1. THE advocates of the Sunday institution not having any authority in the Bible to sustain them, hie away to the civil law. They argue thus: The apostle Paul teaches us to obey the civil rulers. They require us to keep Sunday. Therefore we should do so, and be in subjection to the powers that be. Such persons should remember that Sunday is not the only day that civil law has favored. They should remember that the first civil law which was ever enacted, favoring Sunday also required the same honors for Friday as for it.
Neander says, "The emperor Constantine, as Sozomen relates, enacted a law that on Friday, as on Sunday there should be a suspension of business at the courts and in other civil offices. So that the day might be devoted with less interruption to the purposes of devotion."
This shows that the first human legislation in favor of Sunday, also was in favor of Friday. If the civil law can sanctify the one why not the other? If we should keep one of these days because it has the authority of the civil law, why not keep the other when it has the same authority? We see no reason why Sunday-keepers should reject Friday as a Sabbath to them which is just as holy as Sunday.
2. Again, they say, that as the primitive Christians communed on Sunday we should therefore keep it as a Sabbath. But we read that they also communed every day. Acts ii, 46. Then should we not therefore keep every day as a Sabbath? We read in history that it was just as customary to commune on other days, as it was on Sunday. Neander says, "At Antioch the communion was celebrated on Friday as well as on Sunday. Also at Constantinople Friday was observed by the more serious Christians as a day of penitence and fasting, consecrated to the memory of Christ's passion, and the sacrament of the supper distributed."
Thus we see if the mere act of celebrating the Lord's supper on a particular day hallows and sanctifies it, we have every day of the week so hallowed and sanctified which would give us more Sabbaths than we have use for. How much better is God's way. He tells us to remember his day to keep it holy; but at the same time he allows us six days in which to do our own work. No one can keep Sunday from any one reason, without from the same being brought under obligation to keep almost every other day of week.