*** Who made the
Sabbath and gave it to mankind?
“In six days the Lord made the 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.” Exodus 20:11.
*** To whom does the
Sabbath belong?
“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Verse 10.
*** To whom, then,
should its observance be rendered?
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the
things that are God’s.” Mark 12:17.
*** In religious
matters, to whom alone are we accountable for our words and actions?
“So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to
God.” Rom. 14:12.
*** How does God show
the holiness of the Sabbath day?
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation.” Leviticus 23:3.
Since the Sabbath is holy, is to be kept holy, and is a day
for holy convocations, it must be religious.
*** So then, what is
the true nature of all Sabbath legislation?
It is religious legislation.
*** Religious
legislation unites church with state. What has generally been the result
of enacting religious legislation?
Religious intolerance and persecution.
*** What was the first
Sunday law in history?
Constantine’s Sunday law of March 7, 321.
*** What church council
required Sunday observance and forbade Sabbath observance?
The Council of Laodicea decreed that Christians should keep the
Sunday, and that if they persisted in resting on the Sabbath, “they
shall be shut out from Christ.” (See Hefele, A History of the
Councils of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 316.)
*** Was there any
additional governmental Sunday legislation in later years?
“Constantine’s decrees marked the beginning of along, though
intermittent series of imperial decrees in support of Sunday rest.”
Ibid. p. 29.