The Sabbath Question
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Most Christians agree that murder is still wrong.
Most Christians agree that adultery is still wrong.
Most Christians agree that idolatry is still wrong.
So why is the Fourth Commandment treated differently?
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8)
This is not an attack. It is simply a question.
Let's examine the evidence.
1. THE GENTILES ASKED FOR THE NEXT SABBATH
Acts 13:42-44 tells us that after Paul preached, the Gentiles begged him to preach again.
When?
The next Sabbath.
Not the next day.
Not Sunday.
The next Sabbath.
If Sunday worship had already been established as the Christian gathering day, why wait an entire week?
2. ACTS 15 ASSUMES MOSES IS TAUGHT EVERY SABBATH
Acts 15:21 says:
"For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day."
Think carefully about what this means.
The Jerusalem Council did not say Moses had stopped being taught.
They said Moses was still being preached every Sabbath.
How would Gentiles hear Moses if they were not present when Moses was read?
The Sabbath gathering is assumed.
Nobody had to command them to attend because that was already the established day of assembly.
3. PAUL CONTINUED HIS SABBATH CUSTOM
Acts 16
Paul goes to the place of prayer on the Sabbath.
Acts 17
Paul reasons in the synagogue every Sabbath.
Acts 18
Paul persuades both Jews and Gentiles every Sabbath.
The pattern remains consistent.
The question is simple:
Where is the corresponding passage showing Paul gathering Gentile believers every Sunday for weekly worship?
4. THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT STANDS ALONE
When discussing the Ten Commandments, Christians often defend nine of them without hesitation.
Do not murder.
Do not steal.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not worship idols.
Yet when the Sabbath commandment is mentioned, suddenly it becomes:
"It was fulfilled."
"It was nailed to the cross."
"It was only for the Jews."
"It doesn't apply anymore."
Why is the Fourth Commandment the only commandment that requires so many explanations?
5. THE SABBATH CONNECTS THE FIRST FOUR COMMANDMENTS
The Sabbath is not merely a day off.
It is a weekly appointment with God.
Commandment 1:
Have no other gods before Me.
Commandment 2:
Make no idols.
Commandment 3:
Do not take God's name in vain.
Commandment 4:
Remember the Sabbath day.
The Sabbath serves as a weekly reminder of who God is, what He has done, and who we belong to.
Remove the reminder and eventually people forget the One being remembered.
6. THE MARTIN LUTHER CHALLENGE
During the Reformation, Johann Eck challenged Martin Luther concerning the issue of authority.
The challenge can be summarized like this:
"If Scripture alone is your authority, why do you keep Sunday instead of the biblical Sabbath?"
This was not a Sabbath keeper questioning a Sunday keeper.
This was a Sunday keeper questioning another Sunday keeper.
Luther rejected the authority of Rome.
Yet he continued observing Sunday.
The problem was obvious.
If Sunday observance is commanded in Scripture, where is the command?
If the Sabbath was abolished, where is the abolition?
Luther struggled with that challenge because the Bible never plainly states:
"The Sabbath has been replaced by Sunday."
7. THE FINAL QUESTION
Martin Luther was one of the most influential men of the Reformation.
A man greatly used to challenge the errors of his day.
If he could not provide a clear biblical defense for replacing the Sabbath with Sunday, then the question remains:
Can anyone?
Do not accept tradition because it is old.
Do not reject Scripture because it is unpopular.
Study the Scriptures for yourself.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."