Why Do Christians Not Honor The Sabbath?

[KCKID]

I do not have any sabbath issues , never have

But some people do , and they insist next Saturday is the true Sabbath , not next Sunday

I do not have any problem if Saturday really is the proper Sabbath.

But my question to the Saturday-Sabbath-Purist is ......... "how do you know for sure that next Saturday is the exact multiple of seven day periods from the time the Sabbath law was given to Moses ?"

By-guess or by-golly or by-assumption ?

How long has mankind kept any type of calender "

How many different calendars have their been ?

Was there not a day that "stood still'' in the OT ?

How do we know that "our Saturday" is indeed "Moses Sabbath" accurately carried forward.

Like I said .... it really doesn't matter to me ...... however I feel it is a worthy question to ask the Saturday-Sabbath-Purist who tries to preach that he alone knows when the real sabbath day is.

I have never received a convincing answer .

Perhaps this link will help: http://www.remnantofgod.org/7thdayneverchanged.htm

There is no record of the 7-day week cycle ever having been broken. A Calendar change was made - the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar - but this change never interupted the sequence of the 7-day week cycle. It would seen highly likely that the morning and the evening of the 1st day, the morning and the evening of the second day, the morning and the evening of the third day, etc. etc. are exacly the same as they were from Creation onwards.

 

[JB_Reformed Baptist]

NO change to the moral law, except it's written on the believers heart instead of tables of stone, thereby through the Holy spirit ensuring a heart change and the wherewithal to keep his commandments... . Each commandment from the moral law is fleshed out for our benefit in the OT and given it's full import by Christ in the new.

In regards to the sabbath per say; the Holy spirit is our first endowment/assurance that where HE is we may be also. He therefore applies the nature and mind of Christ to us ensuring victory over the flesh. Christ peace is our peace and rest that we may be assured that we also have rest/peace with God.

Yet we still live in the body. This body labours and groans and such under sin - rest and fellowship in the spirit comforts our soul - therefore the body requires physical rest, as well. The rest appointed for the Israel of God in the OT is the same as for those in the new. We too were in bondage all our days fearful of death but our deliver rescued us and will ultimately bring us to the promised land through Joshua/Jesus unto the heavenly kingdom(promised land) in which a rest(physical/spiritual) shall never cease being a sabbath, because God dwells within our midst.

 

[dragonfly]

Hi KC,

I know this is a small point, but as you claim to have read the BIble time and again, and studied it, I'd have thought you'd have picked up more from Genesis 1...

It would seen highly likely that the morning and the evening of the 1st day, the morning and the evening of the second day, the morning and the evening of the third day, etc. etc. are exacly the same as they were from Creation onwards.

For instance, whether the days began with morning or evening. How could you miss that detail? How many more details do you miss? Now I'm going to labour the point... that God's word informs us that worldlings naturally think backwards or upside down about many things.

Blessings.

 

[KCKID]

Hi KC,

I know this is a small point, but as you claim to have read the BIble time and again, and studied it, I'd have thought you'd have picked up more from Genesis 1...


For instance, whether the days began with morning or evening. How could you miss that detail? How many more details do you miss? Now I'm going to labour the point... that God's word informs us that worldlings naturally think backwards or upside down about many things.

Blessings.

You're correct. I was just trusting to memory but more making the point that a 24-hour day X 7 equals a week and has not changed sequence since Creation. As you pointed out, it should be evening and morning=1 day. Yes, I should have known better but I got it wrong. In my mind 'morning' starts a new day. An easy mistake to have made. The point of your post, however, is not to set the record straight but to attempt to discredit me on all issues. What is wrong with you people?

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

The point of your post, however, is not to set the record straight but to attempt to discredit me on all issues. What is wrong with you people?

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

DIEHARD SDA .... I proclaim that Saturday is the true Sabbath in my New York church

ARNIE.M ..... fine .... when does it officially start and end

DIEHARD SDA ..... Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown

ARNIE M. ..... fine ..... but in California , sundown will be a couple of hours later than here .... right ?

DIEHARD SDA ...... hmmmm , yes I suppose it will

ARNIE M. ..... and what about Australia ..... it is tomorrow there already so yesterday was really the Sabbath

DIEHARD SDA ..... hmmmm .... well OK .... you got me there

ARNIE M. .... and in the arctic there is no sunrise or sundown in the winter .... what shall the arctic SDA congregation do ??

DIEHARD SDA ..... hmmmm .... let me think on that for a while

ARNIE M. ... why not use Greenwich Mean Time and just use the 7th 24 hour period for everybody to use as sabbath

DIEHARD SDA ..... hey maybe that would work

ARNIE M. .... but you realize that at that precise 24 hour period it will be on a friday in some places , a saturday in some places , and Sunday in some places

DIEHARD SDA .... hmmm .... i see what you mean .... any suggestions ?

ARNIE M. .... yes .... how about we all just work 6 days and observe the 7th as sabbath wherever we are

DIEHARD SDA .... hmmm ... great idea .... lets do that

ARNIE M. .... and what if that 7th day happens to be a Sunday on my calendar

DIEHARD SDA .... hmmm ... now I see your point

 

[KCKID]

DIEHARD SDA .... I proclaim that Saturday is the true Sabbath in my New York church

ARNIE.M ..... fine .... when does it officially start and end

DIEHARD SDA ..... Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown

ARNIE M. ..... fine ..... but in California , sundown will be a couple of hours later than here .... right ?

DIEHARD SDA ...... hmmmm , yes I suppose it will

ARNIE M. ..... and what about Australia ..... it is tomorrow there already so yesterday was really the Sabbath

DIEHARD SDA ..... hmmmm .... well OK .... you got me there

ARNIE M. .... and in the arctic there is no sunrise or sundown in the winter .... what shall the arctic SDA congregation do ??

DIEHARD SDA ..... hmmmm .... let me think on that for a while

ARNIE M. ... why not use Greenwich Mean Time and just use the 7th 24 hour period for everybody to use as sabbath

DIEHARD SDA ..... hey maybe that would work

ARNIE M. .... but you realize that at that precise 24 hour period it will be on a friday in some places , a saturday in some places , and Sunday in some places

DIEHARD SDA .... hmmm .... i see what you mean .... any suggestions ?

ARNIE M. .... yes .... how about we all just work 6 days and observe the 7th as sabbath wherever we are

DIEHARD SDA .... hmmm ... great idea .... lets do that

ARNIE M. .... and what if that 7th day happens to be a Sunday on my calendar

DIEHARD SDA .... hmmm ... now I see your point

The DIEHARD SDA is somewhat dumb in your scenerio, Arnie. While there are naturally time differences in different hemispheres the day we are now in is relative to the hemisphere that we are in. You mentioned Australia, when it's Friday sundown here (say, 6pm) it's approximately (we can't accurately call it because of different time zones, etc.) 12am Thursday in the states. So, while an SDA might be beginning the Sabbath, those stateside will still have to wait 18 hours or so before their Sabbath begins. Apply the same relative principle to every hemisphere in the world and it all works out okay.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

The DIEHARD SDA is somewhat dumb in your scenerio, Arnie. While there are naturally time differences in different hemispheres the day we are now in is relative to the hemisphere that we are in. You mentioned Australia, when it's Friday sundown here (say, 6pm) it's approximately (we can't accurately call it because of different time zones, etc.) 12am Thursday in the states. So, while an SDA might be beginning the Sabbath, those stateside will still have to wait 18 hours or so before their Sabbath begins. Apply the same relative principle to every hemisphere in the world and it all works out okay.

You think I dont know that ?

I like to screw with the heads of my SDA friends here in the Canadian Central Standard Time Zone.
(ps: they really are my good friends .... and they are wonderful Christians)

They like to chide me on Sunday and tell me yesterday was the true sabbath
They are trying to screw with my head in a religious manner

So I tell them I just arrived from New Zealand and today (Sunday) is really yesterday (Saturday in New Zealand) and I am exactly correct to observe the sabbath today (Sunday)

As I said earlier ..... technically my view is that Saturday is the seventh day and is probably the true sabbath according to our Gregorian calendars .... i have no problem with that whatsoever

But in the North American society where I was born and raised .... we "loosely" treat Mondays as our first day of the week and Sunday as our day off .... which of course ends up being our seventh day of rest.

My motive in all this ?

Removing the worries from my SDA friends who think I am going to hell because I flew in from New Zealand last night

 

[KCKID]

You think I dont know that ?

I'm sure you do. But others might not have and I've got a feeling that they hang on to your every word, Arnie . . .

I like to screw with the heads of my SDA friends here in the Canadian Central Standard Time Zone.
(ps: they really are my good friends .... and they are wonderful Christians)

That's nice to know. Many mainstreamers regard these folks as cultists. As long as they keep the Ellen G. White stuff down to a minimum many of them are pretty cool.

They like to chide me on Sunday and tell me yesterday was the true sabbath
They are trying to screw with my head in a religious manner

Well, if it's Sunday ...yesterday WAS the Sabbath.

So I tell them I just arrived from New Zealand and today (Sunday) is really yesterday (Saturday in New Zealand) and I am exactly correct to observe the sabbath today (Sunday)

As I said earlier ..... technically my view is that Saturday is the seventh day and is probably the true sabbath according to our Gregorian calendars .... i have no problem with that whatsoever

But in the North American society where I was born and raised .... we "loosely" treat Mondays as our first day of the week and Sunday as our day off .... which of course ends up being our seventh day of rest.

My motive in all this ?

Removing the worries from my SDA friends who think I am going to hell because I flew in from New Zealand last night

Hey now ...SDAs don't believe in hell in the conventional sense! They don't believe that God could be so tyrannical that He would allow His creations to be tormented in hell forever. So, those who are among 'the unsaved' will, according to SDAs, be annihilated. The term, tormented for ever is symbolic. While neither makes too much sense to me I think I'd opt for the SDA belief which CAN be backed up with scripture, I quickly add.

 

[Trumpeter]

God set the example by He Himself resting on the seventh day of creation, whereby we should also rest on the seventh day, the day the Creator blessed. God gave us the Sabbath as a gift of rest for us to spend with Him, a sign between us and Him, refreshing our spirit, faith and body. Although it is to be accepted as a gift for all those who take joy in God's Sabbaths, it is not optional, it is to be obeyed, a commandment of the Most High. Just as we are not to worship any other gods, nor make any graven image, nor misuse God..s name, nor dishonor our parents, nor kill, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, nor covet, neither should we forget the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Nor should we keep it on any other day; the seventh day of each week we shall keep it without question! We must ask ourselves if God made it so important as to make it one of the Ten Commandments, why then do we rationalize it as not being as important as the other nine? Are not all God..s commands to be obeyed exactly as He has written them, or are we and the churches so arrogant that we have any say in the Commandments of God, that we might change them to suit ourselves?

Commemorating any other day would say that we do not honor His act of creation because we are changing the day of rest. God did not rest on the first day, then proceed to do His work for the following six, but He worked for six, and rested on the seventh. To not honor the seventh day acknowledges that we do not truly appreciate His gift of creation, nor do we accept His gift of the Sabbath, a day that we are supposed to share with Him, by honoring Him, speaking of Him, and worshipping Him.

If our minds are consumed by housework, yard work, our careers, shopping, sports activities, etc., then we have not given that day to Him, but only to ourselves. The fourth commandment states specifically how to honor the Sabbath...no work for anyone in your household, including servants and animals and no buying or selling. God states to ..keep it holy.. meaning no sinful behavior, always keeping Him first and foremost in our minds and hearts; also, to speak of Him constantly and to fill our houses with prayer and worship.

To not honor the Sabbath, the seventh day, is to not honor God. Breaking the fourth commandment is as serious offense as is breaking any of the other commandments.
In the United States, the seventh day on any calendar is Saturday. There is no room for disagreement. Either your calendar says Saturday is the seventh day, or it doesn..t. Sunday has not become the seventh day, nor has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. In other areas of the world, they should also observe the Sabbath on the seventh day of each week.

 

[KCKID]

God set the example by He Himself resting on the seventh day of creation, whereby we should also rest on the seventh day, the day the Creator blessed. God gave us the Sabbath as a gift of rest for us to spend with Him, a sign between us and Him, refreshing our spirit, faith and body. Although it is to be accepted as a gift for all those who take joy in God's Sabbaths, it is not optional, it is to be obeyed, a commandment of the Most High. Just as we are not to worship any other gods, nor make any graven image, nor misuse God..s name, nor dishonor our parents, nor kill, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, nor covet, neither should we forget the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Nor should we keep it on any other day; the seventh day of each week we shall keep it without question! We must ask ourselves if God made it so important as to make it one of the Ten Commandments, why then do we rationalize it as not being as important as the other nine? Are not all God..s commands to be obeyed exactly as He has written them, or are we and the churches so arrogant that we have any say in the Commandments of God, that we might change them to suit ourselves?

Commemorating any other day would say that we do not honor His act of creation because we are changing the day of rest. God did not rest on the first day, then proceed to do His work for the following six, but He worked for six, and rested on the seventh. To not honor the seventh day acknowledges that we do not truly appreciate His gift of creation, nor do we accept His gift of the Sabbath, a day that we are supposed to share with Him, by honoring Him, speaking of Him, and worshipping Him.

If our minds are consumed by housework, yard work, our careers, shopping, sports activities, etc., then we have not given that day to Him, but only to ourselves. The fourth commandment states specifically how to honor the Sabbath...no work for anyone in your household, including servants and animals and no buying or selling. God states to ..keep it holy.. meaning no sinful behavior, always keeping Him first and foremost in our minds and hearts; also, to speak of Him constantly and to fill our houses with prayer and worship.

To not honor the Sabbath, the seventh day, is to not honor God. Breaking the fourth commandment is as serious offense as is breaking any of the other commandments.
In the United States, the seventh day on any calendar is Saturday. There is no room for disagreement. Either your calendar says Saturday is the seventh day, or it doesn..t. Sunday has not become the seventh day, nor has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. In other areas of the world, they should also observe the Sabbath on the seventh day of each week.

Wow ...good for you! While I'd be a fibbing if I was to say that I honor the 7th-day as well as I might these days I do appreciate those who are committed to what they believe as long as that belief does not lead to the discriminating and the demeaning of anyone else. As I stated previously, when I was an active member of the SDA Church I pretty well looked forward to the Sabbath because, as suggested in Isaiah, it was truly a delight. Thanks for your post.

 

[Trumpeter]

Throughout the Old Testament, the Sabbath is always referred to as the seventh day, not the first. Specific instructions are given to us, including rest for all, no buying or selling, and to keep the Sabbath holy. Those who keep the Sabbath, the seventh day, as God has commanded, will be rewarded. Please note the following Old Testament evidence that God commanded His People to keep the Sabbath :

Genesis 2:2-3 ~ God Rested on the Seventh Day and Blessed It
(2) And on the SEVENTH DAY God ended His work which He had made; and He RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the SEVENTH DAY, and sanctified it; because that in it He had RESTED from all His work which God created and made.

Exodus 16:23-30 ~ Rest on the Sabbath, the Seventh Day
(23) And He said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. (24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade. And it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. (25) And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a Sabbath unto the Lord. Today ye shall not find it in the field. (26) Six days ye shall gather it; but on the SEVENTH DAY, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none. (27) And it came to pass, that they went out some of the people on the SEVENTH DAY for to gather, and they found none. (28) And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws? (29) See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the SEVENTH DAY (30) So the people rested on the SEVENTH DAY. (31) And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna. And it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Exodus 20:8-11 ~ The 4th Commandment: Honor the Sabbath, the Seventh Day, and Keep It Holy
(8) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work, (10) But the SEVENTH DAY is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. (11) For in six days the Lord made Heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and RESTED THE SEVENTH DAY. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 23:12 ~ The Servants Are Not Allowed To Work on the Sabbath, the Seventh Day
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the SEVENTH DAY thou shalt rest. That thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Exodus 34:21 ~ Rest on the Sabbath, the SEVENTH DAY, Even During Harvest Time
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest. In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Leviticus 23:3 ~ The SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH of Rest, a Holy Convocation
Six days shall work be done. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no work therein. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

Leviticus 26:2-4 ~ Those Who Keep God..s Commandments Are Rewarded
(2) Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary. I am the Lord. (3) If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them, (4) then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 ~ Obey the 4th Commandment, Honor the Sabbath, the Seventh Day
(12) Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. (13) Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work. (14) But the SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH of the Lord thy God. I it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. (15) And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm. Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah 10:31 ~ No Buying or Selling on the Sabbath
And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day. And that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

Nehemiah 13:15 ~ No Buying or Selling on the Sabbath
In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.

Isaiah 56:2, 6 ~ Blessed Are All Those, Including Foreigners, Who Keep the Sabbath
(2) Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. (6) Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant.

Isaiah 58:13-14 ~ Those Who Keep The Sabbath Are Rewarded
(13) If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor find thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, (14) then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaiah 66:23 ~ Worship the Lord on the Sabbath Day
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:21-22 ~ Bear No Burdens on the Sabbath Day, But Keep It Holy
(21) Thus saith the Lord: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. (22) Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

Ezekiel 20:12-13 ~ Punishment for Those Who Do Not Keep God's Commands
(12) Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. (13) But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They walked not in My statutes, and they despised My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted. Then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

Ezekiel 20:19-20 ~ Keeping God..s Statutes Is a Sign Between God and You
(19) I am the Lord your God. Walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them. (20) And hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

 

[Wormwood]

Trumpeter,

Yes, the Sabbath is a Saturday, the last day of the week. Yet church history shows that after Christ's resurrection, the Christians began to meet and worship on the first day of the week in commemoration of the resurrection and the completed work of Christ. However, I find your arguments for the necessity of observing the Sabbath today wanting. We could list hundreds of passages on circumcision to try to make that a command for Christians today. "Whether born of your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant" (Gen. 17:13). So why does Paul argue that to force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs is contrary to the grace we have in Christ? "So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified" (Gal 2:16). Moreover, Paul claims that anyone who is circumcised in a desire to be justified by law falls from grace and Christ becomes of no value to them at all (Gal. 5:2-6)!

Acts 15 makes it very plain that the only requirements the early church made of Gentiles entering the faith was to abstain from meat of strangled animals, blood and sexual immorality. There is no command for Gentiles to observe any ritual cleansings, feasts, dietary laws or observances of special days (such as the Sabbath). Clearly, these things were seen as elements which pointed to what we have received by faith in Christ rather than as additional observances that must be coupled with faith in Christ to display true obedience. Otherwise, why would the observance of the Sabbath not be mentioned to Gentiles who would be clueless about whether or not Sabbath observance was important? Hebrews makes it clear that the Sabbath points to the reality of the rest from works that we receive by faith in Christ. The reality of these things are found in Christ and to couple legalistic observance with faith in Christ is to diminish the power of Christ's work and undermine the faith.

Show me one epistle that says Christians must keep the Sabbath day. One would think of all the letters God had preserved in Paul's writing to Gentile believers that this would be mentioned at least once. But it is never mentioned. Rather, quite the opposite. We are told not to let anyone judge us by the observances of special days and feasts. Do not try to snatch the wonderful freedom believers in Christ possess to yoke them with a list of commands. We do not live by commands but by faith in Christ expressed in love.

 

[Trumpeter]

Jesus Christ and His disciples kept the Sabbath as commanded in the 4th commandment. Jesus not only kept all of the commandments, but told us they will be kept forever, and that not even one of these commandments will pass away. As a person choosing to follow Jesus, His ways become our ways. The examples He gave us throughout His ministry on earth should also be kept today, without question. The New Testament gives us numerous examples of Jesus honoring the Sabbath day:

Matthew 12:10-12 ~ It is Good to do Good on the Sabbath
(10) And behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? That they might accuse Him. (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 of it, and lift it out? (12) How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.

Matthew 24:20-21 ~ The Sabbath Should Be Kept Even in the Last Days
(20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. (21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (In this verse, Jesus is referring to the last days.)

Mark 2:23-28 ~ Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath; The Fulfillment of Personal Needs is Allowed on the Sabbath (eating, sleeping, etc.)
(23) And it came to pass, that He went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. (24) And the Pharisees said unto Him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? (25) And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? (26) How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? (27) And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. (28) Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Luke 4:16 ~ Jesus Taught On The Sabbath
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Mark 3:1-5 ~ Jesus Helped Others on the Sabbath
(1) And He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there which has a withered hand. (2) And they watched Him, whether He would heal Him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse Him. (3) And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. (4) And He saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. (5) And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out. And his hand was restored whole as the other.

Luke 23:55-56 ~ Jesus.. Disciples Rested and Kept the Sabbath, Even During Jesus' Death, As He Also Kept the Sabbath Even in Death
(55) And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how His body was laid. (56) And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.

Acts 13:14 ~ Christ..s Apostles Kept the Sabbath
But when they departed form Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.

James 2:10-11 ~ In Breaking One of the Commandments, We Transgress the Whole Law
(10) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (11) For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the Law.
Luke 16:17 ~ The Law, the Ten Commandments, Will Never Pass Away
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the Law to fail.

[Note: Jesus is saying it is easier for the skies (heaven) and earth to fade or be destroyed than even one point or word of the Law of God to be changed or destroyed. They are written as it were, in ..everlasting stone... The Ten Commandments stand forever; only the laws found in ordinances have passed away, having been nailed to the cross with Jesus. - Colossians 2:14]

 

[Episkopos]

Circumcision or no circumcision (in the flesh) profits nothing. But circumcision of the heart according to the Spirit does...

Taking a breather on a certain day has fleshly benefits but profits nothing in eternity. But ceasing from dead works to walking in Sabbath rest in the Spirit...does!

 

[Wormwood]

Trumpeter,

You are in great error in assigning the Ten Commandments as a special part of the Law. There was no distinction (and still there is no distinction) among Jews concerning the law (nomos) as being particular to the Ten Commandments. The law referred to all the commandments and covenant requirements for Israel. Thus, when Paul refers to the law, he refers to circumcision as part of the law (though it is not in the ten commandments). Thus, your distinctions of what laws should be maintained because they are 10 commandments or whatever else simply are imposed on the text. There is nothing in Paul or James' writings that suggest that the Ten Commandments were a special part of the law that were binding. In the same way, your claim that Jesus says that because the law will never pass away that he is actually referring to the Ten Commandments is completely foreign to the teachings of the New Testament and the Jewish notion of the law. As you go through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus only occasionally refers to the Ten Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount, but speaks of legal issues such as oaths, divorce, eye for an eye, fasting, loving your neighbor, and other "acts of righteousness." Again, if you want to uphold the law as mandatory for our observance, then you have to keep all of it (as James suggests).

The only "epistle" you reference is James. This is totally taken out of context. James is making the OPPOSITE point you are suggesting. For he says, "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment." The point is that Christians who are being judgmental and playing favorites toward the rich are acting as if they live under the law of judgment which values people based on their merits. James is saying that if you operate in this way, you will be judged in this way. If we do not treat people with love and mercy, but stand as judges over them, we will be judged by the very law we are ALL guilty of breaking. We are all lawbreakers, even you. Which means you yourself are a Sabbath breaker and are seeking to establish your righteousness by a law you have already broken rather than on the law that brings freedom.

 

[Trumpeter]

There are only eight references in the Bible to the first day of the week, none of them referring to the Sabbath (five of them refer to the day when the tomb was found empty). Jesus rose from the dead Saturday evening, having rested on the Sabbath, the last day of the week.

The Biblical Chronology of Jesus Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection:

Tuesday: Jesus Christ ate an evening Passover meal with His disciples (at the beginning of Nisan 14*, biblical reckoning) and instituted the New Covenant symbols (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus was then betrayed by Judas, arrested and during the night brought before the high priest.

Wednesday: Jesus was crucified and died around 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:46-50). This was the preparation day for the annual, not weekly, Sabbath, which began at sunset (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31). Jesus.. body was placed in the tomb just before sunset (Matthew 27:57-60).

Thursday: This was the high-day Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread (John 19:31; Leviticus 23:4-7). It is described as the day after the ..Day of Preparation.. (Matthew 27:62).

Friday: The high-day Sabbath now past, the women bought and prepared spices for anointing Jesus.. body before resting on the weekly Sabbath day, which began at Friday sunset (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56).

Saturday: The women rested on the weekly Sabbath, according to the Fourth Commandment (Luke 23:56; Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus rose near sunset, exactly three days and three nights after burial, fulfilling the sign of Jonah and authenticating the sign He gave of His messiah-ship.

Sunday: The women brought the prepared spices early in the morning while it was still dark (Luke 24:1; John 20:1), finding that Jesus had already risen (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24:2-3; John 20:1). He did not rise on Sunday morning, but near sunset the day before.

* Nisan is the first month of the civil year and the seventh month (eighth, in leap year) of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. **Also note that a Biblical day was from sunset to sunset.

 

[Wormwood]

“The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” (1 Timothy 1:5–7, NIV84)


“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,” (1 Timothy 1:8–9, NIV84)

 

[Trumpeter]

The Jewish people have carefully kept the Saturday Sabbath for many millennia. Since the ancient Israelites defined sundown as the end of a day, the Sabbath runs from local sundown on Friday night until sundown on Saturday. With all of these references to the observance of the Saturday Sabbath found in the history of the Jewish people, the life of Christ, and the practices of disciples and other followers of Christ, one would naturally assume that Christian churches would have continued with the Jewish Sabbath. So tightly linked is Saturday to the Sabbath that in over 100 languages (one source says 160) the name for Saturday is some variation of the word "Sabbath".

The following is a partial list:
Afrikaans - Sabado
Arabic - Sabt
Armenian - Shabat
Catalan - Dissabte
Czech - Sobota
Esperanto - Sabato
German - Samstag, Sonnabend
Hebrew - Shabbat
Hungarian - Szombat
Italian - Sabato
Latin - Sabbata; Sabbatum
Polish - Sobota
Portugese - Sabado
Romanian - Simba tu
Swedish - Sabbat
Serbia - Subota
Slovak - Sobota
Spanish - Sabado
Yiddish - Schabes

 

[Wormwood]

I don't see anyone arguing that the Sabbath is not Saturday. The early church also understood this. The reason worship was switched to Sunday had nothing to do with a confusion about what the Sabbath means or what day it was observed. So I don't see your point here.

I don't know of any NT scholars that argue for Jesus being crucified on a Wednesday. John says it was the "paraskeue tou pascha" which literally means the preparation of the Passover. Friday was the preparation day for the Sabbath of Passover week. It could also mean Thursday, as the time of preparation for the upcoming Passover. However, Friday would mesh with the Synoptics which clearly say that the day after Jesus death was the day after "the day of Preparation" (Matthew). The day of preparation was the day everyone gathered for the Sabbath...which was clearly Friday.

Mark puts it even more clearly as he says ,

“Καὶ ἤδη ὀψίας γενομένης, ἐπεὶ ἦν παρασκευὴ ὅ ἐστιν προσάββατον,” (Mark 15:42, NA27)

The ESV translates this well saying, "And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,” (Mark 15:42, ESV)

Jesus was certainly NOT crucified on Wednesday. The Gospels say nothing of the sort.