Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
Before the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.
Proofs
- Before the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; (Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–14)
- and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath. (Psalm 118:24; Matthew 28:1; Mark 2:27–28; John 20:19–20, 26; Revelation 1:10; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1, 30–36; John 20:1; Acts 1:3; 2:1–2; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1–2)
Additional Exposition
Section 1
Was the Sabbath appointed from the beginning of the world?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, (Genesis 2:2)
And was it observed before the giving of the law?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath, (Exodus 16:23)
Was it particularly enforced upon the Israelites?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: I gave them my Sabbaths, (Ezekiel 20:12)
And that in commemoration of their delivery out of Egypt?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Remember that thou wast a servant in Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out from thence, therefore he commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day, (Deuteronomy 5:15)
But is it obligator yon Christians?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath-day, (Matthew 24:20)
Section 2
Was the Jewish Sabbath kept on the seventh day of the week?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For he spake on the seventh day this wise, (Hebrews 4:4)
But had Christ a power to alter it?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath-day, (Matthew 12:8)
Is such an alteration hinted at in the Old Testament?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: It shall be that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings, etc., and I will accept you, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 43:27)
And did it actually take place after Christ’s resurrection?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For on the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread, (Acts 20:7)
And does their example carry in it, the force of a command?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me, (1 Corinthians 4:16)
Section 3
Did Christ rise upon the first day?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: He rose early on the first day of the week, (Mark 16:9)
And did he then rest from his labours?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: He ceased from his own works, as God did from his, (Hebrews 4:10)
Did he honour this day with his presence?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, came Jesus, and stood in the midst, (John 20:19)
And did he renew his visit the next first day?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: After eight days, when the disciples were within and Thomas with them, came Jesus, (John 20:26)
And was this a mark of his approbation?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For he meeteth them that remember him in his ways, (Isaiah 64:5)
Section 4
Was this day dignified by a new title?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: It was called the Lord’s day, (Revelation 1:10)
Did the Spirit bestow his extraordinary gifts on this day?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For it was on the day of Pentecost, which was the morrow after the seventh day, (Acts 2:1)
Does he on it confer his special grace?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, (Revelation 1:10)
Section 5
Did the primitive Christians assemble on this day?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Upon the first day of the week let every one lay by him in store, (1 Corinthians 16:1–2)
And was this a public and not a private collection?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: That there be no gatherings when I come. (1 Corinthians 16:1–2)
Is their practice then a rule?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Ye became followers of the churches of Christ, (1 Thessalonians 2:14)
Section 6
Do we upon this day commemorate a more glorious creation than the first?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: Behold I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind, (Isaiah 65:17)
And celebrate a more eminent deliverance than that of the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: The days come that they shall no more say, the Lord liveth which brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, (Jeremiah 23:7)
Should we therefore join with our fellow Christians in keeping this day?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For if any man will be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of Christ, (1 Corinthians 11:16)
But is not this a direct breach of the fourth commandment?
Answer: No.
Proof: For that only says, Six days shalt thou labour, but the seventh (i.e. the day following the sixth) is the sabbath, (Exodus 20:10)
If the matter was more disputable than it is, should not the superior advantage of keeping the first day in the present circumstances of things have some weight?
Answer: Yes.
Proof: For the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath, (Mark 2:27)