Does It Matter Which Day You Keep?
Why
so much disagreement over the right day for worship? Does it really
matter? Whose opinion counts? What day did Jesus keep? Should
Christians keep the same day — or some other? Is the calendar mixed up?
Has time been lost? This article gives
plain Bible answers to
these questions so important to YOU!
Several
years ago two friends of mine were traveling through the Middle East on
an educational tour. Included in the group were several professors, men
of higher learning.
As the group toured the port of Haifa,
Israel, the guide remarked: "You Americans are seeking to get a
four-day work week. We already have a four-day week here. Some of our
shopkeepers close on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!"
The guide's
meaning was clear. In Israel, many of the Arabs are Moslem and
therefore keep Friday as their day of worship. Many of the Jews regard
Saturday as the day of rest. But the Christian-professing population
generally observes Sunday. So some shopkeepers and businessmen close
down on all three days!
As he listened to the guide, one of the educators asked one of my friends, "Well, what day do you keep?"
My friend answered, "I keep the same day Jesus kept."
The professor, dumbfounded, had no reply. He knew what day my friend meant and didn't know what to say.
The
professor would have been too embarrassed to reply, "Well, I certainly
don't keep the same day Jesus kept." For a person who professed to be a
follower of Christ [a Christian], that would have looked very bad.
On
the other hand, the professor couldn't say, "Well, I keep a different
day than Jesus kept!" That would have looked equally bad. So the
subject was immediately changed, and the conversation shifted to a
discussion of the beautiful waterfront of Haifa.
But this true anecdote brings up an important question.
Which Day SHOULD a Christian Keep?
Does
it really make any difference? Does it really matter, one way or the
other? Does observance of a particular day of the week have anything to
do with salvation? Let's understand the answer to this question!
The
world is filled with conflicting ideas and beliefs. Every religion
claims certain days are "holy." Some sects professing the Christian
religion claim there is no special day we should observe. They claim we
should worship God every day, and leave
it at that!
Perhaps, if we use human reasoning, it
wouldn't make any difference which day we observe. "A day is merely 24
hours, and all days are the same," some might reason. "Therefore, I
can't see that it makes any difference whether I keep Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or any other day of the week. So I go along
with the crowd. I attend church on Sunday because most churches meet on
that day. What difference does it make, anyway?"
If we merely
use human reason, obviously, it wouldn't make any difference. But human
reason isn't our supreme authority!
Human tradition isn't our final authority! What human
beings think doesn't make any difference, because no human being can
give you SALVATION!
GOD is the One who gives salvation. He is
the one every Christian is to obey. Therefore, God is the final
authority! His opinion is the only one that really counts!
The ORIGINAL COMMANDMENT
Surely
no one has any doubts about which day God originally set aside for a
day of worship and rest. It is plainly revealed in the first book of
the Bible, the second chapter.
We read: "And on the seventh day
God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day
from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work
which God created and made" (Gen. 2:2-3).
Plainly, in the
beginning God set apart for a holy purpose (that's what "sanctified"
means) and blessed the "seventh day" of the week. That day corresponds
to our Saturday, today, as you will see by checking your calendar.
But has the week somehow been switched around, mixed up, and lost between that time and today ?
Was Time Forgotten?
Some
believe that in the course of history, time was lost. The original
seven-day week which God established at Creation was lost track of —
forgotten. At various times in history, changes were made in the
calendar, dropping out several days here and there.
When my
friend on the educational tour in Haifa, Israel, told the professor
that he kept the same day Jesus kept, another educator turned and asked
my other friend, "But how do you know which day Jesus kept?"
My
friend replied, "Surely, Dr. So-and-so, you as an educated man know
that although the calendar has been altered since the time of Christ,
the days of the week have never been changed."
Unfortunately,
many people are not aware of this fact. The truth is, time has not been
lost. The weekly cycle has never been interrupted or changed since the
days of Creation! If you desire more information on this subject, write
for our free booklet Has Time Been Lost?
The correct seventh day has always been known!
In
the days of Moses, about 1500 B.C., the people of Israel had been held
in cruel bondage by ancient Egypt. During this time they were not
permitted to observe the Sabbath.
But when God called Israel out
of Egypt, He also revealed to them once again which day was the true
Sabbath. In Exodus 16 you will find the account. God sent manna to the
Israelites six days of the week. On the sixth day, He sent twice as
much, so they would have enough for two days. On the seventh day, or
the Sabbath, He sent none! On this day they were commanded to rest !
(See Exodus 16:22-30.)
For forty long years God performed this
miracle! In this manner He indelibly impressed upon their minds which
day was the correct Sabbath — the day of worship.!
This
knowledge stayed with the Jews till the time of Christ. In fact, the
Jews have never lost the knowledge of which day is the true Sabbath!
"So
what?" a critic might argue. "That's an interesting story of ancient
Israel, but what does that have to do with what day I'm supposed to
keep ?"
That's a fair question. Let's see the answer.
Which Day DID Jesus Keep?
A
Christian is a person who follows Christ (see I John 2:6). In fact, the
Apostle Peter wrote that Christ left us "an example, that ye should
follow his steps" (I Peter 2:21).
Therefore, the question is — what example did Jesus leave us? What day did He observe ?
We
find the answer in Luke. Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry,
returned into Galilee. His fame spread abroad (Luke 4:14). "And he came
to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he
went into the synagogue ON the sabbath day, and stood up for to
read" (verse 16).
Here is plain evidence that Christ kept
the Sabbath — the same day the Jews were keeping! Although He did not
perform all the little ticky tacky "do's and don'ts" which the
Pharisees had tacked onto the Sabbath, He still observed it according
to the manner which His Father, God, had commanded !
This is the
example Christ set for Christians to follow. He did not keep Monday, or
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, Friday or Sunday. He kept the
seventh-day Sabbath!
Sabbath Abolished at the Cross?
"Hold
on," some might object. "Jesus kept the Sabbath because He was a Jew.
It was only commanded for the Jews. Anyway, it wasn't abolished till
the cross. Christ nailed the Sabbath law to the cross!"
What about these questions ?
If
the Sabbath were made for the Jews, and that's the only reason Christ
kept it, then why did Jesus Himself say, "The sabbath was made FOR MAN
. . ."? (Mark 2:27.) If the Sabbath were made for Jews only, then why
did God establish the Sabbath at creation — at least 2,000 years before
the first "Jew" was born ?
If we are willing to believe Christ, then the argument that the Sabbath was only meant for the Jews falls flat on its face.
But what about the argument that Christ nailed the Sabbath to the cross?
If
the Sabbath was done away at the cross, then surely Jesus would have
taught His followers — the early disciples — about it, wouldn't He?
Surely the members of the early New Testament Church would have known
that they were not to keep the Sabbath any longer after the
crucifixion, if Christ had nailed it to the stake!
What, then, does the record of the New Testament reveal about this?
Frankly,
the followers of Christ — whom He had taught personally for three and
one half years — knew nothing about any such idea. Notice:
"And
the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and
beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and
prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to
the commandment"! (Luke 23:55-56.)
Surely if Christ
had abolished the Sabbath commandment, He would have told
these poor women that they didn't need to keep it any longer. But He
obviously didn't. Why? Because the Sabbath commandment was still in
force!
What could be more obvious than that?
Yet skeptics
might argue this is merely one example. Perhaps these women simply
didn't know any better. "What about the apostles and the early New
Testament Church?" they might ask. "They didn't keep the Sabbath — they
kept Sunday!" they might claim. "The Apostle Paul preached on Sunday,
and that's who we follow," such people might insist.
Which Day Did the New Testament Church Keep?
Let's
not assume. The book of Acts contains the record of what day the early
New Testament Church observed. In this book we will find "recorded what
days of the week the Apostle Paul preached. Let's take a look at this
document.
In chapter 13 we find the Apostle Paul and his company
traveling throughout Asia Minor, preaching the Gospel. "But when they
departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down" (Acts 13:14). The next few
verses reveal that Paul then proceeded to preach a sermon to those who
were assembled. What day was it ? The Sabbath day!
"But Paul was
preaching to Jews," some might insist. "That's why he was preaching on
the Sabbath in this instance." Of course, a person could conclude just
that, except for one thing. The Jews rejected the message Paul brought
(verses 38-41). And so what did the Apostle Paul do?
"And when
the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that
these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.. . . And the
next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word
of God" (Acts 13:42, 44).
How plain! Here was the Apostle Paul,
preaching to Gentiles on the Sabbath day! If the Sabbath had been
abolished, he would have told them that they didn't need to keep the
Sabbath or wait until the next Sabbath day for him to preach to them;
he would have told them he would preach to them the very next day,
Sunday. But he didn't!
The Apostle Paul, the apostle to the
Gentiles, observed God's Sabbath. We read, "And he reasoned in the
synagogue EVERY SABBATH, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks" (Acts
18:4).
Those who claim to follow the Apostle Paul ought, therefore, to observe the same day he observed — the Sabbath.
In
fact, Paul commands them to. In I Corinthians 11:1, Paul says to the
Gentile Corinthians, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of
Christ." If they were to follow him, then they were to imitate him —
follow his example, as he followed Christ's.
We've already seen
that Christ's example was to keep the Sabbath (Luke 4:14-16). What was
Paul's example? "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and
three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures" (Acts
17:2). Paul's custom was to keep the Sabbath!
Those who claim to
follow the Apostle Paul and who do not keep the Sabbath are poorly
informed as to the actual example the apostle set for us!
Should We Keep "the Lord's Day"?
But
some will still object, saying they keep "the Lord's day." By this,
they mean Sunday. Sometimes they will quote Revelation 1:10 to prove we
ought to do this. But if you will carefully check that verse, you will
find it says nothing about "Sunday" or holding church services on that
day. It simply mentions "the Lord's day."
What day, then, is
"the Lord's day"? Generally, when the Bible speaks of "the Lord's day,"
or the "day of the Lord," it is referring to a future time in prophecy
— the time of God's intervention in world affairs (see Zeph. 1:14-17;
Isa. 2:1-12, 19-21). In Revelation 1:10, the Apostle John simply meant
that he was carried "in spirit," in vision, into the period of prophecy
known as the "day of the Lord" (see Rev. 6:15-17).
If
Sunday, however, is "the Lord's day," or "day of the
Lord," then I Thessalonians 5:2-3 is a very strange passage of
scripture. We read: "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace
and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them . . ."!
Does
every Sunday sneak up on you like a thief? Does "sudden destruction"
come upon the world every Sunday? Obviously not. It should be clear
that often when the Bible speaks of the "day of the Lord," it is not
even talking about a day of the week, but a particular period in
prophecy!
But why, then, do many people observe Sunday, today? What authority do they have for doing so ?
For
that matter, Jesus did say He was (and is) Lord of a certain day of the
week — read it for yourself: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man
for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath"
(Mark 2:27-28).
Sunday Observance Commanded?
The word
"Sunday" does not once appear in the Bible, in the original Hebrew and
Greek languages. Nor does it appear in most English translations.
However, the expression "first day of the week" appears in the New
Testament eight times: Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2 and 9; Luke 24:1; John
20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; and I Corinthians 16:2. Read each of these
passages carefully. You will find that not one of them provides any
authority for changing the seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday!
Two of
these verses, however, deserve special explanation. Some believe that
Acts 20:7 shows that the Apostle Paul preached once on the "first day
of the week." But what does this verse really say?
Notice: "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. And there were many lights in
the upper chamber, where they were gathered together" (verses 7-8).
Yes,
this meeting occurred on the first day of the week, no doubt about that
— but notice! This occurred when they came together to break bread — or
in other words, to eat dinner (see Acts 2:46). Paul preached till
midnight of the first day of the week! Many lights were lit.
Now
when did this meeting actually occur? According to the Biblical
reckoning, each day begins at sunset and ends the following sunset (see
Lev. 23:32). The first day of the week, therefore, begins at sunset
Saturday and lasts until sunset Sunday (not from midnight to midnight,
which is the modern reckoning).
Therefore, this meeting occurred
during the night portion of the first day of the week — or on what we,
today, call Saturday night! It was not a "Sunday meeting" at all! But
on Sunday, at daybreak (Acts 20:11, 13), Paul walked from Troas to
Assos, a distance of about 20 miles — a good long hike. Thus, rather
than preaching on Sunday, Paul labored on Sunday.
The other
verse often quoted to back up Sunday observance is I Corinthians 16:2.
Paul wrote, "Upon 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." Many churches quote this verse on little offering
envelopes. Many people therefore assume it means we should give an
offering every Sunday — but that's not what the Apostle Paul said!
Read
this verse in context, starting with verse one of the same chapter.
Paul said, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have
given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye" (verse 1). This
was a special collection for the saints. Which saints?
The poor
saints — Church members — at Jerusalem were suffering from famine
during this time (Rom. 15:25). Paul was collecting contributions from
the churches in his area to provide for their needs (Rom. 15:26-27).
This collection included "fruit"! (Verse 28.)
Therefore the
Apostle Paul was actually telling the Corinthians that they should go
out into the fields on Sunday, and collect the fruit and vegetables,
and put them in storage, so they would have the food ready when Paul
arrived — "that there be ho gatherings when I come" (I Cor. 16:2). Obviously, he wasn't even going to be there on that Sunday.
Paul
continued, "And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your
letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem" (I
Cor. 16:3). Obviously, to take so much food to Jerusalem would have
required several men. Paul was not talking about monetary church
collections every Sunday — not at all!
In view of the fact that
there are NO scriptures in all the Bible that enjoin Sunday observance
upon Christians, how did this custom creep into the Christ-professing
church? Why do most professing Christians observe Sunday today ?
The
record of history reveals the answer. How Sunday Became "Christian"
Christ never observed Sunday. The early apostles never observed it. How
then did it become "Christian"? By whose authority was this day brought
into the church?
Declares the historian Hutton Webster, "The
early Christians had at first adopted the Jewish seven-day week with
its numbered week days, but by the close of the third century A.D. this
began to give way to the [pagan] planetary week; and in the fourth and
fifth centuries the pagan designations became generally accepted in the
western half of Christendom. The use of the planetary names by
Christians [that is, people who called themselves "Christians" but who
had left the faith once delivered] attests the growing influence of
astrological speculations introduced by converts from paganism."
Webster
continues with the remarkable statement: "During these same centuries
the spread of Oriental solar worship, especially that of Mithra, in the
Roman world, had already led to the substitution by pagans of dies
Solis [Sunday] for dies Saturni, as the first day of the planetary
week.. . . Thus gradually a PAGAN institution was en grafted on
Christianity" {Rest Days, pp. 220-221).
But how was paganism dressed up as Christian and put into the professing Christian church?
The
historian Edward Gibbon tells us that the Roman emperor Constantine was
a pagan until he was nearly 40 years of age. "But the devotion of
Constantine was more peculiarly directed to the genius of the sun, the
Apollo of Greek and Roman mythology.. . . The Sun is universally
celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine . . ."
(Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. I, pp. 636-637).
In
313 A.D. Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan which
proclaimed religious toleration throughout the empire. Later, when
Constantine was sole emperor, he went further. Because he had always
venerated the sun and highly esteemed the day of the sun — Sunday — he
proclaimed the first day of the week as a day of "rest and of worship,
and its observation soon became general throughout the empire. In 321
A.D. Constantine forbade the courts to be held on Sunday, except for
the purpose of giving freedom to slaves; and on that day soldiers were
commanded to omit their daily military exercises. But the public games
were continued on Sunday, tending to make it more a holiday than a
holy-day" (Jesse Lyman Hurl-but, The Story of the Christian Church, p.
77).
Says Webster, "This was the first 'Sunday law'" {Ancient History, p. 530).
Webster
also points out, "It is highly doubtful whether this legislation had
any relation to Christianity. More probably, Constantine was only
adding the day of the Sun, the worship of which was then firmly
established in the empire, to the other holy days of the Roman
calendar" {ibid.).
Asserts historian Webster, "What began,
however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a [so-called] Christian
regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth,
fifth, and sixth centuries, enjoined with increasing stringency
abstinence from labor on Sunday" (Rest Days, p. 270).
In this
manner, the plain teachings of Christ, the
early apostles, and the Bible were subverted,
overthrown, and rejected!
Back to the Faith Once Delivered
The
Apostle Peter foretold that false teachers would creep into the Church,
preaching "damnable heresies" (II Peter 2:1). He said: "And many shall
follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall
be evil spoken of" (verse 2).
The Apostle Jude warned: "Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it
was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should
earnestly CONTEND for the faith ONCE DELIVERED unto the saints. For
there are certain men crept in unawares ..." (Jude 3-4).
Isn't
it about time we got back to the "faith once delivered"? Isn't it about
time we saw paganism for what it is, forsook pagan practices dressed up
"as" Christian, and began to obey God and follow Christ?
Nowhere
in the entire Bible will you find authority for keeping Sunday. As
Cardinal Gibbon himself says in his book Faith of Our Fathers, "But 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 never
sanctify" (p. 111). Instead, the Bible plainly and strongly condemns
embracing pagan practices and worshiping on the day of Baal the sun-god
(see Jer. 10:1-2; Deut. 12:30-32; Hosea 2:13).
But
throughout the Bible, God commands true Christians to worship Him by
observing the day He made holy — the seventh-day Sabbath! Observance of
the true Sabbath is the sign between God and His true people (Exodus
31:14-17). God says if we keep His day holy, and stop trampling all
over it, He will bless and prosper us, and cause us to "ride upon the
high places of the earth" (Isa. 58:13-14).
God never changes
(Mai. 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). His laws are eternal (Psalm 111:7-8). His
Sabbath day will be observed by all the world during the soon-coming
millennial reign of Jesus Christ on this earth — in tomorrow's world
(Isa. 66:22-23). Soon the whole world will rejoice in God's Sabbath!
But what about you?
The
Apostle Paul declared, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at;
but NOW commandeth all men every where to REPENT"! (Acts 17:30.)
Sabbath Observance — a New Testament Command?
"All
this is well and interesting," a few people might persist, "but I still
don't see any direct New Testament command to keep the Sabbath. Can you
show me where there is a plain 'thus saith the Lord,' in the New
Testament, that I should keep the Sabbath?"
What about this question?
Astounding as it may seem, there is just such a command, totally unknown to most professing Christians.
In
the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, a portion of the Bible seldom
read by most people, and understood even less, is a prophecy dealing
with the Sabbath day.
In chapter 4, verse 4, we read, "For he
spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did
rest the seventh day from all his works." God Himself set us an
example, at Creation, by resting on the seventh day.
But when
God commanded the ancient Israelites to keep the Sabbath, by sending
manna to them the other six days of the week, they broke His
commandment (Exodus 16:22-29). And throughout the history of Israel
they forsook God's commands and trampled on His Sabbath (Ezek. 20:13,
16, 21, 24).
Therefore, God says to us in the book of Hebrews,
in the New Testament, "There remaineth therefore a rest
[margin, KEEPING OF A
SABBATH] to the people of God" (Heb. 4:9). "Rest" is
an improper translation in this verse. In the first part of this
chapter the Greek word for "rest" is katapausin. However, the word used
in verse nine is a totally different word. The original Greek word is
sabbatismos and refers to the Sabbath day! The
Moffatt translation makes this verse clearer: "There is a sabbath-Rest,
then, reserved still for the People of God." The Lamsa translation
really makes it clear: "It is therefore the duty of the people of God
to keep the Sabbath" (Heb. 4:9, New Testament from Aramaic, Lamsa).
Here therefore, is a direct New Testament command that true Christians should keep the Sabbath day!
[Editor's
Note: There is much additional New and Old Testament authority for
Sabbath keeping. You will find it in our fully illustrated booklet
Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath? Send for your free copy. See the
inside front cover for the address of our office nearest you.]
Where to Keep the Sabbath?
Often,
when people learn about the Sabbath, they seek some religious group to
assemble with. But it is not enough to just meet with any religious
body. A religious group may accept the argument about the Sabbath. But
this does not necessarily mean they are the true Church of God.
God commands us to seek the body — the Work — which is empowered by God.
If,
after studying this article, you find that you have been misled in the
past; if you find that you "grew up" accepting error; if you find that
you have been observing the wrong day — a day God never sanctified or
made holy
— then what should you do ?
If you are one who
wants to know more about Sabbath observance — who really wants to obey
God — then here is good news. We have dedicated, consecrated,
converted, fully instructed and trained, ordained ministers in all
parts of the world — available to call on you, visit in your home,
answer your questions, explain the Bible to you — if you request it.
But none of them will ever call on you, unless you of your own free
will request it!
But if you, of your own volition, want to know
more about the Sabbath — if you'd like to ask questions about it or
other Biblical subjects — write and request a personal, private
appointment.
by William F. Dankenbring Tomorrow's World March 1971
