PART 4

The Christian Sabbath Day is Sunday

By Nick Bibile

On part three of the Sabbath we saw the middle wall of ceremonial law was broken and the moral value of Sabbath still continues in the church.  Today we are going to see how the day was changed to Sunday.  When the ceremonial law was abolished with the death of Christ on the cross, the reality of the moral law continues with his resurrection.  The new covenant was approved by the Father and established with the resurrection of the Lord and with the New covenant came the new day of worship and that is Sunday.

The New Covenant

The New Covenant was prophesied in the book of Jeremiah.
Let us turn our Bibles to the Book of Jeremiah.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
 
The new covenant refers very clearly to the new covenant that Jesus made with the Church,  to the time of the gospel of grace. This prophecy was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.  This covenant was made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  The Old Testament church was alienated from God.  Then God promises that they would become one body again. They would be united to one house and not two houses. The ceremonial law of the Old Covenant was broken as the middle wall was broken and the outward form of the law was done away and the moral law, the substance of the covenant was exposed by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes and it still continues.  The new covenant was established through his Son Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit came and regenerated us, and made us a  new man,  now there is no outward form of worship as there are no ceremonial laws, no veil of separation as  God speaks to us face to face directly from  the Bible, as the veil is removed and instead of the veil now there is Christ, not a separation but the way to the Father and through Christ we can come directly to the Father.
The author of Hebrews quotes directly from Jeremiah;

Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Ro 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

The ultimate sacrifice was the Lamb of God, with one sacrifice he removed our sins.
Mt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The Resurrection of the Jesus Christ

We do not need anymore sacrifices, as the sacrifice of the Sabbaths were done away, but the worship of the Sabbath still continues.  The sacrifice of the law was nailed to the cross, as Jesus was crucified.  But on the third day, on Sunday early morning he rose from the dead.  He rose with the same body but it was changed from mortal to immortal, from earthly to heavenly. He is still the Lord of the Sabbath, and we worship the Lord of the Sabbath on the Lord's Day which is Sunday. According to Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary the meaning of Sunday is, first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath, the Lord's Day.

Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath, then Sabbath day is centered on the Lord of the Sabbath.  We saw previously in our studies that Sabbath day refers to our redemption, just as the Israelites were redeemed by the hands of Pharaoh the church is redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  Jesus is the center of the Sabbath, it refers to the cross, to the gospel. But the preaching of the gospel is useless if Christ have not risen. Victorious cry of the early Christians was that Christ has risen!  Yes, the Lord of the Sabbath lives and the center of worship was changed from the seventh day to the Lord's day.

Mr 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
 Mr 16:9  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.
 Lu 24:1  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.
 Joh 20:1  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.
 Joh 20:19  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.

The disciples worshipped the Lord on Sunday.

 The worship was changed to Sunday.  The disciples worshipped the Lord Jesus on the resurrection day, Sunday.

Mt 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
 9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Please turn to Luke 10:52

Lu 24:51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

After his resurrection the old sabbath is never mentioned as the day of worship for the church.

The Day of Pentecost was on Sunday.

Pentecost means "fiftieth", found only in the New Testament (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8).  Pentecost was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Passover. The Passover was the day institute to commemorate the redemption of Israelites from Egypt. Jesus was crucified on the preparation day of the Passover and he is the Passover lamb. Pentecost was 50 days after Passover.

Le 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
The ceremony of Pentecost was  always to be the first day of the week, corresponding to our Lord's day. From this day they were to count seven weeks complete, and the fiftieth dlay was to be Pentecost day, we see that the fiftieth day brings us again to the first day of the week. We are told expressly that Christ rose on the first clay of the week. Then we see on Acts 2:1:
Ac 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
It was Sunday when they were in fellowship together in one accord there was the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Early Church Met on Sunday

Ac 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
Ac 20:7  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.
 Ac 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
Ac 20:18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,

Acts 20:7. The apostle Paul was now returning from his famous mission to Macedonia and Achaia in full prospect of captivity at Jerusalem. He stops at the favorite little church of Troas to spend a week with his converts there. "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." Paul preached to the disciples on Sunday, while he had been, as the sixth verse shows, a whole week at Troas, including the Jewish Sabbath. Why did he wait a whole week? Paul could have preached to the church on the Jewish Sabbath day, We learn from verse sixteen that Paul had very little time to spare, because he had to make the whole journey from Philippi to Jerusalem. Paul was in rush, he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, first day of the week Sunday. He was obviously waiting for the church's sacred day in order to join them in their public worship, just as when we go on our missionary trips to the Philippines we like to be there on time for the Sunday morning service. Again we see on verse seven, "When the disciples came together to break bread," show that the first day of the week was the one on which they met to celebrate the Lord's supper. So it appears that this church at Troas, planted and trained by Paul, kept the first day of the week for public worship and the sacrament of communion.

 The Church Offerings were collected on Sunday.

1Co 16:1  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
 2 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.

The next clear instance is in 1Cor. 16:1, 2: "Now, concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 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." We here learn two things: that the weekly offerings was fixed for the Lord's day, and that this rule given not only for the church at Corinth, but for all the churches of Galatia. It is very clear he is speaking to all the churches here. What he is really saying is "Let every one every Sunday morning set apart some money for the ministry.

The Revelation was given to John on the Lord's Day.

Re 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." The apostle was "in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus." We know from history exactly what this means. The pagan magistrates had banished him to this rocky, desolate island in the Ęgean Sea as a punishment for preaching the gospel and testifying that Jesus is our risen Saviour. He was there alone, separated from all his brethren. But he "was in the Spirit on the Lord's day."

We are risen with Christ

Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
 Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

We are risen with Christ and we worship Christ on the day he has separated from all the other days, that is the day of his resurrection, the Lord's Day..

In closing I would like to quote John Calvin.

"But in these days we have the full accomplishment and perfection of all things in Jesus Christ. As proof of this, Saint Paul says that the old man is crucified with him (Rom 6.6). When Paul speaks of the old man he means the things that we have received from Adam, all of which must be done away. He is not speaking of the physical body or of the essence of the soul but of the sinfulness in us. The blindness that makes us go astray, and the wicked lusts and passions which are utterly disobedient to God’s righteousness, must be beaten down because they have come from Adam.
How is this to be done? Not by our own power or effort but by our Lord Jesus Christ who, by dying for us to wipe away our sins so that they would no longer be charged to our account, has purchased for us this prerogative through the power of the Holy Spirit which enables us to forsake the world and ourselves. By this, our sinful desires shall not master us.
Although we are full of disobedience, yet God’s Spirit rules over us to hold down the passions and to keep them in subjection. Therefore it is said that we have risen with him (Christ)"