Did the Roman Catholic Church Change the Day of the Sabbath?

Did the Roman Catholic Church change the day of the Sabbath? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi and happy Friday. I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

We'd love to hear from you. Our phone lines are open right now, and you are feel free to call us and ask us questions. Your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Of course, you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. And first up today, we have an email from one of our listeners named Ethan. And Adriel, Ethan wants to know how much focus should be put on evangelism in the life of a believer? Ethan, I think that that's an excellent question. I have seen, for some Christians, you know, there are some who just feel really guilty because they don't share the gospel like they want to. And they can even be crushed by a sense of, man, I just feel condemned.

I fail in this area. And I think all of us, prayer, I would say, is one of them. But also, when it comes to evangelism, this is just another area where I think many of us feel like we could do better, where we could grow. And so I think, you know, not being crushed by that sense of condemnation, but really cultivating in our own lives a love of Christ and the gospel such that we want to share it with others. I think about what the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 1, verse 16, where he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Why isn't he ashamed of the gospel? Because he knows it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. See, I think that's what we need to recover.

Instead of thinking first and foremost, man, I have to do this. I really need to, you know, share the gospel more. We ought to be sharing the gospel. I think really understanding the gospel first and foremost is key. So that way, we're enabled to share it with others and excited about sharing it with others because we really believe, as Paul really believed, that it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who embraces it, who believes in the gospel.

That's good news. And so I think the first thing we need to focus on as we're thinking about evangelism and sharing the gospel is, do we know the gospel? Are we able to articulate it clearly as good news? For many people, I've talked to Christians even who have been walking with the Lord for many years, and you say, well, what's the good news of the Christian faith? And they respond by saying something like, well, you know, love God and we love each other and we want to be good and do good things. And those things are all true, that's right, but that's not the gospel. The gospel is what God has done for us in his son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. It's the fact that none of us, we can't merit salvation, justification.

No, we can't. And so God sent his son into the world to die for our sins so that we might be forgiven and experience his grace and his love. That's good news. That's good news for sinners. And so we need to understand that, and then I think as we grow in that, there is this desire to share it with others, and that should be something that I think we're intentional about, praying that the Lord would give us opportunities to share our faith with our neighbors, with coworkers, with the people that he's brought into our lives, and just asking the Lord to guide us in that.

And so I really appreciate that question. Just one other verse. I think of what Peter said in 1 Peter 3, verse 15. In your hearts honor Christ as Lord, as holy, the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect. In other words, Peter is writing there 1 Peter 3, and he says, look, people are going to be able to see, they ought to be able to see that hope that we have, even in the midst of difficulties, and we get to share the reason for the hope.

What is it? It's the gospel. And so we want to live in such a way that I think even invites those kinds of questions. Thank you so much for that question.

Just a follow-up question for you, Adriel. I wonder how much of this fear of evangelism or not feeling confident about evangelism is that in the past, we've kind of had these formulaic ways of sharing the gospel, you know, the old four spiritual laws tracks, and this is the formula you need to go through, and yet we live in a different world today, where, you know, a postmodern world where so many people don't even know the Bible, believe the Bible. It seems like we have to have a different starting place.

Yeah, I mean, definitely. People have presuppositions today, worldview today, that maybe, you know, 100 years ago, 200 years ago, just different views on the world. Whereas, you know, in the medieval period, everyone just sort of believed in God and God as judge.

Now we've sort of changed things around. Now we judge God. We don't even embrace God anymore. So many people claim to be atheists or just agnostic, and so there are different questions, I think, that are being asked and that need to be answered.

But I would just say this. The power is in the word of God. And so as we share the gospel, if we're using scripture, if we're talking about what God has done according to his word, I think that's what the Spirit uses to bring people to life, to truly do a work in their hearts. And so I think the focus needs to be on that, on obviously responding to some of these questions, but making sure that we're bringing scripture and the gospel into the equation, because that's what God uses to grant spiritual life. By the way, we have a great core question on this topic available on our website. It's called How Can I Share My Faith?

You can go to that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash downloads, corechristianity.com forward slash downloads and look for that question on sharing your faith. Well, let's go to the phones. Debbie is on the line from Nashville, Tennessee. Debbie, what is your question for Adriel?

Thank you. I just wanted to know, I drink wine, but I don't get drunk because the Bible talks against drunkenness, but I drink it in my home mostly and I enjoy, you know, relaxing and that sort of thing. I wondered if that affects my salvation. I don't think it does, and I've been born again since I was 11. But if you could answer that question and kind of cure my curiosity, that would be great.

Yeah, Debbie, thank you for calling. No, drinking wine in moderation does not affect your salvation, doesn't, you know, put your salvation in jeopardy, that kind of a thing. Of course, as you say, drunkenness is a sin, and that's forbidden throughout Scripture.

You know, Paul says in Ephesians, don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. The idea there is, you know, what is it that controls us? Are we controlled by our passions? Are we controlled by alcohol?

Are we controlled by food? I mean, all sorts of things that we can be controlled by under the influence of were to be controlled by the Spirit. And so there's nothing wrong. I mean, obviously, in Scripture, there are times in the Gospels, right, where Jesus himself, wedding at Cana in Galilee in John chapter 2, where he turns water into wine for a wedding feast, and Jesus himself was accused of being a wine bibber. Obviously, he never got drunk because he never sinned, but just having a glass of wine is not sin.

It's not something that you need to feel guilty about. Now, there are some people, I think, who really struggle with alcoholism, and for them, you know, it wouldn't be a wise thing to drink at all. For some people, it's just, you know, I can't stop.

Once I have one drink, I just have to have another one, and then another one, and then another one. So this is where we have to exercise wisdom, and I think the Apostle Paul does speak to this some, in particular in places like his letter to the Romans. But there is freedom to have a glass of wine, and you don't have to feel guilty about that.

Thanks, Debbie, for your question. By the way, I mean, you think of what Paul told Timothy. Timothy was having some stomach issues, and Paul told him, hey, have a little bit of wine to settle your stomach. So we don't want to view it as inherently evil. It's just like with so many things. You know, it's a good gift that God gives, but we can abuse it, and it can become sinful depending on how it's used. Same thing with food. Think of the sin of gluttony. So this is where we're called to exercise wisdom and discernment, and to not be given to, you know, drinking too much or eating too much, but to be controlled by the Spirit of God.

God bless. How about good Mexican food? Can you have too much of that?

That's my struggle, Bill. I mean, I'm telling you, you put some good tacos in front of me, and it's hard to stop. It really is. And so, yeah, you can have too much. I do know that. But that, too, is a gift that the Lord gives to us. Moderation, brother. Yeah, it's just really, I think, a true gift, yeah.

Okay. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, maybe you have some doubts about the Christian faith.

Maybe you consider yourself to be an agnostic or an atheist, and you're going, I don't believe this Christianity stuff. Hey, Adriel will be more than happy to talk to you. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You know, one of the major concerns in our society right now is depression, particularly among young people. And, you know, depression affects Christians too, not just non-Christians.

And there's, I think, some misunderstanding about that in the church today. We want to offer you a brand new free resource on the topic of depression. Yeah, if you've been listening to Core Christianity for a while, you know that we try not to shy away from difficult subjects, even heavy subjects. And we do talk about depression from time to time on the broadcast because we think it's a serious issue. It's not just something that people outside, you know, the church struggle with, people who don't know Jesus Christ, something that even believers, faithful believers, people who've been walking with the Lord for many, many years can struggle with. And so we want to encourage you in your walk with the Lord and in your fight with depression. So we have this resource that's called Three Biblical Ways to Fight Depression. It's a guide that really unpacks, I think, some of the scripture on this in particular. And, of course, there's more than just sort of addressing it with the Bible. We believe that there are other resources, just common grace resources that God gives to us. But we definitely want to give some biblical insight as well. And so get a hold of this biblical resource on depression, Three Biblical Ways to Fight Depression, and you can get it at corechristianity.com.

Such an important resource in today's world. We want to get that in your hands for you or someone you might know who is struggling with depression. Here's the phone number to call, 833-843-2673. And you can find it by going to our website at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash offers.

Well, we do receive voicemails here at the core, and we received one earlier this week from one of our listeners named Mary. My name is Mary, and I would like to know, the Roman Catholic Church changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Why do we not go to church on Saturday, then, as the Lord directed in His commandments?

Hey, thanks for that question. It's just not true that the Roman Catholic Church changed the day of worship to Sunday as opposed to Saturday. The reality is the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ were already beginning to gather on the first day of the week to worship the Lord. This is something we see in the book of Acts. It's something that we see in 1 Corinthians 16, verses 1 and 2. They're gathering together on the first day of the week.

That is Sunday. Acts 20, verse 7, on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread. Think back to Acts 2, verse 42, where the early church was gathering together, devoted to the apostles' teaching, the breaking of the bread, the fellowship, the prayers. This is a worship assembly.

Gathered together to break bread went on the first day of the week. Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. A long sermon, as well. Probably too long, right?

Until midnight. But here's the point. This isn't the Roman Catholic Church that said, okay, we're going to start worshiping God on Sunday now. No, this is Paul, the apostle. These are the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation, chapter 1, verse 10.

John has his vision when? On the Lord's day. It's this picture of worship and the worship that's taking place in heaven.

That's one of the themes in the book of Revelation. It's just not true that gathering together on Sunday was something that came much later through the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. No, this is apostolic.

Now, why did this shift happen? It happened because the first day of the week, Sunday, is when Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. And in gathering together on Sunday, we're commemorating the resurrection.

It just happened once a year on Easter. Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. We're remembering that Jesus rose from the dead, and we are entering into the true Sabbath rest, Jesus, through worship. And, of course, Jesus himself made that clear. Jesus said, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The true rest that the people of God long for is only found in Jesus Christ. And so we gather together on Sundays, after the example of the apostles themselves, on the Lord's day to worship the risen Christ. And so I hope that you all do that.

We talk about this on the broadcast all the time. It's important for us to be in solid churches where we are doing that, where we're coming together on the Lord's day to worship the Lord. Thanks for that question. We have another one of those great core questions on that topic available on our website, Why Did the Sabbath Change to Sunday?

And it really unpacks this issue, as Adriel just described. You can find that at corechristianity.com forward slash questions. While our phone lines are open, if you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, maybe how your Christian faith intersects with today's culture, here's the number to call. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Miriam in Indiana.

Miriam, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? The snake makes an appearance in the garden and became a despicable animal. But in the wilderness, Moses obeyed and held up the standard that had the symbol of a snake. And if they looked to that, they were healed. And then the symbol is also for the medical profession. Help me to get this despicable snake all correlated there.

Yeah, great, great question. So Numbers chapter 21, the children of Israel had been plagued by snakes because of sin. And the Lord said to Moses, verse 8, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. In other words, people have been plagued by these serpent bites. This is a judgment that came from the Lord. But God has provided healing through the bronze serpent that was lifted up there in the wilderness. And so it's not that the serpent became a good thing, if you will. I think it is a picture of sin and the bite of sin. And the fact that Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, as Paul says, became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God, 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

And in fact, in the New Testament, we see this scene, Numbers 21, spoken of in John chapter 3, where we read that even as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness so the Son of Man would be lifted up, why? So that everyone who believes in him, who looks to Jesus, might experience healing. Healing from what? From sin. The forgiveness of sins. And so, again, it's not that the serpent is going from being bad and negative in the early chapters of Genesis, this picture of the evil one, and then the bronze serpent is, you know, now it's transformed into... I mean, in one sense, it is transformed into this instrument of healing, but it's not that the serpent in and of itself is a good thing, it's just like the cross. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, what was it? It was an instrument of shame, of death, of punishment. And yet when Jesus hung on it, he transformed it into this instrument of life and salvation, redemption, and so that those who look to Christ experience healing and forgiveness of their sins.

That's the focus there, Miriam, thank you for that question. By the way, you know, it is used by medical professionals today, and I think a lot of people say, well, that must come from Numbers 21. It might actually be from, and I think that this is right, it's known as the rod of Asclepius, it's actually from pagan mythology, essentially, this image of a snake on a pole that brings healing.

But either way, the focus is, at least in Scripture, Numbers 21 and John 3, that Christ is the one who removes our sins. God bless. There are no good snakes, none. Yeah, there is no not one, I think Paul says, there are no good snakes, yeah. Oh, gosh, they scare me.

I was on a hike and a rattler almost got me. So ever since then, no, thank you, Lord. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's our phone number if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

It's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Christian calling in from Oklahoma City. Christian, what's your question for Adriel?

Yes, I just want to say thank you for having me. And my question actually revolves around the issue of same-sex marriage. And my question is, why do we as believers think we get to dictate laws based off our beliefs and try to force them on other people? Yeah, well, I mean, I can't speak for everyone and why some believers do certain things. I think what we do have is we have God's law and what he's revealed to us both through natural revelation and through holy scripture, and God's law is good and everyone is held accountable to God's law.

And I think as believers, right, we recognize that we can't force people to believe in Jesus Christ, that it's the work of the Holy Spirit. And so we long for people to embrace the gospel and to submit freely to God's law. Now, does that mean that we shouldn't be in favor of a just society of laws that are good and reflect, I think, love for neighbor, I think the dignity of humanity?

No, we should. We should want those things. We should want, I think, laws that highlight the goodness of the Lord and what he's revealed in his word. And, of course, we're not depending on those things in order to bring about the salvation of others, per se. We believe that this is what society ought to look like, as reflected, I think, in what God has revealed in his word.

And so I think there's a couple of ways to approach this. One, we know as Christians that we can't coerce anyone to embrace the gospel, that it is the work of the Holy Spirit. So if we think that imposing certain laws upon them is going to transform their hearts, that's just not true. But, as I said, that doesn't mean that we don't have opinions about these things, that we shouldn't, I think, be against certain things in society and in the world. I think of things like abortion.

Or you think of a lot of the confusion with regard to sexuality out in the world as well that does have an impact on broader society, a negative impact, I would say. And so it's not that we're trying to force people to embrace Jesus through the law, if you will. It's that we believe that the world was made a certain way and that that's good and it reflects something good about how God has made the world. And ultimately, we want to see the world come to faith in Christ.

It's not going to happen through legislation. It's going to happen through the faithful proclamation of the gospel and believers, I think, serving their neighbors with that gospel in word and in deed. And so I think we should focus on that and also care about the way our society looks and whether or not we're loving our neighbors even through the laws that are put in place. And so that's what I would say, Christian. Thanks for your question, and God bless. You know, I'm just reminded we have a great resource on the topic of homosexuality that might be helpful to Christian or anyone else who has a question about that. It's called Ten Things You Need to Know about the Bible and Homosexuality. It's one of our core guides, and you can find that at our website, which is corechristianity.com forward slash downloads. That's for that core guide on the Bible and homosexuality.

Really important topic in today's culture. Well, let's go back to the phones. Cullen is on the line from Missouri. Cullen, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, my question is, so for a believer who's been born again with the Holy Spirit, is it possible for them to lose their salvation?

Hey, Cullen, really, really big question. I think that someone who truly has been born again and is filled with the Holy Spirit will or can lose their salvation. I think that they persevere, and they're preserved by God. Jesus says he doesn't lose any of his sheep. No one can snatch us out of the hands of the true and the living God of Christ. This is something that he says in John chapter 10. To the Ephesians, he said in Ephesians 1-13, In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, this is Paul, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. Now, we're not going to lose the Holy Spirit, but through sin we can grieve the Holy Spirit, and that's something that Paul goes on to say later in Ephesians.

But I would say that, no, someone who is truly born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, cannot lose their salvation, but they can grieve the Holy Spirit and bring about the discipline of the Lord in their lives. Thanks, Colin, for your question. Well said.

Before we go today, just a quick email question for you, Adriel, from one of our listeners. Matthew 16, 18 says, The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. What is meant by the gates of hell? Just the kingdom of darkness. It's this figurative way of speaking about Satan and his kingdom, and it's the promise that Jesus gives to us that the kingdom of the evil one is not going to prevail against the church.

So what a great hope we have. It's easy to look at things around us in society sometimes and to feel really discouraged and to say, Man, it seems like the church is losing or the gospel isn't advancing like it should be, but brothers and sisters, we have the promise of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that his kingdom is going to continue to advance, that he is going to be glorified in the whole world, that his spirit is at work through the proclamation of the gospel, and so we should be encouraged to share that gospel, even as we open up the broadcast with that question about how important is evangelism. Well, it's important because it's through that word of the gospel that the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ advances today and that the gates of hell are toppled down. Praise God. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.