Ted's Response:

I am not sure where, specifically, at my website that you read about my views on the Sabbath, since I have stated them in various places. Perhaps you read the Sabbath section in my Beasts commentary. Anyway, it isn't odd to me that most denominations assemble and worship on Sunday and consider that day to be the "Sabbath." It is a tradition that started becoming commonplace in the second century, and it became such a strong and predominant practice that even Martin Luther adopted it from Catholicism and brought it into Protestantism.

The fact is, within the command to observe the Sabbath day are four directives (Leviticus 23:3):

1. identifying the seventh day as a Sabbath of rest,
2. designating it to be a day of sacred assembly or convocation,
3. instructing observers not to do any work on that day, and
4. classifying it as a Sabbath to or of the Lord.

In 321 A.D., Emperor Constantine decreed that the day of the Sun (that is, Sunday or first day of the week) was an official day of rest for the Roman Empire. Technically, he did not change the Sabbath to the first day of the week, since the Sabbath was and still is Saturday, the seventh day of the week (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15).

Later, as the Catholic Church became well-established, Sunday continued to be the designated day of assembly and worship. Although Martin Luther opposed and dissented from much of Catholic doctrine, he himself was anti-Jewish, as were many of his peers. It may have been primarily for this reason that he/they continued observing the first-day Sabbath, and Protestantism as a whole simply adopted this as a foundational tenet—even though it is in direct conflict with one of the Ten Commandments, as stated in Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15.

I believe that one of the key factors in the Catholic Church's deliberate rejection of the Jewish Sabbath was the Church's anti-Jewish sentiment and it's desire to separate itself from Jewish practices. Perhaps the foremost practice that was and continues to be rejected is a seventh-day Sabbath. It seems incongruous to me that the majority of Christians seem to agree that most of the Torah was "nailed to the cross" with Jesus, while the Ten Commandments still are in effect. Yet they deny that the exact letter of the Law of the Fourth Commandment remains valid.

I absolutely do believe that the early Church observed a seventh-day Sabbath. Various verses in the New Testament that people attempt to use as "evidence" that Paul and others observed a first-day Sabbath are not at all convincing to me. Paul also was clear that the Gentile Church of believers was "grafted in" to the "olive tree" of Israel. The Church is not an entity unto itself and should not be setting its own rules and regulations apart from those given to Israel, even though the Church has entered into a new covenant with God.

Tradition is an extremely powerful thing. When people habitually and customarily have done something, especially for years, decades, or centuries, the natural human tendency is to justify the practice, even if in our hearts we feel, or even know, that it is wrong.

This especially is true if others are doing whatever the activity is along with us. If we make a sudden change and abandon that activity, we most likely are going to be met with a great deal of pressure, even hostility, from others not to change. Not uncommonly, malicious insults and even complete ostracism are a result.

Most people, even if they know the truth about something, are not willing to risk all of the negative ramifications that making a change might bring. They'd rather just "go along with the crowd," which usually includes close friends and family members, rather than be independent thinkers and doers.

As for the men you listed, I have no idea what was—or is, in the case of Billy Graham—in their minds and hearts. Even strong believers will ignore or even reject spiritual urgings by God of some truths. I cannot speak for Billy Graham, but I'm sure he knows that virtually everything he says and does is under intense public scrutiny. So even if he acknowledges the truth of a seventh-day Sabbath privately (not that he does), he might not dare to say so publicly.

I have read at least one of his books where he indicated that he felt most everything from the Torah, other than the Ten Commandment was, "nailed to the cross" and wasn't necessary to do anymore. As I recall, he did not specifically address the Sabbath issue, although I presume he has elsewhere. In any case, I do not judge him for however he believes; that is between him and the Almighty Father.

I will state adamantly that the day on which one observes the Sabbath has absolutely nothing to do with eternal salvation, which is Graham's main focus. He will be eternally blessed for all the souls he has won for God. I have heard him. during his great public crusades, say many things about God that have helped me in my relationship with Him.

I'm sure he knows that if he ever were to come out advocating a seventh-day Sabbath (if he believed in it, which I doubt that he does), it probably would create an international firestorm of controversy, discord, and perhaps even fragmentation within Christianity. In fact, that probably would happen if any chief and foremost leader within the Church (including Billy Graham's son, Franklin) came out publicly endorsing and promoting a Saturday Sabbath. So I would think that this, in itself, would be a major deterrent to doing so.

As for me, even at an early age, when I saw how clearly the Fourth Commandment was written, I always questioned the validity of identifying the first day of the week as the Sabbath. That did not, and it still does not, stop me from attending church on Sunday. But, in my heart, the seventh day (from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) is my Sabbath; I set it aside as such and do things differently on that day. It is immaterial to me what anyone thinks about that, and I would not criticize others for observing a first-day Sabbath. That is between them and their Maker.