The Sabbath day, Sunday, or any other Day of the Week: Which day is the Correct Day of Worship
Posted: Saturday, March 28, 2009
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
This subject has been a source of contention and division in the body of Christ since the early days of the church. I suspect this will not change until Christ returns.
Some Christian denominations insist all Christians should keep the Sabbath; others say Sunday is the day to worship; some say the Sabbath day is Sunday, and still others believe that it doesn't really matter what day we worship - as a follower of Christ, shouldn't every day be a day of worship anyway?
Why is there so much contention - why do we believe what we believe? Is it because we learned "it" from our parents and pastors? Do we merely cling to a tradition passed down and take it as Gospel truth? On the other hand, do we stop and ask ourselves what the Bible has to say about "the" issue?
For the Christian, the final authority for truth should be the Bible. Apparently this isn't always the case - which is why there is contention and division over this and other issues that are clearly laid out in Scripture.
Let's look at these thoughts one at a time:
THE SABBATH DAY
The Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week – which we all agree is Saturday. However, according to the Jewish record of time, days run from sunset to sunset. This becomes relevant for many reasons throughout Scripture. According to the Ten Commandments given to the Israelite people, they were to keep this day Holy (set apart) by resting from their labor. It was to be a day of memorial to the Lord, for on the seventh day, He rested from His labor. This command was to be past down to every generation of the Israelite people.
The Bible tells us that Jesus upset this Law of God by "working" on this day. In response Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28), making it known that the Sabbath was actually gift from God to His people.
This was also the beginning of the transition period from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant - in which Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and by surrendering to Him, the Israelites would no longer be subject to the Law, but subject to Christ under the New Covenant. Until the resurrection of Christ, those who followed God always met in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK – SUNDAY
According to Scripture, by early Sunday morning, Jesus had risen from the dead. This began the tradition of the Christians meeting on the first day of the week, which is also referred to as the Lord's Day. (Matt 28:1, Acts 20:7, Rev 1:10)
It is important to note that the Jewish people (Israelites) who had not converted to Christianity were still meeting on the Sabbath day - and continue to do so.
One of the pillars of the early church is the Apostle Paul, who was a Jew of Jews, and a Christian. He was faithful to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day as well as meet with the disciples and Gentile believers on the first day of the week (Acts chapter 10, Acts chapter 20). This alone, should settle the long-running disagreement about the proper day of worship. The Sabbath day for the Jew, Sunday for the Gentile. There is, however, one more dimension to this subject.
ANY DAY OF THE WEEK
Paul was a unique apostle in that he was a Jewish believer ordained and sent forth by God to be a minister to the Gentile believers. He was the perfect one to bridge the gap between the Jewish and Gentile believers; he spoke of the freedom from the Law and the superiority of Jesus Christ more than any other apostle did - especially in the area of worship and service to the Lord. He made it clear that Gentiles were not under the Mosaic Law in the beginning, nor are they as a believer and follower of Jesus (Acts chapter 15).
Paul sums up our given subject like this:
"Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things, for one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in His own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it." Romans 14:1-6a – The book of Colossians speaks to this in detail as well.
CONCLUSION
There is a lot in the Scriptures regarding this subject; nevertheless, these serve to aid us in learning four things.
1) The Sabbath day was a direct instruction to the Jewish people.
2) The Sabbath day and Sunday are not the same day.
3) The Jewish Christians can still keep the Sabbath day according to the commandment; yet have the freedom in Christ to keep any other day as Holy unto the Lord.
4) Christian groups have no biblical grounds for calling other Christian groups who do not go to church on Saturday's, disobedient sinners.
There is a whole lot more to the meaning of the Sabbath than just going to church or the synagogue on the seventh day of the week. Nevertheless, don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. I encourage you to spend a little more time and read the Scriptures referenced throughout this article. I would love to hear what you think.
Good article TeresaThe Sabbath day command is to rest. It does not say to go to church or synogogue. In the beginning of creation, God set this day aside and said He rested. When the believers of Jesus Christ comes to the saving knowledge of what He has done for humanity, they too will rest in Christ (The Word).Shalom to you my friendHello Marcia, nice to meet you. Thank you for reading and taking a moment to comment. You are correct. This day truly had nothing to do with which day to worship. Thank you for adding this insight as well as mentioning that in Christ, it is a continual rest from labor. We are to trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ and walk in obedience, yet we are not working for our salvation, we are resting in it.Shalom to you as well. Teresa
A great story about how people once kept to the Sabbath is when George Washington was riding on a Sunday during the wars of independence. He was caught outside a village by men from the church, tied up and brought to the minister. The minister had him put in the stocks beside a man who had been put in for unnecessary walking on a Sunday.The Sabbath is not observed well now. I want to have Sunday off, but in my line of work that is not always possible. It is sad really do you think?Anyway, great article. Well done.Hi Connor, wow, I hadn't heard that about George Washington or that kind of punishment. That is crazy!! It is a bummer that you can't have Sunday's off if you want them. It is sad that the majority of retail businesses run 7 days a week. It boils down to the mighty dollar.Enjoy the days you do have off.Thanks for reading and sharing this information. I always learn something from you.Blessings! TeresaI always learn from you also.Thanks.
Hi Teresa, this subject always fascinates me. I grew up in a legalistic environment where Sunday was the day of rest and the men didn't do any kind of work, including work around the house. (The women still had to cook the meals and clean up afterwards.) Regardless, it was a day for family, which meant that Sunday was usually a good day.About 10 years ago, our church went through explosive growth which required the start of a Saturday evening service. This went against everything that I had previously experienced! When Easter Sunday came around, the senior paster pleaded with the regular members to come to the Saturday evening service so that there would be room on Sunday morning for the once-a-year Easter crowd. We went to church that Saturday night, and slept in the next morning and it felt so wrong! The funny thing was that I went outside in my shorts Easter morning to pick up the paper from our front yard. At the same time our once-a-year neighbors drove by in their Easter best on their way to church. I swear they were looking down their noses at me because I was obviously not going to church that morning!I am now one of those who believes every day is just as holy as any other. Every day should be dedicated to serving the Lord, and at my house, every day is family day.Thanks for the thought-provoking article!Hi Bruce, thanks for sharing your experience of what I am talking about here. I can just imagine feeling guilty for going to church on the "wrong day". It really is sad the legalism that has permiated our churches since day one. I am glad you broke the rules and experienced the freedom to worship as a church family on Saturday night.And yes, I believe like Paul says in Romans and Colossians that every day is a day of rest and honor to the Lord. Hebrews tells us we are to be sure and fellowship as the body of Christ, this can happen any day of the week.I didn't come to the Lord until I was out of my house, so I didn't have any preconceived ideas about what being a "proper" Christian was. I went in with a mind free of tradition. Which was interesting when it came to raising our children in a Christian home. God is funny that way :-)
As always, very interesting article, Teresa! God bless you,Hi Anon, Thanks for reading. I am glad you enjoyed this article.Lord bless you too! Teresa
Really enjoyed your article. Now I'm going to have to research your references, because I have a friend who recently decided that Saturday is the real day of worship. It will probably lead to some good conversations.God Bless You.Linda DHi Linda, I am glad you liked it, and yay for you for looking it all up. Add Hebrews chapter 4 to the list. It talks about entering the rest from labor through Christ. It also talks about freedom from the law for the Jew and that gentiles were never under the law as I mentioned in the article.Don't forget to read colossians too :-) I am excited that you are going to dig. If you have any questions, let me know, I will try to help.The biggest thing to remember (and I am sure you do) is keep the conversation scriptural. What passages all together leads her to her conclusion etc.. Let me know how it goes. :-)Hugs, Teresaoops, one more thing. If she is fully convinced in her heart that Sat is the day for her to formally worship, that is okay, as long as she doesn't start telling you that Sunday is the wrong day. That's were these mentioned passages come in.Blessings!
Good article Teresa,Absolutely, any and every day of the week to worship, but tradition (and habit) still hold for me. Sunday just feels right.Thanks for sharing this,NancyHi Nancy,Thank you for your input. I always appreciate you. Nothing wrong with tradition as long as that tradition doesn't turn to legalism and cause us to look down on others who do not come together for corporate worship the same day and the same way as we do.I have gone to Sunday night services, Sat night services, Thursday night and Wednesday night services. They all feel right to me. :-)Lord bless you! Teresa
Who do you think is more spiritual, the person who observes Saturday in a ritualistic way, because that actually is the Sabbath day, or the one who observes Sunday, but does it because he really does love the Lord and wants to honour Him. Or turn the above sentence around: the one who worships on Saturday because he believes that to be the Sabbath and he really wants to honour the Lord, or the person who worships on Sunday because it is a learned habit from his childhood. See what I'm getting at here? Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." That's what it's all about.Hi David, thanks for your input! My point exactly -- what a great Scripture you added. I didn't even think if that one.If the "Day" matters, and the heart is humble and pure before the Lord, then "that" day is the day one should worship.Bottom line, God knows the thoughts and intent of the heart. We each will stand or fall in His presence. False worship on the "right: day is wrong and unacceptable to the Lord anyway.Thanks again!Blessings! Teresa
I still believe that Saturday sabbath is the correct day of worship. Initially shen God created the heaven and the earth he sanctified that day. When the Israelites left Egypt, He reminded them of him as well as other things, in essence showing them that they were still his people and so couldn't be like the rest of the world. As the bible moves along and Israel and later Judah failed to be a proper example to the world, Jesus Christ came to show us how to live and he showed us how to keep the sabbath...the Scibes, pharisee's and saducees had taken everything to the extreme. When Christ died and rose again and went back to heaven, the apostles took the gospel to the world, but there was no indication of any change. If looked at the like of the apostle paul, he still continued to dwell and preach on the sabbath, in fact, in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 4 it says that there remains a rest to the people of God and if Christ had given another rest he would have spoken of another day. I was amazed when I saw that scripture. The change of sabbath to sunday was not instituted by God, it was man made. God sabbath still stands from creation. Nothing that was created on all seven days has been obliterated, neither is the sabbath. It would make sense since God never changes. Honestly, I've searched from since I was about 15 for the change and everytime I search, there is confirmaton that the sabbath still stands strong.HI , Thank you for reading and taking a moment to comment. I appreciate your input and respect that you believe Sat is the appropriate day for worship. Not all Christians believe Sunday is the new Sabbath. As I tried to state in this article.However, if worshiping on Sunday was wrong, the apostle Paul would have corrected the other disciples when they began to meet on Sundays. I tried to point out Scripture in this article that shows Paul joined them on Sundays. As I also mentioned, in Romans and Colossians, Paul specifically said any day, unto the Lord is acceptable in God's sight. As far as Hebrews, the writer made it clear that there does remain a rest for God's people and that is found in Christ - a continual rest.If your conscience requires you to formally worship on Sat, then let no man change your mind. My conscience before God tells me that I can formally worship anyday of the week. Sometimes it is 3 times a week, sometimes it is one, and other times it is none, depending on my schedule. The most important thing is that I do not forsake the fellowship with the saints all together, and then there is my everyday time with the Lord.Because really, if someone feels they are doing the right thing by worshipping on Saturday or Sunday, but have no other fellowship all week long, then they are lacking a full relationship with God.May you be blessed as you walk with God in Christ. TeresaI respect what you said, but I don't think conscience is the best way to worship God. People's conscience have allowed them to do pretty frivilous things. God has set a standard for us since the creation of the world. He set a standard on how to live as Christians. The manifestation of that standard was Jesus Christ himself.I agree, Paul did meet on different times with the brethren. Worshipping God shold be everyday to the Christian, it should be although some of us fail at it. But, this does not obliterate the fact that God has set a day apart for rest. As we read the bible we can see it emphasized all throughout scripture. He set it apart. As what Paul mentioned in Hebrews 4, l quote from the King James Version" 1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. "I think it's clear that Paul is reminding us to observe what God has sanctified.
In terms of a person being more spiritual or not, it doesn't matter what rituals you keep. That's what I believe anyway. What would save an individual in the end is their relationship with Christ. When Christ left the earth there was only one religion, one way of life that was christianity, following after Christ. Now today, everyone's opinion has become a religion and I don't believe that God is coming back for a specific religion. I believe that he is coming back for those who firstly accepts him and obeys his spoken and written word. That's why it is important to keep in constant communion with God.
Thank you Teresa. I have been struggling with this for a long time-- Why would anyone not WANT to keep the Sabbath. Your article has softened by outlook.Hi Anon, you are welcome. I am glad I could help in some way. It is unfortunate that this can be such a touchy subject. But if we study the Scriptures as a whole and not pick and chose specific passages of Scripture as our defense, then we can exercise grace for those who do it differently than us. Many blessings to you! Teresa
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