Now let’s come to John 4, and let’s see how we are to worship God. And it has to be the way that God says. Now let’s pick it up right here in verse 19. This is the account of the woman at the well. "The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain;…" in Samaria, which then had the counterfeit priesthood and had the counterfeit temple. "…And ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." That is, obligated to worship. "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what:…" Because they were worshipping Simon Magus, and they were worshipping false gods. "…We know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:19-22). That is, out of Judea; not out of Samaria.

But here’s the key verse, verse 23: "But the hour cometh [is coming], and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:…" Now let’s stop here for just a minute. When it says there are true worshippers, that is also saying there are false worshippers. Now what are false worshippers? Sunday-keepers, tradition-keepers, like the Jews: "Full well you reject the commandments of God that you may keep your traditions" (Mark 7:9, paraphrased). They are false worshippers. "In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7, paraphrased). False worshippers. "Well, let’s meet on Sunday because everybody does." False worshippers!

"In Spirit…" meaning you have to have God’s Spirit. And God does not give His Spirit to those who disobey Him. He gives His Spirit to them who obey Him, Acts 5:32. "…And in truth…" What is truth? God’s commandments are truth, His Word is truth, His laws are truth. So you’re going to worship Him according to the way that God wants. The whole lesson of Cain was what? You can’t worship God any old way. God won’t accept it. Now you think about that. If you’re a Sunday-keeper, I want you to think long and hard about that, because you’re worshipping Him with a lie. And the God of truth cannot be worshipped with a lie. Just won’t happen.

Notice: "…for [God] the Father seeketh such to worship Him." This is also telling us that God is not seeking those who are not going to worship Him that way, doesn’t it? Now notice. Why is this? God is Spirit. Not "a" spirit. He is Spirit. "…And they that worship Him must [means you are obligated to] worship Him in spirit and in truth" (vs. 23-24). He just rejected the false worship that they had in Samaria, correct? That’s the lesson, isn’t it? Yes. And they had the typical pagan religions there. And by the way, most pagan religions worship on Sunday because they worship the sun. And Sunday is the "sun-god’s" day. Maybe you never thought of it that way.

I remember one time, driving by a church, and they had their little notice out there, what they’re going to do on Sunday. And he abbreviated the word for Sunday and said, "Sun Worship: 10:00." And I said to myself, "That says it all." That says it all.

Now let’s come to John 5. Here’s one where people say that Jesus broke the Sabbath. And even one man got up and said, "Jesus taught us how to break the laws of God." Well, not so. Not so. This is the account of the man who had this infirmity, and there was a special thing that God did once a year. An angel would come down and stir the waters down there at Bethesda. And the first one in would be healed of whatever disease he had. And here was this man, verse 5, and he had the infirmity thirty-eight years. So he was well known to all the priests, and to everybody.

"When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, He saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk" (John 5:6-8). Now what kind of bed did the man have? Well, it wasn’t a modern-day, you know, eighteen inch Beauty Rest with a box spring. He had a bedroll that he could just roll up and stick under his arm. Now the Jews had a traditional law – that you could not carry that. That…you don’t find that back in the laws in the Old Testament. This was one of those added traditions that the Jews put on there which was contrary to the spirit of keeping the Sabbath day. That’s why Jesus told him to take his bed and walk. Would Jesus command a person to sin? No. We’ll see in just a minute.

"And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more,…" (vs. 9-14). So therefore, carrying that bedroll could not be sin. This sickness or whatever it was came upon him because he had sinned. And sin is the transgression of the law.

He said, "…sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto [it means up to this time], and I work" (vs. 14-17). There is a spiritual work to do on the Sabbath. The spiritual work of worshipping God, serving God, loosing the bonds of sin; and in Jesus’ case, healing those who were sick. Now as a minister, I anoint many people on the Sabbath. And they are healed. So we do the same thing…teach the Word of God.

Notice the Jew’s reaction, verse 18. "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him,…" Ooh, that galled them because He had the audacity to make null and void their little tiddlewink law that they had on the Sabbath, of not carrying a bed. "…Because He not only had broken the sabbath,…" Now that is a terrible and unfortunate translation. That doesn’t mean He broke the Sabbath. Jesus never broke the Sabbath. That would make Him a sinner. And if He sinned, you would have no Savior. The Greek here is luo, meaning, He "loosed" the Sabbath from that constraint of that particular command of not carrying your bedroll on the Sabbath. That’s what He did. He didn’t break the Sabbath under any stretch of the imagination. "…But said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." So you see, they didn’t accept Jesus as the Son of God, but He was. And look at the example that He set here.

Now let’s look at some other things. Let’s see what the apostles did. Did they also keep the Sabbath? We’ll see. Now let’s come here, let’s look at the apostles. Let’s begin right here in Matthew 28. Let’s see what Jesus told them to do. Let’s pick it up here in verse 18, the very last words that He said to them before He ascended into heaven. "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power [authority]…" Now it says here "power," but the Greek here is exousia, meaning "authority." "…Is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." "Therefore I’m changing the Sabbath to Sunday." No, it doesn’t say that. A lot of people would like it to say it, but it doesn’t say that, does it? Notice: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations [all the Gentiles], baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy [Spirit] Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:…" (Matt. 28:18-20).

"If you love Me keep My commandments" (John 14:15). "Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath day" (Mark 2:28, paraphrased), because He’s Creator of it. That’s what’s to be taught. "…And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world [age, as it should read]…" (Matt. 28:20), or the end of the world, as it is translated there.

Now let’s see how that, on the Sabbath day…let’s go to the book of Acts, and let’s come quite a ways into the book of Acts, and let’s see, after Jesus was long ascended into heaven, after everything that was fulfilled that Jesus did was fulfilled…and you cannot say that Jesus fulfills the Sabbath for you. You have to keep it. Jesus is your sacrifice to cover your sins. Jesus is your High Priest. But He is not going to do a single thing for you that you have to do. Jesus is not going to keep the Sabbath for you because you’re required to. Jesus will heal you when you are sick, because that’s what He is to do. Jesus will intercede for you and answer your prayers as High Priest. But Jesus will not come down and keep you from committing adultery. Jesus will not stop you from stealing. Jesus will not stop you from lying. You have to keep those commandments. His perfect life did not come as a substitute for you to live in sin.

Now when we come to the book of Acts, and they say, "Well, the apostles never taught them to keep the Sabbath." Well, we’re going to see here in just a minute. Let’s come here to Acts 16. This is when Paul went to the Gentiles in Greece, in Philippi. Notice verse 13: "And on the sabbath [day] we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont [known] to be made;…" because there wasn’t a synagogue there in Philippi. So they had a place where the few straggled Jews would go out, and some of the Gentiles that would believe, and they would go out there and pray. "…And we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira [a Gentile woman], which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of [by] Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us" (Acts 16:13-15). On the Sabbath day. The very first convert was converted because of Sabbath preaching by the apostle Paul. Now that’s something.

Let’s come over here to Acts 17. Now he comes down to the city of Corinth. Let’s see what the apostle Paul did here. And this becomes very important for us to understand. Verse 1, "Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, Whom I preach unto you, is Christ" (Acts 17:1-3). Now, then they chased him out and kicked him out of there.

You come over here to chapter 18, we see the same thing. And verse 4, "And he reasoned in the synagogue…" Because people are going to say, "Yeah, that’s to the Jews. He went there on the Sabbath." Yes indeed. We’re going to see another instance here in just a minute concerning Sabbath and synagogue. "…And persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Verse 6, "And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he [Paul] shook his raiment [garments], and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." Now Paul did not say, "Beginning tomorrow, on Sunday…" "And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue." Right next to it. "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them" (vs. 6-11). Meaning that for every Sabbath for eighteen months he was teaching, and teaching on other days too.

Now let’s come back here to Acts 13, and let’s see an account where that, here was a perfect opportunity for the apostle Paul to institute Sunday-keeping. Now let’s pick it up here in Acts 13:14. "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on" (Acts 13:14-15). So then Paul stood up and preached. And he preached a powerful sermon. And he preached a sermon so powerful, by saying that, "…through Jesus Christ you can be justified of things that the Law of Moses could never justify you from" (vs. 39, paraphrased). And it caused a great uproar in the synagogue.

Let’s see what he said here. Verse 38, "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Now notice the warning that he gave them: "Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue,…" they left out in a storm. I tell you, almost everywhere Paul went and preached in a synagogue there was a riot. Now notice, "…the Gentiles besought that these words might [should] be preached to them the next sabbath" (vs. 38-42).

What a perfect opportunity for Paul to say, "No. Under the New covenant we keep Sunday, which we now call ‘The Lord’s Day.’" He didn’t do that, did he? The Gentiles didn’t even ask it, did they? Though Jupiter was worshipped in some of the towns round about – which was on Sunday – and Saturn was worshipped on Sunday; in Rome Saturn was worshipped on Saturday. No. These were the Gentiles. "Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God" (vs. 43). Now here’s the important thing – a lot of people say, "Sabbath-keeping is ‘law.’ But we’re under grace." Listen – you can’t have grace without law. Otherwise, you have anarchy. But what are we talking about? Sabbath-keeping and grace go hand-in-hand. Notice verse 44, "And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." Now the Jews were envious because they were losing power. So they started stirring up things against Paul. Nowhere do we find anyplace, anyplace that any day other than the seventh day Sabbath was kept by the apostles and the people of God.

Now let’s just have a summary in conclusion of this after we go to Hebrews 4. Let’s go to Hebrews 4. This becomes very important. And a proper translation of this…unfortunately, the King James does not have a proper translation of it. And we are talking about the seventh day Sabbath. Hebrews 4:4, "For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works." That’s back in Genesis 2. So he’s giving a historical account of the Sabbath day. "And in this place again, If they shall enter into My rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:…" (Heb. 4:4-6).

That is, the children of Israel didn’t believe God while they were in the wilderness. They broke the Sabbath, right there. Remember the account in Exodus 16? Right after God gave them manna, and gave them quail, what did they do? They went out the next Sabbath looking for manna. And God said, "Don’t go." Then Moses went up on the mountain, and they said, "Where’s Moses? Up, build us gods!" So they’re back to calf worship of Egypt. And all the way through, what do we have? In Judges, in 1 and 2 Kings, we have the children of Israel sinning against God. Going after Ashtaroth and Baal, correct? And that is Sunday-worship. Ashtaroth is Sunday-worship.

So verse 7, "Again, He limiteth a certain day [which is the seventh day], saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said [and that’s the Sabbath psalm, Psalm 95], Today if ye will hear His voice,…" And I appeal to you: today, right now, this day, will you hear the voice of God, His words? Or will you harden your heart and say, "Well, Sunday’s good enough for my folks. I’ve always kept Sunday, and we have a nice church down here, and we’ve got nice people down here; and I’m a deacon down here, and I’ve got this job down here…" Listen – will you hear His voice, or harden your heart? Because all of those are idols and excuses to continue in sin. "For if Jesus [Joshua, as it should read] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest [Sabbath-keeping, as it should read] to, [for] the people of God" (vs. 7-9).

And someone’s surely going to say, "That’s the Jews." No, it’s not the Jews. The people of God includes the Gentiles, as we saw earlier prophesied about, correct? Yes. Let’s go to 1 Peter 2, and let’s see that Peter calls the Gentiles the people of God. 1 Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him Who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: which in time past were not a people,…" Just like we saw in the prophecy: "Oh, don’t reject me, God, because I’m a stranger" (Isaiah 56:3, paraphrased). "…But are now the people of God:…" (1 Pet. 2:9-10). And there remains Sabbath-keeping for the people of God. Now nothing could be more clear than that.

Now let’s look at the summary of it. And there are going to be a long list of things that I’m going to read off here. We’ll just have the summary of twelve things, and then we’ll get to some things concerning the Sabbath in the Scriptures, which will be an even longer list.

So that’s quite a summary of what we’ve covered up to this point. Now here is the Biblical truth concerning Sunday-keeping. We find this: there is no text anywhere…

1. There is not one text in the Bible that says the Sabbath was ever changed from the seventh day to the first day of the week.

2. There is not one text in the Bible where the first day of the week is ever called "holy."

3. There is not one text in the Bible where we are told to keep the first day of the week.

4. There is not one text in the Bible that says Jesus kept the first day of the week.

5. There is not one text in the Bible where the first day of the week is ever given any sacred title.

6. There is not one text that tells us to keep the first day in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

7. There is not one text in the Bible that affirms that any of the apostles ever kept the first day of the week as Sabbath.

8. There is not one text in the Bible from the apostolic writings that authorizes Sunday observance as a new Sabbath of God.

9. There is not one text in the Bible where it says that it was customary for the church to observe or to meet on the first day of the week.

10. There is not one text in the Bible where we are told not to work on the first day of the week.

11. There is not one text in the Bible where any blessings are promised for observing Sunday. Rather, there are curses for breaking the Sabbath.

12. There is not one text in the Bible where any punishment is threatened for working on Sunday.

13. There is not one text in the Bible that says, "The seventh day is not God’s Sabbath."

14. …One text where the apostles ever taught their converts to keep the first day of the week as Sabbath.

15. …One text that says the seventh day Sabbath is abolished.

16. …One text where the first day is ever called the Lord’s Day.

17. …One text where the first day was ever appointed to be kept as the Lord’s Day.

18. …One text that says the Father or the Son ever rested on the first day of the week.

19. …One text that says the first day of the week was ever sanctified and hallowed as a day of rest.

20. …One text that says Jesus, Paul, or any of the other apostles taught anyone to observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath.

21. …One text that calls the seventh day Sabbath "the Jewish Sabbath," or, one text that calls Sunday the "Christian Sabbath."

22. …One text authorizing anyone to abrogate, abolish, or set aside God’s holy Sabbath day, or any other day.

Now that’s from the Sabbath Bible Association in Fairview, Oklahoma. Now I’m going to read you some things concerning the truth concerning Sabbath-keeping. Thirty-five things. It’s going to be amazing when we get done with all of this.

1. In the beginning God created the Sabbath day.

2. God rested from His labors on the Sabbath day.

3. The Sabbath was made for man; that is, for all mankind.

4. God blessed the seventh day, because on it He rested from His work of creation.

5. God blessed the seventh day, and named it "Sabbath."

6. God not only blessed the seventh day, but He also sanctified it, that is, made it Holy by His declaration.

7. There is no record in all the Scriptures God ever removed His blessing from the Sabbath and placed it on the first day of the week.

8. The people of God kept the Sabbath before the Ten Commandments were given at Mt. Sinai.

9. God ordained that man should keep the Sabbath.

10. God forbade work on the Sabbath day, even in harvest time.

11. God promised the Gentiles, those of all nations, a blessing if they would keep the Sabbath.

12. God promised to bless anyone who keeps the Sabbath.

13. Nowhere in the Bible do we find the command for any other day of the week is holy as a substitute or replacement for the seventh day Sabbath.

14. God calls the Sabbath His holy day.

15. The keeping of the Sabbaths (plural – weekly and annual) are a sign between God and His people.

16. The Sabbath commandment, one of the longest in the Ten Commandments, is one of the commandments God gave to His people to observe to show our love and our obedience towards God.

17. Jesus kept and observed the Sabbath as a habit, which expressed His love and obedience toward God the Father.

18. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath, and as such, the Sabbath is the true "Lord’s Day."

19. Jesus Christ recognized the Sabbath commandment as binding.

20. Jesus kept His Father’s commandments, which included the seventh day Sabbath.

21. The Sabbath was observed at the time of the crucifixion.

22. Observance of the Sabbath was practiced years after the crucifixion.

23. Paul recognized and observed the Sabbath during his ministry, about 45 AD and onward.

24. Paul taught the Gentiles on the Sabbath day at their own request.

25. Paul preached to an entire city on the Sabbath day.

26. Paul attended a prayer meeting on the Sabbath day when no synagogue was available.

27. Paul’s custom was to preach Jesus Christ on the Sabbath day.

28. At Corinth he preached every Sabbath for eighteen months.

29. James recognized the seventh day Sabbath many years after Christ’s resurrection.

30. The seventh day Sabbath will be observed and kept during the time of the Millennium.

31. No other day is given by Jesus Christ but the seventh day Sabbath to be observed as a holy day.

32. The sanctity of the seventh day was never changed by Jesus, nor by the apostles, to the first day of the week. Neither was it changed by the resurrection of Jesus, nor otherwise. Jesus rose in the end of the Sabbath, not on Sunday.

33. Jesus Christ made it a part of our Christian requirement to receive eternal life that we keep all ten of the commandments.

34. The seventh day Sabbath remains as a rest for the people of God.

35. Jesus warned that at the end-time, as the Tribulation was coming, that we should not flee on the Sabbath day; showing that He expected people, even during the Tribulation time, to keep the Sabbath.

36. The sign of God’s people in the end-time is that they would be keeping His commandments.

Now we’re going to see some tremendous admissions by the Catholics concerning Sunday. Now as we do this, you’re going to see, and as I read these, you’re going to understand that these churches know. They have no excuse for breaking the Sabbath of God. Let’s read it. Here’s the question: "How do you prove that the Church has the power to command feasts and holy days? Answer: By the very act of changing Sabbath to Sunday which Protestants allow of, and therefore, they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feast days commanded by the same Church." Now this is…you’ll be able to read the references there, because I’ll have the references when you get the tape. You can follow along with it.

"Have you any other way of proving that the Church has the power to institute festivals of precept? Had she not had such powers she would have not done it..." See, this is not answering the question. God never gave that power to anyone. No one. "…She could not have substituted the observance of Sabbath, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority…" And this is The Doctrinal Catechism by Rev. Steven Keenan, page 174. So this is taught right in the Catholic catechism book.

"The Catholic Church, of its own infallible authority, created Sunday a holy day to take the place of the Sabbath of the old law." Number one, no man is infallible. The Pope is a man. The Catholic Church is a human institution. It is not of God. They have no right, they have no authority, they have no sanction from God to do so. And that’s taken from The Kansas City Catholic, February 1893. "The Catholic Church, by virtue of her divine mission changed the day from Saturday to Sunday." Now we’re going to see that is a lie, because it was Constantine who changed it, the pagan Roman emperor who professed Christianity but was never converted. And the papacy went along with it.

Now this is from Cardinal Gibbons. "Question: Which day is the Sabbath day? Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day. Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church at the Council of Laodicea in AD 366 transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday." Now they may have given an edict on that, but it was Constantine, as we will see, who changed the Sabbath to Sunday. Now again, that’s out of one of the Catholic doctrines there.

Now let’s look at another one. "Why do Protestants acknowledge the same?" Now if you’re a Protestant and you’re keeping Sunday, why are you keeping Sunday? "Well, we’ve always done it." Why have you always done it? The answer is, is because you’re following the Catholic Church. You see, the Protestant Reformation was never finished. "There is no express commandment for observing the first day of the week as Sabbath instead of the seventh day. Answer: None whatsoever. Neither Christ, nor His apostles, nor the first Christians celebrated the first day of the week instead of the seventh day of the week." And this is in the New York Weekly Tribune. "The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week ‘Sabbath’. There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor, of course, any Scriptural obligation to keep it." Now this is The Watchman Baptists: "The observance of the first instead of the seventh day rests on the testimony of the Church and the Church alone…" not of God. "How long was the seventh day Sabbath observed in the Christian Church? Answer: for many centuries. In fact, its observance never wholly ceased in the Christian Church…" or that is, the Church of God. Notes here, "Mr. Moore, a learned clergyman of the Church of England says, ‘The primitive Christians had great veneration for the Sabbath and spent the day in devotion and sermons. It is not to be doubted that they derived this practice from the apostles themselves.’"

So they knew. The Protestants know. The Catholics know. They are without excuse. If you keep Sunday, you are also without excuse. Because you cannot say, "Lord, I never knew." Do you have a Bible in your house? If you answer "yes" you have no excuse. What will you do, now that you know that the seventh day is the holy Sabbath of God? Well next time we’ll continue with these quotes about Sunday, and we will cover some of the things concerning the places in the Bible concerning the first day of the week.