Question:  Dear Greg,

            Are we still to honor the Sabbath day — if so, in what way?  Should we honor it by attending church on a specific day — if so, what is that day: Sunday or Saturday?

            I used to belong to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, but now I see that they are a legalistic church.  Can you give me some background on this church and explain their beliefs?

            Darryl

Answer:  Dear Darryl,

            The New Testament is clear — the Sabbath commandment of the old covenant is replaced/transformed by the rest in Christ given to us by God’s grace.  Hebrews 4 speaks of the Sabbath rest and Mark 2:28 tells us that Jesus is Lord EVEN (of all things!) of the Sabbath.

            The mark/sign of the people of God in the old covenant was circumcision and the Sabbath.  The sign of God’s children under the new covenant is the love that God gives to us.

            We may attend church on any day of the week, at any time — Christians are not bound by days, months, seasons and years (Galatians 4:8-10).  Religious festivals, new moons and sabbaths of the old covenant were a shadow of what was to come—the cross of Christ.  Now that the reality is here, the reality of God’s grace, there is no need to observe the outmoded symbol.  The old covenant, including its seventh day Sabbath, is obsolete (Hebrews 9:13).

            For historical background about Seventh Day Adventism, I recommend “Seeking a Sanctuary”, by former SDA’s Malcom Bull and Keith Lockhart, published by Harper and Row.  In terms of unbiblical teaching and theology of the Seventh Day Adventists, I recommend “Sabbath in Crisis” and “The Cultic Doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventists” by former Seventh Day Adventist Dale Ratzlaff, of Life Assurance Ministries.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht