Moving the Christian Assembly from Sabbath to Sunday
Having finished creating the universe, in six days, God rested on the seventh day, and asked us, men, to commemorate that event, by keeping every seventh day as a day of rest.
The “Sabbath” was meticulously kept from the beginning of creation and throughout the ages by all those who believed and followed the Only True God, our Creator.
On this day of rest, God’s people had to not only stop going about their daily activities, but they also were to assemble and spend much of the day together, having fellowship with one another in God’s name and in his unseen presence!
When however the Messiah (Jesus) came to earth a New Covenant was introduced and God’s original directives were re-formulated…
Jesus’ death inaugurated a new age, the “Age of Grace”, of “Freedom from the Law”:
Godly men were no longer instructed to obey the Laws of God to the letter but had to obey the “spirit” that laid behind the commandments, the basic principles that the law was trying to convey to mankind.
Once we were to understand that, then we would instinctively know how God wants us to behave in life’s various circumstances.
Basically, the New Covenant taught us that we needed to learn to love God supremely, and seek to please him by being loving, just and merciful towards our fellow men!
Nothing had to be done if it did not spring out of a righteous love and respect for God and for our fellow man, while being just!
That was the emphasis!
Suddenly, now, the rules that God had set for us could be understood differently, be altered, or be ignored at times.
The Spirit of God was to lead us as to how to live, what was permissible and what was forbidden.
Jesus sent the apostle Paul to clarify to us all this:
“Christ has set us free from the Law! Make sure that you stay free and do not get tied up again in slavery to the Law.
Beware however not to use your newfound freedom wrongly, trying to satisfy your physical (mostly sexual) desires.
(Galatians 5: 1, 13)
Let no one condemn another for not obeying certain laws of the Old Testament such as: not keeping the prescribed religious festivals or Sabbaths, not eating this, not drinking that, not touch the other…
(Colossians 2:16)
As you see, a new era had started, one that expected men to be honest with themselves and sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God