Dear Gerhard Ebersoehn
It is bad form to take an accusatory, condescending attitude and accuse others of making stupid arguments, and then make arguments that are factually inaccurate. It is difficult to have to weed through the insults and accusations to get to the point you are trying to make. Why don't you tone it down a bit. This is a discussion forum, not a war zone.
Gerhard wrote,
**Thought the SDA's are legalists? Boy, you're the ultimate! And you - not they - are of the narrowest of minds I've seen!**
You don't know me, and you don't even know the point of my message, but you feel yourself qualified to judge me and what kind of person I am. You come off as quite proud.
You also write,
**Better give account for your believing Sunday, than condemn the SDA's for irrelevant trivialities! **
Here you make assumptions about me, about my allegedly 'believing Sunday.' I don't believe Sunday is the Sabbath. 'Sabbath' is a name of a day of the week. In Hebrew, the seventh day of the week is named after the number seven.
The point of my email is that many SDA's, who argue so strongly to keep the sabbath literally, try to keep OT food laws, etc. do not keep it the way scripture requires. The orthodox Jews have a point about lighting fires and turning on lamps. If many SDA's use 'sabbath day's journey' as an argument for keeping the Sabbath, why do many of them travel more than that distance to get to church on the Sabbath?
Gerhard wrote,
***Your right, it is not in so many words written the resolution was read every Sabbath - it's just common sense; and it was implied in the order per se. The mplication is as undeniable as the words recorded. Blame me for adding that to the Scriptures, I would gladly plead guilty.***
I suggest you actually read the passage carefully before commenting further, so that it will be fresh on your mind.
In Acts 15 we read:
20. But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
This is the reference to reading on the sabbath. Notice that Moses was preached 'from old time.' in the synagogue every sabbath. The synagogue tradition goes back to sometime during the captivity. It had been around for hundreds of years when James wrote this. The Diaspora had been living in Gentile cities throughout the empire for hundreds of years, meeting in the synagogue every sabbath, and hearing the words of Moses read over and over again.
So this passage clearly does not say that the decree-- which had not been written when James spoke these words-- was to be read on the sabbath.
**They in the end added nothing for everything they demanded and commanded to be read to the Church everywhere and - automatically, every Sabbath Day the Church 'was there' to hear these words and resolutions to be read to them - in essence is or was contained in the Scriptures already. Then in themselves the resolutions listed in Acts 15 are nothing but prohibitions of the idolatrous practices of the (former) pagan Gentiles. It cancelled no established Christian principle or doctrine or 'Law'.**
Again, whether the church met on the Sabbath, rather than the first day of the week, is not dealt with in this passage. It is clear from other scripture that these declarations were read in churches, but it is not clear whether they were read every week or not. James was referring to Moses' writings being read from old times. Moses's writings were being read in these cities from before the birth of Christ. Christian churches had only been around for a couple of decades at the most.
I actually agree with some one of your points, that the decree was based on Old Testament doctrine. The issue in this chapter is what is required of Gentiles. To be right with God, did they need to relate to God through the Abrahamic covenant? Did they need to enter it through circumcision? No, they did not. But we do see here in these 4 principles ideas related to the covenant God made with Noah, who was an ancestor of the Gentiles. He forbad eating blood. OT laws also indicate that it was a sin for Gentiles to perform certain sexual acts and worship idols-- since Gentiles were driven out of the land for commiting these abominations.
This council does not deal with the issue of Jews keeping the sabbath, kosher laws, participating in temple ceremonies, or any of these things. The Jewish believers in Jesus were observing (or trying to observe) these laws.
The issue was what was requires of the Gentiles. James uses scripture to show that the name of the Lord would be called the residue of the nations or 'man' (interpeting 'dm as 'adam' rather than 'Edom'). This argument demonstrated that Gentiles did not need to be come Jews (through circumcision, etc.) to be in right standing with God. It follows, then, that Gentiles would not be required to keep all the laws given to Israel, but that they would be required to act rightouesly according to the principles the Old Testament teaches for Gentile righteousness. These principles include abstaining from things strangled and from blood, from meat offerred to idols, and from fornication.
My question is, where did God command the nations to rest on the Sabbath. He commanded the Hebrews to rest the Sabbath day. Gentiles living in Jews households were required to keep the sabbath and to keep kosher. But that is a differen issue.
The sabbath is a typeof the rest we find in Christ Jesus.
Also notice that I do not condemn anyone for literally observing the sabbath, or for abstaining from eating pork, or any such things. I do see the inconsistency of demanding that everyone literally observe the sabbath and then ignoring OT principles about what it meant to keep the sabbath.
You have no basis for the following accusation.
** Sabbath's observance is the most obvious lawful principle of the first Christians according to Christian "manner". It cannot be blindness that prevents you from seeing; it can only be wilfull rebellion out of unreasonable hatred for the Sabbath Day of Christianity. **
This is another example of your judgmental, obnoxious attitude. I had not even stated my beliefs on the sabbath and you proceed to judge me and accuse me of various things. He that answers a matter before hearing it, it is a folly to him.
Try to argue persuasively from scripture, and do not resort to ad homenem attacks.
