There is much disagreement in the world today concerning which day Christians are to assemble to worship God. Some hold to the old Jewish sabbath while others contend it should be upon the first day of the week. The only way to settle the matter is to go to the Bible and let it supply the answers.
WHEN WAS THE SABBATH FIRST GIVEN?
A proper understanding of this question will help us to determine what is applicable today. Exodus 16:23, "Then he said to them, This [is] [what] the Lord has said: Tomorrow [is] a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake [today], and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning." Nehemiah 9:13-14, "You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant." From the above it is evident that God gave the sabbath to these people when He gave Moses the law. The contention that the sabbath is from the beginning is false and cannot be proved. But let us notice also:
TO WHOM WAS THE SABBATH GIVEN?
Again we go to the Bible, this time to Deuteronomy 5:2-3, "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who [are] here today, all of us who [are] alive." This passage tells us exactly with whom the covenant was made. God did not make it with their fathers but with them and them alone. Notice also Exodus 31:16-17, "Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations [as] a perpetual covenant. 'It [is] a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for [in] six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.' " These passages definitely prove that the sabbath was given by God to the children of Israel or the Jewish people. The Gentiles never observed it. There is no record that Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob ever kept the sabbath because they all lived before the giving of the law. Next, let us notice that:
The Nature of the Institution Necessarily Limits it to the Jews and Their Land. |
No work was to be done. Exodus 20:10, "but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the Lord your God. [In] [it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor
your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates." |
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They were to abide in their places. Exodus 16:29, "See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two
days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." |
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They could not kindle a fire. Exodus 35:3, "You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day." |
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The penalty for violation was death. Exodus 31:14-15, "You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for [it] [is] holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does [any] work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh [is] the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does [any] work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death." |
From the above, the following observations can be made. Since God nowhere has restrained other people from working on the seventh day, it logically follows that the institution applied to the Jews only. The same is true with the statute to abide in their houses. Moreover, the climate of their land was such that they could survive without building a fire. But this would not be true in colder climates; therefore, the institution must have been limited to the Jews and their land.
THE LAW OF THE SABBATH WAS DONE AWAY IN CHRIST.
Colossians 2:14, "having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." The law, then, was nailed to the cross. It passed away and was superseded by another law, the law of Christ. What about this new law? Is the law of the sabbath included in it? Are we still obligated to keep it as some claim we are? Did it continue right on over even though there was a change in covenants? Well, let us go to verse 16 and see, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths."
According to this teaching, no man has the right to bind sabbath keeping on me or you. Because the law to which the sabbath belonged passed away, the
sabbath did also. It is no longer in existence as a holy day. If the sabbath is no longer binding, then what day is? In order to answer that question, we must
go to the New Testament and find out. In doing so, let us notice the following facts:
The First Day of the Week is Special to our Lord Jesus Christ.
| The resurrection of Christ was on the first day of the week. Luke 24:1-3, "Now on the first [day] of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain
[other] [women] with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they
went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." |
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Christ met with his disciples on the first day of the week. John 20:19, "Then, the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors
were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'Peace [be] with you.' " |
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The Holy Spirit came to remain on earth on the first day of the week. Acts 2:1-4, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and [one] sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." |
All of this happened on the day of Pentecost. And Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week. For proof let us read from Leviticus 23:15, "And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord." This quotation also includes verse 16 in order to show that Pentecost (which means fiftieth) always fell on the day following the seventh sabbath. Of course, since the sabbath was on the seventh day, then Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week.
| The Church of Christ was established upon the first day of the week. The prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:28-32), as spoken of in Acts 2:16-21, was fulfilled when the Church began on the Day of the Lord. Bearing in mind what we learned about Pentecost, let us now notice verse 47 of Acts 2. "Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved." Since Pentecost fell on the first day of the week, it then logically follows that the Church was established on the same day. |
For these reasons we can see that the early Christians referred
to the first day of the week as the Lord's day.
SUNDAY, THE LORD'S DAY, THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK
Some hold that we should avoid Sunday because it was the day the pagans set aside to worship their
sun god. It needs to be understood that the pagan names given the respective days of the week (Sun-day,
Moon-day, Saturn-day, etc.) were used long before the Church started. We have to live in the world but we don't have to live as the
world does.
We hold no special value to Sunday other than it being the first day of the week, the day that the
disciples came together to break bread. Since they gave us the example, we do likewise.
THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WORSHIPPED ON THE LORD'S DAY
Next, we need to determine the day upon which New Testament Christians are commanded to assemble. First of all, we go to Hebrews 10:25, "not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as [is] the manner of some, but exhorting [one] [another], and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." In
this passage we have the command to assemble, but the day is not specified. Let us now see if we can determine the day. Acts 20:7, "Now on the first [day]
of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight."
Thus, the Holy Spirit specifies the day upon which the early disciples met to observe the Lord's supper. As added proof that they customarily met on this
day, let us notice 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the
Churches of Galatia, so you must do also:
On the first [day] of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come."
In Revelation 1:10, we read the following: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet." Adding up all the
information that we have gleaned from the New Testament, we can safely conclude that upon the first day of the week, or the Lord's day, the disciples
assembled to break bread. It was on this day that they worshipped the Lord in spirit and truth, not upon the sabbath. Since the sabbath was given to the Jews
only, as a part of the law of Moses, and since that law has been done away in Christ, it follows that we are no longer bound by it. No one today has the right
to observe the sabbath because the law to which it belonged no longer exists.
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