# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_November 1861_S330
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

330 Report on the Law.

consciences are free from it, it is nevertheless good and even necessary that one keep a particular day in the week on which to deal with, hear, and learn God's word. For not everyone can wait for it every day. Nature also demands that one keep one day in the week still, and abstain from work, both men and beasts. But whoever now wants to make of the Sabbath a necessary commandment, as though God required a specific work, must keep Saturday, and not Sunday; for Saturday was commanded to the Jews, and not Sunday. Christians, however, have hitherto kept Sunday, and not Saturday, for the reason that Christ rose again on a Sunday. This is now a sure sign that the Sabbath no longer concerns us — indeed, the whole of Moses — otherwise we would have to keep Saturday; and it is a great and strong proof that the Sabbath is abolished. For throughout the whole New Testament we find nowhere that the Sabbath is commanded us Christians to observe. Why then does one keep Sunday even among Christians? Although all days are free, and one is like another, it is nevertheless useful and good, indeed very necessary, that one keep a festival on one day, be it on the Sabbath, Sunday, or on some other day. For God wishes to lead the world in an orderly way and govern it peacefully; therefore he has given six days for work, but on the seventh day servants, day-laborers, and all manner of workers, indeed also horses, oxen, and other laboring beasts, are to have rest, as this commandment states, so that they may recover again through rest; and especially so that those who at other times have no leisure may hear preaching on the feast day and thereby come to know God. And for this reason, namely for the sake of love and necessity, Sunday has remained, not for the sake of the commandment of Moses, but for the sake of our own need, that we might rest and learn God's word. Our papists, however, have unfortunately brought it about that we have kept our feast days more strictly, and have had even more of them, than the Jews did. But it makes no difference whether we keep festival or not; consciences are free. Whoever does not want to keep festival may go right on working; we will not scold or drive him away for it. But if he wants to be godly and come to know God, then let him use the feast day for this reason, that he may hear the word of God. But if he wants to be altogether shameless and wicked, then let him go to the devil, like those who accomplish nothing else on the feast day than gorging, guzzling, and carousing day and night. That is the crude and outward understanding of this commandment, which does not bind us, but is left free to us, standing within our own power and discretion, whether we wish to keep festival or not. If my neighbor is in need, I let the feast day go, and serve my neighbor. But if he needs instruction from the word of God, then I set aside my work. Therefore the Pope has no authority to command, as necessary, the keeping of Sunday or of any other days. We keep festival, rather, because we need to learn God's word. The spiritual Sabbath is the true Sabbath, which is kept when the heart keeps the true Sabbath, which is the highest and truly