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.