Sabbath

[Donna McCloud]

God rested on the seventh day which is our Saturday. He santified it for us to keep Holy and to rest on that day. The Catholic church is the one that changed Saturday to Sunday. They even say so in their Catholic Catachism.

[Ron Payne]

Good Morning Donna,
During the time of the Apostles, they went into the Synagogues to worship, but also to preach and explain about the things of Jesus Christ, thereby winning more souls to Christ. There were no Churches then and the Synagogues were the only place of official worship. The Apostles also held "house meetings" consisting of Praise and worship, and explaining the gospel, thereby winning more souls for Christ in the houses of other Christians. These house meetings were not held on any particular day, but possibly any day if not every day of the week.
These meetings may not have been held on Saturdays because that was the day they went to the Synagogues to pray and worship God there.
Eventually the problem arose as to the differences between those Jews who had become Christians and the Jews who had not. It was simply a matter of time before the Christian Jews started to stay away from the Synagogues and rather attend the weekday practices of Praise and worship amongst Christian Jews in their homes.
This then was the forming of the church known as the "Ecclesia - the called out ones" Because they were no longer attending the Synagogue on the 7th day (The Jewish Sabbath) they eventually gathered together on the 1st Day of the week. Some still, even attended both days.
It is understandable that discussions and arguments would occur about which day should be considered the day for Christians to worship and Praise.
Because most of them were Jews the arguments developed around Jewish law and Jewish Principles, particularly in the Church at Colosse. Paul then wrote the following to this Church

"You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures.
He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross.
He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ.
Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly worship days. (The King James says: "The Sabbath".
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts the shadow belongs to Christ." (Colossians 2:13-17)
Finally as the Christian Church grew in Rome, the church made a decision to announce that Sunday would be the day of worship, possibly because the questions regarding the day of worship was still being discussed amongst Christians.
There is nothing sinister about what day one is called to worship because as we have seen, amongst the communities there were two days, i.e. The Seventh day amongst Jews and the first day of the week amongst Christians. Hence Paul's letter telling us not to get all worked up about rules, laws and regulations. These were all argumentative shadows, the real truth is found in Christ alone who put an end to all these laws.
I trust this helps, I apologise for the length but the subject at hand required it.
Your Brother and Friend In Christ - Ron

[Donna McCloud]

What about the seventh day God set aside for us to remember? And what does the Bible say about man changing his times and laws?

[Bob F]

You might consider joining the Galatians study. The final lesson, found in the appendix, concerns itself directly with your question. But that lesson depends on studying the previous lessons, which also address your questions.

I have friends who are convinced of various different views on this subject. Romans and Hebrews also have some profound things to say about this subject.

An interesting observation is that the Sabbath in Genesis 2:1-3 may be the first mention of the Gospel in the Bible. Why? According to Hebrews chapters 3-4, the Day of God's Rest is a symbol of the believer's rest from works. In other words the Sabbath is a symbol of salvation. According to the same text, the Sabbath is also a symbol of heaven.

Some additional observations people have offered on this subject are:
1) The New Testament churches sometimes met on the Sabbath. Sometimes they met on the first day of the week. Sometimes they met every day of the week. And sometimes they met on both Saturday and Sunday. (See Luke 24:1, 13, 33-36; John 20:1, 19, 26; Acts 2:1, 46; 9:19-20; 13:42-47; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).
2) The Jews began each day of the week at sundown. Thus, the Sabbath began at sundown Friday and ended at sundown Saturday. The first day of the week began at sundown on Saturday and ended at sundown on Sunday. This contrast in the way the Jews and our modern world count the beginning and end of days complicates the picture. For example, the meeting in Acts 20:7 began about sundown on the first day of the week and went until sometime after the sun rose on Sunday morning. So we would say that the church met on both Saturday and Sunday. But they counted that meeting as taking place only on the first day of the week, not on the Sabbath.
3) Jesus "rested" in the grave on the Sabbath and rose on the first day of the week, which was also called the Lord's Day by the time Revelation was written (Revelation 1:10).
4) Jesus claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).
5) Thus a case could be made that the Sabbath, or Saturday, is the Lord's Day. Someone else could argue that the first day of the week, or Sunday, is the Lord's Day? And someone else could argue that every day is the Lord's Day.

There are many more arguments that people make about this subject, but I think the Galatians study offers essential information that may help you find a satisfying answer to these and many other questions.

[Donna McCloud]

How do I join this study. I would really like to understand.

[Bob F]

Dear Donna,

Click on the Fondations for Christian Freedom Bible Study under groups on this website. You can sign up there. If not contact Greg. He can get you signed up. The address for the Galatians Bible study is: http://www.allaboutgod.net/group/bookofgalatians