Is Sunday Sacred 2

Is Sunday Sacred? As you ask yourself that question, remember that God instituted the seventh day Sabbath at creation. In Genesis chapter 2 we see that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. To sanctify means to set apart to God for a holy purpose. God also reiterated the importance of the Sabbath by writing it with His own finger in stone at the heart of the Ten Commandments. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Jesus' followers kept the Sabbath. God showed the prophet Isaiah that we would be keeping the Sabbath for eternity in Heaven. With all that in mind, read the following eight scripture texts. These are the only references to the first day of the week, Sunday, in the whole New Testament. As you read these texts, ask yourself these questions: "Do any of these texts even suggest that God ordered the solemnity of the Sabbath to be transferred from Saturday to Sunday? Are any of these instances enough to say that God altered His final act of creation and modified one of His Ten Commandments?" Five of the 'First Day' texts speak only about the fact of the resurrection, without mention of any more symbolic meaning. Please look each of these texts up in your own Bible to see the context as well. Matt 28:1 1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. Mark 16:1-2 1 And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. Mark 16:9-11 9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week , He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 And when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. Luke 23:56-24:3 56 And they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. John 20:1 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

Far from transferring the solemnity of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, these verses actually contrast the two days and reiterate that the Sabbath was still intact. Does this sixth verse show the disciples worshiping together in celebration of the Sabbath day? John 20:19 19 When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace {be} with you."

Yes, the Disciples were gathered together. But it wasn't to worship God and celebrate the resurrection! This verse says that they were gathered together for fear of the Jews. Most of the disciples did not even believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. This was the first time that He appeared to them as a group. Was the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday by this verse? I don't think so. Is the gathering described below a worship celebration of the Sabbath day? Acts 20:6-13 6 And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days . 7 And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8 And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a certain young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and fell upon him and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him."

11 And when he had gone back up, and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed . 12 And they took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. 13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for thus he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. Paul was on his last visit to the churches he had planted. He was on his way to Jerusalem where he knew he would be imprisoned and eventually taken to Rome to be put to death. He knew that he would never see these people again. So they were breaking bread together - having a communion service in celebration of the Sabbath, right? Wrong. The Bible often uses the term 'breaking bred' to mean simply eating a meal together. See the example below. Acts 2:46 46 And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, Actually, this meeting apparently began on a Saturday evening. It could very well have begun as a Sabbath vespers service, closing out the Sabbath day. It says that the meeting continued on until well past midnight. The main reason that the meeting continued was because Paul was leaving the following morning, on Sunday. That is also an indication that Sunday was not being observed as the Sabbath day. Paul would never have taken an extended trip by foot and then ship on a day that he was observing as the Sabbath. Actually, the main reason that this story is included in the book of Acts is because of the miraculous healing that God did through Paul - not because of their worship meeting on this day. Incidentally, there is no prohibition against worshiping God on Sunday - or any other day of the week for that matter. We should worship God every day! But we are only commanded to set aside the Sabbath day as holy to the Lord. Is Paul holding a worship service and taking up an offering in celebration of the Sabbath in the following text? 1 Cor 16:1-4 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. 3 And when I arrive, whomever you may approve, I shall send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; 4 and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me. He's taking up a collection. It must be a Sabbath worship service, right? Look again. The text says that they should put aside the money on the first day so that no collection should have to be made when he comes. They are also instructed to put aside by themselves, not in a group collection. Paul is simply reiterating the Biblical principle of giving out of your first fruits rather than

your leftovers. So is this a Sabbath day observance on the first day of the week? What do you think?

So now you have seen the only eight verses that mention the first day of the week, Sunday, in the whole New Testament. Did God indicate in any of these instances that the solemnity of the Sabbath was transferred from Saturday to Sunday? What would you say? What about the Lord's Day? Doesn't the Bible talk about that? Isn't that Sunday? Rev 1:9-10 9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like {the sound} of a trumpet, John did get his vision of the Revelation on 'the Lord's Day'. By the way, this is the only time in the whole bible that the term 'Lord's Day' is ever used. But look back at the text. Does it say that the 'Lord's Day' is Sunday? No. It doesn't say what day of the week it is. For clarification on John's meaning, maybe we should look elsewhere in scripture to see what day John could have been referring to. What day does the Bible describe as God's special day? Isa 58:13 13 "If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your {own} pleasure, and speaking {your own} word, Exod 20:10 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God ; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Don't we honor Jesus' resurrection by observing Sunday as the Sabbath? Jesus did rise on Sunday, and that is certainly one of the most significant days to the Christian. But Jesus also died on Friday, but we don't try to transfer the Sabbath to that day. Good Friday is equally important in Christian theology, for we were justified by His death and sanctified by the power of His resurrection. The two must work together for our salvation. Jesus did give us a symbol to remember his death burial and resurrection, but it was not by transferring the solemnity of the Sabbath to Sunday.

What two symbols did Jesus give us as a reminder of His death, burial and resurrection? 1 Cor 11:23-26 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same way {He took} the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it,} in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Rom 6:3-11 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with {Him} in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also {in the likeness} of His resurrection , 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with {Him,} that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus gave us the rights of the Lord's Supper and baptism to be reminders and symbols of our participation in His death, burial, and resurrection. He did not instruct us to remember those days by observing Sunday as the Sabbath. The Sabbath is and always has been the seventh day - Saturday. If Jesus and the disciples did not transfer the sanctity of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, then why does the majority of the Christian world observe Sunday as the Sabbath? Actually, most of the Christian world does not observe Sunday as the Sabbath. Just going to a church service on Sunday does not make it a holy day. But there is a reason that much of the Christian world goes to church on Sunday. Very early on, the Catholic Church attempted to transfer the solemnity of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday in the Council of Laodicea in AD 336. Read

this excerpt from the Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (TAN Books and Publishers, Rockford, IL, 1977). Q. What is the Third Commandment? (They even got the numbers wrong.) A. The Third Commandment is: Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day. 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 transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday? A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plentitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.

The observance of Sunday as the bible Sabbath was instituted by the Catholic church. After the Protestant reformation, the Catholic church claimed the Sunday Sabbath as the MARK of her ecclesiastical authority because the Protestant churches followed her lead on this subject in opposition to the directives of the bible. Note this but one of many quotes by Catholic authorities on the subject: AProtestants accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day of public worship after the Catholic church made the change...But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that...in observing Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope. - AOur Sunday Visitor, Feb 5, 1950.

That might sound good, but Jesus has an answer to such presumption on the part of men. Mark 7:7-8 7 'But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of

men.' 8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."

God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, and neither the Catholic church nor any of the Protestant churches has the authority to change what God has ordained.