Saturday – God's Food For Life

There are only eight texts in the New Testament that mention the first day of the week. (The term “Sunday” is not in the Bible) The first five texts deal only with Jesus’ resurrection:

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. Matthew 28:1

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. Mark 16:2

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Mark 16:9

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. Luke 24:1

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. John 20:1

We will now discuss the last three of these texts:

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. John 20:19

At this point in time, the disciples didn’t even believe that the resurrection had taken place (Mark 16:14). They had met in the upper room for “fear of the Jews” and had the doors bolted shut. There is no indication that they thought of Sunday as a holy day.

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. Acts 20:7

According to the Bible, each day begins at sundown and ends at the next sundown. (Genesis 1:5, etc, and Leviticus 23:32) The dark part of the day comes first. Sabbath begins Friday night at sundown and ends Saturday night at sundown. This meeting was held on the dark part of Sunday, or on what we now call Saturday night because Paul was “ready to depart on the morrow.” (The New English Bible puts Acts 20:7 like this: “on the Saturday night of our assembly . . .”) The meeting lasted all night, interrupted only briefly at midnight by Eutychus’ fall from the window and a meal. Paul was on a farewell tour and knew that he would not see the people again before his death (verse 25). No wonder he preached so long. (No regular weekly service would have lasted all night.) The “breaking of bread” has no “holy day” significance whatever, because they broke bread daily. (Acts 2:46) This expression merely means that they ate a meal together. On the day following this meeting (Sunday), the group of missionaries travelled on to their next destination – Paul walking, the others sailing by ship – which they would not have done if it had been considered a holy day. There is no indication in this Scripture passage that the first day is holy, nor that these early Christians considered it so. Nor is there the remotest evidence that the Sabbath had been changed. The Bible refers to Sunday as a “working day” in Ezekiel 46:1. God has never asked anyone to observe Sunday as a holy day for any reason whatever.

Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2

There is no reference here to a public meeting. The money was to be laid aside privately at home. There was a famine in Judea (Rom. 15:25; Acts 11:26-30) and Paul was writing to ask the churches in Asia Minor to send some relief funds to their needy brothers. These Christians all kept Sabbath holy, so Paul suggested that on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath was over (which was the time they paid bills and settled accounts) they put aside something so it would be on hand when he came. Notice also that there is no reference here to Sunday as a holy day. In fact, the Bible nowhere suggests or commands Sunday-keeping.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, . . . Revelation 1:10

Here is another verse that is often misunderstood. Contrary to what many Christians believe and teach, and what many Bible margins and notes show, “the Lord’s day” spoken about here is not Sunday; it is Sabbath, the 7th day, Saturday.

And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27-28

God made the Sabbath holy at the time of creation. It has been kept throughout history and will be kept in the New Earth.

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:22-23

God made the 7th day holy at the time of creation and called it the Sabbath. It is the true Lord’s Day.

He didn’t bless any other day.

There is a lot of discussion among Christians about morality and obedience to God’s law, and grace, faith, and works. These are very important subjects. Let’s learn what the Bible says about them.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8, 9

Many Christians understand these verses to mean that we are not obligated to keep God’s law – the Ten Commandments – because we are saved by His grace and we don’t need to (and shouldn’t try to) earn or work our way to heaven.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14

This is another verse that is often understood to mean that we don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments. But, what does the very next verse say?

What then? Shall we sin, since we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Romans 6:15

Paul says we shouldn’t sin. How does the Bible define sin?

Whoever commits sin is transgressing the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4

When we combine the teachings in these verses we learn that God’s grace delivers us from the curse of the law – our death sentence- but not from the obligation to obey that law. Grace is not a license to disobey; rather, it provides a release from condemnation. We are freed from death, which is the final result of sin, but not from obedience to the law.

Truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life. John 5:24

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

Some Christians feel that they only need to have faith in Jesus. They base that idea on this verse:

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved and your house. Acts 16:31

But . . .

You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe and tremble. But will you know, oh vain man, that faith without works is dead? James 2:19, 20

Works is whatever we do and say – how we live – as a result of our faith. We do what God wants – good works – because we believe and love Him.

By this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:3, 4

If you love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. James 1:22-24

God’s law, the Ten Commandments, is our standard to live by. It is like a mirror, showing us our defects. It doesn’t correct those defects; it only points them out to us.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25

In some ways the law is also like an owner’s instruction manual; it tells us how God designed us to live – what we should and shouldn’t do to get the most out of the life He has given us.

Many Christians do recognize the importance of the Ten Commandments as a standard for morality. They feel an obligation to obey God; but their actual practice has an interesting twist to it. They are very conscientious in keeping nine of the ten; but the longest one, the one that has the most specifications, the one that starts with the word Remember is usually ignored or forgotten or modified. Here is the 4th commandment the way God gave it to us:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

Remembering to keep the 7th day, Saturday, as God’s holy Sabbath day is as much a part of His law as the other commands against murder, adultery, etc.

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. James 2:10-11

Protestants, as a result of the Reformation, claim to have rejected the authority and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church to follow “the Bible and the Bible only”; yet, they have retained one very significant doctrine: Sunday sacredness. The Catholic Church is not hesitant to state that it transferred the sacredness of Saturday to Sunday. Notice the following statements from Catholic sources:

From a Catholic catechism:

“Question: Which is the Sabbath day?

“Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.

“Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

“Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” (1)

From another catechism:

“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?

“Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her–she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” (2)

There is no statement from God anywhere in the Bible that says the first day of the week is holy instead of the seventh day; so, who is a Christian obeying when he keeps Sunday holy?

And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:9

When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He gave them a very specific command:

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

Later, Satan came along and told them it didn’t matter what they did; he claimed that they would actually be greatly benefitted if they disobeyed God’s command. (see Genesis 3:1-5) Did God approve of what they did when they obeyed someone else??

God gave us the Sabbath as a sign that He is our God.

Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. Ezekiel 20:20

Who is your God??

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Romans 6:16

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words; then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14

We are stepping outside of God’s will when we treat with disrespect what He has made holy and try to make something holy that He has not blessed.

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14

Endnotes
1. Peter Geiermann, The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1957 edition), p. 50

2. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism (New York: P. J. Kennedy & Sons, third American edition, revised, n.d.), p. 174

Tag: Saturday

The First Day of the Week: What the Bible says (and doesn’t say) about it.

Obeying God