Q&A: Should the Saints Meet on the Sabbath?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Q&A: Should the Saints Meet on the Sabbath?</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Dear M., </div> <bR> <div> You asked about this Scripture from Daniel 7:25, and it has been on my heart recently, and I have reflected upon it some. It states: </div> <bR> <div> Daniel 7:25<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> "He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One,<I><B> and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law</B></I>; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time."<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> There has been a large body of people from the past 2000 years who have understood the anti-Christ to be the Pope. There is a large body of argument to support this point of view, and I suspect that with your own studies in this area that you are quite familiar with this teaching. In 325 AD Constantine convened the Council of Nicea, and one terrible work of this Council was to change dates and times, and a great move was initiated to divert the Christian church away from its Jewish heritage. Pagan festivals and their dates were adopted such as Easter and Christmas (Saturnalia), and the true feasts of God were scorned and treated as mere relics of Judaism that had little to speak to Christianity. Things remain this way to this day, by and large. </div> <bR> <div> So I think there is great support to state that Daniel 7:25 speaks of Constantine who would rightly be considered the first Pope, for it was he that declared Rome to be a Christian Empire, and he was the head of this empire. Those who followed him in this role also have fulfilled the prophecy of the anti-Christ in many ways. </div> <bR> <div> The question remains, however, "Are we as saints in error to meet on Sundays instead of the traditional Sabbath which was sundown Friday to sundown Saturday?" Also, we might ask that which you have alluded to, "Is it a sin to work on the Sabbath?" </div> <bR> <div> In answering these questions I would first state that there is no command anywhere in the New Testament that tells the saints what day they are to meet on. However, there are numerous Scriptures that speak of them in an incidental way as meeting on particular days. Yet even in this we find that the saints did not meet on only one day, but they met on many days. We cannot therefore conclude that there is one specific day that is better for meetings than another. In truth, God has created all seven days of the week and Satan does not own any of them. He has certainly tried to usurp authority by associating certain days with evil things, yet, to those who walk in the light, all such claims of the enemy of ownership of any particular day are mere foolishness. We know that many evil things are planned for October 31, which is called Halloween. Yet to the saint in Christ, this day is merely one more day that Yahweh has made and in which we are called to walk in holiness and truth. </div> <bR> <div> As we look at the habit of the early church in meeting we read these words: </div> <bR> <div> Acts 2:42, 46<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> 42 And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's Supper] and prayers...<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> 46 And <I><B>day after day they regularly assembled </B></I>in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper].</div> <div> Amplified Bible</div> <bR> <div> We read here that the saints were CONSTANTLY devoting themselves to instruction and fellowship. Not just one day a week, but every day, and this certainly included the first day of the week that we call Sunday. We are further told that they REGULARLY ASSEMBLED DAY AFTER DAY. In this we can discern that the assembly of the church was not something that was limited to the Sabbath day, nor was there even any preference given to meeting on a specific day. </div> <bR> <div> What we observe in the book of Acts and elsewhere is that Paul and the other apostles who were sharing the gospel with the Jews often met with the Jews in their synagogues on the Sabbath day. This is mentioned in numerous places. Paul did not do this because meeting on the Sabbath was somehow spiritually better than any other day. He did so because it was the practice of the Jews to meet on the Sabbath in their synagogues, and Paul always went where the people were gathered. If they had met on Tuesdays, we would read in Acts that Paul went to the synagogues on Tuesdays. Paul places no importance on the day that he went to the synagogues. I am sure he went on other days as well when the people were gathered, and if they met every day as did the church in Jerusalem, he would have gone every day as well. </div> <bR> <div> Furthermore, Paul gives us these words: </div> <bR> <div> Colossians 2:16-17<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day -- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. </div> <bR> <div> Paul instructs the church that the laws for Sabbath observances given in the Old Testament were merely shadows given to us to lead us to Christ. Even as the Passover lamb pointed to Christ, so did the Sabbath. We need not sacrifice a lamb every year on Passover anymore, for we now have the substance of Christ, who is our Passover. </div> <bR> <div> I Corinthians 5:7</div> <div> For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.</div> <bR> <div> In the same way, we need not adhere to the strict letter of the law for Sabbath observances for we now have the substance of the Sabbath in Christ. I wrote about what the shadow of the Sabbath points to in the book "SABBATH". It is quite possible for someone to perfectly keep the shadow of the Sabbath and completely miss the substance of it. The Jewish leaders were such people, for they held to the letter of the Law while crucifying the One who is Lord of the Sabbath. In the same way many churches err today, for they have not discerned what it is to enter into the Sabbath rest of God. One does not enter in the Sabbath rest of God by refraining from working one day out of the week. One does so by ceasing from their own labors and doing only the will of the Father. </div> <bR> <div> I would invite you to read the chapter called "Sabbath" in the book by the same name if you are still uncertain about this matter. </div> <bR> <div> Having said this, I will add that I do not believe it would be wrong for the saints to observe the shadows of the Old Testament, such as having a Passover service. Yet what they should do is focus upon the fulfillment of the shadow in Christ. If one failed to see Christ in these shadows then observing the shadows would do them no good. This is true of keeping the Sabbath day as well. If the saints do not understand what the Sabbath speaks of they will merely be adhering to some dead conformity to the letter of the Law and it will profit them nothing. </div> <bR> <div> Concerning the lack of command concerning the Sabbath, it is good to look at the Jerusalem church's instructions to the Gentile believers. We will notice that they deliberately chose NOT to lay the burden of the Law upon them, and they gave them no instruction to observe the Sabbath. </div> <bR> <div> Acts 15:22-27<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas -- Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth."</div> <bR> <div> Some were going out and troubling the converts telling them that they must be circumcised and keep the Law, including observing the Sabbath. The apostles and elders declared that such commands were not right and that they were sources of trouble to the saints, unsettling their souls. There are to this day those who are going around teaching things that are still unsettling the souls of many, declaring such things as you have heard, that the Sabbath must be kept and that Sunday is the Devil's day, and all who meet on Sunday are practicing evil. Such declarations are unsound and they serve only to disturb the peace of the saints. </div> <bR> <div> I trust that these words will minister peace to you concerning the Father's will for you. May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days, </div> <bR> <div> Joseph</div> <bR> <div> E-mail: </div> <div> website: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Georgia" ><A HREF="http://heart4god.ws" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://heart4god.ws"><U><U>http://heart4god.ws</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>