August 24, 2016

Discipline by Gary Rose


I love kids; however, there are times when parenting is a pain in the...  Question: when your child does something that is wrong (or in the above case, painful) what do you do?

And the answer is...

Proverbs, Chapter 13 (WEB)

 24 One who spares the rod hates his son,
but one who loves him is careful to discipline him.

The answer is another question- do you love him or hate him? Discipline for those you love, something else for those you don't. The text refers to a rod, but, personally I think any sort of appropriate discipline is the answer. Calisthenics was my solution- do what you think is right! 

Bible Reading August 24 by Gary Rose


Bible Reading August 24 (WEB)

Aug. 24
Job 30-35

Job 30:1 "But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
Job 30:2 Of what use is the strength of their hands to me, men in whom ripe age has perished?
Job 30:3 They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
Job 30:4 They pluck salt herbs by the bushes. The roots of the broom are their food.
Job 30:5 They are driven out from the midst of men. They cry after them as after a thief;
Job 30:6 So that they dwell in frightful valleys, and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
Job 30:7 Among the bushes they bray; and under the nettles they are gathered together.
Job 30:8 They are children of fools, yes, children of base men. They were flogged out of the land.
Job 30:9 "Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them.
Job 30:10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and don't hesitate to spit in my face.
Job 30:11 For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me; and they have thrown off restraint before me.
Job 30:12 On my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet, They cast up against me their ways of destruction.
Job 30:13 They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, without anyone's help.
Job 30:14 As through a wide breach they come, in the midst of the ruin they roll themselves in.
Job 30:15 Terrors have turned on me. They chase my honor as the wind. My welfare has passed away as a cloud.
Job 30:16 "Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold on me.
Job 30:17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
Job 30:18 By great force is my garment disfigured. It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
Job 30:19 He has cast me into the mire. I have become like dust and ashes.
Job 30:20 I cry to you, and you do not answer me. I stand up, and you gaze at me.
Job 30:21 You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.
Job 30:22 You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it. You dissolve me in the storm.
Job 30:23 For I know that you will bring me to death, To the house appointed for all living.
Job 30:24 "However doesn't one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
Job 30:25 Didn't I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn't my soul grieved for the needy?
Job 30:26 When I looked for good, then evil came; When I waited for light, there came darkness.
Job 30:27 My heart is troubled, and doesn't rest. Days of affliction have come on me.
Job 30:28 I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
Job 30:29 I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.
Job 30:30 My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat.
Job 30:31 Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.

Job 31:1 "I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
Job 31:2 For what is the portion from God above, and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Job 31:3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Job 31:4 Doesn't he see my ways, and number all my steps?
Job 31:5 "If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit
Job 31:6 (let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity);
Job 31:7 if my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
Job 31:8 then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
Job 31:9 "If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor's door,
Job 31:10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others sleep with her.
Job 31:11 For that would be a heinous crime. Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
Job 31:12 For it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.
Job 31:13 "If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me;
Job 31:14 What then shall I do when God rises up? When he visits, what shall I answer him?
Job 31:15 Didn't he who made me in the womb make him? Didn't one fashion us in the womb?
Job 31:16 "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Job 31:17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
Job 31:18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, her have I guided from my mother's womb);
Job 31:19 if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;
Job 31:20 if his heart hasn't blessed me, if he hasn't been warmed with my sheep's fleece;
Job 31:21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,
Job 31:22 then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
Job 31:23 For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because his majesty, I can do nothing.
Job 31:24 "If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, 'You are my confidence;'
Job 31:25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
Job 31:26 if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
Job 31:27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
Job 31:28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for I should have denied the God who is above.
Job 31:29 "If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him;
Job 31:30 (yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse);
Job 31:31 if the men of my tent have not said, 'Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?'
Job 31:32 (the foreigner has not lodged in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
Job 31:33 if like Adam I have covered my transgressions, by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
Job 31:34 because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and didn't go out of the door--
Job 31:35 oh that I had one to hear me! (behold, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me); let the accuser write my indictment!
Job 31:36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; and I would bind it to me as a crown.
Job 31:37 I would declare to him the number of my steps. as a prince would I go near to him.
Job 31:38 If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;
Job 31:39 if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life,
Job 31:40 let briars grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.

Job 32:1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Job 32:2 Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God.
Job 32:3 Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were elder than he.
Job 32:5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
Job 32:6 Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, "I am young, and you are very old; Therefore I held back, and didn't dare show you my opinion.
Job 32:7 I said, 'Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.'
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
Job 32:9 It is not the great who are wise, nor the aged who understand justice.
Job 32:10 Therefore I said, 'Listen to me; I also will show my opinion.'
Job 32:11 "Behold, I waited for your words, and I listened for your reasoning, while you searched out what to say.
Job 32:12 Yes, I gave you my full attention, but there was no one who convinced Job, or who answered his words, among you.
Job 32:13 Beware lest you say, 'We have found wisdom, God may refute him, not man;'
Job 32:14 for he has not directed his words against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches.
Job 32:15 "They are amazed. They answer no more. They don't have a word to say.
Job 32:16 Shall I wait, because they don't speak, because they stand still, and answer no more?
Job 32:17 I also will answer my part, and I also will show my opinion.
Job 32:18 For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.
Job 32:19 Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; like new wineskins it is ready to burst.
Job 32:20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed. I will open my lips and answer.
Job 32:21 Please don't let me respect any man's person, neither will I give flattering titles to any man.
Job 32:22 For I don't know how to give flattering titles; or else my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33:1 "However, Job, Please hear my speech, and listen to all my words.
Job 33:2 See now, I have opened my mouth. My tongue has spoken in my mouth.
Job 33:3 My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart. That which my lips know they shall speak sincerely.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:5 If you can, answer me. Set your words in order before me, and stand forth.
Job 33:6 Behold, I am toward God even as you are. I am also formed out of the clay.
Job 33:7 Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, neither shall my pressure be heavy on you.
Job 33:8 "Surely you have spoken in my hearing, I have heard the voice of your words, saying,
Job 33:9 'I am clean, without disobedience. I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 33:10 Behold, he finds occasions against me. He counts me for his enemy.
Job 33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks. He marks all my paths.'
Job 33:12 "Behold, I will answer you. In this you are not just, for God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why do you strive against him, because he doesn't give account of any of his matters?
Job 33:14 For God speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention.
Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed;
Job 33:16 Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction,
Job 33:17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
Job 33:18 He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
Job 33:19 He is chastened also with pain on his bed, with continual strife in his bones;
Job 33:20 So that his life abhors bread, and his soul dainty food.
Job 33:21 His flesh is so consumed away, that it can't be seen. His bones that were not seen stick out.
Job 33:22 Yes, his soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the destroyers.
Job 33:23 "If there is beside him an angel, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him;
Job 33:24 then God is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.'
Job 33:25 His flesh shall be fresher than a child's. He returns to the days of his youth.
Job 33:26 He prays to God, and he is favorable to him, so that he sees his face with joy. He restores to man his righteousness.
Job 33:27 He sings before men, and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn't profit me.
Job 33:28 He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life shall see the light.'
Job 33:29 "Behold, God works all these things, twice, yes three times, with a man,
Job 33:30 to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
Job 33:31 Mark well, Job, and listen to me. Hold your peace, and I will speak.
Job 33:32 If you have anything to say, answer me. Speak, for I desire to justify you.
Job 33:33 If not, listen to me. Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom."

Job 34:1 Moreover Elihu answered,
Job 34:2 "Hear my words, you wise men. Give ear to me, you who have knowledge.
Job 34:3 For the ear tries words, as the palate tastes food.
Job 34:4 Let us choose for us that which is right. Let us know among ourselves what is good.
Job 34:5 For Job has said, 'I am righteous, God has taken away my right:
Job 34:6 Notwithstanding my right I am considered a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without disobedience.'
Job 34:7 What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water,
Job 34:8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked men?
Job 34:9 For he has said, 'It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.'
Job 34:10 "Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
Job 34:11 For the work of a man he will render to him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
Job 34:12 Yes surely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
Job 34:13 Who put him in charge of the earth? or who has appointed him over the whole world?
Job 34:14 If he set his heart on himself, If he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath,
Job 34:15 all flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust.
Job 34:16 "If now you have understanding, hear this. Listen to the voice of my words.
Job 34:17 Shall even one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty?--
Job 34:18 Who says to a king, 'Vile!' or to nobles, 'Wicked!'?
Job 34:19 Who doesn't respect the persons of princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands.
Job 34:20 In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
Job 34:21 "For his eyes are on the ways of a man. He sees all his goings.
Job 34:22 There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Job 34:23 For he doesn't need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.
Job 34:24 He breaks in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, and sets others in their place.
Job 34:25 Therefore he takes knowledge of their works. He overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
Job 34:26 He strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
Job 34:27 because they turned aside from following him, and wouldn't pay attention to any of his ways,
Job 34:28 so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him. He heard the cry of the afflicted.
Job 34:29 When he gives quietness, who then can condemn? When he hides his face, who then can see him? Alike whether to a nation, or to a man,
Job 34:30 that the godless man may not reign, that there be no one to ensnare the people.
Job 34:31 "For has any said to God, 'I am guilty, but I will not offend any more.
Job 34:32 Teach me that which I don't see. If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more'?
Job 34:33 Shall his recompense be as you desire, that you refuse it? For you must choose, and not I. Therefore speak what you know.
Job 34:34 Men of understanding will tell me, yes, every wise man who hears me:
Job 34:35 'Job speaks without knowledge. His words are without wisdom.'
Job 34:36 I wish that Job were tried to the end, because of his answering like wicked men.
Job 34:37 For he adds rebellion to his sin. He claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God."

Job 35:1 Moreover Elihu answered,
Job 35:2 "Do you think this to be your right, or do you say, 'My righteousness is more than God's,'
Job 35:3 That you ask, 'What advantage will it be to you? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?'
Job 35:4 I will answer you, and your companions with you.
Job 35:5 Look to the heavens, and see. See the skies, which are higher than you.
Job 35:6 If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
Job 35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
Job 35:8 Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
Job 35:9 "By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
Job 35:10 But none says, 'Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
Job 35:11 who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
Job 35:12 There they cry, but none gives answer, because of the pride of evil men.
Job 35:13 Surely God will not hear an empty cry, neither will the Almighty regard it.
Job 35:14 How much less when you say you don't see him. The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
Job 35:15 But now, because he has not visited in his anger, neither does he greatly regard arrogance.
Job 35:16 Therefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk, and he multiplies words without knowledge."


Aug. 24
Romans 5

Rom 5:1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
Rom 5:2 through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering works perseverance;
Rom 5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope:
Rom 5:5 and hope doesn't disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Rom 5:6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.
Rom 5:8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God's wrath through him.
Rom 5:10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
Rom 5:13 For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law.
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those whose sins weren't like Adam's disobedience, who is a foreshadowing of him who was to come.
Rom 5:15 But the free gift isn't like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Rom 5:16 The gift is not as through one who sinned: for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification.
Rom 5:17 For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:18 So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.
Rom 5:19 For as through the one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous.
Rom 5:20 The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;
Rom 5:21 that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why is Sunday a special day for Christians? by Roy Davison


http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/firstday.html

Why is Sunday a special day for Christians?
The greatest event in human history occurred on Sunday. Jesus rose from the grave on the first day of the week, which is the New Testament term for Sunday1. “Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (Mark 16:9).

Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday!
Later that day He appeared to Cleopas and another disciple when He joined them as they were walking to the village of Emmaus. At first they were prevented from recognizing Him as He explained Scriptures that had predicted the death and resurrection of Christ. “Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:28-31). When He broke bread, Jesus allowed them to recognize Him.
Although it was late, they immediately returned to Jerusalem “and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread” (Luke 24:33-35).
Jesus breaking bread with the disciples is reminiscent of the institution of the Lord’s supper and anticipates its later observance by Christians on the first day of the week.
While they were together, Jesus appeared among them: “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19).
“After eight days,” which would be the next Sunday (since the starting day was also counted), Jesus stood in their midst again while they were assembled (John 20:26).
Thus the Holy Spirit specifically states that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, and also that Jesus appeared to the disciples when they were assembled on the first day of the week.
Except for the creation of light (Genesis 1:3-5), during four thousand years of Biblical history, the first day of the week is never mentioned. But the Holy Spirit emphasizes that Jesus rose on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19)2.
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and the testimony of those who experienced these events, form the foundation of the Christian faith. Paul wrote: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
Sunday is a special day for Christians because of memorable events on that day!

The Holy Spirit came on Sunday!
Sunday was the day on which the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles (Acts 1:8) and the church was established (Acts 2:47). These events occurred on Pentecost after Jesus returned to His Father (Acts 2:1). Pentecost was celebrated on the day after the seventh sabbath after the Passover (Leviticus 23:15, 16), thus on a Sunday.


The first Christians assembled on Sunday.

In the New Testament, Christians came together on the first day of the week to remember Jesus, as He had asked them to do, by dividing a loaf among themselves and drinking from the cup. This was referred to as “breaking bread.”
“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7).
This passage informs us when New Testament Christians assembled (on Sunday) andwhy they assembled (to partake of the Lord’s supper).
With regard to how the Lord’s supper should be observed, Paul refers to its institution by Jesus (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20). “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
The first Christians “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Christians today do likewise3.

The first day of the week is the Lord’s day.
In Revelation 1:10 John says: “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day4.” An unusual grammatical form is used here. The only other place in the New Testament where the possessive form of “Lord” is used is in 1 Corinthians 11:20 in connection with “the Lord’s supper” which was observed on the first day of the week.
This distinctive expression “the Lord’s day” is found in early church history as a designation for the first day of the week and is presently the common name for Sunday in Greece.
The Didache, for example, written between 70 and 120 AD, states in section 14:1: “But having assembled on ‘the Lord’s day’5, [the day] of the Lord, you must break bread and give thanks” (Translated from Greek by RD).
Many people view Sunday as their day, a day on which they can do whatever they like! But for Christians, the first day of the week is the Lord’s day, a day of assembly with other Christians to remember and worship their Lord!

The Christian assembly may not be neglected.
Because Jesus asked them to do so, Christians come together on the first day of each week to encourage one another and to celebrate His resurrection. This is not to be neglected. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24, 25).

On Sunday a collection was held.
That a Christian was to give “as he may prosper” on the first day of the week confirms that the regular Christian assembly was on Sunday. “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2).
This was not just a local arrangement because Paul gave the same orders to other churches6.
This was not done at home as some claim, because then there would be no collectionat all and why would it need to be on Sunday? Also, there would then be collections when Paul came, which he wanted to avoid.
On the first day of the week a collection was taken7.

Sunday is not a sabbath.
For Christians Sunday is a special day of worship. They assemble to break bread on that day, but the first day of the week is never called a sabbath in the Scriptures.
Jews who became Christians were allowed to continue observing the sabbath (see Romans 14:5, 6). There is nothing wrong with resting on Saturday! But sabbath observance was never a requirement for Christians.
When certain Jewish Christians insisted that Christians had to keep the law of Moses, this was rejected by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28, 29).
Paul specifically states that one is not to be judged with regard to sabbath-keeping: “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” (Colossians 2:16, 17)8.

Let us worship according to the New Covenant.
Much New Testament instruction is given by prescriptive example rather than by legal definition. A prescriptive example is a normative example, one that is intended to be followed.
How we are to worship under the New Covenant is made known partially by commandment and partially by examples. 

Observance of the Lord’s supper, for instance, is commanded by Christ: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). “This” in the command is defined by example.
In telling the Christians at Corinth how to observe the Lord’s supper, Paul simply cites the example (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
When Christians are to assemble to partake of the supper is also defined by example. The foundation is laid by the many references to the first day of the week in connection with the resurrection of Jesus, including an example of breaking bread. It is specifically stated that Christians assembled on the first day of the week to break bread at Troas (Acts 20:7), and that Sunday is the day of assembly is further substantiated by a command that Christians are to give on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2). This normative example of the New Covenant was also followed in early Church history9.

Why is Biblical instruction regarding Sunday often ignored or misapplied?
Although most people in Christendom assemble on Sunday, very few observe the Lord’s supper each week and in the manner prescribed. What is required to understand and correctly apply Biblical teaching?
Examples are powerful. That is why much use is made of examples as an instructional device, in both the Old and the New Testaments.
Although the Law of Moses contains more direct commands than the New Covenant, most Old Testament teaching is also by example. Jesus asked the Jews, “Have you not read what David did?” (Matthew 12:3) and He expected that they would understand certain principles inherent in the example. The historic, poetic and prophetic writings in the Old Testament teach mainly by example.
Parables are also examples. Jesus taught in parables for two reasons: so His followers could understand certain truths, but also so those who had a wrong attitude to God would not understand His teaching! (Matthew 13:10, 11).
Spiritual insight is required to understand spiritual instruction: “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:13, 14).
Most people in Christendom ignore or misapply Biblical instruction because they follow the doctrine of their denomination rather than the word of God. Referring to such worshippers, God says: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8, 9).
Someone with spiritual discernment will worship the Lord according to His word that provides guidance both by command and by prescriptive example.

On Sunday Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection.
For us, Sunday is a very special day, the Lord’s day. On that day Jesus rose from the grave (Mark 16:9), He was recognized when He broke bread with two disciples (Luke 24:30, 31) and He revealed Himself to His disciples while they were assembled (John 20:19, 26). On Sunday the Holy Spirit came and the church was established. For two thousand years Christians have assembled on the first day of the week to break bread and to joyously commemorate the resurrection of Christ. Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Endnotes

1 According to Matthew 28:1, the first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath. Since the Sabbath is what we call Saturday, Sunday is the first day of the week.

2 Some false teachers claim that mention of the first day of the week in the New Testament is purely incidental. In the entire Old Testament, the first day of the week is never mentioned incidentally. It is stated that God created light on the first day of the week (Genesis 1:3-5). Many incidents in the Old Testament occurred on the first day of the week, but this is never mentioned because it was not significant.
Also during the ministry of Christ until His death, not a single mention is made of the first day of the week, although it is sometimes possible to determine that certain things occurred on the day after the Sabbath (Mark 1:32-34; Luke 4:40, 41). The day is not specified, however, because it was not significant.
Thus, during the description of more than four thousand years of human history, the Holy Spirit never once stated incidentally that something happened on the first day of the week.
But in the description of one certain day in the history of the world, the Holy Spirit clearly indicated that it occurred on the first day of the week. All four Gospels mention that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
This mention of the first day of the week indicates that the first Christians remembered the resurrection on a weekly basis. We can illustrate this with a comparison. How do you reply when someone asks you the day of your birth? Probably with the day of the year. Someone in Ghana might give the day of the week because there the day of the week on which one is born is very important! It becomes part of one’s name and is believed to influence one’s personality!
Suppose that everyplace in the New Testament where is says “on the first day of the week” it gave the day of the month or the day of the year? Then we would know that those days were significant for the first Christians.
But, of course, neither the day of the month, nor the day of the year is mentioned, but the day of the week, because the first Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus each week! And from that day until this, on every first day of the week Christians have remembered the resurrection of Jesus!

3 That the daily breaking of bread in Acts 2:46 refers to regular meals and not to the Lord’s supper can be deduced from the expression “they ate their food with gladness” since according to 1 Corinthians 11:22 the Lord’s supper is not a regular meal for nourishment.

4 Some claim that “on the Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10 refers to the Day of Judgment which in Scripture is sometimes called “the day of the Lord” (but with a different Greek construction). Only a small part of the Revelation refers to the day of judgment, however, and John was not “on the day of judgment” when he received the Revelation! The linguistic agreement with “the Lord’s supper” (1 Corinthians 11:20) and the usage in early church history indicate that “the Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10 refers to Sunday.

5 This is the possessive form of Lord as in Revelation 1:10. The second occurrence of Lord is the more usual genitive form, which evidently was added for clarification.

6 Although this example relates specifically to a “contribution for the poor among the saints” in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26), a general practice for financing church activities can be inferred from the example. A weekly contribution is commanded that could be used for the fulfilment of other obligations such as caring for widows (Acts 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:16), a “liberal sharing with them and all men” (2 Corinthians 9:13), “doing good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10), and providing for an evangelist (Philippians 4:16).

7 In early church history, a collection was taken on Sunday. In a description of the Christian assembly by Justin Martyr (110-165 AD) he wrote: “And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need” (First Apology, chapter 67).

8 Sabbatarians (people who teach that Christians should keep the sabbath) often make the false claim that Emperor Constantine (who ruled from 306 to 337 AD) changed the day of Christian worship from Saturday to Sunday. Actually, all Constantine did was to officially recognize the existing Christian day of worship.
In addition to the New Testament teaching that the sabbath is not binding on Christians (Colossians 2:16, 17), early church history (long before the time of Constantine) also indicates that Christians did not keep the sabbath.
Justin Martyr, who lived from 110 to 165 AD, conducted a written debate with a Jew named Trypho. Trypho criticized Christians for not keeping the sabbath: “But this is what we are most at a loss about: that you, professing to be pious, and supposing yourselves better than others, are not in any particular separated from them, and do not alter your mode of living from the nations, in that you observe no festivals or sabbaths, and do not have the rite of circumcision” (chapter 10). To this Justin replied: “The new law requires you to keep perpetual sabbath, and you, because you are idle for one day, suppose you are pious, not discerning why this has been commanded you” (chapter 12).
Tertullian, who lived from 145 to 220 AD, in his writings against Marcian, mentions that the law of Moses, including the sabbath, had been abolished: “Now tell me, Marcian, what is your opinion of the apostle’s language, when he says, ‘Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath, which is a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.’ We do not now treat the law, further than (to remark) that the apostle here teaches clearly how it has been abolished, even by passing from shadow to substance - that is, from figurative types to the reality, which is Christ” (book 5, chapter 19, verses 16, 17).

9 Christians assembled on Sunday in early church history.
In the same way that Christians in the New Testament assembled on the first day of the week to observe the Lord’s supper, this was also done in church history from the earliest times! Our faith rests on the Scriptures, not on church history. But especially early church history can sometimes help us to better understand the Scriptures.
Barnabas (not the Barnabas in the Bible) in a letter written between 120 and 130 AD indicates that Christians assembled on Sunday: “Wherefore, also, we keep the 8th day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead” (chapter 15).
Justin Martyr, who lived from 110 to 165 AD, in his defense of the Christian religion (First Apology, chapter 67), wrote: “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place. ... Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.”
Bardesanes wrote about 180 AD: “And what shall we say of the new race of us Christians, whom Christ at His advent planted in every country and in every region? for, lo! wherever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ - Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together.”
These quotations reflect the Biblical doctrine that followers of Christ come together on the first day of the week to remember His resurrection by means of the Lord’s supper.


Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)