The Sabbath
by
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Chapter 1
The Sabbath Breaking is a Serious Crime
It is frightening how one can commit a serious crime and at the same time be insensitive to it. This is the condition of serial killers. Have we in some respects become like them? Consider how the unacceptable has gradually become acceptable? People have forgotten how to blush. Not only has the unthinkable become accepted, but to cry out against such crimes as abortion and homosexuality etc. will only bring the anathemas of the public upon our head. We should be struck with horror as the unthinkable has become the norm. How have we become so desensitized to evil!
It is apparent that the conscience of the nation is seared. The church in some respect has become conditioned by the world. After all, consider how many professing Christians profane the Sabbath without their conscience being slightly pricked! At least this is true with the majority of professing Christendom. On the other hand if one strives to keep the Sabbath Day holy, he or she is looked upon as an extremist if not a legalist. They are said to be “over the top.” Why is this? How did we ever come to embrace such thinking? It is apparent that the unthinkable had not remained unthinkable!
In order to have a proper respect of the Sabbath, some consideration should be given to that which is recorded in Numbers chapter 15. There we read of a certain man that was arrested and later executed. His crime was gathering sticks on the Sabbath. To most this seems to be beyond the pale. This would be true if the observance of the Sabbath is a mere ritual. However this is not the case. If it were, then why was this person put to death? All he did was gather a few sticks on the Sabbath day. Do we not do much worse?
We should also keep in mind that only those guilty of a capital crime were to be put to death. From what is revealed in this 15th chapter of Numbers is to fail to keep the Sabbath Day holy is a very serious offence. It is a capital crime. If this was not the case, then why was this man put to death? We know that our God is a merciful God Who has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, Ezekiel 33:11. Yet it was He that had passed this awful sentence upon this Sabbath breaker. When Moses inquired of the LORD what to do with him, Our Lord said, STONE HIM!
Christians in some strange way have become desensitized to this sin. In reading this narrative in our minds we inquire, what great crime is there in gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath? Gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath day does not seem to be a crime much less an offence worthy of death. This is especially true in that we are guilty of much worse. Does this mean we too are subjects of Divine displeasure? Remember, God is no respecter of persons.
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About the Book
When it comes to the doctrine of the Sabbath, many are confused. Some are so confused that they are asking how many commandments are there, nine or ten? Has the fourth commandment been abrogated or is it still binding? If the fourth commandment stands, then on what day are we to observe the Sabbath, on Saturday or Sunday? Or does it really matter just as long as we take off one day in the week? Others have come to think that all the commandments have been abrogated. Is this true? A more searching question is asked, Is the typical Christian community correct in observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week? Or does the fourth commandment mandate the Sabbath to be observed on seventh day? Still others are asking, is the Sabbath Day and the Lord’s Day same or are they different? As one can readily see, these questions are troubling to many professing Christians. They are confused as the doctrine of the Sabbath is no longer addressed. However, the more searching question is, if the fourth commandment stands, have we provoked our Lord to anger in failing to observer the Sabbath as we ought? If we are to observe it, then how is the Sabbath to be observed? It is the writer’s conviction that we are not only to observe the Sabbath, but also until we do, there will be no revival in this country no matter how fervently we may fast and pray. The doctrine of the Sabbath is essential to the life of the church and the liberties we once enjoy as a nation before it was infected with this liberation theology. We must heed the divine mandate coming down from God to “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy” (Exodus 20:8).
About the Author
C. H. Pappas was born in Washington D. C. of parents who migrated from Greece. Up until the fifth grade, he found himself wandering. His father was gone, and his mother who could not speak English raised the family of four girls and one boy without government assistance. When he was in fifth grade, his teacher, Mrs. Nesbit, awakened his soul by introducing to him the Founding Fathers. Being greatly moved by their example, they soon became his heroes. Their virtue and sacrifice so impressed him that he eagerly began reading their biographies. One evening walking home after school, his eyes swelled up with tears of gratitude that God had so ordained that he should be born in America! After finishing the eleventh grade, he joined the U.S. Marine Corp. Unlike his peers, he was a moral and devout Greek Orthodox. After serving in the Marine Corp, he worked as a carpenter. His goal was to be a contractor. It was during this period of his life that the Lord revealed his heart to him. For the first time he saw his utter vileness. The good works, which he hoped would secure eternal life, were those that weighed the heaviest upon him. He found himself hopelessly damned before a holy and just God. Under horrible conviction, he knew not what to do. Being greatly troubled, he went to a neighboring Catholic Church to pray. As he walked up to the Church, he saw two priests were standing on the steps talking. Approaching them he asked, “Father, are you going to heaven?” They laughed and said, “No one knows that until he dies.” Then he asked, “What does it mean to be born again?” They smiled and said, “You need not bother yourself with that.” Immediately, he knew something was wrong because Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.” He knew that they could not help him; they did not know where they were going. He then entered the Church and began to pray crying out to God for mercy. With no one did he dare share the agonizing burden of his heart. He cried, “Is there any hope for one such as I?” Then one day shortly thereafter his son, who was five years old at the time, approached him asking, “Daddy, will you help me learn this verse?” The verse was John 3:16. He had never heard that passage in his entire life. As he taught his son, he also memorized the passage. The next day as he was working, John 3:16 kept rolling over and over in his mind. He thought, “Yes, God must love the world, He gave His only begotten Son. I could never do that. Yes, God no doubt loves the world—but God cannot love me. I am too vile.” Over and over this singular thought seized his mind until the words “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” gripped his soul. He stopped. He was arrested. He thought, “Surely ‘whosoever’ means me! Can it be that God loves me?” He then cried, “Lord, I do believe on Thee!” Immediately, the burden rolled away. Resting now upon the promise of God Who cannot lie, he felt a peace, as never before experienced, flood his soul. The world that was draped in black suddenly broke into splendid light! In awe, not able to fully grasp all that was said in that sublime passage, he wandered for several days asking, “Can it be God really loves me?” The very thought was staggering! Then one day, his wife asked, “Are you saved?” To this he replied, “I am not saved by what I have done but solely by the grace of God.” There was no boasting but humble adoration for God Who so loves the world. The following Lord’s Day he attended Palm Springs North Baptist Church and made a public confession of faith. The following week, he was baptized, and the week thereafter, he was called to preach. This alarmed him as he saw himself so unfit for such a task. But the call weighed heavily upon him, and he finally surrendered. Upon his pastor’s recommendation, he immediately enrolled in Miami Dade Junior College and finished his work at Florida Junior College where he received his Associate of Arts degree. He also attended Luther Rice Seminary where he received both his Bachelors of Divinity and his Masters in Theology. He completed six years of work in a little over three years, graduating with honors. While in school, he worked supporting his family and preaching in the city rescue mission. He taught and preached in the churches as well. Upon graduating, he taught the doctrine of the atonement at Luther Rice Seminary. After leaving there, he taught Bible through an extension course of Florida Junior College. Though he was met with opposition, he continued to teach, leading the class from Genesis through Revelation. The Lord blessed his labors as He saved some, strengthened others, and called still others to fulltime mission work. He also pastored at Bible Baptist Church. In 1978, Chris Pappas was called to Collins Road Baptist Church which had just started a Christian school for Kindergarten through twelfth grade students. He accepted the call, and the two churches merged. He presently pastors his flock at Collins Road Baptist Church where he has served for forty years. Chris Pappas is married and has three sons, eight grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. He has authored another book, In Defense of the Authenticity of 1 John 5:7. This book on the Sabbath is the second book he has published, and he is presently working on a third. He is consumed by the love of God and for the flock God has placed under his care. Having a burden for the saints and a jealousy for God, he has taken up his pen to strengthen and encourage the saints in these days of utter darkness.