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What is the biblical basis why Sabbath day is no longer observed in the Christian era?
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"On the observance of Sabbath day"


Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, March 2007, p.4


I   UNDERSTAND that   the  founder   of the used   to  be  a  Seventh-day  Adventist,  which means   he   understood   the   importance   of observing the Sabbath from the standpoint of an Adventist. Can you  please explain to me why he did not include Sabbath observance as a part of the practices of INC members?

Glenn D. Whitt II
tromboniste@email.uophx.edu

 

Editor's reply:

We must first clarify and rectify certain points in your   letter.   If  the  person you are referring  to in  your letter as  "the founder of the INC" is Brother Felix Manalo, we would like to make it clear that he is not the founder of the Iglesia  ni Cristo.  Brother Felix Manalo is the  man  whom we recognize and believe as God's messenger who was instrumental for the emergence of the Iglesia ni Cristo in these last days as attested to by biblical prophecies (Isa. 46:1 1; 41 :9-10; Rev.   7:2-3).

Before Brother Felix Manalo was  sent  by God to preach  the Iglesia m Cristo, He was once a member of the Seventh-day Adventist. However,  he left that religion in search of the truth and of the true religion. Brother Manalo,  being once a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,   understood the importance of observing the Sabbath from the standpoint of an Adventist. However, he came to understand, from the biblical standpoint, that observing the Sabbath in the Christian Era is unbiblical.

Observing the Sabbath was God's command to His ancient nation, Israel.  It was one of the ten commandments God gave to Moses to be observed  by ancient Israel as a symbol of the Lord's covenant with them and to commemorate their deliverance  from bondage in  Egypt. (Mal. 4:4;   Exod. 31:16;   Deut.   5:15).    But,   the same law that supposes that no work should be done during the Sabbath day no longer applies to God's people in the Christian  Era.  Apostle Paul taught:

"Let no one criticize you in matters of food or drink or for not observing   festivals,  new moons or the sabbath" (Col. 2:16, Christian Community Bible).

In  fact,  even during the time of the Israelites, God had put an end to the observance of Sabbath and caused it to be forgotten (Hos. 2:11, Revised Standard Version; Lam. 2:6, NKJV)

And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts. (Hosea 2:11, RSV)

He has done violence to His tabernacle, [As if it were] a garden; He has destroyed His place of assembly; The LORD has caused The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion. In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest. ( Lamentations 2:6, NKJV)

That  is why we can read from the  Holy Scriptures that the Lord Jesus Christ  Himself stated that "it is lawful  to do good on the Sabbath" (Matt. 12:12, New International Version).

and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”  He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”  Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. (Matthew 12:10-13, NIV)

Jesus even healed sick people on the Sabbath day   (Luke 13:10-17).

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free  from your infirmity.”  Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”  The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?  Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.  (Luke 13:10-17, NIV)

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