Keeping the Sabbath and Colossians 2:16

Question

Colossians 2:16-17, 20-21 says,

16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”

The New King James Version. (1982). (Col 2:20–21). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

That entire portion of the end of Colossians 2 talks about the danger of legalism and seems to discourage keeping things such as the Sabbath (at least keeping them legalistically). How do Seventh-Day Adventists and other denominations that keep the Sabbath interpret this passage?

Answer 1

"That entire portion of the end of Colossians 2 talks about the danger of legalism and seems to discourage keeping things such as the Sabbath"

Actually, it doesn't talk about that. In fact it has quite the opposite meaning.

I once used Colossians as an example of exegesis: https://rbutterworth.nfshost.com/Management/examples/exegesis

If you aren't going to read that article itself, at least be aware of the importance of the context in which Paul was writing.

The Colossian Church was isolated from the rest of Christianity. Most of the people there were Ascetics, who believed that the physical body represented evil while its immortal soul represented good. That soul must be developed by physical suffering, and so, anyone that enjoys themselves, celebrates, eats good food, etc. is obviously an evil carnal person.

The Ascetics were criticising the Christian converts for their religious practices, and Paul was worried that some of them might feel ashamed of their Christianity and revert back to Greek paganism. He warns them to "continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard".

Here's the section on 2:17:

2:16-17 resumes the warning about being influenced by the opinions of others:

Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow [prophetic symbolism] of what is to come; but the substance [what casts the shadow, the eventual kingdom of God on earth] belongs to Christ.

The original Greek did not use punctuation, but relied more on sentence structure. This structure is sometimes lost in translation into English (e.g. the original word order is no therefore man you let-judge in meat …, the single Greek word being translated into let and judge with other words intervening). Punctuation was supplied by the translators, who also supplied additional words to make the English read more smoothly or clearly. These added words are marked in italics in the King James version, which translation (with supplied words and punctuation omitted) perhaps provides an even better interpretation of this passage:

Therefore
    let
        no man
            judge you
                in meat
             or in drink
             or in respect
                        of an holyday
                     or of the new moon
                     or of the sabbath
                  which are a shadow
                      of things to come
        but the body of Christ

A much more obvious meaning immediately becomes apparent: let no one but the body of Christ judge you (the body of Christ being the Church). We should not feel bad about being condemned by non-Christians for our Christian practices such as honouring the symbols of God's promises.

The food and drink, festivals, new moons (monthly sabbaths), and (weekly) sabbaths refer to things that the Christian community is expected to practice, and not, as some suppose, to unclean foods and pagan festivals. The Ascetics were opposed to any form of physical pleasure (often including eating meat of any kind), and such holy feasts and celebrations (which, except possibly for the Day of Atonement, are a time of joy and pleasure to Christians) were a direct insult to their beliefs. But these sabbaths and holy festivals are symbols to Christians of God's plan for mankind, and must be commemorated despite the objections of non-Christians.

In keeping God's sabbaths and festivals, a Christian will be subject to criticism from others, and in particular that criticism may often be of a very morally superior tone, possibly making the Christian feel that he himself might be the one in the wrong.

Answer 2

Great Question, It seems on the surface level that this is obviously talking against keeping the Sabbath holy.

However, there are some key aspects of this verse that need to be considered. The list of things not to be judged are.

• food and drink
• Festivals
• new moon
• sabbaths

These are referred to as a shadow of things that were to come. There are several interesting things to note.

1. Sabbath is plural.
2. there is this idea of a new moon (where has that come from
3. Why is food and drink added to the discussion of these other things that look like events?

Plural Sabbaths? When you hear people referring to the weekly Sabbath, it is usually singular. consider Matthew 12:8 when Jesus says he is Lord of the Sabbath. that is our first hint that this is not as it seems on the surface, and meant something different to how we read it in English.

However, there are these annual Sabbaths that are often grouped together. also referred to as High Sabbaths (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Sabbaths). * Passover * Feast of weeks * Feast of Trumpets * Feast of Tabernacles

you can see that sabbaths, festivals are starting to group together. But new moons and food and drink? Look at numbers 28:11. we see that there is now the concept of sacrifice each month, and a month is represented by a new moon.

lastly is the food and drink, which are a type of offering offered in Israel. What that means is each of the things listed in Colossian's links to a sacrifice. This is not unique in scripture look at Ezekiel 45:17 where it almost quotes verbatim this list in Colossians.

The conclusion, The sacrifices and feasts all point to Christ and we no longer need to keep them as he has fulfilled there purpose.

The weekly Sabbaths are different. They refer to God as a creator and redeemer, which is still a valid reason to worship God on a Sabbath.

Here is a formal article on the same issue. https://www.adventist.org/en/spirituality/sabbath/article/go/-/the-sabbath-in-colossians-2/

Answer 3

Legalism is when someone keeps the law thinking that it would save them. This is not why an adventist keeps the Sabbath.

Adventists, like most Christians believe, we are under the new covenant of grace, the old covenant of obeying by our own powers is done away. However, the content of the moral law is still the same as always. By faith through grace God leads us to want to live according to the ten commandment. It is the reason why Christians do not want to murder or commit adultery. The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) specifically says to remember the Sabbath day because God blessed the Sabbath day at creation. Therefore, we do it as an allegiance of love for God.

Exodus 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The reason why Colossians is not about the seventh day sabbath is because this passage is about the ceremonial laws and Jewish civil laws that were nailed to the cross and done away with. (Col 2:14).

The key here is that it describes these customs as:

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Colossians 2:17

In other words, these ordinances were ceremonial laws designed to point to Jesus. They were symbolic of Jesus' ministry and were fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross. The holy days and the sabbaths within the holy days are not the seventh day Sabbath, instead they are rest days found during holy days like the passover. These no longer need to be kept.

However, the seventh day Sabbath is entirely different. These were never a shadow of things to come, but a memorial of creation itself.

Think about it, the seventh day Sabbath would exist even if men never sinned! God blessed it at creation, Exo 20:11. Therefore it was not fulfilled at the cross. Ergo, we should be keeping it by faith.

In answer to the claim that at the death of Christ the precepts of the Decalogue had been abolished with the ceremonial law, Wesley said: “The moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments and enforced by the prophets, He did not take away. It was not the design of His coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which ‘stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven.’ ... This was from the beginning of the world, being ‘written not on tables of stone,’ but on the hearts of all the children of men, when they came out of the hands of the Creator. And however the letters once wrote by the finger of God are now in a great measure defaced by sin, yet can they not wholly be blotted out, while we have any consciousness of good and evil. Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other. (The Great Controversy, Ellen White, pg 262)

For more information, read about sabbath and Colossians on https://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception-Sabbath_Colossians_ceremonial-law

Answer 4

Is not Christ our Sabbath that all the Old Testament law, shadows pointed to?

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 

Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 

Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.  Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

Answer 5

first answer. :)

From my understanding so far of the scriptures, this verse is talking about the burnt, meat & drink offerings of the old testament ordinances

That is why he's mentioning Drink and Food, and Holydays, New Moons & Sabbaths, compare with Ezekiel 45:17

It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

Much Love, Yahshua LIVES

Answer 6

The answer is that Paul is contrasting regulations established by men or angels with those established by God (Christ Jesus). For those who would otherwise observe the 7th day, they point not at the Law of Moses given at Sinai, but rather at the God who established the 7th day set in Genesis.

Paul draws a contrast.

Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body is of the Christ; Col 2:16:17

Why?

which are all for destruction with the using, after the commands and teachings of men, Col 2:22

The idea is that the Law was given by ministrations of angels and by Moses.

Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. Acts 5:53

For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; Heb 2:2

And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. Exo 20:19

(I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, Deut 5:5

So, those things were nailed to the cross (Col 2:14). But the 7th day rest from work was established long before Sinai.

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Gen 2:3

To be clear, the 7th day is not defined as the sabbath with all of its man-made rules at that time, but as rest from work. What work is in view? The point is to rest from your work of working for your salvation. You have been saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8).

Answer 7

In addition to not working, the Adventist perspective on keeping the Sabbath includes:

• The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and continues until sunset on Saturday
• The Sabbath is an appointed time for a holy convocation to the LORD

At the time Adventism began, most Christians agreed a weekly day of no work was to be observed. However, contrary to most Christians, Adventists maintain it was Saturday, and followed the Jewish tradition of beginning the Sabbath at sunset on Friday. Adventists maintain Christians were wrong in moving the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. At the time Adventism began, Sunday was widely observed as a day of rest on which businesses were closed. Therefore, it should be remembered this dispute primarily centered on when not if and how the Sabbath should be observed. The aspect of "when" is the difference between the "Lord's Day," that is Sunday, and the Sabbath day, that is Saturday.

It may oversimplify the complete dispute, but a primary issue Adventists had was in moving the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. This was contrary to what activities were required on the Sabbath:

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.
(Leviticus 23:3 ESV)

Arguably, the prohibition against work was to make everyone free to meet¹with the LORD and participate in the required holy convocation.

The command to observe the Sabbath begins:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)

At the time the command was given, the people had already been observing the Sabbath which had been given to them in the second month (cf. Exodus 16) and which was confirmed by the manna. The Sabbath day was the day on which there was no manna from the LORD and the day on which the previous day's manna would not spoil and could be eaten. Therefore, "Remember the Sabbath day..." is not a general requirement to observe a day of rest, but a requirement to remember the specific day on which the people were to have a holy convocation. In other words, do not gather manna, but gather yourself to the LORD.

Paul's writings are often used to show he gathered with other believers on Sunday, the day after the Sabbath. Without getting into the merits of this exegesis, it cannot be denied Paul was found in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Moreover, when there was no synagogue (i.e. Philippi), Paul went to the "place of prayer" on the Sabbath. In addition, Acts has several references to Paul's intent to observe other Jewish holy days and customs. Regardless of what additional traditions Paul followed, he continued to recognize the traditional calendar of Judaism.

If the Sabbath is a "shadow" of things to come, then Paul understands there is something real in heaven which is responsible for casting the shadow:

⁴ Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵ They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 4)

So some Christians like Adventist believe in observing the Sabbath as it points to that which is real:

⁸ For if Jesus had given them rest, he would never have afterwards spoken of another day. ⁹ There remaineth therefore a day of rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he that is entered into his rest, the same also hath rested from his works, as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest; lest any man fall into the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4 DRA)

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_{1. The "Feasts of the LORD" described in Leviticus are called מוֹעֵד, appointed times or meetings.}