Saints, I had every intention of writing this post and simply sharing my different ways of having a Sabbath. Then I thought, “Let’s see how others celebrate the Sabbath, especially the Jews during the Old Testament and compare it to today.” So I did.
What I found was not what I expected. There is a debut that has been brewing ever since the Catholic Church changed the day we practice the Sabbath. Here’s the controversy:
A few facts:
Questions that I pondered and researched:
As you can see I had a lot of questions. I know you have a few also. So here is my conclusion, but please, share your comments below. I’d like to hear what you think.
Found during research:
· Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about keeping the Sabbath on the first day of the week, the first day being holy, or observing the day of Christ’s resurrection. (Now, that’s another blog) Nor does it command any observances on Sunday. The New Testament believers broke bread every day (Acts 2:26), so how can we say that Sunday is the Sabbath?
· Roman Emperor Constantine I, made a civil decree making Sunday a day of rest from labor. He stated: All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun.
· Ten Commandments: 2 Versions:
The first version from the Bible Exodus 20:1-17
And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.[c]
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
Second Versions from Sunday School classes and other places:
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall make no idols.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.
Do you see the difference?
When you shorten things, you have a tendency to dismiss the importance of the other words. The Lord’s Day is the Sabbath, but according to God, the Israelites, Jesus our Savior and Paul the Apostle they all practice the Sabbath on a Saturday. Here’s the sad part, (I put a link below so you can check it out for yourself.) the Catholic Church stated that the Sabbath is on Saturday but they still changed it to Sunday.
The Sabbath Day begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. God in Genesis established that the beginning and ending of a day is at sundown. So why did mankind change it?
These are the keys for me: Genesis 2:3 reads, “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it…;” (Exodus 16:26-29, Exodus 20:10, Ezekiel 22:26); concerning the Gentiles: Ephesians 2: 11-13:19, Isaiah 56:6-7, Matthew 5: 17-19; it was customary for Jesus to keep the Sabbath (Mark 2:26-28); and Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He practiced the Sabbath on Saturday.
The change came because the early Christians believed it was more important to celebrate the day Jesus rose from the dead and in doing so combined the Sabbath. The Catholic Church decreed Sunday as the Sabbath which then fell in line with the world’s work day. Then you have Christians going back and forth between Saturday and Sunday, like we do today, until they fell in line with the world’s view of Sunday as a day of rest from work. Then the belief, like I had, “just as long as you have a Sabbath, who cares what day it is?” Saints, this is why studying the Bible for yourself is so important.
How can you take one command out of the commandments and change it? If we change the one, let’s change all of them. Right? No. It’s 10 Commandments and they come as a whole, not pieces. Believers, yes, we DO and SHOULD celebrate the Sabbath. It’s our God-given right!
Enough with the research and hearing what others are saying. I prayed and this is what I believe God gave to me. My conclusion:
Now, I know everyone is not going to agree with me. That’s OK. The Sabbath is to be practiced after 6 days of work. Rather your 6 days begin on a Tuesday or a Sunday. Make sure you practice the Sabbath on the 7th day. The key isn’t the specific day. The key is 6 days of work. Can anyone tell me the exact day God created the heavens and the earth? Nope. You can speculate, but no one knows. That’s because days weren’t established as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. or whatever symbol was being used during B.C. days.
After saying all that, I changed my Sabbath from Sunday to Saturday. My Sabbath will begin Saturday, September 5, 2020. Why? I want to follow Christ Jesus.
Are you going to keep the Sabbath Day? Are you going to keep it holy on the 7th day after working 6 days of the week, or not? It’s your choice.
Saints, check out the podcast, Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast, episode, “Sabbath:Free Day or Slave Day,” which came out today. Adele Ahlberg Calhoun is speaking on Sabbath and Rest. She’s the author of Spiritual Discipline Handbook Practices that Transform us. Then in two weeks, listen as I share what to do on Sabbath Day. Our day of Rest.
References:
Thetrumpet.com “Did Christ Abolish the Sabbath?”
YouTube: “Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?” The Beat by Allen Parr
YouTube: “Should Christians keep the Sabbath or Sunday?” Unlearn the Lies
YouTube: “The Sabbath Debate with Doug Batchelor and Steve Gregg”
Logos Bible Software: Sabbath
Shalom!
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