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For anyone who likes church history, Justo
González is a familiar name. His two-volume
work, The Story of Christianity, is
frequently read in seminaries and Bible
colleges. . . González is
[writing]
a history of the first day of the week. He
points out that, “In the earliest days,
worship consisted of Sabbath-keeping and
resurrection-celebrating on two different
days. In time, the former decreased and the
latter persisted, but as González observes,
“the notion that Sunday has taken the place
of the Sabbath is notably absent from early
Christian literature.’”
[1]
When the
Jerusalem Council came together in Acts 15
to determine what Gentile Christians must
observe, Peter encouraged the Church
leadership not to place the Gentiles under
the Old Covenant Law. According to the
council, circumcision and Sabbath-keeping
were not required of anyone under the New
Covenant, Law of Christ.
"In the Book of Acts 20:7, The
first day of the week [was] "Sunday, the day the
church gathered for worship, because it was
the day of Christ's resurrection. (Cf. Matt 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; 1 Corinthians 16:2). The writings of the early
church Fathers confirm that the church
continued to meet on Sunday after the close
of the New Testament period. Scripture does not require
Christians to observe the Saturday Sabbath:
1) The First
command to keep the Sabbath was not until
the time of Moses (Exodus 16; 20:8);
2) The Sabbath
was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:16, 17; Nehemiah 9:14; Ezekiel 20:12),
whereas Christians are under the New
Covenant (2 Corinthians 3; Hebrews 8). There is
no evidence in the Bible of anyone keeping
the Sabbath before the time of Moses, nor
are there any commands in the Bible to keep
the Sabbath before the giving of the law at
Mt. Sinai.
3) There is no
New Testament command to keep the Sabbath;
4) The Jerusalem
Council in Acts 15 did not order Gentile
believers to keep the Sabbath;
"The final judgment of the Jerusalem Council
contains no reference to Sabbath keeping.
Circumcision was discussed and deemed
unnecessary (Acts 15:5-6; 19-20). If Sabbath
keeping were to be an essential part of the
New Covenant relationship with God it would
have been mentioned in the discussion
because it would have been an unfamiliar
practice to the Gentiles. Sabbath keeping
was not even discussed because it is not a
requirement for New Covenant believers'"
[2]
5) Paul never
cautioned Christians about breaking the
Sabbath and in Galatians 4:10-11, Paul
rebukes the Galatians for thinking God
expected them to observe special days
(including the Sabbath).
6) The
New Testament
explicitly
teaches that Sabbath keeping was not a
requirement (see Romans 14:5; Galatians 4:10, 11; Colossians 2:16, 17).
7) In Acts 20:7
“to break bread” was the common meal
associated with the communion service (1 Corinthians 11:20-22).
8) In Romans 14:5, Paul forbids those who observe the
Sabbath (these were no doubt Jewish
believers) to condemn those who do not
(Gentile believers)."
The Apostle Paul
wrote over one third of the New Testament
and never once told his Gentile converts to
keep the Mosaic Law or the Sabbath. Not
once. Paul gave his churches instruction on
everything they needed to know about
Christianity: morality, giving, leadership
principles, church organization, theology
and everything else they needed to know to
live the Christian life and never, ever,
once commanded anyone to keep the
Seventh-day Sabbath. Why?
"Sunday has not
replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. Rather the
Lord's Day is a time when believers gather
to commemorate His resurrection, which
occurred on the first day of the week. Every
day to the believer is one of Sabbath rest,
since we have ceased from our spiritual
labor and are resting in the salvation of
the Lord (Hebrews 4:9-11)." [3]
None of the other
New Covenant authors told anyone to keep the
Sabbath in any of their writings. Why? Where
is anyone commanded to keep the Seventh-day
Sabbath in the New Covenant?
We cannot live by both Law and Grace! You must
live by one or the other.
Christians are in
no way required to keep the Seventh-day
Sabbath. We are
not under the Law of the Old Covenant. We
are to rest in Jesus for our salvation rest.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me,
all who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.”
The New Covenant has done
away with all Old Covenant ceremonies,
Feasts and Holy Days. The Holy Days of
Judaism including the Sabbath, do not apply to
Christians.
Colossians 2:14-17
by
canceling the record of debt that stood
against us with its legal demands. This he
set aside, nailing it to the cross. He
disarmed the rulers and authorities and put
them to open shame, by triumphing over them
in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment
on you in questions of food and drink, or
with regard to a festival or a new moon or a
Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to
come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Galatians 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4
“You
observe days and months and seasons and
years! I am afraid I may have labored over
you in vain. . . 21 “Tell me, you who desire
to be under the law, do you not listen to
the law?’. . . 5:1 For freedom Christ has
set us free; stand firm therefore, and do
not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look:
I, Paul, say to you that if you accept
circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage
to you. I testify again to every man who
accepts circumcision that he is obligated to
keep the whole law. You are severed from
Christ, you who would be justified by the
law; you have fallen away from grace. “
Romans 14:5
One person esteems one
day as better than another, while another
esteems all days alike. Each one should be
fully convinced in his own mind.
If
You Teach Someone to Keep the Old Covenant
Law - You Are Teaching A False Gospel!
Galatians 5:1-4 says,
For freedom
Christ has set us free; stand firm
therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke
of slavery.
Look: I,
Paul, say to you that if you accept
circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage
to you.
I testify
again to every man who accepts circumcision
that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
You are
severed from Christ, you who would be
justified by the law; you have fallen away
from grace. (See also:
Acts 15:10; 1 Timothy 6:1)
______________
From Sabbath to
Lord's Day: "When did the Christian Church
switch the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?"
"No specific names
or dates are associated with the church's
shift from observing the holy day on
Saturday to observing it on Sunday. At
first, especially when many Christians were
converted Jews, their holy day was Saturday.
However, because the Resurrection and the
beginning of Creation had both occurred on
the first day of the week (Sunday), the
church soon observed that day instead. (More
Gentiles were becoming Christians as well,
which contributed to a desire to shake off
Jewish customs.) By the end of the first
century, Sunday worship was the norm. We can
assume the change caused some friction, for
in Colossians 2:16 Paul admonishes,
"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by
what you eat or drink, or with regard to a
religious festival, a New Moon celebration
or a Sabbath day."
It's important to
note that the Sabbath was not simply moved;
Christians altered the observance as well as
the day. Hallmarks of the early Christian
"Lord's day" celebration, according to
Justin Martyr (ca. 100-ca. 165), [4] included
readings from Scripture (particularly the
Gospels), a sermon, communal prayer, and
Communion—very different from Jewish Sabbath
observance. By Jewish standards, Christians
don't keep the Sabbath at all." [5]
From
"The Lord's Day: Sabbath or Sunday"
The earliest
reference we have to the Lord's day, besides
the vague comment made in the Book of
Revelation 1:10, is in the letter to the Magnesians written by Ignatius of Antioch in
A.D. 110:
"If those who
have been brought up in the ancient order of
things [i.e., converted Jews] have come to
the possession of a new hope, no longer
observing the Sabbath but living in
observance of the Lord's day, on which also
our life has sprung up again by him and his
death …
The Lord's day is
the day on which "our life has sprung up
again by him." In other words, it is the day
of Jesus' resurrection, the first day of the
week." [6]
Dr.
Samuele Bacchiocchi proved that Ellen G.
White was wrong about who changed the
Sabbath and when!
"Dr.
Samuele Bacchiocchi, one of the Seventh-day
Adventist's top scholars wrote in an E-mail
message to the "Free Catholic Mailing List"
on February 8, 1997 and said:
I
differ from Ellen White, for example, on the
origin of Sunday. She teaches that in the
first centuries all Christians observed the
Sabbath and it was largely through the
efforts of Constantine that Sundaykeeping
was adopted by many Christians in the fourth
century. My research shows otherwise. If you
read my essay “HOW DID SUNDAY-KEEPING BEGIN”
which summarizes my dissertation, you will
notice that I place the origin of
Sundaykeeping by the time of the Emperor
Hadrian, in A. D. 135." [7]
Dr. Bacchiocchi could not site one
quote from the Early Church Fathers that
said they kept the Sabbath.
Galatians 3:1-14
is a warning to any Christian who thinks
they can live by the Law.
1. O foolish Galatians! Who has
bewitched you? It was before your eyes that
Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you
receive the Spirit by works of the law or by
hearing with faith? Are you so foolish?
Having begun by the Spirit, are you now
being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer
so many things in vain—if indeed it was in
vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you
and works miracles among you do so by works
of the law, or by hearing with faith— just
as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted
to him as righteousness”?
7. Know
then that it is those of faith who are the
sons of Abraham. And the Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall
all the nations be blessed.” So then, those
who are of faith are blessed along with
Abraham, the man of faith.
10. For
all who rely on works of the law are under a
curse; for it is written, “Cursed be
everyone who does not abide by all things
written in the Book of the Law, and do
them.” Now it is evident that no one is
justified before God by the law, for “The
righteous shall live by faith.” But the law
is not of faith, rather “The one who does
them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that
in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham
might come to the Gentiles, so that we might
receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Christians are free to worship God on any
day of the week.
Sunday, the Lord's Day, is
not a requirement under the New Covenant.
Neither is keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath
of the Old Covenant. God is not concerned
that we keep Old Testament rituals, rules or requirements. He wants our hearts to be
filled with His love and grace. We are free
to worship God every day of the week.
(Acts 15; Hebrews 12:28–29; Psalm 51:15–17; Galatians 5:16-18)
Reference:
1. See:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/a-brief-history-of-sunday/
2. See:
https://www.exadventist.com/Home/Sabbath/SabbathSunday/tabid/516/Default.aspx
3. Adapted from:
https://www.gty.org/library/questions/QA135/are-the-sabbath-laws-binding-on-christians-today
4. See:
https://www.christian-history.org/sabbath-quotes.html
5. See:
http://Christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/when-did-christian-church-switch-sabbath-from-saturday...
6. See:
https://www.christian-history.org/lords-day.html
7. See:
https://www.bible.ca/7-Bacchiocchi.htm
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