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The question: "Why do you go to Church on Saturday?" is by far the most frequently asked question.
A - In Genesis Chapter 2 Verses 2 and 3 God rested from creating the earth and God blessed and sanctified (set apart) the seventh day (Saturday). In Exodus Chapter 20 Verses 10 and 11 the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God. In verse 11 the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. There is nowhere in scripture that God or Jesus ever changed this. It was changed by man, specifically the Roman Catholic Church.
Q - Wasn't the calendar changed?
A - The calendar has not been changed so as to confuse the days of the week. We can be positive that our seventh day is the same day Jesus observed when He was here. Pope Gregory XIII did make a calendar change in 1582, but it did not interfere with the weekly cycle. Our present Gregorian calendar was named after him when he made that small change in 1582.
What did Pope Gregory do to the calendar? Before 1582 the Julian calendar had been in effect, instituted by Julius Ceasar about 46 B.C. and named after him. But the Julian calendar had calculated the length of the year as 365 1/4 days, and the year is actually eleven minutes less than 365 1/4 days. Those eleven minutes accumulated, and by 1582 the numbering of the calendar was ten days out of harmony with the solar system. Gregory simply dropped those ten days out of the numbering of the calendar. It was Thursday, October 4, 1582, and the next day, Friday, should have been October 5. But Gregory made it October 15 instead, dropping exactly ten days to bring the calendar back into harmony with the heavenly bodies.
Were the days of the week confused? No. Friday still followed Thursday, and Saturday still followed Friday. The same seventh day remained, and the weekly cycle was not disturbed in the least. When we keep the seventh day on Saturday, we are observing the same day Jesus kept, and He did it every week according to Luke 4:16.
Q - Shouldn't we Keep Sunday in Honor of the Resurrection?
It is true that Jesus rose on the first day of the week, but nowhere is there the slightest intimation in the Bible for anyone to keep that day holy. The basis for Sabbathkeeping is the direct handwritten command of God.
Many wonderful events occurred on certain days of the week, but we have no command to keep them holy. Jesus died for our sins on Friday. That is probably the most significant event in all of recorded history. It marks the moment my death sentence was commuted and my salvation assured. But not one Bible text hints that we should observe this day of such great significance. It was a dramatic moment when Jesus rose from the grave on that Sunday morning, but there is not a scintilla of biblical evidence that we should observe it in honor of the resurrection. Not one instance of Sunday observance has been found in the recorded Scriptures.
There is, of course, a memorial of the resurrection commanded in the Bible, but it is not Sundaykeeping. Paul wrote: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4.
Baptism is the memorial of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Those who believe that Sunday observance honors His resurrection cite the upper room meeting of the disciples on the same day He arose from the grave. To them that gathering was to celebrate His resurrection. But when we read the Bible record of the event, we discover that the circumstances were quite different. Luke tells us that, even though the disciples were confronted with the eyewitness story of Mary Magdalene, they "believed not." "After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." Mark 16:12-14.
Obviously, none of those upper room disciples believed that He was raised, so they could not have been joyously celebrating the resurrection. John explains their reason for being together in these words: "The doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews." John 20:19.
Q - Is Obedience Legalism? - The Test of Love
Someone may bring up the objection that after the law has accomplished its purpose of pointing the sinner to Christ for cleansing, it will no longer be needed in the experience of the believer. Is that true? No, indeed. The Christian will always need the watchdog of the law to reveal any deviation from the true path and to point him back to the cleansing cross of Jesus. There will never be a time when that mirror of correction will not be needed in the progressive growth experience of the Christian.
Law and grace do not work in competition with each other but in perfect cooperation. The law points out sin, and grace saves from sin. The law is the will of God, and grace is the power to do the will of God. We do not obey the law in order to be saved but because we are saved. A beautiful text which combines the two in their true relationship is Revelation 14:12. "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." What a perfect description of faith and works! And the combination is found in those who are "saints."
The works of obedience are the real test of love. This is why they are so necessary in the experience of a true believer. "Faith without works is dead." James 2:20. No man ever won a fair maiden's heart by words alone. Had there been no flowers, no acts of devotion, no gifts of love, most men would still be searching for a companion. Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.
Words and profession are not enough. The true evidence is obedience. Today's bumper stickers reflect a shallow concept of love. They say, "Smile if you love Jesus," "Honk if you love Jesus"; but what did the Master Himself say? He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. And that is exactly what most people don't want to do. If love makes no demands beyond a smile or wave, then it is welcome; but if the lifestyle must be disturbed, the majority will reject it. Unfortunately, most people today are not looking for truth. They are looking for a smooth, easy, comfortable religion which will allow them to live the way they please and still give assurance of salvation. There is indeed no true religion which can do that for them.
One of the strongest texts in the Bible on this subject is found in 1 John 2:4. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." John could write that with such assurance because it is one of the most deeply established truths in the Bible. Jesus spoke of those who said, "Lord, Lord," but did not do the will of the Father. Then He described many who would seek entrance to the kingdom claiming to be workers of miracles in the name of Christ. But He would sorrowfully have to say, "I never knew you: depart from me." Matthew 7:21-23. You see, to know Christ is to love Him, and to love Him is to obey Him. The valid assumption of the Bible writers is very clear and simple: If one is not obeying Christ, he does not love Christ. And if he doesn't love the Master, then he doesn't know Him. John assured us, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3. Thus, we can see how knowing and loving and obeying are all tied closely together and are absolutely inseparable in the life of God's faithful people. The beloved John summed it up in these words: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:3.
Q - The fourth Commandment was never reaffirmed in the New Testament like the other nine.
A - The fourth Commandment was reaffirmed more than any other in the New Testament. Jesus as well as the Apostles observed the sabbath day and reference to this is made numerous times throughout the New Testament.
It is interesting to note that in the New Testament the Sabbath is mentioned in 55 verses. Most of them dealing with worship or the keeping of Sabbath. The first day (Sunday) is mentioned in only 9 verses. Six of them dealing with visiting the selpulchre on the first day of the week. It would seem that such an important event as changing the Holy Sabbath of God, (the only commandment that begins with "remember"), would merit much more mention.
Q - Didn't the Apostles believe in the Lord's Day?
A - The Lord's Day is mentioned only once. Rev. 1:10. There is some question by Biblical scholars about what is intended by the use of the Lord's Day here. In those times many of the rulers (Lord's) would set aside days for feasting, etc. and these days would be called the Lord's Day.
For complete information about the validity of the Sabbath, please click on the banner Sabbath Truth on the right.