‘Keep the Sabbath holy’

Brian Chitemba/Desire Ncube —
The Almighty God created the heavens and earth as well as all that is within in six days and on the seventh day, He rested.

On this seventh day, God commanded people to keep the Sabbath holy and observe it.

This has seen the church – the body of Jesus Christ – observing the Sabbath on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, depending on different beliefs.

Sabbath is considered the seventh day of the week. For the Seventh Day Adventist, the African Apostolic Church (Mwazha) and many other apostolic sects; Saturday is the Sabbath day.

The Catholics and a host of Pentecostal churches worship on Sunday. African traditionalists observe Sabbath on a day of rest called Chisi in Sona.

For years, debate has been raging on whether those who do not observe Sabbath will be cast to hell come judgment day. Therefore, which day is the ‘real’ Sabbath? Are Christians free to pick any day of the week to rest and worship God?

Harare based theologian Pastor Moses Mazhindu said there are seven days in a week but historians did not agree on the cycle’s origin.

He said Christians should observe Saturday as the Sabbath in accordance with the Bible.

Pastor Mazhindu then quoted Genesis 2 verses 2-3 which says, “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. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.”

A Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) evangelist who preferred anonymity said following the pattern of creation, God rested on the seventh day and Christians should stick to that.

“The word “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew term ‘shabbat,’ which means to cease all activities. The essence of Sabbath has to do with the actual body rest. God rested on the seventh day not because He was tired but because He wanted to enjoy His creation. And that is the essence of Sabbath for us, to enjoy our Creator and worship him,” said the evangelist.

“Although our bodies may need to be restored at times, it’s not just the body that needs rest, our souls need rest as well, and as far as rest for the soul is concerned, we can only gain this kind of rest in God. In Hebrew, it’s “shabbat,” meaning “rest.” In English, the word is “Sabbath,” and it’s again detailed in the fourth commandment, way after creation.

“In many languages, the word used for the seventh day of the week – what we call Saturday – is actually the same word used for ‘Sabbath’ in Greek, it is sabbaton; Italian, Sabato; Spanish, Sábado; Russian, Subbota; Polish, Sobota and Hungarian, Szómbat. Even the French “Samedi” is from the Latin “Sambata dies,” for “day of the Sabbath.”

Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe secretary general, Pastor Blessing Makwara said the Christian community is highly polarised on the issue of Sabbath.

“Those who are literalists and legalistic reads it as Saturday being the seventh day, others say it is the principle not the actual day that matters.

“It is crucial for one to trace how each of the two days became highly esteemed. Scholars note that the Sabbath was first instituted for Israel to remember that they were slaves in Egypt and God had set them free from their bondage as captured in Deuteronomy 5v14, 15,” he said.

“Now if this was a shadow of the New Testament by the blood of Jesus Christ, it follows that present day Christians are freed from the bondage of the law and sin by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!

Pastor Makwara said in the New Testament, the most critical event was the resurrection day which set Jesus Christ apart from any other human being.

“So we take one day in question and link it to resurrection, our day. This day is the first day of the week, Sunday as recorded in Matthew 28v1-6, Mark 16v1-6, Luke 24v1-6 and John 20v1-16,” he said.

Body of Christ Ministries International founder Dr Jeremiah Madzokere said based on early church practices, scriptures will point to the Sabbath as being on the first day of the week, which is Sunday.

“Acts 20 v7 says, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

“1 Corinthians 16v2 also tells us, ‘On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.’ So in that aspect, the Sabbath was on a Sunday.

“In Luke 6v5, Jesus declares, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. What day you celebrate Sabbath, how long you celebrate it or how often does not matter if it is not spent in Christ,’ he said.

AFM president Dr Madziyire said Christians should concentrate on worshipping God throughout the week.

He said, “When I give Him one day of the week, it reminds me that He owns all seven. All the days are days of worship. It’s not in the day but in the attitude of the heart. The emphasis of Christianity is not in days or in terms of religious rituals, those who worship Him must worship him in truth and Spirit.

“At the very beginning, the church in Jerusalem met every day in the temple and in private homes (Acts 2:46). Since the first believers were all Jewish, it seems safe to assume that they continued to participate in Jewish synagogue and temple worship for some time.

“However, the New Testament makes it clear that the observance of a particular day was not imposed as a binding obligation. Romans 14:5-6 makes it clear that there was some freedom in the matter of special days. Colossians 2:16-17 commanded the church not to allow anyone to act as their judge in regard to Sabbath days.

“And Galatians 4:9-10 warns against going back under the law by insisting on the legal requirement of special days. The records that remain in the New Testament show that the first day of the week soon became a day of worship. When Paul wanted to collect an offering from the church at Corinth, he asked them to gather the money on the “first day of the week” (1 Cor. 16:2). And when he wanted to meet with the believers at Troas, the gathering took place “on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). In Revelation 1:10, the Apostle John described himself as being “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.”

“Most writers have thought he was referring to Sunday, so that our use of “the Lord’s Day” as a term for Sunday comes from this verse. There is no Scripture passage that specifically teaches that the Sabbath has been transferred from one day to another. It seems most likely that the shift from Saturday to Sunday was gradual, and took place along with the change from a mostly Jewish church to a mostly Gentile one.”

Traditional leader, Chief Musarurwa born Enos Musarurwa said, “Chisi is a day which has been there since time immemorial. People choose a day of the week when work is forbidden, usually on Tuesday and Friday.”

He explained that the day is used to rest and pay respects to ancestors.

“It all goes with Mhondoro (spirit mediums), they are the ones who choose the day they want to rest and here in Mashonaland East we rest on Friday. Like Christians, especially those Vapostori who keep Sabata (Sabbath), traditionalists rest on Chisi,” he said.