(Colossians 2:16, 17, NKJV)
While this verse does not nullify (def.: invalidate, annul, cancel out, abolish, overturn, make void, quash) Sabbathkeeping, it reminds Christians -- Sabbathkeepers and non-Sabbathkeepers alike -- not to judge one another in food, or in drink, or regarding the Sabbath.
Christians may be tempted to lunge at each other's throats by judging the other for not keeping the Sabbath "properly". In time, you may notice a fellow brother- or sister-in-Christ keeping the Sabbath in a way that does not square well with your idea of Sabbathkeeping.
But who are we to judge? Haven't we also kept the Sabbath imperfectly? Honoring the weekly Sabbath is a learning process and a journey of discovery. It takes time to adapt, and every one is at a different stage of spiritual experience. So let's not judge one another w.r.t. our manner of keeping the Sabbath holy.
The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) puts it this way: "Therefore don't let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a sabbath day." The New American Standard Bible (NASB) words it even clearer, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day..."
Blowing the other person's candle out does not make yours any brighter!
Pointing fingers, micro-analysis and condemnation only serve to rip the fabric of Christian fellowship. There are already enough divisions in Christendom; don't for the sheer love of controversy cause a rift in the church. Do not compromise the unity and strength of your own Sabbathkeeping people!
WHAT TO TELL THOSE WHO DON'T HALLOW THE SABBATH
3 simple sentences: 1) Sin is the trangression of the law (1 John 3:4). 2) To not keep the Sabbath holy is a transgression of the 4th commandment, which is part of God's holy law. 3) Please find some way to keep the Sabbath holy, and sin no more.
YOUR PERSONAL FAITH PRACTICE
You must keep the Sabbath, and keep it well, according to the light that has been given to you by God. Open yourself to more inspiration -- perhaps there are changes you need to make to your Sabbathkeeping as time goes by.
Don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days ('The Message', quote). And don't nitpick and dictate how your fellow Christian is supposed to hallow the Sabbath; it'll make him frustrated and you, miserable.
LIVE BY FAITH
We must depend on God to keep the Sabbath holy. We must keep it by faith. Today, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us every Seventh Day. PS
* The Sabbath is not only a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom, but a memorial of an event that is past -- Creation. The Book of Genesis tells that the Sabbath was instituted on the seventh day of creation, before sin entered. Exodus 20:8-11 gives the motivation for keeping the Sabbath as this: "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day." This means the Sabbath identifies us with our Creator.
Therefore the Sabbath does not only point forward in time (to Christ's 2nd Coming), it also points backward in time. Hence it won't be wrong to say that the Sabbath is both a "shadow of things to come" and a "monument of things that were".
The seventh day is unlike any of the other six
by Anne Hope, freelance writer, Silver Springs, Maryland, USA
...(H)ow we spend the hours of the Sabbath is noticed by those around us. We silently witness to others by what we do and, most notably, what we fail to do.
Each person may have definite ideas on what is and is not an appropriate Sabbath activity. When contemplating a Sabbath-day activity, ask the question, "Would Jesus do this with me?" If the answer is no, save it for another day. If the answer is yes, invite others to share it with you. Individuals who know little to nothing about the sacredness of the Sabbath can learn a great deal from your observance.
If they see you mowing your lawn, washing your car, or hanging out your laundry, their impression will be that Saturday, the Sabbath, is a day like any other. If, on the other hand,you invite them to join you in worship, in taking a long nature walk, or in spending time searching the Scriptures for answers, they will come to understand that the seventh day is unlike any of the other six. They will understand that it is special, a genuine gift to be treasured. PS
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