Colossians 2: 6-15
There
has been some confusion concerning the Sabbath day of the Old Testament and we have a few today who still insist on worshipping
on Saturday and not Sunday as the early church did. This morning we want to confirm
why we come together on the first day of the week and not on Saturday. It is
a broad subject with several points from Scripture. We also want to think about
what the Lord’s Day means to us and just reflect on how important it is for us to be here this morning.
I. The Sabbath
Under the Mosaic law of the OT the people of God were commanded to worship and not do any kind of work on the
Sabbath. This was one of the Ten Commandments written on the tablets of stone
and given to the Israelites.
A. Why was
the Sabbath observed?
1. Deuteronomy 5:15 “And remember that you were a
slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm;
therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
a. Because
of Israel’s deliverance from bondage.
2. Deuteronomy 5:3 “The Lord did not make this covenant
with our fathers, but with us who are here today; all of us who are alive.”
3. The Sabbath Day observance was an institution of the
Mosaic period, not of the Patriarchs, nor of the Christian age.
B. Who
observed the Sabbath?
1. Exodus 31: 13-17
a. It
was a sign between God and Israel.
b. The
Sabbath Day observance was not a sign between God and all nations but was designated as a special sign between God and the
Jews.
2. The Day of Rest
a. Hebrews
3-4
b. Hebrews
4: 1 “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of
it.”
C. The Sabbath ended.
1. Just as the strict punishment for work on the Sabbath,
animal sacrifices, incense, dietary laws, and other OT law commands and functions end, so did the observance of the Sabbath.
2. Numbers 28:9-10 “On the Sabbath day, two male
lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink
offering: this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.”
3. The Sabbath was for Israel and Israel as God’s
chosen has ended.
a. Amos
8: 2-20
i Amos 8:2 “Then the
Lord said to me, the end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.”
ii Amos 8:9 “And on that
day, declares the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”
b. Luke
23: 44-45 “It was now about the sixth hour and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the
sun’s light failed.”
4. The Sabbath’s end was prophesied and fulfilled.
a. Hosea
2: 11 “And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts.”
b. Colossians 2:12-14 “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to
us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the
substance
is of Christ.”
5. The covenant with Israel, including the Ten Commandments,
were annulled.
a. Jeremiah
31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
the house of Judah…”
b. Romans
1: 6 “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the
old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”
c. 2nd
Corinthians 3: 7-13
d. Matthew
5: 21-22; 27-28
e. Galatians
5:4 “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”
II. The Lord’s Day
A. The authority
given to the apostles.
1. Matthew 16: 19 “I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven.”
B. The significance of the Lord’s Day.
1. Jesus arose on the first day of the week.
a. Mark
16: 9 “Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene…”
2. Jesus met with the disciples on the first day of the
week.
a. John
20:19 “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear
of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.”
3. The church was established on Pentecost (Acts 2). Pentecost
always come on the first day of the week. (Leviticus 23: 15-16)
4. The Holy Spirit came on the first day of the week. (Acts
2:1-4)
5. The Gospel began to be preached on the first day of
the week.
6. Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s
day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…”
C. The observance of the Lord’s Day.
1. The NT church assembled for worship.
a. Acts
20: 7 “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread….”
i The breaking of the bread
was the main activity of the first day assembly.
ii “And they devoted themselves
to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
(Acts 2: 42)
b. 1st
Corinthians 16: 1-2 “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also
are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside
and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”
c. This
assemble was not to be neglected.
i “And let us consider
how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another; and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews
10: 24-25)
What
does the Lord’s Day mean to me?
1. It brings me together with other believers
2. It
focuses me toward Jesus Christ
3. It
confirms my hope
4. It
builds my faith
5. It
directs my direction
6. It
restores my confidence
7. It
brings me encouragement
8. It
kindles my love
