What is the Difference between the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day?

By Alice | September 30, 2017 | Comments 128 comments

While Sunday is the traditional day of worship for Christians, many still remain uncomfortable over the issue of the Sabbath day. This is due to a common error that the Sabbath was the day of worship. Groups such as the Seventh Day Adventists hold that God requires the church service to be held on the Sabbath day which is Saturday, the seventh day of the week.

But is that really what the Sabbath command was?

In this article, I would like to tackle several of the questions and possible confusion Christians may have in reference to the 4th commandment of God found in Exodus 20:8-11, repeated in Deuteronomy 5:12-15. Are Christians required to observe the Sabbath? Was the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday?

What is the Sabbath Day?

The word “Sabbath” comes from a Hebrew verb that means “to cease, stop, rest, and to come to an end.” Based on this definition of the word, the Sabbath Day was a day “to cease from work.” The institution of the Sabbath had its origin in Genesis 2:2-3 which states that on the seventh day, God rested after finishing His work of creation; God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work.

The important thing to note here is that no commandment is made in this text. Although God rested and observed the Sabbath, nothing is said about Sabbath observance and worship. The seventh day isn’t even called the Sabbath but is differentiated and set apart (sanctified) from the other six creation days.

God designed that the seventh day would be a special memorial to His creation and its original perfection.

Giving of the Sabbath to Man

The Sabbath was not given to man till 2500 years later in Exodus 20:8-10. Throughout the book of Genesis, there is no record of any Sabbath observance on the part of men, no mention of the Sabbath being a day of worship. There is no record that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the other patriarchs observed the Sabbath.

Even after the flood when God gave some commands to Noah and his sons (Genesis 9), nothing is said about Sabbath observance.

The first mention of the Sabbath in some significant way is in Exodus 16:22-26 when God feeds the people manna from heaven as they wander in the wilderness, and manna comes every day except the Sabbath day. God was preparing His people for the Sabbath command they would soon be given.

In the 20th chapter of Exodus, God gave the Ten Commandments and in it, the law for the Sabbath day has been given for the first time (Exodus 20:8-11). Israel was to treat the seventh day as holy because God had done so, and had declared it to be so.

The Observance of the Sabbath under the Law

The fourth commandment is not just a requirement to keep the Sabbath but more of an instruction to keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 16:23; 20:8). Because God designated and declared the Sabbath day as a holy day, keeping it involves much more than abstinence from labor; it requires acknowledging it as a sacred and sanctified day because of God’s deeds and declaration.

It also instructs each Israelite to plan and finish his week’s work by the Sabbath. It deals with the problem of men not wishing to stop what they’re doing because they have not finished by instructing them to plan to finish by the end of the sixth day and to see to it that they do finish.

What’s the punishment for Sabbath-breakers? Death! Anyone who breaks the Sabbath is to be put to death (Exodus 31:14; 35:2). In Numbers 15:32-36, we read of the man who was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath to build fire and was stoned to death. (See also Exodus 35:2-3.) This tells us how serious God is about Sabbath-keeping.

What is the Lord’s Day?

In the New Testament, Revelation 1:10 is the only verse that refers to Sunday as “the Lord’s Day,” However, it is noteworthy that the apostolic Church kept Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as a day of fellowship and worship (Acts 20:7). But why Sunday and why is it called the Lord’s day? Because Sunday, the first day of the week, was when Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 16:9).

Beginning with the first resurrection Sunday, the Lord Jesus seemed to “train” His disciples to gather together on the first day of the week. Since that time, believers have gathered on the first day of the week to celebrate His victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians 16:2). Also, the Church was born at Pentecost which fell on a Sunday, fifty days after Christ rose from the dead.

There is no verse in the Bible that commands believers to worship on the first day of the week but we do this simply because this has been the practice of Christians from the very beginning, based upon the life-changing fact of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The early Christians continued to meet regularly on the first day of the week, not on the Sabbath (Saturday).

Was the Sabbath Changed from the Seventh Day to the First Day?

Contrary to the claim of many Sabbatarians that Sunday worship was not instituted until the fourth century, the early church fathers, from Ignatius to Augustine, taught that the Old Testament Sabbath had been abolished and that the first day of the week (Sunday) was the day when Christians should meet for worship.

*Get the book “From Sabbath to Lord’s Day: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Investigation” by D.A. Carson for further study.

In this book, a series of authors assert the premise that Sunday is “a new day of worship that was chosen to commemorate the unique, salvation-historical event of the death and resurrection of Christ, rather than merely being another day for celebrating the Sabbath.”

Sunday has never replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. The Sabbath day that the Bible speaks about in Exodus 20:8-11 has nothing to do with worship and sacrifice. The Sabbath command was to do no work on the Sabbath day and nowhere in Scripture is the Sabbath day commanded to be the day of worship.

The Lord’s Day is not a direct counterpart to the Jewish Sabbath and the Sabbath day was not changed from the seventh day to the first day. “Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath” and it’s not biblically correct to refer to Sunday as the Sabbath because nowhere in Scripture is the first day of the week referred to as the Sabbath.

While the Lord’s Day is the day of sacrifice, worship, and fellowship, the Old Testament Sabbath as mentioned earlier was a day of rest; it was a day when beasts of burden, slaves, and humans all rested. It was not associated with temple attendance or any religious observance.

While some assume that the Lord’s Day in the New Testament is the equivalent of the Sabbath, the Sabbath was given to Israel as a sign of their covenant with God (Exodus 31:13, 17). It was a perpetual reminder to Israel of their separation unto God. Their keeping of the Sabbath would help distinguish them from the heathen (other nations) around them. The Sabbath day was also instituted by God for the nation of Israel to commemorate His deliverance of them from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15).

Sunday has not replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. Rather, the Lord’s Day is a time for believers to gather and commemorate Jesus’ resurrection, which occurred on the first day of the week.

Are Christians Required to Keep the Sabbath?

Although God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, that does not mean that He requires all of His people to rest on it. Because if He did then we should, by all means, keep it, even if we have to adjust our work schedules and sacrifice our time with our families.

If the effect on our lives is so great, we have to ensure we’re getting this right according to God’s commands. Is the command clear enough to require Christians to lose their jobs and suffer financially? Because if God does not require the Sabbath, then it would be wrong to put this unnecessary burden on anyone.

Some may argue that Jesus and the first Jewish Christians kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14, 17:1-2, 18:1-4) so we must do the same. We have to understand that Jesus was born under the law so He kept all the Jewish laws and kept them perfectly. But Jesus rejected a strict legalistic interpretation of the Old Testament commandment. He said Sabbath observance was not a duty that mankind owed to God.

Rather, the Sabbath was made by God as a day of rest for man (Mark 2:27).

The first Christians were predominantly Jews and still adhered to the Mosaic and Jewish Laws so when Gentiles began to convert to Christianity, it created a dilemma among the Jewish Christians. There arose some disputes about whether the Gentile Christians had to observe the Jewish laws about dietary restrictions, circumcision, Sabbath observance, etc.

At the Council of Jerusalem, Paul, Peter, James, and other Church leaders decided, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that Sabbath observance was not one of the commands they felt necessary for Gentile believers to keep (Acts 15:19-20, 28-29).

Sabbath Observance by the Apostles

If Christians were to observe the Sabbath day, the apostles would have clearly taught the Gentile believers who obviously did not have any idea about Sabbath-keeping. If the Sabbath is important, why is it that the New Testament never repeats the command? The apostle Paul had a lot to say about how Christians must conduct themselves and lists numerous sins that can keep a person out of the kingdom of God, but he never mentions the Sabbath.

On the contrary, Paul rebukes the Galatians for thinking God expected them to observe special days, which includes the Sabbath (Galatians 4:10-11). Paul also writes in Colossians 2:16-17 that monthly rituals, eating and drinking restrictions, and the celebration of annual festivals should not be the basis for judging other believers.

Paul is saying that Christians are not to say it is wrong for other Christians to be working on the Sabbath and they in return should not let anyone make them feel guilty for what they do on the Sabbath.

The reason for this is, that these rituals are just a shadow of the things that are yet to come, which are found in Christ. Similarly, Romans 14:5-6 makes it clear that Sabbath-keeping is a matter of spiritual freedom, not a command from God. If a Christian feels he is being led to practice Sabbath-keeping, that is, not working on Saturdays, he may do so but should not judge those who do not keep the Sabbath.

What is the True Way to Keep the Sabbath Day?

There is a Sabbath rest for the people of God whereby believers need to rest and cease from their own works (Hebrews 4:9-10) in order to allow the living God to work in and through them (Hebrews 13:21).

But this Sabbath rest is not for Saturday or Sunday – it is for every day of the week. We do not just come into the presence of God and rest in His peace once a week on Sunday (Lord’s Day) but we can come to Him every day.

Final Thoughts

There is absolutely nothing wrong with worshiping on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

In fact, we should worship God every day. Not only on Saturday or Sunday. Many churches today have both Saturday and Sunday services, some even hold worship services every day for church members who need to work on Saturday and Sunday.

Christians are in no way obligated to keep the Sabbath command in the Old Testament because they are no longer under the Law, but the principle of keeping one day in a week and making it holy unto the Lord has not changed. Christians should still follow the pattern of designating one day of the week to gather in worship.

Six days we work and earn our living, and we designate one day holy unto the Lord to gather in worship, but we do not refer to this as the Sabbath.

Genuine Faith: The Faith that Saves

By Alice | September 24, 2017 | Comments 30 comments

How many times have you actually heard people say, “We are saved by faith alone and not by works so all we have to do is believe in order to be saved? Yes, you heard it right! Just believe and you are saved.” But is that really what the Bible teaches? That we just have to believe and we are saved? Sounds pretty easy, right? Considering that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

And what’s the payment for our sins? Death (Romans 6:23)! This Bible verse is referring to spiritual death which means separation from God. Every man born after Adam has inherited a sinful nature and so we all have been alienated from God and are destined to suffer for eternity.

If salvation is just a matter of believing, in what should we believe? Or whom should we believe?

Years ago, a close friend and relative of mine confided in me about how she has struggled with this for quite some time. She just couldn’t comprehend how God could find it very easy for us to obtain salvation. Is God’s salvation that cheap? Surely not!

God paid a very dear price for our salvation. You can read all about it here: What is the Cost of Our Salvation?

We are not saved by believing in some fairy tales that people have made up. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are saved by putting our trust in what the Lord Jesus has accomplished for us when He suffered and died, and when He was raised to life to conquer death once and for all.

Faith Defined

So what is faith? The dictionary defines faith as belief, trust, fidelity, or loyalty to a creed or religion. The Bible, however, defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen”(Hebrews 11:1).

2 Kinds of Faith in Regard to Salvation

Head Belief

This is a knowledge of the historical Christ and a general acceptance of the Bible.

Personal saving faith, as Scripture defines it, involves more than mere knowledge. Of course, it is necessary for us to have some knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done. But knowledge about the facts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is not enough because many people who know the facts may still rebel against them or dislike them.

Paul tells us in the book of Romans 8:32 that many people know God’s laws but dislike them. Even the demons know who God is and know the facts about Jesus’ life and saving works (James 2:19). But that knowledge certainly does not mean that the demons are saved.

Heart Belief

This is faith from the heart that causes the person to act on his faith.

In addition to knowledge of the facts of the Gospel and the approval of those facts, in order to be saved, we must make a decision to depend on Jesus to save us. We then move from being an interested observer of the facts of salvation and the teachings of the Scriptures to being someone who enters into a new relationship with Jesus Christ as a living person.

True faith in Christ is believing to the extent of receiving Christ as personal Lord and Savior (John 1:12).

Neither knowledge nor assent is true faith; true faith or saving faith involves appropriation. Saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save us. Because saving faith as defined by the Word of God involves personal trust. The word “trust” is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word “faith” or “belief.”

Acts 16:31 says, “And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ … ”; “on” not “in”.

If we are to use an illustration, let’s say a sick man has a bottle of medicine. He believes in the medicine, that if taken he would recover. But if he believes on the medicine, he will act on his belief and actually take the medicine.

Faith is not the blind act of the soul. Instead, faith in God rests upon the best evidence, the infallible Word of God. Faith is trust in the God of the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent, thus making a person receive Him as Savior and Lord, and impels loving obedience and good works on his part.

The faith that saves is a personal trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Works as Evidence of a Genuine Faith

So how can we say that our faith is real or genuine? James, the Lord’s brother, says works are the evidence of genuine faith (James 2:14). We do not add works to faith in order to be saved but genuine faith results in good works because faith without works is dead.

No, James is not in any way contradicting the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith. While Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians place emphasis on justification by faith in order to be saved, James on the other hand while not denying the necessity of faith in order to be saved, was insisting that genuine faith must produce works.

It should be noted that Paul’s focus was on Gentile believers being influenced by Judaizers (Jews who have converted to Christianity) telling them they had to keep the O.T. Law to be justified, while James was addressing believers who claim to have faith but are not displaying the characteristics of genuine faith.

James is protesting the hypocrisy of pretending to have faith without demonstrating it in works (James 2:18).

James is not saying that works are at odds with faith. There can be no “justification by works” because no one can do good works unless he has already faith (trust) in God. James doesn’t mean that faith can exist without works, but any faith that doesn’t lead to works is dead; in other words, it is no faith at all (James 2:26).

Christians are not commanded to work for the benefit of others in need instead of trusting in Christ, or in addition to placing faith in Christ. Christians are expected to work for the benefit of others in need as a result of their faith in Christ.

Conclusion

What kind of faith saves? Faith that is genuine, faith that is living, and produces good works. James 2:15-16 talks about the futility of words without deeds. Like faith without works, words without deeds are empty and meaningless. Faith and works are inseparable.

Faith alone saves us but it must be a living, genuine faith. Genuine faith will produce good works; it will be accompanied by action. James 2:17 says we can tell if faith is alive by seeing if it is accompanied by works, and if it does not have works it is dead, for dead faith produces nothing!

Genuine faith always leads to practical action. We cannot divide the world into practical and spiritual, for the spiritual is practical. James 2:22 says that Abraham’s faith was active along with his works. Therefore, we can never say, “I believe in Jesus and I go to church, but I keep my personal faith out of my works.” James 2:24 challenges us to work out our commitment to Christ in our daily activities.

Every day, we have opportunities to meet the needs of the people we work for and among. It can be as simple as making sure a confused customer finds the right item for their need or noticing that a new co-worker needs help but is afraid to ask. James urges us to take special concern for those who are vulnerable or marginalized, and we may need to practice noticing who these people are at our places of work.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission when you use any links on this page to make a purchase, but at no additional cost to you.

Recommended Resource:

A Deeper Look at James: Faith That Works (Life Guide in Depth) by Andrew T. Le Peau and Phyllis J. Le Peau

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how you can participate in God’s work to bring justice on earth
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What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

By admin | September 2, 2017 | Comments 20 comments

With all the uncertainty surrounding us and the depressing events that we hear and read about every day, good news would be a breath of fresh air. And what better news could there be than the good news of Jesus’ coming to provide forgiveness and salvation to all who believe? This good news is called the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The term “gospel” is the translation of the Greek noun “evangelion” which occurs 76 times in the Greek New Testament; it means good news!

The apostle Paul gives us the basic ingredients of the gospel message in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 namely: the death, burial, resurrection, and the appearances of the risen Christ. These verses are widely recognized by New Testament scholars as an early creed or statement of faith that was systematized long before Paul quoted it.

The Power of the Gospel to Save

In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul reminds them about the gospel that he has preached to them, which they in turn received and firmly stood for. He tells them further that it is through the gospel that they are saved for as long as they will hold firmly to it. Otherwise, they have believed in vain (1 Corinthians 15:1-2. See also Romans 1:16).

Paul was concerned that after he was gone, the Corinthian believers might have forgotten everything he taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. So he emphasized in his letter the importance of holding firmly to it because their salvation depended on it. Paul described it as “of first importance,” stressing priority and that is why upon receiving it, he immediately wanted to pass it on to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:3a).

Paul must have received this “good news” from the apostles Peter and James (the brother of Jesus) when he went to Jerusalem 3 years after he came back from Arabia. It should be noted that when Paul encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he did not meet right away with the apostles in Jerusalem. Instead, he went away to Arabia and then returned to Damascus where he ministered to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15-18).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

A. The Death of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:3

The death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is one of the best-attested facts in history that is almost impossible to doubt or deny. It is attested and recorded by several independent, non-Christian sources and historians such as Josephus (Jewish historian), Tacitus (Roman historian), Thallus (Samaritan-born historian), etc.

But why did Christ have to die? Because ever since the first Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been under the condemnation of sin. The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23) and spending eternity in a place of torment away from God. Everyone is guilty of sin and deserving of punishment in hell (Matthew 25:46).

But God loved the world so much that He made a way for man to be forgiven of their sins and receive eternal life in heaven (John 3:16). God sent His Son Jesus Christ to take on the penalty upon Himself through death on the cross to satisfy God’s justice and to guarantee the salvation of everyone who believes (John 3:15).

B. The Burial of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:4a

Jesus’ burial is an integral part of the gospel because it was an assurance of the reality of His death and resurrection. The fact that He was buried verified His death. How do we know that Jesus died? We know it because He was buried. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin who is said to be a secret follower of Jesus Christ, buried him in his own tomb (Mark 15:43-46; Luke 23:50-53 & John 19:38-42).

The testimony of the actual death of Jesus is so important because if there was any doubt Jesus died, there would be any doubt as to whether the Father had meted out His wrath on Christ. Death is the penalty pronounced on sinners (Romans 6:23) and death is required for atonement (Hebrews 9:22).

So if Jesus had not died we would have no assurance that God’s justice was satisfied and no foundation for believing that our broken relationship with the Father was restored.

C. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:4b

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest event in human life that led to our great salvation. It gives credence, reality, and authenticity to the Christian faith. The resurrection is the core foundation by which Christianity stands or falls.

The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:17-18 that if Christ has not been raised from the dead then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. Moreover, those who have died believing in Christ have perished.

The resurrection is victory over sin; it has destroyed sin and the grave and set humanity free from the bondage of sin and disease. This means that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead sets the believer free to live a new life that destroys sin in his life and has gained victory over sin (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

D. The Appearances of the Risen Christ

1 Corinthians 15:5-8

The appearances of the risen Christ to His disciples and a group of people are as important as His death, burial, and resurrection because they not only verified His resurrection but more importantly, it has become the driving force for His disciples and followers to start proclaiming His resurrection.

Without the postmortem appearances of Jesus Christ, the disciples would not have believed that He was alive.

You see, the disciples felt devastated and defeated after the crucifixion. But after their encounter with the resurrected Christ, they were transformed from being frightened, discouraged, and despondent to being bold, courageous, and outspoken.

Closing Words

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of the good news of salvation offered to mankind by grace through faith in the finished works of Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a message not only of eternal life but one that encompasses the total plan of God to redeem mankind from the ravages of sin and death, from Satan and the curse that is upon all the earth.

Although God does not want anyone to perish but for everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), in the end, not all people will be saved. Only those who place their faith in Jesus will go to heaven (Acts 4:12). The gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news anyone will ever hear, but how each person will respond to this news determines where he or she will spend eternity.

The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles (Romans 1:16). You’ve heard the gospel, the good news of salvation. What are you going to do about it?

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission when you use any links on this page to make a purchase, but at no additional cost to you.

Recommended Resource:

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

A seasoned journalist chases down the biggest story on record in The Case for Christ.

Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, former Chicago Tribune legal editor Lee Strobel cross-examines a dozen experts with tough, point-blank questions in search of credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was positively the Son of God.

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