In the third presentation of its Summer Campaign Lecture Series, the Jamaican CGI congregation hosted 38 visitors, who attended to hear Pastor Ian Boyne’s lecture on why it is biblically and logically indefensible to keep the 7th day Sabbath and not the annual holydays. In the period generally scheduled for the monthly last Sabbath second service, 255 persons assembled in the Sagicor auditorium, keenly anticipating the lecture, following upon the exciting lectures on the subject of keeping the Sabbath, the two previous weeks.

At the core of the lecture was a compelling challenge to Seventh Day Adventists and Church of God 7th Day visitors to justify their rejection of the annual holydays using the very arguments Sunday keepers advance against Sabbath keeping. Mr. Boyne’s logic was ineluctable and his arguments unassailable as he used scripture after scripture to show that Sabbath keeping and holyday keeping stand or fall together.

It will not do to insist that the 7th Day Sabbath was instituted at creation and was intended as a universal commandment for all mankind for all time, while the holydays were only given to Israel much later and was related only to their national history, Mr. Boyne asserted.
In the first place, it doesn’t make sense to hold to a premise that the violation of a law only constitutes sin if that law was given at creation, he reasoned. The commandments against eating pork and the command to tithe were not given at creation, yet both Adventists and 7th Day keepers still observe these laws as binding.

Further, it is disingenuous to say that holydays should not be kept by non-Israelite New Testament Christians because they were only given to Israel. Mr. Boyne explained why: In Leviticus 19:33, 36-37, the reason given for loving aliens in their midst was because they were themselves aliens in Egypt, specifically. Generally, all the laws given in the chapter, including honouring parents (verse 3), not having idols (verse 4) and loving one’s neighbour were to be obeyed because, God said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” The question arises then, is it ok to hate strangers, dishonour parents, and have idols because we were not slaves in Egypt? Obviously not!

Despite God’s giving of this basis for obeying these commands, all Sabbath observers believe in keeping these laws as a means of being holy. What this shows is that a law can be valid for Christians today even though it was originally given within the context of Israel’s history.

Neither is it a valid objection to say that the holydays were strictly associated with the offering of animal sacrifices, which are clearly abolished now. The fact is that the weekly Sabbath was also an occasion for offering sacrifices as is patently clear in Numbers 28.9-10.

The rhetorical question of how Sabbath keepers could use Luke 4.16 to show Sunday keepers that it was Jesus’ custom to keep the Sabbath, while ignoring the overwhelming evidence of John 7 that showed Jesus kept the Feast, even at risk to himself, was left for everyone present to answer.

Mr. Boyne provided numerous scriptural references showing that both the disciples and early church, not just were aware of the holydays but also practiced them. He also presented potent scholarly references to build a cogent case that masterfully proved that the annual holydays and the weekly Sabbath stand or fall together.

As one non-aligned commentator said afterward, “From this presentation, I don’t see how Seventh Day Adventists and others can be consistent in their insistence that Sabbath is binding while not keeping the holydays. If they use these arguments to show that Sunday should be rejected and Sabbath kept, then they must be consistent and accept holydays on the same basis.” GS.