I would like to introduce you to a website that God impressed me to build and maintain as a missionary outreach,. This website is called, “4thcommandment.com.”
The site has 24 pages of Sabbath-related truths, Scriptures, and discussions. The idea was to bring a large quantity of sabbath-related apologetics together in one easy-to-navigate site, for those who are interested in the Sabbath truth.
In the section entitled “Fourth Commandment Truths,” there is a list of 40 Bible Facts concerning the first day of the week. The first 10 are:
1. The very first thing recorded in the Bible is work done on Sunday, the 1st day of the week. This was done by the Creator Himself. If God worked on this day, how can it be wicked for us to work on Sunday? God's 10 Commandment Law defines sin: "For where there is no law, there is no transgression." Romans 4:15
2. God actually commands men to work upon the 1st day of the week (Exodus 20:8-11). Is it wrong to obey God?3. None of the Patriarchs ever kept it.
4. None of the Holy Prophets ever kept it.
5. By the express command of God, His Holy People used the 1st day of the week as a common working day for at least 4,000 years.
6. God Himself calls it a “working” day (Ezekiel 46:1).
7. God did not “rest” upon it.
8. God never “blessed” or “hallowed” it (Exodus 20:11).
9. Christ did not “rest” upon it.
10. Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3), and worked at His trade until He was 30 years old. He kept the Sabbath and worked 6 days in the week, as all admit. Hence He did many a hard day’s work on Sunday.
That section also contains a list called “66 Reasons for Seventh-day Sabbath observance, the first 12 of which are:
1. Because it was written in stone by the finger of God, Exodus 31:18
2. Because the Sabbath was blessed by God, Genesis 2:3
3. Because all things were made by God, John 1:3
4. Because the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, Mark 2:27
5. Because God commanded that we “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” Exodus 20:8-10
6. Because the Sabbath is the sign of God's creative power, Revelation 20:11
7. Because the Sabbath existed before the laws were given on Mount Sinai, Exodus 16:4, 22-23, 27-29
8. Because the name of the Lord endures forever, Psalm 135:13
9. Because the work of creation will forever be remembered, Psalm 111:2-4
10. Because the Sabbath is a sign between God and man, Ezekiel 20:12, 20
11. Because the Sabbath is a sign – forever!, Exodus 31:17
12. Because the redeemed are to remember the divine power of the Creator, Revelation 4:11
21 reasons for Sunday Observance are rebutted in the section, “21 Reasons.” The first 9 reasons are:
Reason # 1: Although God’s Ten Commandment Law (Exodus 20:10) clearly demands the observance of the seventh day of the week, Paul in his letter to the Galatians tells us that “we are no longer under the supervision of the law, but rather under grace.” In Romans 7:6 he further reiterates that “we are discharged from the law.” This proves that the seventh day Sabbath is obsolete.
TRUTH: The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians and to the Romans does not mean we are discharged to resume violation of the law, but rather discharged from the penalty of the law. We are not saved to sin, but saved from sin.
If God's holy Ten Commandment law could have been changed or somehow abrogated, then Christ need not have died. Christ died on Calvary, to enable those who are willing to become His little children; ask Him for enabling grace to be obedient children and live good, clean, godly lives. Now that is genuine Christianity!
The Great Deceiver, who also said to Eve in the Garden of Eden "you shall not surely die," would have us believe that we can live as we please: "You will go to heaven anyway; this is all because, at some earlier point in your life, you said you accepted Christ as your Savior. Just because you earlier said it is all that will be necessary; obedience to Bible principles and God's moral law is not."Reason # 2: Obedience to the fourth commandment is legalism; because the Sabbath of The Ten Commandment law was part of that which was done away with in Christ at the cross.
TRUTH: If one believes that God’s Ten Commandment Law is complete, eternal and unchangeable and that sincere obedience to this law is New Testament doctrine, than one can also be accused of being a “legalist.” However, the same law that commands us not to steal also commands us to keep the seventh day holy. Would it be reasonable to accuse someone who refuses to commit murder, a legalist?
Reason # 3: The seventh day Sabbath was a covenant exclusively between God and the Children of Israel.
TRUTH: Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27),” i.e., for mankind. The Bible also says that “woman was made for man ( I Corinthians 11:9).” So if the Sabbath is only for the Jews than marriage would only be for the Jews as well! The seventh day Sabbath is no more exclusively Jewish than is the institution of marriage. God blessed and sanctified them both and they are equally just as universal as is mankind. Read Isaiah 56:6-7 and Deuteronomy 4:5-6.
Reason # 4: Seventh day Sabbath observance served only as a memorial of the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian captivity and since the Gentiles were not a part of this deliverance, the Sabbath is not for them. (Deuteronomy 5:15)
TRUTH: What about the Jews who lived after the “delivered” generation died? They had no direct part in that deliverance either. We find the Lord saying through His prophet Isaiah, many centuries after the “deliverance” that the seventh day Sabbath was for the Gentiles, too. (Read Isaiah 56:6 and Acts 13:42-47)
Reason #5: There is no record of seventh day Sabbath observance from its institution in Genesis 2:1-3 until we reach the Jews in the Book of Exodus. God’s commandments never existed prior to Mount Sinai.
TRUTH: If that argument were applied to the other nine commandments, it would mean that all those men between Adam and Moses were liars, thieves and profaners of the Lord’s name because we cannot find where the Lord ever told them not to do these things! Centuries before Moses, God judged His people by His law.
“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, he saw it and rejoiced.” John 8:56
"Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Genesis 26:5
“For if the inheritance be of the Law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.” Galatians 3:18
Exodus 16:22-29: Well before the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, the Lord ordered preparation for the Sabbath. The people were to gather a double portion of manna on the 6th day, so that they could rest on The Holy Seventh Day. Some did not heed the instructions and God was displeased: “And the Lord said unto Moses, how long ‘refuse’ ye to keep my commands and my laws? (v. 28) See, for that Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days... let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” (v. 29) We have no record that Moses ever questioned God on this admonition. He had perfect knowledge of God's laws and commandments well before God transcribed them onto two tablets of stone at Mount Sinai.
Following the same argument (Reason # 5 above), the first day of the week was not mentioned until 20 years after the day of Pentecost and then it is not mentioned as a day to be observed but rather as a working day! (Read I Corinthians 16:2)It’s interesting to note that the fourth commandment is the only one that begins with the word “Remember.” So, were the children of Israel told to remember something they had never known? The truth is that they were being told to remember what they once knew before their many years of captivity in the land of Egypt.
Reason # 6: The Commandment to observe the seventh day Sabbath was incorporated into The Law of Moses.
TRUTH: Nowhere in Holy Scripture is there evidence that any of the 10 Commandments of the Law of God were transferred to or incorporated into The Law of Moses. These are two separate and distinct laws. In Deuteronomy 4:13 Moses makes reference to The Ten Commandment Law of God. In verse 14 he makes reference to the “statutes and judgments” required under the Law of Moses.
Reason # 7: Sunday should be kept in honor of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Day of Pentecost, the first day of the week was instituted.
TRUTH: The importance of the event taking place on that day is not what makes it the Sabbath. Rather, it is the legislative act of God. The law of God specifies the seventh day, not the first, no matter what has happened since on the first day of the week. There is no record of God blessing and sanctifying the first day at that time, about 27 years before it is ever mentioned again in the book of Acts. (Read Genesis 2:3)
Nothing in the scriptural references to the Day of Pentecost even remotely suggests that (a) it was the “Lord’s Day,” (b) God commands us to observe it, (c) it is set apart as a memorial to God’s creation or Christ’s resurrection, (d) it has been declared a “sign” of God’s authority over His people, or that (e) God commands that it should be done every first day of the week as a “perpetual” covenant. (Read Exodus 31:13-17 & Genesis 2:2-3)
We don’t keep Friday in honor of the crucifixion, we don't keep Thursday in honor of the "Holy Communion." Christ gave the ordinance of baptism in honor of His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-6). The Bible never suggests Sunday keeping in honor of the resurrection. We honor Christ by obeying Him (John 14:15) –not by substituting man-made requirements in place of His. Christ gave the ordinance of baptism in honor of His death, burial, and resurrection, Romans 6:3-6
Reason # 8: The only reason the Apostles attended worship on the seventh day Sabbath was to gain access to the Jews; and not because they had any regard for the sacredness of that day.
TRUTH: There is no sacred scriptural passage to back up this contention. There is scriptural documentation however, that the Apostles preached to the Gentiles on the seventh day Sabbath. (Read Acts 13:14-16, Acts 13:42-43 and Acts 18:4) The Gentiles were not observers of the seventh day until after they became Christians. There is also scriptural evidence that the Apostles convened on the seventh day Sabbath for fellowship and prayer. (Read Acts 16:13-14)
Reason # 9: The first day of the week was set apart for religious worship by the Apostles themselves and furthermore, it was proclaimed as the new “Lord’s Day.”
TRUTH: There is no scriptural evidence supporting this contention. Nowhere did Jesus ever command the disciples to observe His resurrection day or to take the Lord’s Supper on this day. Not once did Jesus even mention the first day of the week in His entire ministry and teachings; nor did His followers teach others to observe it.
Jesus commanded seventh day observance, and at one time said to the disciples, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter neither on the Sabbath day” (Matthew 24:20). He was talking to them about the destruction of Jerusalem, which would take place in thirty nine years after Jesus had returned to heaven. This text proves, in Jesus’ own words, that the seventh day Sabbath did not cease to exist at the cross, any more than the winter ceased to exist then! Because of the sacredness of the Sabbath, the Christians were to pray that their flight be “not on the Sabbath day.”
There are numerous texts about keeping the Ten Commandment Law of God in New Testament scripture. There are numerous texts about resting on the seventh day Sabbath in New Testament scripture. (Hebrews 4:4-11) Jesus never deleted a single commandment – only man has tried to do that. The Apostle Paul wrote an admonition regarding seventh day “rest” in his epistle to the Hebrews. (Read Hebrews 4:1-11)
Luke tells us he had perfect understanding of all things from the very first (Luke 1:3). Moreover he said that in his gospel, he gives us a “treatise” of “all that Jesus began both to do and to teach (Acts 1:1). In all of Luke’s writings we find nothing in the Apostolic preaching on Sunday observance. (Also read John 14:15 & John 15:9-10)
In A.D. 63 (about 30 years after Christ’s resurrection) Luke was still not calling the first day of the week the “Lord’s Day.” (Read Luke 23:56) The book of Acts covers a period of 23 years and mentions the Sabbath in 8 different chapters without a hint of any change!
Matthew still called the seventh day “the Sabbath” and the following day “the first day of the week” a good many years after the event. (Read Matthew 28:1)
In A.D. 60, when Mark wrote about the life of Christ, he was still referring to Sunday as “the first day of the week” and not using sacred titles for that day. He also says that when the first day of the week comes, “the Sabbath is past (Mark 16:1).”
The gospel of John, written in A.D. 100 still refers to Sunday as the first day of the week (John 20:1). Four years prior, in Revelation 1:10 John says he “was in the Spirit on The Lord’s Day.” Logic follows that if John held that the first day of the week had become the “Lord’s Day,” why did he not refer to it as such, four years later?
John, while in captivity on the Island of Patmos, was worshiping on the Sabbath day and was given a vision: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice." (Revelation 1:10)Sunday is never referred to as the “Lord’s Day” in God’s Holy Word. Furthermore, there is no historical record that the early Christians observed any day but the seventh day Sabbath as a day of worship following the resurrection of The Savior.
“...for centuries even many Gentile Christians also observed the seventh day, or Sabbath.” Reference: A History of Christianity Beginnings to 1500,” Kenneth Scott LaTourette, pg. 198
In a section entitled “Origins of Sunday Observance,” I bring in quotes from many different authorities who have written on the origins of Sunday observance, including Ellen White, Justo Gonzales, Kenneth Scott LaTourette, Robert Cox, Francis West, David Bercot, William D. Killen, and Joe Crews. Here is one very short sample of the wealth of sources included in the section:
“The first public measure enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine (A.D. 321); This edict required townspeople to rest on ‘the venerable day of the sun,’ but permitted countrymen to continue their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of Christianity.
“The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and points to the real authors of the change. ‘All things’, he says, ‘whatever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord’s Day.’ - Robert Cox, “Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties”, pg. 538
“As the papacy became firmly established, the work of Sunday exaltation was continued. For a time the people engaged in agricultural labor when not attending church, and the seventh day was still regarded as the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected. Those in holy office were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil controversy on the Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever rank, were commanded to refrain from common labor on pain of a fine for freemen and stripes in the case of servants. Later it was decreed that rich men should be punished with loss of half of their estates; and finally, that if still obstinate they should be made slaves. The lower classes were to suffer perpetual banishment.
“Miracles also were called into requisition. Among other wonders it was reported that as a husbandman who was about to plow his field on Sunday cleaned his plow with an iron, the iron stuck fast in his hand, and for two years he carried it about with him, ‘to his exceeding great pain and shame’. – Francis West, “Historical and Practical Discourse on the Lord’s Day”, pg. 174
I am not a pastor, evangelist, or a trained theologian. I am a layman whose “tent making” is to buy, sell, and repair sewing machines.
It is my prayer that Sabbath-believers will point those who might be struggling with or inquiring about the Sabbath truth to this missionary website.