ADOPTING THE SABBATH:
A Brief Reflection on My Spiritual Journey
A Brief Reflection on My Spiritual Journey
Dr. Paul Manuel—2016
Dr. Manuel's response when asked how he and Linda, his wife, came to observe the seventh day Sabbath.
In the early 1970s, I met a messianic Jew who challenged me to consider adopting the Sabbath. I did so but realized that it was only one of several interconnected issues from God's law—such as circumcision, diet, and festivals—all of which required that I now settle another question: Having taken this step, did God expect me to go further, even convert to Judaism? Some gentiles in the messianic movement had done so. If that is also what He expected from me, then adopting those other issues would soon follow. If that is not what He expected from me, then deciding which issues to accept would require careful consideration.
Two passages in particular helped clarify the matter and shape my decision. The first clarifying passage was the Jerusalem council's pronouncement when it faced a similar question: Do gentiles need to become Jews in order to be saved?1
The second clarifying passage was Paul's treatment of circumcision as it related to justification in his letter to the Galatians:2
After considerable study, it became clear to me that keeping the Sabbath command was, for gentiles, optional not obligatory, yet one whose observance came with great advantage.4 Isaiah writes: "Blessed is the man...who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it" (Is 56:2). As far as the other interconnected issues, circumcision was moot, at least for me, having been settled when I was an infant.5 Diet was not a difficult matter to decide, especially when God indicated His general disapproval of one item in particular:6
I grew up in a (Sunday) Baptist church that rarely spoke about God's laws, apart from an occasional reference to the Decalogue and the common but uncritical assumption that He intended the ten for everyone. The journey I began with my consideration of adopting the Sabbath and what may come after it was different from any I had undertaken previously,9 and it also led me to investigate His other commands. What I discovered clarified what God expects from gentile believers in general and what He expects from me in particular.10
In the early 1970s, I met a messianic Jew who challenged me to consider adopting the Sabbath. I did so but realized that it was only one of several interconnected issues from God's law—such as circumcision, diet, and festivals—all of which required that I now settle another question: Having taken this step, did God expect me to go further, even convert to Judaism? Some gentiles in the messianic movement had done so. If that is also what He expected from me, then adopting those other issues would soon follow. If that is not what He expected from me, then deciding which issues to accept would require careful consideration.
Two passages in particular helped clarify the matter and shape my decision. The first clarifying passage was the Jerusalem council's pronouncement when it faced a similar question: Do gentiles need to become Jews in order to be saved?1
Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.... 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. 5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." 6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7a After Much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ... 11 We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." 13a [Then] James spoke up.... 19 "It is my judgment ... that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."The council ruled that salvation was not dependent on circumcision (i.e., conversion). That is, gentiles do not need to become Jews in order to be saved.
The second clarifying passage was Paul's treatment of circumcision as it related to justification in his letter to the Galatians:2
Gal 5:3 I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.Paul agreed with the council's ruling in Acts 15 that circumcision had no bearing on salvation (justification). Yet a question remained: What role does obedience to God's various commands play in a person's relationship with Him, and are there commands a believer should obey that he may think do not apply to him?3
After considerable study, it became clear to me that keeping the Sabbath command was, for gentiles, optional not obligatory, yet one whose observance came with great advantage.4 Isaiah writes: "Blessed is the man...who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it" (Is 56:2). As far as the other interconnected issues, circumcision was moot, at least for me, having been settled when I was an infant.5 Diet was not a difficult matter to decide, especially when God indicated His general disapproval of one item in particular:6
Isa 65:2a All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people... 4b who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat.I had no particular fondness for the 'foods' He prohibited, so abstaining from them was not a hardship (although giving up "the other white meat" is a deal-breaker for many Christians).7 Deciding about festivals entailed careful study to determine which ones God intended just for Jews and which ones He intended also for others.8 In the end, I concluded that few festivals apply to gentiles living outside the land of Israel.
Isa 66:17 "Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things—they will meet their end together," declares the LORD.
I grew up in a (Sunday) Baptist church that rarely spoke about God's laws, apart from an occasional reference to the Decalogue and the common but uncritical assumption that He intended the ten for everyone. The journey I began with my consideration of adopting the Sabbath and what may come after it was different from any I had undertaken previously,9 and it also led me to investigate His other commands. What I discovered clarified what God expects from gentile believers in general and what He expects from me in particular.10
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs