Many Christians and non-Christians alike have asked
this question. After all, in Bible times the Jewish custom
was, and still is today, to observe the Sabbath day on
Saturday. Let us look at why a Saturday Sabbath
is no longer observed by most Christian churches and
attempt to answer the question, “Should Christians
worship on Sunday.
There are many references in the book of Acts about the
early Christian church meeting together on the Sabbath
(Saturday) to pray and study the Scriptures.
However, some Christians believe the early church began
meeting on Sundays soon after Christ rose from the
dead, in honour of the Lord’s resurrection which took
place on a Sunday, or the first day of the week. This
verse has Paul instructing the churches to meet together
on the first day of the week (Sunday) to give offerings:
And when Paul met with believers in Troas to worship
and celebrate communion, they gathered on the first day
of the week. While some believe the transition from Saturday to Sunday worship began right after the resurrection, others see the change as a gradual progression over the course of history.
Today, many Christian traditions believe Sunday is the
Christian Sabbath day. They base this concept on verses
like Mark 2:27-28 and Luke 6:5 where Jesus says he is
“Lord even of the Sabbath,” implying that he has the
power to change the Sabbath to a different day.
Christian groups that adhere to a Sunday Sabbath feel
that the Lord’s command was not specifically for the
seventh day, but rather, one day out of the seven week
days. By changing the Sabbath to Sunday (what many
refer to as “the Lord’s Day”), or the day the Lord
resurrected, they feel it symbolically represents the
acceptance of Christ as Messiah, and his broadening
blessing and redemption from the Jews to the entire
world.
Other traditions, such as Seventh-day Adventists, still
observe a Saturday Sabbath. Since honoring the Sabbath
was part of the original Ten Commandments given by
God, they believe it is a permanent, binding command
that should not be changed. Interestingly, Acts 2:46 tells us that from the start, the church in Jerusalem met every day in the temple courts and gathered to break bread together in private homes. So, perhaps a better question might be, are Christians under obligation to observe a designated Sabbath day? To get a clear answer to this question in the New Testament, let’s look at what the Bible says:
Romans 14:5-6
In the same way, some think one day is more holy than
another day, while others think every day is alike. You
should each be fully convinced that whichever day you
choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a
special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind
of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks
to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat
certain foods also want to please the Lord and give
thanks to God”. Romans14 suggest that there is
personal freedom regarding the observance of holy days:
In Colosians 2 Christians are instructed not to judge or
allow anyone to be their judge regarding Sabbath:
Colosians 2:16-17
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat
or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New
Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow
of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is
found in Christ.In Galatians 4, Paul is concerned because Christians
are turning back like slaves to legalistic observances of
“special” days:
Finally, as Romans 14 instructs, we should be “fully
convinced” that whichever day we choose is the right day
for us to set aside as a day of worship. And as
Colossians 2 warns, we should not judge or allow
anyone to judge us regarding our choice.
Culled from www.about.com
