Which day did Christ and the Apostles observe?Which day did Paul teach Gentile converts to observe? HOW did the daybecome changed from the seventh to the first day of the week?

We have been reared in a Sunday-observing world. Naturally, wehave taken Sunday-observance for granted. Naturally, the idea of adifferent day as the true Sabbath-day strikes us as fanatical andabsurd.

Yet today some are telling us SATURDAY is the right day. Theyinsist the SEVENTH day is the only day the Bible anywhere commands usto keep. They even claim we are sinning -- that we have the "Mark ofthe Beast" and shall suffer the seven last plagues -- if we observeSunday instead of keeping the seventh day.

Many False Prophets

Jesus warned that many false prophets would appear, deceivingmany. So what is the TRUTH? How can we KNOW? Let all remember eachof us shall stand before the judgment-seat of Christ! We shall beJUDGED, not by our sincerity in what we have always believed thrucareless assumption, nor by our sincerity in following some NEWteaching without proof! We shall be judged by the BIBLE, God's Word!

How to PROVE the Truth

"All Scripture," we read in II Timothy 3:16, "is given byinspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection." Again, the command to us is, "PROVE ALL THINGS."

We must be willing to be corrected, if wrong. We must be carefulnot to be blown about "with every wind of doctrine." We must free ourminds of all prejudice. We must be able and willing to study BOTHsides honestly, laying our ideas and desires on the shelf,prayerfully asking God for guidance. If we already are right, honestinvestigation will but confirm it.

If we are WRONG, we should want to know it. And we shall quickly,willingly, as a little child accept the TRUTH as God reveals it,whatever that truth may be, if our hearts are right with Him! Perhapsthis very study may be the TEST! On the following pages is a brief,terse, outline of ONE PHASE of this many-sided question. Explanationof other phases, answering other questions that may come up, will besupplied on request.

These three facts are self-evident:

(1) Sunday is the first day of the week. See any calendar,dictionary, or encyclopedia. Is it, then, by BIBLE authority, "theChristian Sabbath," or truly the "Lord's Day," as it is popularlycalled today?

(2) Jesus kept the SABBATH, Luke 4:16. It was His custom. TheSabbath He kept was the same day of the week the Jews observed, forthe minister and congregation were all in the synagogue, verse 20,and the Pharisees continually rebuked Jesus for healing on theSabbath day.

(3) The Sabbath Jesus kept was the seventh day of the week. Threedays after His crucifixion, this Sabbath still was the day before thefirst day of the week, Matthew 28:1. Therefore it was not just anyday in seven, it was the seventh day of the week. See also Luke 23:56and 24:1.

BUT . . . was the day CHANGED, by Christ or the apostles, afterthis, to the first day of the week so that Sunday is now the NewTestament Christian Sabbath? Does the NEW TESTAMENT someplace show usthat SUNDAY is the true Lord's Day and command Christians to observeit? LET US SEE!

Is "Sunday" Mentioned in the New Testament?

This change could not be made, -- a different day, the FIRST dayof the week, could not be established by New Testament BIBLEauthority, except in some text or texts employing the phrase "firstday of the week," or the word "Sunday." The word "Sunday" does notappear any place in the Bible.

But the phrase "first day of the week" is found in the NewTestament. It occurs in exactly EIGHT places. So it will not takelong to examine these eight texts employing this phrase. If the daywas changed by BIBLE authority, -- if Christians are to find anyBIBLE AUTHORITY whatsoever for observing Sunday as the "Lord's Day"today, then we must find that authority in one of these eight texts!

Let us acknowledge at the outset, since the seventh day of theweek is clearly established as the Bible Sabbath up until the time ofthe Cross, that there can be no BIBLE AUTHORITY for Sunday observanceunless we find it clearly and plainly stated in one of these eightNew Testament passages.

So let us examine them carefully, honestly, prayerfully.

The Day AFTER Sabbath

(1) Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawntoward THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, came Mary Magdalene and the otherMary to see the sepulchre." This is the first place in the Biblewhere "the first day of the week" is mentioned. Matthew wrote thesewords, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, six years after the NewTestament Church came into being. The text says that late on theSabbath day it was drawing TOWARD the first day of the week. So thisScripture, we must admit, tells us plainly that three days and threenights after all that was done away; had been securely "nailed to theCross," the Sabbath was still the day BEFORE the first day of theweek -- still the seventh day of the week.

One point is here plainly proved. Many tell us that the Sabbathcommand was merely for "one day in seven" -- that it did not have tobe THE seventh day of the week, but merely the seventh part of time.They argue that Sunday, being one day out of seven, fulfills thecommand. But here is a passage in the NEW Testament, inspired by theHoly Spirit six years after the beginning of the NEW TestamentChurch, stating in plain language that, three days after allabolished things had been done away, the Sabbath still existed andthat it was the seventh day of THE WEEK -- the day before the FIRSTDAY OF THE WEEK. That much is proved, and must remain settled for allwho honestly seek and accept BIBLE authority. But, was the daychanged later?

(2) Mark 16:2, "And very early in the morning THE FIRST DAY OF THEWEEK, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." This ismerely Mark's version of the sunrise visit to the tomb. It waswritten ten years after the crucifixion. This first day of the week,also, was "AFTER the Sabbath was PAST," according to verse 1. So thistext proves the same thing as the one above -- that the first day ofthe week was not at that time (three days after the crucifixion) theSabbath, but the day AFTER the Sabbath. The Sabbath, then, still wasthe SEVENTH day of the week.

A Common Work Day

(3) Mark 16:9, "Now when Jesus was risen, early the FIRST DAY OFTHE WEEK he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had castseven devils." This text speaks of Jesus' appearance to MaryMagdalene later the same day, -- the day AFTER the Sabbath.

Nothing here calls the first day of the week the ChristianSabbath, we must admit. Nothing here calls it "The Lord's Day."Nothing here hallows Sunday or says God made it holy. Nothing herecommands us to observe it. Nothing here sets it apart as a memorialof the Resurrection, or for any purpose. No command or example ofREST on this day -- no authority for observing Sunday here.

(4) Luke 24:1, "Now UPON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, very early inthe morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing their spiceswhich they had prepared, and certain others with them." This texttells the same event recorded by Matthew and Mark, and it shows thaton THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK these women came to do the work of acommon week-day, AFTER having rested the Sabbath day "according tothe Commandment."

For we read, in the verse just before this, "And they returned,and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath dayaccording to the commandment." Shall we say these women did not yetknow the commandment was abolished? No, we cannot, for this statementwas not made by the women, but inspired by the HOLY GHOST, who didknow whether it was abolished. And it was written 28 years after theestablishing of the New Testament Church! The Holy Ghost THENinspired the direct statement that the rest of these women on theSabbath day was according to the commandment, which statement wouldnot be possible had the commandment been abolished. This text, then,establishes Sunday as a common work day, three days after thecrucifixion, and it further establishes that at that time the commandto rest on the Sabbath had not been abolished.

(5) John 20:1, "THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK cometh Mary Magdaleneearly, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre." This, written 63years after the crucifixion, is merely John's version, describing thesame visit to the tomb. It confirms the facts above.

Was This a Religious Meeting, to Celebrate theResurrection?

(6) John 20:19, "Then the same day at evening, being THE FIRST DAYOF THE WEEK, when the doors were shut where the disciples wereassembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst,and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."

Let us examine this carefully, for some claim this was a religiousservice called for the purpose of celebrating the Resurrection. Butnotice this is the same first day of the week that FOLLOWED theSabbath. It was Jesus' first opportunity to appear to His disciples.For three and a half years He had been constantly with them, on ALLdays of the week. His meeting with them, of itself, could notestablish any day as a Sabbath.

Were they assembled to celebrate the Resurrection, thusestablishing Sunday as the Christian Sabbath in honor of theResurrection? The text says they were assembled "for fear of theJews." The Jews had just taken and crucified their Master. They wereafraid. The doors were shut because of their fear -- probably bolted.Why were they assembled? "FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS" according to thistext, and also because they all lived together in this upper room,Acts 1:13. They could not have assembled to celebrate theResurrection for THEY DID NOT BELIEVE JESUS WAS RISEN (Mark 16:14;Luke 27:37, 39, 41). Nothing in this text calls this day "Sabbath,"or "Lord's Day," or any sacred title. Nothing here sets it apart,makes it holy. No authority here for changing a command of God!

Lord's Supper Day -- or Work Day --WHICH?

(7) Acts 20:7, "And upon THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, when thedisciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them,ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech untilmidnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where theywere gathered together." Here, at last, we find a religious meetingon the first day of the week. But it was not a SUNDAY meeting!

Notice, Paul continued his speech until midnight! "And there weremany LIGHTS in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together."It was AFTER SUNSET, prier to midnight, the first day of the week.Now at that time the first day of the week did not begin at midnight,as man begin it today. It began, and the seventh day ended, ATSUNSET! All Bible days begin and end at SUNSET. Throughout the Romanworld at that time, and for a few hundred years afterward, days beganand ended at sunset. The practice of beginning the new day atmidnight was started much later. Therefore this meeting, and Paul'spreaching, took place during the hours we now call SATURDAY NIGHT --it was not a Sunday meeting at all!

WHY Paul Remained Behind

Let us, now, pick up the thread of the narrative related in thispassage. Begin in verse 6:

"We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread,and came unto them at Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came togetherto break bread, Paul preached unto them, READY TO DEPART ON THEMORROW."

Paul and his companions had been in this town of Troas seven days.His companions had left by ship after sunset. Paul remained behindfor a farewell meeting. He preached until midnight, "ready to departon the morrow." At break of day -- sunrise Sunday morning -- Pauldeparted, verse 11. Now notice what his companions had done. "And wewent before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to takein Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. Andwhen he met with us at Assos, we took him in," verses 13-14.

Look at this on the map. Paul's companions had to sail around apeninsula -- a distance of fifty or sixty miles, while Paul afoot,walked across, a distance of 19 and a half miles. He was able to walkthis distance in shorter time than they could sail the much longerdistance, which gave Paul the opportunity to remain behind after theyleft, for this last farewell sermon and visit.

Now do you see what actually happened? Paul's companions wereengaged in the labor of rowing and sailing a boat while Paul waspreaching that Saturday night and early Sunday morning -- on thefirst day of the week. They had set sail Saturday night, AFTER THESABBATH HAD ENDED. Paul remained behind for one more last farewellsermon. Then, at break of day Sunday morning, Paul set out afoot,indulging in the labor of a 19 and a half mile walk from Troas toAssos! He waited till the Sabbath was past for this long walk -- agood hard day's work, if you ever tried it! He did it on the firstday of the week a common work day!

What "Break Bread" Means

But does this text not say, as many claim today, that thedisciples always held communion every first day of the week? NOT ATALL! In the first place, it says nothing about anything being doneEVERY first day of the week. It relates the events of this oneparticular first day of the week, ONLY. It is not speaking of anyCUSTOMS, but of the events occurring as Paul and his companionsconcluded their seven-day visit in passing by this town.

Jesus had introduced the Lord's Supper as part of the Passover, atthe beginning of the annual "days of unleavened bread." No longercould they kill lambs or eat the roasted body of Passover Lambs,after Christ, OUR Passover, had been once slain for us. Yet thePassover was ordained FOREVER, Exodus 12:24. At His last Passoversupper Jesus substituted the wine as the emblem of His blood, insteadof the blood of the slain lamb. He substituted the unleavened breadfor the roast body of the lamb as the symbol of His body, broken forus. The disciples continued to observe Passover annually, now in theform of the Lord's Supper using only the bread and wine, as aMEMORIAL, I Corinthians 11:24, of Christ's DEATH, I Corinthians11:26, showing His death till He come again. They continued toobserve the days of unleavened bread, Acts 20:6.

This year they had observed the days of unleavened bread and theCommunion service at Philippi, after which they came to Troas in fivedays where they remained seven days. Disciples often fasted on theSabbath in those days. Consequently, after the Sabbath day had ended,at sunset, "upon the first day of the week, -- the disciples cametogether to BREAK BREAD."

People have ASSUMED this expression to mean the taking ofCommunion. But notice! Paul preached, and continued preaching untilmidnight. They had no opportunity to stop and "break bread" untilthen. When Paul "therefore was come up again" -- after restoring theone who had fallen down from the third balcony -- "and had brokenbread, AND EATEN." Note it! "Broken bread AND EATEN." This breakingbread was not Communion -- simply eating a meal. This expression wascommonly used of old to designate a meal. It still is used in thatsense in parts of even the United States.

Notice Luke 22:16, where Jesus was introducing the Lord's Supper,taking it with His disciples. He said, "I will not any more eatthereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." Yet, the dayafter His resurrection, after walking with the two disciples toEmmaus, as "he sat at MEAT with them, he took bread, and blessed it,and brake, and gave to them," Luke 24:30. Here Jesus "brake bread"but it was not the Lord's Supper, which He said He would NOT takeagain. It was a meal -- "He sat AT MEAT."

Notice Acts 2:46. The disciples, "continuing daily with one accordin the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat theirmeat with gladness." Here again "breaking bread" means EATING MEAT.Not on the first day of the week, but DAILY.

Again, when Paul was shipwrecked on the voyage to Rome, thesailors had been fasting out of fright. But "Paul besought themall to take MEAT, saying, "This day is the fourteenth day that yehave tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore Ipray you to take some MEAT: for this is for your health -- And whenhe had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presenceof them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat," Acts27:33-35. Here Paul broke bread to give to unconverted sailors whowere hungry.

The truth is, NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE is the expression "breaking ofbread," or "to break bread," used to signify observance of the Lord'sSupper. In all those texts it means, simply, eating a meal. So, whenwe read in Acts 20:7, 11, "the disciples came together to break," andhow Paul had "broken bread and EATEN," we know by Scriptureinterpretation it referred only to eating food as a meal, not to aCommunion service.

What Was This COLLECTION?

We come now to the 8th and last place where the term "first day ofthe week" occurs in the Bible.

(8) I Corinthians 16:2, "Upon the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK leteveryone of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him." Often we see this text printed on the little offering envelopes inthe pews of popular churches, and we have been told that this textsets THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK as the time for taking up the churchcollection for the carrying on of God's work, paying the minister,etc. Let us begin with the first verse and really catch the trueintended meaning of this verse.

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have givenorder of the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first dayof the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hathprospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." This speaksof a collection -- but for WHOM -- for WHAT? Note it! Not for thepreacher -- not for evangelism -- but "the collection FOR THESAINTS." The poor saints at Jerusalem were suffering from drought andfamine. They needed, not money, but FOOD. Notice Paul had givensimilar instruction to other churches. Now observe his instruction tothe Romans:

"But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For ithath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia (where the CorinthianChurch was located) to make a certain contribution for the poorsaints which are at Jerusalem . . . When, therefore, I have performedthis, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you intoSpain," Romans 15:25-28. Ah! Did you catch it? It was not money, butFRUIT that was being sealed for shipment to the poor saints atJerusalem!

Now turn back to I Corinthians 16. Paul is speaking concerning acollection FOR THE SAINTS. Upon the first day of the week each one ofthem is instructed to do what? Look at it! Does it say drop a coin inthe collection plate at a church service? Not at all!

It says "let everyone of you lay by him IN STORE." Note it! LAYBY! STORE UP! Store up BY HIMSELF -- at home! Not lay by at thechurch house -- lay by HIM -- at home. Now WHY? "that there be noGATHERINGS when I come." Men GATHER fruit out of the orchard -- theyGATHER vegetables out of the ground, to be STORED UP. But puttingcoins in a collection plate at church, or handing in yourtithe-envelope could not be called a GATHERING, but an offering orcollection.

Notice further: "And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve byyour letters, them will I send to bring your liberality untoJerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they (more than one)shall go with me," verses 3-4. Apparently it was going of requireseveral men to carry this collection, gathered and stored up, toJerusalem. If it were tithe or offering for the minister or thespread of the Gospel, Paul could have carried the money alone.

So, once again, the last and final text in the Bible where we find"the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" mentioned, it is a WORK DAY -- a day forgathering fruit and food out of the orchards and the fields andgardens, and storing it up. It was to be the FIRST labor of the week,hence the first day of the week, as soon as the Sabbath was past!

No Bible Authority

So, finally, we find upon honest examination that NOT ONE of thetexts speaking about "THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" sets it apart as arest day. Not one makes it holy, calls it the Sabbath or by any othersacred title. In EVERY case, the first day of the week was a commonwork day.

In NONE of them was there a religious meeting and preachingservice being held on the hours we now call SUNDAY. In NONE of themcan we find a single shred of BIBLE AUTHORITY for Sunday observance!There is no record in the Bible of celebrating the Resurrection onSunday.

Sometimes Revelation 1:10 is used as Bible authority for callingSunday "The LORD'S DAY." It says: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord'sday, and heard behind me a great voice." But this does not say the"first day of the week," or "Sunday" is the "day" here called "theLord's day." As a matter of fact, it is not speaking of ANY day ofthe week at all, but of "the Day of the Lord," -- the time of thecoming PLAGUES, climaxing in the coming of Christ, and themillennium. This is the THEME of the Revelation. But, if one wants toargue, and insist upon this text applying to some definite day of theweek, he shall have to look elsewhere to see WHICH day THE BIBLEcalls "The LORD'S DAY." For this text does not designate ANY day ofthe week.

But Jesus said He was Lord of the SABBATH, and if He is LORD ofthat day, then it belongs to Him, and is His day, and therefore theSabbath is the Lord's Day, Mark 2:28. Isaiah 58:13 calls the Sabbath(the seventh day of the week) "MY HOLY DAY." God is speaking. So theSabbath is THE LORD'S DAY.

In the original commandment, in Exodus 20:10, we read: "Theseventh day is the Sabbath OF THE LORD THY GOD." Not MY day, or yourday. Sunday is MY day. So is Tuesday, and every other week-day, formy labor and my own needs. But the seventh day is NOT mine -- it isTHE LORD'S! It belongs to HIM, and He made it HOLY, and commanded usto KEEP it that way. We have no right to use it for ourselves. It isHIS DAY!

The TRUE SABBATH of the NEW Testament!

Now briefly let us look thru the New Testament to find WHICH DAYPaul kept, and taught Gentile converts to keep. Notice which dayPaul and Barnabus used for preaching to Gentiles:

(1) Acts 13:14-15, 42-44, "But when they departed from Perga, theycame to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue ON THESABBATH DAY, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and theprophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye menand brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, sayon."

Then Paul stood up, and spoke, preaching Christ to them. "Andwhen the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the GENTILES besoughtthat these words might be preached to them THE NEXT SABBATH."

Now since Paul was preaching "the grace of God," (verse 43), herewas his opportunity to straighten out these Gentiles, and explainthat the Sabbath was done away. Why should he wait a whole week, inorder to preach to THE GENTILES on THE NEXT SABBATH? If the day hadnow been changed to Sunday, why did not Paul tell them they would nothave to wait a week, but the very next day, Sunday, was the properday for this service? But notice what Paul did do . . . .

"And the NEXT SABBATH DAY came almost the whole city together tohear the word of God." Here Paul waited a whole week, passing up aSunday, in order to preach to the GENTILES upon the Sabbath day.

Gentiles Met on SABBATH

(2) Acts 15:1-2, 5, 14-21. Study this whole passage carefully.Certain men had come down from Judaea to Antioch, teaching that theGentile converts there must be circumcised and keep the law of Mosesto be saved. Quite a dissention arose between them and Paul andBarnabus. So it was decided Paul and Barnabus would go to Jerusalemto the apostles and elders about the question.

At the conference at Jerusalem, James gave the decision."Wherefore my sentence is," he pronounced, (verses 19-21), -- that wewrite unto them, that they abstain from pollution of idols, and fromfornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." He did notsay they should not keep the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandmentswere not in question -- but only the Law of Moses, which was analtogether DIFFERENT law. He merely mentioned four prohibitions, andotherwise they did not need to observe the law of Moses.

But why WRITE this sentence to them? Note it! "For Moses of oldtime hath in every city them that preach him, being read in thesynagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY," verse 21. Do you see it? Judaizingteachers were reading the Law of Moses and teaching people in thesynagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY. The apostles were WRITING this decisionconcerning the Law of Moses, BECAUSE GENTILE CONVERTS WERE GOING TOCHURCH ON THE SABBATH DAY, and would hear this false teaching. Inorder to counteract it, and protect the Gentiles from it, the writtenmessage was sent. It shows that the GENTILE CONVERTS HAD STARTEDKEEPING THE SABBATH DAY, AND WENT TO CHURCH ON THAT DAY! And theApostles' letter did not reprove them for this Sabbath-keeping, oreven mention it.

This is very significant, since GENTILES HAD NEVER KEPT THESABBATH. Therefore it is something these Gentiles had STARTED doingafter they were converted under the teaching of Paul and Barnabus!

A Sabbath in Philippi

(3) Acts 16:12-15. Here we find Paul and Silas at Philippi. And"we were in that city abiding certain days. And ON THE SABBATH wewent out of the city by the river side, where prayer was wont to bemade; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resortedthither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of thecity of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart theLord opened, . . . and when she was baptized . . . ."

Here again Paul and his companions waited until the Sabbath, andthen went to a place of worship, and preached, and this woman,probably a Gentile, was converted. The passage indicated it was theCUSTOM to meet there on the Sabbath, and that it was CUSTOM for Pauland his companions to go to a place of prayer and worship when theSabbath day came.

Paul Worked Week-days, and Kept the SABBATH

(4) Acts 18:1-11, "After these things Paul departed from Athens,and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila . . . withhis wife Priscilla . . . and came unto them. And because he was ofthe same craft, he abode with them, and wrought; for by theiroccupation they were tentmakers, and he reasoned in the synagogueEVERY SABBATH, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."

If we could but find one text in the New Testament giving asstrong authority for Sunday observance as this one does forSabbath-keeping, we should certainly have BIBLE AUTHORITY for it!Here Paul WORKED week-days, but went to church and taught GENTILES aswell as Jews every SABBATH.

Now the Commandment says; "Six days shalt thou labor, and do allthy work," just as much as it says "Remember the Sabbath day, to keepit holy." There is just as much a command to work six days as thereis to rest the seventh. And so if the day had been changed, Paulwould have had to work Sabbaths, in order to go to church and preachevery Sunday. But here he WORKED week days and went to church andpreached EVERY SABBATH -- not just on one particular occasion -- itsays EVERY SABBATH.

He preached Christ, and the Gospel of the Kingdom. And when theJews became offended and blasphemed, he turned away from the Jewsaltogether, and from then on preached TO GENTILES ONLY, (verse 6),and he continued there a year and six months (verse 11), -- workingweek days -- preaching to Gentiles ONLY -- EVERY SABBATH!

What MORE conclusive proof could we desire? What STRONGER Bibleevidence than this, as to the true Sabbath of the New Testament? Fora year and a half Paul continued working week-days -- six days --including Sundays -- and preaching to GENTILES exclusively EVERYSABBATH! Certainly it was his custom and manner! Certainly He couldnot have done this had the Sabbath been done away, or changed.

Paul COMMANDS Gentiles to Keep the Sabbath

To these Gentile-born at Corinth, Paul COMMANDED: "Be ye followersof me, even as I also am of Christ," I Corinthians 11:1. And Paul"as his manner was, went in unto them, and three SABBATH DAYSreasoned with them out of the Scriptures," Acts 17:2. It was hisMANNER -- his CUSTOM, as we have seen by ample evidence showing atotal of eighty-four different Sabbaths Paul is shown specifically tohave kept. Did he follow Jesus in this? Why, CERTAINLY! Jesus, "ashis custom was. . . went into the synagogue ON THE SABBATH DAY," Luke4:16.

It was Jesus' custom. Paul followed Him, and COMMANDED the Gentileconverts to follow him, even as he followed Christ. The question forus, today, is, "Are WE willing to follow in His steps?" Jesus came toset us an example, that we should FOLLOW HIS STEPS. If we, like Paul,are CRUCIFIED with Christ, and HE lives HIS life IN us, Christ IN uswill still keep the Sabbath, for He is the SAME, yesterday, today,and forever!

There is much additional NEW Testament authority forSabbath-keeping. Other booklets to be issued will cover many otherphases of this many-sided question. Send your request. Questions andhonest objections will be answered on request...

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