"The Christian And The Sabbath", Tom Wells: A Review Article (Part II) -- By: Richard C. Barcellos

Journal: Reformed Baptist Theological Review
Volume: RBTR 07:2 (Jul 2010)
Article: "The Christian And The Sabbath", Tom Wells: A Review Article (Part II)
Author: Richard C. Barcellos


The Christian And The Sabbath, Tom Wells:
A Review Article (Part II)

Richard C. Barcellos*

Richard C. Barcellos, Ph.D., is a church-planting pastor in Palmdale, CA (www.grbcav.org), and Adjunct Associate Professor of New Testament Studies at the Midwest Center for Theological Studies, Owensboro, KY (www.mctsowensboro.org). His newest book is The Family Tree of Reformed Biblical Theology and is available at www.rbap.net.

On Friday, November 19, 2010, I received a free copy of Tom Wells’ new book, The Christian and The Sabbath.1 It is a 141 page book, including bibliography and indices. My name was referenced on four pages and Dr. Sam Waldron’s (my teaching colleague) name was on 16 pages. In the last RBTR issue (RBTR VII:1, Spring 2010, 81-93), I reviewed the first two chapters of Wells’ book. In this article I will review various portions of chapters three and four.

Chapter 3: Gospel Texts On Sabbath-Keeping

In chapter three, Wells combs the Gospels for teaching related to the Sabbath. He makes this assertion: “There is not one syllable of positive teaching by the Lord Jesus peculiar to the Sabbath in any Gospel passage” (42).2 What he means by “positive teaching” is “teaching that tells Christians or Jews what they must do, or not do on any Sabbath” (42). What he means by “peculiar to the Sabbath” is “teaching that is true for the Sabbath that is not also true for every other day of the year” (42). In Wells’ thinking, this would mean that if the Gospels do not contain teaching that either commands or forbids specific activities on the Sabbath or commands or forbids things that apply on any other day, then it was never Jesus’ intention “to command anyone to keep a Sabbath” (47). Do you understand

the pressure of these twin pillars? If there is no “positive teaching…peculiar to the Sabbath,” Jesus was not commanding Sabbath observance. I find these constricting hermeneutical hedges both interesting and wrong-headed. It is as if Wells sets up for us in advance what kind of teaching on the Sabbath must be present in order to justify any kind of Sabbath observance for Christians or Jews from the lips of our Lord. Wells knows, as does any casual reader of the Gospels, that the Sabbath command was something already in place at the time of Christ’s earthly ministry. Jesus simply assumes its validity. Wells also knows, as does any casual reader of the Gospels, that Christ sought to correct the faulty understanding and practice of some first century Jews concerning the Sab...

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