Features of Sunday
Sunday is traditionally a day of rest, intended to prepare for the new work week and devote time to yourself, your family and friends. Experts are confident that by insuring themselves with the help of folk signs, everyone can make Sunday the most successful day of the week, attract the attention of Her Majesty Fortune and heaven. In addition, the storehouse of knowledge inherited from our ancestors will allow us to avoid unsuccessful decisions and actions that could open the door to a “dark streak.”
What can't you do on Sunday?
The Orthodox faith, like Catholicism, considers Sunday a time intended purely for mental and physical rest.
Firstly, God himself designated it as a “day off”, contemplating his creation on the 7th day. Secondly, on Sunday the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred, which also indicates that this day is different from the other 6 days.
That is why on Sunday it is customary to attend church services and pray with special zeal in order to “do what is right” in the eyes of God. On Sunday you cannot:
- cut nails, hair;
- bathe and wash;
- gamble;
- sin, for example, adultery or gluttony;
- guess and bewitch;
- spread gossip;
- provoke conflicts and quarrels, take an active part in them.
The above-mentioned actions push away material wealth, bring on health problems and other negative events.
On the last day of the week, it is strictly forbidden to start a new business or make plans. All tasks should be postponed to Saturday or Monday, leaving Sunday for rest.
You cannot refuse to help, even people you barely know, otherwise in the near future the person will suffer the same fate - the need to ask for help from others. You cannot offend anyone, because the insults will return like a boomerang, bringing poverty and troubles to the offender.
Orthodox community electronic version of BETA magazine
One of the main reproaches of Seventh-day Adventists against other Christians is the allegation that the “historical” churches allegedly forgot the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day,” and replaced the commandments of God with human tradition, expressed in the transfer of the day of rest to Sunday. I will try to outline the Orthodox understanding of this issue and how Adventists misunderstand the Holy Scriptures.
1. New Testament teaching on the transitory nature of the law
1.1. Sinai legislation as a condition of the covenant
As you know, Sacred history is a series of covenants between God and man:
1). Covenant with Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15–17)
2). Covenant with Noah. The promise that there will be no more flood; permission to eat flesh for food; promise to pay for unjustly shed blood, etc. (Genesis 9:1–9)
3). Covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:2, 17:4–14)
4). The Sinai covenant with the people who came out of Egypt (Exodus 24:4–8, 12)
5). Covenant with David. The promise that the Messiah (Christ) would be his descendant (2 Samuel 7:16)
6). The new covenant with Christ, concluded at Calvary.
The law is a condition of the fourth covenant (Gal 3:17-19) and the need for its observance is confirmed when the promise was given to David about the origin of Christ from the loins of David (Ps 89:30-33)
The difference between the fourth covenant and the previous ones is that with this covenant Israel promises to be a people whose Lord is God.
The main thing in the fourth covenant is that Israel becomes, so to speak, “the vassal of God” (people taken as an inheritance (Exodus 19:5)), and God is the only true King of Israel. (And you will be My people, and I will be your God (Jeremiah 11:4)) The purpose of the fourth covenant is to create a truly theocratic society, that is, a community of people over whom God Himself is the ruler. And since we are talking about a community of people, the question is raised about how this society can live in such a way that God will truly be its Master (Lord, King).
The people bring a vassal oath to their Tsar, and the Tsar brings legislation to his subjects, which they must fulfill.
Since the King (Lord) of Israel is God, in this legislation civil and criminal regulations are not separated from what we would call the liturgical regulations, or religious law. This is very logical: in the law given by the earthly king, civil and criminal law may also not be separated from court ceremonies.
In the legislation of any state, one can distinguish a fundamental law (constitution), which has a special status among all laws (since it expresses the principles of state building). The Ten Commandments are the same constitution of the Mosaic Law.
The Old Testament Israelite is required to keep the law not simply because the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20), but also because he is a “subject” (in more common parlance, “slave”) of God, a citizen of the Kingdom in which God is the ruler.
1.2. The educational and edifying role of the law
In addition to this role of the law as a condition of the Sinai covenant, which continued to operate until the conclusion of the New Covenant with Christ for all Israel, the law had another role - teaching and edifying. “By studying the law,” the Old Testament Jew learned the wisdom of the Creator. Psalm 118 deals largely with this second role of the law.
The Apostle Paul had this second role of the law in mind when he said that through the law comes the knowledge of sin. This is what he meant when he wrote in Second Epistle to Timothy that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (3:16). We are talking here about the writings of the Old Testament, since the congregations the New Testament books in their entirety did not yet exist.
1.3. In the New Testament the law ceased to be a condition of the covenant
Speaking at the Last Supper about the New Covenant, which He was to conclude soon, Christ did not mention a word about the law. This is not surprising: if the Old Testament was a covenant of adoption, then the New Testament is a covenant of adoption to God (Gal. 4:4-7) So, Christ brought us out from under the jurisdiction of the Mosaic law, since we are now not in a relationship with God the relationship “subject - king” (in the language of the Bible “slave - master”), and in the relationship “son - father”. The atonement accomplished by Christ makes legal relations (and where there is law, there is jurisprudence) between man and God unnecessary. Therefore it is said that “we are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). This certainly does not mean that we, not bound by the “yoke of the law,” can now do whatever we please: sin remains sin. It’s just that conflicts are resolved differently in the family than in the state.
1.4. The teaching and edifying role of the law remains
Actually, the Apostle Paul does not deny this (see section 1.2). The withdrawal of a law from legal action does not necessarily transform it into something completely unnecessary: for example, Roman law is not applied in any country, but all law students study it as a model, although not applicable in all its particulars to our time.
The mistake that Adventists make in their approach to the law is that they confuse these two aspects of the law. The usual objection of Adventists to the statement that the law is about the fact is that all this was somehow an abomination before God and before the law (Rom. 5:13). This can be understood by reading the book of Genesis, dedicated to the pre-law period. It’s just that in connection with Israel’s acceptance of the yoke of the law, such cases began to be punished not only by the divine court, but also by the human court it was charged with the duty to stop it.
When Adventists reproach, for example, the Orthodox for being inconsistent in “abolishing the law,” this again stems from the Adventists’ confusion of the two roles of law: we treat Mosaic law as lawyers would treat Roman law—legally, it does not apply to us, and no one is instructive about it does not deny.
In addition, as a measure of our attitude towards God and our neighbor there is the principle: “Love God and love your neighbor.” It is known that on these two pillars stand the whole law and the prophets, and whoever fulfilled this fulfilled the whole law. It’s just that when concluding a covenant between God and Israel, it was impossible to take such a vague obligation from the latter: the law must be strictly formalized so that the violator could not avoid the punishment of the law, taking advantage of the lack of specific wording.
Under the New Testament, ethics is built on these two commandments. They are really sufficient for conviction of sins, if the person being convicted is not so stiff-necked that one must speak to him “not in a human way, but in an official tone.” God, having adopted us as His son, hopes for our filial gratitude. On the contrary, the Old Testament allows for, so to speak, an “official” tone of conversation between God and man - to the extent of the latter’s stiff-neckedness.
1.5. Reasons for the repeal of the Mosaic legislation
The Apostle Paul said (Gal. 3:19) that the law was given until the time of the coming of the seed to which the promise relates, i.e. Christ. It is impossible to ignore this clear evidence of Holy Scripture.
The fact is that in the New Testament a relationship of adoption is established between man and God (Children! We are now children of God... (1 John 3:2); In Him we also became heirs... (Eph 1:11), etc.) . Adoption, as the establishment of a closer connection between man and God, abolishes the vassal relationship between them, the condition of which was the law. In the New Testament, the community of believers - the Church - is called not only “the people of God”, “people taken by God as an inheritance”, as in the Old, but also, in addition to this, “the Body of Christ”.
But, Adventists argue, how can anything in the law be changed if Christ said that “He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it” (Matthew 5:17) and not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law , until all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18) Here Adventists contradict themselves, claiming that at least the liturgical charter with bloody sacrifices was abolished, since the sacrifices pointed to the Calvary Sacrifice, which had already been offered. This means that the iota has passed away after all... But what about circumcision? Circumcision is clearly abolished as a prerequisite for entering into the covenant (If you are circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all (Gal. 5:2)), but this logic does not work here - circumcision was not part of the temple service system ...
The fact is that the entire law of the Old Testament is representative, and not just the part associated with temple worship.
Firstly, there was only one righteous man (Christ Himself), who fulfilled the whole law to the end and in full (Christ is like us in everything except sin, therefore, only He fulfilled the whole law). The law, by all its institutions, points to Christ as its ideal of the righteous.
Secondly, the vassal relationship between Israel and God is not thought of as the limit of perfection - God wanted more from people. The fulfillment of the law could only be adoption as sons in Christ. The law only prepared people for such a relationship between God and man, which is why the Apostle Paul called it “Teacher to Christ.”
Finally, the Old Testament, building the relationship between God and Israel like the relationship between a king (lord) and his subjects, outgrows itself when God Himself gives Himself for the life of the world. After this, it is inappropriate to boast that you are simply a law-abiding “resident of God’s lot”...
So, after the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, not individual provisions in the law changed, but the very relationship between God and man became different. If earlier God demanded from those in covenant with Him the fulfillment of the provisions of the relevant legislation (like any master from his subjects), then after the atoning sacrifice of Christ and our adoption as sons in Him, He no longer treats us as a master, but as a father. From this, of course, it does not follow that He does not require anything from us.
Adventists fear that the abolition of the law results in the abolition of the very distinction between sin and God's truth. But is it really sin from the law? No way (Rom 7:7), i.e. the difference between sin and non-sin is established not by the law, but by God’s truth, which is independent of the law (Rom 3:21) and has now come into the world through Jesus Christ. Further words - but I knew sin no other way than through the law... (Rom 7:8) - confirm this idea: the law defines sin, that is, what is not God’s truth, gives the boundaries beyond which this truth no, but it does not define this truth itself, which is revealed in Christ. From logic it is known that the definition of any concept or phenomenon cannot be given negatively, i.e. by listing what it is not. Consequently, the law in itself does not give knowledge of the truth of God: it is entirely possible to know it only by knowing Christ.
The spiritual danger in the statement about the need to keep the law for Christians is that it seems to be asserting that in fact no of our sonship to God in Christ happened, we are still slaves, not children of God, and, therefore, Christ died in vain... (Gal 5:4)
2. Saturday
Let us now move directly to the question of the Sabbath. Generally speaking, what has been said above is quite enough to provide a comprehensive answer. Submission to the law is not included in the terms of the New Testament, since the relationship with God is no longer legal. Therefore, God will not ask us about the Sabbath. This is confirmed by the following Scriptures:
1) At the Apostolic Council (Acts 15) it was decided that those who claim that the law of Moses (and therefore the Sabbath) is obligatory for converts (v. 5) are wrong. Certain requirements are established for Gentile converts (vv. 20,29). The Sabbath is not mentioned here, i.e. the need for its observance is not confirmed by the Council.
2) Nowhere in the New Testament is there a condemnation of non-observance of the Sabbath, while other vices are condemned: incest (1 Cor 5:1-7), adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarrels, envy, etc. d. (Gal 5:19–20)
3) On the contrary, it is spoken of with condemnation about those who, having come to know God, return again to weak material principles, observing days, months, times and years (Gal 4:9-10)
4) Those who condemn food or drink, or any holiday, or new moon, or Sabbath, are directly rebuked, since this is a shadow of the future (Col. 2:16,17). Note that the usual Adventist explanation of this passage, where Saturday refers to other holidays, and not the seventh day, not very convincingly: both the holiday and Saturday are separately mentioned in the phrase, which shows that Saturday should be understood specifically as the seventh day.
Thus, the Adventist assertion that the Sabbath is irrevocable, since it is included in the Ten Commandments, does not find confirmation: in the words of the Apostle Paul about “liberation from the yoke of the law” there is no reservation that this does not apply to the Ten Commandments, in particular - and Saturday. There is also no confirmation of the need to keep the Sabbath, so the statement that the Sabbath has been abolished is fair.
But, as mentioned above, the law has two roles: a condition of the Sinai covenant and a teaching one. The first no longer has anything to do with us, but in its second role, the law on the Sabbath is not indifferent to us, since it allows us to understand much more deeply.
2.1. What does it mean to “keep holy the Sabbath”?
The commandment is: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8) To sanctify, in the language of the Bible, meant to dedicate something to God, to give it to Him. Dedication is always a kind of sacrifice. Therefore, keeping the Sabbath is a kind of sacrifice to God that every Israeli is obliged to make - a sacrifice of his time.
To observe the Sabbath, there are no obstacles that exist for temple service: there is no need for a priestly caste, a special place (the tabernacle, then the temple), where only sacrifices can be made, etc. The Sabbath can be observed in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora, being a man or a woman, belonging to any tribe, etc. - there would be good will.
By keeping the Sabbath, the Old Testament man confessed that his people (Israel) entered into a covenant not with some minor god, but with the Creator Himself.
The Sabbath was sanctified at the creation of the world Gen 2:3 What is the point of sanctifying the Sabbath every week, since “the lesser is blessed by the greater”? Hebrews 7:7 The works of human hands (or rather, the lack of such works) will never sanctify the Sabbath day more than it is sanctified by the Creator Himself!
Like the temple sacrifices, the rest of the Sabbath pointed to the sacrifice of Christ. Only, if the slaughter of the victim on the altar indicated death on the cross on Good Friday, then the keeping of the Sabbath was a prototype of Christ’s presence in the tomb on Holy Saturday.
The sacrifice of Christ fully fulfilled the law of the Sabbath - we, with our attempts to do nothing on this day, look ridiculous, if not worse: “Striving to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God” Rom 10:3
After Christ’s sacrifice, the incompleteness and inferiority of any attempts to sanctify it “according to the commandment” is obvious. This is another indication that after Christ the relationship between God and man is not based on the law.
2.2. What does it mean “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”?
The Lord of the Sabbath is obviously the One who created the Sabbath and commanded it to be kept holy. These words are another declaration of Christ about His messianic dignity. When the Lord of the Sabbath appears, any claims for disturbing the Sabbath rest are unfounded - it is obvious that the Lord of the Sabbath is greater than the Sabbath itself.
The Lord of the Sabbath after His death on the cross and Resurrection, as is known, “is with us to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20 Thus He sanctifies all days with the holiness of the Sabbath - indeed, every day He who is greater than the Sabbath is with us!
In addition, we can generally say that true life in Christ is true Sabbathkeeping. Indeed, if one can, following the Apostle Paul, declare: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me,” then isn’t this greater than the Old Testament Sabbath rest? After all, the Lord of the Sabbath lives in such a person!
2.3. Orthodox veneration of the Sabbath
Although Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath in its Old Testament sense, since the law making it an obligation for a member of God's people ceased to be a condition of the New Testament, the Sabbath remained a designated day. There is no reason to accuse the Orthodox of duplicity and inconsistency: we give greater respect to the Sabbath compared to the days from Monday to Friday (called weekdays) not because we promised God to do so (as was the case in the Old Testament). However, we do not forget that God blessed this day at the beginning of creation. Thus, we seem to have revived the ancient, pre-legal attitude towards the Sabbath (the Sabbath was blessed at creation, the ban on work is associated with the Exodus).
The Sabbath day has a special liturgical charter, different from that of weekdays; church prayers are performed differently on this day. In short, the Sabbath, a day blessed by God, is a holiday, although not so solemnly celebrated as Sunday.
In Orthodoxy, it is customary to associate with each day of the church week and church year memories of events important for the life of the people of God - the Church (holidays): this could be the memory of the Resurrection of Christ (Easter and Sunday), about some events in the life of the Savior ( Christmas, Transfiguration), about people in whose lives God showed His power (days of remembrance of saints). These memories influence the prayers and chants of the day.
Saturday is the day of remembrance of all those glorified by God (all saints) and, in general, the day of funeral remembrance. Since we await the second coming of our Lord and the resurrection of the dead, for us death is devoid of a sense of hopeless melancholy. And it is very logical that we offer prayers for those who have entered into “eternal rest” on such a day blessed by the Lord, which is also the eve of Sunday.
In addition, the specialness of Saturday is manifested in the fact that this is necessarily the day when the Eucharist is celebrated - the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Christ at the Last Supper said: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19 On some days of the year it is not customary to celebrate the Eucharist - these are days of repentance. These, of course, are human institutions. But when such a day falls on Saturday (as well as on Sunday), we remember that Saturday is blessed by God Himself, and, therefore, not to create a remembrance of Him would be an attempt to abolish the commandment of God by human tradition... Therefore, Saturday is always the day of the Eucharist.
3. Sunday
Speaking about Sunday, it is worth immediately noting that there is no obligation before God not to work on this day. If the main meaning of the Old Testament Sabbath was rest, then another commandment is associated with Sunday.
There is evidence from ancient times (starting with the mention in the Acts of the Apostles, 20:7) that Sunday was the day of “breaking bread,” that is, worship was performed according to the commandment of the Lord, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
So, Sunday was marked by the breaking of bread (the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the Eucharist - different names) according to the commandment of the Lord “Do this in remembrance of Me.” But this commandment, as can easily be seen, is not tied to the day of the week. It was simply very logical to “make a remembrance of the Lord” on the day associated with the remembrance of His main work - the Resurrection from the dead. Generally speaking, since the commandment does not indicate the day when “this should be done,” this service can be performed on any day (except for purely penitential days, for example, during Great Lent), which is now practiced.
In apostolic times, the “breaking of bread” itself took place after the onset of evening from Saturday to Sunday, i.e. according to the biblical account of time it is no longer Saturday; Subsequently, this service was postponed to the next morning, that is, Sunday. As traces of ancient practice, on some days of the church year (Maundy Thursday, Christmas Eve, Epiphany and Easter) the Eucharist is still celebrated in the evening or even (on the holidays of Easter, Christmas and Epiphany themselves) in the dead of night.
But there is no obligation to spend Sunday in peace. Just like the Old Testament Sabbath, quite early (according to many sources - already from the 2nd century) they stopped honoring it as rest. This is clear from the lives of the martyrs. Many were martyred for Christ when they were forced to make sacrifices to idols, but there are no known cases of martyrdom due to the refusal of a Christian to work on both Saturday and Sunday.
When Christianity became the state religion, Emperor Constantine actually declared this day a non-working day, so that Christians would not have obstacles to their worship, which in those days was predominantly Sunday. Here the authorities met the Church halfway, and did not impose on it something new that contradicted the teachings of the Church.
Subsequently, with the rapid growth in the number of Christians and the associated weakening of church discipline, cases of absence from liturgical meetings without a valid reason became more frequent. Therefore, they gradually began to introduce into church legislation the provision that it was forbidden to work on Sunday, and some theologians could justify this by moving the day of rest according to the fourth commandment from Saturday to Sunday, which, of course, is not entirely fair. In any case, there is an inaccuracy in the wording here.
Thus, the ban on working on Sunday has a historical reason and is not related to the fact that God requires this rest (as was the case with the Sabbath in the Old Testament). God demands that the Eucharist be “created in His remembrance” - this commandment, which is a condition for concluding the New Testament, takes the place of the entire Old Testament law.
At the same time, although God does not require the celebration of Himself (the Eucharist) on Sunday and does not surround this day with additional prohibitions on work, but He does not prohibit it either! There is, of course, no prohibition anywhere in the New Testament from organizing a holiday on Sunday commemorating the Resurrection of Christ.
It can be noted that in addition to the holidays, the observance of which was the duty of the Old Testament Jew (Sabbath, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, Yom Kippur), there were holidays that were observed not because it was prescribed by law, but in memory of important events in the life of the people God (Purim is the memory of deliverance from persecution in Persia, see the Book of Esther, Hanukkah is the memory of the victory over the Greeks who desecrated the Temple). The Bible does not condemn this. Therefore, Christians are free to establish their own holidays, starting from Sunday, and the obligation to observe the Old Testament holidays was not established at the conclusion of the New Testament.
4. Objection to the Bible Lesson on the Sabbath and Sunday
Here I will try to give an objection to lesson number 16 of the “Thus Says the Bible” series, and then create a “counter-lesson”, so to speak, in this style. Objections will be given to those points of the lesson that, from my point of view, are questionable.
10) On what part of the first day of the week did the apostle Paul have a farewell meeting with the church in Troas? Acts 20:7–8 Answer: In the evening from Saturday to Sunday. Note. This was precisely the liturgical practice of the first centuries. Saturday evening (as the lesson indicates) according to the biblical account of time already belonged to Sunday.
11) What did the Apostle Paul do during the bright part of the first day of the week, considering it an ordinary day? Acts 20:7,11, 13,14,15 Answer: Paul did not consider this day holy, so he went on a long (30 km) journey. Note. There is no prohibition on working on Sunday, but the main thing is not this, but the fact that in Acts we see the first evidence that the Eucharistic meetings (and it says that Paul “broke bread”) were on Sunday. If the Sabbath were honored, then the meal of its meeting would be on Friday evening, as it is now among the Jews.
12) What did the apostle Paul do on Saturday? Acts 18:4 Answer: He spoke in the synagogue. Note. Naturally, the apostle entered the synagogue to preach on the Sabbath. After all, he preached Christ to the Jews, based on what was written about Christ in the law and the prophets. Therefore, he had to come on the days when the law was read. There is no reason to think that the Apostle Paul did this “for reasons of principle,” and not for the benefit of preaching. From my point of view, none of this proves the thesis that the apostles kept the Sabbath. In addition, I decided to practice the “Adventist” style of preaching and created a lesson with a similar structure: a question and a place from the Bible from which you can take the answer (sometimes also a commentary).
1) What commandments did the Lord Himself consider to be the most important? Matthew 22:37–40
2) What commandments did the Lord Himself give to those who wish to gain eternal life? Mark 3:5,19
3) Why was the Law of Moses given and what were its terms? Gal 3:19 Note. It is clearly stated here that the law has its terms and is limited to the period from Moses to Christ.
4) What is law? Gal 3:24
5) Were those who believed in Christ under the guidance of the law? Gal 3:25
6) Can there be harm from following the law? Gal 5:2 Note. What is said about circumcision applies to all the provisions of the law. Anyone who thinks to be justified by the works of the law (i.e., in fact, simply by the fact that he is a law-abiding citizen among the people of God) forgets about the gift of Christ's grace and risks being left without it.
7) What is the whole law? Gal 5:14
Does the transitory nature of the Mosaic Law remove responsibility from the sinner? Rom 6:15 9) How is sin recognized by a person who has not yet received the spirit of grace? Rom 7:7
10) How can you avoid sin if you have a gift from the Spirit? Gal 5:16
11) Why should freedom from the law not be used? Gal 5:13
12) Could there be a change in the law? Hebrews 7:12
13) For what reason can a former commandment be canceled? Hebrews 7:18
14) What does the Apostle Paul say about those who, having come to know God, return to the forms of piety given for imperfect people? Gal 4:9–12
15) Should a brother be condemned for not observing the Sabbath prohibitions? Col 2:16
16) What was commanded by the apostles in the Holy Spirit for pagan Christians? Acts 15:20
17) Why, after the coming of faith in Jesus Christ, are believers not confined under the law? Gal 3:26
18) Can we consider that with the coming of Christ only certain provisions of the law were abolished? The Apostle Paul testifies Gal 5:3
19) Why were the people of Israel commanded to keep the Sabbath day? Deuteronomy 5:15 Note. Here the connection between the establishment of the commandment to keep the Sabbath and the Exodus is clearly indicated, that is, definitely with the Old Testament. Nothing similar is said about the other commandments.
So, by studying the Holy Scriptures, we can come to the following conclusions:
A). The law given by God through Moses at Sinai is temporary and transitory.
b). The believer in Christ is not under the law of Moses.
V). The necessity of keeping the Sabbath in the New Testament is not confirmed either by the Lord Himself or by His apostles.
G). The moment of formal abolition of the law was the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, which freed those turning to Christ “from the burden of more necessary things.”
d). With the conclusion of the New Covenant in the Blood of Christ, the commandments of the Law of Moses became “weak and useless,” which is what the Apostolic Council stated when making its decision.
e). Freedom from the law does not mean license and should not be used to gratify the lusts of the flesh.
and). Liberation from the burden of the law is possible through the adoption of believers by God in Christ.
Thus, from the absence in the writings of the New Testament of an establishment about the celebration of Sunday, one cannot conclude that this (i.e., the celebration of Sunday) is that “great apostasy” in which Adventists are trying to expose Christians of other confessions, since our subordination to the law ( including the Sabbath law) is abolished by a new relationship with God - adoption as sons in Christ.
The opinion that the coming of Christ abolished only certain provisions in the law (for example, the ritual law) is not confirmed.
5. Conclusion
In my opinion, biblical research does not support the Adventist view that the Sabbath retains its original significance in the New Testament. Consequently, Adventists' claims to their exclusivity become unfounded.
The Adventist mistake is generated by an insufficient understanding of the teachings of the Apostle Paul on law and grace as set out in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, as well as an insufficiently good analysis of the conditions for concluding successive covenants and their essence. It is also affected by the fact that no distinction is made between the two roles in which the law appears (the condition of the covenant - the teaching role), which can lead the believer into temptation: it may seem that with the conclusion of the New Testament, the law generally loses all meaning. A concern arises: is lawlessness being preached under the guise of “grace”? In itself, the fear of Adventists is quite sincere, and this pushes them to affirm the inviolability of the law, despite a number of difficulties that arise (arbitrary assertion that only the cult law has been abolished, artificiality in the interpretation of Col. 2:16, etc.
In addition, the meaning of the fact that “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” and the whole problem associated with Christ’s miracles on the Sabbath is misunderstood.
Some of the blame also lies with Christians of other confessions, who presented not very accurate arguments to justify the practice of honoring Sunday. These incorrect explanations, popular in a certain era (the complete identification of the prohibition of work on Sunday with the Old Testament Sabbath), led Adventists into temptation.
In general, as far as I imagine the history of Adventism, starting with V. Miller, there were no major theologians in its ranks. Many of the Adventist beliefs are based on the visions of Ellen White. For example, the immutability of the Sabbath is deduced from the fact that she saw the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant; the text of the fourth commandment had not yet been changed. The entire interpretation of the Bible is adjusted to this, since what cannot be explained, given the immutability of the Sabbath, is interpreted very vaguely (see above).
The doctrine that the Old Testament Sabbath law is in full force separates Adventists (along with other features of their faith - the doctrine of the sanctuary, the doctrine of the post-mortem state of the soul, etc.) from other Christian confessions. But I think I have been able to show that Adventist teaching is based on an incorrect understanding of Scripture. However, the need to answer the questions posed by my Adventist brothers and sisters led me to a more thorough study of the Holy Scriptures to defend the Orthodox position and to a deeper understanding of the latter, for which I give thanks to God.
May the Lord help us to come to the common truth - to the faith that was transmitted by the apostles!
What should you do on Sunday?
Sunday was literally created to ward off negativity from yourself and your home and attract positivity. To do this, our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers, immediately after waking up, drank freshly milked milk with honey, thus driving away troubles and grief from life.
Psychics and magicians consider Sunday a mystical day, advising us to carefully listen to the signals sent to us by the spirits of our ancestors, higher powers, heaven or our own body. By learning to decipher them, you can protect yourself from many problems in the future.
Key signs of the day:
- if on this day an unmarried young lady hears a bird knocking on the window, in the next month or two she will meet her future husband or receive a long-awaited marriage proposal;
- if a person’s ears are burning, it means that an unexpected replenishment of the budget awaits him, and it must come from a source that could not even be imagined;
- cheeks burn to quarrels with family and friends;
- a button or strap torn off on Sunday indicates a quick acquaintance with an interesting, extraordinary person.
On Sunday, it is best to attract wealth into the house - to do this, just throw a pinch of sugar out the window at night, and the next morning walk barefoot around the house. Another sign is connected with finances - if you wash your shoes thoroughly, they can bring a debtor into the house who wants to pay off his debt.
According to our ancestors, dishes broken on Sunday promise profit, but before throwing away the fragments, they should be carefully counted.
People whose birthday falls on Sunday are the “darlings” of fate and fortune. Despite the circumstances, their life path is easier than that of people born on other days of the week (perhaps due to the fact that they are full of love for life and optimism). They are unusually talented and can achieve enormous heights, provided they put at least a little effort into it.
Conclusion
In Christianity, the very first day was a day of bright joy for the disciples of Christ. Since then, the day of the Lord's resurrection has always been a day of joy for Christians.
Therefore, the word “holiday” is associated with spiritual joy. This does not include manifold worldly entertainments, which, even if sublime in their form, cannot in any way sanctify the holy day.
The celebration of Sunday is a direct service to God, consisting primarily in the remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ. Peace from worldly affairs is a necessary condition for celebration, and joy is its natural result.
Communication with God, which constitutes the essence of celebration, is more conveniently achieved in the company of people, for the Lord said: where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20). The celebration must first of all take place in the temple - this place of the special grace-filled presence of God. Here the Sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated, here the clergy teach the word of God, appointed by God Himself to shepherd His flock and who have received special grace-filled means for this. Here all believers with one mouth and one heart offer their prayers, petitions and thanksgiving to God. Here the members of the Body of Christ enter into the closest spiritual communion with their head Christ and among themselves. Solemn silence and reverence lift hearts to God. The communication of all believers and mutual example excite and strengthen the reverence and prayer of each individual. Performing holy and spiritual deeds on Sunday satisfies the most essential needs of the human soul. This in itself is a good thing, and at the same time it is the most important means of achieving heaven, unity with God and eternal bliss.
Orthodox Christians! Let us strictly and unswervingly celebrate Sunday and all other holidays established by the Holy Church for our earthly happiness and eternal salvation.
