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Chapter 7: Is Sunday
Mentioned in the New Testament?
The word "Sunday"
does not appear any place in the Bible.
The words,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday do not
appear any place in the Bible either.
But the phrase "first day
of the week" is found in the New Testament. It occurs in exactly
eight places. So it will not take long to examine these eight texts
employing this phrase.
Still a
red-herring. If the Sabbath is not enjoined on Christians, why would
we assume Sunday would be enjoined on them? And why didn't HWA provide
evidence from the New Testament, when now he uses the New Testament to
knock down his straw-man argument?
If the day was changed by Bible
authority—if Christians are to find any Bible authority whatsoever for
observing Sunday as the "Lord's Day" today—then we must find
that authority in one of these eight texts!
Not that
it matters, but what if there was a phrase in Scripture that said,
"the day after the Sabbath?"
And if we are truly searching for
truth, why are we limited to these eight texts to the exclusion of
Scripture that supports the idea that no day is required?
Let us acknowledge at the
outset, since the seventh day of the week is clearly established as the
Bible Sabbath up until the time of the crucifixion, that there can be no
Bible authority for Sunday observance unless we find it clearly and
plainly stated in one of these eight New Testament passages.
It is
interesting to note that when it came to finding evidence for Sabbath
observance for Christians, evidence from the New Testament was
extremely limited, but the entirety of Old Testament Scripture that
related to Israel and the old covenant were cited. Now, for some
reason, the rules change, and we are only going to examine the New
Testament, and limit ourselves to but 8 passages of Scripture. Why
wasn't the Sabbath question limited to the New Testament only also?
Furthermore, the possibility of no day being binding has been dropped
or conveniently ignored now. At the beginning of the booklet, the
author claimed that this would be addressed.
It should be obvious by now that
HWA has no intention of covering the possibility that no day is required
in Christianity. If he can get people to buy into his "either/or"
argument, then he's got them right where he wants them.
(1) Matthew 28:1: "In the
end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the
week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre."
This is the first place in the Bible where "the first day of the
week" is mentioned. Matthew wrote these words, under inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, six years after the New Testament Church came into
being. The text says that after the Sabbath day it was drawing toward
(Greek, into) the first day of the week. So this scripture, we must
admit, tells us plainly that three days and three nights after all that
was done away had been securely "nailed to the cross," the
Sabbath was still the day before the first day of the week—still the
seventh day of the week.
One point is here plainly
proved. Many tell us that the Sabbath command was merely for "one
day in seven" —that it did not have to be the seventh day of the
week, but merely the seventh part of time. ....three days
after all abolished things had been done away, the Sabbath still existed
and that it was the seventh day of the week—the day before the first
day of the week.
What would
one expect? That the seventh day would have disappeared from the
calendar otherwise? And there was obviously much misunderstanding
among the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians about what they were
supposed to do concerning Old Testament points of Law. (Acts 15) To
have omitted that it was the Sabbath would have been a case of
revisionist history. The author would have us believe here that if
the Sabbath were done away, we would now have a six-day week?
(2) Mark 16:2: "And very
early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the
sepulchre at the rising of the sun." This is merely Mark's version
of the sunrise visit to the tomb. It was written ten years after the
crucifixion. This first day of the week, also, was "after the
Sabbath was past," according to verse 1. So this text proves the
same thing as the one above—that the first day of the week was not at
that time (three days after the crucifixion) the Sabbath, but the day
after the Sabbath. The Sabbath, then, still was the seventh day of the
week.
Correct.
But to conclude as earlier that this proves the Church kept the
Sabbath is to draw a conclusion without textual support.
(3) Mark 16:9: "Now when
Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week he appeared first to
Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils." This text
speaks of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene later the same day—the
day after the Sabbath.
Nothing here calls the first
day of the week the Christian Sabbath, we must admit. Nothing here calls
it "The Lord's Day." Nothing here hallows Sunday or says God
made it holy. Nothing here commands us to observe it. Nothing here sets
it apart as a memorial of the resurrection, or for any purpose. No
command or example of rest on this day—no
authority for observing Sunday here.
Or for
observing the
Sabbath.
(4) Luke 24:1: Now upon the
first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the
sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain
others with them."
This text tells again the same
event recorded by Matthew and Mark, and it shows that on the first day
of the week these women came to do the work of a common weekday, after
having rested the Sabbath day "according to the commandment."
For we read, in the verse just before this, "And they returned, and
prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to
the commandment." Shall we say these women did not yet know the
commandment was abolished?
1. The
narrative is relating the events that occurred prior to the
establishment of the New Testament Church and grace, and:
2. It is obvious in
reading Acts 15, that many of the Jewish Christians believed they were
still bound by the old covenant. The author insists that the only
other option to keeping the Sabbath and the Law is the abolishment of
the Law, resulting in Christians being free to commit acts such as
murder, which ignores the New Covenant spirit of the Law. The author
of Hebrews uses the term, "a change in the law" (Hebrews 7:12) as
opposed to saying an "abolishment" of the Law. He even goes so far as
to say that the old covenant is "fading away." Once the temple was
destroyed, Israel's house was "left desolate" as Jesus predicted, and
with the temple worship and sacrifices ended, so ended the last
vestiges of the old covenant.
How then
does the historical account of the women resting on the Sabbath at
that time prove that the Sabbath is binding on all Christians, when
the debate was over Gentiles in Acts 15? If Luke were to have omitted
the women had rested on the Sabbath, his readers may well have been
confused as to why they did not go to the sepulcher the previous day.
The Sabbath is mentioned here as a time reference and can hardly
be used as proof the Sabbath was binding on Christians later,
especially Gentile Christians.
This text, then, establishes
Sunday as a common workday, three days after the crucifixion, and it
further establishes that at that time the command to rest on the Sabbath
had not been abolished.
Was the
narrative making the point that the Sabbath was not abolished, or is
this a conclusion drawn
out of context? What is the subject? The
Sabbath?
Also, what happens to a covenant
when either party to it dies? Paul explains this in Romans chapter 7.
That covenant ends. Did Jesus, who was the God of the old covenant, die
on the cross? Yes. Did the Jewish Christian die to the old covenant
through baptism in order to be free to enter into the New Covenant with
Christ? Yes. So that old covenant containing the Sabbath ended. Just
because the people did not recognize this right away does not negate the
fact of the matter.
(5) John 20:1: "The first
day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto
the sepulchre."
This, written sixty-three years
after the crucifixion, is merely John's version, describing the same
visit to the tomb. It confirms the facts above.
What facts above are
established? The followers of Jesus continued keeping the Sabbath. The
understanding through the Holy Spirit had not yet been imparted to
them. The only facts established here is that these followers of
Christ continued doing what they had always done concerning the Law.
It takes quite an imagination to conclude they would have known
beforehand every detail regarding Jesus and the New Covenant, and the
role of Gentiles who were to later come into the church as a result of
hearing the gospel, which does not include the requirement to keep the
Law and the Sabbath in particular.
(6) John 20:19: "Then the
same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors
were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came
Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto
you." ...
Were they assembled to
celebrate the resurrection, thus establishing Sunday as the Christian
Sabbath in honor of the resurrection? The text says they were assembled
"for fear of the Jews." .... They could not have assembled to celebrate the
resurrection, for they did not believe Jesus was risen (Mark 16:14; Luke
24:37, 39, 41).
Some of them
(the one Mary, for example) did believe he was alive. In any
event, were they truly assembled because out of fear of the Jews,
or was the door locked (shut) because of their fear of the Jews? John 20:19: "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of
the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were
assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst,
and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." Regardless, all these
examples by the author are straw-man arguments using
rationalizations, assumptions, and drawn out conclusions
out of context in order to
prop up the belief Christians were, and should therefore continue,
to keep the conditions of a covenant that ended upon the death of
Christ. But at that moment in time, they did not perceive
His Resurrection, they did not perceive
Him as the God of the old covenant, and did not perceive the
significance of all this in relation to the old covenant.
(7) Acts 20:7: "And upon
the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and
continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the
upper chamber, where they were gathered together." ...
Notice the rendering of Today's
English Version, correctly translated from the inspired Greek text:
"On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal.
Paul spoke to the people, and kept on speaking until midnight, since he
was going to leave the next day."
Regarding the Today's English
Version, there is a footnote here that says this can be translated
either Saturday or Sunday evening. Armstrong refers to the "inspired"
Greek text, but does that mean this English version is inspired? The
Greek text used for translating Scripture into English is actually a
compilation of many manuscripts. Regardless, the Greek is not
ambiguous. Sabbath is used in the context of meaning "week" and the
Greek states that this was the first day of the week, and not the
first day of the Sabbath. HWA had to go looking for a translation that
could somehow agree with him, instead of him agreeing with Scripture.
Regardless, once the
Sabbath has ended, and it is nighttime, it would then be the first day
of the week, also known as Sunday. So Paul spoke to them on Sunday,
didn't he?
"We sailed away from
Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them at Troas
in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the
week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached
unto them, ready to depart on the morrow." ...
Acts 20:6
does not absolutely prove they were keeping the days of unleavened
bread. They may well have been observing the holy days, being Israelite,
but it is still used as a time reference.
Jesus had introduced the
"Lord's Supper" as part of the Passover, at the beginning of
the annual "days of unleavened bread." No longer need they
kill lambs or eat the roasted body of Passover lambs, after Christ, our
Passover, had been once slain for us. The Passover was ordained forever
(Ex. 12:42). At His last Passover supper, Jesus substituted the wine as
the emblem of His blood, instead of the blood of the slain lamb. He
substituted the unleavened bread for the roast body of the lamb as the
symbol of His body, broken for us. The disciples continued to observe
the Passover annually, now in the form of "the Lord's Supper"
using only the bread and wine, as a memorial (I Cor. 11:24) of Christ's
death (I Cor. 11:26), showing His death till He comes again.
How is it that Jesus could change
the symbols, or change the Passover at all, when HWA insisted that the
interpretation of Matthew 5:17-18 was that the Law, which would include
the Passover, could not be altered even down to the strokes of a letter
of the Law? Yet here we see the law concerning the Passover being
altered way beyond jots and tittles.
And if Jesus is our Passover, then why can't He be our Sabbath wherein
we find spiritual rest as mentioned in Scripture, such as Hebrews
chapters 3 and 4?
Remember what HWA cited earlier in regards to Jesus Christ being the
same yesterday, today and for ever? So here we see HWA playing it both
ways as long as it serves his purpose. Here, the physical requirements
of the Law find their fulfillment in Christ, but not the Sabbath! Oh no,
we can't have that now, can we? For it wouldn't take long for HWA's
followers to figure out He altered the Law when it came to tithing then,
demanding people tithe to him of their incomes instead of as the Law
demanded from livestock and produce. No, HWA's purpose is realized by
keeping people ignorant of the truth while constantly claiming he is
teaching the truth.
This year they had observed
the days of unleavened bread and the "Communion" service at
Philippi, after which they came to Troas in five days, where they
remained seven days.
The
narrative does not state that they had a Communion service at Philippi.
(8) I Corinthians 16:2:
"Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him." ...
So, once again, the last and
final text in the Bible where we find "the first day of the
week" mentioned, it is a workday—a day for gathering fruit and
food out of the orchards and the fields and gardens, and storing it up.
It was to be the first labor of the week, hence the first day of the
week, as soon as the Sabbath was past!
The construct of the Greek here
is nearly identical to the citation HWA uses to claim in Acts 20:7
that the Christians were meeting on a Sabbath and not on Sunday, with
the use of "Sabbath" to mean "week." So if we took this to mean what
HWA claims it says in Acts 20:7, this would be saying, Upon the
Sabbath, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has
prospered him" ... So you see, HWA again plays it both ways with the
same phrase, the only difference being the word "day" with the same
root word in Greek, but with a slightly different ending that is
usually attributed to matching the grammar of the rest of the phrase.
It is, in essence, the same wording found in Acts 20:7.
But what if they had gathered for fellowship early
Sunday? Would it then be a case of being told that as soon as they
were finished there, to go home and gather these things? Again, the
assumption is that either the Sabbath is being kept or Sunday is being
kept, overlooking neither day is kept as holy, but as a time for
fellowship.
So, finally, we find upon
honest examination that not one of the texts speaking about "the
first day of the week" sets it apart as a rest day. Not one makes
it holy, calls it the Sabbath or by any other sacred title. In every
case, the first day of the week was a common workday.
In none of them was there a
religious meeting and preaching service being held on the hours we now
call Sunday. In none of them can we find a single shred of Bible
authority for Sunday observance!
Paul
preached/spoke Saturday night (i.e. Sunday) at Troas.
I dare say that if HWA had found this to
truly be a situation where Paul clearly spoke to a congregation of
Christians on a Sabbath, he would be shouting at the top of his lungs
that it proved Christians were keeping the Sabbath. But seeing as it
can be shown this was either what we call Saturday night, outside the
confines of the Sabbath, or Sunday night, he downplays it.
We should also note that Acts was authored by Luke—a
Gentile who would hardly have written from the Jewish perspective of
time in regards to sunsets being when days changed.
So, in the only example of Scripture where a gathering of purely
Christians occurs, we see the apostle Paul preaching to them
after the Sabbath either way you look at it. Seeing as there
is no example of Christians gathering together on a Sabbath and being
preached to on a Sabbath, can we truly conclude they were all, both
Jew and Gentile, keeping the Sabbath? We find no "thus saith the Lord"
regarding the Sabbath in relation to Christians and Christianity, but
we do find evidence to the contrary that HWA ignores, when proper
Biblical scholarship demands one always examine evidence that appears
to contradict what one is trying to prove, and demonstrate why such
evidence does not actually disprove a belief. Instead, HWA ignores the
evidence to the contrary.
In the original commandment, in
Exodus 20:10, we read: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God." Not my day, or your day. Sunday is my day. So is Monday,
and every other weekday, for my labor and my own needs. but the seventh
day is not mine—it is the Lord's! It belongs to Him, and He made it
holy, and commanded us to keep it that way. We have no right to use it
for ourselves. It is His day!
"Us"
would have to be those of Israel and the nation of Israel to be true.
It was Israel that was commanded to keep the Sabbath. Anyone outside
the nation of Israel is excluded from the covenant.
Notice which day Paul and
Barnabas used for preaching to Gentiles:
(1) Acts 13:14-15, 42-44:
"But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia,
and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. And after
the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent
unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of
exhortation for the people, say on." ...
And when the Jews were gone out
of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be
preached to them the next Sabbath.
If Paul
and Barnabas had showed up at the synagogue any other day, who would
they have preached to? There wouldn't have been anyone there.
Now since Paul was preaching
"the grace of God" (verse 43), here was his opportunity to
straighten out these Gentiles, and explain that the Sabbath was done
away. Why should he wait a whole week, in order to preach to the
Gentiles on the next Sabbath? If the day had now been changed to Sunday,
why did not Paul tell them they would not have to wait a week, but the
very next day, Sunday, was the proper day for this service?
Two things
here. (1. The author goes out of his way to minimize the fact that
Paul preached Christ to them, as he has claimed that to do so
was to preach a false gospel about Christ and not the message; so he
now plugs in "the grace of God." (2. IF Sunday were the day,
then he might well have done that, but Paul had already had enough
experience dealing with Jews claiming he was doing away with the Law
to spring any such announcement on them up front before they might
understand completely. A good analogy would be how the WCG's practice
of not springing third tithe on people right away!
(2) Acts 15:1-2, 14-21: Study
this whole passage carefully. Certain men had come down from Judaea to
Antioch, teaching the Gentile converts they must be circumcised and keep
the law of Moses to be saved. Quite a dissension arose between them and
Paul and Barnabas. So it was decided Paul and Barnabas should go to
Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about the question.
At the conference at Jerusalem,
James gave the decision.
"Wherefore my sentence
is," he pronounced (verses 19-20), "...that we write unto
them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication,
and from things strangled, and from blood."
He did not say they should not
keep the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were not in question,
which was an altogether different law. He merely mentioned four
prohibitions, and otherwise they did not need to observe the law of
Moses.
"He
did not say they should not keep the Ten Commandments"? He also
did not say they should keep the Ten Commandments! You cannot prove a
negative! He didn't say here
they should not practice circumcision either. So do we conclude from
just this that they are to keep the Sabbath and circumcision? What was
the issue that brought them together? Whether the Gentile converts
were required to practice circumcision and keep the Law of Moses. The
author attempted to claim the Sabbath was a separate covenant,
or the Ten Commandments were a separate
covenant,
yet
there was no proof of this. Why? Because, if you can't establish the
Sabbath as a separate covenant, then the argument is over, because the
Sabbath is a part of the Law of Moses.
It was the book of
the Law of Moses that was ratified and sprinkled with blood, and not
the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone. The book of the Law
contained all of that covenant, including the Ten Commandments, and it
is from the Book of the Law we derive what makes up part of the Bible
today.
If Gentiles are not required to
be circumcised (which would bring them into the people and nation of
Israel) and not required to keep the Law of Moses, then they are not
required to keep the Sabbath. Does this mean that they could not
assemble for fellowship and services on the Sabbath? No.
Neither does it mean they could not
assemble on any other day, such as a Sunday.
One last little detail. HWA cites the
four
things that the Gentiles were not to do as what they were informed of,
ignoring the real issue and what they were told in full:Acts
15:23-24: "And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The
apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which
are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we
have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with
words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep
the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:"
It was a subversion of their souls to teach them the Law of Moses;
it was a subversion of their souls to teach them to keep the Sabbath.
"...For Moses of old time
hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues
every Sabbath day" (verse 21).
Do you see it? The law of Moses—the first five books of the
Bible—was being taught in the
synagogues every Sabbath day. They had heard God's law read and
expounded every Sabbath in the synagogues and did not need further
instructions. It shows that the Gentile converts had to start keeping
the Sabbath day, and went to church on that day! And the apostles letter
did not reprove them for this Sabbath-keeping.
What's the
context? They were being instructed to avoid or abstain from
"pollutions of idols, fornication, things strangled, and from
blood." Having been taught from Moses would take care of the rest
of proper behavior and conduct concerning their fellowship with the
Christian Jews so as not to offend them. The issue, again, was about
circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses. These other things were
mentioned for an obvious reason. If they were not required to adhere
to the Law of Moses, they might conclude it was alright to do these
offensive things, so they were mentioned. These things were common practices
among the Gentiles as a part of their former pagan worship and
practices. The apostles and elders wished to prevent them from
becoming ensnared by them by misconstruing what it meant to not be
under the Law of Moses.
It comes out in the
writings of Paul that some Gentiles thought their Christian liberty
meant they could indulge the flesh through fornication, and Paul
corrects them over this elsewhere, as well as pointing out that meat
sacrificed to an idol was nothing, but it could be a point of
stumbling and offence for other Christians.
Furthermore, Moses was read in the synagogues
where Gentiles went, and it was not their job to continue in teaching
Moses—those synagogues had done that! The Gentiles who had attended
synagogues and heard Moses preached, who converted to Christianity, did
not continue in fellowship with Jews in the synagogues, did they? Why
would they? Or are we to believe now that both Christian Gentiles and
Christian Jews continued attending synagogues so they could hear Moses
and the Law expounded;
they didn't have their own
fellowship together?
This is very significant, since
Gentiles had never kept the Sabbath. Therefore it is something these
Gentiles had started doing after they were converted under the teaching
of Paul and Barnabas!
The
Gentiles heard Paul and Barnabas preach in a synagogue on the Sabbath.
What were the Gentiles doing in a synagogue on the Sabbath, playing
Bingo? And, can people gather for a service on a day without that day
being a forced day of rest, but rather a day used for the purpose of
assembly and fellowship and spiritual uplifting?
Acts 15:23-29 is the outline of the letter that was to be sent out to the
Churches, especially those that had Gentile members. What is of most
importance is what the Gentiles were told. Verse 24, "Forasmuch
as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled
you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised,
and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:..." They did not say, the
Law, less
the Sabbath. And if one does believe that the Sabbath stands as a
separate law, nowhere in the N.T. Scriptures is the Law treated as
anything other than a whole. All or nothing. Surely, if they were
supposed to be keeping the Sabbath, they would have not worded it this
way, so that there would be no misunderstanding. Gentiles were
not required to practice circumcision or keep the Law. They were saved
by faith (verse 9). Teaching that Gentiles were to keep the Law was
subversive. Why? Because you cannot add anything to faith. If you do,
you detract from faith. You dilute faith. People start focusing on the
Law and not faith in the one who sanctifies them. Faith becomes
subordinate to Law.
(3) Acts 16:12-15: Here we find
Paul and Silas at Philippi. And "we were in that city abiding
certain days. 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. And a certain woman named Lydia, a
seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard
us: whose heart the Lord opened...and...she was baptized."
Here again Paul and his
companions waited until the Sabbath, and then went to a place of
worship, and preached, and this woman, probably a Gentile, was
converted. The passage indicates it was the custom to meet there on the
Sabbath, and that it was custom for Paul and his companions to go to a
place of prayer and worship when the Sabbath day came.
Strange
that the narrative doesn't say regarding the Sabbath that he and the
others did it according to the command, but because it was a custom. A
custom is not a law. It is a habit. A practice that is not by command.
But Paul was going to go to where He would find those that believed in
God first (those of the circumcision). And why would he think this
woman was a Gentile, seeing as it was a place for prayer on Sabbaths,
when you consider that the author elsewhere claims that Gentiles
were not keeping the Sabbath prior to the teachings of Paul and the
church?
(4) Acts 18:1-11: "After
these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a
certain Jew named Aquila...with his wife Priscilla... and came unto
them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and
wrought: for by their occupation they were tent makers. And he reasoned
in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the
Greeks."
If we could find one text in
the New Testament giving as strong authority for Sunday observance as
this one does for Sabbath-keeping, we should certainly have Bible
authority for it! Here Paul worked weekdays, but went to church and
taught Gentiles as well as Jews every Sabbath.
Does it
say Paul "went to church?" or does it say he went into a
synagogue—a place where Jews and devout Gentiles could be
found—for
the purpose of preaching Christ to them? Or was he going to church and
preaching to Christians? And yet the author sees this as a proof
positive that Paul not only kept the Sabbath day per the command, but
taught Gentiles to do likewise, contrary to Acts 15 and his own
writings concerning the deeds of the Law. Now if we did find a place
in the New Testament writings where Paul had gone into some place to
preach on Sunday or any other day, would it really be proof that we
were to keep that day? Another point: Paul worked weekdays. If he was
teaching tithing, would he not be supported by tithes and not need to
work? Yet Paul made it plain that he would not accept support from
many congregations (2 Cor. 11:7-9).
Paul had to work during the rest of the
week to support himself.
Now the commandment says:
"Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work," just as much
as it says "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." There
is just as much command to work six days as there is to rest the
seventh.
When I was a freshman
at Ambassador in 1972, I asked why people were not at their jobs on
Sundays, seeing as the command stated that the other six days were
for work, and that is what HWA had written in this booklet. On that
next Friday night's Bible study, the author himself (Herbert Armstrong)
addressed this issue. He let it be known that he was displeased that
this subject had arisen again, and said that the other six days were
for the purpose where one could or may work, but that it was not a
command that you had to work. It was as though I was some ignorant
idiot to dare even bring it up. What happened to the belief that we
are required to work the other six as much as we are required to
rest on the seventh? If the author was wrong about this aspect of
the Sabbath and the command, could he not be wrong in other regards?
But no, it was I and others who believed people had to work on
Sundays at Ambassador who were mistaken; never mind what the author
had written ten years earlier.
He preached Christ and the
Gospel of the Kingdom. And when the Jews became offended and blasphemed,
he turned away from the Jews altogether, and from then on preached to
Gentiles only (verse 6), and he continued there a year and six months
(verse 11)—working
weekdays—preaching to Gentiles
only—every Sabbath!
From verse
6 to 11, there is no mention of Paul preaching every Sabbath. What it
does say is that Paul worked as a tentmaker and "reasoned"
with Jews and Gentiles (Greeks) every Sabbath. Paul continued doing
this; working the tent craft until Silas and Timothy arrived. Then
Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching. He no longer needed to
work the rest of the week to take care of his needs. Silas and Timothy
were there to help take care of that. Paul was now free to devote all
of his time to preaching, not being limited to just the Sabbath day!
The
author also implies that Paul refused to speak to the Jews any
further, but the house he stayed at and taught from was right up
against the synagogue, even sharing a wall with it, and the leader of
the synagogue was a believer. If a Jew wanted to hear Paul, all he had
to do was go next door. From there Paul went to Ephesus (verse 19) and
what did Paul do? He went into a synagogue and reasoned with the Jews
(verse 20). So much for Paul no longer preaching to Jews. One other
thing: The author states, "He preached Christ and the Gospel
of the Kingdom." All the narrative relates is the contention
created by him teaching that Jesus was the Christ. No mention of the
"Gospel of the Kingdom" being taught by Paul.
What more conclusive proof
could we desire? What stronger Bible evidence than this, as to the true
Sabbath of the New Testament? For a year and a half Paul continued
working weekdays—six
days—including
Sundays—and preaching to Gentiles exclusively every
Sabbath! Certainly it was his custom and manner! Certainly he could not
have done this had the Sabbath been done away, or changed.
Why? Why
could Paul not have used the Sabbath day for teaching and preaching if
it were no longer a required day of rest? Those he spoke to and taught
were accustomed to using the Sabbath for this purpose, along with
being a day of rest. Also, Paul did not preach exclusively on the
Sabbath, as pointed out earlier, and neither did he always work the
other six days.
To these Gentile-born at
Corinth, Paul commanded: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am
of Christ" (I Cor. 11:1).
And Paul
said, that to Gentiles, he became as a Gentile; and to Jews he was as
a Jew. As one under the Law, he became as one under the Law. (I Cor.
9:20) He didn't say he was under the Law, therefore subject to the
Sabbath command, but that he became like one under the Law in order to
relate to him and convince him of the truth in Christ. This is also
why Paul went into synagogues on the Sabbath day.
And Paul, as his manner, his
custom, as we have seen by ample evidence showing a total of eighty-four
different Sabbaths Paul is shown specifically to have kept.
No, they
did not demonstrate that he specifically kept the Sabbath. He did use
the Sabbath for preaching Christ to Jews and devout Gentiles.
Did he follow Jesus in this?
Why, certainly! Jesus, "as his custom was... went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day" (Luke 4:16).
Could it
be that the phrase "as his custom was" was for the purpose
of showing that it was not because of the Sabbath command? What is
really irrational here is that earlier the author shows that "breaking
bread" does not mean a communion, but now "as his custom
was" must mean he kept the Sabbath, and "commandments of
God" must mean the Ten Commandments.
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