Some time ago, a friend sent me a link to an article that asked the question, “WHY DO WE NO LONGER WORSHIP GOD ON THE SABBATH?” I disagreed with the answer the writer gave and felt I should explain to my friend why I disagreed. Here are the original questions and answers from the article and my response to my friend about them. (Words in BLUE are from the original article)
Q: Why do we no longer worship God on the Sabbath? Why was the Lord’s Day changed to Sunday? Who changed it?
A: The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day are two distinct and separate days. The Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) that God commanded Israel to observe. The term the Lord’s Day is found only once in the Bible where the apostle John wrote, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day…” (Revelation 1:10) and refers to the first day of the week (Sunday) which was set aside by the early church as a memorial to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which occurred on the first day of the week.
Here’s the reply I sent to my friend.
Since “The term THE LORD’S DAY is found only once in the Bible,” (Revelation 1:10) how can anyone say it refers to Sunday, with no Bible reference for proof? The Bible NEVER says Sunday is the Lord’s day. In fact, it says right the opposite.
In Matthew 12:8, Jesus himself said, “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath day.” If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath day, then the Sabbath day is THE LORD’S DAY; NOT Sunday. Exodus 20:10 says, “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord…” The writer of this article knows the Sabbath is the Lord’s day. He says so in the question. Read it carefully.
Q: Why was the Lord’s Day changed to Sunday? (from Saturday)
Then he asks ”Who changed it?” His answer is [Sunday] “was set aside by the early church as a memorial to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which occurred on the first day of the week.”
So he says the early church changed it. My question is what authority did they have to change one of God’s COMMANDMENTS?
Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
God blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. No human has the authority to change the day that God made holy and commanded us to keep holy, and no human can make Sunday holy, no matter how hard they try.
The 10 commandments were NOT given to the Jews as so many believe and teach. They were given to all God’s people. The name “Jew” was first used in reference to the descendants of Judah years later. Many people miss that. (*Judaism 101)
Over a thousand years later, Jesus, the Messiah was born. He kept the Sabbath all his life and NEVER said anything about changing it to Sunday. Nor did he ever say anything about doing away with his holy Law, the 10 commandments. What he did was point out that the religious leaders had perverted his law, including the Sabbath. Look at the next 4 verses carefully.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not;
Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle will in no way pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
God has not changed. He did not change his law. Heaven and earth are still here SO nothing has changed in his Law, the 10 commandments. He said he “did not come to destroy the law,”… If he had changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday or told his disciples to do so, then he would have destroyed the law. That’s what Satan has been trying to do from the beginning and he has fooled the majority of the Christian world into going along with his plan.
I’ve been a Sabbath Keeper for more than 20 years now, and I’ve studied the subject quite extensively, and I’ve heard all the arguments. What amazes me most is that so many Christians say we don’t have to obey the 10 commandments anymore, but ask any Christian these questions;
Is it okay to worship other gods?
Is it okay to worship images and idols?
Is it okay to take the name of the LORD in vain?
Is it okay to dishonor your parents?
Is it okay to kill, steal, lie, commit adultery, or covet?
Most Christians say, No! It’s not okay to do those things. But ask them about the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment. Is it okay to break the Sabbath?
They say, “We‘re not under the law but under grace.” They get offended and say “That’s legalism” and quote Colossians 2:16 & Romans 14:5 and say, “Don’t judge me!” I’ve seen people get fighting mad about it, yet, they judge me, harshly, because I keep the Seventh-Day Sabbath “according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56).
The Bible does say, “You are not under the law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). But the first part of that verse says, “sin shall not have dominion over you…”
Romans 3:20 says the law is the standard that shows us what sin is.
In Romans 7:7 Paul says he would not have known what sin was without the law.
1 John 3:4 says, Whoever sins, breaks the law: for sin is breaking the law.
Galatians 5:18 says, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ” Those who are not led by the spirit are STILL under the law.
Let me say that again. Listen closely.
Galatians 5:18 says, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Those who are NOT led by the Spirit are still under the law. We who have accepted Jesus as our Savior are not under the law because we have accepted God’s free gift of Salvation, and our sins have been forgiven. We’re now under Grace. But, those who have NOT yet been saved still need the law to show them what sin is so they can come to Jesus and be saved.
Galatians 3:24-25 says it another way.
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our teacher to bring us to Christ, so we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:25 But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a teacher.
Somehow, people forget that everyone is not saved. Everyone does NOT have faith. Those people STILL NEED THE LAW to tell them what sin is. They still need the law to show them they are lost and to point them to our loving Savior. So the law has not been changed nor done away with. IT IS STILL THERE, just as strong, and as in effect as ever.
Keeping the 10 commandments, or any other law, WILL NOT save us. We should obey them because we ARE saved. All 10, not just 9 of them. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). I love him and I want to please him. No matter what others say. It is not legalism to want to obey God.
LET’S ANSWER THE LAST PART OF THE ORIGINAL QUESTION. Who changed it?
Since the true followers of Jesus had no authority to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, who changed it? Here’s the answer. This is a direct quote from the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine.
Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday….
Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.
Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!
So, there’s the truth. The Catholic church changed it. NOT Jesus and NOT the early church. Now, the Catholic Church has no more authority to change God’s law than anyone else on earth, but they are responsible for the change from worshiping on Saturday, the seventh day of the week to worshiping on Sunday, the first day of the week, and much of the Christian world is following the beast without even knowing it.
NOW LET’S ADDRESS A FEW OF THE STATEMENTS IN THE BODY OF THE ARTICLE
The article states…
Some Christians believe the Sabbath no longer applies and others believe that it applies to Christians just as it applied to Israel. The apostle Paul seems to address this debate by writing, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind…” (Romans 14:5)
Some are quick to claim that the Sabbath is not required for Christians based on Paul’s words in Colossians: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths…” (Colossians 2:16) At face value this seems true, but some scholars argue that the Greek word sabbatoon, translated “sabbaths” in this verse, could also refer to the Jewish Feast of Weeks festival.
Let’s examine these two verses closely.
Romans 14:5
“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”
This verse doesn’t say anything about the Sabbath. Verses 1-3 are talking about eating. Verse 6 talks about eating.
Look at Colossians 2:16, 17
“Let no man, therefore, judge you in food, or drink, or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:
Both these verses are talking about feast days. (such as Pentecost and Passover, the New Moons, Sabbath days, etc.). The Sabbath days here are the yearly Sabbaths, not the weekly Sabbath which God made holy and commanded us to keep holy.
In Romans 14:5, Paul is saying not to judge a person because they are keeping a certain feast day, although, it was no longer required since Jesus, the Messiah, nailed all those ordinances to his cross when he died. He fulfilled their purpose by becoming the final sacrifice. (Colossians 2:14, Matthew 5:17)
Colossians 2:20-22 confirms that fact.
What ordinance is Paul talking about here?
Read Leviticus 23:23-24
Verse 24 says they would have a sabbath in the 7th month. The 1st day will be a holy gathering. (convocation or meeting)
Verse 27 says, On the 10th day of the 7th month there shall be a day of atonement: another holy gathering.
Verse 32 says this meeting shall be a sabbath of rest.
Verse 34 says the 15th day of the 7th month shall be the feast of tabernacles for 7 days unto the Lord.
Verse 35 says the 1st day of these 7 days shall be a holy gathering.
Verse 37 says these are the feast of the Lord… holy gatherings.
Verse 38 makes it clear that these “Sabbaths” are different from THE SABBATH in the Commandments by stating, “besides the Sabbaths of the LORD.”
These Sabbaths were beside the Sabbaths of the Lord, or other than, or not including the Sabbaths of the LORD. These were holy days that pointed forward to the Messiah, or “shadows of things to come” (2 Chronicles 8:12-13 and 2 Chronicles 31:3).
Verse 29 says, on the 15th day of the 7th month they were to keep a feast unto the Lord for 7 days. The 1st day will be a Sabbath, and the 8th day will be a sabbath. These Sabbaths were ordinances. Shadows of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross where he became the last and final sacrifice, “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
The Sabbath of the LORD has never been changed by God. He wrote it in stone with his own finger. It is one of the 10 Commandments. He made the seventh day holy and he tells us to remember it and keep it holy. So, these 2 texts Colossians 2:16, 17 and Romans 14:5 are not talking about the “Sabbath of the LORD” (the weekly Sabbath), the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments.
Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are they that DO His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.
Revelation 14:12 says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
We are promised a blessing for keeping his commandments, but Jesus also talks about another group of people.
Matthew 15:8 These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable twist, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.
It makes me sad to see people twisting the scriptures to make themselves feel better about breaking a commandment of God and following the Sunday tradition of Rome in honor of the sun god. The Sabbath is a blessing. A beautiful gift from God. A time to rest from the labor of the week. A time to spend with God and family. Why anyone would not want that blessing is beyond me. We all certainly need it.
NOW THE NEXT STATEMENT
In the book of Corinthians it states that the early church met “on the first day of the week” which is clearly not the seventh day of the week (the Sabbath); and nowhere in the Bible does it state this was wrong. If the Sabbath was required it would seem probable that the Jerusalem Council would have included the Sabbath in the list of “necessary things” for the church, but they did not mention it (Acts 15:23-29).
First of all, this verse (1 Corinthians 16:2) does NOT say that the early church met on the first day of the week and it doesn’t say that the Sabbath was changed from the Seventh day of the week to the First day of the week. In Acts 15:23-29 which the writer refers to, the Jerusalem Council determined not to burden the Gentiles, who had turned to Jesus, with a bunch of rules all at once, just the “necessary things.” Pay attention here. Are we supposed to believe that those few things mentioned here are the only things God expects Gentile Christians to do, and nothing else? That would be ridiculous. If that were the case, why were so many other letters (The New Testament) written with instructions in so many other subjects? Jesus and the New Testament writers tell us that God expects a lot more from us than just these few things.
Here’s the key. The council sent Jude and Silas to Antioch with the letter to the Gentiles who had accepted Jesus as their Savior, and they spoke “many words” to them (verse 32). In verse 21, before sending the letter, the council said they would only write those “necessary things” because they would learn more of what was expected of them in the scripture readings “in every city,” “every Sabbath.”
Now, back to 1 Corinthians 16:2. Verse 1 plainly says it is “concerning the collection FOR the saints.” There was a famine in all of Judea in those days and Paul was giving instructions for the churches to prepare a collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem. It doesn’t say if it was money, food, clothes, or what. Acts 11:27-30 shows the beginning of this work. Understanding this, read Romans 15:26 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.
Romans 15:26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
1 Corinthians 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, even so, do you.
1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
There is so much to this subject, but it all boils down to the words of Peter and the other apostles in Acts 5:29;
Act 5:29 ….We should obey God rather than men. ----
