Who Changed The Sabbath?
6. Who Changed The Sabbath?
As we have seen, the Sabbath has never been changed. There is not one verse of Scripture anywhere in the Bible to substantiate a change of the weekly Sabbath! It was always on the seventh day of the week—Saturday. To say "Sunday is now the Sabbath" is not found in Scripture. Neither is it found in Scripture that the first day of the week, Sunday, is ever called "the Sabbath." In Romans 10:4 we read, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." With Christ's payment on the Cross and His Resurrection, the Law ended. This included the whole Law, moral, civil, and ceremonial. Since this included the seventh-day, weekly Sabbath, does it then include the end of the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments? It most assuredly does!
Then one may ask, "Do we not have a moral code of laws to go by today in God's Word?" Yes, we do! Living in the Dispensation of Grace, or Church Age, we have all of the Ten Commandments reiterated several times in the New Testament, with the exception of one—THE SABBATH! Notice the following with their references. We are not giving all the references, just enough to suffice.
Ten Commandments & New Testament References|
"Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)|John 4:21-23; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19; 1 Corinthians 8:6.|
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain." (Exodus 20:7) |James 5:12; Matt. 5-33-37; Matthew 6:5-9|
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..." (Exodus 20:4).|Acts 17:29; Romans 1:22-23; 1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 10:7; 1 Corinthians 10:14|
"Honor thy father and mother..." (Exodus 20:12)|Ephesians 6:1-4|
"Thou shalt not kill." (Exodus 20:13)|Matthew 5:21-22; Romans 13:9|
"Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14)|Matthew 5:27-28; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Hebrews 13:4; Romans 13:9|
"Thou shalt not steal." (Exodus 20:15)|Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12; James 5:1-4; Romans 13:9|
"Thou shalt not bear false witness." (Exodus 20:16)|Colossians 2:9; Ephesians 4:25; Romans 13:9|
"Thou shalt not covet." (Exodus 20:17)|Ephesians 5:3; Luke 12:55-21; Romans 13:9|
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11)|Found nowhere in the New Covenant made upon Calvary!| For those of you that want to be justified by the Law; remember, you must keep all of God's Law absolutely perfect. This includes the moral, civil, and ceremonial laws, which totaled approximately 720. If you break even one of these laws, you are as guilty and condemned as if you had broken them all. The Word of God makes this clear in James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, HE IS GUILTY OF ALL."
There are those who want to justify themselves by keeping the Law, but do not want the penalty of the Law. For example, dishonoring your parents warranted the death penalty (Deuteronomy 21:18-21; Exodus 21:17). This was the Fifth Commandment. What about adultery, the Seventh Commandment? Christ said in Matthew 5:28, "That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust hath committed adultery with her already".
Leviticus 20:10 says that both...
...the adulterer and adulteress SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH."
Those of you that want to be justified by worshipping on Saturday, the "Sabbath," have condemned yourself to death by stoning. (Exodus 31:15). If you left your residence and went to church to worship; you have broken the Fourth Commandment covering the Sabbath. You are not to leave your house for any reason, as the Sabbath was a complete day of REST, not "running around"! (Exodus 16:29-30). Did you cook anything, or even turn on your stove on Saturday? If you did, then you are to be taken out and stoned to death. In Numbers 15:32; Numbers 15:35, the Israelites found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath. It could have been to build a fire for warmth or cooking purposes, we do not know. Nevertheless, he had broken the Sabbath Day Law and Numbers 15:35 gives us the Lord's response.
"And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation SHALL STONE HIM with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and HE DIED; as the LORD commanded Moses." The Law given to Moses for Israel upon Sinai, was a perfect Law reflecting the glory of God. The Law was given to show mankind his inability to be as righteous as God, Himself. Therefore, it was a "mirror" in which man could see himself for what he is—a sinner! Romans 3:20,
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Therefore, God has concluded that we, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (i.e., His absolute righteousness).
It, therefore, becomes a matter of being justified by Grace (Mt. Calvary) or Law (Mt. Sinai). Galatians 2:16 clarifies the issue,
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Those who extract the seventh-day "Sabbath" (Saturday) and the various laws concerning what may be eaten and what was forbidden (Leviticus, Chapter 11), seem to disregard the rest of the laws in Leviticus. As you read all 27 chapters of Leviticus, you will find myriads of laws—all received by Moses as part of the entire Law. Notice what God says in the last verse of the last chapter about all of the laws given in Leviticus.
"These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL in Mount Sinai." (Leviticus 27:34).
Therefore, when Christ died upon Calvary and was resurrected, the Law came to an end in its entirety. It could be stated no clearer than in Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." The end of "The Law" is the whole law, all inclusive of the moral, civil, and ceremonial laws. We are given the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Himself, upon trusting Him as our personal Savior.
"And be found in him (Christ), not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF GOD BY FAITH." (Php_3:9)