Is Romans 14:5 really talking about choosing your own day for the Sabbath?

Answer 1

There was an argument between the Pharisees (beit Shimai and beit Hillel) over which days they should fast and how. This has nothing to do with which day is the Sabbath . God sanctified the seventh day and declared it holy at creation

Begin reading in 14:1 and ask yourself what this has to do with verse 5.

Answer 2

No.

In Romans 1:28, Paul writes:

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.

In Romans 12:2, Paul continues:

Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

So in Romans 14:5-6, Paul concludes:

(For) one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord.

Since the problem was humanity's incorrect judgment (Romans 1:28), Paul indicates that the mind of the Christian is now able to function with appropriate discrimination (Romans 12:2).

+ The Lord's Day +

For Christians the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first day of the week (Sunday) replaces the Sabbath as the day of ceremonial observance of the Commandment to keep the Lord's Day holy.

Here is the link: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt1art3.htm

The Catholic Church follows the teaching and practice of the Apostles. In the 20th chapter of the Act of the Apostles, the church in Troas gathered on the first day of the week, Sunday.

The first Christians were Jews. They went to temple or synagogue on the Sabbath (Saturday) with fellow Jews.

Then they gathered on the first day of the week, the day on which Jesus rose from the dead (Sunday), with fellow Christians to tell stories of Jesus and share Eucharist. See Acts 20:7.

Later Gentiles joined Christianity. The Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, decided that the Gentiles did not have to covert to Judaism. Therefore, they only attended on Sundays and did not have to abide by Jewish dietary laws.

This biblical practice inspired by the Holy Spirit has been followed ever since.

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

"Remember the Sabbath" is the only commandment that shows that God is our Creator, and its exactly the one that people have a problem with.
-"he that offends one point is guilty of all" James 2:10
The Sabbath started upon Creation.God has the power to create the earth in an instant, and yet, He chose to divide creation into 6 days. For what reason? To show us that we must 'remember' Him as our Creator on the 7th day. It is a covenant between God and His people. It is the only commandment that shows that God is our Creator and we are His creatures. If we don't worship/observe the Sabbath-we negate our Lord as our Creator.
The Sabbath is considered God's seal among His people.
"I also gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I The Lord made them Holy" Ezequiel 20:12 "
"But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day" Matthew24:20-This is talking about a day, The Sabbath day, not any day.
The Sabbath is a biblical symbol of sanctification. The final conflict prior to the coming of The Lord will be a time of tribulation for God's children. A time when everyone will have to choose;God's seal vs the mark of the beast. Isaiah 66:22-23 says:"For as the new heavens and the new earth shall remain before me,...it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before me"-This is found in the Old Testament, so its clearly talking about the Sabbath-Saturday, not Sunday. In heaven, we will worship The Lord on The Sabbath day, as a sign that He is our Creator who made us holy.
We cannot choose our own day, God chose it for us.

Answer 4

Nope, He's not speaking of the "Sabbath" in the 10 Commandment Law. The fourth commandment says:

Exodus 20:8 - 11 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates:
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.

There is also a similar referrence in Col.2:16 - Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:

First of all there a 2 types of Sabbaths in the Bible: Weekly Sabbaths and Ceremonial sabbaths, you can tell which one the bible refers to by whether or not the "S" is capitalized. See the difference for example in Genesis 2: or Exodus 20: and Col. 2 where the (s)abbath referred to was speaking of ceremonial laws.

If this was so, would it make sense that we could pick whatever day we wanted if the fourth commandment is so specific? Would that mean that we could murder, lie, and steal upon our own discretion of "justice"? If you read the whole chapter in context, you'll see that traditions and Jewish Ceremonial laws were what was being referred to.

Answer 5

Even in the Old Testament, the moral requirement of the Sabbath law was not the observance of a day, but the keeping of God's peace. They were put to death because they were peace breakers. Under the New Testament Christ is our Sabbath rest.

Romans 5:1[ Faith Triumphs in Trouble ] Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." If a person does not have Christ they do not have peace with God and do not keep the moral requirement of the Sabbath law are peace breakers and will eventually suffer the consequences.

In eternity we will not have a Sabbath day, because every day will be the Sabbath. Therefore the observance of a day is irrelevant under the New and better Covenant under which we should worship every day.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

No, the context is weakness in the faith and choosing which days to fast. Paul doesn't care which day you choose to fast.

You can't force the sabbath into this verse, it's not about the sabbath.

The Sabbath remains.

Hebrews 4:9
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

When this was written -it referred to the 7th day Sabbath. No one at the time this was written believed it to be talking about any other day of the week except the day we now call Saturday.

Have to comment on Acts 20:7 since it is often used to support meeting on Sundays for mass.

Acts 20:7
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

To "break bread" means to partake of food - to eat. This can be researched by anyone who wants find the truth.

Now look at the timing Paul spoke until midnight on the first day of the week. In biblical times the day begins at sunset. So the first day of the week begins at sunset after sabbath ends and continues until the next sunset.

Since Paul spoke until midnight it on the first day of the week in modern time this would mean Saturday night. They gathered to eat and then he spoke until midnight. Sunday morning he went on his journey.

GNB has it correct:
Acts 20:7 On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.

Also 1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

This is not speaking of an offering during a church service, it was about setting something aside during the course of your work and saving something every week until he came by.

There was a need in Jerusalem and he was asking for help, there is no mention of church services.

Answer 7

No, we may choose to observe days unto ourselves and man or unto the "Lord", YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In regarding a day for the Lord pertaining to the Sabbath, the Sabbath must first be defined.

IT IS THE SEVENTH DAY, A DAY OF REST IDENTIFYING HIM AS THE CREATOR.

Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he "rested" on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

The first reference is in Genesis when YHVH "rested" (shabath:H7673) which is the root word of (shabbath:H7676) Sabbath.

YHVH SANCTIFIED IT, MADE IT HOLY UNTO HIM, SET APART FROM THE OTHER DAYS OF THE "WEEK" (In Hebrew this would be from Sabbath to Sabbath).

Gen 2:3 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.

YHVH INSTRUCTED HIS PEOPLE TO KEEP (GUARD) THE SABBATH HOLY, TO MAKE IT SET APART FOR HIM.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ...
Exo 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.

IT IS A SIGN BETWEEN YHVH AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.

Exo 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

IT IS FOR THE STRANGER "GENTILE" WHO TAKES HOLD OF THE COVENANT OF YHVH.

Isa 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

To regard a day unto the "Lord" YHVH would be to observe the day as instructed and defined by Him not ourselves.

Answer 8

Not per se. In other words, he is not saying "choose your own day for the Sabbath".
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%2014;&version=49;
Taken in context, I think that verse 4 is most significant here, but verse 5 makes it clear that, as long as one follows one's devotionary precepts to "the Lord", then they are proper. If someone believes that it is wrong to eat meat, then it *is* wrong for them, and that's OK. That does not mean that all Christians must stop eating meat. If someone believes that Sunday is the Sabbath and they must go to church, then that *is* the Sabbath for them and, as long as they are doing it as a devotion to the Lord, it is OK. That does not mean that all Christians must follow suit.

In other words, it does *not* mean "everyone can choose their own day for the Sabbath". What it means is that everyone's worship of God is judged by God, not by us. As long as it *is* worship of God, then we have no business judging it.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 9

Ebedeliy and Robb35 are absolutly correct.

The entire context of this chapter is about food not about days. This in no way allows people to choose the day that they assemble before YHVH which is His perogitive alone, but allows a person to decide, with one notable exception, which days he is to fast.

I find it so interesting and yes even encouraging that they had the very same arguements then that we do now. Here they are battling over food which we still battle over. This is a totally misunderstood chapter due to so much misunderstanding of the culture and the customs of the time.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6)

And yes a valid comparison because the church has turned to Baal's and worshipping them on Baal's day... Sunday!

Repent! The kingdom of God is at Hand!

Answer 10

No. Paul has already affirmed that the Law is holy just and good. (Romans wasn't the first book he wrote). Maybe this is about celebrating your birthday.