Sunday as the Christian Sabbath?

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Nilloc

Puritan Board Freshman
Could someone please explain what Scriptural proof there is for the Sabbath being changed from the seventh day of the week to the first? As I mention on my profile page the only problem I have with the 1689 LBC (I believe the WCF says almost the same thing) is its stance on Sunday Sabbatarianism. I agree that Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is the Christian’s day of worship (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:1-2), but I’m not comfortable calling it the Christian Sabbath yet.

I’d appreciate any help and look forward to your answers. :)
 
Acts 20:7.

Besides, there's good theological reason for meeting on the first day of the week and not the last. Jesus ascended on the first day of the week. And as Christians, God gives us our rest BEFORE we work, not after.

I would tend to agree with you on calling it the Sabbath though.
 
Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter XXI
Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

....

VII. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him:[34] which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week: and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week,[35] which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's Day,[36] and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.[37]

VIII. This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their wordly employments and recreations,[38] but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.[39]

Scripture Proofs

....

[34] EXO 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ISA 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant. 6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

[35] GEN 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 1CO 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. ACT 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

[36] REV 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

[37] EXO 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. MAT 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

GI Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes, has a readable, thorough explanation.
 
Thanks for the resources.

The Lord's Day can rightly be called "The Christian Sabbath" because it is a corollary of the 4th Commandment under the New Testament administration of the Covenant of Grace. If one wishes to distance "The Lord's Day" from the sabbath, then one may not consistently refer to the 4th Commandment for a measure of keeping the Lord's Day holy. And if one does that, then one may as well say that there are only Nine Commandments to be kept now, which really makes no sense, since there were 10 codified in stone to indicate their perpetuity as God's Moral Law and the code by which we are to behave ourselves. It can rightly be called the Christian Sabbath because it is but a continuation of keeping one day in seven holy unto the Lord, as is commanded in the 4th Commandment.

Okay, that's a good point. But how would you respond to those who would say the Saturday Sabbath is binding under the fourth commandment, but that we are also to worship on the first day as a celebration of the Resurrection and not as the Sabbath? I've heard people say similar things, and that some scholars think that early Christians worshiped on both days in the first century.

That leads to another question that has just come to mind. Luke refers to the Sabbath about ten times in the Book of Acts, and I've never heard anyone think they're refering to anything other than Saturday. If this is the case, how can we call Sunday the Sabbath when Luke still calls Saturday the Sabbath? Would you say the Lord's Day functions as the Sabbath, but the title is still retained for Saturday?
 
If one wishes to distance "The Lord's Day" from the sabbath, then one may not consistently refer to the 4th Commandment for a measure of keeping the Lord's Day holy.

Josh nails it.

---------- Post added at 09:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 PM ----------

But how would you respond to those who would say the Saturday Sabbath is binding under the fourth commandment, but that we are also to worship on the first day as a celebration of the Resurrection and not as the Sabbath?

Tell them they are antinomian nut jobs, only worse, since in a twisted way they make the commandment to work 6 days into 5 days :)
 
Saturday Sabbath is binding under the fourth commandment, but that we are also to worship on the first day

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work"

The command to labor 6 days is as sure as the command to rest 1. This creates problems for the Saturday (sabbath) and Sunday (corporate worship) proposal. You can't exactly draw a straight line, but it would be hard for the Jerusalem church to gather if they were working all day Sunday.

---------- Post added at 11:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------

TimV beat me to it
 
You really need to change your original question to say "can someone give a scriptural DEMONSTRATION for changing the Sabbath to the Lord's Day?" I think Josh gave a great demonstration. There simply is no proof, no explicit argument from Scripture that changes the day. I go to church with Sunday-keepers so I guess practically, I'm a 'one in seven' observer though my leaning is toward the clear teaching that we are to keep holy the day which the Lord ordained as the Sabbath at creation. I've never been able to follow the reasoning that makes the change; I see too many gaps. Unless I can see an explicit command from Christ or an apostle, I remain an antinomian nut job. {Sigh}
 
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I think the key to understanding the change of day, is first to understand what the purpose of the Sabbath is. Understand why God instituted the Sabbath, and to me, the issue of day-change is obvious.

God gives himself to man in the Sabbath. That's why it it is said to be "made for man, not man for the Sabbath." The Sabbath is rest, for we find our rest in him. And there is no better occasion for finding that rest than in worship. The Sabbath has always been for worship, preeminently.

God calls us to meet with him. He summons us. We come when he calls. He sets the agenda. He sets the date.

Jesus is God. In and after the resurrection, when do we read of him choosing to meet with his people? Repeatedly, he comes to them (or rather they are brought to him, cf. Gal.4:9) on the first day. To begin with, they are meeting practically 'round-the-clock. But when does he specially make his presence known?

Week by week, on the first day. He's signaling the day he's chosen, he who is the "Lord of the Sabbath," the one day he's plainly stated is his--that is, the Lord's day.

The other NT references to the first day of the week gathering for Word and sacrament, and "the collection," etc., indicate that the disciples got the message.
 
From Josh:

This post has been left here as a reminder of what the thread should not become. Heed the Bat's wise words and it shall be well with you. Heed them not and beware the venom of the Bat.


{The preceding note has been allowed to stand because it contains suitably flattering references.}
...and then a moderator reminds everyone this is a confessional board...

[Moderator]Thank you for the testament to our consistency!

Let me remind everyone, that this is a confessional board. The confessional view is that the Lord's Day is appropriately called the Christian Sabbath. If you would like to learn why, my two favorite sources are Dabney and James Durham. If you don't want to learn why, you don't have to; but you do have to refrain from arguing against the Confessional view.
[/Moderator]
 
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If I did something wrong in starting this thread, then I do apologize. I didn't want to argue againist the confessional view, I just had some questions and wanted some clarification.

The only question I have left in regards to this was what I said in post #6

Luke refers to the Sabbath about ten times in the Book of Acts, and I've never heard anyone think they're refering to anything other than Saturday. If this is the case, how can we call Sunday the Sabbath when Luke still calls Saturday the Sabbath? Would you say the Lord's Day functions as the Sabbath, but the title is still retained for Saturday?
 
If I did something wrong in starting this thread, then I do apologize. I didn't want to argue againist the confessional view, I just had some questions and wanted some clarification.

Collin, you did nothing wrong. Honest questioning is welcome on the PB. Those who ask questions with a mind to learn bring much value to this board. I'm glad that you're here.
 
Re Calvin. While not a Puritan (to use an anachronism) Calvin has been demonstrated to at least fall into the category of a "practical Sabbatarian" (cf. works by Primus, Dennison, and Gaffin) and more recently one author has sought to show even his theory is not as far as it is normally asserted to be from Sabbatarian theory (cf. Stewart E. Lauer, "John Calvin, the Nascent Sabbatarian: A Reconsideration of Calvin’s View of Two Key Sabbath-Issues," The Confessional Presbyterian journal 3 (2007).
 
If I did something wrong in starting this thread, then I do apologize. I didn't want to argue againist the confessional view, I just had some questions and wanted some clarification.

The only question I have left in regards to this was what I said in post #6

Luke refers to the Sabbath about ten times in the Book of Acts, and I've never heard anyone think they're refering to anything other than Saturday. If this is the case, how can we call Sunday the Sabbath when Luke still calls Saturday the Sabbath? Would you say the Lord's Day functions as the Sabbath, but the title is still retained for Saturday?

Among other considerations, Luke wrote before John penned:

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, ἐν τη κυριακη ἡμερα (Rev. 1:10)
 
Just to address the abrogation of the Sabbath issue and the non abrogation issue of the Sabbath from a Reformed Baptist position.

The quote is taken from off my blog and other posts.

http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/puritancovenanter/some-reformed-baptists-sabbath-concerning-colossians-hebrews-444/

1. The Old Testament prophesies the abrogation and cessation of the Sabbath under the New Covenant.


The OT clearly prophesies the abrogation and cessation of ancient Israel‘s Sabbaths. It does so in Hos. 2:11, which says, ―I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths--all her appointed feasts." We will make several observations that bear this out. First, Hosea‘s prophecy is dealing with the days of the New Covenant. The phrase ―in that day" (vv. 16, 18, 21) is used prophetically of New Covenant days in Is. 22:20. Revelation 3:7 quotes Is. 22:22 and applies it to Christ. The prophecy in Is. 22:20 mentions the Lord‘s servant, who is Christ. Isaiah 22:20-22 says:

Then it shall be in that day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Revelation 3:7, quoting Is. 22:22, says:

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ―These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.

The phrase, ―in that day,
' refers to the days of Christ–the days of the New Covenant. Paul references Hos. 1:10 and 2:23 in Rom. 9:25, applying them to Christians. ―As He says also in Hosea: ‗I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved‘" (Rom. 9:25). Peter references Hos. 1:9-10 and 2:23 in 1 Pet. 2:10 and applies them to Christians as well. He says, ―who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Pet. 2:10). Hosea is clearly speaking of New Covenant days. According to the NT usage of Hosea, he is speaking of the time in redemptive history when God will bring Gentiles into a saving relationship with Jews. Much of the NT deals with this very issue.

Second, Hos. 2:11 clearly prophesies the abrogation of Old Covenant Israel‘s Sabbaths, along with ―all her appointed feasts." Hosea uses a triad of terms (―feast days, New Moons, Sabbaths") that is used many places in the OT (1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 31:3; Neh. 10:33; and Is. 1:13-14). Clearly, he is speaking of the abrogation of Old Covenant ceremonial laws. When the Old Covenant goes, Israel‘s feast days, New Moons, Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts go with it.

Third, the NT confirms this understanding of Hos. 2:11. It uses this triad of terms in Col. 2:16, which says, ―So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths." In the context, Paul is combating those who were attempting to impose Old Covenant ceremonial law on New Covenant Christians. So Col. 2:16 is clear NT language that sees Hosea‘s prophecy as fulfilled. It is of interest to note that Paul uses the plural for Sabbath in Col. 2:16 (σάββατον). It is not too hard to assume that Paul had the OT triad in mind and Hosea‘s prophecy while penning these words. The NT announces the abrogation of the Old Covenant in
many places. For instance, 2 Cor. 3:7-18; Gal. 3-4; Eph. 2:14-16; and Heb. 8-10 (cf. esp. 8:6-7, 13; 9:9-10, 15; 10:1, 15-18) are clear that the Old Covenant has been abrogated.

(Heb. 8:6-7)
But now He [Christ] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant [the New Covenant], which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant [the Old Covenant] had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

(Heb. 8:13)
In that He says, ―A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

(Heb. 9:9-10)
It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience--concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

(Heb. 9:15)
And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

(Heb. 10:1)
For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.

(Heb. 10:15-18)
But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ―This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, then He adds, ―Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

The Old Covenant and all its ceremonies are obsolete and have vanished away (Heb. 8:13). Taking these passages and Col. 2:16 together, they clearly teach that when the Old Covenant goes, the triad of Col. 2:16 goes as well.

2. The Old Testament prophesies the perpetuity and continuation of the Sabbath under the New Covenant.

Just as there is evidence from the OT that the Sabbath will be abolished under the New Covenant, so there is evidence that it will continue. At first glance this appears contradictory. But on further investigation, it is not contradictory and, in fact, fits the evidence provided thus far for the creation basis of the Sabbath and its unique place in the Decalogue in its function as moral law. Two passages deserve our attention at this point, Is. 56:1-8 and Jer. 31:33. Isaiah‘s prophecy of the Sabbath under the New Covenant is explicit and Jeremiah‘s is implicit.


Isaiah 56:1-8


(Isaiah 56:1-8)
Thus says the LORD: ―Keep justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD speak, saying, "The LORD has utterly separated me from His people; nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree. For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants--everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant--even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations. The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, ―Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.

Several observations will assist us in understanding how this passage prophesies explicitly the perpetuity and continuation of the Sabbath under the New Covenant. First, the section of the book of Isaiah starting at chapter 40 and ending with chapter 66 points forward to the days of Messiah and in some places to the eternal state. This section includes language pointing forward to the time primarily between the two comings of Christ, the interadvental days of the New Covenant. It is understood this way by the New Testament in several places (see Matt. 3:3; 8:16, 17; 12:15-21; and Acts 13:34).

Second, Is. 56:1-8 speaks prophetically of a day in redemptive history in which God will save Gentiles (cf., esp. vv. 7 and 8). The language of "all nations" in v. 7 reminds us of the promise given to Abraham concerning blessing all nations through his seed (see Gen. 12:3 and Gal. 3:8, 16). This Abrahamic promise is pursued by the great commission of Matt. 28:18-20. Isaiah is speaking about New Covenant days.

Third, in several New Testament texts, using the motif of fulfillment, the language of Is. 56:1-8 (and the broader context) is applied to the days between Christ‘s first and second comings (Matt. 21:12-13; Acts 8:26-40; Eph. 2:19; and 1 Tim. 3:15). Compare Matt. 21:13, “My house shall be called a house of prayer," with Is. 56:7, “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." This anticipates the inclusion of Gentiles in the house of God, a common NT phenomenon. Compare Acts 8:26-40 (notice a eunuch was reading from Isaiah) with Is. 56:3-5, which says:

(Is. 56:3-5)
Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, ―The LORD has utterly separated me from His people; nor let the eunuch say, ―Here I am, a dry tree. For thus says the LORD: ―To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

The Old Covenant placed restrictions on eunuchs. Deuteronomy 23:1 says, ―He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD. Isaiah is prophesying about a day in redemptive history when those restrictions will no longer apply.

In Eph. 2:19 the church is called the "household of God" and in 1 Tim. 3:15 it is called "the house of God."The context of 1 Tim. 3:15 includes 1 Tim. 2:1-7, where Paul outlines regulations for church prayer. Now consider Is. 56:7, which says:

(Is. 56:7)
Even them [i.e., the foreigners (Gentiles) of v. 6a] I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

The NT sees Isaiah‘s prophecy as fulfilled under the New Covenant. However, the privileges, responsibilities, and the people of God foretold there (Is. 56) are transformed to fit the conditions brought in by the New Covenant. The people of God are transformed due to the New Covenant; the house of God is transformed due to the New Covenant; the burnt offerings, sacrifices, and altar are transformed due to the New Covenant; and the Sabbath is transformed due to the New Covenant (i.e., from the seventh to the first day). Isaiah, as with other OT prophets, accommodates his prophecy to the language of the Old Covenant people, but its NT fulfillment specifies exactly what his prophesy looks like when being fulfilled. Jeremiah does this with thepromise of the New Covenant. What was promised to "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah" (Jer. 31:31), is fulfilled in the Jew-Gentile church, the New Covenant people of God, the transformed Israel of OT prophecy.

With these considerations before us, it seems not only plausible but compelling to conclude that between the two advents of Christ, when the Old Covenant law restricting eunuchs no longer restricts them, and when the nations (i.e., the Gentiles) are becoming the Lord‘s and frequenting his house, which is his Church, a Sabbath (see Is. 56:2, 4, 6) yet remains. Isaiah is speaking prophetically of Sabbath-keeping in New Covenant days. The English Puritan John Bunyan, commenting on Isaiah 56, said, "Also it follows from hence, that the sabbath that has a promise annexed to the keeping of it, is rather that which the Lord Jesus shall give to the churches of the Gentiles."7

Again, the essence of the Sabbath transcends covenantal bounds. Its roots are in creation, not in the Old Covenant alone. It transcends covenants and cultures because the ethics of creation are trans-covenantal and trans-cultural. The Sabbath is part of God‘s moral law.

There is a bit more in the blog but this addresses a few issues mentioned here.
 
The cases, indeed, of sacrifice and of the Sabbath are in one respect similar. The record is not complete: but we infer what is wanting from what is expressly stated. Of sacrifice, the celebration by the patriarchs after the deluge is perpetually recorded, though we have no direct account of its institution. Of the Sabbath, the original law is distinctly given, though the continued observance by the patriarchs is not expressly mentioned. … The very first act of divine worship after the fall affords some indication of a day of religion. Cain and Abel brought their offerings “in process of time” as the common reading has it, but literally, and as it is in the margin, “at the end of the days.”

The Lord’s Day, by Daniel Wilson
 
Surely Hosea 2:11 is talking about the judgment side of "that day." There will be no sabbath for the wicked, whose gaity, etc. will be destroyed. If anything that affirms that the opposite will be the case for God's people. "For my salvation is about to come... how blessed is the man... who keeps from profaning the sabbath... to them I will give within my house and within my walls... an everlasting name...." etc. (Is. 56).
 
I remain an antinomian nut job

Bob, you misread me. I called nut jobs those who

But how would you respond to those who would say the Saturday Sabbath is binding under the fourth commandment, but that we are also to worship on the first day as a celebration of the Resurrection and not as the Sabbath?

claim we need to keep the Sabbath on Saturday and go to church on Sunday as well. I've been informed that there are several people here who believe this. Seriously?
 
I just read this today:

"But as baptism in the Spirit is Christ's circumcision, so the Lord's day is His Sabbath; and to be in the Spirit on that day, worshipping and serving Him in the truth of His Gospel, is to take up the yoke of the fourth commandment." - Patrick Fairbairn

The whole discussion of the Sabbath in his Typology of Scripture is quite worth consulting.
 
The Fourth Commandment isn't the only Commandment to be adjusted for non-moral, positive, aspects. See the Fifth Commandment. The promise associated with this Commandment is adjusted for the greatly expanded Land of Promise, which now encompasses not only Israel but the whole Earth, by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:3

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise; ) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3, KJV)

Also the whole of the Ten Commandments have been adjusted for their ceremonial aspect has passed away. They are no longer written on stone and stored in the Ark of the Covenant.

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. (II Cor 3:7-11, KJV)

The contention that the Weekly Sabbath was only made for the Jews is rubbish. Our Lord explicitly says it was made for Man. Notice also how throughout the Gospels our Lord clears the Weekly sabbath of erroneous Pharasaical additions but little or no attention is paid to the other Jewish Holy Days.

Not that there is nothing that we can learn from those days, but in contradistinction to the Weekly Sabbath they are of the Old Covenant mediated through Moses.

The Day was changed from the Last to the First Day of the Week, because the Last Day of the Week was the first day of the completed Old Creation, and the first day on which the Children of Israel were finally redeemed from the hand of Pharaoh.

The First Day of the Week is the first day of the New Creation and the Redemption that Christ has achieved for His people from sin and Satan.

These latter works by God in Christ are far greater than the Old Creation work and the redemption from Egypt by Moses. Hence the Apostles under a word or revelation from Christ changed the Day.

The New Creation has commenced and we look forward towards its completion. Hence we enter and enjoy Christ's Rest from the work of the New Creation with Him on the First Day of the Week, rather than entering and enjoying God's Rest from the work of the Old Creation with Him on the Last Day of the Week.

Do we love this present (evil) world too much when we can't enjoy Christ's command and invitation to Rest from it with Him for one day a week on our way to our permanent Rest with Him?
 
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Beside the articles mentioned above, re. Calvin on the 4th Commandment, I recommend reading his most mature thought on the topic, being his sermons on the Decalog, from Deuteronomy 5. You can fairly easily find a paperback edition, trans. by Benjamin Farley. Banner of Truth once republished a hardback photolith. copy of the folio of the entire Deuteronomy sermon series (replete with all that anachronistic spelling). The Farley edition is much more accessible.

I quote from it here:
http://www.puritanboard.com/f18/calvins-view-sabbath-35725/#post444413
 
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