Ask any “Christian” why he or she attends worship services on Sunday, and you’ll receive a variety of answers. The Bible says to go to church on Sunday, one might respond. But you, being an astute Bible student, point out that there are a number of passages in this Book that command observance on the seventh day of the week. Now, watch the responses. Some will reason that the seventh day of the week is Sunday—assuming that it has been that way since the Bible was canonized. But probably a more convincing argument and, by far the most popular, is: The Sabbath was only for the Old Testament.
Point out any contradiction between their theology and the Ten Commandments, and they will quickly retort that that was under the Old Covenant. The general rule they follow is, if it’s in the Old Testament, it’s out of the equation. They reason that because they are “Christian” and follow Christ, and He came about in the New Testament, that makes anything before His human birth irrelevant to the Christian faith.
Is the seventh-day Sabbath just for the Old Testament?
What Would Jesus Do?
Professing Christians claim to look heavily toward Christ as the example in everything, hence the common Bible Belt phrase: What would Jesus do? That is a good question. But a better might be, what did Jesus do? Did Christ keep the Sabbath? If so, that should certainly prick someone’s conscience.
Mark 1:21 shows Christ kept the Sabbath. But was this just a one-time event? He did come to preach the gospel, and maybe this was His only chance to preach it to the Jews in Capernaum, some might reason.
Notice Luke 4:16. Here is Jesus Christ of Nazareth back where He grew up, where He was trained, where He learned about the Sabbath as a child. This is where the custom developed.
It’s easily provable that Christ kept the Sabbath and, in fact, that it was His custom to do so. Notice, even further clinching it, Mark 2:28: “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” Christ existed, as spirit, before His physical birth. Therefore, He was part of the creation of the Sabbath. In fact, since God created all things through Him (Ephesians 3:9), Jesus Christ actually created the Sabbath!
What about the time after Christ? He came, kept the Sabbath, was crucified and resurrected. Did Christ do away with the Sabbath? Was it “nailed to the cross”? Many believe He was resurrected on a Sunday, and that is precedent enough for the church to change its day of worship. How do we answer these arguments? We must go deeper into the New Testament. Did the Church after Christ keep the Sabbath?
“The First Day of the Week”
Surely Paul, the most prominent figure in the New Testament, wrote something about which day he worshiped.
First, there are many who believe we should observe Sunday because of references to the first day of the week in the New Testament. Let’s consider the “first day of the week” argument.
In Herbert W. Armstrong’s book Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath? he examines each instance the New Testament refers to the “first day of the week” and proves that no worship services were held on this day. Refer to this booklet for deeper study into these passages (free upon request).
Now let’s prove which day Paul actually kept. Acts 17:1-2 record Paul keeping the Sabbath. He kept it with the Jews, meaning that this was the seventh day of the week, as the Jews have always observed. This wasn’t a one-time occurrence. He did it “three sabbath days.” And he didn’t do it simply because he was in town for three weeks, and it was convenient. Luke wrote, “as his manner was.” The word for “manner” is the same Greek word Luke used when he wrote “custom” in Luke 4:16. So just as it was Christ’s custom to keep the Sabbath day, it was Paul’s—years after Christ had been resurrected!
There is also an account in Acts 13 where Paul preached to both the Jews and Gentiles in the synagogue—on the Sabbath, which proves that it wasn’t just for the Jews. In fact, the Jews were offended by Paul’s message, and “the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath” (verse 42). If Paul kept Sunday as well, why didn’t he just tell the believing Gentiles to come the next day (Sunday)? The fact is, Paul was a Christian who, like the rest of the New Testament Church, observed the Sabbath. “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God” (verse 44).
But That Was All So Long Ago!
Yes, this is all very convincing, one might argue. But it’s the 21st century! Could God and the resurrected Jesus Christ expect us to observe the Sabbath in this fast-paced, hustle-bustle society? The way to answer this is by looking at prophecy to see if people in the future will be keeping this day.
Matthew 24 is referred to by most Bible scholars as the “Olivet prophecy,” where Christ privately discussed with His disciples the time just prior to His return. Notice, concerning the end time, Christ says to these very elect, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (verses 20-21). God is offering His very elect protection from this Great Tribulation. And He tells them to be concerned about two things when they travel: the winter and the Sabbath.
Now, if the skeptics can see that winter is still in existence in the end time, why do they believe the Sabbath wouldn’t be? Even if some doubt that we actually live in the “end time,” they cannot dispute that these verses refer to the time right before Christ returns. So, even if that time is far off, we know that the Sabbath will continue to be in effect until that point! And those who escape will be concerned as to how they keep it.
Yes, It Still Matters!
We have seen Christ kept the Sabbath while on Earth. The New Testament Church after Him did as well. We have also seen that the Sabbath is to be in effect up until the return of Jesus Christ.
The Sabbath is not only for the Old Testament, but is still in living effect today!
The Sabbath means resting from the labor of the week and remembering our Creator. But, more importantly, it typifies a time of rest from this hectic world, of which Satan is now deceiver and god (Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4). The 6,000 years Satan has had man in his grasp are a type of the six-day work week, since 1,000 years is as one day to God (2 Peter 3:8). When Christ returns to stop mankind from erasing itself from the face of the planet (Matthew 24:21-22), He will rule this Earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6)—the seventh millennial “day” of God’s 7,000-year plan. It will truly be a rest from the great deceiver, who at that time will be restrained in a bottomless pit (verses 1-3). And it will be a time when the Sabbath will be kept (Isaiah 66:23)—a time when its true meaning couldn’t be any more evident!
On top of the ample proof we have seen from the New Testament alone, there is enough vision attached to it to clinch the argument that we must observe this day. It was one of the Ten Commandments delivered thousands of years ago at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11) and commanded to be kept forever (Exodus 31:13). Our very salvation depends on this commandment!
True Education September-October 2008