Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four Views
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Perspectives on the Sabbath presents in point-counterpoint form the four most common views of the Sabbath commandment that have arisen throughout church history, representing the major positions held among Christians today. Skip MacCarty (Andrews University) defends the Seventh-day view which argues the fourth commandment is a moral law of God requiring us to keep the seventh day (Saturday) holy. It must therefore remain the day of rest and worship for Christians.
Jospeh A Pipa (Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary) backs the Christian Sabbath view which reasons that ever since the resurrection of Christ, the one day in seven to be kept holy is the first day of the week.
Craig L. Blomberg (Denver Seminary) supports the Fulfillment view which says that since Christ has brought the true Sabbath rest into the present, the Sabbath commands of the Old Testament are no longer binding on believers.
Charles P. Arand (Concordia Seminary) upholds the Lutheran view that the Sabbath commandment was given to Jews alone and does not concern Christians. Rest and worship are still required but not tied to a particular day.
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- Offers four essays written by scholars from different traditions
- Presents in point-counterpoint form the four most common views of the Sabbath commandment
- Helps readers undo long-held beliefs or reinforce their underlying supositions regarding this issue
- The Seventh-Day Sabbath
- Responses to Skip MacCarty
- The Christian Sabbath
- Responses to Joseph A. Pipa
- Luther's Radical Reading of the Sabbath Commandment
- Responses to Charles P. Arand
- The Sabbath as Fulfilled in Christ
- Responses to Craig L. Blomberg
Top Highlights
“Is any particular day commanded for the regular gathering of God’s assembly under the new covenant in Christ?” (Page 2)
“The various interpretations offered in footnote 43 fail to take into account that the three phrases—festival, new moon, Sabbath—are used to describe the holy days of the old covenant era, including the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath. These three terms are often used together to describe the special holy days of Jewish worship (2 Chron 8:13; 31:3 and Lev 23:1–25). Paul was addressing the problem that some Jewish Christians sought to require the observance of these days in addition to the Lord’s Day. Paul countered that Jewish Christians were free to observe these days (for a brief period of time), but they could not obligate others to observe them.” (Page 75)
“Because Jesus fulfilled the Law, and thus fulfilled the Sabbath commands, He, not some day of the week, is what offers the believers rest. We obey the Sabbath commandment of the Decalogue as we spiritually rest in Christ, letting Him bear our heavy burdens, trusting Him for salvation, and committing our lives to Him in service, then remaining faithful in lifelong loyalty to Him rather than committing apostasy.115 No special day each week for rest or worship could ever come close to fulfilling this grander and far more enriching and exciting vision of life to the full!” (Page 351)
“All but the Sabbath law are taken up and endorsed in the NT, so on any of the approaches to the OT law in the NT age believers can recognize their abiding validity.” (Page 322)
“it was not until the eighth century that Alcuin became the first explicitly to identify Sunday as the Christian Sabbath” (Page 312)
- Title: Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four views
- Authors: Charles P. Arand, Craig Blomberg, Skip MacCarty, Joseph A. Pipa Jr., Christopher John Donato
- Publisher: B&H
- Print Publication Date: 2011
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 400
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subject: Sabbath › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9781430080961, 9781433673375, 9780805448214, 1433673371, 0805448217, 1430080965
- Resource ID: LLS:9781433673375
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-08-16T00:39:55Z