Early Church Fathers - Worship on Sabbath or Sunday

Contrary to the teaching of Seventh Day Adventists the early Church gathered for worship on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), not Saturday, in honor of the day our Lord rose from the dead.

But every Lord's day . . . gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned (Didache 14 [A.D. 70]).

[T]hose who were brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e., Jews] have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him and by his death (Letter to the Magnesians 8 [A.D. 110]).

The apostles further appointed; On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the holy scriptures, and the oblation [sacrifice of the Mass], because on the first day of the week [Sunday] our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven (Didascalia 2 [A.D. 225]).

The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord's Day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. Let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished (The Creation of the World [A.D. 300]).

They [the early saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body, neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things (Church History 1:4:8 [A.D. 325]).

[T]he day of his [Christ's] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord's day, is better than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than the days set apart by the Mosaic Law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the Apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality (Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186 [A.D. 319]).

The Sabbath was the end of the first creation, the Lord's day was the beginning of the second, in which he renewed and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that they should formerly observe the Sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first things, so we honor the Lord's day as being the memorial of the new creation (On Sabbath and Circumcision 3 [A.D. 345]).

Fall not away either into the sect of the Samaritans or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has ransomed you. Stand aloof from all observance of Sabbaths and from calling indifferent meats common or unclean (Catechetical Lectures 4:37 [A.D. 350]).

Christians should not Judaize and should not be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the Lord's Day and, if possible, not work on it, because they were Christians (canon 29 [A.D. 360]).

When he said, "You shall not kill" . . . he did not add "because murder is a wicked thing." The reason was that conscience had taught this beforehand, and he speaks thus, as to those who know and understand the point. Wherefore when he speaks to us of another commandment, not known to us by the dictate of conscience, he not only prohibits, but adds the reason. When, for instance, he gave commandment concerning the Sabbath — "On the seventh day you shall do no work"— he subjoined also the reason for this cessation. What was this? "Because on the seventh day God rested from all his works which he had begun to make" [Ex. 20:10]. And again: "Because you were a servant in the land of Egypt" [Deut. 21:18]. For what purpose then, I ask, did he add a reason respecting the Sabbath, but did no such thing in regard to murder? Because this commandment was not one of the leading ones. It was not one of those which were accurately defined of our conscience, but a kind of partial and temporary one, and for this reason it was abolished afterward. But those which are necessary and uphold our life are the following: '"You shall not kill... You shall not commit adultery... You shall not steal." On this account he adds no reason in this case, nor enters into any instruction on the matter, but is content with the bare prohibition (Homilies on the Statues 12:9 [A.D. 387]).

You have put on Christ, you have become a member of the Lord and been enrolled in the heavenly city, and you still grovel in the Law [of Moses]? How is it possible for you to obtain the kingdom? Listen to Paul's words, that the observance of the Law overthrows the gospel, and learn, if you will, how this comes to pass, and tremble, and shun this pitfall. Why do you keep the Sabbath and fast with the Jews? (Homilies on Galatians 2:17 [A.D. 395]).

And on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's Day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and condescended to let him suffer, and raised him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day . . . in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food (Apostolic Constitutions 2:7:60 [A.D. 400]).

Do you really quote scripture every other paragraph when you discuss the Bible?

I try to. I try to support my position with the bible. If I can't, then it's just an opinion and I'll state it as such.

In addition to really draggin out a conversation, I find that those that quote the most usually understand the least.

I'll grant that knowing the bible and understanding it can be two different things. But you shouldn't discount scripture because of it.

So since you CAN'T refute what I've stated, you'll just have to harp on how it was stated.

Okay, I'll counter what you said.

Wow....not at all accurate! The 10 commandments are nowhere anywhere in the NT or Christian doctrine.

Yes, they are. In historical and historical Christianity the 10 commandments hold a prominent place. Why do you suppose all Christian groups oppose their erasement from the public consciousness. They define God's laws, and thus sin:

1Jo 3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.

In the new testament, Jesus Christ, the creator of the ten commandments, affirms the validity of the ten commandments:

Luk 18:18 And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 18:19 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? None is good except One, God.
Luk 18:20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother.

Paul also specifically mentions the ten commandments:

Rom 13:9 For: "Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not lust;" and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

So they are an essential part of Christian doctrine.

That law was given to OT Isreal, people who did not have the capability to have ' agape' love. The 10 commandments are for fleshly minded man, not those that walk the walk of agape love. The laws are only rules for sense knowledge man who doesn't understand God's love and the working of holy spirit. Agape love goes far beyond the law. The law is for sense knowledge man who doesn't know God in his heart. Thus the 10 Commandments are not for Christians.

Yes and no. Agape love IS the goal. But if there is no benchmark, no standard of just what agape love looks like, then man is free to define it however he wants. That's why we have so many perversions within Christianity.

Someone who is letting Christ live in and through them will APPEAR to be keeping the ten commandments. They're not doing it, but they are letting Christ live and through them:

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I live; yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me. And that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf.

Now IF someone attempts to gain righteouness merely by keeping the ten commandments WITHOUT the indwelling of Christ then they are doomed to failure because merely keeping physical laws doesn't save. In other words, people keep God's laws because Christ is in them. It's a response to his holy spirit.

These commandments STILL make up God's laws. They are the written expression, the definition, the ideal, of Godly love.

Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.

Mar 12:31 And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

I don't see anything about murder, adultry, or the sabbath in these verses.

However, Paul make it clear that if you're using the law to determine your righteousness then you have totally screwed the pooch.

Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

And just to establish that I'm not eliminating the 10 Commandments in order to break them, I'm just agreeing with Paul when he tells us that the law is so far beneath what Christians are capable of.

The Sadducees could claim to fulfill the law but they couldn't love.

Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

So....it would have saved a lot of time if you'd have just agreed with me in the first place.

Modern Christianity is pretty fouled up. It is filled with bogus pagan traditions and law keepers.

Find me a place where there is freedom in the spirit and I'll show you a church that understands God's word and will.

Show me a church the has lots of rules, regulations, and "thou shalt nots" and I'll show you a church that has lost its way.

Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

The Greek renders this as "Entollomai" or "Entole"; Strong's #1785....or simply a commandment.

Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Galatians is not referring to the Commandments. Paul is writing of the animal sacrifice that Our Lord substituted himself for.....called "Nomos"; Strong's #3551

Please forgive me for jumping in here like this, but this is quite often misunderstood. Of course Christians are not bound by the sacrificial system that the Nation of Israel was required to keep as Our lord's sacrifice took care of that.....but Paul is speaking of a different Law than spoken of by Mark. There are no Biblical passages in the New Testament that tell us to ignore the Ten Commandments.

The Sadducees could claim to fulfill the law but they couldn't love.

I think we are referring here to the Talmudic Law that our Saviour condemns in [Mark 7:7]. A stumbling block for many folks is the fact that there is more than one type of Law referred to in the scriptures.

Good points.

In the context I suppose it is easy to think that I meant the 'commandments' in Mark when that really isn't the case.

I'm on record as saying that the 10 commandments are not fundamental Christian Doctrine and that has some people upset.

Using Mark I'm pointing out that Jesus talked about commandments beyond the 10 given to Moses. Obviously if you love God and your neighbor as yourself you won't break the 10.

However, with the duty to love the bar is raised from simply not murdering or stealing to loving in an affirmative fashion.

For Christians to use laws or rules of any sort to evaluate their standing before God (iow, their righteousness) they are wrong and Paul hammers this point in Romans, Galations, and Colossians especially hard.

Of course there are no verses suggesting violating the 10 Commandments but there are plenty to indicate that the duty of a Christian to walk in love far surpasses merely following those 10 rules.

On top of that, those 10 were given to Moses and Isreal. The gentiles were never obligated to convert or follow Jewish tradition or law for their salvation.

Bottom line is that if one thinks they are something special before God because they follow a lot of rules, whether traditional, denominational, or even self imposed, they are all wet.

The spiritual walk of love far surpasses all of that rule following.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

         Love God              Love neighbor
             |                       |
       1st commandment          6th commandment
       2nd commandment          7th commandment
       3rd commandment          8th commandment
       4th commandment          9th commandment
       5th commandment         10th commandment

The 5th commandment, the middle commandment, is the bridge between love of God and love of neighbor in that God is our father and the church is our mother, and we also have physical fathers and mothers.

The ten commandments ARE the written definition of love of God and love of neighbor. Without these definitions, then homosexuality is "love". Extra-martial sex is "love". Child sex is "love". Lusting after another mans wife is "love".

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

It's what Paul meant here. As Diego said, the new testament scriptures talk about more than one kind of "law". God's laws and mans laws. Mans laws were represented by the Jewish system of rules and regulations that had become tantamount to God's laws. God's laws were STILL holy:

Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

However, Paul make it clear that if you're using the law to determine your righteousness then you have totally screwed the pooch.

And I would agree. Following the law DEVOID of Christ does nothing. But if you compare your spiritual and physical life against the ten commandments and find yourself violating a commandment, then you have some heavy duty repenting and overcoming to do.

So....it would have saved a lot of time if you'd have just agreed with me in the first place.

Well your statement that "The 10 commandments are nowhere anywhere in the NT or Christian doctrine" was simply wrong. They are an essential part of Christian life for the reasons I stated. I wanted to correct this error lest some unsuspecting potential Christian read it and come into error.

Well your statement that "The 10 commandments are nowhere anywhere in the NT or Christian doctrine" was simply wrong.

I've always liked this:

First Commandment: Matthew 4:10; 22:37-38

Second Commandment: 1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 10:7, 14; Ephesians 5:5

Third Commandment: Matthew 5:33-34; 7:21-23; Luke 11:2; 1 Timothy 6:1

Fourth Commandment: Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4; Hebrews 4:4, 9

Fifth Commandment: Matthew 15:3-6; 19:17-19; Ephesians 6:2-3

Sixth Commandment: Matthew 5:21-22; 19:17-18; Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:19-21; James 2:10-12

Seventh Commandment: Matthew 5:27-28; 19:17-18; Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 10:8; Ephesians 5:5; Galatians 5:19-21; James 2:10-12

Eighth Commandment: Matthew 19:17-18; Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28

Ninth Commandment: Matthew 19:17-18; Romans 13:9; Colossians 3:9; Ephesians 4:25

Tenth Commandment: Luke 12:15; Romans 7:7; 13:9; Ephesians 5:3, 5

Diego likes to push the 30 AD theory because he is doctrinally predisposed to reject a Sunday resurrection. There are serious problems chronologically with AD 30 not just with his proposed Sabbath sequence conflicts with the gospel narrative. There are other data points here that help us confirm the year.

First Luke 3:1–3 tells us that John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner, began his ministry “in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” Both Roman historians Tacitus (Annales 4 §4) and Suetonius (Tiberius 73) date the beginning of Tiberius’s reign at A.D. 14 (the precise date is August 19, the day of Emperor Augustus’s death). Hence the 15th year of Tiberius’s reign, counting from August 19, A.D. 14, brings us to A.D. 29 (14 + 15 = 29).

Luke’s account also indicates that John, who was older, had been preaching for a while before Jesus was baptized. Note that AD 29 is only one year away from AD 30. Diego only allows 1 year for Jesus’ ministry, which is far too short of a period to account for the gospel account

The Apostle John lists 3 passovers - (2:13, 23); (6:4); and (11:55; 12:1). It is possible that there was a fourth that might be inferred from Mt 12:1 - but that could be another feast as well. This adds up to a length of about 3 ½ years for Jesus’ ministry - placing His crucifixion in AD33. Once again, Diego’s numbers don’t match the scriptural account.

Finally, in 33 CE the full moon occurred on Friday, Nisan 14th. That makes the Passover a double sabbath since it coincides with the weekly sabbath. John in 20:31 writes ¶ The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

The chronology from the gospels is very straight forward from there on. Jesus died at the time the Passover lambs were being killed and was buried before the start of the High Sabbath (before 6 PM Friday). The guard was placed at the tomb some time Saturday. And the women came to the tomb at dawn (the day after the sabbaths - a reference to the double sabbath celebrated Friday night - Sat night and at dawn the angel removed the stone. Much more can be said of this sequence, but the simple facts point to 33 CE as the year of Jesus’ death. -

1. Only 33 AD meets the clear time line for the ministry documented in the gospels
2. It has the passover coinciding with the weekly sabbath, matching the gospel narrative.

Diego may claim ‘simple biblical truths’, but he ignores simple biblical truths to come up with his mythological sequence.

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