Authority for Sunday-Keeping.
By Albert Stone
It is everywhere known that the Roman Catholic Church observes the first day of the week as the Sabbath, but on what authority they do this may not be as widely known. Testimony taken from their own writings will best show their authority. In a Catholic work, entitled, “Treatise of Thirty Controversies,” we find the following: “The word of God commandeth the seventh day to be the Sabbath of our Lord, and to be kept holy. You [Protestants], without any precept of Scripture, change it to the first day of the week, only authorized by our traditions.” In another Catholic work entitled, “Abridgment of Christian Doctrine” is the following question: “How prove you that the church hath power to command fasts and holy days?
“Ans. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of, and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.” In still another work, “Catholic Christian Instructed,” is the following question: “What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday preferable to the ancient Sabbath which was the Saturday?
“Ans. We have for it the authority of the Catholic Church and apostolic tradition.” We might multiply these quotations to almost any length, but these must suffice. In view of the absence of all Bible testimony to sustain the first day of the week as the Sabbath, and of the foregoing testimonies from Catholic writers, together with many others from the same source, to which all may have access, may we not cease our inquiries as to who changed the Sabbath? What need have we of further witness? A prediction of what this corrupt ecclesiastical power would attempt to do with the commandments of God is found in Dan. 7:25. In 2 Thess. 2, St. Paul refers us to his many and overt acts of sin and blasphemy. The acts of this power were once prophecy, they are now written on the page of history. He has attempted to take position in the temple of God, and to show that he is God. He has tried to put down the Bible and enforce a false theology upon the world and upon the church. And, alas! too well has he succeeded. He has cast a moral darkness over the world that three centuries of reformation have failed wholly to dispel. Let every honest soul strive to cast off the works of darkness and come up to the help of the Lord in this good work of reformation, that he may be found at last gathering with Christ and not scattering abroad. See Matt. 12:30.