Is Sunday a "sabbath"?

[tall73]

This topic came up in the law thread. Rather than derail that further I thought I would post about it in its own thread.

At least two people indicated in that thread that the sabbath commandment in the 10 commandments is still something Christians should be obeying.

One indicated it was one in seven days, and one indicated it was Sunday.

I think there is some evidence that Christians were meeting on Sunday in the Scriptures, and a fair amount of evidence in extra-biblical literature that indicates the same.

However, are any of you aware of any Bible text that calls Sunday a sabbath?

I am not. I previously was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, and kept the Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, which would be the time outlined for the Sabbath in the OT. I no longer believe that the sabbath is a requirement (though I also have no issue if someone finds a blessing in it either).


In my current Baptist church some still have a notion of Sunday sacredness, and others do not. I have had a lot of discussions on the Sabbath (sometimes more than I wanted!) but I don't think I have ever had one with Baptists from the Baptist perspective.

Anything regarding the role of the law, the ten commandments, the sabbath, etc. is on topic for the thread. However, I am particularly wanting to look at the notion that some regard Sunday or one day a week as the new sabbath for Christians. Any Seventh-day Baptists out there are welcome to chime in as well if you want to defend sabbath observance.

Please note that we are saved by grace, and this discussion assumes that from the outset. This is a discussion about identifying what God's will is for us. No one is saved by the law.

 

[MWood]

This topic came up in the law thread. Rather than derail that further I thought I would post about it in its own thread.

At least two people indicated in that thread that the sabbath commandment in the 10 commandments is still something Christians should be obeying.

One indicated it was one in seven days, and one indicated it was Sunday.

I think there is some evidence that Christians were meeting on Sunday in the Scriptures, and a fair amount of evidence in extra-biblical literature that indicates the same.

However, are any of you aware of any Bible text that calls Sunday a sabbath?

I am not. I previously was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, and kept the Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, which would be the time outlined for the Sabbath in the OT. I no longer believe that the sabbath is a requirement (though I also have no issue if someone finds a blessing in it either).


In my current Baptist church some still have a notion of Sunday sacredness, and others do not. I have had a lot of discussions on the Sabbath (sometimes more than I wanted!) but I don't think I have ever had one with Baptists from the Baptist perspective.

Anything regarding the role of the law, the ten commandments, the sabbath, etc. is on topic for the thread. However, I am particularly wanting to look at the notion that some regard Sunday or one day a week as the new sabbath for Christians. Any Seventh-day Baptists out there are welcome to chime in as well if you want to defend sabbath observance.

Please note that we are saved by grace, and this discussion assumes that from the outset. This is a discussion about identifying what God's will is for us. No one is saved by the law.

Rom 14:5

One man esteemeth one day above another: another every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Read the whole chapter to get the full meaning of Pauls' conversation on a lot of things. It is good info. In fact the whole book of Romans is a good place to learn the truths of Gods word.

 

[JoshuaDaryl]

I had thought I had read somewhere that we were to give God one day out of seven, now I can not find that, so maybe it was someones argument for it, not sure now where I heard it from. That being said I feel as though that would be pleasing to God. I do not thing the Christians are called to a sabbath in the same way as the Jewish people. They are called to a priesthood, and thus held to a higher standard. But I feel called to live a life that is pleasing to my Lord, and what could be more pleasing to him than to take at least one day out of seven, dedicate it to him, and his ideals. Church, and worship of him should be central, fellowship with the brethren, time with the family. We are talking about one day out of seven, not much.

 

[miamited]

Hi Tall73,

It has always been my understanding that from Friday evening til Saturday evening is the Sabbath. Sunday is the day that Christians have set aside for worship. Worship and Sabbath are not synonymous terms. Sabbath is the day that God set aside for man to rest; worship is the day that man has set aside to praise and honor God for who He is.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[JM]

Here is one Baptist view of the Sabbath: How I Justify a First-Day Christian Sabbath » It Is Written

 

[Dan61861]

Sunday is the day of the Lord. It is the resurrection day, a day of new beginnings. As for the Sabbath, the Lord is my Sabbath. I have entered his rest. There is no work, I am Christs'. Each day I am in him and he in me. Anything I do to honour Him in one day, is what I should be doing to honour Him every day.

The Sabbath of the law did what the rest of the law did. It brought us to the cross, to our Lord. Just as one was to rest on the Sabbath, we are now in his rest. What a glorious Lord we have. His mercy is everlasting.

In Christ
Daniel

 

[Bluelion]

I think few people truly understand the Sabbath Law. Jesus was clear on this the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath. What this means is the human body and mind need one day of rest out of every 7 days. The body requires the rest. True rest can only be found in God and is why we are to spend that day with the Lord. Some people think we worship God and creation on that day, not true, we should worship God everyday by are lives. The Sabbath was to give men and women rest.

To answer your question any day out of 7 is fine as long as it is one day out of 7. We need this rest and we should take at least one day to focus on the Lord.

The Sabbath was moved to Sunday by the Catholic church because it was the day of Christ resurrection.

The spirit of the Sabbath is not any one day, not Friday to sat, not Sunday, it is a day for rest out of 7 for us. It is a gift to us.

 

[clark thompson]

It is misunderstood that the Christian Sabbath is in a day, it is not in a day but in a person our Lord Jesus Christ is our new Sabbath any time we come to Him is the Christian Sabbath.

 

[Dan61861]

It is misunderstood that the Christian Sabbath is in a day, it is not in a day but in a person our Lord Jesus Christ is our new Sabbath any time we come to Him is the Christian Sabbath.

Amen!

In Christ
Daniel

 

[ob77]

Christ became our Sabbath, for in Christ we rest. Just as Christ became our Passover. That is not to say that God did not sanction a day of rest for us in the flesh, for He did, and we should abide by it. Everyone needs rest from the hectic day to day strife we all face. Rest does not mean you should stop what you enjoy, even though it requires effort. Only that which requires one to generate an income to sustain oneself.
Therefore a hobby in woodworking which requires some sort of effort would not be counted against rest.

 

[Yekcidmij]

At least two people indicated in that thread that the sabbath commandment in the 10 commandments is still something Christians should be obeying.

I've always found it interesting that it's demanded Christians MUST follow ALL the ten commandments. It's interesting becuase in only one place in the bible is there any reference to something called the "Ten Commandments", and that's in Exodus 34:28. But nobody follows anything in that list.

One indicated it was one in seven days, and one indicated it was Sunday.

Traditionally, Saturday is the Sabbath and Sunday is the first day of the week. Christians celebrate Sunday because it's the day of the resurrection.

Mk 16:2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.​

I think there is some evidence that Christians were meeting on Sunday in the Scriptures, and a fair amount of evidence in extra-biblical literature that indicates the same.

They were because it was the first day of the week.

However, are any of you aware of any Bible text that calls Sunday a sabbath?

No. But then again, the original Law didn't use our modern Gregorian calendars. They may have had 7 day weeks, but it's mistaken to assume that the first day of the week in the ancient Israelite calendar(s) necessarily corresponds to our first day of the week in the Gregorian calendar. The calendar is simply taken for granted in these sorts of discussions, as if everyone everywhere has always used a Gregorian calendar. But that's a rather big mistake. For example, if the beginning of ancient Israelite years, months and weeks don't necessarily correspond to the beginning of our years, months and weeks, then we can't say that the day Moses thought was the Sabbath equates to our Saturday (or Sunday....or any day in particular).

 

[Skala]

No, our Sunday meetings are not the Sabbath. In fact, they have nothing to do with the OT Sabbath law. The fact that we gather on Sunday, not Saturday, is not because the Sabbath was "changed", but rather, because the Sabbath doesn't exist for us any more, thus our Sunday gatherings is a completely new and different practice that is unique to New Testament believers.

The Sabbath was an Old Testament practice which was a special sign between God and Israel, first to remember creation (Exodus 31) and later reinstated by Moses to remind Israel about their rescue from Egyptian slavery (Deuteronomy 5). A person placed under Sabbath law was not allowed to even leave his home or build a fire, lest he be put to death. Thus, it should be obvious that New Testament Christians (recorded in the New Testament as meeting on the first day of the week - Sunday) are not actually practising the Sabbath.

The reason NT believers meet on Sunday has nothing to do with the Sabbath. It is simply because the New Testament tells us that the early Christians were meeting on the first day of the week. Our best guess is because Christ appeared to the disciples in resurrected form on the first day of the week. (Example, Matthew 28:1 28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb (and it was empty)).

Notice this verse tells us that Jews were still practising the Sabbath proper at the same time NT believers were "meeting on the first day" which has become the norm for Sunday worship. Thus the two are two different things.

As for the Sabbath itself, rather than reinforcing observance of it, the Apostle Paul tells us the opposite in Colossians 2:16-17: "Do not let anyone judge you...with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath Day. For these were a shadow of things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ" and again he says that the OT law (including the Sabbath) was "abolished at the cross where Christ cancelled the written code, with its regulations) (Col 2:14)

Further, the Sabbath was not mentioned anywhere in the NT except for evangelical purposes, when Paul would visit the Jews while they observed the Sabbath in order to preach to them the gospel of Christ.

He (the Apostle Paul) then later wrote that the Jews were enslaved by tradition since they were still practicing the OT laws: “But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?"

So, to conclude:

1) The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the Church
2) Christ abolished the OT law, everything being fulfilled in Him
3) The reason we meet on Sunday is because that is when it is recorded the NT believers met, probably because the first day of the week is when they first saw Jesus alive again.
4) Sunday meetings literally has nothing to do with the Sabbath

 

[food4thought]

One more way the ancient Roman Church has made a mess of things in the minds of everyday Christians. It was convenient for the early Christian Emperors to bring the most people in their empire under the same religious umbrella, and Christians and worshippers of Sol Invictus both worshipped on Sunday... for this and other reasons, one of the early post-Constantine Emperors (forget which one) made Sunday the official day of worship in the Empire. If I remember correctly, one of the Popes (forget which one) later declared that Sunday was the new Sabbath, which made a mockery of what the Bible says on the subject.

 

[Yekcidmij]

One more way the ancient Roman Church has made a mess of things in the minds of everyday Christians. It was convenient for the early Christian Emperors to bring the most people in their empire under the same religious umbrella, and Christians and worshippers of Sol Invictus both worshipped on Sunday... for this and other reasons, one of the early post-Constantine Emperors (forget which one) made Sunday the official day of worship in the Empire.

But Christians were worshiping on Sunday long before the post-Constantine era. And do you know which emperor you're refering to?

If I remember correctly, one of the Popes (forget which one) later declared that Sunday was the new Sabbath, which made a mockery of what the Bible says on the subject.

Why is that a mockery?

 

[JM]

The physical resting on the Sabbath was a picture or type of rest to come in Jesus Christ. The old covenant of works re-established on Sinai had physical trappings such as rituals and rites prescribed that were prescribed covenantally. These rituals and rites had to be performed by the faithful even though they typified the rest given in the new covenant of grace.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

 

[food4thought]

But Christians were worshiping on Sunday long before the post-Constantine era. And do you know which emperor you're refering to?

Yes, I mentioned in my post that Christians were already worshipping on Sunday. I looked it up, and it was actually Constantine that instituted Sunday as a holy day. As for a specific Pope who instituted Sunday as the new Sabbath I found that it is not quite so simple as that... As far as I can tell from reading the Catholic Encyclopedia, it seems that there was no Papal decree that made it so, but a long series of church councils, ecclesiastical decisions, and common practice. I apologize for misrepresenting that.

Why is that a mockery?

The idea that Sunday replaces the Saturday Sabbath is a mockery of what the Bible teaches. Col 2:16-17 a requirement to observe the Sabbath is denied; Heb 3-4 the Sabbath rest for the people of God is entered by believing in Christ, not observing a day; Rom 10 Christ the end of the Law for righteousness, salvation by belief and confession; etc

It is good to have a day of rest, but making a religious requirement out of it, whatever the day, is not good doctrine.

 

[th1bill]

There is entirely to much concentration on this or that day is or isn't the Sabbath. The truth is not is the day it is celebrated. It can only matter that way if you segment God's revelation of Himself instead of taking the clue. God has always been and God will always be, one continuous existence. The same is true of the Revelation of God, it is one continuous flow from Genesis 1:1 In the beginning... through the very last Amen of Revelation 22.

In this flow is the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. Jesus gave to us, through her, a very important key. Jesus explained to her that all would, one day, worship in truth and in spirit.

 

[Bluelion]

The day came about because Christian gather for what was called the day of the feast, every Sunday the church would gather and eat a big meal and have worship to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday. What started out as fellowship and celebration became the official Sabbath. The church declared it, the reason we don't have a meal before worship is because the church did not want people saying Christians were gluttony and drinkers. So they cut out the celebrations.