What is the Lord’s Day? What day is the Sabbath? Does it really matter? Aren’t we under grace and not under the law anymore? Does God really care what day we use for worship and rest? Isn’t the Sabbath only for the Jews? Well, the good news is that the Bible answers all of these questions.
The Lord’s Day is mentioned in Revelation 1:10, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet…”. But, what is the Lord’s day?
In Mark 2:28 it says, “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” See also Matthew 12:8 which basically says the same thing.
In Exodus 20:10 it says, “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:…”
So as we saw in Mark 2:28, Jesus said He was Lord of the Sabbath and here He says the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord.
Nowhere in the Bible is the Lord’s Day connected with the first day of the week (or Sunday). The Lord’s Day is the Sabbath, which is the fourth commandment. Also, nowhere in the Bible will you find a command or verse which commands us to worship/rest on Sunday or the first day of the week.
Here is what some other denominations say about the Sabbath.
Baptist: “There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. …It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week. …Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament–absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.” Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, author of The Baptist Manual, in a paper read before a New York ministers’ conference held Nov. 13, 1893.
Catholic: “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we [Catholics] never sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 16th edition, 1880, p. 111.
Lutheran: “The observance of the Lord’s day [Sunday] is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the church.” Augsburg Confession of Faith, quoted in Catholic Sabbath Manual, Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 10.
Episcopal: “Is there any command in the New Testament to change the day of weekly rest from Saturday to Sunday? None.” Manual of Christian Doctrine, p. 127.
Presbyterian: “A change of the day to be observed from the last day of the week to the first. There is no record, no express command, authorizing this change.” N. L. Rice, The Christian Sabbath, p. 60.
Methodist: “Take the matter of Sunday. There are indications in the New Testament as to how the church came to keep the first day of the week as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling Christians to keep that day, or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day.” Harris Franklin Rall, Christian Advocate, July 2, 1942.
Congregationalist: “It is quite clear that however rigidly or devoutly we spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath…There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday.” Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments, pp. 100-101.
Anglican: “Many people think that Sunday is the Sabbath, but neither in the New Testament nor in the early church, is there anything to suggest that we have any right to transfer the observance of the seventh day of the week to the first. The Sabbath was and is Saturday and not Sunday…” Rev. Lionel Beere, Church and People, September 1, 1947.
Pentecostal: “Why do we worship on Sunday? Doesn’t the Bible teach us that Saturday should be the Lord’s Day?”…Apparently we will have to seek the answer from some other source than the New Testament.” David A. Womack, “Is Sunday the Lord’s Day?”, The Pentecostal Evangel, August 9, 1959, No. 2361, p. 3.
If the major leaders, theologians, writers and speakers of Christian denominations know that the Sabbath is Saturday and not Sunday, then why are they worshipping on Sunday?
Here is a short video that gives some information on the Sabbath from Amazing Facts.
Here is another video that goes into more detail and gives Bible verses to support Saturday as God’s Sabbath. It is part one of three videos.
If this information was interesting or if you want to do more studying on your own, check out our Bible Study page.
Or, go to an excellent website that covers the Sabbath in great detail at www.sabbathtruth.com (a website from Amazing Facts).
“Remember to read your BIBLE,
accept the TRUTH,
and be a LIGHT in this dark world.”
Comments