A Conversation Between a Sunday-Keeper and the Lord

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On this page is a conversation between a Sunday keeper and the Lord. It is a VERY powerful evangelistic tool for those Sunday keepers on the verge of making that final decision as to whether or not to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath as the Christian God has prophecied His children will do. I pray you are blessed by this wonderful compilation of Scriptures. I know I was the first time I read it. So much so, I shared it with the church family, and then I shared it with the faithful that were gathered at the Anaheim Convocation in April of
2004.

Anonymous

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Q. Tell me, Lord, Do you have a special day of rest for Your followers?

A. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10

Q. But which day is the Lord's Day? Which day are You Lord of?

A. "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." Matt. 12:8

Q. There are seven days in the week. Which day is the Sabbath day?

A. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." (Fourth
Commandment) Ex. 20:8

Q. Which day, according to our reckoning, is the seventh day, Saturday
or Sunday?

A. "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother
of James,...very early in the morning the first day of the week, they
came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun...And entering into
the sepulchre, they saw a young man...And he saith unto them, be not
affrighted; Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified; he is
risen." Mark 16:1-6. (Note: everybody knows that Sunday was the
resurrection day. The Sabbath was past when it dawned. Thus it is
evident that the Sabbath is Saturday, the day before Sunday.)

Q. But, Lord, didn't you abolish the law which contains the Sabbath
commandment?

A. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Matt. 5:17

Q. Well, at least, didn't you change one of the commandments so that
today your followers may keep another day than the seventh day?

A. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Matt. 5:18
"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." Heb. 4:4.
"Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day?" Heb. 4:7, 8.
Q. But, Lord, isn't Saturday a Jewish day? Isn't the seventh day the
Sabbath of the Jews?

A. "The Sabbath was made for man." Mark 2:27 (The Sabbath was made and
given to man 1500 years before the existence of a Jew. See Gen. 2:1-3)

Q. Someone told me that after Your crucifixion, Lord, your followers
no longer kept the seventh-day Sabbath according to the commandment.
Is this true?

A. "And that day was the Preparation day and the Sabbath drew on. And
the women also, which came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and
beheld the Sepulchre, and how His body was laid. And they returned and
prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to
the commandment." Luke 23:54-56

Q. But didn't the apostle Paul always meet with the early Christians
on Sunday in honor of the resurrection? What was his manner in regard
to a day of worship?

A. "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." Acts 17:2

Q. Did he meet with the Gentile converts on the Sabbath, too? Perhaps
he met with the Jews on the Sabbath and the Greeks on Sunday. What
about that?

A. "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the
Jews and the Greeks." Acts 18:4

Q. What did Paul teach in regard to Sabbath keeping?

A. "There therefore remaineth a keeping of the Sabbath (margin) to the
people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath
ceased from his own works as God did from His." Heb. 4:9,10

Q. But, which day did Paul mean when he spoke of resting as God did?

A. "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'" Heb. 4:4

Q. Is this, then, your instruction in regard to Sabbath keeping?

A. "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of
God." Acts 20:27 (In the New Testament there are no less than 59
references to the Sabbath. The book of Acts records 84 Sabbaths on
which the Apostle Paul and his associates held religious services. Yet
there is not one word in the entire Bible authorizing Sunday keeping.)

Q. Then why is it so many people keep Sunday instead of Saturday? If
the Bible teaches Sabbath keeping, how and by whom was Sunday keeping
introduced into Christianity?

A. "And he (the 'little horn' power) shall speak great words against
the Most High,...and think to change times and laws." Dan. 7:25

Q. The Roman Catholic Church is the little horn of Daniel 7; Do you
mean that it should think to change the law of God?

A. "Ask now the priests concerning the law." Haggai 2:11

Q. Very well, I will ask Stephen Keenan, a Catholic Priest: Does your
church think it has the power to change the law of God?

A. "Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all
modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the
observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of
Saturday, the seventh day of the week, a change for which there is no
Scriptural authority." Doctrinal Catechism, page 174

Q. When was this change made?

A. "We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church
in the Council of Laodicea (364 A.D.) transferred the solemnity from
Saturday to Sunday." The Converts' Catechism, Peter Geirmann, page 50.
(This catechism received the pope's blessing on Jan. 25, 1910.)

Q. Do you feel this is your MARK of authority?

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday
Sabbath to Sunday) was her act... And the act is a MARK of her
ecclesiastical authority in religious things." H.F. Thomas, Chancellor
of Cardinal Gibbons

Q. Is this Rome's way of counterfeiting your mark? Do you have a mark too?

Ezekiel 20:12 & 20, "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a
sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that
sanctify them. And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign
between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."
(Note: the word "sign" is the same as the word "mark." In fact you can
use the words, sign, seal, mark, or stamp interchangeably in almost
every instance. In fact, it's confirmed in Romans 4:11 where it says,
"...he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness
of the faith ")

Q. Do Protestant ministers agree with this?

A. Congregationalist: "It is quite clear that however rigidly or
devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath." Dr.
R.W. Dale, The Ten Commandments, page 106.

Methodist: "Sabbath in the Hebrew language signifies rest and is the
seventh day of the week,...and it must be confessed that there is no
law in the New Testament concerning the first day." Buck's Theological
Dictionary.

Baptist: "There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day,
but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and
with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the
seventh to the first day of the week...Where can the record of such a
transfer be found? Not in the New Testament - absolutely not...Of
course, I quite well know that Sunday did not come into use in early
Christian history...But what a pity that it comes branded with the
mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, when
adopted and sanctioned by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a
sacred legacy to Protestantism." - Dr. E.T Hiscox, author of the
Baptist Manual.

Click here for more comments of other denominations. (Will open in new
window. It's a large page so give it time to load)

Q. Since all the protestant religions agree the Sabbath was never
changed, why do they do as Rome does?

"...all the world wondered after the beast. And all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book
of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Revelation 13:3,8

Q. What difference does it make which day I keep? A day is a day isn't it?

A. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness? Romans 6:16

Q. Then what shall I do, obey the Sabbath of God's commandment or keep
the Sunday of man?

A. "We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29

Q. Well, Lord, what do You think of Sunday keeping?

A. "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your
tradition...But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men." Matthew 15:6,9

Q. But surely the millions of people who keep Sunday can't be wrong, can they?

A. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in
thereat: because strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7:13,14 (Only a few
obeyed God in the days of Noah, in the days of Lot, in the days of
Christ. The majority were lost.)

Q. But Dr. So-and-so is a very wise man: Why doesn't he and all the
great preachers keep the Sabbath?

A. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty." 1 Cor. 1:26,27. (Note: The great religious teachers
in Christ's day rejected the truth also. His followers were of the
common people.)

Q. But I have accepted Jesus; I know He is my Saviour; I know He has
accepted me and I have been keeping Sunday. Surely I would not be lost
if I did not keep the Sabbath now, would I?

A. "A time of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent." Acts 17:30

Q. I know you, Lord. You wouldn't condemn me for breaking the Sabbath,
would you?

A. "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4

Q. But isn't it sufficient that I love the Lord and live by the law of love?

A. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15

Q. Does that mean all ten of them?

A. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one
point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10

Q. Well, I think that if we try to follow Jesus, that is all that is
necessary. Isn't that right, Jesus?

A. "He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk
even as He walked." 1 John 2:6

Q. How did you walk, Lord, what was your custom?

A. "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and, as His
custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up
for to read." Luke 4:16

Q. But, Lord, that was over 1900 years ago. Wouldn't you keep some
other day than Saturday if you should come to earth today?

A. "I am the Lord, I change not." Mal. 3:6 "Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and for ever." Heb. 13:8

Q. Does my salvation depend upon my obedience to this Sabbath injunction?

A. "And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey Him." Heb. 5:9

Q. Do you think it would be absolutely necessary to keep the
commandments to receive eternal life?

A. "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. 19:17

Q. But I still can't see why You insist on the seventh day, Lord.
Isn't Sunday as good as Saturday?

A. "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." Gen. 2:3 "He hath
blessed and I cannot reverse it." Num. 23:20. "For Thou blessest, O
Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever." 1 Chron. 17:27

Q. Well, it seems to me that if I keep one day in seven, regardless of
which one, that ought to be good enough.

A. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof
are the ways of death." Prov. 16:25 "Spiritual things...are
spiritually discerned." 1 Cor. 2:13,14

Q. But, Lord! Lord! Can't I do something else? Won't my profession get
me to heaven?

A. "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in
heaven." Matt. 7:21

Q. But I pray.

A. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer
shall be abomination." Prov. 28:9

Q. But, Lord, look at the people who work miracles in Your name. Some
heal the sick, others talk in tongues and do many wonderful things;
yet they do not keep the Sabbath. What about them?

A. "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in
Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them,
I never knew you: Depart from Me." Matt. 7:22,23

Q. Yes, I know the Sabbath is right; but my business would suffer if I
closed on Sabbath. I might lose my job. I wouldn't get ahead in the
world!

A. "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36

Q. Well, for myself I wouldn't care; but what about my family?
Wouldn't it be better for me to work on the Sabbath than to let my
family starve?

A. "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things; but seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:32,33. I have
not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Ps.
27:25

Q. My friends will laugh at me and ridicule me.

A. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,...and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely for My sake; rejoice, and be
exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven." Matt. 5:11,12.
"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you."
John 15:18

Q. But suppose my own family does not agree with me. Should I go
against their wishes, which would mean in some cases a division in the
home?

A. "He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me:
And he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me:
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me is not worthy
of Me." Matt. 10: 37,38. "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that
forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:33

Q. I am afraid I won't be able to withstand all these trials. I am too weak.

A. "My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect
in weakness....When I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. 12:9,10. "I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phil. 4:13

Q. Then, Lord, what is the reward for being faithful to You and the
commandments?

A. "There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or
wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not
receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come,
life everlasting." Luke 18: 29,30. "Blessed are they that do His
commandments that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14

Q. Lord, I'm looking forward to a home in the earth made new, will we
keep the Sabbath there too?

A. "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall
remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name
remain; and it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before
Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66: 22,23

Q. Then, Lord, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. With Your
help, I will keep the Sabbath.

A. "Well done, good and faithful servant." Matthew 25:21

Author - Erling Calkins (Additions were added by Nicholas of Presents
of God ministry and Ron Beaulieu of Omega Countdown Ministries).