And we Sabbathkeepers will celebrate with you, JimfromOhio, on Sabbath, Easter, and for all eternity!
One reasoning that has gained currency on these threads is that "The Sabbath is a symbol of resting from works that some think are necessary to obtain salvation." But to say that we are to rest from all our works, if interpreted in a foolishly literal way, would remove all Christian duties from us. We would be like those Paul wrote about, saying, "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid..." (Romans 6:1-2) Or like some that James addressed in his letter: "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." (James 2:18) Yet I would hope that we all expect that when a person comes to Christ, some change would occur in his/her life, that is, in the things s/he does, says, and thinks.
I hear many of you saying, though, that you honor the Sabbath on Sundays. That's good that you honor the principle!
But how do you justify the change of day? The Bible didn't command it. The historical record indicates that many, perhaps a majority, of Christians continued to rest and worship on the seventh day for the first hundred years after Jesus' birth, and some continued to do so through three more centuries. Sunday is honored as the Lord's Day, and the Sabbath commandment transferred to it, primarily because certain Church leaders claimed authority from God to do so. As far as I have been able to determine, the reasoning that the day of Jesus' resurrection should be honored above the Sabbath day was developed only after Sunday was already established as the day of rest and worship for a majority of Christians.
Where many Sabbathkeepers and I differ is that we question the authority of any church or church leader to alter a command that the Bible records so often, clearly and plainly. Again, I condemn no one, nor do I set any requirements on anybody to do as I do; but I prefer to follow the Bible rather than any denomination or leader.
Thank you for reading, and may God the Father, Son, and Spirit bless us all as we attempt to understand this admittedly difficult matter.