1. Genesis 2:3 (NAS)
   Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
   
   
2. Exodus 20:8-11 (NAS)
   "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
   
   
3. Mark 2:27-28 (NAS)
   Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
   
   
4. Luke 4:16 (NAS)
   Jesus kept the Sabbath. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read."
   
   
5. Luke 23:56 (NAS)
   The women observed the Sabbath before preparing the body of Jesus Christ. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
   
   
6. Acts 18:4 (NAS)
   Paul taught and reasoned on the Sabbath. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and truing to persuade Jews and Greeks.
   
   
7. John 14:15 (NAS)
   "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
   
   
8. Galatians 5:1 (NAS)
   It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery

1. Genesis 2:3
   Sabbatarians begin with Genesis, like many Reformed and Puritan theologians, in order to support the theory that the Sabbath is a primary, moral, overriding and eternal command of God that cannot be abrogated. Taking the Genesis reference, Sabbatarians begin to build their doctrines on ASSUMPTIONS that they believe are contained in the reference. These ASSUMPTIONS are:
   A. God established a perpetual Sabbath day as the seventh day.
   B. God established that Sabbath day as a day of worship.
   C. The command applied to every human being, both then and in the future.
   D. The command must be obeyed forever.
   
   The biggest problem with the Sabbatarian interpretation of the Genesis reference is, that none of the assumptions made are actually stated in the verse. The question then becomes, what does the verse state that God established, in relation to what is ASSUMED that He established?
   
   

   (a) He blessed the seventh day. He looked on it with favor or granted favor to it.
   

   (b) He sanctified the seventh day. He set it apart from the other days in a manner, the details of which, are not specified.
   

   (c) He did those things because it marked the end of His creation acts and represented, to appearances, a time of rest in which to other creative acts were taking place.

   
   God did three things in relation to the seventh day: (1) He blessed it, (2) He sanctified it, (3) He rested on it.
   
   All acts that God did were in relation to the day and to Himself. It was God who rested and it was God who established, blessed and sanctified the day as a result of an act of rest which he accomplished Himself. No place in the verse is the day applied to humanity in any manner nor is there any command to humanity, either by implication or direct word, to observe or honor the day in any manner. There is no indication or implication, within the verse, that God spoke to Adam and Eve regarding the day or gave them any instructions regarding the day. Everything in the verse indicates that the day was set aside by God, for Himself and for His good pleasure.
   
   The seventh-day was not given any special name. It was not was not noted as being The Sabbath day, a Sabbath day, nor was it specified as being a memorial day, feast day, worship day, sacrificial day or attached to an observance of any kind, in relation to humanity. It may not be assumed or implied, by any wording in the text, that humanity was involved in any manner with the seventh-day of Genesis 2:3. It is not even stated that God informed Adam and Eve as to what He had done in relation to the day. No instructions are given by God, to Adam and Eve, regarding conduct in relation to the day. No commands are given to them regarding observance of the day and no teaching or doctrine is given in regards to the importance or obligations attached to humanity regarding the day.
   
   If this verse is considered to be the foundation of the Sabbath and the establishment of the perpetual obligation of humanity to honor the institution, it is difficult to understand how that teaching can be found by looking at the verse in an exegetical manner. Sabbatarians use the verse in an eisegetical manner, reading into the verse what they wish to be there in order to support the claim that they make regarding the validity of the purpose for which their organizations and beliefs were established.
   
   Sabbatarians begin with a false premise that ultimately leads to a false conclusion. Seventh-day keepers begin with the ASSUMPTION that THE Sabbath was established in Genesis 2:3, and it is a moral and permanent obligation of all people, in perpetuity, including Christians today. Therefore they worship of Saturday, considering that to be the only valid worship day approved by God.
   
   Other Sabbatarian based beliefs, including the Reformed belief and many puritans, also begin with a false premise that ultimately leads to a false conclusion. They also begin with the ASSUMPTION that The Sabbath was established in Genesis 2 and is a moral and permanent obligation of all people, in perpetuity, including Christians today. Beginning with an ASSUMPTION, they also end with another ASSUMPTION, stating that the seventh day Sabbath was changed to the first day during the forty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, either by the authority of the apostles or by Jesus Christ Himself. Unfortunately, the conclusion is also false, because the teaching is not found in the Scripture. Regardless of the destination desired, a false premise will eventually lead to a false conclusion.
   
   
2. Exodus 20:8-11
   In this verse, Sabbatarians see the confirmation of their claim that Genesis 2:3 was the establishment of The Sabbath. But an examination of the verses show that the view is flawed and again based on ASSUMPTIONS not stated in the Scripture.
   
   
   1. The first note is made in reference to the word "remember" at the start of verse eight. Sabbatarians claim that if the Israelites were to "remember" the Sabbath, then it must have been instituted prior to Exodus chapter 8 in order for them to recall. They then make an ASSUMPTION that the reference to the Sabbath is a reference to Genesis 2:3, and to "remember" is to recall that event. In the first claim, the Sabbatarians are correct in that there was a Sabbath for them to "remember" that was holy to the Lord. In the second assumption they are wrong, in that the Sabbath that they were to "remember" was not the event of Genesis 3:2, but the event of Exodus 16:23 in which they were to collect enough manna to bake and cook for two days on sixth day, and then celebrate the seventh day as the Sabbath. It was to be a day of rest. Exodus 16:23 is the first mention of a Sabbath in the Scripture, and is directly related to Israel and the events regarding the 10 commandments of Exodus 20 that follow. The Lord's command to "remember" was especially critical, in that many refused to obey they instructions that they were given by Him in Exodus 16, and had been frequently "forgetful" in their relationship to God and the recollection of the miraculous ways in which He had preserved them in their exodus from Egypt.
      
      
   2. Secondly, the reference to Genesis 2:3 in the Exodus 20:8-11 verses are used to affirm the connection with Genesis 2:3 as the establishment of the Sabbath. However, that is not the purpose of the connection. They are commanded to remember the Sabbath, established in chapter 16, and it is to be honored according to the pattern established by God in Genesis 2:3. Just as God worked six days and rested on the seventh, they are commanded to work six days a rest on the seventh. The Sabbath is given to them, as a representation of the rest that God gives, that not only was seen in the physical provision of food through the manna, but through the spiritual commandments of God that lead to a realization of sin and the call to God for rest in forgiveness.
      
      The explanation given in regards to Genesis 2:3 and Exodus 20:8-11 is significant. It is stated that God rested on the seventh day, and he blessed the Sabbath. They are two separate events, connected to each other only in type, but not in kind. The seventh day was blessed by God in Genesis 2:3, but it was not the Sabbath. The Sabbath was blessed in Exodus 20:8-11 and was established on the seventh day. The seventh day was God's personal day, established in Genesis 2:3. He then established the Sabbath on the seventh day and gave it to his people, a gift of His day of rest. The difficulty for the Sabbatarian is quite clear. If they believe that the seventh-day, in Genesis 2:3, which was blessed and sanctified by God, represented the establishment of the Sabbath as a perpetual obligation, why did God again bless and make holy, or consecrate, the Sabbath day (Genesis 20:11) which was established in Genesis 20:8-11? Since, according to Sabbatarians the Sabbath was established, blessed and sanctified in Genesis 2:3, there would have been no necessity or reason to bless, sanctify and make holy the Sabbath in Genesis 20.
      
      
   3. Thirdly, the reference to Exodus 20:8-11 is used as a justification for the Sabbatarian contention that the Sabbath is a creation ordinance that takes precedence over all other commandments. This has already been shown to be false in relation to Genesis 2:3 and also in relation to Exodus 20:8-11. Instead of the Sabbath being a creation ordinance, or a method of performance of a duty, it is a pattern set by God at creation, which has a much different purpose and meaning than that claimed by Sabbatarians.
      
      The reason for the establishment of the Sabbath is explained in Exodus 31:12-17 and it has nothing to do with the seventh day of Genesis 2:3, but it has everything to do with what the seventh day of Genesis represents in relation to God. The Sabbath was given as a sign , or identification, between Israel and God. Israel was the only group of people who had a God who could give them rest from spiritual works in an attempt to gain acceptance by God. They were commanded by the real God of creation not to worship false gods contained in religious systems that demand schemes of human works, claiming that the various commands, functions and performances will cause a person to be approved by their god.
      
      Just as God created the entire universe and affirmed, by His own declaration, that it was done properly and perfectly, He was able to rest in the knowledge and accomplishment of His own perfection and humanity is able to rest in the knowledge that God has created the means by which all people can become personally acquainted with, and be seen as right with the real God of the universe. Being a part of the 10 Commandments, the establishment of the Sabbath was an element of those commands that presented humanity with God's standard of human conduct in relation to righteousness. The standard of God made it necessary to keep the elements of the 10 Commandments PERFECTLY in order to be seen as righteous or acceptable by Him. The impossibility of that accomplishment by any human being is evident, and the only alternative is to appeal to the mercy of God and rest that He gives, as is the lesson to be seen in the Sabbath. If humanity was incapable of achieving righteousness before God by means of human accomplishment, then it was necessary for God to accomplish the task by His own sovereign will. Just as God created a perfect universe in six days and then rested in his own glorious accomplishment, the opposite is seen as humanity struggles for six days through human achievement, unable to rest in its failure to achieve a right standing before God, but must appeal to the rest that only God can grant. Rest is granted solely on the basis of the terms set by God and by no human declarations.
      
      The Sabbath was an object lesson in human performance; man's inability and lack of spiritual accomplishment and worthiness against God's perfect ability and provision that is granted on His terms. Those who keep the Sabbath, believing that it will bring about a right standing with God, or an exalted place of spiritual standing before other people make a great mistake. The Sabbath presents human achievement as a failure of performance, and God's ability and provision as the triumph of accomplishment.
      
      
3. Mark 2:27
   In this verse, Sabbatarians claim that there is a distinction between "moral law", that of the 10 Commandments and other types of law, such as the ceremonial aspects of the Law. In other words, they claim that the "Law" which includes the establishment of the Sabbath, expresses the will and nature of God which is unchangeable. In addition, they point to Matthew 5:17-18, as meaning that Christ was not and did not change or eliminate the "Law" or the 10 Commandments, therefore the establishment of the Sabbath on the seventh day is still in effect. However, there are no Seventh-day Baptist churches who still engage in the sacrificial observances and the Levitical priesthood functions that accompanied the observance of the "Law". So, they are inconsistent in the manner in which they apply the Scripture, using only those portions which they apply only to those beliefs which they hold in order to distinguish themselves from other Christian beliefs.
   
   The argument from Mark 2:27 is made that perhaps, at his creation in Genesis, Adam, representing all of humanity, was created to observe the Sabbath since Jesus Christ said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." But there is no statement made to that effect in the entire Scripture. The statement was made to the Pharisees in relation to the Sabbath established in Exodus, which they and their predecessors had corrupted for their own benefit. The Pharisees had taken what was intended for man to be a blessing and a time of rest and refreshment, and had turned it into a hideous mass of regulations and rules that placed man in a bondage the made the Sabbath day the most dreaded of all days. The Pharisees had twisted the Sabbath so that it became the object and man became the subject. God had intended the opposite, man being the object of the Sabbath, the subject of which was rest.
   
   In their denunciation of Jesus Christ, because He ignored the Sabbath restrictions which they had added to the Commandments, the Pharisees attempted to undermine the authority and credibility that Jesus Christ exerted over His actions. Jesus Christ answered the hypocritical criticism of the Pharisees by noting that He had authority and could exercise that authority in any manner in which He chose. In relation to the Sabbath, He could do anything that He wished, because He was Lord of the Sabbath, not just as the person who was in charge, but as the person who had created and established it. Since the Sabbath existed, was established and was characterized by Jesus Christ, He could do with it as He pleased and it was subject to His good pleasure. He could establish it, He could maintain it and He could abolish it at will.
   
   The comment is made by Sabbatarians that there would have been no need for Jesus Christ to declare that He was Lord over the Sabbath if He had planned to abolish it after His death. But this begs the issue, because the question was not about abolishment of the Sabbath, but the claim by the Pharisees that Jesus had violated the Sabbath by the conduct of Himself and His disciples. The attack was on the authority of Jesus Christ, and His reply was that He had all authority to do and act as He pleased because of His position as Lord. Since the attack came as a result of His actions in relation to the Sabbath, He stated His credentials in relation to that institution.
   
   Sabbatarians claim that the life and death of Jesus Christ did not change the original meaning or the purpose of the Sabbath. In that claim, they are correct in relation to the Sabbath as it was instituted prior to the death of Jesus Christ. But, the inference is made that nothing changed in relation to the Sabbath after the death of Jesus Christ, and in that deduction is a great and serious error. If Sabbatarians are consistent in what they claim, then they must make the same claim in relation to the whole of the Mosaic Law, and therefore, since the Mosaic Law was a system of works, then salvation is by means of works and not of grace based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus Christ did change the Sabbath, because Christians worshipped on the first day of the week and not on the seventh day of the week as they had previously done. In spite of the claims by Sabbatarians that the early Christians and the apostle Paul worshipped on the Sabbath, claims which are without foundation and false, the first meeting of the apostles was on the first day of the week on which Jesus Christ appeared to them.
   
   Another claim made by Sabbatarians is in relation to Matthew 5:17-18, where Jesus Christ said that He did not come to abolish the Law. Therefore Sabbatarians assume that the seventh day Sabbath is still in effect, because Jesus Christ did not abolish the Law. In this teaching, the Sabbatarians make a grievous error in relation to what Jesus Christ claimed and as to what His death and resurrection signifies. Truly Jesus Christ said, I did not come to abolish the Law, but to FULFILL..." That seven letter word signifies the relationship that Jesus Christ had to the Law and to components of the Law that was the Sabbath. To fulfill the Law was to bring it to its fruition, conclusion, accomplishment or finish. Something did change, in relation to the law, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ because of the effect that He had on it, being the fulfillment of what the Law represented. In that fulfillment, the Law, including the Sabbath, is comprehend through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and is quite different from that which preceded those actions.
   
   The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in a New Covenant, one which replaced the Old Covenant both in kind and in nature. The apostle Paul states how complete this replacement was because of the change of the priesthood in which Jesus Christ became the great high priest after the order of Melchizedek, replacing the old Levitical priesthood:

   For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things re spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is attested of Him, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
   Hebrews 7:12-19

   When the priesthood was eliminated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything regarding the establishment and efficacy of the old Levitical priesthood and the Law was changed and eliminated, including the 4th commandment regarding the establishment of the Sabbath. The reason for this change is rooted in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. He was not a priest from the hereditary line of the Levites like all other priests of Israel had been. Jesus Christ was from the line of Judah, from which no priests could come and from which none had ever come. Jesus Christ was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, which was not a hereditary priesthood, but was an appointed priesthood. Jesus Christ was appointed directly by God as a priest, just the same as had been Melchizedek, Psalm 110:4.
   
   The old Levitical priesthood and the Law that accompanied it were abolished, because Jesus Christ, having fulfilled the requirements of the old Law, was a priest appointed by God and therefore the Law of a new priesthood was set in place of the old Law and priesthood. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, all humanity became subject to Jesus Christ and not to the Law of the Decalogue or the elements of the Levitical priesthood. No longer do priests minister daily in the temple, making sacrifices for sins, but Jesus Christ is the one and only High Priest, who intercedes in heaven for the sins of those who believe in Him. He is the great High Priest who made the one supreme sacrifice for all, by His death on the cross and His authority is granted by His resurrection from the dead.
   
   It is clear from Hebrews 7:12-19 that the Law of Moses and the Levitical priesthood has been replaced by the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the Sabbatarian claims that the Sabbath is a moral obligation that is above the Law of Moses. If that is the case, then it must also transcend the gospel of Jesus Christ, because He did not teach that a person must observe the Sabbath after His resurrection. The only appeal that the Sabbatarian has, in order to establish the claim that the Sabbath is a perpetual and moral obligation for all humanity to observe, is to refer back to Genesis 2:3 and claim that the Sabbath was established by God at that time. As has been shown, that claim is based only on an ASSUMPTION and not on fact, as the term Sabbath is not used in Genesis 2:3 and there is no teaching, doctrine or command regarding a human obligation to observe the Sabbath in that verse.
   
   
4. Luke 4:16
   The use of this verse by Sabbatarians to support the idea of a perpetual and moral obligation to honor the Sabbath is difficult to understand. The fact that Jesus Christ observed the Sabbath while He was alive says nothing about what is being claimed by Sabbatarians.
   
   Of course Jesus Christ observed the Sabbath. He was born under the legalistic system of the Mosaic Law which was abolished as a result of His death. If Jesus Christ did not keep the Law, which included the observance of the Sabbath, then He could not have fulfilled the Law.:

   But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons
   Galatians 4:4-5 (NAS)

   That was the point of His life, being able to live and adhere perfectly to the Law of God so that He might present Himself as the perfect sacrifice, having no sin in His own life, therefore He was able to atone for the sins of others. He could not have accomplished that task had He not been born subject to the Law which was the standard demanded by God in order for any human being to be considered to have right standing with Him.
   
   The Sabbatarian can only point to this verse which speaks only of Jesus Christ fulfilling the Law, by observing its precepts perfectly, which included observance of the Sabbath, during His lifetime. The verse says nothing about Jesus Christ observing the Sabbath after His death and resurrection, a concept that would be ridiculous.
   
   
5. Luke 23:56
   This verse, in relation to the women who prepared the spices to place on the body of Jesus Christ after His death and their subsequent observance of the Sabbath, also has nothing to do with the Sabbatarian claim that the Sabbath is moral and perpetual in nature. What those women did was in relation to what they were accustomed and had been taught. They did not know or understand what was to come, because Jesus Christ had not yet been raised from the dead and the New Covenant had not yet been established. Why would they observe the first day when they did not even believe that Jesus was to be resurrected?
   
   This verse has no connection with Sabbatarian claims, and says nothing about the establishment of a perpetual Sabbath.
   
   
6. Acts 18:4
   This verse is used by Sabbatarians in an effort to prove that the Apostle Paul observed the Sabbath day and not the first day. There are Sabbatarians that claim the apostles observed the Sabbath 84 times in the New Testament but did not honor the first day of the week.
   
   At the very best, this argument by Sabbatarians is a grievous error, and at the worst is a complete distortion and fabrication of the Scriptural record. In this verse, Paul is on a missionary journey, having left Athens and arrived in Corinth. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, "And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks."
   
   Of course Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, as that was the only day on which the Jews met. If he had gone on the first day, the Lord's Day, no Jews would have been present because they would have been engaged in their various occupations. If the apostle Paul wanted a Jewish audience, he had to go where they gathered. They gathered in the synagogue, on the Sabbath as they had always done.
   
   The verse is very specific as to the purpose of the Apostle Paul. He did not go to the synagogue to worship, but to "...persuade Jews and Greeks."
   
   There are many other verses, in relation to the Apostle Paul visiting the synagogues while on his missionary journeys, that are used by Sabbatarians in an attempt to "prove" that Paul observed the Sabbath instead of the first day of the week. Their claims are absolutely without foundation and speak nothing regarding Paul worshipping on the Sabbath, but instead reveal that he was there as a missionary in an attempt to convert Jews and Gentiles from their traditional beliefs.
   
   Sadly, many Sabbatarians show not only their lack of understanding of the Scripture, but also their contempt for the authority of Scripture by twisting and misrepresenting Scripture in an attempt to support their own teaching instead of what is presented in the Scripture itself. Sabbatarians place their day of worship at the top of their doctrinal list of teachings and every other doctrine becomes secondary.
   
   
7. John 14:15
   In an attempt to support their belief, Sabbatarians claim that observance of the Sabbath was one of the Commandments of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the verse or in the verses before or after that mention the Sabbath or even hint as to the possibility that Jesus Christ was speaking in relation to Sabbath observance. This is a classic example of a falsehood being stated as a fact, and then a verse being found which supports the "fact" as falsely claimed.
   
   
8. Galatians 5:1
   Sabbatarians teach that the Sabbath is designed as a day of freedom and,

   "Jesus is in the business of setting people free from anything that is a barrier to intimate fellowship with Him. If God commanded us to keep the Sabbath day holy by resting, He would have to be in charge of all the circumstances that could keep us from obeying His command. That is why God has set his Son in charge of the Sabbath as 'Lord of the Sabbath.' Now we can be set free from all the labor and work of the Sabbath and be able to give God our undivided attention on His day."
   Seventh-day Baptist General Conference website: www.seventhdaybptist.org

   The fallacy of the application of this verse is apparent. Jesus sets the believer free from the bondage and penalty of sin, not the tiresome duties of the work week. Additionally, if God is in charge of the circumstances that allow a believer to worship on the seventh day, then He is remiss in His duties, since it is impossible for many who work to have the seventh day off.
   
   If there is anything about the verse that could be applied to the Sabbath, it is the possibility that it is referring to the abolishment of the day in relation to the "...yoke of slavery" which the Sabbath had become to the Jews. Paul's teaching was in reaction to the Law and the yoke of bondage under which a person suffered who attempted to keep those commandments. That is the freedom that Jesus Christ gives; freedom from a legalistic system of duties, in which obedience to those obligations does not impart a right standing with God.
   
   The Old Testament sacrificial system was always behind in its ability to obtain atonement for sins. As the priest went into the temple, he could only atone for the sins that had already been committed. For those sins that were being committed as he was in the temple and those that would be committed after he emerged from his duties, could not receive atonement for another year. The sacrificial system was an ongoing program in which priests continually went in and out of the temple and sacrifices were made day after day in an unrelenting repetition of those same duties that were the content of the law. Sins were never settled and assurance that God had accepted what was sacrificed was not entirely known. In essence, there was no assurance that resulted in rest for the soul, because the system was one of works and duties, which pleases only the pride of men and not God. The Sabbath was a rest that was not provided by the ingenuity and conformity of man, but was the gift that only God could provide as a shadow or allusion to the rest that Jesus Christ through the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ who forgives sins, both past, present and future and, unlike the Old Testament sacrificial system, Jesus Christ offered a sacrifice of Himself only once, and then the job was finished.

"God provides all of these resources to set us free to give Him our undivided attention for twenty-four hours a week. Of course, God wants our attention every day of the week. But because God wants our undivided attention on the seventh day Sabbath, He sets us free from the work of the world. God does all this for us because He loves us and He knows that we need it. And we keep His Sabbath holy by spending time with Him because we love Him."
Seventh-day Baptist General Conference website: www.seventhdaybptist.org