And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands. The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked. 1 John 2:3-6 TS2009
In many common translations of scripture it says Messiah came to fulfill the law and many assume it was done away with. However, there are two meanings to the word fulfill. The first is to complete and do away with. While the second is to complete and continue it. In context, Messiah shows us it is not to do away with but to complete and continue it. The two sections of the Bible showing “Old Testament” and “New Testament” are a deception which suggest what Elohim did originally was done away with and something new had to be done as though Elohim made a mistake. This is simply not true, he does not change and he knows the end from the beginning.
Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away (Heaven and Earth are still here), one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,g you shall by no means enter into the reign of the heavens. Mat 5:17-20 TS2009
To escape the error of salvation by works; we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience.
A.W Tozer
Obedience isn’t legalism. Legalism is trying to obtain salvation by works. We are obedient because we love Yeshua the Messiah. Remember he told us that if we love him to keep his commandments. He did not remove the commandments at calvary as many suppose. Remember, faith without works are dead. He removed the curse of the law (not the law itself) instead so that we might be redeemed.
Guarding the Sabbath is the 4th commandment. We also see that Messiah said to keep the commandments if we love him. It was Messiah “The Word of Elohim” that gave the 10 commandments to Moshe on Mt. Sinai on two tables of Sapphire stone.
He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him. John 14:21 TS2009 And this is the love, that we walk according to His commands. This is the command, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. 2 John 1:6 TS2009
Many think that the 1st day (Pagan name: Sunday) is the day to keep holy or the day of worship. We can actually worship any day, but the only day Elohim set apart as Sabbath is the 7th day of the week. Many base their theology of keeping Sunday on the basis that the two Mary’s came to the sepulchre Sunday morning. However, there is no instruction in scripture that changes Sabbath based on this premise. The death, burial and resurrection of Messiah lines up precisely with Pesach (Passover).
Not every year lines up on the same days of the week as crucifixion week, however in 2020 we see the exact timeline. Please check the attachment.
Messiah was crucified on the 4th day around 2 or 3pm. Many think it was on the 6th day because the next day was Sabbath. However, the Sabbath after Messiah’s death was not the weekly Sabbath, it was a high day as denoted in the book of John. This is why “Good Friday” is a false teaching.
Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one – the Yehuḏim asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away. John 19:31 TS2009
Messiah told us that as Jonah he would be in the earth 3 days and 3 nights. Counting 3 days and 3 nights from the 4th day around 2 or 3 pm brings us to the end of the Sabbath, or 7th day. Even though the two Mary’s came early in the morning on the first day, he was already out of there. That was not when he was resurrected as many assume.
Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of יהושע. Revelation 14:12 TS2009
My brothers, what use is it for anyone to say he has belief but does not have works? This belief is unable to save him. And if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, but one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the bodily needs, what use is it? So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead. But someone might say, “You have belief, and I have works.” Show me your belief without your works, and I shall show you my belief by my works. You believe that Elohim is one. Deu_6:4 You do well. The demons also believe – and shudder! But do you wish to know, O foolish man, that the belief without the works is dead? Was not Aḇraham our father declared right by works when he offered Yitsḥaq his son on the slaughter-place? Do you see that the belief was working with his works, and by the works the belief was perfected? And the Scripture was filled which says, “Aḇraham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” You see, then, that a man is declared right by works, and not by belief alone. In the same way, was not Raḥaḇ the whore also declared right by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so also the belief is dead without the works. James 2:14-26
Contrary to what many think, it was the common practice of Yeshua the Messiah and Paul to keep Sabbath (7th day, not first day).
And He came to Natsareth, where He had been brought up. And according to His practice, He went into the congregation on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. Luke 4:16 TS2009
And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures, Acts 17:2 TS2009
The Sabbath existed before Sin
The Sabbath was instituted before sin ever entered (Genesis 2:1-3), as a sign and seal of a perfect creation. And it will kept in the perfect world that Christ re-creates:
Isaiah 66
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says the Lord.
The Sabbath is the only sign that endures and spans the gap from Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. Like the closing salutation on a letter from a friend, the Sabbath is God’s signature on a perfect work. The saints are called on the Sabbath to admire His working in, for, and around them, so that they will never turn to their own works again.
The Sabbath, and true Sabbath-keeping, are emphatically a part of the Renewed Covenant, and will teach those who take it that way, and see their need of every gift that Elohim gives, that “I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”
Where God’s perfect work is, there His Sabbath will be also.
And therefore, that generation of holy saints, mentioned in the book of Revelation as the 144,000 who have “his Father’s name written in their foreheads,” (Revelation 14:1) and who are “without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:5), will be Sabbath keepers.
The Sabbath is the sign between Elohim and His people for several reasons. It reminds us who we are and that our Elohim is the Creator, as the Sabbath is a memorial of creation. The Sabbath identifies or distinguishes us from others and separates us from others. The Sabbath is easily recognized by those outside of the fellowship, so keeping it draws attention to us.
The early day Ekklesia (Set Apart Ones) kept Sabbath. Elohim does not change and Sabbath was instituted at the time of creation.
And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, “And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart.” Exodus 31:12-13
And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands. The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked. 1 John 2:3-6 TS2009
Conclusion
I do not doubt that many Sunday keepers are genuinely sincere in their profession of keeping the first day. But sincerity alone does not justify. The modern practice of Sunday-keeping is erroneous.