Think Out of the Box

Being a Christian requires one to think apart from the traditions of men, from what culture teaches, and from what is normally expected of us. Something we all do is to get a fixed idea in our head and refuse to look at the issue in a different way… with humbleness and an objective mind. The adversary uses this stubbornness, this desire to be right and in control, to blind us to the spiritual truths of God. As Christians we need to realize that we don’t have it all figured out. Our walk with God is to be constantly growing and deepening. Therefore things we thought we understood as a baby Christian will seem like a puddle of water in comparison to a deep well, when we are much more mature in Christ. We are aliens, strangers and pilgrims walking on the narrow road of Christ. We need to “think out of the box” and live differently from the world.

Having said that, I would like to discuss the seventh day Sabbath. This is not an issue of salvation nor of denominational ties (my family claims no denomination—we are simply Christians). I do believe this is an important Bible teaching, as God’s word is consistent and logical. Please study this with me and check all verse references for yourself. The Bible is our absolute authority and I will be quoting from the KJV. I apologize for this being so lengthy; I’m trying to be thorough. Please bear with me.

God established the Sabbath in the beginning after He had finished His creation: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.”* (Genesis 2:1-3) The Lord blessed this particular day and sanctified it—which is “to set apart as holy.” The next reference to the Sabbath is in Exodus 16:22-30. When God brought His people out of Egypt, He gave them manna to eat each day. But on the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much because the next day was “the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord.”* (Exodus 16:22-23) Both of these references occur before God gave the ten commandments, which included the Sabbath as one of His eternal, moral laws (Psalm 111:7-8; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18; 1 Peter 1:25; Acts 7:38).

Now we come to Exodus 20 and the giving of the ten commandments. The fourth commandment reads: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”* (Exodus 20:8-11) The Sabbath, which is a memorial of God’s creation, is now also a part of the commandments. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses is reviewing the commandments to the Israelites. When he comes to the Sabbath command he gives the people an additional reason to observe it: as a remembrance of God’s deliverance from Egypt.

I have heard one commentator say that the Sabbath was a sign between God and the Jews to distinguish them from the heathen. Ezekiel 20:20 seems to confirm this: “And hallow My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Are we not also to be distinguished from the heathen? We, too, are called to be pilgrims and strangers (1 Peter 2:11). According to Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

God’s people are to be different from the world. We are sanctified by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 13:12), and by God’s word, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”* (John 17:16-17) The psalmist also realized the importance of the commandments and took great delight in them (Psalms 19:7-11; 40:8; 78:7; 119:33; 66; 89; 127; 131; 143).

Now what does the New Testament say? It is true that the fourth commandment is not restated in the New Testament. However, it is by example. Also, there is nothing that states it is to be changed. Since Jesus is the example, shouldn’t we walk as He walked? “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”* (1 John 2:6) Jesus shows His support for the Sabbath and the right way to observe it by asking “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath?”* (Mark 3:4) And in the gospel of Luke it says, “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read”* (Luke 4:16) (Mark 1:21; 6:2). And later in Luke it says: “But he passing through the midst of them went his way, And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.”* (Luke 4:30-31)

Some say that Jesus came to change the Sabbath, but He made this positive statement: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”* (Matthew 5:17-18) Jesus kept the moral law—the ten commandments—perfectly, as no human could. He fulfilled the ceremonial laws because He became what all the types and symbols pointed to. And He fulfilled the judicial law by being a living example of God’s perfect justice. Verse 18 stated “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” This emphasizes the inspiration and enduring authority of the Old Testament (which is all they had at the time). It also suggests that the New Testament should not be seen as a replacement or making void the Old Testament. This also supports what the psalmist said, “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.”* (Psalm 111:7-8)

Jesus also spoke of the Sabbath in a future event, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.”* (Matthew 24:20) Some say this pointed to the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70 (40 years after the crucifixion of Jesus.) Some say it points to the tribulation. Either way, He was still referring to the Sabbath in future events.

Jesus kept the commandments in life (John 15:10), and stated that if we loved Him, we, too, would keep them (John 14:15,21). We keep them out of love because God writes His laws in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). This is not legalism; it is obedience as a result of salvation (Romans 2:13; 1 Corinthians 7:19; James 1:22-25; 1 John 2:4, 7; 3:24; 5:3; 2 John 6). Jesus even kept the Sabbath in death (Luke 23). He was crucified on Friday (the preparation day for the Sabbath [Luke 23:54]), and remained in the tomb through the Sabbath until the first day, Sunday; meanwhile the followers of Jesus also rested on the Sabbath (Luke 23:56; ark 15:42; 16:1-2).

When moving into the book of Acts, there are several references of the apostles keeping the Sabbath: “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God”* (Acts 13:44) (Acts 13:14, 42; 17:2-3; 18:4). Then in Romans we find verses that show the importance of the law. Paul discusses grace through faith and the role the law plays. He says, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you”* (Romans 6:15-17) (Romans 3:31; 7:12; 8:1-4).

Now we’ll look at the reasons for Sunday worship. The resurrection occurred on the first day of the week. While this is a very meaningful and important day to the Christian, it certainly does not give us the liberty to change God’s law. Then in 1 Corinthians 16:2 it says, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” Paul is simply telling the Corinthians to set aside their offering on this day so no collections would be made when he arrived. That’s it. Can more be read into this verse? A confusing passage in Acts 20 is vs. 7. It states: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” At the time of creation God established a day as going from sunset to sunset; this is what the Jews went by. So after sunset on Saturday (Sabbath), it was considered the first day (Sunday) of the week. It’s obvious, from vs. 7-12, that this was when the disciples met. It’s quite likely that they gathered because Paul was leaving the next morning (Sunday). Paul seemed to place no special significance on this day—if it was indeed the new day to worship on. Some say that the “breaking of bread” referred to here was communion or the Lord’s supper. If it was, that’s fine—there is no certain time stated in the Bible for when this is to be celebrated. It seems that Paul immediately began speaking until at least midnight. After he brought Eutychus back to life, they ate. By that time they must have been very hungry and in need of a break. Too much is being read into this passage to assume that a new worship day is being observed and that they could only be celebrating the Lord’s Supper (Acts 27:35-36; Matthew 15:36; Mark 8:6; John 6:11).

Another point of interest is in John 20:19, on the day Jesus rose from the dead (Sunday), the disciples were “assembled for fear of the Jews.” It seems quite natural for them to be together, given all that had happened. Later, in vs. 26, they were together again. However, it was eight days later, which makes it a Monday.

Because of the above reasons the assumption has been made that the first day of the week is the “Lord’s Day” as referred to in Revelation 1:10. However, in Matthew 12:8 it says: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day” (Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). Since Jesus declares that He is Lord of the Sabbath, it’s logical that the Sabbath is truly the “Lord’s Day.”

Another questionable verse is Ephesians 2:15: “Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” Jesus, through His death, abolished the Old Testament ceremonial laws, feasts, and sacrifices. These pointed to Him, and He is the fulfillment. Next we’ll look at Romans 14:5-6: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the Lord.” A gentile convert may still have been influenced by special days of festivities connected with his former pagan worship and a Jewish convert may still have felt bound by the Old Testament ceremonial feasts. Some also go as far as to say that Acts 15:28-29 are the only things necessary to obey. But if you check carefully, this was directed to new Christians. This was like milk for the baby—they were too immature to handle the solid food of the whole word. In other words, the process of obedience out of love, is a gradual process. We start small and slowly expand. Again, the Sabbath is not mentioned here. It is presumptuous of man to think he can usurp the 4th commandment.

In Colossians 2:14,16-17 it says: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross. Let no man therefore judge you in… respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come….” The word handwriting in vs. 14 comes from the Greek expression meaning “bond of indebtedness.” All people owe God an unpayable debt for violating His law and are under the sentence of death. But through Jesus’ death on the cross, this certificate of debt has been erased—nailed to the cross—forgiven. Now what does vs. 16-17 mean by saying “holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come”? See explanation given for Ephesians 2:15—these were the “shadow” pointing to Christ. But what about “the sabbath days”? The seventh day Sabbath in the ten commandment law is not a shadow of something, rather it is a memorial of something that has already occurred—Creation. It makes sense that “sabbath days” in v. 16 refers to ceremonial sabbaths. The Jews had seven feasts they celebrated each year (Leviticus 23), such as Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. These feasts themselves were considered a sabbath of rest. They fell on various days and were observed in addition to the seventh day Sabbath.

A commentator I often hear makes this quote: “Jesus is the substance that fulfills the Sabbath.” If you look in Hebrews 3:7-19; 4:1-11, the writer is warning the readers to not be like the Israelites when God brought them out of Egypt. They saw God’s works for 40 years and still persisted in their unbelief. So almost all of that generation perished in the wilderness because God did not allow them to enter Canaan—the promised land—God’s rest. We’re to look at this example and fear, for if we do not believe, we, too, will not enter into God’s rest—His salvation. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God,”* (Hebrews 4:9) or it can be said, “a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God.” The word rest in that verse is translated in the Greek, “sabbath rest”. The seventh day Sabbath symbolizes the rest God took after He made creation (Hebrews 4:10). This whole passage speaks of the rest we enter into as believers and concludes with the Sabbath as a weekly reminder or memorial of it.

Should we not follow the clear teaching of God’s Word? Should we not “obey God rather than men”* (Acts 5:29)? Jesus warned against this sort of thing: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And He said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”* (Mark 7:7-9) Please prayerfully consider these things.

I think it’s now important to see where Sunday worship really did come from. Study of historical sources from the first to the fifth centuries reveal the transfer of Sabbath to Sunday was a gradual process. After the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and the Jewish revolt against the Romans in A.D. 135, the Jews were scattered and their religion was strongly opposed. Sun worship was quite common in pagan religions. To distance themselves from Judaism, as well as make Christianity more acceptable to Rome, early Christian leaders saw that Jesus’ resurrection on the 1st day might bridge the gap. Both Sabbath and Sunday were observed during this process.

Sixtus, the Bishop of the Christian church in Rome began the process that led to the transfer of worship days. At first, Sunday worship to celebrate the resurrection was held yearly. Then in A.D. 200 Pope Victor tried to enforce this yearly observance by ordering all bishops to be excommunicated if they did not follow this plan. The first law commanding Sunday rest was issued by the Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine, on March 7, 321 A.D. Then in A.D. 386, Theodosius I forbid litigation or payment of either public or private debt on Sunday. Theodosius II, in A.D. 425, forbid all amusements, circuses and theatre on Sunday, and in 538 A. D., the 3rd Synod of Orleans forbid all work in rural areas on Sunday.

The Roman Catholic Church sees the change of the Sabbath as a sign of power, and Catholic church authorities make the following quotes:

In response to the question, “Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?” Stephen Keenan wrote, “Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no scriptural authority.”

[A Doctrinal Catechism, pp. 174]

Father Enright, a Roman Catholic priest, was reported in the American Sentinel, New York, as saying, “The Bible says, ‘Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.’ The Catholic church says, ‘No! By my divine power I have abolished the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And now the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church.’ ”

“The early Christians had first adopted the Jewish seven-day week with its numbered weekdays, but by the close of the 3rd century the planetary week and in the 4th and 5th centuries the pagan calendar names had become general in western Christendom.”

[Collier’s Encyclopedia, vol. 18, pp. 40]

Two quotes from Martin Luther:

“The Catholics allege the Sabbath changed into Sunday, the Lord’s day, contrary to the decalogue, as it appears. Neither is there any example more boasted of than the changing of the Sabbath day. Great, say they, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the Ten Commands.”

[Your Augsburg Confession, quoted in The Creeds of Christendom, by Philip Schaff, vol. 3, pp. 64]

Martin Luther’s response to Ardreas Karlstadt’s treatise on the Sabbath:

“Yes, if Karlstadt were to write more about the Sabbath, even Sunday would have to give way, and the Sabbath that is Saturday would be celebrated.”

[quoted in Sabbath in Scripture and History, by Review and Herald Publishing Assn., 1982, pp. 217]

We obey because we understand our Lord’s commandments and do whatever He asks to His glory. The commandments continue to operate. The idea that they are canceled does injustice to the integrity of the word of God, and the guidance of God, in whom there is no shadow of doubt or change.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”* (Hebrews 13:8)

—Michelle Stace