished" [John 19:31].

Romans 5:9 - "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

The Sabbath - the day of rest- was a shadow of (an indication of or a picture of) what Christ was coming to do:

True spiritual REST is provided by a divine PERSON, not by sinners observing certain ordinances on a certain a DAY.  The Saturday Sabbath was a shadow of the REST (relief from work) that Christ provides for those who have been trying to WORK for their salvation. The REST that Christ provides is SALVATION at HIS own expense and not that of the sinner. And that salvation is provided solely by the completed work of atonement by the sinless Lamb of God at Calvary without the help of ungodly sinners like you and me, whose sin-tainted works cannot remove a single sin. Which is why the Apostle Paul said this about those whom Christ saved:

Romans 5:8 - "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Keep in mind that there is no rest in Christ until He converts you and saves you. You are at His mercy, like it or not...

Romans 9:15 - "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

You will know that He has saved you when you are no longer trusting in Sabbath keeping or any other works for your salvation and you are only trusting in the atoning death of Christ for your salvation. And you will know that He has saved you when you recognize the Lord of the Sabbath for who He really is, the provider of true REST, eternal rest, salvation, by God's grace alone!

Romans 4:5 - "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

Isaiah 55:6 - "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near

Hebrews 2:3 - "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation"