Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: BOT
Program Code: BOT000008
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00:30 Well, thank you once again for coming to the series,
00:33 The Bible Or Tradition. 00:35 The Title of our study today is, Sunday's Shaky Foundation. 00:41 This is number 8 in this series that is composed 00:45 of 10 presentations. 00:47 However, before we study we want to ask 00:50 for the Lord's guidance. 00:52 Never should God's Word be opened without prayer. 00:55 And so I invite you, along with me, to bow your heads reverently 00:59 as we ask for the Lord's presence. 01:01 Our Father and our God, what a privilege it is to come into 01:05 Your presence to hear Your voice speaking to us directly, 01:10 and personally through the ministry of Your Word. 01:12 We ask Father that that Word, through the influence of the 01:16 Holy Spirit, will speak to our minds and hearts. 01:19 I ask Lord that You will give us willing hearts to understand, 01:24 to receive, and to live in harmony with 01:27 what You reveal to us. 01:28 We thank You Father for hearing our prayer, because we ask this 01:32 in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:37 Practically every Christian church in the world celebrates 01:45 its worship service on Sunday morning. 01:49 Now if you ask members of these churches why they go to church 01:55 on Sunday, they will tell you the reason is because Jesus 02:00 resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week. 02:03 But the big question that we need to ask is this: 02:07 is this reason for keeping Sunday in harmony with what 02:12 we find in the Holy Scriptures? 02:15 Scripture should be our guide. 02:18 The written Scriptures should be our guide. 02:21 And so what we're going to study today are the eight 02:25 texts in the New Testament that mention 02:28 the first day of the week. 02:30 Now if we're going to find any justification for the observance 02:34 of the first day of the week, we have to find that evidence 02:37 in one of these eight texts. 02:38 Because if we can't then there is no other place to look. 02:42 Because this is all of the evidence that we have 02:45 contained in the New Testament. 02:47 And so there are only eight references in the New Testament 02:50 that use the expression, the first day of the week. 02:54 Now it's important to realize that the word Sunday does 02:58 not appear in the New Testament. 02:59 You know, the names of the days, as we know them today, 03:04 are really planetary names. 03:06 For example, Sunday is the day of the sun. 03:10 Monday is moon day. 03:13 In other words, the names are planetary names. 03:15 In Bible times the days were numbered. 03:19 The only day that technically has a name in Scripture 03:23 is the Sabbath, the seventh day. 03:25 All of the other days are numbered with reference to 03:29 the seventh day Sabbath. 03:31 So we are going to study all eight references 03:34 to the first day of the week. 03:35 And to each reference we are going to ask three questions: 03:40 First of all we're going to ask if that Bible verse says 03:45 anywhere that the first day of the week is holy. 03:47 The second question that we're going to ask is whether that 03:51 text tells us that we're supposed to attend church 03:54 on the first day of the week. 03:55 And the third question that we're going to ask is whether 03:59 this particular text tells us that we're supposed to keep 04:03 the first day of the week in honor of the 04:05 resurrection of Jesus Christ. 04:07 So we are going to ask each of the eight texts 04:10 these three questions. 04:11 First question: does the text say that the first day 04:16 of the week is holy? 04:17 Second question: does the text tell us we're supposed to attend 04:21 church on the first day of the week? 04:23 And the third question: is there anything in the text that says 04:26 that we're supposed to keep the first day of the week 04:28 in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? 04:31 And then at the end of our study we are going to take a look 04:35 at another verse that doesn't mention the first day 04:38 of the week, but it is used by those who defend Sunday. 04:41 And that is Revelation 1:10 where John says that he 04:46 was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord, 04:48 or on the Lord's day. 04:49 And so we're going to take a look at that text, 04:51 which doesn't mention the first day of the week, 04:54 but is used by Sunday advocates to defend the observance 04:58 of Sunday as the day of rest. 05:00 Now let's go to our first text. 05:02 Our first text is found in Matthew 28:1, Matthew 28:1. 05:08 Notice what the Bible text simply says. 05:13 Lets not inject into the text what is not there. 05:15 Lets take what the text says. 05:28 And then if you continue reading it says that they came to the 05:33 tomb, and the tomb at this point was empty. 05:36 Now the question we need to ask of this particular text is 05:41 this: Is there anything in this verse to suggest that the first 05:45 day of the week is holy? Absolutely not! 05:48 Is there anything in the text that says we're supposed to 05:52 go to church on the first day of the week? Absolutely not! 05:55 Is there anything in the text that says that we're supposed 05:58 to honor the resurrection of Christ by observing Sunday 06:02 as the day of worship? Absolutely not! 06:04 What you have here is simply a statement of fact. 06:08 Jesus resurrected the first day of the week. 06:12 And, by the way, this text makes it very, very clear that Sunday 06:17 is not the Sabbath. 06:19 Because the text clearly says, Now after the Sabbath, 06:23 as the first day of the week began to dawn. 06:26 So Sunday cannot be called the Sabbath, because Sunday is 06:30 the day after the Sabbath. 06:32 So what European calendars do, you know, they craftily say 06:37 that the week begins on Monday. 06:39 And, of course, if you begin the week on Monday on your calendar, 06:43 then the seventh day is what day? 06:46 The seventh day is Sunday, but it doesn't square 06:50 with the Bible evidence. 06:51 Because the Bible tells us very clearly that the seventh day 06:55 is the Sabbath, not the first day of the week. 06:59 Because the first day of the week is the day after the 07:02 Sabbath, according to this specific text. 07:04 So let's go to text number 2. 07:07 Text number 2 mentions the first day of the week is Mark 16:1, 2. 07:14 It says there: 07:38 Now let's ask our three questions of this text. 07:40 Is there anything in these two verses that would suggest 07:44 that Sunday, or the first day of the week, is holy? Nothing! 07:48 Is there anything to suggest that it's the new day when 07:52 we're supposed to go to church? Absolutely not! 07:54 Is there anything in the text that says that we're supposed 07:58 to go to church on Sunday to honor the 08:00 resurrection of Jesus Christ? Absolutely not! 08:03 Now did you notice in this text, once again, 08:06 that Sunday is not the Sabbath? 08:08 Because it says in verse 2, Very early in the morning 08:13 of the first day of the week they came to the tomb 08:15 when the sun had risen. 08:17 And the previous verse, verse 1, says, Now when the Sabbath 08:20 was what? Now when the Sabbath was past. 08:24 So Sunday is not the Sabbath any way you look at it. 08:28 Sunday is the first day of the week, 08:30 and the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. 08:33 If you read the text as it is there written, there's no doubt 08:39 whatsoever that the Sabbath is the seventh day, 08:42 and Sunday is the first day. 08:44 And there's no evidence that the first day 08:46 of the week is holy. 08:47 No evidence that we're supposed to go to church 08:49 on the first day of the week. 08:50 No evidence whatsoever that we're to keep Sunday 08:53 in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 08:56 Now lets go to text number 3. 08:59 Text number 3 is found in Mark 16:9, Mark 16:9. It says here: 09:18 So lets ask the three questions. 09:20 And you're going to be kind of tired after the lecture 09:24 with these same three questions all the time, 09:26 but I want to make a point. 09:28 That's the reason why I'm asking these three questions, 09:30 because I want to make a point. 09:32 And I want the point to remain there to lodge in our psyche, 09:36 if you please. So the question is, Is there anything 09:40 in Mark 16:9 that would suggest that the first day 09:44 of the week is holy? No! 09:46 Is there anything in this text that says that we're supposed 09:49 to go to church on the first day of the week? Absolutely not! 09:53 Is there anything in the text that says that we're supposed 09:56 to keep the first day of the week in honor of the 09:58 resurrection of Jesus Christ? No! 10:01 The text simply makes a statement of fact. 10:04 It says that Jesus resurrected the first day of the week. 10:07 So to say that we're supposed to go to church because Jesus 10:11 resurrected, is an assumption that we're adding to the text, 10:14 which is not found there in the verse. 10:18 Now lets go to text number 4. 10:21 John 20:1, 2, John 20:1, 2. It says: 10:53 So reading verse 1 again now: the first day of the week 10:56 Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, 11:00 and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 11:02 Question: Is there anything in this text to suggest that the 11:06 first day of the week is holy? Absolutely not! 11:09 Is there anything in the text to indicate that we're supposed 11:13 to go to church on Sunday, or the first day of the week? 11:15 Absolutely not! Is there anything in the text that would 11:19 suggest that we're to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ 11:22 by keeping Sunday as the day in honor of the 11:26 resurrection of Jesus? 11:27 Absolutely nothing in the text. 11:30 Incidentally, there's something very interesting, and that is 11:34 that the book of John is being written about sixty years 11:39 after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 11:41 So, you know, it's telling the story of when Jesus resurrected, 11:45 but it's being written sixty years later. 11:47 And yet even though it's being written sixty years later, 11:50 John does not call the first day of the week the Lord's day. 11:55 And he does not attribute any holiness to the day. 11:59 Sixty years later he simply makes a statement of fact. 12:03 If Sunday was the day of worship he would have probably called it 12:06 the Lord's day, and he probably would have said it's holy, 12:09 and people have been going to church to honor the resurrection 12:12 of Christ. Absolutely nothing! 12:14 Even though he's writing sixty years after the resurrection 12:17 of Christ, he does not call it the Lord's day, and he does not 12:20 say it's holy. He does not say you're supposed to go to church 12:23 on that day. He doesn't say that you're supposed to keep it 12:27 in honor of the resurrection of Christ. 12:29 He simply makes a statement of fact. 12:33 Now lets go to text number 5. 12:35 It's found in Luke 24:1, Luke 24:1. 12:41 And I'm going to go a little earlier. 12:43 I'm going to go to chapter 23, beginning with verse 53, 12:48 so that we can catch the context. 12:50 And what I want you to see here is the sequence of days. 12:53 There are three days here: Friday, Sabbath, and Sunday, 12:57 or the sixth day, the seventh day, and the first day. 13:00 Lets notice the sequence, beginning at 13:02 verse 53 of chapter 23. 13:06 That is Joseph of Arimathea. 13:09 Took His body down. 13:20 Now notice what day that was when Joseph of Arimathea 13:24 asked for the body of Jesus. 13:29 And the reason it's called the Preparation is because 13:32 in Exodus 16 God said, What you're going to prepare, 13:35 prepare it today. That's probably where the word 13:38 preparation comes from. 13:39 But anyway, it says, That day, Friday,... 13:44 So what was the next day going to be? 13:46 The next day was going to be the Sabbath. 13:49 It continues saying in verse 55: 14:02 And they rested on Sunday according to the commandment. 14:05 That's not what it says! It says: 14:12 Let me ask you, was the commandment still binding 14:16 after the death of Christ? 14:17 This is the fourth commandment! 14:19 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 14:20 The women are keeping the Sabbath. 14:22 So if Jesus had intended them to keep the first day 14:25 of the week, and had taught His disciples to do that, 14:27 why are the women keeping the Sabbath? 14:29 Furthermore, you know what's interesting, 14:31 is that the gospel of Luke is being written about thirty years 14:35 after the resurrection of Christ. 14:36 And even though this is being written about thirty years 14:40 after the resurrection of Christ, Luke still tells us 14:44 that the women kept the Holy Sabbath. 14:48 And so it continues saying there, once again verse 55: 15:05 Now how many days do we have so far? 15:07 We have the Preparation, which is Friday, when Joseph asked 15:11 for the body of Jesus; then they rested the Sabbath day, 15:14 according to the commandment. 15:15 And now notice chapter 24 and verse 1. 15:18 This is text number 5 that mentions the 15:20 first day of the week. 15:37 So do you notice the sequence of days 15:40 that we have in this passage? 15:41 What day did Jesus die? 15:43 He died on Friday. 15:45 Which day did Jesus rest in the tomb, and the women 15:48 rest outside the tomb? 15:50 On the Sabbath, according to the commandment. 15:52 And which day did Jesus resurrect? 15:54 He resurrected on the first day of the week. 15:57 So let me ask you something, is Sunday the Sabbath? 16:01 Sunday is the day after the Sabbath 16:03 according to this passage. 16:05 Sunday is not the Sabbath. 16:07 So to say that the Christian day of worship, 16:12 the Christian Sabbath is Sunday, is a contradiction, 16:16 because Sunday cannot be the Sabbath. 16:18 The Sabbath is the seventh day, and Sunday is the first day 16:22 of the week, according to this sequence. 16:25 Now let's ask the three questions of this text number 5. 16:28 Is there anything in this text that says that the first day of 16:32 the week is holy? Absolutely nothing! 16:35 Is there anything in the text to suggest that people should 16:38 go to church on the first day of the week? Absolutely not! 16:41 Is there anything in the text that would suggest that we are 16:46 supposed to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ 16:50 by the observance of the first day of the week? 16:52 Absolutely nothing! 16:54 The text simply makes a statement of fact. 16:57 It says, Now on the first day of the week, very early in the 17:00 morning, they, and certain other women with them, 17:03 came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had 17:05 prepared. And then verse 2. 17:07 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 17:09 That's all it says. 17:10 Now, by the way, Luke is known as a very meticulous historian. 17:15 Luke, besides being a physician, he was a historian. 17:19 He says at the beginning of his book that he investigated 17:22 carefully all of the sources. 17:24 And it's interesting that he says in Luke 1:1-3, he says: 17:40 Now if Sunday was the day of worship, 17:43 how did that escape his attention, 17:45 being a careful historian? 17:48 It just doesn't jive. 17:51 It doesn't make any sense to say that Luke would have 17:54 forgotten, writing thirty years later, 17:56 investigating the sources. 17:57 And if Sunday was the day of worship, that he would not even 18:00 mention that Sunday was the day of worship, 18:03 particularly when it says that Luke: 18:15 ...concerning what Jesus had done. 18:17 Now lets go to text number six. 18:20 John 20:19, John 20:19. It says there: 18:39 To celebrate the resurrection. 18:41 That's not what it says, right? 18:44 Sometimes I'll read wrong to make sure that you're just 18:46 following along. You know, because people, you know, 18:49 the preacher will say something and everybody will say Amen, 18:51 and they don't check it out for themselves in the Bible. 18:54 You need to check out Scripture for yourself. 18:56 Don't just take what your religious leaders say, 18:59 now matter how much you respect them. 19:00 I don't want you to accept what I say unless it's in harmony 19:04 with Scripture. Then accept it. So it says: 19:14 Why were they assembled there? 19:15 To celebrate Sunday as the resurrection? 19:17 Because it was holy? 19:18 Because it was the day now to assemble to have church? 19:20 No. It says they were there for what? for fear of the Jews. 19:31 Now do you know the way some people use this text? 19:33 They argue like this: They say the disciples were gathered 19:39 together there in the upper room, on the first day of the 19:43 week, to celebrate communion. 19:46 And they were celebrating communion in order to 19:51 commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 19:54 And Jesus Christ joined them for the celebration. 19:57 Thus we are to follow the example of the disciples 20:01 who were gathered together. 20:03 We also are supposed to gather together on the first day of the 20:07 week. And we are supposed to celebrate communion 20:09 in honor of the resurrection of Christ. 20:12 Now this argument has several flaws, 20:17 and let me share those flaws with you. 20:19 1. A simple reading of the text tells us why they 20:24 were gathered there. 20:25 A simple reading of the text says that they were gathered 20:29 there for fear of the Jews. 20:31 They were not gathered there to celebrate Sunday 20:34 in honor of the resurrection. 20:35 It says very clearly they were gathered there 20:38 for fear of the Jews. 20:40 Furthermore, Jesus could not have joined them 20:43 for the celebration of communion, 20:46 supposedly, in honor of the resurrection. 20:48 And you say, Why not? It's very simple. 20:52 You see, the day before Jesus died on the cross, 20:54 which was on Thursday, He gathered with His disciples 20:57 in the upper room. 20:58 And He said something very interesting. 21:00 He said to them, that He would not drink of this fruit 21:04 of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you 21:08 in My Father's kingdom. 21:09 So how could Jesus be celebrating communion with them 21:13 if He said, I'm not going to drink this grape juice anymore 21:16 until we enter the kingdom. 21:18 That was no celebration of communion. 21:20 Furthermore the Bible tells us what they ate. 21:23 They did eat the communion bread and drink the grape juice. 21:27 The Bible tells us in Luke 24:36-43 that Jesus ate 21:36 a piece of fish and a honeycomb. 21:39 So I suppose that from now on when we celebrate communion, 21:42 we're supposed to eat a piece of a fish, and we're supposed 21:45 to eat a honeycomb to celebrate communion. 21:47 It tells us what Jesus ate, and it wasn't the grape juice, 21:52 and it wasn't the supposed bread. 21:56 Furthermore it's important to realize that communion does not 22:00 commemorate the resurrection of Christ. 22:02 Communion commemorates the death of Jesus Christ. 22:06 The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:26, 22:09 that when we celebrate the communion, when we eat the 22:12 bread, and we drink the grape juice, 22:14 we announce His death until He comes. 22:17 In other words, it's not His resurrection that is 22:20 commemorated by the communion service, it is the death 22:24 of Christ that is commemorated as the important 22:29 event of His death. 22:31 Now some people say, well, but what about the expression 22:34 breaking bread? See, they broke bread, so that has to mean 22:37 that they had communion. 22:38 The fact is, folks, that the expression, breaking bread, 22:42 is used to describe a common meal. 22:44 Notice Acts 2, Acts 2:46, 47, Acts 2:46, 47. Here it says: 23:04 ...in church. No, no, no, it says... 23:15 ...communion bread. No, it says they ate their what? 23:27 So the expression, breaking bread, 23:29 doesn't always refer to communion. 23:31 If they were gathered to break bread, it could mean that they 23:35 simply were going to partake of the common everyday meal, 23:39 as they did, it says here, from day to day, from house to house, 23:43 they ate their food with gladness of heart. 23:47 Furthermore it's interesting that Jesus actually instituted 23:51 communion on Thursday night. 23:52 Notice what it says in 1 Corinthians 11, 23:56 and beginning with verse 23, 1 Corinthians 11:23. 24:00 Here the Apostle Paul is reminiscing about the 24:03 establishment of communion, and he says this: 24:14 Now what night was Jesus betrayed? 24:16 Thursday night. Yes. 24:38 So when did Jesus institute communion? 24:41 Listen folks, if Jesus had wanted the disciples to believe 24:45 that the celebration of communion would commemorate 24:48 the resurrection, why did He establish it on Thursday 24:51 and not on Sunday night? 24:53 The fact is that the day in which communion is to be 24:58 celebrated, the Apostle Paul says, When you gather together 25:01 to celebrate communion. 25:02 He does not specify, or establish a specific day. 25:06 Now, some people use a psychological argument. 25:10 They'll say, listen, Jesus resurrected on the first day 25:17 of the week, and His followers were overjoyed because 25:22 it was the day when Jesus resurrected. 25:24 But on Sabbath they were sad and long faced. 25:27 So, you see, the Sabbath is a sad day, 25:30 whereas Sunday is a happy day. 25:33 And so people, you know, they'll go to church and they'll hear 25:36 their preachers say this, and they'll say, Amen, Hallelujah! 25:39 And they don't even think about looking at what 25:41 the Bible has to say. 25:42 The fact is, at first sight it might appear that this 25:46 psychological argument makes sense, because you say, 25:49 Well, yeh, the Sabbath was a sad day; the disciples were crying, 25:51 the women were crying. 25:53 Sunday, supposedly, was a happy day because Jesus had 25:56 resurrected. There are two problems with this idea: 25:59 First of all it was not God's fault that they were sad. 26:03 Had Jesus told them on multiple occasions that He was 26:07 going to go to Jerusalem, they were going to mistreat Him, 26:10 and He was going to resurrect the third day? 26:12 He told them repeatedly during His ministry, 26:14 particularly the last six months of His ministry, 26:17 and yet they did not believe. 26:18 Let me ask you, how would they have felt if they had believed 26:22 what Jesus said? What would that Sabbath have been like? 26:25 It would have been a Sabbath of joyful expectation. 26:29 They would have said, Hey, Jesus on the cross said, 26:32 It is finished! We now have a perfect life, 26:35 and a death for sin. 26:36 He has brought about salvation! 26:39 Praise the Lord! And tomorrow we are going to see Him 26:43 resting in the tomb now. 26:44 And tomorrow He's going to resurrect! 26:46 It would have been a day of joyous expectancy. 26:48 It was not God's purpose that the Sabbath be a sad day. 26:52 It was God's purpose that the Sabbath be a happy day; 26:54 that they would rest outside the tomb, 26:57 while Jesus was resting in the tomb. 26:59 But the greatest blow, and the second reason why this 27:02 psychological argument doesn't hold water, is the fact 27:06 that on the first day of the week the disciples 27:08 did not believe that Jesus had resurrected, until Sunday night 27:13 when He appeared to them. 27:14 So how could they be happy, all happy on Sunday, 27:16 because Jesus had resurrected? 27:18 Sunday evening they didn't believe He had resurrected. 27:20 Let's read it. Notice Luke 24: 9-11, Luke 24:9-11. It says: 27:28 That is the women who came to the tomb. 27:46 What? to the apostles. 27:51 So this is on Sunday morning. 27:54 The women come back and they tell the disciples, 27:56 Hey, Jesus has resurrected! 27:58 They say, Yeh, right! 28:00 So how could they be filled with joy if they didn't believe 28:03 Jesus had resurrected? 28:04 And that evening they still didn't believe. 28:06 Notice Mark 16:10-13, Mark 16:10-13. 28:12 That is Mary Magdalene. 28:27 This is, by the way, late on Sunday afternoon. 28:30 Remember the two disciples that went on the road to Emmaus? 28:32 It says: 28:38 That's Sunday, late afternoon. 28:43 This is Sunday evening. 28:47 So how was Sunday a joyful happy day if they didn't even 28:51 believe that Jesus had resurrected? 28:53 Are you with me? So we need to be careful about arguments 28:58 based on human reason. 28:59 They might appear to be rational. 29:02 They might appear to make sense, but we need to check 29:05 and see if they are Biblical. 29:07 Now the question is, does this text that we just looked at, 29:12 text number 6 in the sequence, tell us that the first day 29:16 of the week is holy? No. 29:18 Does it say we're supposed to go to church on the 29:20 first day of the week? No. 29:21 They were there for fear of the Jews. 29:23 Does it say we're supposed to honor the resurrection of Christ 29:26 by keeping the first day of the week? Absolutely not! 29:29 We're running out of options here. 29:33 Now lets go to the next text, number 7 in this series. 29:37 We've studied six so far. 29:39 We found no smoking gun. 29:41 We haven't found any hint that the first day 29:45 of the week is holy. 29:46 They were supposed to keep it in honor of the resurrection, 29:49 or were supposed to go to church on the 29:50 first day of the week. 29:51 But somebody says, Ah, 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2. 29:55 There's the text that says we're supposed to go to church 29:58 on the first day of the week to honor the resurrection 30:00 of Jesus Christ. Let's read 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2. 30:24 Now we need to understand what the purpose of this offering was 30:28 of this money that was set aside. 30:30 Romans 15:25-28 says that there was great poverty in Jerusalem. 30:35 And so the Apostle Paul went throughout all of the churches 30:38 telling the people to set aside a certain sum of money 30:41 so that when he would come, he would pick up all of the 30:44 money and take it to Jerusalem, to help the needy 30:46 saints in Jerusalem. 30:48 Now the question is, is this speaking about a regular 30:52 church gathering on the first day of the week? 30:54 Does this text say that the first day of the week is holy? 30:58 Does this say that the first day of the week Jesus resurrected, 31:01 and we're supposed to honor Him because He resurrected? 31:04 The resurrection isn't even mentioned. 31:06 Is this a regular Sabbath observance where people are 31:09 going to church to honor the resurrection of Christ? 31:12 Absolutely not! In fact, when you read the versions of the 31:15 Bible you'll find that what they emphasize and underline, 31:19 is that this is an act that is taking place at people's homes. 31:22 They're not going to church to deposit the money. 31:25 They're setting aside the money at home. 31:28 So the question is, if they're setting aside the money at home, 31:31 why would they do that at home if they were 31:33 going to go to church? 31:34 Now I want you to notice here different Bible versions, 31:38 and how the Bible versions translate this text. 31:41 I just read where it says, On the first day of the week 31:44 let each one of you lay something aside, storing it up, 31:47 as he may prosper. 31:49 That's the New King James. 31:51 Lets read some other versions. 31:52 This is the King James Version. 31:54 It says, Upon the first day of the week... 31:59 That's a personal thing. 32:05 The NIV says: 32:19 The New American Standard Bible says: 32:31 The English Standard Version says: 32:42 The New International Readers Version says: 32:48 Why would they put it away if they were going to church? 32:59 Well, if they picked up the offering in the church, 33:02 you know, why would he even mention about picking 33:04 up an offering when he came? 33:07 The New Revised Standard Version says: 33:17 The Waymouth Version says: 33:33 Wutst Version says: 33:53 And the Greek Text literally says: Let each of you store 33:58 up by himself. Folks, it is not honest to the text of Scripture 34:04 to use this text to prove that Sunday is Christ's new holy day. 34:09 It is not fair to use this text to say that Sunday was a regular 34:15 gathering day for the church. 34:17 This is a private setting aside of money in the home. 34:22 It's not a meeting that is taking place at the church. 34:25 And yet the famous Bible Commentator, Adam Clarke, 34:30 had this to say. Notice how he injects his own meaning 34:34 into the text. He says: 34:53 Well, now you've gone beyond Corinth to Galatia. 34:55 And then he says: 35:06 Where is that in the text? Nowhere! 35:10 It's his preconceived notion that he is 35:12 reading into the text. 35:14 Now Albert Barnes was closer to the meaning of the text. 35:18 He was more honest. 35:19 Notice what he says: 36:05 Is there anything that would even faintly suggest, 36:10 in this text, that Sunday is holy? No! 36:13 Is there anything to suggest that this was something that was 36:16 taking place at church? Absolutely not! 36:19 Is there any reference even to the resurrection of Christ, 36:22 or honoring the resurrection of Christ? Not at all! 36:25 That is reading into the text what is not there; 36:30 what the writer did not put there under the inspiration 36:34 of the Holy Spirit. 36:35 Now lets go to the last text, which is most frequently used. 36:40 Text number 8, Acts 20:7, although we're going to read 36:45 verses 7-11. This is a meeting that is taking place at Troas. 36:51 And I read from Acts 20:7. 37:01 See, there's the expression to break bread, 37:03 so they're there to celebrate communion, right? 37:05 Well, actually I think what this is talking about 37:08 is having a potluck rather. So it says: 37:16 Now this is going to give us the reason for the meeting. 37:27 We'll make some comments about this later on. 37:31 Lets finish reading. 37:41 Huh, thankfully, people don't normally go to sleep 37:44 during my sermons. So verse 9 says: 38:06 Now notice this. This is not a communion service. 38:09 Notice who it was that ate. It says: 38:17 It doesn't say they. 38:18 The Apostle Paul, after speaking a long time, it says: 38:23 And, by the way, it says when he... 38:34 What was the purpose of this meeting? 38:36 This meeting was a farewell meeting for the Apostle Paul, 38:41 because the Apostle Paul was going to depart on the next day. 38:44 It did take place on the first day of the week. 38:48 But it took place on the dark portion of the 38:51 first day of the week, because this is an evening meeting. 38:53 It's a night meeting isn't it? 38:55 So let me ask you this, when would the evening of 38:59 the first day of the week be? 39:00 Listen folks, in Genesis it says that the dark portion 39:04 of the day comes first, and then the light portion. 39:06 It was the evening and the morning of the first day. 39:09 The evening and the morning of the second day, and so on. 39:12 So the dark portion is the evening, and the light portion 39:17 is the morning, or the day. 39:19 So what would the first day of the week be if it was the 39:23 dark portion? It would be what we call what? 39:25 What we call Saturday night. 39:27 This was a Saturday night meeting. 39:29 Because as soon as the sun sets on a day, and the dark portion 39:37 begins, that's the dark portion of the next day. 39:40 Are you understanding what I am saying? 39:41 So if this takes place on the first day of the week, 39:44 this is the dark portion of the first day, which is what we 39:47 would call what? We would call this Saturday night. 39:51 By the way, this was an out of the ordinary meeting. 39:55 Notice the reason. 39:57 We already read it, but lets read some additional verses. 39:59 Acts 20:7, and then we'll read verse 25, and then we'll read 40:04 verses 36-38. Acts 20:7. 40:14 There's the explanation of the meeting. 40:21 And then verse 25. 40:24 The Apostle Paul is speaking here. 40:33 Because Paul knew that he was about to be killed. 40:38 He was about to be beheaded in Rome. And so it says: 40:44 Verse 36. 40:50 Verse 37. 41:07 What was the purpose of this meeting? 41:09 Was this a regular meeting? 41:10 Did Christians regularly meet all Saturday night? 41:13 Of course not. You know, if you want to find justification here 41:18 for anything, you would have to say that your worship service 41:21 has to be all Saturday night until daybreak. 41:25 But, of course, no church would be willing to say that 41:29 that's exactly what the text means. 41:31 Now, by the way, I've had similar experiences to this. 41:34 I remember when I taught theology 41:36 in the country of Columbia. 41:37 I was invited to go to this church that was in a tropical 41:42 rain forest in Columbia. 41:44 You know, you had to take a small plane. 41:47 And as it was landing it looked like you were going to land 41:51 on top of the trees. 41:52 And then suddenly there appeared the landing strip. 41:55 And ministers could not visit there very frequently because 42:00 there was no way of getting there except by flying. 42:02 And so whenever a minister came, every three or four months, 42:06 the people were anxious to hear the minister preach. 42:08 And so when I went there I preached my sermon from eleven 42:14 till about twelve, and when I finished my sermon 42:17 the people said, Are you already finished? 42:20 I said, Yeh, that's my sermon. 42:21 They said, Oh no, no, no, you've got to preach again. 42:23 So I had several sermons, so I got up and I preached 42:27 another sermon; probably about an hour. 42:29 And I finished that sermon, and I said, Okay, 42:32 I preached the second. 42:33 They said, Oh no, you've got to preach again. 42:35 And so I preached till three o'clock in the afternoon. 42:38 And then they broke up the meeting because they 42:43 wanted me to go and eat. 42:44 And so that evening at six o'clock I started preaching. 42:48 And, believe it or not, there were people there. 42:50 There were actually lights, not only inside the church, 42:54 but people had flashlights outside. 42:55 There were people hanging out the doors, 42:58 hanging out the windows. 42:59 I mean it was totally packed, inside and out. 43:01 And so I preached, and preached, and preached, 43:04 until three o'clock in the morning. 43:05 Because I was going to leave the next morning. 43:08 Now does this mean that this happened every single week, 43:11 every single Sabbath? Of course not! 43:14 It's exactly what happened in Acts 20. 43:17 The Apostle Paul had preached on Sabbath, 43:19 and the people were so excited. 43:21 They knew that they weren't going to see him anymore. 43:23 So they said, Hey, let's meet this evening, 43:25 and lets continue the meeting, because you're going to 43:27 be leaving tomorrow. 43:28 And the Apostle Paul started preaching, and preaching, 43:31 and then he had to stop. 43:32 It says that he had to stop, and he had to go eat. 43:34 And then it says that he stood up again 43:36 and he preached until daybreak. 43:38 And the next day, which would be Sunday, by the way, 43:40 he traveled thirty-five miles to Assos to take a ship. 43:43 So why wasn't he in church on Sunday, if people were going 43:47 to church on Sunday? 43:48 It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. 43:51 There's no justification here for the observance of Sunday 43:55 as the day of rest. 43:56 Let me ask you, does Acts 20 say that the first day 43:59 of the week is holy? Absolutely not! 44:02 Does it say that we're supposed to go to church on a regular 44:06 basis on the first day of the week? Absolutely not! 44:09 Does it say that we're supposed to honor 44:11 the resurrection of Jesus? 44:12 It doesn't even mention the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 44:16 That is something that people inject into the text. 44:19 If you want to know what the book of Acts says about the day 44:22 of worship, all you have to do is read all of the other verses 44:25 in Acts that tell us which is God's day of worship. 44:27 Lets notice these texts. 44:29 Acts 13, Acts 13:14, 42, 44. It says: 44:43 Sunday and sat down. No, no, no, that's not what it says. It says 44:59 When was the preaching service? 45:00 On Sabbath! Notice verse 43. 45:20 According to the book of Acts, which day was the day 45:23 that they were keeping? The Sabbath! 45:24 Notice Acts 16:13. Because some people say, well, that's because 45:28 there were Jews in the synagogue. 45:30 And so the disciples, you know, the Apostle Paul, 45:32 they would go to the synagogue because they knew that the 45:34 Jews would be there. 45:35 Well, the fact is that the text says that the Gentiles also 45:38 asked that the Apostle Paul speak to them the next Sabbath. 45:41 But also notice in Acts 16:13 that there's an outdoor meeting. 45:46 It says: 45:56 Which day did the Apostle Paul meet with the women? 46:00 It was on the Sabbath day. 46:02 Notice Acts 17:2. It says: 46:15 And then notice Acts 18:4. It says: 46:29 Which was the day of worship according to the book of Acts? 46:33 It's the Sabbath. So to take Acts 20, 46:36 which is an extraordinary meeting, and to inject Sunday 46:40 into that text is not an honest study of Holy Scripture. 46:45 Now we need to take a look. 46:49 We've taken a look at all eight texts. 46:51 There's no evidence in any of these texts that Sunday is to be 46:55 kept in honor of the resurrection; 46:58 that we're supposed to go to church on Sunday; 47:00 that Sunday is holy above other days. 47:03 There simply is no evidence. 47:04 So lets go to Revelation 1:10, Revelation 1:10. 47:09 Somebody might say, Well, Pastor Bohr, 47:11 there's evidence in Revelation 1:10, so lets read that verse. 47:14 Lets begin, actually, in verse 10, and we'll 47:18 continue with verse 11. It says: 47:22 This is when John receives his vision. 47:43 So here it mentions the Lord's day. 47:46 So the question is, How do you determine 47:48 which is the Lord's day? 47:50 Some modern versions say that he was in the Spirit on Sunday. 47:55 Because the early church fathers said that the 47:58 Lord's day was Sunday. 47:59 And so what is your standard for determining what 48:02 what is the Lord's day? 48:03 Is it Tertellion? Is it origin? 48:06 Is it Barnabas? 48:08 Is it some Post Apostolic authority? 48:12 Or should we allow the Bible to tell us what is the Lord's day? 48:15 We should allow the Bible to do it. 48:17 We should allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. 48:21 Twenty-three times in the Bible we are told clearly 48:24 that the Lord's day is the Holy Sabbath. 48:27 Let me give you three examples: two from the Old Testament, 48:29 and one from the New. 48:30 Exodus 20:8, 9. 48:41 Jews. No! 48:45 So who's day is the Sabbath? 48:47 It's the Lord's day! 48:49 Notice Isaiah 58:13, 14. It says: 48:57 God is speaking here. 49:14 And somebody might say, Well, that's Old Testament. 49:17 Well, lets notice what Mark 2: 27, 28 has to say. 49:29 Sunday. No! It says: 49:36 So which is the Lord's day? 49:39 The Lord's day is the Sabbath, if you allow the Bible 49:42 to explain itself. 49:43 The problem is people take tradition, and what the 49:47 preachers say, and what the priests say, 49:48 and they inject that into the Bible. 49:50 And they accept a human authority instead of accepting 49:53 the authority of the Holy Word of God. 49:56 Now, in order to woo Protestants the Roman Catholic Church 50:01 has become craftier. 50:02 John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter called Dies Domini, 50:07 where he made a valiant effort to prove from the New Testament, 50:11 that Sunday is the day that we're supposed to keep. 50:14 If you read Dies Domini, you're going to find that all of his 50:18 arguments are based on human reason and conjecture. 50:21 He does not use the Bible as his standard. 50:24 Nowhere are we told that Sunday is holy; that we're to honor 50:29 His resurrection on that day, or that we are supposed 50:32 to attend church on that day. 50:33 And, by the way, in his apostolic letter he quotes 50:37 212 scholars, church councils, creeds, and church fathers, 50:45 to try and bolster his weak Biblical case. 50:47 He's making of none effect the Word of God. 50:51 Incidentally, in paragraphs 20 and 21 of Dies Domini, 50:56 John Paul II lists a series of events that took place 51:00 on the first day of the week to impress people that the first 51:03 day of the week is the key day. 51:05 For example, he says that Jesus met with two of His disciples 51:09 on the Road to Emmaus on the first day. 51:12 And then He appeared to the eleven apostles 51:14 in the upper room on the first day. 51:17 And then, a week later He appeared to the apostles 51:19 again on the first day. 51:21 And then fifty days later, on the first day, 51:24 the church was established. 51:26 On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out 51:29 on the first day he says. 51:30 The first proclamation of the gospel took place 51:33 on the first day; Peter preaching. 51:34 The first baptisms took place on the first day. 51:37 So he's making a list of all of these things that took 51:39 place on the first day. 51:40 And he's saying, See, the first day is the significant day. 51:44 And he even uses, in his pastoral letter, the text that 51:48 Protestants have commonly used: 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2, 51:52 Acts 20:7-9, and Revelation 1:10 to try to prove 51:57 that Sunday is the day of worship, because he knows 52:00 that Protestants don't accept tradition. 52:02 And so he says, I have to present a Biblical scenario 52:06 for the observance of Sunday as the day of rest. 52:09 And you say, Well, why did Jesus resurrect on Sunday? 52:14 Do you know why? Because the story of the manna in the book 52:19 of Exodus 16 tells us very clearly that Jesus had to rest 52:23 in the tomb on the Sabbath, and that as He rested in the 52:28 tomb His body would see no corruption. 52:30 So because Jesus had to fulfill the manna episode of resting 52:37 in the tomb on Sabbath, and His body seeing no corruption, 52:40 He would have to resurrect on the first day of the week, 52:42 if He had to rest in the tomb on Sabbath. 52:44 So the important day is not the day He resurrected, 52:48 the important day is the day that He rested 52:50 from His works of redemption, like at creation He rested 52:54 the seventh day from His works of creation. 52:56 So if Jesus rested in the tomb on Sabbath, 52:59 of course He's going to resurrect on Sunday. 53:01 But it's not because Sunday is holy, 53:03 it is because the Sabbath is holy. 53:06 And in paragraph 14, John Paul II says... 53:12 Listen to this. Where is this in the Bible? He says: 53:30 Where does he get that in the Bible? 53:33 Where in the Bible does it say that God blessed the first day 53:38 of the week and made it holy? 53:39 Where does it say that God set it apart from 53:41 all of the other days? 53:43 Where does it say, in the Bible, that Sunday is the Lord's day? 53:46 Nowhere! Do you know, if you read Dies Domini carefully 53:51 you're going to discover what is the real authority 53:54 that John Paul II is using. 53:56 Let me read you some paragraphs from Dies Domini. 54:00 You'll see where he's really getting his basis for saying 54:03 that Sunday is the day of rest. 54:05 In paragraph 6, this is on page 14. 54:10 Paragraph 6 it says: 54:21 And then he says: 54:28 Paragraph 18 says: 54:32 Now listen carefully. 54:41 Who made the day a festive day? Christians, he says. 54:45 Paragraph 27, he says: 54:54 In paragraph 63, listen to this. He says: 55:10 Who thought that they had the authority? Christians, he says, 55:13 not Scripture. And in paragraph 81 he says: 55:29 And you now what's interesting? 55:30 In his pastoral letter he says that the Sabbath was a Jewish 55:36 institution that is changed in the new dispensation. 55:40 But you look at the Roman Catholic Church, 55:43 it's like a continuing Judaism. 55:45 They have temples, altars, incense, vestments, chalices, 55:51 candles, as if the old dispensation 55:54 had never come to an end. 55:55 And yet the Sabbath, which God says that we're supposed to keep 56:01 in honor of creation, before there was a Jew, 56:03 before there was any sin; the Roman Catholic Church says, 56:05 No, we don't apply that in our time. 56:09 So the question is, where does all of this observance 56:13 of Sunday come from? 56:15 Mark 7 we read: 56:37 Sunday is a commandment of men folks. 56:40 And to keep Sunday is vain worship according to Jesus. 56:44 And then He says: 57:01 And He was referring here to the commandment that says, 57:04 Honor your father and your mother. 57:05 But the Roman Catholic Church does the same thing 57:08 with the Holy Sabbath. 57:09 So do we have any evidence in Scripture that the day 57:12 of worship has been changed? No! 57:14 The only authority is the tradition of the church. |
Revised 2014-12-18