p. 4 | Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 7. (2/7/1916)

Which Day Do You Keep, and Why?

Nearly all professed Christians observe some day as a Sabbath unto the Lord. Some keep the day which God appointed, but most, doubtless conscientiously, rest on Sunday. It is presumed that all who read this are interested to know which day is the right one to keep; for certainly there cannot be two Sabbaths of the Lord. We will present a few facts about Sabbath and Sunday. Will you look at them carefully? Take your Bible and examine the texts of Scripture quoted. Here are the facts referred to:—

Facts About the Sabbath

God made the Sabbath at creation. Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:11.

It was observed before the law was given on Sinai. Ex. 16:23-30.

The command to observe it is associated with nine moral precepts, which are binding upon all men during all time. It is placed in the bosom of the unchangeable law. Ex. 20:8-11.

Wrath came upon ancient Israel for breaking the Sabbath. Neh. 13:15-18.

If the Sabbath had been kept, Jerusalem would not have been destroyed. Jer. 17:24, 25.

Prophecy foretells and enjoins a reform on the Sabbath. Isa. 58:12-14.

The Sabbath will exist in the new earth. Isa. 66:22, 23.

Christ observed the Sabbath. Mark 1:21.

He calls himself its Lord. Mark 2:28.

It was his “custom” to preach on that day. Luke 4:16.

The women who believed on Jesus, and who were “last at the cross and first at the sepulcher,” “rested” on the Sabbath while Christ was lying in the grave. Luke 23:56.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who wrote after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, spoke familiarly of the Sabbath as an existing institution. Matt. 24:20; 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56.

It was Paul’s “manner” to make the Sabbath a preaching day. Acts 17:2.

The Gentile believers also observed the Sabbath. Acts 13:42, 44.

Paul reached a riverside, where there was no synagogue, on the Sabbath. Acts 16:13.

He reasoned in the synagogue at Corinth “every Sabbath,” persuading both Jews and Greeks. Acts 18:4.

Finally, in the last mention of it in the Bible, it is called the “Lord’s day.” Rev. 1:10. (Compare this text with Ex. 20:10; Isa. 58:13; Mark 2:28.)

Facts About the First Day of the Week, or Sunday

Christ rose from the dead on that day. Mark 16:9; Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; John 20:1. (But he did not say that it was therefore the Sabbath.)

The women brought spices to the grave of the Saviour on that day. Luke 24:1. (Which they would not do on the Sabbath. See Luke 23:56.)

Christ appeared to his disciples on that day, the doors being shut for fear of the Jews. John 20:19. (They were not assembled to keep the Sabbath, but had closed the doors for personal safety.)

Paul once preached on the evening of the first day (Acts 20:7), corresponding with our Saturday night. But the next morning, answering to our Sunday morning, he continued his journey toward Jerusalem.

The Corinthians were commanded to lay by a “collection for the saints” on the first day. 1 Cor. 16:2. (This might be money or goods. It was not a public collection, but a private setting apart.)

Conclusion

The foregoing, dear reader, are all the texts which speak of the “first day of the week.”

There are just eight of them. But they prove nothing at all in favor of Sunday as a sabbath. Carefully examined, they prove the reverse.

The Bible tells us that “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. But what law do we “transgress” when we work on Sunday? If the reader will find a text which says, “Thou shalt do no work on the first day of the week,” or, “Remember Sunday, to keep it holy,” or its equivalent, then will his Sunday observance, in place of God’s Sabbath, stand the test of the judgment, otherwise it will not. Will you consider this point?

The Saviour says, “Blessed are they that do his [the Father’s] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14. But where is the commandment that speaks about Sunday? It is not in the Bible, nor is it in the Roman Catholic catechism. Read the Bible through a hundred times with reference to this subject, and you will each time become more and more convinced of the truthfulness of the following notable facts:—

There is no divine command for Sunday observance.
There is not the least hint of a Sunday institution.
Christ never changed God’s Sabbath to Sunday.
He never observed Sunday as the Sabbath.
The apostles never kept Sunday for the Sabbath.
There is no prophecy that Sunday would ever take the place of the Sabbath.
The word “Sunday” never occurs in the Bible.
Neither God, Christ, angels, nor inspired men have ever said one word in favor of Sunday as a holy day.

These are the facts. Again let me inquire, therefore, Which day do you keep, and why?

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Bible Reasons for the Seventh Day and Claims of the First Day Contrasted

God claimed the seventh day as his own, in many scriptures and at many different times. He never so claimed the first day, but gave it to man for labor.

He blessed and sanctified the seventh day. He neither blessed nor sanctified the first day.

He commanded that the seventh day be kept holy. He never commanded to keep the first day. There is but one commandment in the Bible for a weekly Sabbath, and that says the seventh day.

God uttered fearful threatenings against those who profane the seventh day. He has spoken nothing against laboring on the first day.

He has given great and precious promises to those who keep holy the seventh day. He has not spoken one word of promise or blessing for keeping the first day.

Everything that is necessary to give importance to the day—that is calculated to induce a proper observance of the day—is produced in favor of the seventh day. But nothing of this kind can be produced in favor of the first day—no sanctity, no commandment, no penalty, no blessing.

“The word of the Lord endureth forever.” 1 Peter 1:25.