STROM/PUCKETT DEBATE ON SABBATH

 
 
 Proposition:  
 Resolved, that the keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally 
 binding on Christians today.
 
 Affirm: James Puckett 
 Deny: Bob Strom
 
 Second Affirmative:
 
 Bob has problems with two of my definitions:
 
 My definition:
 5. Christians: by "Christians," I mean those whom the Lord adds 
 to His church as in: (Acts 2:47 KJV) "Praising God, and having 
 favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church 
 daily such as should be saved."
 
 Bob adds: 
 By church we include the "church in the wilderness" - Israel.
 By Christian we mean those who are grafted INTO that spot from 
 which SOME in Israel fell Rom 11.
 
 My definition: 
 6. today: by "today," I mean the Christian dispensation, in which 
 we live, in other words all time between the first Pentecost 
 after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the end of the world.
 
 Bob adds:
 Partially true - since Heb 4 states that "TODAY" was ALSO a fact 
 in Ps 95:7 - the days of King David and going forward it would 
 ALSO INCLUDE the Christian dispensation as Heb 4 notes.. 
 Result: The exclusionary approach in Jim's definition section 
 fails to find support from Psalms 95 quoted in Heb 4.
 
 Jim
 Bob is apparently unaware that the definitions here only define 
 the terms as we are using them in this debate. They are not 
 necessarily all-inclusive for all uses of the terms. They are to 
 make sure that both sides understand how they are being used. He 
 says my definitions are exclusionary. Actually, my definition of 
 today is more inclusive than what is needful for this debate. 
 What we are debating is that today, January, 2001, whether or not 
 Christians are obligated to keep the sabbath. The debate is not 
 concerned with centuries ago, although that time period has come 
 up in the discussion. I'll stick with my definitions for use in 
 this debate, since he has given no reason why they do not 
 suffice.
 
 I. In my first affirmative, I made the following points in 
 proving my case:
 The keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding on 
 Christians today because:
 A. in the Bible record God did not relate the seventh day to man 
 as a memorial or a day to be kept at the creation, when He sanctified and blessed it.
 B. the first time in the Bible record that anyone was commanded 
 to rest on the seventh day was in Exodus 12 when the children of 
 Israel were told to rest on it as they prepared for their flight 
 from Egypt.
 C. the first time in the Bible record that anyone was commanded 
 to observe the seventh day of the week as the sabbath is in Exod. 
 16:23-26.
 D. no people other than the children of Israel were ever 
 commanded to keep it.
 E. Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses and took it out of the way so
 that men living today are no longer amenable to it.
 F. people living today are amenable to the gospel of Christ, not 
 the law of Moses.
 
 I wonder how many people noticed that I miscounted the number of 
 points at the end of the first Affirmative speech? I said I had 
 presented four points, instead of the six I actually presented. 
 Bob apparently didn't, since he said nothing about it.
 
 I should mention here that Bob included some responses from my 
 Negative speeches in the first debate, which is totally 
 inappropriate since this is a new debate. I will basically ignore 
 those so as to keep this debate fresh as it should be.
 
 II. Did the Negative successfully refute these six points of the Affirmative case?
 
 A. The keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today because in the Bible record God did not 
 relate the seventh day to man as a memorial or a day to be kept 
 at the creation, when He sanctified and blessed it.
 
 Unfortunately, Bob chose to misquote me here by leaving off the 
 qualifier "at this time." I had said: "Thus God made the seventh 
 day holy. He set it apart from the other six days. What did this 
 mean for man? We are told nothing to relate this to man at this 
 time."
 
 He made me seem to say that God never related the seventh day to 
 man, which is neither true, nor what I said.
 
 Bob's response: 
 God tells us what this Gen 2 FACT means for mankind - in Exodus 
 20:11 and again we see it affirmed in Mark 2:27 - it was MADE for 
 mankind, mankind was not MADE for the Holy Seventh-day that "IS" 
 Sabbath.
 
 Jim
 Bob thinks that when God gave the sabbath commandment to the 
 children of Israel in Exod. 20:11, it was retroactive to the 
 creation and included all mankind. He has not explained why God 
 would wait until he commanded the sabbath of the Hebrews before 
 telling us that it was a command all of the time since creation. 
 This is an obvious self-serving misuse of scripture.  Also, he 
 says that Jesus affirms his argument. 
 
 (Mark 2:27-28 KJV)  "And he said unto them, The sabbath was made 
 for man, and not man for the sabbath: 
 {28} Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." 
 Bob says Jesus means that the sabbath was made for mankind to 
 keep, but he ignores that man was not created for the sabbath. If 
 man were created for the sabbath, then he would be liable to keep 
 it always. 
 
 The true meaning is revealed to us by the context in which Jesus 
 made the statement. The Pharisees had accused Jesus' disciples of 
 violating the sabbath, and Jesus was showing that they had not 
 violated the sabbath. By His use of David's eating the showbread 
 He showed that the sabbath was not meant to control or subjugate 
 man, but to benefit him. Bob is assuming here that when Jesus 
 said the sabbath was made for man, that he applied its keeping to 
 all mankind. However, Jesus was saying nothing about who was 
 required to keep the sabbath in this episode, as is shown by 
 verse 28. 
 
 The sabbath was never commanded of anyone in the Bible besides 
 the Hebrews. I showed in my first Affirmative where the law of 
 Moses was given to Israel specifically. Bob cannot find any 
 scripture to show it was given to anyone else. Otherwise, he 
 would have blessed us by giving it to us. That is why he tries to 
 make Mark 2:27 do this for him. It doesn't do it. This is a 
 misuse of the scripture.
 
 ***Bob has not successfully refuted my first point, therefore, 
 the keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding on 
 Christians today because in the Bible record God did not relate 
 the seventh day to man as a memorial or a day to be kept at the 
 creation, when He sanctified and blessed it.***
 
 B. The keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today because the first time in the Bible record 
 that anyone was commanded to rest on the seventh day was in 
 Exodus 12 when the children of Israel were told to rest on it as 
 they prepared for their flight from Egypt.
 
 Bob said: 
 Jim assumes that God (who declares that failure to disntinguish 
 between the sacred and the profane Ezek 22:26) FAILED and forced 
 early mankind to sin by actively hiding from mankind the TRUTH we 
 find IN Gen 2 - the Holy 7th Day.
 
 Jim
 I don't know where Bob got this idea, but it is totally false. He 
 says I assume that God forced early mankind to sin. That is an 
 outrageous accusation!
 
 ***Bob did not successfully refute this point, therefore, the 
 keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding on 
 Christians today because the first time in the Bible record that 
 anyone was commanded to rest on the seventh day was in Exodus 12 
 when the children of Israel were told to rest on it as they 
 prepared for their flight from Egypt.***
 
 C. The keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today because the first time in the Bible record 
 that anyone was commanded to observe the seventh day of the week 
 as the sabbath is in Exod. 16:23-26.
 
 (Exo 16:23 KJV)  "And he said unto them, This is that which the 
 LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto 
 the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye 
 will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be 
 kept until the morning."
 
 After showing the first occurrence of the Hebrew word for 
 "sabbath" is in this verse, I said: "This is the first time 
 anyone was commanded to observe the seventh day of the week as 
 "the sabbath," or "a sabbath unto the LORD."  This is an 
 important point to remember!" As proof of this, I quoted the 
 following:
 (Deu 5:1-3 KJV)  "And Moses called all Israel, and said unto 
 them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in 
 your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. 
 {2} The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 
 {3} The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with 
 us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day."
 
 This scripture proves that God did not make the covenant, of 
 which the law of Moses was part, with their fathers, but only 
 with the children of Israel who were present at that time.
 
 Bob replied: 
 Notice the content of the NATIONAL covenent at Horeb
 Exodus 19:4 " You yourselves have seen what I did to the 
 Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you 
 to Myself.
 5 "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My 
 covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the 
 peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' 
 These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.''
 
 This NATIONAL text - regarding a KINGDOM of PRIESTS and HOLY 
 NATION was not present reality for the patriarchal families that 
 existed PRE Sinai.
 
 Jim
 Of course it wasn't present reality. God was just now preparing 
 to give it to them along with the sabbath commandment. The law of 
 Moses, including the ten commandments, was part of this covenant 
 that God was preparing to make with them. A covenant is a 
 contract between two people or entities. This covenant was 
 between God and the children of Israel. There are conditions in a 
 contract. The conditions of this covenant were spelled out in the 
 law of Moses. As God said, if they would obey His voice and keep 
 His covenant, then they would be His own possession. But, 
 Jeremiah tells us they didn't keep the covenant:
 (Jer 31:31-32 KJV)  "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that 
 I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the 
 house of Judah: 
 {32} Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers 
 in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the 
 land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an 
 husband unto them, saith the LORD:"
 
 How did Israel break the covenant that God was making here? They 
 violated the law of Moses. They did not keep the ten 
 commandments. They practiced idolatry and God therefore accused 
 them of adultery, spiritual adultery. They were not faithful to 
 their husband, God, but they worshipped idols. I repeat, Israel 
 broke the covenant by violating the first commandment of the ten 
 commandments. 
 
 So, when Moses said the covenant was not made with their fathers, 
 he was saying the ten commandments were not given to their 
 fathers. Therefore, the command to keep the sabbath, as part of 
 the ten commandments, was not given to the fathers of the Jews. 
 The ten commandments were not given until Sinai.
 
 Bob said: 
 But it is NOT TRUE that they were FREE to worship false gods, 
 take God's name in vain, make idols, dishonor parents, murder, 
 break the Creator's Holy Seventh-day. Already pointed out in the 
 discussion so far - not yet responded to by Jim.
 
 Jim
 Nobody said nor believes that those who lived before Sinai were 
 not under some law from God. Nobody said nor believes that people 
 were free to worship false gods without penalty. God never 
 spelled out for us what laws were in effect for those people. 
 However, He did spell out the prohibition against murder right 
 after the flood, though. 
 (Gen 9:5,6 KJV)  "And surely your blood of your lives will I 
 require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the 
 hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require 
 the life of man. 
 {6} Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: 
 for in the image of God made he man. 
 That is a law against murder that was not part of the ten 
 commandments.
 
 God has never left man without some law to which man was 
 responsible. Adam was commanded to not eat of the tree of 
 knowledge of good and evil. That was part of the law he was 
 responsible to keep. So, saying that the law of Moses, or even 
 only the ten commandments, was the only law men could have been 
 living under is ridiculous.
 
 ***Bob did not successfully refute this point, therefore, the 
 keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding on 
 Christians today because the first time in the Bible record that 
 anyone was commanded to observe the seventh day of the week as 
 the sabbath is in Exod. 16:23-26.***
 
 D. The keeping of the weekly Sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today because no people other than the children of 
 Israel were ever commanded to keep it
 
 This would be an easy point for Bob to refute if God had 
 commanded anyone other than the Israelites to keep the sabbath. 
 However, I'm sure the readers failed to find any scripture that 
 Bob quoted in which is found a command for anyone other than the 
 children of Israel to keep the sabbath.
 
 In introducing the ten commandments, God gives them a description 
 of those He is addressing:
 (Exo 20:1-2 KJV)  "And God spake all these words, saying, 
 {2} I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the 
 land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 
 Whom did God bring out of bondage in Egypt besides the children 
 of Israel? Absolutely no one. They are the people to whom God 
 addressed the ten commandments and the rest of the law of Moses.
 
 In my first affirmative, I gave a number of scriptures showing 
 the law of Moses was given to Israel. I won't quote them again to 
 save space, but they include: Ezek. 20:12,20; Lev. 19:2,3; Lev. 
 23:2,3;Deut. 5:12-15; Neh. 9:13,14. Notice especially the 
 following:
 
 (Deu 5:15 KJV)  "And remember that thou wast a servant in the 
 land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence 
 through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the 
 LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." 
 Here, God tells them that the reason He commanded them to keep 
 the sabbath day, was because they were servants in Egypt and He 
 had brought them out by a mighty hand. So, even God did not 
 always relate the sabbath command to His resting after the 
 creation, as Bob is prone to do. He relates it to delivering 
 Israel from slavery in Egypt.
 
 Now, let's address the verses Bob has repeatedly mentioned that 
 he believes supports his case and refutes this point, Isaiah 56 
 and 66. Do they really teach that the Gentiles must keep the 
 sabbath, as Bob says?
 
 Bob says: 
 Wrong again. As already pointed out the (and you have yet to 
 respond) - the Sabbath was clearly applicable to Gentiles (Isaiah 
 56) and even is stated to apply to all mankind continuing through 
 to the new earth (Isaiah 66).
 
 Jim
 Due to space limitations I have to depend upon the reader to read 
 some lengthy passages of scripture.
 
 Isa 56:1-8:  In the first place, Isaiah here records no command 
 for anyone to keep the sabbath. Rather, he is blessing those that 
 do keep the sabbath and refrains from doing evil He is making a 
 promise to the eunuchs that "keep my sabbaths, and choose the 
 things that please me, and take hold of my covenant." He makes 
 promise to the sons of the stranger that "join themselves to the 
 LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his 
 servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, 
 and taketh hold of my covenant;" We know there were proselytes to 
 Judaism among the Gentiles. Obviously, proselytes were obligated 
 to keep the sabbath, as well as the whole law of Moses. So how 
 does this passage apply to people today and in the future? 
 Judaism is no longer a viable religion.
 
 What is he promising them? "{7} Even them will I bring to my holy 
 mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt 
 offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; 
 for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all 
 people." What is h
 
 IV. Further Arguments.
 
 A. The keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today, because the apostles did not bind it on 
 Gentiles when given the perfect opportunity to do so.
 
 When the church at Antioch of Syria was troubled by Jews who 
 insisted on the Gentiles being circumcised, they sent Paul and 
 Barnabas and others to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders to 
 resolve the problem. At Jerusalem some of the Pharisees  also 
 said it was needful that they should be circumcised and they 
 should keep the law of Moses.
 
 (Acts 15:5 KJV)  "But there rose up certain of the sect of the 
 Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to 
 circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
 
 So, after much disputing, Peter reminded them that the Jews could 
 not bear the yoke of the law of Moses:
 
 (Acts 15:10 KJV)  "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke 
 upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we 
 were able to bear?"
 
 So, James pronounced his decision:
 
 (Acts 15:19-20 KJV)  "Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble 
 not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 
 {20} But that we write unto them, that they abstain from 
 pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things 
 strangled, and from blood."
 
 And then the apostles wrote letters for Paul and Barnabas to take 
 to the Gentiles as follows:
 
 (Acts 15:23-29 KJV)  "And they wrote letters by them after this 
 manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto 
 the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and 
 Cilicia: 
 {24} Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from 
 us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, 
 Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such 
 commandment: 
 {25} It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to 
 send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 
 {26} Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 {27} We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell 
 you the same things by mouth. 
 {28} For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon 
 you no greater burden than these necessary things; 
 {29} That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, 
 and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye 
 keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well."
 
 Here, the apostles had the perfect opportunity to tell the 
 Gentiles that they must keep the ten commandments, if that were 
 the case. However, they did not tell them to do this. They did 
 not even tell them that they must keep the sabbath. Their failure 
 to tell the Gentiles to keep the sabbath proves my case.that 
 Christians today are not bound to keep the sabbath.
 
 ***Therefore, the keeping of the weekly sabbath is not 
 scripturally binding on Christians today, because the apostles 
 did not bind the sabbath on Gentiles when given the perfect 
 opportunity to do so.***
 
 B. The keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today, because the church assembled on the first 
 day of the week rather than keeping the sabbath.
 
 (Acts 20:6-7 KJV)  "And we sailed away from Philippi after the 
 days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five 
 days; where we abode seven days. 
 {7} And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came 
 together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart 
 on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."
 
 Here we find the apostle Paul and his company waited in Troas 
 seven days until the first day of the week, whereupon they 
 assembled with the local disciples to partake of the Lord's 
 supper, and Paul preached unto them. They waited until a time 
 that the disciples would be gathered together so Paul could 
 preach to them. They did not do that on the sabbath, but on the 
 first day of the week.
 
 (1 Cor 16:1-2 KJV)  "Now concerning the collection for the 
 saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so 
 do ye. 
 {2} Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by 
 him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no 
 gatherings when I come."
 
 Paul tells the Corinthians he wants them to do as he told the 
 Galatians to do. That was that they should lay by in store on the 
 first day of the week their gifts for the needy saints in 
 Jerusalem, so that when he came to pick it up, it wouldn't have 
 to be gathered then. It would already be collected.  Why the 
 first day of the week and not the sabbath? Because they assembled 
 on the first day of the week and not on the sabbath.
 
 In addition to these Biblical examples that the early church 
 assembled on the first day of the week rather than on the 
 sabbath, we have historical accounts by the "church fathers" of 
 the same.  While these are not inspired accounts, they do 
 corroborate what the scriptures tell us and thus contribute to 
 our proof.
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS
 Chapter LXVII,  page 186. (1st century)
 
 "But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, 
 because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change 
 in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified 
 on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after 
 that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to 
 His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we 
 have submitted to you also for your consideration."
 
 THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE MAGNESIANS.
 CHAP. IX.--LET US LIVE WITH CHRIST, page 62.
 
 If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of 
 things[7] have come to the possession of a new[8] hope, no longer 
 observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance[10] of the 
 Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and 
 by His death--whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained 
 faith,[12] and therefore endure, that we may be found the 
 disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master--how shall we be able 
 to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves 
 in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He 
 whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the 
 dead.[16]
 
 THE SECOND APOLOGY OF JUSTIN FOR THE CHRISTIANS ADDRESSED TO THE 
 ROMAN SENATE
 
 CHAP. X.--TRYPHO BLAMES THE CHRISTIANS FOR THIS ALONE--THE NON-
 OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW, pages 199,200.
 
 And when they ceased, I again addressed them thus:--
 "Is there any other matter, my friends, in which we are blamed, 
 than this, that we live not after the law, and are not 
 circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers were, and do not 
 observe sabbaths as you do? Are our lives and customs also 
 slandered among you? And I ask this: have you also believed 
 concerning us, that we eat men; and that after the feast, having 
 extinguished the lights, we engage in promiscuous concubinage? Or 
 do you condemn us in this alone, that we adhere to such tenets, 
 and believe in an opinion, untrue, as you think?"
 
 So, we see that even secular history helps prove that the early 
 church did not assemble on the sabbath, but on the first day of 
 the week. 
 
 I should make a statement to eliminate confusion. The early 
 church did not keep the first day of the week as a day of rest 
 like the sabbath. It was not a substitute for the sabbath. It has 
 its own significance and importance, since God created the 
 heavens and the earth, light, Day , and Night on the first day of 
 the week. Christ arose from the dead on the first day of the 
 week. The church was established and Peter preached the first 
 recorded gospel sermon on the first day of the week. John was in 
 the Spirit on the Lord's day when he received the visions of the 
 Revelation.
 
 ***Therefore, the keeping of the weekly sabbath is not 
 scripturally binding on Christians today, because the early 
 church did not keep the sabbath, but assembled on the first day 
 of the week.***
 
 C. The keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today, because there is no command in the New 
 Testament for Christians to keep the sabbath after the church was 
 established on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of 
 Christ.
 
 Jesus gave to the church the only memorial that He wanted us to 
 observe when He instituted the Lord's Supper on the evening of 
 His betrayal by Judas Iscariot. In this memorial we are to 
 remember his death until He comes again when we partake of the 
 bread and the fruit of the vine, the cup.
 
 ***Therefore, the keeping of the weekly sabbath is not 
 scripturally binding on Christians today, because there is no 
 command in the New Testament for Christians to keep the 
 sabbath.*** 
 
 D. The keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding 
 on Christians today, because there is a sabbath for Christians 
 after they have completed their work.
 
 In Hebrews 4:1-11, the writer talks about the promised rest that 
 Israel looked for, which the original Hebrews lost due to lack of 
 faith. He proceeds to discuss this, even mentioning the seventh 
 day rest in verse 4. He goes on, even quoting David in verse 7.
 
 (Psa 95:7-11 KJV)  "For he is our God; and we are the people of 
 His pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear 
 his voice, 
 {8} Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the 
 day of temptation in the wilderness: 
 {9} When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 
 {10} Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and 
 said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have 
 not known my ways: 
 {11} Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter 
 into my rest."
 
 Those who disobeyed did not get to enter God's rest, or Canaan 
 land. Then he gets to an additional rest in verse 8.
 
 (Heb 4:8-11 KJV)  "For if Jesus had given them rest, then would 
 he not afterward have spoken of another day. 
 {9} There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
 {10} For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased 
 from his own works, as God did from his. 
 {11} Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any 
 man fall after the same example of unbelief."
 
 Notice in verse 9 that there is a rest remaining for the people 
 of God. But it is not the weekly sabbath as some would have us 
 believe. The weekly sabbath was kept all during the life of the 
 Hebrew people. But this "rest that remains" is a one-time rest, 
 not one that recurs every week. This rest is only entered into 
 when a person has ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
 
 Notice the comparison with God's rest after the creation on the 
 seventh day. God completed the work of creation, and then He 
 rested. We, Christians, must complete our work of life, before we 
 can enter into the "rest that remains."   Therefore, the "rest 
 that remains" is the promised rest of eternal life in heaven, 
 which the faithful inherit after this life, after we have 
 completed our life work. This is the Christian's "rest that 
 remains." This is the Christian's sabbath.
 
 So, we see that the seven day sabbath was only commanded of the 
 children of Israel. The Christian's sabbath is his rest in heaven 
 after he completes his work, as God rested after He completed His 
 work of creation.
 
 *** Therefore, the keeping of the weekly sabbath is not 
 scripturally binding on Christians today, because the Christian's 
 sabbath is rest in heaven after they have completed their work in 
 this life.***
 
 V. Conclusion.
 
 The keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding on 
 Christians today, because:
 
 A. the apostles did not bind the sabbath on Gentiles when given 
 the perfect opportunity to do so.
 
 B. the early church did not keep the sabbath, but assembled on 
 the first day of the week.
 
 C. there is no command in the New Testament for Christians to 
 keep the sabbath.
 
 D. the Christian's sabbath is rest in heaven aftter they have 
 completed their work in this life
 
 E. in the Bible record God did not relate the seventh day to man 
 as a memorial or a day to be kept at the creation, when He 
 sanctified and blessed it.
 
 F. in the Bible record no one was commanded to rest on the 
 seventh day until Exodus 12 when the children of Israel were told 
 to rest on it as they prepared for their flight from Egypt.
 
 G. in the Bible record no one was commanded to observe the 
 seventh day of the week as the sabbath until Exod. 16:23-26.
 
 H. in the Bible record no people other than the children of 
 Israel were ever commanded to keep it. 
 
 I. Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses and took it out of the way so 
 that men living today are no longer amenable to it.
 
 J. people living today are amenable to the gospel of Christ, not 
 the law of Moses.
 
 Therefore, here are ten solid reasons why the keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding on Christians today. The first of these nine reasons is in itself enough to prove the Affirmative's case. The Affirmative has proved its case over and over.
 
 I repeat:
 The keeping of the weekly sabbath is not scripturally binding on Christians today, because the apostles did not bind it on Gentiles when given the perfect opportunity to do so.