Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four Views

Perspectives

by Christopher John Donato (Editor), Charles P. Arand (Contributor), Craig L. Blomberg (Contributor)

Perspectives on the Sabbath presents in point-counterpoint form the four most common views of the Sabbath commandment that have arisen throughout church history, representing the major positions held among Christians today. Skip MacCarty (Andrews University) defends the Seventh-day view which argues the fourth commandment is a moral law of God requiring us to keep the seventh day (Saturday) holy. It must therefore remain the day of rest and worship for Christians. Jospeh A Pipa (Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary) backs the Christian Sabbath view which reasons that ever since the resurrection of Christ, the one day in seven to be kept holy is the first day of the week. Craig L. Blomberg (Denver Seminary) supports the Fulfillment view which says that since Christ has brought the true Sabbath rest into the present, the Sabbath commands of the Old Testament are no longer binding on believers. Charles P. Arand (Concordia Seminary) upholds the Lutheran view that the Sabbath commandment was given to Jews alone and does not concern Christians. Rest and worship are still required but not tied to a particular day.

Genres: Theology

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2011

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a challenging book! It took me a long time to get through it. That said, I learned a lot and am glad I read it. The book presents four views on the Sabbath. Each one is written by a biblical scholar, and they each evaluate one another’s perspectives with responses and rebuttals. Reading this confirmed what I already believed which is that Christ has fulfilled the Sabbath commandment, but that has many implications for us which we are called to work out in our Christian freedom. I recommend this book if you’re willing to persevere and want to know more about what it means to rest in Christ.

[David J. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful addition to the world of multiple-views-in-theology-literature, though it was admittedly longer and more technical than most. The most compelling take is Craig Blomberg, who prioritizes the NT interpretation and use of the OT as opposed to the bare OT readings themselves. Blomberg argues for a fulfillment view, and thus that Christians respond to the fourth commandment by knowing Jesus as our full and final salvific rest. Such an interpretation makes better sense of how the apostles wrote. The fulfillment view does not negate the principle or need for rest, nor does it cast aside the apostolic tradition of Lord's Day worship (although it does not see the second as tied into the fourth commandment). Craig Blomberg's essay is more than an argument for a particular understanding of the Sabbath, it is also a wonderful example and defense of apostolic priority in exegesis.

A worthy if at times difficult read!

[Andrew Mcneill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always difficult to review a multi-perspective book since the chapters are usually of uneven quality. And so it is here. But surprisingly, it's not always the views that you expect turn out to be the best chapters. Unexpectedly I found that the seventh day Adventist chapter to be one of the stronger chapters in the book - perhaps because it was strongly exegetical and focussed on explaining what the Bible said. However, when it came to explaining the New Testament passages that relativized the Sabbath, the approach was basically, "Well this can't be referring to the seventh day Sabbath". On the other hand, Blomberg's chapter which was also very exegetical, tended to be weak on the Old Testament passages. Some Old Testament passages speak about a future time when God's people will keep the Sabbath. Blomberg's approach is basically, "We don't really know - perhaps God will get people to keep the Sabbath in a coming millennial kingdom". Again, it's a weak answer. The other two chapters (reformed and Lutheran) tend to write from a more confessional/historical theology mode and didn't do much to convince me. Ultimately I felt it was a book in which no perspective offered convincing answers. But as a helpful introduction to four major views, it was a useful read.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm definitely in Blomberg's camp on this one ("Fulfillment" model), though it's difficult to tell the difference truly between his and the Lutheran perspective because the Lutheran took such a strange approach to his essay. . . . Pipa (Reformed Confessional) sounds like a reborn Pharisee. So does the 7th Day Adventist and frankly history's more on his side if you're going to lean Sabbatarian.

[Wassenario · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave me plenty of food for thought in what a Sabbath should look like. Gives 4 views and critiques by the other authors on each of the views. Very interesting.

[Craig Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to discussing the relevance and continuity of the Ten Commandments for the Christian, the dividing line seems to rest on the application of the fifth commandment – the command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. If obedience to the Ten Commandments is still in effect for the Christian then we must keep the Sabbath. If it is not in effect for the Christian then we do not have to keep the Sabbath. This of course is tied to the NT teaching on the law which is the seedbed of much of the controversy.

Perspectives on the Sabbath: 4 Views presents four views on Sabbath keeping for the Christian. It covers from the Seventh-Day Adventist view which is the strictest view to the Fulfillment view which is the most lenient.

The first view presented is the Seventh-Day Adventist view by Skip McCarty. There is much that McCarty rightly uses in defense of the Sabbath-Day view. He rightly starts in Genesis 2:2 and utilizes the Ten Commandments as given in Exodus and Deuteronomy. McCarty clearly holds a continuationist view of the Ten Commandments so much so that he believes the Sabbath rest is still to be held on what our calendars still call Saturday. Texts like Isaiah 56:5-6 & 66:22-23 are used to claim that the Saturday Sabbath rest is universal for all time. However, as Pipa points out, McCarty does not follow his application through since he does not believe we need to obey the other ceremonial observances (p. 76). What makes the Seventh-Day view stand out is that it does not recognize the resurrection event as having any bearing on when the day in which the Sabbath is held – changing from Saturday to Sunday. McCarty concludes his defense with this statement:

For us, Jesus’ fulfillment of the Sabbath doesn’t make Sabbath observance obsolete; rather, it infuses it with even richer meaning than the most devout OT believer had the privilege of understanding or experiencing (p. 70).

The second view is that of the Christian Sabbath as defended by Joseph A. Pipa. Like McCarty, Pipa begins in Genesis and uses some of the same texts to ground the nature of the Sabbath command. As a continuationist for the Ten Commandments, Pipa sees a moral grounding, as opposed to ceremonial grounding, for the Sabbath command and therefore believes it is binding on the NT believer. Pipa holds that since the Ten Commandments are not ceremonial law, having their grounding in creation and the law, provide the basis for the rest of the Mosaic law and are repeated in the NT they are still applicable for the NT believer. Pipa believes that the command to the keep the Sabbath is about the seventh day of the week and not necessarily tied to Saturday. Since the Ten Commandments are not ceremonial or judicial they are not fulfilled in the sense of abrogating their use or applicability for the Christian. Christ does fulfill them but does not end them. Pipa rightly contends that the resurrection of Christ is the defining event that the NT church recognized as shifting the Sabbath rest from Saturday to Sunday. Before the resurrection the basis for Saturday Sabbath was creation and the Exodus. Since the resurrection, Sabbath is remembered in celebration of and on the day of the resurrection event – Sunday. When it comes to observing the Sabbath Pipa argues that the believer is to rest short of works of necessity (preparing food or feeding animals) and mercy (tending to medical emergencies, helping a neighbor fix their car so they can get to work the next day or certain types of businesses that cannot shut down on Sunday). Admittedly, this leaves room for much “work” to be done in Sunday. I personally find this view to be the most convincing.

The third view is the Lutheran view as presented by Charles Arand and the fourth is the Fulfillment view as defended by Craig Blomberg. Though Blomberg believes there is enough difference between the two to separate them, readers will have a hard time seeing the net difference. The most notable difference is the evidence and method of defense each uses to support their view. Arand depends heavily on Luther’s works while Blomberg rests more on Scripture and history. In the end they both come to the same conclusion that the NT believer is not bound to the Ten Commandments the same way the OT Jew was. Therefore, we are not bound to the Sabbath command with the same guidelines. Yes we are to observe the Sabbath but we are free in Christ to do with our time as we see fit once we have worshiped with God’s people in our local church.

There is much to commend this perspectives book for. Overall it is clear. The challenging remarks are respectful. It was good to see that each contributor had the opportunity to respond to the criticisms of the others. Each contributor had a deep respect for the authority of Scripture and sought to show how their view supported that belief the best. Three of the four chapters presenting the respective view were a bit long and I think some could have been cut out and still been satisfying to the reader and the writer.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book detailing several different approaches to the Sabbath and argues for and against each side presented: the Seventh-Day Adventist view, the Christian Sabbath view, the Lutheran view, and the Fulfillment view. The book is pretty thick for a multiple-perspective book, but, while it could have been pared down some, it also gives a very comprehensive look at the major positions.

In my opinion, the largest and most important debate in this book was very much between the Christian Sabbath and the Fulfillment views, and the conversation tended to get the tensest between the two authors arguing for these positions. That being said, both the Lutheran and the Seventh-Day Adventist had valuable insights to offer, and, while neither of them were as particularly convincing as the other two, they both made strong arguments for their sides, and I learned a lot about their positions.

In the end, most of the differences lie fundamentally with what hermeneutic is to be used for understanding the relationship of the OT to the NT. I was most convinced by Pipa's argument for the Christian Sabbath view, especially in how it focused on Hebrews 4:9, but I was also coming from that perspective. Great book that really forces you to consider all the arguments and dig deeper into the issues surrounding the observing of the Sabbath.

Rating: 4-4.5 Stars (Excellent).

[Daniel Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful book which explores the basic positions of the Sabbath debate. My main complaint is that the authors are very wordy and could have shortened the book by about half without sacrificing content. I also wonder is Arand was a necessary contributor (his his content is an interesting read). I also didn't appreciate Pipa's inappropriate accusation of Blomberg being 'antinomian' I regards to weekly worship.

However, the interaction between the authors is very helpful, and the exegetical and hermeneutical issues are laid out clearly for the most part.

I am most persuaded by Pipa and the Christian Sabbath position, though there some weak portions of Pipa's case. While I think there is warrant in Scripture that the Sabbath is a creation 'ordinance' and that Sunday is the new Sabbath, I think Pipa doesn't succeed as well as he thinks in proving those propositions.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good debate on the topic. I learned a lot.

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craig L. Bloomberg the most exegetically based and convincing.

[Nathan Foy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful to clarify my own views.