A certain seventh-day Sabbatarian recently averred to me that the difference between him and me is this: “I am a Saturday worshipper, you are a Sunday worshipper.” I readily accepted his definition of himself. And I thank him for his honesty in admitting it. But I quickly objected to his description of me: “I am not a Sunday worshipper! Rather, I am a Christ worshipper, and not a worshipper of any day!”
Worshippers of Christ are given liberty by Him to “esteem every day alike,” and are not required to “esteem one day above another” (Romans 14:5) – as Sabbatarians require.
Also, we do not restrict our worship of Christ to any particular day – whether Saturday or Sunday or any other. Rather, we worship Christ every day.
And, we recognize that those who “observe days” in the manner of legalistic Sabbatarians are in “bondage” to the “weak and beggarly elements” of those who neither “have known God” nor “are known by God” (Galatians 4:9ff). Having been set at liberty by Christ, we have no desire to join them in their bondage.
Furthermore, when Sabbatarians judge against us because we do not observe their holy days and festivals and sabbaths, we are diligent to obey the exhortation of the Holy Spirit to “let no one judge you … regarding a festival or … sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16ff). We embrace Christ, the Substance who cast those former shadowy sabbaths, not the shadows He cast. Christ is our Sabbath! We rest in Him alone (Hebrews 4:1-11; Matthew 11:28ff). We therefore are Christ-worshippers, not sabbath-observers and/or day-worshippers.
Actually, the difference between that Sabbatarian and me is not found in the day of our worship, but rather in the object of our worship.
This article originally appeared on Sermonaudio. It appears here with the author’s permission. You can hear a sermon by Daniel Parks at Freegraceradio.com.
