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The first explicit
mention of Sabbath observance dates from
approximately 1450 B.C. at the time when
manna was given to Israel in the desert of
Sinai in Exodus 16:22-23. Shortly thereafter, God
made the Sabbath a commandment for the
Israelites to follow when He entered into
the Mosaic Covenant with them.
Nehemiah 9:13-14 says, “You came down on
Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven
and gave them right rules and true laws,
good statutes and commandments, and you made
known to them your holy Sabbath and
commanded them commandments and statutes and
a law by Moses your servant.”
Nehemiah makes
it clear that God made his holy Sabbath
known to Israel at that time, and not
before.
The Sabbath served as a
ceremonial sign of the covenant between God
and the nation of Israel alone.
Exodus 31:12-14 says, “And the LORD said to Moses,
“You are to speak to the people of Israel
and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my
Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and
you throughout your generations, that you
may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You
shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy
for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be
put to death. Whoever does any work on it,
that soul shall be cut off from among his
people.”
And Ezekiel 20:12, 20 says,
“Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a
sign between me and them, that they might
know that I am the LORD who sanctifies
them…and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may
be a sign between me and you, that you may
know that I am the LORD your God.”
The Sabbath could only serve as a sign of
the Mosaic Covenant if it was unique to
them. The Sabbath distinguished Israel from
all the other nations. The Sabbath could not
function as a sign of God’s covenant with
Israel if everyone else was expected to keep
it. A sign sets something apart from the
rest. In fact, one of the main reasons God
gave Israel for Sabbath-keeping was to
remind them of their captivity and how He
was able to deliver them from Egyptian
bondage (Exod. 16:23, 29; 31:13-18; Deut. 5:12-15).
Sabbath-keeping was never
made a requirement for the New Covenant
church.
From the book of Acts we
know that the early Christians began to meet
daily for worship and to celebrate the
Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:46-47), but they also
continued to worship with their fellow Jews
in the synagogues, and at the temple.
“Scripture never mentions any Sabbath
(Saturday) gatherings by believers for
fellowship or worship. However, there are
clear passages that mention the first day of
the week, Sunday. For instance, Acts 20:7
states that “on the first day of the week we
came together to break bread.” Paul also
urges the Corinthian believers, “On the
first day of every week, each one of you
should set aside a sum of money in keeping
with his income” (1 Cor. 16:2). Since Paul
designates this offering as “service” in
2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection may have
been linked with the Sunday worship service
of the Christian assembly. Historically,
Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting
day for Christians in the church, and its
practice dates back to the first century.
Christian’s worship on Sundays in
celebration of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. It is very important to remember,
though, Sunday worship is not commanded in
the Bible, and Sunday has not replaced
Saturday and become the Christian Sabbath.
While the New Testament describes Christians
gathering and worshiping on Sundays, it
nowhere states that Sunday has replaced
Saturday as the Sabbath. The key point in
all of this is that we are not to limit our
worship to any particular day of the week.
We are to rest in the Lord every day. We are
to worship the Lord every day.”
[1]
Acts 15 and the importance of the Jerusalem Council - A.D.
49/50.
Under the terms of the Old
Covenant, a Gentile could live and work in
Israel without becoming a Jew, but if they
wanted to keep the Passover, or the other
Jewish feasts, the male Gentiles had to be circumcised and
they had to agree to keep all of the laws of the covenant just
like a native-born Jew had to do (Exod. 12:43-49;
Lev. 22:10; Jer. 12:16). Because
of that, some of the Jewish Christians
believed that the Gentile converts should be
required to keep the laws from the Old
Covenant. But when the Jerusalem Council
convened in Acts 15, the Holy Spirit
declared that Christians are not obligated
to keep any of the laws of the Mosaic
Covenant under the New Covenant.
The
Mosaic Covenant and the covenant sign of
circumcision were discussed and deemed
unnecessary (Acts 15:1-5; 15:28-29). The
Apostle Peter said that forcing the Gentiles
to keep the laws of the Mosaic Covenant would be like
placing a yoke of bondage around their necks
(Acts 15:10; cf. Gal. 5:1). If Sabbath-keeping
was still required for Christians then it
would have been mentioned in the discussion
because it would have been an unfamiliar
practice for many of the new Gentile
converts. Sabbath keeping was not discussed
because it was not made a requirement for
Christians living under the New Covenant.
Our debt to God has been forgiven:
Colossians 2:13-14 says, “When you were
dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision
of your sinful nature, God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that
stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross.” (NIV)
In the Greco-Roman world,
the “record of debt” (Greek: cheirographon)
was a written note of indebtedness. The
Mosaic Law put us in debt to God because of
our sin, and because of that, we are all
under the sentence of death (Deut. 27:26;
Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 7:13; 1 Cor. 15:56; Gal. 3:10;
James 2:10; Matt. 18:23-27). God in
His mercy resolved this problem for everyone
who puts their faith and trust in Jesus
Christ alone for their salvation by taking
our note of indebtedness and nailing it to
the cross (Eph. 2:1-5; 5:14; Luke 15:32;
John 5:21; 1 Jn. 3:14; also: Luke 9:23; 1 Pet. 2:24;
2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 6:23; Isa. 53:4; Eph. 2:11-16;
Heb. 9:28; 12:2; Gal. 2:20; 3:13; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2:2; Rom. 4:25).
Jesus Christ has paid our debt in full (Acts 13:38-39;
2 Cor. 5:19; Heb. 8:10-12; 1 Jn. 1:7-9; 2:12).
The Apostle Paul told
us not to judge anyone regarding the Sabbath
issue.
Colossians 2:16-17
says, “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. These are a shadow of the
things that were to come; the reality,
however, is found in Christ.” (NIV)
In Colossians 2:16-17, false teachers
were evidently insisting on abstinence from
certain foods and observance of certain
days. Paul said that those things were only
shadows of what was to come and that they
have been made obsolete by the coming of
Christ (Heb. 8:7-13; 10:1). We are told not
to judge anyone over those issues. The
phrase “a festival or a new moon or a
Sabbath day” refers to the annual, monthly,
and weekly holy days of the Jewish calendar
(1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 8:13; 31:3;
Ne. 10:33; Isa. 1:13-14; Ezek. 45:17; 46:1-11;
Hosea 2:11). The weekly seventh day
Sabbath is clearly meant because Paul had
already mentioned the ceremonial festivals
and new moons and would have no reason to
repeat himself.
Sabbatarians argue
that since Paul calls the Sabbath “a shadow
of the things that were to come” in
Colossians 2:16, he could not be referring
to the seventh day Sabbath of the Decalogue. Shadows are
not solid or permanent, they only exist
because some physical object has cast the
shadow. The Old Covenant ceremonies were
merely shadows pointing forward to Christ,
Jesus is the substance. Now that He has
come, the Old Covenant ceremonies have no
further use (Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 8:5; 10:1).
The New Covenant is clear, Christians are
not under any of the laws of the Mosaic
Covenant (cf. Rom. 6:14-15; 7:1-6; 2 Cor. 3:4-18;
Gal. 3:15-4:7).
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As you can see from the chart above, the
Old Covenant had a system of “days, months,
seasons and years” that pointed forward to
the work of the Messiah that came to an end
when Christ died for us on the cross.
Sabbatarians
say that Colossians 2:16 isn’t talking about
the weekly Sabbath, but their claim is
false. The New Testament uses the same
annual, monthly, and weekly, sequence the
Old Covenant used to show the weekly Sabbath
was part of the Old Covenant ceremonial
system of worship and not binding on
Christians who live under the terms of the
New Covenant (see Lev. 23;
Col. 2:16-17; and Gal. 4:10-11).
The
Apostle Paul wrote over one third of the New
Testament and never told his Gentile
converts to keep the Mosaic Law, or the
Sabbath. Paul gave his churches instruction
on everything they needed to know to live
the Christian life but never told them to
keep the weekly, seventh day Sabbath. None
of the other men who wrote the New Testament
epistles did either.
Christ has
replaced all of the Old Covenant shadows. He
is the reality that those symbols pointed
forward to. Thank God we no longer need the
symbols, Jesus Christ is the substance.
Jesus came to live His life in us, and
through us, and to give us His eternal rest.
False teachers in the Church were
insisting that Christians have to keep the
Holy days from the Mosaic Covenant.
Galatians 4:10-11 says, “You observe
days and months and seasons and years! I am
afraid I may have labored over you in vain.”
Paul had to rebuke the legalistic
Galatians for thinking God expected them to
observe special days as holy, including the
seventh day Sabbath (Gal. 4:10-11).
In fact, Paul said we fall from grace when we try to
live by the Old Covenant law. Galatians 5:4 says, “You
are severed from Christ, you who would be
justified by the law; you have fallen away
from grace.”
The
rituals, ceremonies, and festivals of the
Jewish religious calendar which God had
given in the Old Covenant were never
required for the church. Paul warned the
Galatians, just like he did the Colossians
and the Romans against legalistically
observing them as if they were required by
God in the New Covenant (Col. 2:16-17;
Rom. 14:1-6).
Observing special days for
God is a matter of personal choice:
Romans 14:5-6 says, “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. The one who
observes the day, observes it in honor of
the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of
the Lord, since he gives thanks to God,
while the one who abstains, abstains in
honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
Paul told the Christians in Rome who
held certain days higher, or with greater
esteem than another day not to condemn those
who do not believe the same way (Sabbath
days, feast days, and fasting days were all
in view). We have no right to place
restrictions on other believers that do not
apply to the Christian life. There
are two commands we are to pursue where our
Savior gets all the glory, loving God and
loving our neighbor. When we do those two
things we fulfill the law of Christ (Rom. 14:5-23).
The early church held
meetings, broke bread, and took offerings
together on the first day of the week.
Acts 20:7 says, “On the first day of the
week, when we were gathered together to
break bread, Paul talked with them,
intending to depart on the next day, and he
prolonged his speech until midnight.”
This is the clearest passage in the New
Testament stating that Sunday was the early
church’s regular gathering day. The church
met on the first day of the week to break
bread, which was the common meal associated
with the communion service (1 Cor. 11:20-22). The Lord’s Supper had been
commanded by Jesus (Luke 22:19), and it was
observed regularly by His Church (Acts 2:42;
Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16).
The church
probably met at night because the first day
of the week was a normal work day and most
people had to work during the day. Paul knew
he was leaving them (most likely) for the
last time so he prolonged his message until
midnight. Luke, the author of the book of
Acts, most likely used the Roman method of
numbering days, which counts from midnight
to midnight, rather than the Jewish method
of counting days from sundown to sundown.
Sabbatarians will often say this was a
Saturday night gathering and not a regular
church meeting at all. Can you imagine if
Acts 20:7 said, “On the [Sabbath], when we
were gathered together to break bread, Paul
talked with them, intending to depart on the
next day, and he prolonged his speech until
midnight” what they would be saying about
the meeting? They would say it was obviously
a Sabbath meeting that lasted long into the
night.
The writings of the
Early Church Fathers confirm that the church
met on Sundays after the close of the New
Testament period, contrary
to the claims of many seventh day
Sabbatarians who say that Sunday worship was
not instituted until the fourth century.
1 Corinthians 16:1-4 says, “Now
concerning the collection for the saints: as
I directed the churches of Galatia, so you
also are to do. On the first day of every
week, each of you is to put something aside
and store it up, as he may prosper, so that
there will be no collecting when I come. And
when I arrive, I will send those whom you
accredit by letter to carry your gift to
Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I
should go also, they will accompany me.”
“Because of the resurrection, Christians
had exchanged the Sabbath as a primary day
of worship for the first day of the week,
the day of Christ’s victory over the grave.
This change in the major day of assembly and
worship also serves as a clear distinction
between old Judaism on the one hand and new
Christianity on the other. The Lord’s Day,
then, is the first day of the week and is
sanctioned by the apostles as the proper day
of worship (cf. Mark 2:27).”
[2]
The phrase in 1 Corinthians 16:2 that
says, “that there will be no collecting when
I come” shows that Christians were told not
to save up their offerings at home each
week, but to put it into a common treasury
every Sunday.
Some people claim that
this contribution was to be put aside at
home, but that would have defeated what Paul
wanted. He said he did not want to have to
collect the money when he got there.
The NIV Study Bible says this,
“Every Sunday believers
were to bring what they had set aside for
the Lord’s work—an amount proportionate to
their income. Since it was to be brought on
Sunday, the day when Christians gathered for
worship (see Acts 20:7; Rev. 1:10), it was
probably collected at the worship service
rather than at home. Justin Martyr indicates
(in his Apology, 1.67-68) that in his time
(c. A.D. 150) offerings were brought to the
church on Sundays.”
[3]
The book of Acts
says that it was Paul’s custom to go to the
synagogues to meet with Jews on the Sabbath.
Paul said repeatedly that it was his
mission to seek out the Jews first (Acts 13:46; 14:1; 18:4; 19:8;
Rom. 1:16; 9:1-5; 10:1-3), and after contacting them would
then turn his attention to the Gentiles. If there was no
Jewish community where he was, he might
still find some God-fearers and proselytes to
preach the gospel to (Acts 16:13).
There is no evidence that Paul observed the
Sabbath in obedience to the Forth
Commandment after his conversion. The
passages used to prove he did are all
referring to assemblies of unconverted Jews
(Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 15:20, 21; 16:13; 17:1-3; 18).
Paul always sought out the Jews
first (Acts 13:5; 14:1; 17:2; 18:4; 19:8),
but once they rejected the gospel his
obligation to them was complete and he
turned his attention to the Gentiles
exclusively (Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:25-28).
None of these passages refer to Christians
gathering together for worship like Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 do.
Paul attended Jewish synagogues for the sole
purpose of sharing the gospel of Jesus
Christ with the Jews. The Jews needed to
understand that Christ was the messiah who
fulfilled the Old Covenant law. Their
assemblies offered Paul an opportunity to
teach, but none of these passages say he
thought he was required to keep the Old
Covenant Sabbath. Paul taught that the Old
Covenant law, including the Sabbath, was not
binding on Christians who live under the New
Covenant.
The New Covenant has done
away with all of the Old Covenant
ceremonies, Feasts and Holy days.
The
Mosaic Covenant had served as a dividing
wall that was meant to separate Israel from
the unbelieving Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-15; John 7:35;
Acts 14:1, 5; 18:4; Rom. 3:9; 3:29; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:22-24; etc.).
Ephesians 2:13-18 says, “But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far away have been
brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made
the two one and has destroyed the barrier,
the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose
was to create in himself one new man out of
the two, thus making peace, and in this one
body to reconcile both of them to God
through the cross, by which he put to death
their hostility. He came and preached peace
to you who were far away and peace to those
who were near. For through him we both have
access to the Father by one Spirit.” (NIV)
Christ
brought unity between the Jews and Gentiles
by doing away with the wall of partition.
God
gave Israel the Mosaic Covenant to separate
them from the rest of the world (Eph. 2:12;
John 4:22; Rom. 9:4-5). The Gentiles were
separated from the commonwealth of Israel
and they were strangers to the covenants of
promise. To be separated from Israel was to
be separated from Christ, because “salvation
is from the Jews” (John 4:22; Rom. 9:4-5).
Paul used the strong transitional phrase
in Ephesians 2:13 that said, “But now in
Christ Jesus” to point the Gentiles to
their new relationship in Christ. The
Gentiles were no longer in their alienated
state. They could know Christ personally,
take part in God’s covenant blessings and
have complete fellowship with God (1 Jn. 1:3;
John 17:21-23; 2 Pet. 1:3-4).
Christ abolished the dividing wall by
fulfilling it and removing the law’s
condemnation for all those who believe
(Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:1; Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-10).
When we are in Christ, we become a
new person, part of a new human race made in
the image of Christ, the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, 49;
Eph. 4:24).
Christ has
taken away our bondage to the Law and given
us freedom in place of our slavery (John 8:32, 36;
Acts 15:10; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 2:4; 3:25; 5:1).
Those who have become Christians live under
an entirely different covenant law than
Israel did, they live under the “law of
Christ” (John 13:34; Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; James 2:8-12).
The New Covenant law of Christ:
Galatians 6:2 says
that we are to, “Bear one another’s burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.” The law
of Christ is what Jesus said were the
two greatest commandments in Mark 12:28-31,
“Which commandment is the most important of
all?” Jesus answered, “The most important
is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the
Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with
all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The
law of Christ, then, is to love God with all
of our heart and to love our neighbors as we
love ourselves (see 1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3; 1 Cor. 9:19-23).
The New Covenant law of Christ is the only law
required for the Christian Church (Gal. 6:2;
1 Cor. 9:19-23; Rom. 6:14; 8:1-11). It is
made up of Christ’s law of love (John 13:34-35;
Matt. 5:44; Gal. 6:2; Rom. 13:8-10; James 2:8-12;
1 Jn. 4:7-8; 5:3), His commands and teachings
(John 13:34; Phil. 2:4-12; Matt. 28:20; 2 Pet. 3:2);
and the commands and teachings found in the New
Testament epistles (Acts 1:1-2; 15:1-28; 2 Pet. 3:2;
Rom. 8:1-4; Eph. 2:20; Jude 1:17; 1 Jn. 5:3).
Jesus Christ promises
to give us divine rest.
Matthew 11:28-30 says, “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.”
Jesus Christ is the only one
who can give us God’s true rest. Everyone
who accepts Him as their Lord and Savior can
find freedom from guilt and the legalistic
burden of trying to earn their salvation by
any type of good works.
Some
Sabbatarians try to use Hebrews 4 as a proof
text for Sabbath-keeping.
Hebrews 4:1-11
says, “Therefore, while the promise of
entering his rest still stands, let us fear
lest any of you should seem to have failed
to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just
as to them, but the message they heard did
not benefit them, because they were not
united by faith with those who listened. 3
For we who have believed enter that rest, as
he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They
shall not enter my rest,’” although his
works were finished from the foundation of
the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of
the seventh day in this way: “And God rested
on the seventh day from all his works.” 5
And again in this passage he said, “They
shall not enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore
it remains for some to enter it, and those
who formerly received the good news failed
to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he
appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying
through David so long afterward, in the
words already quoted, “Today, if you hear
his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For
if Joshua had given them rest, God would not
have spoken of another day later on. 9 So
then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the
people of God, 10 for whoever has entered
God’s rest has also rested from his works as
God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive
to enter that rest, so that no one may fall
by the same sort of disobedience.”
Hebrews 4
compares 3 different types of rest spoken of
in the Old Testament to the rest God wants
us to enter into in the New Covenant. The
rest God alone entered into after he created
the universe (Heb. 4:4), the future rest
spoken of by David in the psalms (Heb. 4:6-7),
and the rest Joshua wanted Israel to
enter into when they took possession of the
promised land (Heb. 4:8-10). Hebrews 4
doesn’t say anywhere that God wants us to
keep the weekly, seventh day Sabbath from
the Old Covenant.
The rest God wants
us to enter is the rest of faith. It is not
about keeping a day of the week holy.
The book of Hebrews is talking about
trusting in Christ alone for our salvation.
The Jewish Christians were being warned not
to leave Christ behind by apostatizing and
going back to Judaism (Heb. 5:11-6:9). Trying to keep the
Sabbath day as a moral obligation was said
to be lapsing back into Judaism and putting
yourself back under the law. Returning to
Judaism was described in the book of Hebrews
as going “back to destruction” in Hebrews 10:26-39.
The Old Testament system of laws and
ceremonies could never save us, only Jesus
can.
The rest in Hebrews 4:9 is
called a “sabbatismós” (Sabbath rest). It is
not the seventh day Sabbath from the Old
Covenant. This is a perpetual Sabbath rest
to be enjoyed by believers without
interruption in their fellowship with the
Father and the Son, in contrast to the
weekly Sabbath rest given to Israel under
the Law. It is a divine rest that believers
enter into with God spiritually. We are
meant to begin to experience it now, “today”, and then on through eternity.
The New Covenant rest that God promises us
is the assurance of salvation in Christ
Jesus alone. Just as God rested after his
work of creation, we too can find physical
and spiritual rest when we stop trying to
earn our salvation and trust completely in
the eternal life that Christ has already
promised us (Heb. 4:9-10; Matt. 11:28; John 3:16; 5:24; 17:3;
Rom. 6:23; 1 Jn. 2:25).
There is not one mention of Christians
keeping the weekly, seventh day Sabbath
after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Sabbath was not transferred to
Sunday like some people teach. Every day is
a Sabbath rest for believers who put their
trust in Christ alone for their eternal
salvation (Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:9-11).
There is no command anywhere in the New
Covenant to keep either the seventh day
Sabbath or Sunday, the first day of the
week as a mandatory day of rest. The New
Testament is clear, the Ten Commandments
and all of the other 613 laws of the Mosaic
Covenant were fulfilled and brought to an
end by the New Covenant Jesus Christ made
with His church (2 Cor. 3:3-18; Acts 15:1-29).
•❅──✧❅✦❅✧──❅•
Quotes from the Early Church
Fathers:
(The
church came together for worship on
the first day of the week)
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THE DIDACHE (The Teaching of the
Twelve Apostles, Chapter XIV) - A.D. 90
“Christian Assembly on the Lord’s Day: “But
every Lord’s day [the first day of the
week] do you gather yourselves
together, and break bread, and give
thanksgiving after having confessed your
transgressions, that your sacrifice may be
pure. But let no one that is at variance
with his fellow come together with you,
until they be reconciled, that your
sacrifice may not be profaned.”
THE EPISTLE OF
BARNABAS - A.D. 100
“Wherefore,
also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness,
the day also on which Jesus rose again from
the dead.”
PLINY’S LETTER -
A.D. 107
Pliny was governor of
Bithynia, in Asia Minor, from A.D. 106-108.
He wrote in A.D. 107 to Trajan, the emperor,
concerning the Christians. This is what he
said, “They were wont to meet together, on a
stated day before it was light, and sing
among themselves alternately a hymn to
Christ as God....When these things were
performed, it was their custom to separate
and then to come together again to a meal
which they ate in common without any
disorder.”
THE EPISTLE OF
IGNATIUS - A.D. 107 (The apostle
John appointed Ignatius, also called
“Theophorus” as bishop/overseer to the
church in Antioch in the late first century).
“Be not
deceived with strange doctrines, nor with
old fables, which are unprofitable. For if
we still live according to the Jewish Law,
we acknowledge that we have not received
grace....If, therefore, those who were
brought up in the ancient order of things
have come to the possession of a new hope,
no longer observing the Sabbath, but living
in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on
which also our life has sprung up again by
Him and By His death.”
IGNATIUS of Antioch - A.D. 110
“Be
not deceived with strange doctrines, nor
with old fables, which are unprofitable. For
if we still live according to the Jewish
Law, we acknowledge that we have not
received grace....If, therefore, those who were brought up in
the ancient order of things have come to the
possession of a new hope, no longer
observing the Sabbath, but living in the
observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also
our life has sprung up again by Him and By
His death.... Let
us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath
after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days
of idleness; for “he that does not work, let
him not eat.”...let every friend of Christ
keep the Lord’s day as a festival, the
resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all
the days [of the week]” “Epistle of Ignatius
to the Magnesians,” (The Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 1, pp. 62-63).
“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 … how shall we [i.e.,
Gentile converts] be able to live apart from
him, when even the prophets themselves—also
his disciples— waited for him in the Spirit
as their Teacher?” (Letter to the Magnesians
9)
“It is absurd to profess Christ
and to Judaize. For Christianity did not
believe into Judaism, but Judaism into
Christianity.” (Letter to the Magnesians 10)
THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS - A.D.
120
“Incense is a vain
abomination unto me, and your new moons and
Sabbaths I cannot endure. He has, therefore,
abolished these things. When he speaks of
the first day of the week, Barnabas says:
"Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day
with joyfulness, the day, also, on which
Jesus rose again from the dead’” (Chapter
25).
JUSTIN MARTYR (written
from Rome) - A.D. 140.
Justin
states in chapter 67 of his first Apology,
entitled, “Weekly Worship of the Christians,
“writing to the pagan emperor: “...we bless
the Maker of all through His Son Jesus
Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. 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, as
long as time permits; then, when the reader
has ceased, the president verbally
instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of
these good things. Then we all rise together
and pray, and, as we before said, when our
prayer is ended, bread and wine and water
are brought...But Sunday is the day on which
we all hold our common assembly, because it
is the first day on which God, having
wrought the change in the darkness and
matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our
Savior on the same day rose from the dead.”
(The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, pp.
185-186; First Apology 67).
“Is there
any other matter, my friends, in which we
[Christians] are blamed [by the Jews] than
this: that we do not live according to the
Law, are not circumcised in the flesh as
your forefathers were, and do not observe
Sabbaths as you do?” (Dialogue with Trypho,
a Jew 10).
“The new law requires you
to keep perpetual Sabbath, and you [Jews],
because you are idle for one day, suppose
you are godly, not understanding why this
command was given to you. If you eat
unleavened bread, you say the will of God
has been fulfilled. The Lord our God does
not take pleasure in such observances. If
there is any perjured person or thief among
you, let him cease to be so. If any
adulterer, let him repent. Then he has kept
the sweet and true Sabbaths of God.”
(Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew 12).
“Moreover, that God enjoined you to keep the
Sabbath, and imposed on you other precepts
for a sign ... because of your
unrighteousness and that of your fathers,
... these words of his can prove to you.
They are narrated by Ezekiel thus: ‘I am the
Lord your God; walk in My statutes, and keep
My judgments, and take no part in the
customs of Egypt; and keep my Sabbaths holy;
and they shall be a sign between me and you,
that you may know that I am the Lord your
God. In spite of this you rebelled against
me and your children did not walk in my
statutes nor keep My judgments to do them:
which if a man do, he shall live in them.
But they polluted My Sabbaths. ... I led
them out before the eyes, and I lifted up my
hand to them in the wilderness, that I would
scatter them among the heathen, and disperse
them through the countries; because they had
not executed my judgments, but had despised
my statutes, and polluted my Sabbaths ...
Therefore I gave them ... statutes which
were not good and judgments whereby they
shall not live’” [Ezek. 20:19-26]. (Dialogue
with Trypho, a Jew 21).
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS - Church life in the
2nd Century
“On the day of the
resurrection of the Lord--that is, the
Lord’s Day--assemble yourself together
without fail, giving thanks to God and
praising Him for those mercies God has
bestowed upon you through Christ.”
IRENAEUS - A.D. 155-202
“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 off of the Paschal
Feast.”
DIONYSIUS, BISHOP OF
CORINTH IN GREECE - A.D. 170
Dionysius was Bishop of Corinth, the Church
which Paul raised up and to which he gave
the command about Sunday collections, in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. He says:
“We passed this
holy Lord’s Day, in which we read your
letter, from the constant reading of which
we shall be able to draw admonition.”
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Bk. 4,
Chapter 23.
CLEMENT OF
ALEXANDRIA, in Egypt - A.D. 194
Clement, writing around A.D. 194 says: “He,
in fulfillment of the precept, keeps the
Lord’s day when he abandons an evil
disposition, and assumes that of the
Gnostic, glorifying the Lord’s resurrection
in himself” Book 7, Chapter 12.
TERTULLIAN of Africa, wrote around
A.D. 200
In his Apology, Chapter
16, Tertullian says: “We solemnize the day
after Saturday in contradistinction to those
who call this day their Sabbath, and devote
it to ease and eating, deviating from the
old Jewish customs, which they are now very
ignorant of.”
“Others, with greater
regard to good manners, it must be
confessed, suppose that the sun is the god
of the Christian, because it is a well-
known fact that we pray towards the east, or
because we make Sunday a day of festivity”
The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, p. 123.
Christianity Today: When did the
Christian church switch the Sabbath from
Saturday to Sunday? August 8, 2008
“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), 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.” [4]
Sabbatarians will tell you that the early
church kept the Sabbath until Constantine
but the historical record says otherwise.
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.”
Dr.
Bacchiocchi could not find any evidence from
the writings of the Early Church Fathers that
said the early church kept the Sabbath. All
of the evidence shows that the early church
set apart Sunday, the first day of the week
for breaking bread and worship since the
time of the apostles.
References:
1.
Why do Christians worship on Sunday?
2. See: The
Believer’s Study Bible: 1 Corinthians 16:2.
3. See: The NIV Study Bible: 1 Corinthians 16:2.
4.
When did the Christian church switch the
Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?
Helpful links on the Sabbath/Sunday issue:
If you are looking for the premier website
for Historical Christian writings go to the
“Christian Classics Ethereal Library” at:
https://www.ccel.org
(The premier website for Historical Christian
writings).
The Sabbath.
https://www.christian-history.org/sabbath.html
The First Day and the Resurrection of
Christ.
https://www.christian-history.org/faq-first-day.html
Quotes About the Sabbath: Quotes about
Sabbaths and Feasts from throughout
Christian History.
https://www.christian-history.org/sabbath-quotes.html
The Lord’s Day: Sabbath or Sunday?
https://www.christian-history.org/lords-day.html
Sabbath to Sunday: What Really Happened
Under Constantine?
https://www.christian-history.org/sabbath-to-sunday.html
Did Constantine
change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?
http://gotquestions.org/Constantine-Sabbath.html
Nicea Myths: Common Fables About The
Council of Nicea and Constantine.
https://www.christian-history.org/nicea-myths.html
The Beginning of Christianity.
https://www.christian-history.org/beginning-of-christianity.html
When did the Christian church switch the
Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?
https://christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/when-did-christian-church-switch-sabbath-from-saturday-to.html
3 Reasons Sunday Is Not the Christian
Sabbath.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/sunday-not-christian-sabbath
Quotes from Early Church Fathers: the
Sabbath, Lord’s Day, and Worship.
http://apostles-creed.org/confessional-reformed-christian-theology/ecclesiology/quotes-from-early-church-fathers-on-the-sabbath-and-the-lords-day
Sunday Worship or the Lord’s Day in the
Early Christianity - Christian Heritage
Fellowship.
https://christianheritagefellowship.com/lords-day-early-christianity
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