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Sunday Laws in America

MY WORK INVOLVES, among other tasks, editing and preparing for publication materials for a wide variety of clients. At the moment, I'm working on a book setting forth the history of so-called Sunday "blue laws." 
The very first such law was enacted in the colony of Virginia in 1610, and read as follows: 

"Every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached upon the Sabbath day, and in the afternoon to divine service, and catechising, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provision and the allowance for the whole week following; for the second, to lose the said allowance and also be whipt; and for the third to suffer death." 

Get that? Attend services both morning and afternoon—or face the early-American version of "three strikes and you're out." Strike one: lose your food allowance for a week. Strike two: lose your food allowance for a week and be whipped. Strike three: kiss your life goodbye. And this was not some totalitarian country, some atheistic dictatorship such as China or North Korea or Cuba. Nor was it some theocratic regime such as Iran. It was America. 

Other colonies besides Virginia had their own Sunday laws, requiring attendance at services and forbidding everything from working to sports and recreation to swearing and "tippling" at the taverns. Punishments included fines of money and up to 200 pounds of tobacco, being locked in the public stocks, jail time, and again, in "grievous" cases, death. 

Captain Kemble of Boston, Massachusetts, was in 1656 locked in the public stocks for two hours for kissing his wife on the Sabbath (Sunday) after spending three years at sea. The charge? "Unseemly behavior." 

Even newly elected president George Washington was not exempt from punishment under Sabbath laws. As he traveled from Connecticut to a town in New York to attend worship service one Sunday in 1789, Washington was detained by a tithingman for violating Con_necticut's law forbidding unnecessary travel on Sunday. Wash_ington was permitted to continue on his journey only after he promised to go no farther than his destination town. 

While this early religious legislation in America may sound inflexible and harsh, it's the natural and inevitable result of removing the wall of separation between church and state—between religion and government. It's the sure end when some attempt to force the consciences and moral behaviors of others. 

And some of us believe that as that wall of separation continues to crumble in the United States, the likelihood is great—should that effort fully succeed—of an America where once again the state could exact penalties for religious violations—penalties up to and including death. 

The intolerant militance of America's Religious Right should give anyone pause who prizes true religious freedom. Many leaders and jurists of the Religious Right either deny the religious-freedom protections intended by the First Amendment or hope to change or abolish that amendment. 

As government increasingly strips away the rights of its citizens and intrudes into their privacy, and as the religio-political Right becomes increasingly aggressive in attempting to legislate personal morality and behavior, the likelihood also increases that at some point, mandatory church attendance—and on a day incompatible with the beliefs of many—could easily come up for a congressional vote. 

America once imposed the death penalty for those in violation of compulsory Sunday church attendance. All signs point to the strong possibility that history could be repeated, even here in the land of the "so-far" free. 

Even were I a Sunday-keeping Christian, I'd find this use of state legislation to enforce religious observance troubling or even appalling. As a Saturday-Sabbathkeeping Christian, my concern and watchfulness is understandably even greater. 

Responses to "Sunday Laws in America" 

Brian Hanley On December 18, 2007 at 6:33 am 

You are trying to take the worst example and pretend that was the normal punishment given for a Sunday-closing law violation—however, the punishment for most was a small fine (most of the time it was a warning). You may be unaware of this but our first President, George Washington, was stopped for excessive travel on Sunday and was merely asked to stop at the next town— which he did. 

When you are going back that far—all punishments were harsh in those days. The death penalty was given for several crimes including rape—does this mean we should run away from all laws forbidding rape? Your argument does not hold water—and I know you are smarter than that. 

There is another way to look at this and I hope you stop to consider it. That is Sunday-closing laws were the first labor laws of this nation whereby the rich where forced into giving labor a break. That is right—the blue-collar workers worked 12-hour days, 6 days a week, and if these laws were not in place they would have worked them 7 days a week. Many a slave would have been worked to death if it were not for the mandatory Sunday-closing laws. 

Sunday-closing legislation has been on the books for many states for two hundred years and have been supported by blue-collar workers, and churches. On the other hand, it has been secularists (that are not in retail) that already have Sunday off and big business that supported the removal of Sunday-closing laws. 

One of the main arguments given to discontinue the blue laws is that they are out of date for today's society. However, nothing is further from the truth. Like all of God's laws, blue laws are timeless. If anything, they are more compatible and necessary today than at any other time in history. Sunday-closing laws are compassionate legislation that is pro-God, pro-family, pro-environment, and pro-labor. 

You may be surprised to read that Sunday-closing laws are pro-environment—but that's obvious. In 1682 Pennsylvania law stated "that, according to the example of the primitive Christians, and for the ease of the Creation, Every first day of the week, called the Lord's day, People shall abstain from their usual and common toil and labour." What people do not understand as they open more businesses on Sunday [is] they are burning more fuel and putting more pollutants into the air. An enlightened society would be concerned about this and seek the reduction of pollutants one day a week. 

Also, according to a recent study in New Mexico after lifting its ban on Sunday sales of packaged alcohol, there [were] an additional 543 alcohol-related crashes and 42 alcohol-related crash deaths during five years after the ban was lifted. Second, from a study from a MIT professor, the lifting of blue laws has been linked to withdrawal from church and a higher level of drinking and doing drugs. 

Many older adults in America remember fondly the blue laws from when they were children. They remember the empty store parking lots and the church's lots being fuller. Sundays evoke memories of spending quality time at home with the family and also having at least one pause each week to reflect upon the important things in life. Looking back, many lament when they reflect on what has been taken from them by big businesses. 

Ken On December 18, 2007 at 7:30 am 

Thanks much, Brian, for your thoughts. I hope at least some of my blog visitors will click on your name so they can see your extensive pro-blue laws website. I'm impressed by your work there! 
While I don't see eye-to-eye with you on everything you've noted, one purpose of my blog posts is to stimulate discussion and explore varying viewpoints. 
One area where I see things differently is on this statement you made: "Like all of God's laws, blue laws are timeless." 

I personally agree that God's laws . . . as set forth in the Bible, and especially in the Ten Commandments . . . are timeless. But I don't agree that blue laws are a part of God's eternal law. As I view it, those are extra-biblical and post-biblical legal constructs developed by government entities, not set forth by God. 

And if it's believed that blue laws are implicit in the fourth commandment, then the question remains as to which day the "seventh day" in this commandment actually is. Millions around the world are convinced that the seventh day is indeed Saturday, not Sunday the first day . . . that the attempted and largely successful "change" from Saturday to Sunday was predicted in the Bible . . . and that the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment is still in effect today. 

And though blue laws may indeed have some salutary effects, I personally oppose any effort by government to legislate when it comes to matters of worship and how one practices his/her faith. I am even more inalterably opposed to such legislation when it attempts to force me to violate my conscientious convictions of what I understand the Word to be telling me to do. 

Some may see this matter differently than I and my church do, and I honor their freedom to live according to their own convictions. I only ask that others honor my freedom to do the same without legal force or sanction. Freedom of conscience dies when the state intrudes to legislate religious belief or practice. 

Alex - aka Appointed On December 19, 2007 at 9:20 am 

Great post again Ken. And, Brian, you pose some interesting points in your argument. But like Ken, I also must disagree in certain areas. Since Ken already made some strong counter points, I would like to add just a few more. 

Brian, you made a nice point about the increase in drinking, accidents involving drinking, and lower church attendance on Sundays as a result of removing blue laws. Though I have not personally verified those details, I can see how that is completely possible and I think most likely true. While it is good to keep church attendance up and drunk drivers off the streets, there is still no reason to enforce religious observances or regulations on anyone. Especially regarding church attendance I ask—of those people who left the churches after the blue laws were dropped, how many of them were truly going to church because that's where they preferred and desired to be? 

Now regarding the labor and economy aspect of the situation. While I agree it is good for everyone to take one day off per week, both from work (both public and private) and unnecessary travel (to reduce pollutants if you want to word it that way), I must disagree that Sunday blue laws are the answer. They are not in fact the answer. While they would accomplish this goal, it would be a violation of both God's Word and the conscience of millions of people! It is also against our Constitution. 

Brian, you also made a very weak point when you argued that because the old laws were especially harsh, in comparison to laws of today for similar crimes, should we thus avoid "all" laws regarding those crimes. That is an unfair statement as that is not what Ken was implying, nor does it make any sense to do such a thing. There is a big difference between rape and not keeping Sunday holy. Rape violates another person. Not keeping Sunday is only going to irritate people who believe in keeping Sunday (a day instituted by man and not God). 

Brian, in your argument you pointed out several reasons why blue laws are good and that as a result of those good points that we should not only keep existing blue laws but also implied more would be beneficial. My biggest point is this: it is not a good nor safe idea to suggest or support a law simply because of some good points when there are at least equally bad points! 

Here's an example: God told Adam (and thus Eve), (essentially) "Don't take from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you do you will surely die!" But Satan persuaded Eve (and thus Adam) to take the fruit on reasons that were considered good. . . . "Don't you see the fruit is good for food, and it is desirable because it will make you wise! Surely God would not keep such a good thing from you. Go ahead and take it, surely you will not die." 

Brian, while I agree that it would be good for action to be taken to ensure all people have the freedom to take one day off per week to abstain from work, I must insist that any legislation regarding such a thing be void of specifying any particular day. When specifying a particular day it violates not only the conscience but also the religious beliefs of millions of people. 

Religious freedom/liberty is extremely important, and our government should not establish any laws that dictate what an individual believes or practices. 
As much as I'd like everyone else in the world to believe the same as I believe and to practice the same religious observances as I do, I at the same time respect the right of each individual to choose for themselves what they believe and what they practice, and that freedom is highly valuable to all individuals. If it were not so valuable, then God would not have given it to Adam and Eve, and sin would have never reached mankind. God values free will. 

Anyway, I wish both of you, Brian and Ken, the best and may the Lord bless you! . . . Alex 

Brian M. Hanley On February 28, 2008 at 6:19 pm 

You Wrote: "As I view it, those are extra-biblical and post-biblical legal constructs developed by government entities, not set forth by God." 

My Response: Not so—the Bible sets forth a change in the day which the Sabbath is to be observed. My main source is not the works of man (even though there are early church fathers which indicate that Sunday [was] the day [on] which they worshipped)—no it is the Bible alone. 

As everyone that studies the Bible knows there are two methods that God employs to teach. One is a direct command and the other is an approved example. In John 20:19 we have an approved example as to which day we are to observe the Sabbath day in the New Testament dispensation. The apostles did not assemble on Saturday, but Sunday, and this is shown to be approved by God, in the appearance of Jesus Christ. 

While I do not know the source of your argument—however many of those (the so-called millions) which observe Saturday as the Sabbath are following an extra-biblical vision of Ellen White. Not a source I would give any credence to. 
You Wrote: ". . . oppose any effort by government to legislate when it comes to matters of worship and how one practices his/her faith" 

My Response: A nation has a responsibility to honor God (Psalm 2.) This is why God has given the government authority to uphold the public good. They are to be as a nursing father (Isaiah 49:23) and allow the FREEDOM for people to honor the Christian Sabbath. To not allow this is to bind the conscience of people and to violate their faith. Again the government should also be concerned with the raping of the environment and the condition of the family. 

The way to enact Sunday-closing laws is to do as Nehemiah did (Nehemiah 13); he contended with the nobles, he closed the gates so that there would be no trading done on Sunday. Nehemiah did not allow the businesses to open shop on Sunday and that is what we should do. According to your logic (which is not biblical) you would have stood against Nehemiah for what he did in honoring the Sabbath. 

Most business men in all times and places have the concern of the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10), where they were tempted to press people into working long hours, seven days a week. The only thing that kept and protected the common worker and the slave from working seven days a week was the Sunday-closing laws. Business owners as we know have used child labor, unsafe working conditions, and a six-day work week, and it can easily be shown that they placed their love of money before their fellow man. As posted before the Sunday-closing laws were the first labor laws of this country. 

Where I grew up, we had Sunday-closing laws and I did not see or hear of anyone complaining that they were off on Sunday. Do you realize that almost all governmental agencies are closed on Sunday. Are you saying that we should have them opened seven days a week? Are you saying we are morally wrong for closing Wall Street and a majority of businesses on Sunday? What businesses are open? Mostly retail workers and restaurant workers. That should be [a] telling sign. There is no movement to open government offices. There is no movement to open Wall Street. We have two layers of society—one is the ruling class, which is off on Sunday, and the other are our servants waiting on us. I don't see any high or middle level management working on Sunday—do you? This argument is not about making everyone work on Sunday, but is about making those that serve us work. 

If all we did was allow people the freedom not to work on Sunday (Yes—employers can make "coerce" people to work on Sunday), there would be a significant closing of businesses around the country. You may remember two years ago, when the state of Virginia mistakenly enacted an allowance to not working on Sunday—big retail businesses went berserk, [and] the senate quickly changed the legislation (this was reported in Time magazine) because all the requests they started to receive from the workers. One news source reported: 

"If it sticks, it will be the answer to my prayers," said Eugene Garner, who works at a Home Depot in Richmond. He said he has asked for Sundays off previously so he can attend church, but he has been forced to share weekend duties with his co-workers. 

Ken On February 28, 2008 at 7:51 pm 

Hi again, Brian . . . welcome back, and thanks much for your added comments here. 

I choose in this life to believe that my most personal responsibility as a Christian is to account myself to God alone for the truth He has revealed to me, using the mind He gave me and the sovereign power of choice . . . also from Him. 

When it comes to my Christian responsibility (I prefer privilege) to others, I choose to believe that is primarily to share with them the Jesus I have come to know, much as one beggar shares with another where to find bread. 

Secondarily, it is my privilege to share with others the various truths God has shared with me, as I have come to understand them. It is not my duty, as I see it, though, either to condemn their own understandings or to pressure them to abandon theirs in favor of mine. I may share my understandings and invite them to be fairly considered, but my own experience with God is that though He may invite or appeal, He never pushes or uses force on me. 

Assuming this, then, I can hold my own convictions, yet welcome yours even though they differ from mine. My view of ultimate truth, I've set forth the best I can in my post of today entitled "Truth Is Like a Camcorder." 

Though I'm sure I could enjoy . . . without using so much bandwidth here that WordPress would throw me offline . . . debating back and forth my points and yours, I'd rather for now in this limited forum simply express my genuine appreciation for your choosing to add to the discussion. It is possible that some of my other readers may wish to address the many questions and issues you raise. Did I have sufficient space here . . . and more important, sufficient time, I'd do so myself. 

Others who believe as I do, however, have focused on just the questions you've raised here, and perhaps more lucidly than could I. So I'd be happy at your request to direct you to published or online sources that could give you in-depth answers from my own perspective to the issues you've raised. 

I know that even though we don't see in exactly the same line of sight on perhaps many things, we likely share a great deal of common belief on such priority fundamentals of truth as God, His love, Christ's provided salvation, and perhaps a host of other things. 

Thanks again! 

What Day is the Sabbath Day?

What Day is the Sabbath Day?

The Author of 

the Sabbath

 is the Author of the Christian religion --- Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

He it was who brought the world into existence, making it in 

six days

. He it was who rested on the 

seventh day

, and blessed that day, and made it holy. For the 

Son of God

 was and is the Creator. "All things were made by him."

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1-3). "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not" (verse 10). "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (verse 14).

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him" (Colossians 1:15,16).

The time when He made the Sabbath, as we have already seen, was at the end of the Creation week. (Genesis 2:1-3) The way in which He made the Sabbath was by taking a day, the seventh day, and resting on it, blessing it, and sanctifying it.

The Sabbath a Day, Not an Institution

The material out of which He made the Sabbath was the seventh day. He took that day, and out of it made the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not something He placed on the day. It is the day itself. "The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God."

We are not commanded to "remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy." The command is, "

Remember the sabbath

 day, to keep it [the day] holy." The Sabbath is not something apart from the day, which can be shifted about and perhaps placed on another day. It is the day itself, the seventh day.

We hear much today about a Sabbath institution. But 

the Bible

 never speaks of a Sabbathinstitution. It talks about the Sabbath day. There is no such thing as a Sabbath institution that was blessed and made holy for the benefit of humanity, apart from the day.

It was the day that was blessed and made holy; and it is the day that thus becomes the Sabbath.

The day that God blessed can never be taken from the Sabbath. The Sabbath can never be taken from the day that God blessed. These cannot be separated. They are inseparable because they are one.

The seventh day is the Sabbath; the Sabbath is the seventh day.

Jesus made the Sabbath for the entire human race, not for one section or one nation. "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27).

Pope Promotes Sunday

While traveling in Italy this past week, the popular leader of the Catholic Church discouraged opening businesses on Sunday as a way to provide poor people with jobs. He also said working on Sunday negatively impacted families and wasn’t beneficial to society.

“Francis said the priority should be ‘not economic but human,’ and that the stress should be on families and friendships, not commercial relationships. He added: ‘Maybe it’s time to ask ourselves if working on Sundays is true freedom.’ He said that spending Sundays with family and friends is an ‘ethical choice’ for faithful and non-faithful alike.” [1]

Of course, It is perfectly reasonable to find time to spend with our families every week, but is a Christian tradition always a biblical truth? Not in this case. The Bible is not only unequivocally clear about which day is God’s Sabbath day of rest, but it also forewarns that a day will come when a substitute for the fourth commandment will be pressed as a testing point on whether people will follow God's laws or the rules of mankind.

God’s holy Ten Commandments explicitly identify which day of the week is for worship and rest from business labor: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates” (Exodus 20:8–10).

It was the practice of Jesus to worship on the seventh day (Luke 4:16). The Sabbath was not established for only Jews but was set in place by God at creation, before there were any Jews (Genesis 2:2, 3). Never have God’s ten laws been changed by the Lord or the apostles (Acts 17:2; 13:13, 14). All people are called to honor God’s holy day (Isaiah 56:2, 6, 7).

But if Sunday-keeping is not in the Bible, why do so many people worship God on the first day instead of the seventh day? The Bible predicted that a power “shall intend to change times and law” (Daniel 7:25). Jesus warned that some would make “the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:6). He added, “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (v. 9).

God predicted that misguided people would announce that God’s holy day was changed from Sabbath to Sunday. This error was passed from generation to generation as fact. But this tradition breaks God’s law. Only God can determine which day is holy. It is dangerous to tamper with God’s holy commandments.

It is the seventh day that God asks us to close our regular business labor and to worship and rest. Obeying God is a biblical choice that results in true freedom. Breaking God’s law brings bondage.

The Lost Day of History

Did you know there is a very important day that almost everyone has forgotten about? It's astounding that only a few people are aware of it, because it's one of the most significant days in all of human history! It's not only a day in the past, but the present and future. Furthermore, what happened on this neglected day can have a profound effect on your life. Want to know more amazing facts about this lost day of history? Then read over this Study Guide carefully.

When Jesus was here on earth, He worshiped on the Sabbath.

1. On what day did Jesus customarily worship?

"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." Luke 4:16.

Answer:   Jesus' custom was to worship on the Sabbath.

The seventh day of the week (Saturday) is the Sabbath.

2. But which day of the week is the Sabbath?

"The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God." Exodus 20:10. "And when the sabbath was past, ...very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre." Mark 16:1, 2.

Answer:   The Sabbath is not the first day of the week (Sunday), as many believe, but the seventh day (Saturday). Notice from the above Scripture that the Sabbath is the day that comes just before the first day of the week.

God made the Sabbath at the time of Creation.

3. Who made the Sabbath and when?

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." "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. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." Genesis 1:1; 2:2, 3.

Answer:   God made the Sabbath at the time of Creation, when He made the world. He rested on the Sabbath and blessed and sanctified it (set it apart for a holy use).

God wrote the Sabbath commandment with His own finger.

4. What does God say about Sabbath-keeping in the Ten Commandments, which He wrote with His own finger?

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11. "And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God." Deuteronomy 9:10.

Answer:   In the fourth commandment of the 10, God commands us to observe the seventh-day Sabbath as His holy day. God knew people would forget His Sabbath, so He began this commandment with the word "remember." He has never commanded anyone anywhere to keep any other day as a weekly holy day.

Jesus says it is easier for heaven to pass away than for God's law to change.

5. But haven't the Ten Commandments been changed?

Jesus says: "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17. God says: "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Psalms 89:34. Notice, the Ten Commandments came from His lips. Exodus 20:1says, "And God spake all these words, saying ... [the Ten Commandments follow in verses 2-17]."

Answer:   No, indeed! It is utterly impossible for any of God's moral law ever to change. All Ten Commandments are binding today.

Paul and the other apostles kept God's seventh-day Sabbath holy.

6. Did the apostles keep the Sabbath?

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." Acts 17:2. "Paul and his company ... went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down." Acts 13:13, 14. "And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither." Acts 16:13. "And he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Acts 18:4.

Answer:   Yes, the book of Acts makes it clear that Paul and the early church kept the Sabbath.

The apostles taught the Gentiles to keep the Sabbath holy.

7. Did the Gentiles also worship on Sabbath?

God commanded it:
"Blessed is the man ... that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it." "Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, ... every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,and taketh hold of my covenant Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer ... for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." Isaiah 56:2, 6, 7, emphasis added.

Apostles taught it:
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath." "And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." Acts 13:42, 44, emphasis added. "And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Acts 18:4.

Answer:   The apostles in the early New Testament church not only obeyed God's Sabbath command, but they also taught the converted Gentiles to worship on Sabbath. Never once do they refer to Sunday as a holy day.

The Sabbath was not changed to Sunday at the time of Jesus' resurrection.

8. But wasn't the Sabbath changed to Sunday at Christ's death or resurrection?

Answer:   No, there is not the remotest hint that the Sabbath was changed at Christ's death or resurrection. The Bible teaches just the opposite. Please carefully review the following evidence:

A. God blessed the Sabbath.
"The Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it." Exodus 20:11. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." Genesis 2:3.

B. Christ expected His people to be still keeping the Sabbath in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Knowing full well that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Rome in A.D. 70, Jesus warned His followers of that time, saying, "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day." Matthew 24:20, emphasis added. Jesus made it clear that He intended for the Sabbath to be kept even 40 years after His resurrection. In fact, there is no intimation anywhere in the Scriptures that Jesus, His Father, or the apostles ever (at any time, under any circumstances) changed the holy seventh-day Sabbath to any other day.

C. The women who came to anoint Christ's dead body kept the Sabbath. Jesus died on "the day before the sabbath" (Mark 15:37, 42), which is now called Good Friday.
The women prepared spices and ointments to anoint His body, then "rested the sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. Only "when the sabbath was past" (Mark 16:1) did the women come "the first day of the week" (Mark 16:2) to continue their sad work. They found "Jesus was risen early the first day of the week" (verse 9), commonly called Easter Sunday. Please note that the Sabbath "according to the commandment" was the day preceding Easter Sunday, which we now call Saturday.

D. Christ's follower, Luke, wrote two books of the Bible, Luke and Acts. 
He says that in the book of Luke he wrote about "all" of Jesus' teachings (Acts 1:1-3). But he never wrote about Sunday-keeping or a change of the Sabbath.

Everybody in God's eternal kingdom will keep the Sabbath holy.

9. Some people say the Sabbath will be kept in God's new earth. Is this correct?

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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." Isaiah 66:22, 23.

Answer:   Yes, the Bible says the saved people of all ages will keep the Sabbath in the new earth.

The Lord's day is Sabbath, not Sunday.

10. But isn't Sunday the Lord's day?

"Call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord." Isaiah 58:13. "For the son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." Matthew 12:8.

Answer:   The Bible speaks of the "Lord's day" in Revelation 1:10, so the Lord does have a special day. But no verse of Scripture refers to Sunday as the Lord's day. Rather, the Bible plainly identifies Sabbath as the Lord's day. The only day ever blessed by the Lord or claimed by Him as His holy day is the seventh-day Sabbath.

Jesus instituted baptism--not Sunday keeping--in honor of His resurrection.

11. Shouldn't I keep Sunday in honor of Christ's resurrection?

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Romans 6:3-6.

Answer:   No! No more than you would keep Friday in honor of the crucifixion. Christ gave the ordinance of baptism in honor of His death, burial, and resurrection. The Bible never suggests Sunday-keeping in honor of the resurrection (or for any other reason, for that matter). We honor Christ by obeying Him (John 14:15)--not by substituting man-made requirements in place of His.

Misguided men had the audacity to substitute Sunday for the Sabbath of God's law.

12. Well, if Sunday-keeping isn't in the Bible, whose idea was it anyway?

"And he shall think to change the times and the law." Daniel 7:25, RSV.* "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." "In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:6, 9. "Her priests have violated my law." "And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, ... saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken." Ezekiel 22:26, 28.

Answer:   Misguided men of long years past announced that God's holy day was changed from Sabbath to Sunday. God predicted it would happen, and it did. This error was passed on to our unsuspecting generation as gospel fact. Sunday-keeping is a tradition of uninspired men and breaks God's law, which commands Sabbath-keeping. Only God can make a day holy. God blessed the Sabbath, and when God blesses, no man can "reverse it." Numbers 23:20.

*The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, (C) 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

Changing Sabbath to Sunday is an insult to God because it attempts to alter His divine law.

13. But isn't it very dangerous to tamper with God's law?

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 4:2. "Every word of God is pure. ... Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Proverbs 30:5, 6.

Answer:   God has specifically and positively forbidden men to change His law by deletions or additions. To tamper with God's holy law in any way is one of the most fearful and dangerous things a person can do.

The Sabbath is a sign of God's power to create and redeem.

14. Why did God make the Sabbath anyway?

A. Sign of Creation.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8, 11.

B. Sign of redemption and sanctification.
"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." Ezekiel 20:12.

Answer:   God gave the Sabbath as a twofold sign: (1) It is a sign that He created the world in six literal 24-hour days, and (2) it is also a sign of God's mighty power to redeem and sanctify men. Surely every Christian will love the Sabbath as God's precious sign of Creation and redemption (Exodus 31:13, 17; Ezekiel 20:12, 20). It is a great insult to God for people to trample upon His Sabbath. In Isaiah 58:13, 14, God says all who would be blessed must first get their feet off His Sabbath.

Breaking any commandment of God's law is sin.

15. How important is Sabbath-keeping?

"Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. "The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10. "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." 1 Peter 2:21. "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Hebrews 5:9.

Answer:   It is a matter of life and death. Sabbath-keeping is enjoined in the fourth commandment of God's law. The deliberate breaking of any one of the Ten Commandments is a sin. Christians will gladly follow Christ's example of Sabbath-keeping. Our only safety is to diligently study the Bible, "rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15. We must have positive Scripture support for every Christian practice we follow.

God will pour out His indignation upon religious leaders who knowingly ignore His Sabbath.

16. How does God feel about religious leaders who ignore the Sabbath?

"Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane ... and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." "Therefore have I poured out my indignation upon them."Ezekiel 22:26, 31.

Answer:   In hiding their eyes from God's true Sabbath, religious leaders offend the God of heaven. God promises punishment for such false shepherds. Millions have been misled on this matter. God cannot treat it lightly. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for pretending to love God while making void one of the Ten Commandments by their tradition (Mark 7:7-13).

Everyone who enters heaven and eats from the tree of life will keep God's Sabbath holy.

17. Does Sabbath-keeping really affect me personally?

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Romans 14:12. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14. "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God." Revelation 14:12.

Answer:   Yes, by all means, the Sabbath is your Sabbath. God made it for you, and if you love Him you will keep it, because it is one of His commandments. Love without commandment-keeping is no love at all (1 John 2:4). You must make a decision. You cannot avoid it. No one can excuse you. You yourself will answer before God on this most important matter. God asks you to love and obey Him now!

18. I am willing to follow Jesus' example of Sabbath-keeping.

Answer:   

Thought Questions

1. But isn't the Sabbath for the Jews only?
No. Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man." Mark 2:27. It is not for the Jews only, but for mankind--all men and women everywhere. The Jewish nation did not even exist until 2,500 years after the Sabbath was made.

2. Isn't Acts 20:7-12 proof that the disciples kept Sunday as a holy day?
According to the Bible, each day begins at sundown and ends at the next sundown (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 Leviticus 23:32) and the dark part of the day comes first. So Sabbath begins Friday night at sundown and ends Saturday night at sundown. This meeting of Acts 20was held on the dark part of Sunday, or on what we now call Saturday night. The New English Bible* begins Acts 20:7 like this: "On the Saturday night in our assembly ..."

It was a Saturday-night meeting, and it lasted until midnight. Paul was on a farewell tour and knew he would not see these people again before his death (verse 25). No wonder he preached so long! (No regular weekly service would have lasted all night.) Paul was "ready to depart on the morrow." The "breaking of bread" has no "holy day" significance whatever, because they broke bread daily (Acts 2:46). There is not the slightest indication in this Scripture passage that the first day is holy, nor that these early Christians considered it so. Nor is there the remotest evidence that the Sabbath had been changed. Incidentally, this meeting is probably mentioned in the Scripture only because of the miracle of raising Eutychus back to life after he fell to his death from a third-floor window. In Ezekiel 46:1, God refers to Sunday as one of the six "working days."

*(C) The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1961, 1970. Used by permission.

3. Doesn't 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2 speak of Sunday school offerings?
No, there is no reference here to a public meeting. The money was to be laid aside privately at home. A famine was raging in Judea (Romans 15:26; Acts 11:26-30), and Paul was writing to ask the churches in Asia Minor to assist their famine-stricken brethren. These Christians all kept Sabbath holy, so Paul suggested that on Sunday morning (which was the time they paid bills and settled accounts), after the Sabbath was over, they put aside something for their needy brethren so it would be on hand when he came. It was to be done privately or, as La Santa Biblia(a Spanish translation) says, "at home." Notice also that there is no reference here to Sunday as a holy day. In fact, the Bible nowhere commands or even suggests Sunday-keeping.

4. But hasn't time been lost and the days of the week changed since the time of Christ?
No! Reliable encyclopedias and reference books make it clear that our seventh day is the same one that Jesus kept holy. It is a simple matter of research.

5. But isn't John 20:19 the record of the disciples instituting Sundaykeeping in honor of the resurrection?
On the contrary, the disciples at this time did not believe that the resurrection had taken place (Mark 16:14). They had met there "for fear of the Jews" and had the doors bolted. When Jesus appeared in their midst, He rebuked them "because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." There is no implication that they counted Sunday as a holy day. Only eight texts in the New Testament mention the first day of the week; none of them imply that it is holy.

6. Doesn't Colossians 2:14-17 do away with the seventh-day Sabbath?
Not at all. It refers only to the sabbaths which were "a shadow of things to come" and not to the seventh-day Sabbath. There were seven yearly holy days, or holidays, in ancient Israel which were also called sabbaths. These were in addition to, or "beside the sabbaths of the Lord" (Leviticus 23:38), or seventh-day Sabbath. These all foreshadowed, or pointed to, the cross and ended at the cross. God's seventh-day Sabbath was made before sin entered, and therefore could foreshadow nothing about deliverance from sin. That's why Colossians chapter 2 differentiates and specifically mentions the sabbaths that were "a shadow." These seven yearly sabbaths which were abolished are listed in Leviticus chapter 23.

7. According to Romans 14:5, the day we keep is a matter of personal opinion, isn't it?
Notice that the whole chapter is on judging one another (Verses 4, 10, 13). The issue here is not over the seventh-day Sabbath, which was a part of the great moral law, but over the yearly feast days of the ceremonial law. Jewish Christians were judging Gentile Christians for not observing them. Paul is simply saying, "Don't judge each other. That ceremonial law is no longer binding."