Proof Found That The Saturday Sabbaths Is Not Binding On Christians
By Dr.James. A McBean D.Th., MCC
Copyright © 2008 Library of Congress Washington.D.C.20559
D id you know that for all the big talk about Sabbath keeping nobody really keep the law of Sabbath the way God prescribe it to be kept from Moses to Christ? Our lord himself said that the people never kept the law.
Eph 2:15-16 (NKJV) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
The Jews In Our Lord Time Never Keep The Law
John 7:19 (KJV) Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? John 7:20 (KJV) The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? John 7:21 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. John 7:22 (KJV) Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. John 7:23 (KJV) If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
The Jews In The Apostles Time Never Keep The Law
Act 7:53 who received the Law through disposition of angels, and did not keep it. Act 7:54 And hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts. And they gnashed on him with their teeth.
The Jews In The Time Of The Fathers Never Keep The Law
Neh 9:34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.
Nobody In Our Time keep The Law
I challenge Sabbath keepers to prove their stand. Open the Bible and point out to me where in the New Testament it is stated "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" Sinning all week, then go to Church on Saturday and sit down in your air condition building and thinking that, will save your souls, is nothing short of ludicrous. Prove it from the New Testament that God say we must keep laws and grace at the same time. To make it better, find one verse from the New Testament that (indicate) that a believer must keep the (laws of Sabbath) along with grace to be save.
Just point to the verse in the New Testament which indicate we are save by grace and are required to keep the law of Sabbath also. You prove where in the Old Testament gentiles nations were commanded to keep the law of Sabbath.
I love when the Sabbath keepers pull over a speaking tongues charismatic Christian, that get save some thirty years ago and still believe he/she is save by grace but must keep the law of Sabbath so as to secure his or her salvation. Then they begin to make excuse. "Well I have been doing some studies and I have to do what God say. I just find the right God" When I leave them, I just laugh. Yes! Good for you, you deserve it.
Some of them you could never get them to come to Bible studies until the Jehovah Witness put the cuff on them, then you saw them giving out papers and going to study something that we could never get them to do. Some sheep are better off with the wolves.
NOT ONE OF THEM KEEP THE LAW.
Nobody ever keep any part of the law from Adam to Jesus, except Jesus. We are all save by grace. Even people who were under the law, still find grace. From Adam right down to Noah they all found grace. Just look in your Bible concordance for the word ( Found grace)
Acts 7:53 (KJV) Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
John 7:19 (KJV) Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
John 5:18 (KJV) Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
WE ARE SAVE BY GRACE.
Ephes. 2:8 (NASB-U) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Ephes. 2:9 (NASB-U) not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Hosea 2:11 (KJV) I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. [sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts]
It is clear here that the sabbaths of Israel were to be done away with as much as her mirth, feasts, new moons, and other rituals. This is what happened when God made the new covenant: not a single commandment was given regarding the keeping of any particular day as the sabbath. It is plainly set forth in the N.T. that every man may do as he pleases regarding a sabbath day (Romans 14:5-6), and that no man is to judge another on this question (Col. 2:14-17), for Christianity is not a religion of days, weeks, years, and rituals (Galatians 4:9-10).
NOAH FOUND GRACE.
Genesis 6:8 (KJV) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
JACOB FOUND GRACE.
Genesis 33:10 (KJV) And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
MOSES THE LAW GIVER FOUND GRACE.
Exodus 33:12 (KJV) And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Exodus 33:13 (KJV) Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
THREE WITNESSES.
Matthew 18:16 (KJV) But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 2 Cor. 13:1 (KJV) This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
WHY PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH THAT KEEP SATURDAY SABBATH .
People go to Saturday Sabbath because these churches are very helpful, to the social and economical needs of people. I can give this to the Sabbath keepers they are champion where good deeds and health care concern. Is only the Roman Catholic come close. However, the people who are reading their Bible knows better. People are not so stupid again as one time. People know that going to Church on a special day and go sit down one place all day just thinking about the other men wives is not enough to save them.
PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH
GOD DO NOT GIVE RIDDLES. Proverbs 8:9 (Living Bible) My words are plain and clear to anyone with half a mind--if it is only open!
GOD GIVE SIMPLE DIRECTION THAT EVEN A CHILD COULD FOLLOW.
Acts 8:26 (KJV) And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
Philip could not get lost, the direction was given easy.
THE DIRECTION TO ANANIAS.
Acts 9:10-12 (KJV) And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. [11] And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, [12] And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
THE DIRECTION TO CORNELOUS.
Acts 10:5 (KJV) And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: Acts 10:6 (KJV) He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
Do I want sabbath keepers to stop being a sabbath keeper? (No)
Romans 14:5 (Living Bible) Some think that Christians should observe the Jewish holidays as special days to worship God, but others say it is wrong and foolish to go to all that trouble, for every day alike belongs to God. On questions of this kind, everyone must decide for himself.
Romans 14:5 (KJV) One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Just stop making the Saturday another Jesus. Just stop confusing the public. Saturday is not the lord for Jesus. Jesus is the lord of all the days.
What is hard in this to understand? Since our lord pay the price for our sins the day we choose to give him thanks are not important any more. Why can't people see that God has taken us out from under the burdens of the law? You want laws to keep, why not start with loving your neighbor, loving our neighbor including leaving other men wives alone.
Micah 6:8 (KJV) He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Acts 15:5 (KJV) But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Acts 15:10 (KJV) Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
DID THE APOSTLES TELL THE GENTILES CHRISTIANS TO KEEP THE LAW OF SABBATHS?
Acts 15:24-AV Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment: Acts 15:25-AV It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Acts 15:26-AV Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 15:27-AV We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell [you] the same things by mouth. Acts 15:28-AV For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; Acts 15:29-AV That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Nothing was said about keeping the Sabbath.
Jesus asked the People of his days. John 7:19-AV Did not Moses give you the law, and [yet] none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? Certainly the New Testament did not tell Christians in the apostles days to keep Sabbaths either.
Gal 4:9-11. Col.2: 16-17. How do you explain Romans 14:5-AV One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
How do you explain.
Acts 20:7-AV And upon the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight..
WHAT DOES THE WORD SABBATH MEAN?
Means rest after working. ( Or to finish work.) God set aside the seventh day to rest, but he also set aside several other days that are kept as the Sabbath. Lev.23:39 " So the Sabbaths is many and not just one day.
" Exod. 31:13" Speak unto the children of Israel saying, my Sabbaths ye shall keep.
Not one day, but many Sabbaths."
WHO WAS TOLD TO KEEP THE SABBATH?
The word Sabbath was used in the Bible for the first time, Exod.16:23-30. The Israelites complained that they were hungry and God gave then Manna. Moses told them to gather enough for the next day would be the Sabbath. It is important to know that God gave the Sabbath to Israel. Neh 9:13-14. The Sabbath is a sign of an agreement between God and the Israelites to last forever Exod 31: 12-17. God did not give the sign of a Sabbath to the gentiles or the church of God.
Many people cannot see that God divided man into three groups. Jews, gentiles, and the church of God. I cor. 10;32. The law was enforced from Moses to Christ. Rom 10:4 Note that God said that he will put an end to her Sabbath.
Hosea 2 :11. This was fulfilled in lam. 2:6. The Sabbath was given to Jewish people, and will be important again during the time of the Great tribulation. Matt.24:20. The Sabbath will be kept during the 1000 year reign of Christ. Because the Sabbath they had in those days is typical of the millennium. The Lamb points to Christ., and the Sabbath points to the 1000 years of peace. Isaiah 66:23, Eze.46:1.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KEEP THE SABBATH?
You cannot keep the God’s Holy Sabbaths your way. You cannot drag it around like a piece of dead meat, and use it when you want and how you want. If you are going to keep it, you will have to keep it the way the Law say you are to keep it since you are still under the law.
It is to be kept from sundown to sundown. The people did not go out of their homes. Exod.16:29-30. No fire is to be lit by the children of Israel on that day. Exod.35:5. If you are going to keep the Sabbath, you have to do it the way the Bible says it is to be done for whosoever offends in one point is guilty of all. No journey is to be taken that day by them. A Sabbath day journey was a short one. They are supposed to remain in their tents. Exod.16:29-30. The Sabbath is a shadow of things to come. Col.2:14-17
IT IS GOD’S WAY OR NO WAY.
James 2:10-AV For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all
Matthew 23:23-AV Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
NO ONE FROM ADAM TO JACOB KEPT THE SABBATH, WHY?
It's only since the Israelites came out of Egypt
Why? Because it is a sign between God and Israel forever. Exod. 31:17
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW?
Rom. 3:19-28 That every mouth might be stopped and all the world might become guilty before God. The law is not made for a righteous man I Tim I:9. Rom. 3:21-22. Gal 5:18. If you are led by the spirit, you are not under law. Gal 4:21 There are two important things to know when studying about the law. God gave the law of Sabbaths to Israel as a sign between him and them forever. He did not give the Sabbath to the gentiles. We see this when he sent Jonah to Nineveh. He did not tell them to keep the Sabbath, and God did not give the Sabbath to the church either. Acts 15; 20:17. All the Bible verses about the Sabbath are pictured in some way to the rest we have in Christ. Rom 10:4
DID THE LORD JESUS KEEP THE SABBATH?
He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath because he would find the Jews there. Jesus himself said" My father works and I work." St. John 5:16-18. They kept the law because they wanted salvation. Jesus did not want salvation. He kept the law to fulfill the law, and he is the end of the law. Rom. 10:4. Salvation is deliverance from sin, Jesus did not sin. Heb.4:15
DID THE APOSTLE PAUL KEEP THE SABBATH?
Paul did not keep the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue to preach Christ to the Jews because he could find them there. I Cor.9:19-23. Paul preached to the Jews and told them in .
Acts 13:38-43 "be it known to you therefore men and brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.".
Just like Jesus, Paul went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day because he could find the Jews there in multitudes, but after they were converted, they began to meet on the Lord's Day. Acts 20:7. If a man is justified by the law, he is fallen from grace .
Eph.2:8. For by the grace are ye saved through faith not of work lest anyone should boast. Rom. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law. .
Note: Everyone knows that a commandment is a law. Are you going to say that the Christians did not worship on the first day of the week?
DOES THE SABBATH KEEPERS TODAY KEEP THE LAW OF SABBATHS?
They do not. Some of them open their store in the even on Saturday to make the Saturday money. So why do they string out on the Sabbath and make such a big thing out of it? By being fanatical about one of the commandment, they have distracted others about the other nine. Do you ever hear a Sabbath keeper talk about the other nine? The other nine could go to the devil for all they care. Just like I say’s The ten commandments are only a table of contents. There are hundreds of commandments. Leviticus 19:11-AV Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. Leviticus 19:12-AV And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD. Leviticus 19:13-AV Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob [him]: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Leviticus 19:14-AV Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I [am] the LORD. Leviticus 19:15-AV Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: [but] in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Leviticus 19:16-AV Thou shalt not go up and down [as] a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I [am] the LORD. Leviticus 19:17-AV Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him.
Leviticus 19:18-AV Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I [am] the LORD.
DO WE FIND THE TEN COMMANDMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
As I say before. The Ten commandments is nothing more that the table of contents for the Old Testament laws. For example "Thou shalt not kill,” As you began to read the old testament you will find that there are times when people have to kill. There were six cities of refuges establish throughout the borders of Israel for anybody who kill his fellow men, to run to, and remain there for six years. Numbers 35:10-AV Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Numbers 35:11-AV Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. INS>
Numbers 35:12-AV And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. Numbers 35:13-AV And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. Numbers 35:14-AV Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, [which] shall be cities of refuge. Numbers 35:15-AV These six cities shall be a refuge, [both] for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that everyone that killeth any person unawares may flee thither. .
Deuteronomy 19:4-AV And this [is] the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; Deuteronomy 19:5-AV As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: Deuteronomy 19:6-AV Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he [was] not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
Nine commandment were brought over:
Nine of that commandments are carried over into the New Testament except one. Why not? In the Old Testament? In Exod. 20:3 "Ye shall have no other Gods before me." James 2:9 " There is one God." I Cor.':4 "We know there is only one God." .
Exod. 20:4-5 Though shall not make unto you any graven image." Please read the rest in the Bible. In the New Testament I JN. 5:21 "Keep yourselves away from idols.".
Exod. 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." In the New Testament James 5:12 "Above all things my brethren swear not neither by haven or by earth neither by any other oath. Exod. 20:12, Eph. 6:2, Col. 3:20 says "Honor thy mother and thy father." Exod. 20:13: I JN.3:15 "Thou shalt not kill." Exod.20:16; Rev.21:18 "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor," Rev.21-8 "and liars will be cast into the lake of fire." Exod.20:17 "Thou shalt not covet." Eph. 5:3 "Covetousness let it not be named among you as becometh saints." Leviticus 19:18-AV Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I [am] the LORD..
James 5:9-AV Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door..
All these commandments are carried over into the New Testament except the Sabbath Day. The New Testament did not give an indication that the people of The Church should keep the Sabbath. It is not spelled out in the New Testament like" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" And it is not indicated either. Let a Sabbaths keepers point out where in the New Testament it stated. “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” I found out that a Sabbath keeper is not concern about the other nine commandments, they only care about the one" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. But let them be gently and good enough to point out where in the New Testament it command Christians to keep any special days. How can a person go to church one day and sit down thinking that that one day will save them?
SO YOU WANT A LAW TO KEEP? KEEP THESE FIRST.
Do not just stuck on the Sabbath day, what about these sins that we must keep from? Galatians 5:19-AV Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Galatians 5:20-AV Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Galatians 5:21-AV Envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.INS>
Romans 1:29-AV Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Romans 1:30-AV Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Romans 1:31-AV Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Romans 1:32-AV Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.)
2 Timothy 3:1-AV This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 Timothy 3:2-AV For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 2 Timothy 3:3-AV Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 2 Timothy 3:4-AV Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 2 Timothy 3:5-AV Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.)
Galatians 6:10-AV As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 5:14-AV For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Jeremiah 5:21-AV Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: INS>
Galatians 3:1-AV O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Galatians 3:2-AV This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Galatians 3:3-AV Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 3:4-AV Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if [it be] yet in vain. Galatians 3:5-AV He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, [doeth he it] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO KEEP THE SABBATH?
There are Ten Commandments! Why does people pick on one and leave the other nine to go to kingdom come? You see fornications is not mention in the ten commandments, so by becoming a Sabbath keepers one can get to commit any amount of fornications they want to. Do you ever hear a Sabbath keepers talking about the other nine commandments?
Romans 14:5 (KJV) One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. No particular sabbath is commanded in the New Testament The law of Moses has been abolished, including the Jewish sabbath (see note b, Acts 15:24).
Acts 15:24 (KJV) Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
Many commentators seem to have missed the full and simple truth about the law being abolished. They emphasize that it was not the moral law that was abolished, but the ceremonial law. The truth is, the entire law was abolished, and only nine of the ten commandments were reinstated in the new covenant.
ISRAEL DID NOT KEEP THE LAW.
Matthew 18:16-AV But if he will not hear [thee, then] take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
TWO WITNESS AGAINST ISRAEL
We have two people who witness against Israel that they did not keep the law. Our lord Jesus and the Deacon Stephen.
John 7:19-AV Did not Moses give you the law, and [yet] none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? John 7:20-AV The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? John 7:21-AV Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. John 7:22-AV Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. John 7:23-AV If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
Acts 7:53-AV Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept [it].
Before you go into this study remember, that the sabbath is not binding on New Testament Christians, and you are free to worship God on any day you choose.
IF YOU VALUE YOUR FAITH READ!
Twenty-four Reasons Why Christians Observe the First Day:
1.Sabbaths in the law of Moses have been abolished. 2.The new covenant does not command any particular day to be observed by Christians (Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:9-11).
3.Christians are free to choose their own day of rest (Romans 14:5-6).
4.They are commanded not to permit any man to judge them regarding a sabbath (Col. 2:14-17). 5.Rigid observance of days is rebuked by Paul (Galatians 4:9-11). 6.Sabbaths are not named as requirements of the gospel (Acts 15:1-29).
7.Real and eternal rest is in Christ, not in a day (Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4).
8.The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) was left out of the new covenant (note, Acts 15:24).
9.The Jewish sabbath commemorated deliverance from Egyptian bondage in which Christians had no part (Deut. 5:15). 10.Going under the law to observe a sabbath would obligate one to keep the whole law of Moses (Galatians 3:10-14; Galatians 5:3,9-11; James 2:10).
11.Rest and worship on Sunday serves the same purpose as on Saturday.
12.Early Christians kept the first day of the week (John 20:1,19,26-29; Acts 20:6-12; 2 Cor. 16:1-2). 13.The Lord completed His redemptive work and His victory over death, hell, and the grave on Sunday, the first day.
14.Christ's special manifestations to His disciples after the resurrection were on the first day of the week (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 23-24; John 20:19,26).
15.After the resurrection, no recognition was given by Christ or any apostle to the old Jewish seventh-day sabbath.
16.The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was on the first day of the week, the day after seven Jewish sabbaths (Acts. 2:1).
17.After Christ's ascension, the first sermon was preached on the first day, and the first conversions (about 3,000) took place on the first day (Acts 2:1-42).
18.The lack of warning by Christ or the apostles regarding it being sinful or "the mark of the beast" (as some teach) to observe the first day of the week shows it was acceptable as a day of rest and worship.
19.Typology of the old covenant makes the first day of the week prominent. The feasts of first fruits and Pentecost were observed on the first day, as well as the feasts of unleavened bread and tabernacles (Leviticus 23:8-14,34-39).
20.God honored the first day by giving the law on that day (Exodus 19:1,3,11; Leviticus 23:5-6 with Exodus 12:2-18). 21.God honored many first days of the week in Israel (2 Chron. 7:10; 2 Chron. 29:17; Ezra 3:6; Neh. 8:14-18; etc.).
22.God honored the first day again by giving the book of Revelation on that day Rev. 1:10, notes; Acts
20:7, note). 23.The new covenant frees from such bondages of the old covenant as the death penalty for cooking, making fires, and performing other duties on a sabbath (Exodus 16:23; Exodus 20:8-10; Exodus
31:15; Exodus 35:2-5; Leviticus 23:3; Numbers 15:32). 24.The New Testament never records a distinctive gathering of Christians on the Jewish sabbath. On the contrary, Christians gathered on Sunday, the first day of the week, which was called "the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10; John 20:1,19; note, Acts 20:7; 2 Cor. 16:2).
Sunday Is the Christian Sabbath
1 Cor. 16:2 a[Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store] Collections were to be taken up on the first day of the week (Sunday), the day all early Christians observed as their day of rest and worship (John 20:1,19,26; Acts 20:7).
The disciples of Moses teach that the sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday by Constantine in 321 A.D., and by the Catholic Church in 364 A.D. The following facts from history prove they are wrong:
1. The Encyclopedia Britannica under "Sabbath" and "Sunday" says. "In the early Christian Church Jewish Christians continued to keep the sabbath, like other points of the law ... On the other hand, Paul from the first days of Gentile Christianity, laid it down definitely that the Jewish sabbath was not binding on Christians. Controversy with Judaizers led in process of time to direct condemnation of those who still kept the Jewish day ... In 321 A.D. Constantine made the Christian sabbath, Sunday, the rest day for the Roman Empire, but it was observed by Christians for nearly 300 years before it became law by Constantine."
2. The New International Encyclopedia on "Sunday" says, "For some time after the foundation of the Christian Church the converts from Judaism still observed the Jewish sabbath to a greater or lesser extent, at first, it would seem, concurrently with the celebration of the first day; but before the end of the apostolic period, Sunday, known as the Lord's day, had thoroughly established itself as the special day to be sanctified (set apart) by rest from secular labor and by public worship. The hallowing of Sunday appears incontestably as a definite law in the Church by the beginning of the fourth century; and the Emperor Constantine confirmed the custom by a law of the state."
3. The Catholic Encyclopedia on "Sunday" says, "Sunday was the first day of the week according to the Jewish method of reckoning, but for Christians it began to take the place of the Jewish sabbath in apostolic times as the day set apart for public and solemn worship of God." This volume quotes a number of early Christian writings of the first, second, and third centuries to prove that Sunday was kept by Christians from the earliest times.
4.The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on "The Lord's Day" says, "The Lord's day in the New Testament occurs only in Rev. 1:10, but in post-apostolic literature we have the following references: the Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians, IX, 1, `No longer keeping the sabbath but living according to the Lord's day, on which also our light arose ... Acts 2:46 represents the special worship as Daily. But this could not continue long ... A choice of a special day must have become necessary, and this day would, of course, have been Sunday ... Uncircumcised Gentiles, however, were free from any obligation of sabbath observance' ... No observance of a special day of rest is contained among the necessary things of Acts 15:28,29 .... A given day as a matter of divine obligation is denounced by Paul as forsaking Christ (Galatians 4:10), and sabbath-keeping is condemned explicitly in Col. 2:16. As a matter of individual devotion to be sure, a man might do as he pleased (Romans 14:5,6), but no general rule as necessary for salvation could be compatible with liberty wherewith Christ has made us free (Galatians 2:1-21; Galatians 3:1-14; Galatians 5:1-4,13)."
5. We next quote from the ten volumes called, "The Ante-Nicene Fathers," the writings of the early church fathers down to A.D. 325 and before Constantine and the Catholic Church are supposed to have changed the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday:
(1) Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who lived at the time of the apostles, 30-107 A.D. He, like Polycarp, was a disciple of John and one who should know Christian practice among the early Christians as to the sabbath. He wrote, "And after the observance of the sabbath (that the Jews kept), let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's day as a festival, the resurrection day, the queen and chief of all days of the week ... on which our life sprang up again, and victory over death was obtained in Christ ... it is absurd to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism which has come to an end .... If any man preach the Jewish law unto you, listen not to him. For it is better to hearken to Christian doctrine from a man who is circumcised, than to a Judaism from one uncircumcised" (Vol. 1, pages 63-82).
(2) In the Epistle of Barnabas, ascribed to Paul's companion by Clement, Origen, and others, we read, "He says to them. `Your new moons and your sabbaths I cannot endure' (Isaiah 1:13). Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present sabbaths are not acceptable go me ... I will make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (Vol. 1, Page 147).
(3) Justin Martyr, a Gentile born near Jacob's well about 110 A.D. writes, "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read ... But Sunday is the day on which we hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead" (Vol. 1, Page 186). In his dialogue with Trypho, a Jew, Justin Martyr says, "Is there any other matter, my friends, in which we are blamed, than this, that we live not according to the law, and are not circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers were, and do not observe the sabbaths as you do? .INS>
.. Christians would observe the law, if they did not know why it was instituted .... For we too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the sabbaths, and in short all feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined you .... How is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us-I speak of fleshly circumcision, and sabbaths, and feasts? ... The Gentiles, who have believed in Him, and who have repented of their sins ... shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs ... even although they neither keep the sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts .... Christ is useless to those who observe the law .... INS>
The sabbath and sacrifices and offerings and feasts ... have come to an end in Him who was born of a virgin .... But if some, through weak-mindedness, wish to observe such institutions as were given to Moses ... along with their hope in Christ ... they shall probably be saved" (Vol. 1, Pages 199-218).
(4) Tertullian, presbyter of the North African Church, who was born about 145 A.D., writes, "The Holy Spirit upbraids the Jews for their holydays. Your sabbaths, and new moons, and ceremonies my soul hateth .... By us (Christians), to whom sabbaths are strange ... to the heathen each festive day occurs but once annually: you (Christians) have a festive day every eighth day .... Others suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians, because it is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east, or because we make Sunday a day of festivity ... you who reproach us with the sun and Sunday should consider your own proximity to us. We are not far off from your Saturn and your days of rest .... It follows, accordingly, that, in so far as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated at its specific times, so also the observance of the sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary" (Vol. III, Pages 70, 123, 155, 313-14).
(5) In "The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles," written about 80 A.D., we read, "But every Lord's day (Sunday) do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread and give thanksgiving" (Vol. VII, Page 381). (6) In the Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (2nd century) we read, "Break your fast ... the first day of the week, which is the Lord's day ... After eight days let there be another feast observed with honor, the eighth day itself" (Vol. VII, Page 447).
(7) In "The Teachings of the Apostles," written 105 A.D., we read, "The apostles therefore appointed: ... on the first day of the week let there be service and reading of the Scriptures, and the oblation (Lord's Holy Supper): because on the first day of the week our Lord arose upon the world, and ascended to heaven" (Vol. VIII, Page 668).
(8) Irenaeus, 178 A.D., in arguing that the Jewish sabbaths were signs and types and were not to be kept since the reality of which they were shadows had come, says, "The mystery of the Lord's resurrection may not be celebrated on any other day than the Lord's day and on this alone should we observe the breaking of the Paschal Feast ... Pentecost fell on the first day of the week, and was therefore associated with the Lord's day."
(9) Clement of Alexandria, 174 A.D., says, "The old seventh day has become nothing more than a working day."
(10) Theophilus, pastor of Antioch, 162 A.D., says, "Both custom and reason challenge us that we should honor the Lord's day, seeing on that day it was that our Lord completed His resurrection from the dead." (11) Origen, about 200 A.D., says, "John the Baptist was born to make ready a people for the Lord, a people for Him at the end of the covenant now grown old, which is the end of the sabbath ... It is one of the marks of a perfect Christian to keep the Lord's day."
(12) Victorianus, 300 A.D., says, "On the Lord's day we go forth to our bread and giving thanks. Lest we should appear to observe any sabbath with the Jews, which Christ Himself the Lord of the sabbath in His body abolished"
(Section 4, "On the Creation"). 6. Eusebius, the Father of Church History, who made a history of the time between the birth of Christ and Constantine, and who lived 265-340 A.D., says, "From the beginning Christians assembled on the first day of the week, called by them the Lord's Day, for the purpose of religious worship, to read the Scriptures, to preach and to celebrate the Lord's Supper ... the first day of the week on which the Savior obtained the victory over death. Therefore, it has the preeminence, first in rank, and is more honorable than the Jewish Sabbath."
What the Bible does (not) say about the sabbath
1. That Sunday-keeping is a human institution. 2. That Christians must keep the old Jewish sabbath. 3. That Christians are obligated to keep any certain day. 4. That all who keep Sunday have the mark of the beast. 5. That all who keep Sunday are lost. 6. That Sunday-keeping is a Roman Catholic institution. 7. That Christians never held a religious service on the first day of the week (Sunday). 8. That the Ten Commandments were not done away when the old covenant was "abolished" and "done away" in Christ on the cross.
9. That the Lord's day is the seventh day or the old Jewish sabbath. 10. That the fourth commandment is part of the new covenant. 11. That Christians are not to work on Saturday. 12. That the fourth commandment sabbath is not included in the "sabbaths" that were abolished on the cross as taught in Col. 2:14-17; Galatians 4:9-11; Romans 14:1-5; Ephes. 2:15.
13. That the law of Moses and the fourth commandment sabbath were for Gentiles as well as Jews. 14. That the fourth commandment sabbath was a sign between God and Gentiles as is stated of God and Israel in Exodus 31:13-17; Deut. 5:12-15; Ezekiel 20:12-13.
15. That Saturday is a holy day, the sabbath, a day of rest, a day of worship, or a day sanctified in the new covenant. 16. That Saturday was the only day the apostles recognized as a day of rest and worship. 17. That Jesus instituted the old Jewish sabbath (the Bible says that God the Father gave the law and spoke in times past to people, Hebrews 1:1,2; Romans 1:3; Acts 3:21-26; etc.). 18. That all people observed the sabbath for about 2,500 years from creation to Exodus 16, at which time God first commanded people to keep a certain day.
19. That Sunday cannot be as holy as any other day sanctified or set apart for the worship of God. 20. That Christians are obligated to observe a particular day of the week as people were bound to do under the old covenant. See Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:9-10; Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 4. b [lay by him in store] They were to lay up week by week a certain amount for the poor and have the whole ready to send to Jerusalem when he came (1 Cor. 16:2-3). c [as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come] The basis of giving was as God prospered each week. This policy among Christians followed that of the Jews who brought their alms to the synagogue on the sabbath day.
6 occurrences refer to Paul preaching to the Jews (at non-Christian gatherings) on Jewish sabbath days (Acts 13:14,42,44; Acts 17:1,2; Acts 18:4); 2 instances refer to the law of Moses being read by Jews in their synagogues on Jewish sabbaths (Acts 13:27; Acts 15:21); one place refers to Jewish travel as not more than a mile on the sabbath (Acts 1:12); and one spot plainly says that all sabbaths were abolished (Col. 2:14-17). If there had been explicit commands to worship on any day, even the first day, it would have brought about the same bondage as the law of Moses. The higher ideals and principles of Christianity would have then been regulated to days and seasons which God promised to abolish (Isaiah 1:13; Hosea 2:11) and did abolish (2 Cor. 3:6-15;
Galatians 3:19-25; Galatians 4:21-31; Galatians 5:1-3; Ephes. 2:14-15; Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 6:20-10:18). Whereas Israel was obliged to commemorate freedom from bondage with a yoke of bondage which included the sabbath-keeping law, Christians are free to commemorate their freedom on any day they choose (Romans 14:5-6). b[bake that which ye will bake today ... and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning] All cooking had to be done the day before the sabbath.
THE FIRST MENTION OF A SABBATH:
Exodus 16:23 a[sabbath unto the LORD] This is the first mention of a sabbath for man. It was 2,513 years after God "rested" in Genesis 2:2. The word "sabbath" is used 76 times in the singular and 35 times in the plural in the Old Testament and 60 times in the singular in the New Testament. Twenty-two Facts about Sabbaths 1.The words "sabbath" and "seventh" do not come from the same word. The Hebrew word for "sabbath" is shabbath , intermission, or cessation from work. It is from the verb shabath "to repose, desist from exertion; rest." Such rest does not have to be on the seventh day. It is the cessation of work that makes it the sabbath, not the day. 2.Sabbaths have been observed on different days, for different lengths of time: Sabbaths on Different Days: (1)On the first day (Leviticus 23:39) (2)On the seventh day (Exodus 20:10) (3)On the eighth day (Leviticus 23:39)
Twenty-two Facts about Sabbaths
1.The words "sabbath" and "seventh" do not come from the same word. The Hebrew word for "sabbath" is shabbath ), intermission or cessation from work. It is from the verb shabath , "to repose, desist from exertion; rest." Such rest does not have to be on the seventh day. It is the cessation of work that makes it the sabbath, not the day.
2.Sabbaths have been observed on different days, for different lengths of time: Sabbaths on Different Days:
(1)On the first day (Leviticus 23:39) (2)On the seventh day (Exodus 20:10) (3)On the eighth day (Leviticus 23:39) Sabbaths of Different Lengths: (1)One day long (Exodus 16:23-29) (2)Two days long (Leviticus 23:6-8,15-22) (3)One year long (Leviticus 25:4) (4)Seventy years long (2 Chron. 36:21) (5)Eternity long (Hebrews 4:9) INS>
3.The seventh-day sabbaths of Israel were changing sabbaths, being observed on two different days each year because of an additional sabbath at Pentecost. If the fifteenth day of Abib (when Israel left Egypt), which was on the sabbath, was Saturday, then the seventh-day sabbath would fall on Saturday for seven weeks or forty-nine days. The fiftieth day, Sunday, would be Pentecost. The next seventh-day sabbath after Pentecost would then fall on Sunday, and so on until Pentecost of the following year which would change the seventh-day sabbath again? Thus, there was no such thing as the sabbath always being on Saturday throughout the year, or perpetually. INS>
4.Sabbaths were to be a delight instead of a burden and would have been had they been observed lawfully, and the true nature of rest and worship maintained (Isaiah 58:13). 5.Sabbaths were for Israel only (Exodus 16:29; Exodus 31:14; Ezekiel 20:12). Gentiles who wished to become a part of the nation of Israel could do so by meeting certain requirements, after which the sabbath laws applied to them (Exodus 12:49; Numbers 15:16). INS>
6.Sabbaths were to be observed holy (Exodus 16:23; Exodus 20:8; Exodus 35:2; Isaiah 58:13; Jeremiah 17:21-27). 7.Sabbaths were to be observed unto God (Exodus 16:25). 8.Sabbaths were from the Lord (Exodus 20:10; Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 23:3; Deut. 5:14). 9.They were to be kept (Exodus 31:14) INS>
10.No work was to be done on sabbaths (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:15; Exodus 35:3; Numbers 15:32; Jeremiah 17:21-27). The penalty for breaking this law was death (Numbers 15:30-36). 11.Sabbaths were to be observed as a time of rest (Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 16:31; Leviticus 23:3,32). INS>
12.They were to be sanctified or set apart by Israel (Deut. 5:12). 13.Sabbaths were commanded (Exodus 20:8-11; Deut. 5:15). 14.To Israel the seventh-day sabbath was a memorial of deliverance from slavery under Pharaoh (Deut. 5:15), not a commemoration of God's rest upon completing His work. Man's rest could not have been the same day that God rested, because man was only created the day before God's sabbath. He had worked only one day, and six days are required before a sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). INS>
It would be as meaningless for the church to observe the Jewish sabbath commemorating deliverance from Egypt as it would for England to observe the Fourth of July with Americans!
15.Sabbaths are to be observed in the Millennium and New Earth, so that all flesh can come before God to worship (Isaiah 66:22-24; Ezekiel 44:24; Ezekiel 45:17; Ezekiel 46:3). Scripture does not reveal what particular day will be observed in the future, but if it is worldwide it will be at different times throughout the earth because time varies as much as a full day around the globe. It might be local in fulfillment with representatives sent to Jerusalem. That universal gatherings to worship are to be representative is proved in Zech. 14:16-21. INS>
16.It is lawful to do good things on sabbaths (Matthew 12:2,12; Mark 2:27-28; Mark 3:4; Luke 6:9). 17.Man was not made for sabbaths, but they were made for him (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5); he is free, therefore, to do what is best for him on rest days. 18.Man was not initially required to observe the seventh day which God rested on and sanctified. God Himself did not continue observing a rest day because sin was committed almost immediately and He began the work of redemption (Genesis 3:8- 21) which still requires His time every day of the week. Sinners can be saved any time they choose to come to God. It was 2,513 years after God's seventh-day sabbath when Israel was commanded to observe any particular day (Exodus 16:23-29; Exodus 20:8-11). INS>
19.Jews proved the principle of doing good and performing essential duties on sabbaths by: (1)Offering sacrifices (Numbers 28:9-10; 1 Chron. 9:32) (2)Caring for animals (Matthew 12:11; Mark 2:27; Luke 13:15; Luke 14:5) (3)Circumcising (John 7:22-23) (4)Other essential work (Matthew 12:5) 20.Sabbaths were typical of eternal rest (Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 4:1-11; Hebrews 10:1). 21.The Jewish sabbaths were abolished with the Mosaic law. See note, Acts 15:24; Eighty-five Old and New Covenant Contrasts. 22.Keeping the law and the sabbath was not required by the apostles (Acts 15:5-29; Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:9-11; Col. 2:14-17).
Twenty-four Reasons Why Christians Observe the First Day:
1.Sabbaths in the law of Moses have been abolished. 2.The new covenant does not command any particular day to be observed by Christians (Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:9-11). 3.Christians are free to choose their own day of rest (Romans 14:5-6). 4.They are commanded not to permit any man to judge them regarding a sabbath (Col. 2:14-17).INS>
5.Rigid observance of days is rebuked by Paul (Galatians 4:9-11). 6.Sabbaths are not named as requirements of the gospel (Acts 15:1-29). 7.Real and eternal rest is in Christ, not in a day (Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4). 8.The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) was left out of the new covenant (note, Acts 15:24). INS>
9.The Jewish sabbath commemorated deliverance from Egyptian bondage in which Christians had no part (Deut. 5:15). 10.Going under the law to observe a sabbath would obligate one to keep the whole law of Moses (Galatians 3:10-14; Galatians 5:3,9-11; James 2:10). 11.Rest and worship on Sunday serves the same purpose as on Saturday. 12.Early Christians kept the first day of the week (John 20:1,19,26-29; Acts 20:6-12; 2 Cor. 16:1-2). INS>
13.The Lord completed His redemptive work and His victory over death, hell, and the grave on Sunday, the first day. 14.Christ's special manifestations to His disciples after the resurrection were on the first day of the week (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 23-24; John 20:19,26). 15.After the resurrection, no recognition was given by Christ or any apostle to the old Jewish seventh-day sabbath. 16.The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was on the first day of the week, the day after seven Jewish sabbaths (Acts. 2:1). 17.After Christ's ascension, the first sermon was preached on the first day, and the first conversions (about 3,000) took place on the first day (Acts 2:1-42). 18.The lack of warning by Christ or the apostles regarding it being sinful or "the mark of the beast" (as some teach) to observe the first day of the week shows it was acceptable as a day of rest and worship. 19.Typology of the old covenant makes the first day of the week prominent. The feasts of first fruits and Pentecost were observed on the first day, as well as the feasts of unleavened bread and tabernacles (Leviticus 23:8-14,34-39). INS>
20.God honored the first day by giving the law on that day (Exodus 19:1,3,11; Leviticus 23:5-6 with Exodus 12:2-18). 21.God honored many first days of the week in Israel (2 Chron. 7:10; 2 Chron. 29:17; Ezra 3:6; Neh. 8:14-18; etc.). 22.God honored the first day again by giving the book of Revelation on that day Rev. 1:10, notes; Acts 20:7, note). 23.The new covenant frees from such bondages of the old covenant as the death penalty for cooking, making fires, and performing other duties on a sabbath (Exodus 16:23; Exodus 20:8-10; Exodus 31:15; Exodus 35:2-5; Leviticus 23:3; Numbers 15:32). 24.The New Testament never records a distinctive gathering of Christians on the Jewish sabbath. On the contrary, Christians gathered on Sunday, the first day of the week, which was called "the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10; John 20:1,19; note, Acts 20:7; 2 Cor. 16:2). INS>
Of the 60 times the word "sabbath" is found in the New Testament, it is used 50 times BEFORE the new covenant was made. Of the remaining 10 times, 6 occurrences refer to Paul preaching to the Jews (at non-Christian gatherings) on Jewish sabbath days (Acts 13:14,42,44; Acts 17:1,2; Acts 18:4); 2 instances refer to the law of Moses being read by Jews in their synagogues on Jewish sabbaths (Acts 13:27; Acts 15:21); one place refers to Jewish travel as not more than a mile on the sabbath (Acts 1:12); and one spot plainly says that all sabbaths were abolished (Col. 2:14-17). INS>
If there had been explicit commands to worship on any day, even the first day, it would have brought about the same bondage as the law of Moses. The higher ideals and principles of Christianity would have then been regulated to days and seasons which God promised to abolish (Isaiah 1:13; Hosea 2:11) and did abolish (2 Cor. 3:6-15; Galatians 3:19-25; Galatians 4:21-31; Galatians 5:1-3; Ephes. 2:14-15; Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 6:20-10:18). Whereas Israel was obliged to commemorate freedom from bondage with a yoke of bondage which included the sabbath-keeping law, Christians are free to commemorate their freedom on any day they choose (Romans 14:5-6). b[bake that which ye will bake today ... and that which remained over lay up for you to be kept until the morning] All cooking had to be done the day before the sabbath.
Sabbaths of Different Lengths:
(1)One day long (Exodus 16:23-29)
(2)Two days long (Leviticus 23:6-8,15-22)
(3)One year long (Leviticus 25:4)
(4)Seventy years long (2 Chron. 36:21)
(5)Eternity long (Hebrews 4:9)
3.The seventh-day sabbaths of Israel were changing sabbaths, being observed on two different days each year because of an additional sabbath at Pentecost. If the fifteenth day of Abib (when Israel left Egypt), which was on the sabbath, was Saturday, then the seventh-day sabbath would fall on Saturday for seven weeks or forty-nine days. The fiftieth day, Sunday, would be Pentecost. The next seventh-day sabbath after Pentecost would then fall on Sunday, and so on until Pentecost of the following year which would change the seventh-day sabbath again. Thus, there was no such thing as the sabbath always being on Saturday throughout the year, or perpetually.
4.Sabbaths were to be a delight instead of a burden and would have been had they been observed lawfully, and the true nature of rest and worship maintained (Isaiah 58:13). 5.Sabbaths were for Israel only (Exodus 16:29; Exodus 31:14; Ezekiel 20:12). Gentiles who wished to become a part of the nation of Israel could do so by meeting certain requirements, after which the sabbath laws applied to them (Exodus 12:49; Numbers
15:16). 6.Sabbaths were to be observed holy (Exodus 16:23; Exodus 20:8; Exodus 35:2; Isaiah 58:13; Jeremiah 17:21-27). 7.Sabbaths were to be observed unto God (Exodus 16:25). 8.Sabbaths were from the Lord (Exodus 20:10; Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 23:3; Deut. 5:14). 9.They were to be kept (Exodus 31:14) 10.No work was to be done on sabbaths (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:15; Exodus 35:3; Numbers 15:32; Jeremiah 17:21-27). The penalty for breaking this law was death (Numbers 15:30-36).
11.Sabbaths were to be observed as a time of rest (Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 16:31; Leviticus 23:3,32). 12.They were to be sanctified or set apart by Israel (Deut. 5:12). 13.Sabbaths were commanded (Exodus 20:8-11; Deut. 5:15). 14.To Israel the seventh-day sabbath was a memorial of deliverance from slavery under Pharaoh (Deut. 5:15), not a commemoration of God's rest upon completing His work. Man's rest could not have been the same day that God rested, because man was only created the day before God's sabbath. He had worked only one day, and six days are required before a sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). It would be as meaningless for the church to observe the Jewish sabbath commemorating deliverance from Egypt as it would for England to observe the Fourth of July with Americans! 15.Sabbaths are to be observed in the Millennium and New Earth, so that all flesh can come before God to worship (Isaiah 66:22-24; Ezekiel 44:24; Ezekiel 45:17; Ezekiel 46:3). Scripture does not reveal what particular day will be observed in the future, INS>
but if it is worldwide it will be at different times throughout the earth because time varies as much as a full day around the globe. It might be local in fulfillment with representatives sent to Jerusalem. That universal gatherings to worship are to be representative is proved in Zech. 14:16-21. 16.It is lawful to do good things on sabbaths (Matthew 12:2,12; Mark 2:27-28; Mark 3:4; Luke 6:9). 17.Man was not made for sabbaths, but they were made for him (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5); he is free, therefore, to do what is best for him on rest days. 18.Man was not initially required to observe the seventh day which God rested on and sanctified. God Himself did not continue observing a rest day because sin was committed almost immediately and He began the work of redemption (Genesis 3:8- 21) which still requires His time every day of the week. Sinners can be saved any time they choose to come to God. It was 2,513 years after God's seventh-day sabbath when Israel was commanded to observe any particular day (Exodus 16:23-29; Exodus 20:8-11). 19.Jews proved the principle of doing good and performing essential duties on sabbaths by:
(1)Offering sacrifices (Numbers 28:9-10; 1 Chron. 9:32) (2)Caring for animals (Matthew 12:11; Mark 2:27; Luke 13:15; Luke 14:5) (3)Circumcising (John 7:22-23) INS>
(4)Other essential work (Matthew 12:5) 20.Sabbaths were typical of eternal rest (Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 4:1-11; Hebrews 10:1). 21.The Jewish sabbaths were abolished with the Mosaic law. See note, Acts 15:24; Eighty-five Old and New Covenant Contrasts. 22.Keeping the law and the sabbath was not required by the apostles (Acts 15:5-29; Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:9-11; Col. 2:14-17).
TEN REASONS THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT WAS LEFT OUT.
Acts 15:24 a [subverting your souls] Unsettling your souls in your faith. b [Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law] Many commentators seem to have missed the full and simple truth about the law being abolished. They emphasize that it was not the moral law that was abolished, but the ceremonial law. The truth is, the entire law was abolished, and only nine of the ten commandments were reinstated in the new covenant. Ten Reasons Fourth Commandment Left Out 1. Neither God nor Christ made it a part of the new covenant. If they had it would be somewhere in the New Testament as the other nine are. 2. Of all the words of Jesus on earth only four references are made of the sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Matthew 24:20; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5). He merely taught that it was lawful to do good on this day and that no day is lord of man. He did not once command any particular observance of any definite day.
SABBATH IS A CONTRACT BETWEEN GOD AND THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
The old Jews sabbath was part of the contract between God and Israel and a token and sign of that covenant (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:13-18; Ezekiel 20:12-20). The contract was not made with men before Moses (Deut. 5:2-3), or with Gentiles and the church (Romans 2:14; Deut. 4:7-10). The sabbath was not for them.INS>
4. The fourth commandment was the only one of the ten that was a ceremonial, not a moral law. Its sole purpose was to commemorate the deliverance from Egyptian bondage when Israel had no rest (Deut. 5:15). It was only a type of future and eternal rest (Col. 2:14-17; Hebrews 4:1-11; Hebrews 10:1). It was natural for it to be left out of the new contract when the reality of rest came of which it was a shadow (Matthew 11:28-29; Col. 2:14-17). The physical and spiritual benefits of a rest day can be realized on any other day as well as on Saturday. 5.
The fourth commandment was the only one that could degenerate into a mere form without affecting the morals of men. All others concern moral obligations of men. It is the only one of the ten that could be done away with and still leave a moral law for men God foretold and promised He would do away with the old Jewish sabbath (Hosea 2:11; Isaiah 1:10-15). 7. The prophets predicted that God would abolish the old and make a new covenant (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:8; Isaiah 59:21; Jeremiah 31:13-40; Jeremiah 32:37-44; Ezekiel 36:24-38). That is referred to in the New Testament is clear in Romans 11:25-29; Hebrews 8:8-12; Hebrews 10:16-18; Matthew 26:28.
NO PASSAGE IN THE NEW TESTIMENT COMMAND MEN TO KEEP SATURDAY
8. In no passage is it stated that men should keep the Jewish sabbath to commemorate the old creation rest. It was to commemorate deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 5:15). This was what they were to "remember" (Exodus 20:8). 9. It is the only commandment that could be and has been broken without breaking a moral law. Israel marched on that day (Numbers 33:3; Leviticus 23:5-11; Joshua 6:12-16); set up the tabernacle (Exodus 40:1,17 with Leviticus 23:5-11); searched Canaan (Numbers 13:25); and made war (1 Kings 20:29; 2 Kings 3:9; Joshua 6:12-16). David and others broke it and were blameless (Matthew 12:2-5).
CHRISTIANS CAN KEEP ANY DAY:
10. The New Testament permits Christians to keep any day as the sabbath, it being one of the doubtful things not covered by commandment in the new covenant (Romans 14:1-13; Galatians 4:9-11; Col. 2:14-17). The day early Christians observed-not by commandment but by choice-was the first day, Sunday (John 20:1,19; John 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). See note, § Acts 20:7. c [we gave no such commandment] We did not send the men that came to Antioch to disturb you (Acts 15:1
1 Cor. 16:2 a [Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store] Collections were to be taken up on the first day of the week (Sunday), the day all early Christians observed as their day of rest and worship (John 20:1,19,26; Acts 20:7). Sunday Is the Christian Sabbath The disciples of Moses teach that the sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday by Constantine in 321 A.D., and by the Catholic Church in 364 A.D. The following facts from history prove they are wrong:
DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY MAN WHO WILL TRY TO PUT YOU UNDER THE O.T LAW.
If any man preach the Jewish law unto you, listen not to him. For it is better to hearken to Christian doctrine from a man who is circumcised, than to a Judaism from one uncircumcised" (Vol. 1, pages 63-82). (2) In the Epistle of Barnabas, ascribed to Paul's companion by Clement, Origen, and others, we read, "He says to them. `Your new moons and your sabbaths I cannot endure' (Isaiah 1:13). Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present sabbaths are not acceptable go me ... I will make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (Vol. 1, Page 147).
(3) Justin Martyr, a Gentile born near Jacob's well about 110 A.D. writes, "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read ... But Sunday is the day on which we hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead" (Vol. 1, Page 186). In his dialogue with Typhoo, a Jew, Justin Martyr says, "Is there any other matter, my friends, in which we are blamed, than this, that we live not according to the law, and are not circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers were, and do not observe the sabbaths as you do? ... Christians would observe the law, if they did not know why it was instituted .... For we too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the sabbaths, and in short all feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined you .... How is it, Typhoo that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us-I speak of fleshly circumcision, and sabbaths, and feasts? ... The Gentiles, who have believed in Him, and who have repented of their sins ... shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs ... even although they neither keep the sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts .... Christ is useless to those who observe the law .... The sabbath and sacrifices and offerings and feasts ... have come to an end in Him who was born of a virgin ..
.. But if some, through weak-mindedness, wish to observe such institutions as were given to Moses ... along with their hope in Christ ... they shall probably be saved" (Vol. 1, Pages 199-218). (4) Tertullian, presbyter of the North African Church, who was born about 145 A.D., writes, "The Holy Spirit upbraids the Jews for their holydays. Your sabbaths, and new moons, and ceremonies my soul hated .... By us (Christians), to whom sabbaths are strange ... to the heathen each festive day occurs but once annually: you (Christians) have a festive day every eighth day .... Others suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians, because it is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east, or because we make Sunday a day of festivity ... you who reproach us with the sun and Sunday should consider your own proximity to us. We are not far off from your Saturn and your days of rest .... It follows, accordingly, that, in so far as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated at its specific times, so also the observance of the sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary" (Vol. III, Pages 70, 123, 155, 313-14).
(5) In "The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles," written about 80 A.D., we read, "But every Lord's day (Sunday) do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread and give thanksgiving" (Vol. VII, Page 381).
(6) In the Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (2nd century) we read, "Break your fast ... the first day of the week, which is the Lord's day ... After eight days let there be another feast observed with honor, the eighth day itself" (Vol. VII, Page 447). (7) In "The Teachings of the Apostles," written 105 A.D., we read, "The apostles therefore appointed: ... on the first day of the week let there be service and reading of the Scriptures, and the oblation (Lord's Holy Supper): because on the first day of the week our Lord arose upon the world, and ascended to heaven"
PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM BEING SPOILED BY MAN:
Col. 2:8 (KJV)Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Hebrews 13:9 (KJV) Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
The Bearer's Of The "Mind Sword"
