Sabbath on saturday or sunday?

[antiaging]

No work, no school, worship praise and prayer. That sounds like the sabbath day to me. Why is it that God commands no work on the seventh day, yet we wait till the 1st day to stop working?

Why is it that you worry about this at all, since the New covenant does not have a sabbath law?

Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Romans 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth [it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Matthew 12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift [it] out?

Matthew 12:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Anything that is lawfully good to do on any other day, you may do on the sabbath day.

However, you must be fully persuaded in your own mind about this, like it says in Romans 14:5.

If you think something is a sin, then to you it is a sin. If you think you need a sabbath day, and if you think it would be sinful if you don't have one, then you should observe a sabbath day.

[antiaging]

I have a question. What triggered the new covenant? Was it a specific event? When did it start?

Jeremiah 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:

Jeremiah 31:32 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:

Jeremiah 31:33 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.

Because they did not keep the old covenant. A new one was needed.

Hebrews 8:7 For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

Hebrews 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:

Hebrews 8:9 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.

Hebrews 8:10 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:

[ParanoidAndroid]

No work, no school, worship praise and prayer. That sounds like the sabbath day to me. Why is it that God commands no work on the seventh day, yet we wait till the 1st day to stop working?

Why is it that you worry about this at all, since the New covenant does not have a sabbath law?

I must disagree, antiaging. The Law and the Prophets are still relevant, even in the New Covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to do away with it, and by saying "the New Covenant does not have a sabbath law" is to deny that fundamental piece of our Faith. The Sabbath Law is one of the 10 commandments, it is one of the "big 10" so-to-speak.

So the question becomes not one of whether the Sabbath (which is most definitely Saturday, by the way) still applies, but rather how it applies. On this, Christians who know their Bible are divided. Some will point to Hebrews 4 and say that the Sabbath Rest has been fulfilled to now be a spiritual and eternal rest in heaven with Jesus. This is my preferred belief, and fits in with how many other Old Testament laws have been fulfilled. The physical Law of the Old Testament has been fulfilled to reflect a fuller spiritual truth today.

Other Christians however, will note that all the early Christians (the apostles and disciples) kept the Saturday Sabbath to their dying day, and thus say that Hebrews 4 is not a fulfillment of the Sabbath, but simply a statement of eternal life. These people hold to the belief that Saturday is still the Sabbath.

As I said, I'm an advocate of the first - every day is a Sabbath Rest (though it is good to put aside a day in the week to rest and relax, it's good for stress). I could be wrong though - I see the wisdom in the second explanation. If I am wrong, I can only rely then on God's mercy. And God, who is rich in mercy, will forgive my human frailty. Praise Him and lift his name up.

All the best, antiaging,

~ Regards, PA

[ParanoidAndroid]

I have a question. What triggered the new covenant? Was it a specific event? When did it start?

A good question, kat.

The New Covenant could have began when Jesus took away the sins of the world by dying on the cross. On his death, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, revealing the Most Holy Place (or "Holy of Holies", depending on what translation of the bible you use). This place was only ever accessible by High Priests in the past, but on the death of Jesus, this place was rendered useless, because our High Priest became Jesus, not a human mediator (this is why I don't agree with the Confessional within RCC doctrine, but that's not really the point here). On Jesus' death, his sacrifice made it possible for us to come to God on the strength of the New Covenant.

Of course, this is only one interpretation based on the Bible. Jesus was teaching the New Covenant for 3 years before his crucifixion. One could argue that the New Covenant was instituted upon his birth (or perhaps the beginning of his time of teaching) instead of upon his death. If Jesus was teaching the New Covenant then it stands to reason that he instituted the New Covenant here. This however has the drawback that an integral part of the New Covenant is the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. If the New Covenant was instituted before this time, then it implies that the death was meaningless, only the teaching was important.

And both these answers ignore the role of the resurrection in the gospel story. Jesus' resurrection proved once and for all that victory over death was possible through Jesus. So the resurrection could have been the beginning of the New Covenant.

When it was exactly instituted we can only postulate. I tend to find myself tied up in knots when thinking about this. It feels very much like the chicken-and-the-egg analogy, except that we know the chicken came first because God created it so. Suffice it so say that the New Covenant was instituted by Jesus' life, death and resurrection.......

~ PA

[kat8585]

For those of you who say (correctly) that the new covenant began at the moment of Jesus' death, and that the Jewish Sabbath was no longer in force, can you explain to me Mark 15.41 and 16.1 & 2, and Luke 23.54-24.1? Keep in mind that back then, days went from sundown to sundown. Why were these women still keeping the Sabbath (7th day), "according to the commandment", it says, after His death? Wouldn't His inner circle have known more than anyone that this was no longer necessary? Wouldn't it have been headline news for everyone?

[kat8585]

Come on, surely someone can answer this.

[Guest becca33]

I feel that the sabbath day is what day you chose for you to spend one on one with God just for him. One that is devoted totally to him.

[kat8585]

I feel that the sabbath day is what day you chose for you to spend one on one with God just for him. One that is devoted totally to him.

But that's not Scriptural. According to the texts in my post, the commandment did not change.

[ParanoidAndroid]

For those of you who say (correctly) that the new covenant began at the moment of Jesus' death, and that the Jewish Sabbath was no longer in force, can you explain to me Mark 15.41 and 16.1 & 2, and Luke 23.54-24.1? Keep in mind that back then, days went from sundown to sundown. Why were these women still keeping the Sabbath (7th day), "according to the commandment", it says, after His death? Wouldn't His inner circle have known more than anyone that this was no longer necessary? Wouldn't it have been headline news for everyone?

As I mentioned in a previous post, the apostles and early Christians all kept the Saturday Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) to their dying days. To them, the Sabbath day was still very real. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding on their part. Perhaps the misunderstanding is ours. I'll repost my earlier comment for you (I've edited it slightly for better understanding because it was in response to a person's post):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Law and the Prophets are still relevant, even in the New Covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to do away with it, and by saying "the New Covenant does not have a sabbath law" is to deny that fundamental piece of our Faith. The Sabbath Law is one of the 10 commandments, it is one of the "big 10" so-to-speak.

So the question becomes not one of whether the Sabbath (which is most definitely Saturday, by the way) still applies, but rather how it applies. On this, Christians who know their Bible are divided. Some will point to Hebrews 4 and say that the Sabbath Rest has been fulfilled to now be a spiritual and eternal rest in heaven with Jesus. This is my preferred belief, and fits in with how many other Old Testament laws have been fulfilled. The physical Law of the Old Testament has been fulfilled to reflect a fuller spiritual truth today.

Other Christians however, will note that all the early Christians (the apostles and disciples) kept the Saturday Sabbath to their dying day, and thus say that Hebrews 4 is not a fulfillment of the Sabbath, but simply a statement of eternal life. These people hold to the belief that Saturday is still the Sabbath.

As I said, I'm an advocate of the first belief - every day is a Sabbath Rest (though it is good to put aside a day in the week to rest and relax, it's good for stress - but that is not the Sabbath). I could be wrong though - I see the wisdom in the second explanation. If I am wrong, I can only rely then on God's mercy. And God, who is rich in mercy, will forgive my human frailty. Praise Him and lift his name up.

Edited September 14, 2007 by ParanoidAndroid

[Redefine_Me]

The Law and the Prophets are still relevant, even in the New Covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to do away with it, and by saying "the New Covenant does not have a sabbath law" is to deny that fundamental piece of our Faith. The Sabbath Law is one of the 10 commandments, it is one of the "big 10" so-to-speak.

So the question becomes not one of whether the Sabbath (which is most definitely Saturday, by the way) still applies, but rather how it applies. On this, Christians who know their Bible are divided. Some will point to Hebrews 4 and say that the Sabbath Rest has been fulfilled to now be a spiritual and eternal rest in heaven with Jesus. This is my preferred belief, and fits in with how many other Old Testament laws have been fulfilled. The physical Law of the Old Testament has been fulfilled to reflect a fuller spiritual truth today.

Other Christians however, will note that all the early Christians (the apostles and disciples) kept the Saturday Sabbath to their dying day, and thus say that Hebrews 4 is not a fulfillment of the Sabbath, but simply a statement of eternal life. These people hold to the belief that Saturday is still the Sabbath.

As I said, I'm an advocate of the first belief - every day is a Sabbath Rest (though it is good to put aside a day in the week to rest and relax, it's good for stress - but that is not the Sabbath). I could be wrong though - I see the wisdom in the second explanation. If I am wrong, I can only rely then on God's mercy. And God, who is rich in mercy, will forgive my human frailty. Praise Him and lift his name up.

I really appreciate the balanced approach you took in this response. Thank you