From PCA to SBC: Part 1

The story of me leaving the PCA over the subject of baptism actually begins previous to my deciding to revisit the subject just over a year ago. It actually goes back to my ordination exams and the drama over my convictions regarding the subject of the Sabbath.

Previous to my ordination exams I was told by a wise friend to make sure I had some good firm convictions on a number of subjects, one of them being the Sabbath. So I decided that I should really study the Sabbath issue. Now, I expected to come out on the other side of this time of study a Sabbatarian…one who believes that the only things allowed on the Sabbath are public and private worship and works of mercy and necessity. This was reinforced by the reading I was doing in the beginning.

But the more I read I was becoming more and more dissatisfied with what I was reading. The hermeneutic that I kept seeing was Christ-less for the most part and had no reference to the gospel at all. How can I preach and teach Christ crucified and still teach the Sabbath law as it is laid out in the Torah? This was my dilemma.

So I decided to try this study of the Sabbath differently. I decided to sit down and study every passage dealing with the Sabbath in the OT and NT. Then I looked at all of them in the original languages. I started comparing the teaching about the Sabbath in the OT and the teaching on the Sabbath in the NT. Then I decided to look at the teaching on the Sabbath previous to the crucifixion and then after the crucifixion.

I knew I was onto something when I could find no Sabbath commands post crucifixion except Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:16, 17, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things that are to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

I was sure I had found something of substance and the emotion that welled up in my heart when I saw that the Sabbath was a shadow of Christ I knew I had not only found some biblical direction I found the hermeneutic I was looking for right there in the Scriptures. Next I knew I must not be alone in seeing these wondrous things, so I started digging.

The first resource I found was a book edited by D.A. Carson, From Sabbath to Lord’s Day. I paid $60 bucks for it and it made more sense than anything else I had read. Not only did I find more support for what I found on my on, I actually found theological supports and historical resources. I was becoming more sure and now only needed some more study and prayer over these convictions. And so the following is what I went to my oral examination on the floor of Presbytery (regional meeting of elders) with…

My Sabbath Position

Matt Redmond

1) There is not one place in the New Testament where it is commanded that the Sabbath is to be kept.

a) In the OT we have approximately 50 places where the Sabbath is commanded starting in Exodus 16.

b) After the resurrection of Christ there are only 11 mentions of the Sabbath. None of them are commands.

c) Paul in all of his letters to Gentile churches only uses the word Sabbath once.

i) In Colossians 2:16, 17 Paul wants them to stop keeping Sabbaths.

ii) He never tells the Gentiles to keep the Sabbath.

2) Every other command in the 10 Commandments is reiterated in the NT. Whereas Sabbath-keeping is called into question in Colossians 2:16,17; Romans 14:5; and Galatians 4:9 – 11. See points 4 and 5 below.

3) The Sabbath is called the covenant “sign” and set apart from the other commands in Exodus 31:12 – 17, “And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

a) No other command in the 10 Commandments is ever called a sign.

b) This is the last thing God says to Moses before giving him the “tablets of stone.”

c) Notice God’s words, “above all you shall keep my Sabbaths for this is a sign.”

d) The Sabbath is also called a sign in Ezekiel 20:12.

4) There is not one place in the New Testament where it is commanded that the Lord’s Day be kept. All discussions are descriptive and not prescriptive.

5) There is not one place in the NT where the Lord’s Day is explicitly or implicitly called or treated as a Sabbath and vice versa. In other words I can find no reason to transfer the commands regarding Sabbath observance from the seventh day to the first day of the week.

6) Theologians often call the Sabbath a “creation ordinance.” They believe the Sabbath command can be traced to creation in God’s resting. The problem with this view is there is no record of a command to keep the Sabbath till after the Exodus which makes it part of the Mosaic Law. Indeed, the Bible itself tells us the Sabbath command was given at the Exodus.

a) Neh. 9:13,14, “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ¹⁴ and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant.”

b) Exodus 16 is actually a commentary on the giving of the Sabbath. Even a cursory reading makes it clear how unclear the Sabbath command was for the Israelites.

7) The only place in the NT where the Sabbath is discussed (apart from time considerations and measurements) is in…

a) Matt. 11 and 12, which are healing passages (and it’s parallel passages in the other gospels)

b) John 5 which is also a healing on the Sabbath passage where John says Jesus broke the Sabbath.

c) Colossians 2:16-17, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or Sabbaths. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

d) Hebrews 4:8-10, “for if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”

8) Paul is clear on not judging others in regarding one day above another

a) Romans 14:5, “One person esteems one day better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

b) Galatians 4:9 – 11, “how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.”

9) History points to an abrogation of the Sabbath

a) The post-Apostolic church rarely references it and never commands Sabbath keeping until the 8^th century.

b) Not until Constantine do we have a principal of rest on the first day of the week under political and social control but not with any formal theological relationship to the 4^th commandment.

c) It was not until the 8^th century that the 1st day of the week was called the Sabbath

d) The Reformers (including Calvin and Luther) were united in not making Sunday a Sabbath

e) The English (and American) Puritan branch of the Reformation termed the Lord’s Day the Christian Sabbath

Al Gore and $4 a Gallon Gas

The founder of the Weather Channel waxes passionate on the subject.

DG Conference 2008

The Move to Wichita: Part 2

I once again apologize for not posting much lately for my regular readers. I do not think I have ever been so busy in my life. Moving in to a new house and starting a new job have become formidable tasks. But it is all getting more managable as the house gets in order (thanks to my incredible wife) and I start to get into a groove as the Associate Pastor of Students at Metro East Baptist Church.

I am posting because there have been more developements in our adventures in moving. As I pointed out in my previous post, Ultimate Van Lines is the company who we used to move us. They did a terrible job.

So last weeek I called them to try and talk to someone about this. I left a message on Thursday. No one ever called me back. So I called them yesterday. It was the single most unproductive discussion with a customer service representative I have ever had. The following is a list of all the ludicrous things I heard while on the phone.

1.) "Why should I believe you"?

2.) "What...do you want me to kill them for being late"?

3.) "The reason you could not get in touch with anyone is our phones were down."

4.) (A week later) "The reason I did not call you back is our phones were down."

5.) "If you continue to laugh at my answers I will hang up on you."

6.) "We have not broken contract untill we are more than 3 days late."

7.) "If we are more than 3 days late we will compensate you for $25."

8.)"Yes, if we are a week late we will only compensate you for $100."

9.) "Why should I trust you"?

10.) "We made a mistake in billing and now you owe us $507."

All that said, we are enjoying Wichita...especially the convenience of being near Target, Lowes, Movie Theaters and lots of restaurants. Also, the weather is incredible.

Stay tuned for more updates. Also in the next couple of weeks I will be posting on my change of convictions regarding baptism.

Th Move to Wichita, Part 1

Well, it has been quite an adventure moving from greenwood, MS. to Wichita, KS. Moving is always a hard thing if all goes smoothly. We are leaving behind some amazing friends and and a youth ministry that is dear to my heart and full of friends who will always be in my thoughts and prayers. So it was an emotional time aready. Plus we are moving further away from our hometown, Birmingham and our family. It was simply a difficult move for a number of reasons.

Enter Ultimate Van Lines. This moving company took what was a difficult and did their darndest to make it hell for us. Below is a list of all our grievances against them.

1. They were supposed to show up on Friday morning. They did not show up till Saturday afternoon. We were counting on it being done by then and just enjoy fellowship with our friends for the rest of the day and then get up early and head for the Plains.

2. We were told that they would be at our house by noon on friday and then when they did not show up by 1:30 we called and were told it would be closer till 6. When they once again did not show up we called and could not reach anyone. Someone finally called us on Saturday morning at around 10 am telling us they would be there in a couple of hours. At 1:30 pm they finally showed up. Yes, your calculations are correct that is over 24 hours later than our contract stated.

3. We were told that a big crew was coming who would not the job out quickly. When they finally showed up, it was 2 men with a full truck. Oh yes, more were coming! They showed up around 9 that night.

4. When they left to go get a hotel room, they told us they would be back at 8 am on Sunday morning. When did they show up? 9 am.

5. Also, they were not Ultimate Van Lines. They were a smaller company contracted out for Ultimate Van Lines. They were not going to accept our method of payment. So I spent all of Sunday and Monday talking with both companies about how to pay for this train wreck of a move.

6. We were not able to leave Greenwood till 10 am. and the movers were still not done. We thankfully had a great frind to stay and supervise the movers till they finished at 2:45.

7. We were told the movers would unload our stuff on Monday morning in Wichita. Guess again!!! they did not show up till 6 pm on Monday and did not finsih unloading till 10 pm.

8. Over 2/3 of our boxes were not labled and significant amount of them were labled wrong. For example stuff that belongs in the Living room were labled Master Bedroom, etc.

9. As of yet, no one has called to apologize or to compensate us for our little trip through moving hell.

More later...