Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: safisoft

From what I’ve studied, Constantine did NOT “fobid” observance of the sabbath. He merely said that workshops and other activities be closed on Sunday.

From the very beginning, Christians NEVER worshipped the Lord on Saturday. That should not be in dispute. They came together on the Lord’s Day (first day of the week) but also kept the Jewish Sabath. One can cast dispersions on ANY DAY by associating it with what pagans happen to do on that day but it is probably not coincidental that the Lord specifically chose the first day of the week for the ressurection and to baptize the church with the Holy Spirit.

All that said. I think believers who place greater emphasis on their particular day of worship moreso than the creator of it are on very dangerous turf. Has it become a “law unto itself” and does it resemble the attitude for which Jesus chastized the scribes and pharisees? EVERY DAY is a day when believers should study the word, pray, meditate on the things of God and, most importantly, live in accordance with it. Neither are we limited on the assembling of ourselves together on any particular day.

Whether Saturday or Sunday is recognized as the sabbath is, in my opinion, of little consequence. The day a believer chooses to assemble themselves together will NOT be the determining factor for eternity. What matters for Christians, is Christ’s attonement and the salvation available through Him. Anything else is merely religion that will be separated with the chaff. All those who are saved by Him will be together with Him and the Bible says the saints will praise God continually (not just at some time reserved for it).


18 posted on 06/17/2007 6:34:34 AM PDT by BamaCharm (Valiantly striving to combat the B.S. coming from the leftists)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies ]


To: BamaCharm
From the very beginning, Christians NEVER worshipped the Lord on Saturday. That should not be in dispute. They came together on the Lord’s Day (first day of the week) but also kept the Jewish Sabath.

First, a few definitions.

What do you mean by "Christians"? Do you mean to include the earliest believers also, or only those who repudiated the Hebrew roots of the faith and took the name "Christian" to emphasize the shift? In other words, do you mean the early believers in Antioch who bore the derisive name with honor, or the later ilk like Chrystostom who used it as a weapon against Jews?

The "L-rd's Day"? Please define this biblically. You will find only one reference in the New Testament - yet many in the "Old Testament." Please limit your definition to Scripture only.

"First day of the week." As above, please define this biblically. You will need a Greek lexicon. Pay attention to the plurals used in the phrase as well (hint: the word "week" is not "week" in Greek, and it is a plural. Compare to Exodus 31:13. In the ancient Greek version of Exodus, the Septuagint, it is the same Greek word used in every one of the "First day of the week" phrases in the New Testament.)

Please show me in Scripture where it says Jesus was raised from the dead on the "First day of the week." Even in the English it never says that. When many begin to investigate Scripture as opposed to mans' tradition they are somewhat shocked what Scripture does not say, but they assume it does.

Why does Isaiah 66:22-23 speak of Sabbaths, if "all days are the same." A followup to that... do you treat Easter or Christmas as any other day, or just the Biblical days (i.e the ones actually mentioned in the Bible)?

Lastly, why do you think Jesus said in Matthew 24:20, "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." ? Whether you are a praeterist or not, why would His warnings to His disciples include a reference to not wanting to see the "day of the L-rd" (ah, there is a correct usage of the phrase) occur on a Sabbath?

As for Constantine forbidding Sabbath worship, you are quite wrong. He forbade it and the Passover celebration. The Council of Laodecia in 365 CE repeated it, and John Chrystosom among others threatened excommunication for Sabbath-keeping.

For the record, I am not Adventist or anything like that. I just read and study Scripture itself, and am often amazed how little about the Bible people know in spite of being well-versed in theology and their denomination's "beliefs."
19 posted on 06/17/2007 8:37:00 AM PDT by safisoft (Give me Torah!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson