From Sabbath To Sunday

Many will say that Jesus changed worship from Sabbath to Sunday.

Is this true?

Here’s an excellent text to consider which is related to this topic.

Matthew 12:9-12
Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

This would have been a perfect time for Him to make a direct mandate about the Sabbath. Perhaps that is why He did exactly that.

“Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Even when Jesus was given the opportunity He did not push the Sabbath aside but rather explained what true Sabbath keeping was all about.

One could then venture, from where did Sabbath keeping originate? Some say it was at the resurrection of Jesus.

From Sabbath To Lord's Day

The line of reasoning that creates a Christian Sabbath Sunday goes like this.
Jesus was resurrected on Sunday, which makes it the Lord’s Day.

The only problem with that thought process is that Scripture nowhere identifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ as being the Lord’s Day.

To complicate matters further, Christians today have been given a direct process for recognizing the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

Romans 6:3-5
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

It’s called Baptism.

One would then rightly ask from where did the concept of a Christian Sabbath Sunday come from?

Emperor Constantine Sabbath

I’m no historian, so I suggest you check the following against historical records from other sources.

With that said, Emperor Constantine was having a problem with his Roman rule. Point blank, it was falling apart. So he did what seemed logical and reasonable at the time.

First, he marched his entire Roman army through the waters and declared them Christian. Then, because pagans were worshiping the “sun god” on Sunday he changed the day of worship to Sunday so that they would be willing to align themselves with him.

This is where the Roman Catholic Sabbath concept came from. Not from Scripture, but rather from man which clearly fits with what Scripture says.

Daniel 7:25
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.

Constatine did what man is strictly forbidden from doing and as a result the Catholic Sabbath Sunday observance began. The Papacy openly admits this in a challenge to all Protestants who claim to follow the Bible and the Bible only.

“You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! But by whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said, ‘Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day who shall dare to say, nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on the seventh-day, but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead? This is a most important question, which I know not how you can answer. You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only, and yet, in so important a matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that which He has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments, you believe the other nine are still binding; who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principle, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered”

Library Of Christian Doctrine; Burns and Oates, pp. 3-4, London

Seventh Day Adventists Sabbath

Despite the above thoughts many people even today consider Seventh Day Adventists Sabbath keeping to by cultic.

Is it?

Some may approach it that way just as the Jews were approaching Sabbath keeping legalistically. However, according to what Scripture clearly identifies this is what believers everywhere should be doing.

Unfortunately there is so much confusion on this matter today. As a result many people have been lied to about this entire concept. I know, I used to be one of those that lied to my congregation.

Then one day someone challenged me with two words. They are the self same words I will leave you with today.

“Show Me”

Show me, that Sunday is the day we are to keep holy according to God’s word.

Show me, that the Biblical mandate of remembering the Sabbath has been done away with.

Show me, that the day has been changed from Sabbath to Sunday.

“Show Me!”