Wednesday, February 20, 2019

A First-Day Sabbath Primer

Again and again, I encounter sincere but misguided believers, who think that the church has made some grave error in observing the first day of the week as the Lord's holy day of worship. For some of them, this is because the Spirit's stirring up of their hearts unto love of the Lord and His law has not been met with sound instruction or clear biblical thinking.
Here is a very basic primer, intended to help such as these. I have no delusions that it will satisfy those who are vociferously hostile to the Christian Sabbath. 
Hebrews 4:9 says that there remains a Sabbatismon for the people of God. But the day of observance is established by the Lord Himself as the first day of the week. 
Between the resurrection and the ascension, the disciples literally gathered w/Christ whenever He walked through the wall or appeared out of thin air. Scripture tells us of this happening only on the first day of the week. 
During the apostolic period, 1Cor 14 tells us that corporate worship was dependent upon immediate revelation of the Spirit not only for preaching but also for prayers and even songs. 1Cor and 2Cor both tell us that the Spirit chose to do this on the first day of the week. 
When Paul was racing to Jerusalem so speedily that he wouldn't even take time to go inland from Miletus, he still took an entire day to worship at Troas. On the first day of the week. 
By the time John writes Revelation, he can write "the Lord's Day," and all the churches know what he is talking about. The first day of the week. 
There is still a weekly Sabbath, and God Himself has blessed and hallowed it as the first day of the week. 
Incidentally, the new creation hearkens back to the unfallen creation. Adam's first full day was a Sabbath!

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