Sabbath, Sunday and the Bible
Since the majority
of Christians the world over observe Sunday as a day of rest and worship
rather than the Sabbath, one would expect to find some exciting comment in the
Bible in regards to keeping Sunday as a holy day in honour of Christ's
resurrection.
Strangely, however,
the New Testament only mentions Sunday eight times. (The Sabbath, on the other hand, is mentioned
over 40 times in the New Testament.)
Since millions of
sincere and loving, Bible-believing Christians worship on Sunday, why is the
Bible curiously silent on the subject?
Yet there is more
involved than appears on the surface.
One of the greatest prophecies of the book of Revelation involves this
subject in detail. (We will study it in
lesson #23.)
However, it would be
impossible to understand this important prophecy unless the topic of today's
study becomes crystal clear. So let
us examine the 8 scriptures in the New Testament which mention the first day of
the week. Obviously, if there is a
command to keep Sunday holy we should find it in one of these Bible
passages.
EIGHT SUNDAY TEXTS
1. Consider three of these New Testament texts that speak of the
resurrection of Jesus: Mark 16:9, Matthew 29:1, and John 20:1. Do any of these Scriptures suggest that the
day is to be considered holy?
Note: In the Bible, Sunday is always called the first day of the
week.
2. The fourth passage is Mark 16:1,2. Does this reference imply that the day is
holy?
Note: This New Testament passage does tell us something interesting,
however. It tells us that Sunday is not the Sabbath. It says that Sabbath is already over when
Sunday comes.
3. Luke 24:1 is the fifth New Testament text that mentions the
first day of the week. Does this passage
say the day is holy?
Note: The book of Luke was written, by a gentile Christian, 30 years
after Christ's ascension, but no change in the day of worship is mentioned.
4. Dr. Luke, a physician (Colossians
Acts 1:1-3
Note: This is a highly significant passage. Luke is here saying that in his gospel he
included information regarding all that Jesus did and taught, including any COMMANDMENTS
given to the disciples, Acts 1:2. But the book of Luke only mentions the first
day of the week one time, with no hint to keeping it holy.
5. The sixth New Testament passage which mentions the first day of the week is John
20:19. Some say the disciples had
gathered in this meeting to
inaugurate the keeping of the first day of the week as a holy
day. According to this passage, why had
they gathered for the meeting?
Note: The disciples could not have gathered to inaugurate a new holy day
in honour of the resurrection, because until Jesus appeared in their midst they
refused to believe He was raised, Mark
6. The seventh reference mentioning the first day of the week in the New
Testament is I Corinthians 16:1,2:
Several questions should be asked and
answered here:
a) Does this passage say
the day is holy?
b) Does this passage
say, "Drop money in the collection plate when it is passed in your church
on the first day"?
c) It says upon the
first day of the week, let everyone of you lay BY
HIM in store. What does "BY HIM" mean?
Note: The expression "by him" means to do it privately in
your home. Many Bible translations
record it so. The new
English Bible says, "Each of you should at home lay aside some
money he makes and save it." Paul
was gathering funds for the Jerusalem Christians who were suffering from
famine, Acts
7. The eighth and last New Testament passage which mentions the first day
of the week is Acts 20:7-12:
a) Does this passage say to observe Sunday
as a Holy day?
b) Does it say the
Sabbath was changed to Sunday?
c) Does it say they
met every Sunday for worship?
Note: Paul was on a farewell trip to the churches. When he told the people he would not see them
again, they wept much, Acts
Two other points should
be noted:
a) The fact that they broke bread or celebrated communion at
this does not indicate the day was holy, because the Bible says they broke bread
every day, Acts
b) In the Bible, a
24-hour day is measured from sundown to sundown, Leviticus 23:32, Mark
Therefore, it could not
possibly be an indication of Sunday sacredness, because Sunday keepers do not
begin their holy day until
THE LORD'S DAY
8. If Jesus or the disciples had made Sunday a holy day, would Paul have
told us?
Acts
9. Could the disciples have changed the Sabbath command even if they had
wished to do so?
Matthew 5:18
Deuteronomy 4:2
10. Satan will often try to
cause us to ignore or break just one of God's Commandments. Do you know why?
James 2:10-12
Note: God's law is like a ten-sided fortress. Only one side needs to be broken down to
permit the enemy to enter.
11. We read in
Revelation
Isaiah 58:13
Mark
Note: People often call Sunday "The Lord's Day", but the
Bible does not do so. It calls Sabbath
the Lord's Day.
MEMORIAL OF JESUS' RESURRECTION?
12. What does the Bible
call Sunday?
Ezekiel 46:1
13. Since the Bible calls
Sunday a work day and nowhere suggests that it is holy, where must the concept
of Sunday sacredness have come from?
Matthew 15:3-9
Note: Men have substituted another day of worship for the Sabbath. The actual change of Sabbath for Sunday is
detailed more closely in studies 21 and 24b.
14. Many people observe
Sunday as a holy day in honour of Jesus' resurrection. But what did Jesus institute for us in honour of His
death, burial and resurrection?
Romans 6:3-6
Colossians 2:12
15. Hasn't the calendar
been changed so we cannot know which day is the seventh?
Note: The Romans, who were ruling in Jesus' day, gave us our modern calendar. Only one change has been made. In October of 1582, ten days were removed
from the calendar. However, the
change did not affect the weekly cycle, because the numbering on the
calendar went from Thursday the 4th, to Friday the 15th (see diagram below). We add a day (the 29th of February) each leap
year, but this does not affect the weekly cycle either. Although not all countries made this
necessary calendar adjustment in 1582, the same kind of change was eventually
made everywhere. Therefore, the
seventh day on our calendar today is the very same day that Jesus kept.
October 1582
|
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
15 |
16 |
|
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
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24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
28 |
30 |
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31 |
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Additionally, Jews the
world over have kept the Sabbath faithfully each week, and all recognize it as
being on Saturday.
NAILED TO THE CROSS?
16. Some theologians teach
that in Colossians 2:14-17, Paul tells us the Sabbath is no longer
binding because it ended at the cross.
What was Paul really saying?
Note: The text does not say that the Sabbath was nailed to the cross; a
cross-reading of several good, modern translations will show that it
was the death-sentence against us that was nailed to the cross. Read the MCM article on
this verse by clicking here.
In addition to the
Sabbath being a shadow, or type, of good things to come in our future, it is
also a MEMORIAL of the truth about our God. To eliminate the Sabbath would
foolishly remove this great memorial to what God has revealed about himself at
such great cost.
17. What do the Christian
churches which worship on Sunday say about this problem?
Answer: See the following section entitled "THE CHURCHES
COMMENT" for answer to this question.
18. Although we know very
clearly that salvation is in no way obtained by works, what does the Bible say
in regards to those who disobey God?
Hebrews 5:9
Matthew 25:41
Note: Although we know that we are saved by God's grace alone,
Matthew 7:21-23 makes it very clear that many active church members will be
shocked when they are shut out of Heaven for disobedience, in spite of the fact
that they did many wonderful things in the Lord's name.
We are saved by our
trust-relationship with Jesus; and if we trust him, we will be willing to do
what he asks.
19. What does Jesus say to
us today in regard to this problem?
Matthew 15:3
John 14:15
Note: We serve whom we obey, Romans
20. But what if keeping
Sabbath brings me financial or social difficulties?
Acts
Revelation 12:11
Note: Being a Christian and doing God's will may bring us difficulty,
persecution, even death. But God has
promised to provide all our needs, and more importantly, to be with us always. Matthew 28:20. Isaiah 43:1-8.
CONCLUSION
"I am the Light of the World; he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of
Life." John 8:12
Are YOU
willing to follow where Jesus leads?
Although the road may be difficult at times, it leads to everlasting
peace.
My response to Christ is:_____________________________
The
Churces Comment...
BAPTIST
"There was and is a
commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day but that Sabbath day was not Sunday...
It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was
transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week... Where can the
record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New
Testament—absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the
Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week"—From a paper by Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, author of The
Baptist Manual
CATHOLIC
"You may read the
Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line
authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious
observance of Saturday, a day which we (Catholics) never sanctify."—James
Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, p.
111
CHRISTIAN
"There never was
any change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in
the Bible any intimation of such a change."—First Day Observance, pp.
17,19
"I do not believe
that the Lord's day came in the room of the Jewish
Sabbath, or that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first
day." —
CONGREGATIONALIST
"The current notion
that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the
seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament."—Dr.
Lyman Abbott, Christian Union,
EPISCOPAL
"Is there any
command in the New Testament to change the day of weekly rest from Saturday to
Sunday? None."— Manual of Christian Doctrine, p.
127
METHODIST
"Take the matter of
Sunday . . . there is no passage telling Christians to keep that day, or to
transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day."—Harris Franklin Rall, Christian
Advocate,
LUTHERAN
"The observance of
the Lord's day (Sunday) is founded not on any command of God, but on the
authority of the church."—
PRESBYTERIAN
"The Christian
Sabbath (Sunday) is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive church
called the Sabbath."—Dwight's Theology, vol. 4, p. 401
DICTIONARY
"The notion of a
formal substitution by apostolic authority of the Lord's Day (meaning Sunday)
for the Jewish Sabbath (or the first for the seventh day)... and the transference
to it, perhaps in a spiritualized form, of the sabbatical obligation
established by the promulgation of the Fourth Commandment, has no basis
whatever either in Holy Scripture or in Christian antiquity."—Sir William
Smith & Samuel Cheetham, A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, vol.
2, p. 182, Article "Sabbath"
ENCYCLOPEDIA
"It must be
confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first
day."—M'Clintock and Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical
Literature, vol. 9, p. 196
Note: Though some individual pastors may argue the point, we have not
found one single Sunday-keeping organization yet, which did not in its official
literature plainly admit that there is no Scripture to support Sunday
observance.