Vol.3 No.4, Vol.11 No.2

Q. While it was only natural that Jesus as a Jew kept the Sabbath, how can it be proven that the Sabbath should be kept today?

A. More than 2,000 years before there was an Israelite, Jesus kept the Sabbath. The Bible tells us that Jesus was the one who created. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1: 1-3). (See also 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1: 13-17).

Therefore, with the Father, Jesus kept the very first Sabbath of this earth (Genesis 2: 2-3). While on earth, Jesus did not indicate the Sabbath was made only for Jews; it was made for all mankind (Mark 2:27-28). When the saints are redeemed and living in the new earth, whether Jew or Gentile by origin, they will worship the Lord on His Sabbath day (Isaiah 65:23). Jesus kept the Sabbath, not because He was a Jew, but because it was the only day that God ever ordained as a day of worship, in either the Old or the New Testaments.

Q. Wouldn't I be denying Christ's death and resurrection if I worshiped on the seventh-day Sabbath instead of Sunday, the day Christ rose from the dead?

A. If the Bible is your rule of faith, there is a simple answer. The Sabbath was not given as a memorial of resurrection, but as a memorial of creation and redemption (see Exodus 20:7-11 and Ezekiel 20:12).

On the other hand, the Christian has been given wonderful memorials of Christ's death and resurrection--the Lords Supper (see Matthew 26:26-28) and Baptism (see Romans 6:3-11).

Nowhere in scripture do we find Christ or the Apostles changing the original purpose of observing God's Holy seventh-day Sabbath.

Q. Doesn't Paul teach in Colossians 2:16,17 that we are not to make an issue of "Sabbath days" in the Christian dispensation?

A. The l7th verse of this text reveals the subject of Paul's concern. These were Jewish feast days that fell on a variety of weekdays which God had commanded Israel to keep as they would the weekly Sabbath. These feast days were merely shadows of things that met their fulfillment through Messiah.

Jesus never gave the impression that the Ten Commandments, specifically the Sabbath, would be abolished through the work of Messiah. On the contrary, He upheld the law of God and declared that heaven and earth would pass before the law would be changed (see Matt. 5:18).

Q. When the Law was nailed to the cross, didn't that end the Christian's obligation to keep the seventh-day Sabbath?

A. I have never met an individual who really believed this, even though they often present it as an argument against the keeping of the fourth commandment. Common sense requires us to admit that if we are at liberty to break the Sabbath commandment, then we are equally at liberty to break the other nine commandments. Yet no Christian would concede that it is perfectly right to kill, steal, commit adultery or lie. We are not at liberty to decide which of the ten commandments we can discard (see James 2:10-12).

As a method of earning salvation, the law was nailed to the cross. Yet, paradoxically, no Christian will be saved without the law written on their heart (Hebrews 10:16), producing the fruits of genuine Christian obedience (John 15:8-10). Keeping the law is the result of entering a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Sabbath-keeping is a sign of sanctification, a setting apart of our life for God's holy purpose.

Q. Where in the New Testament is there evidence of Christians keeping the Sabbath after the resurrection?

A. Evidence from the New Testament is uniform. Even decades the resurrection of Christ, Sunday (the first day) is not referred to as the Lord's day as many claim it to be, and Saturday is always referred to as the Sabbath (see Matthew 28: 1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 23:56; 24:1).

Certainly it is true that Paul was a faithful Sabbath-keeper. As Christ's custom was to go into the synagogue every Sabbath day (Luke 4:16), so it was the custom of Paul (Acts. 17:2). Some might say that he went to the synagogue because that is where the Jews were, but it is clear that he also took the Gentiles there (Acts 13:42-44; Acts 18:4).

Clearly, there is no mandate, either by Christ or the apostles, for the change of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. This is why it took centuries before the Pagan custom of Sunday-keeping could be established across the major portions of Europe.

Vol.5 No.5

Q. When, according to the Bible, does the Sabbath begin?

A. First of all, we have to look at the Bible method of reckoning he day. In the very first chapter of the Bible, we see that "the evening and the morning were the first day. And the evening and the morning were the second day"' etc. (see Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31). Notice that the day began in the evening. In Leviticus 23:32 we find the command: "From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath." The Sabbath mentioned in this last text refers to the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 23:27). However, a comparison with Mark 1:21,32 shows that the same arrangement of time was followed for the seventh-day Sabbath. "And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue..." "And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him [Jesus] all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils."

Jews considered healing as work, and it was forbidden on the day of rest. For this reason the people waited for the sun to set to bring their diseased loved ones and friends to Jesus.

One advantage of keeping the Sabbath according to the Bible method of reckoning the day from sunset to sunset, rather than the Roman reckoning, from midnight to midnight, is that by the former, one is awake to welcome and to bid adieu to the day when it comes and goes, whereas by the latter, he is asleep when the day begins and ends. Sunset is a great natural sign for marking the division of time into days.

Vol.3 No.4, Vol.11 No.2

Q. Why do Sabbath-keepers begin and end their worship day at sunset?

A. While it is customary today to record the days from midnight to midnight, that was never true in Biblical times, nor in Biblical commands. In the first chapter of Genesis we are instructed that each day of creation began with the evening hours (Genesis 1: 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 3 1). This is further clarified in respect to the Sabbath in the book of Leviticus. “… from even [evening] unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:32).

Vol.8 No.1

Q. According to the Bible, what activities are  acceptable to God on the Sabbath day?

A. To mark the first anniversary of Mother Theresa’s death, the Roman Catholic Church organized a lavish public tribute. It included a memorial mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, a TV spectacular from St. Peter’s Square and an homage from Pope John Paul II. The Vatican was also careful to announce that the five-year minimum wait required for the church to review any application for sainthood will not be waived in her case. Yet no one expects the Catholic church to deny the application, either.

Mother Theresa was a remarkable person and a devout Catholic. Her life of service is something which no one can take from her. In fact, many would classify her as a living saint.

However worthy mother Theresa or any other person would be, their canonization by the Roman Catholic Church is unbiblical. God alone designates saints and He does this in their life times. It would serve no purpose to do so after death. In every instance the word “saint” is used to describe living beings or to refer to them at the time they were alive. Frequently Paul refers to true believers in Christ as “saints.” Typical is his salutation to the Roman Christians: “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Romans 1:1).

Across the age, many questionable people have been canonized. While we cannot judge their ultimate fate, not knowing if they truly repented of their evil deeds, there is little doubt that a few “saints” will never be found in heaven.

One such questionable saint is Mary MacKillop of Australia. On January 19, 1995, 120,000 people attended the mass conducted by Pope John Paul II in Sydney, Australia. The purpose of the mass was the beatification of Mary MacKillop.

No Australian has ever been elevated to “sainthood” by the Roman Catholic Church. Mary Mackillop was a strange choice for the first possible “saint.” In 1871 the Roman Catholic bishop of Adelaide disbanded the order of the Sisters of Joseph, founded by Mary in 1866 and excommunicated her. In 1888 she was accused of alcoholism and financial mismanagement, and ordered to leave the state of South Australia. She was received back into the Roman Catholic fold 18 months later when her appeal to Rome was upheld.

Yet the beatification of Mary was uncritically accepted throughout the nation. Australian newspapers praised the mass, the national newspaper, The Australian headlining its report on January 20, 1995 “A Nation Consecrated.” Books and items of memorabilia on Mary MacKillop multiplied.

Few, of different religious persuasions, apparently stopped to consider that the late Miss MacKillop, whatever her spiritual condition when alive, is now simply a skeleton in a grave. She can neither be benefitted by her beatification nor can she benefit us. Apparently the pope believed otherwise. He ascribed the heavy rains in new South Wales and Queensland, which terminated a few years drought, to the blessings bestowed upon the South Wales by Mary.

There are other difficulties in the creation of saints by human authority after death. The Bible tells us that these people, rather than residing in heaven, are “asleep” in their graves. The creation of saints encourages men and women to seek these “saints,” as their mediation with our Heavenly Father. Yet Scripture plainly declares “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5.) To ascribe mediatorial powers to a mere human is to denigrate the work of our Savior and deny the scriptural testimony on the state of the dead.

A spokesman of the Presbyterian Church correctly stated: “That some people should receive particular prominence in that area [of sainthood] and be credited with the ability to twist God’s arm is utterly unbiblical.” The Australian, January 15, 1995.

Vol.11 No.2

Q. Who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?

A. God’s people are distinguished by their regard for God’s fourth commandment (Ezekiel 20:12). In recent times, this distinction has been blurred by Christians who call Sunday the Sabbath. Where did the idea of Sunday sacredness originate?

“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. … From beginning to the end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants its observance as the Sabbath” (The Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 24, 1900).

“… we believe that the Church was wise in making Sunday the Sabbath day. … No matter how much Protestants mock and scorn Catholicism, they still retain elements of things they simply could not rid themselves of that are essentially Catholic in origin and foundation. Sunday is but one of these things” (Letter, May 2, 1988, Archbishop Robert Zaborowski, O.M., D.D., Mariavite Catholic Church, Wyandotte, Michigan).

Even Protestants agree that Sunday sacredness is not a biblical practice:

“There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but the Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week. … Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament, absolutely not” (Paper read, August 20, 1893 by Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, Baptist, Baptist ministers’ meeting, Saratoga, New York).

Both Catholic and Protestant leaders have freely admitted that Sunday worship began as a pagan ordinance before ending up as Roman Catholic dogma in direct contradiction to the Scriptures.