M61 Q&A
Why do I have to observe the Sabbath on the seventh
day of the week? If I think the first day is the best day, I can keep the
Sabbath on that day (Rom 14:4-6; Gal 4:10, 11).
The Bible never says, “Choose one
day out of seven as a Sabbath day and observe it.”
The day (seventh day) itself is a
holy day and God especially blessed this day. God has set this day aside to be
a day of rest (Gen 2:1-3).
God was very specific about
exactly which day the Sabbath was. In Exodus 16:23, God said, “Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy
Sabbath to the Lord” (emphasis added). And in verse 26 Moses explains that the
seventh day (not any other day) is the Sabbath day. The same clarity and
explicitness are also expressed in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:9-11; Deut 5:12-14).
We must do what God has commanded
us, not what we feel is the best choice (1 Sam 15:22).
Romans 14:4-6 and Galatians 4:10,
11 do not refer to the weekly Sabbath day but to the observance of special
days. The context of Romans 14 shows that Paul was talking about Mosaic
regulations on days and food (see verse 2: refrain from meat). Galatians 4 is
even clearer in that it refers to observance of special occasions prescribed in
Old Testament regulations.
How can we be sure that the seventh day today is the
original seventh day God set aside in the beginning? It might be possible that
we lost track of time at certain points in the history of the human race.
The Lord Jesus observed the
Sabbath day (Lk 4:16, 13:10; Mk 6:2). So it should be
beyond doubt that the day had not been lost up to Jesus’ time.
The apostles confirmed the Sabbath
kept by the Jews (Acts 15:21). Paul himself also kept the Sabbath (Acts 13:13,
14, 16:13, 17:1, 2, 18:4).
During the same period, sun
worshippers observed Sunday and Sunday worship was later brought into the
church. Yet the Jews were still keeping the Sabbath (seventh day). Both
practices have been observed until today.
Although the Jews have been
dispersed to different parts of the world, they all have been keeping the
Sabbath on the same day even until today.
The seven-day week is found in
many countries around the world since ancient times, and the days are the same
from country to country.
God, the Creator of the Sabbath as
well as the universe, would not have allowed His sacred day to be lost.
