Sabbath or Sunday?
The fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 states: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.
In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
" This commandment clearly states that God has blessed and hallowed the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the Sabbath of the Lord our God.
We are told to remember the seventh day and to keep it holy, and to refrain from our normal labor on that day, just as God rested on the seventh day after completing creation.
Why, then, are the majority of Christian churches honoring Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day, Saturday? Some say: "What difference does it make which day you honor, as long as you remember to honor "a" day each week?" The Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20:8-11, does not say to remember "a" day.
The commandment says to remember "the" seventh day (Saturday).
God chose the day He wanted.
He did not ask man to choose his own day.
Also, we're told in Genesis 2:3 and in Exodus 20:11, that God blessed, sanctified and hallowed the seventh day.
In other words, He made it holy! Only God can make a day holy.
Man may try to honor God on a different day, but he will never be able to make it holy.
And, even if you truly think that God allows you to pick a day yourself on which to honor Him, why wouldn't you still choose to honor the same day that He chose, blessed and sanctified, out of love and respect for Him? Why would you insist on picking a different day than the one He chose for you? Some say: "The seventh-day Sabbath is for the Jewish people only, and is not meant for Christians.
" It is important to note that the Sabbath was instituted at the end of creation week according to Genesis 2:1-3.
That means that the Sabbath was in existence for many centuries before Abraham and the Jewish people existed.
Also, the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11).
If the Sabbath commandment is only for Jews, to be consistent, the other nine commandments would also be only for Jews.
Using this logic, God would only be requiring the Jews not to lie, steal, murder, commit adultery, etc.
All non-Jews would be exempt from these commandments, and could lie, steal and murder all they want! Of course this is ridiculous, as is the argument that the Sabbath is only for the Jews.
Some say: "Keeping the Sabbath is legalism.
" Once again, to be consistent, if obeying the Sabbath commandment is legalism, then obeying the other nine commandments would also be legalism.
Is it legalism not to murder? Is it legalism not to commit adultery? Is it legalism not to lie or steal? Is it legalism not to worship idols? Is it legalism to honor your parents? This argument is obviously a poor one.
Does God call obedience "legalism"? Quite to the contrary, according to the Bible, our obedience is a proof that we "know God" and love Him (John 14:15; 1st John 2:3; 1st John 5:3).
Therefore, obeying God's Sabbath commandment is not legalism, but rather is a proper "love response" to God.
Some say: "Sunday is the "Lord's Day", and we keep it to honor Jesus' resurrection.
" However, there is not one single scripture in the entire Bible that says we are to keep or observe Sunday instead of the seventh-day Sabbath in order to honor Jesus' resurrection.
Likewise, there is not one single verse in all of Scripture that calls the first day of the week (Sunday) the "Lord's Day".
In fact, the only day of the week that Jesus ever declared Himself to be Lord of, in the Bible, is the seventh-day, Saturday, Sabbath (Mark 2:28).
The truth of the matter is that there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that blesses or sanctifies the first day of the week, such as God did with the seventh-day Sabbath; there is not a single text that commands us to keep or honor the first day of the week, such as God also did regarding the seventh day Sabbath; furthermore, there is not a single scripture that states that the Sabbath was ever changed from the seventh day (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday).
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.
In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
" This commandment clearly states that God has blessed and hallowed the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the Sabbath of the Lord our God.
We are told to remember the seventh day and to keep it holy, and to refrain from our normal labor on that day, just as God rested on the seventh day after completing creation.
Why, then, are the majority of Christian churches honoring Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day, Saturday? Some say: "What difference does it make which day you honor, as long as you remember to honor "a" day each week?" The Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20:8-11, does not say to remember "a" day.
The commandment says to remember "the" seventh day (Saturday).
God chose the day He wanted.
He did not ask man to choose his own day.
Also, we're told in Genesis 2:3 and in Exodus 20:11, that God blessed, sanctified and hallowed the seventh day.
In other words, He made it holy! Only God can make a day holy.
Man may try to honor God on a different day, but he will never be able to make it holy.
And, even if you truly think that God allows you to pick a day yourself on which to honor Him, why wouldn't you still choose to honor the same day that He chose, blessed and sanctified, out of love and respect for Him? Why would you insist on picking a different day than the one He chose for you? Some say: "The seventh-day Sabbath is for the Jewish people only, and is not meant for Christians.
" It is important to note that the Sabbath was instituted at the end of creation week according to Genesis 2:1-3.
That means that the Sabbath was in existence for many centuries before Abraham and the Jewish people existed.
Also, the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11).
If the Sabbath commandment is only for Jews, to be consistent, the other nine commandments would also be only for Jews.
Using this logic, God would only be requiring the Jews not to lie, steal, murder, commit adultery, etc.
All non-Jews would be exempt from these commandments, and could lie, steal and murder all they want! Of course this is ridiculous, as is the argument that the Sabbath is only for the Jews.
Some say: "Keeping the Sabbath is legalism.
" Once again, to be consistent, if obeying the Sabbath commandment is legalism, then obeying the other nine commandments would also be legalism.
Is it legalism not to murder? Is it legalism not to commit adultery? Is it legalism not to lie or steal? Is it legalism not to worship idols? Is it legalism to honor your parents? This argument is obviously a poor one.
Does God call obedience "legalism"? Quite to the contrary, according to the Bible, our obedience is a proof that we "know God" and love Him (John 14:15; 1st John 2:3; 1st John 5:3).
Therefore, obeying God's Sabbath commandment is not legalism, but rather is a proper "love response" to God.
Some say: "Sunday is the "Lord's Day", and we keep it to honor Jesus' resurrection.
" However, there is not one single scripture in the entire Bible that says we are to keep or observe Sunday instead of the seventh-day Sabbath in order to honor Jesus' resurrection.
Likewise, there is not one single verse in all of Scripture that calls the first day of the week (Sunday) the "Lord's Day".
In fact, the only day of the week that Jesus ever declared Himself to be Lord of, in the Bible, is the seventh-day, Saturday, Sabbath (Mark 2:28).
The truth of the matter is that there is not a single verse in the entire Bible that blesses or sanctifies the first day of the week, such as God did with the seventh-day Sabbath; there is not a single text that commands us to keep or honor the first day of the week, such as God also did regarding the seventh day Sabbath; furthermore, there is not a single scripture that states that the Sabbath was ever changed from the seventh day (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday).
