Why Do Christians Worship on Sunday?
Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ
At first glance, it may appear that the modern practice of worshipping on Sunday (the first day of the week) is inconsistent with the teachings of God in the Old Testament. The answer to this question, however, stems from the practices of the early church, beginning with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that Jesus arose from the dead on the "first day of the week", which is Sunday. Changing the worship of God from Saturday to Sunday was symbolic of accepting Christ as the promised Messiah and Redeemer foretold in the Old Testament. Christians, therefore, met for fellowship and rejoicing on Sunday to commemorate the wonderful resurrection of our Savior. For your reference, I Corinthians 16:2 refers to the fact that the early Christians were meeting on the first day of the week. Also, the term, "The Lord's Day" comes from Revelation 1:10 where the Apostle John said, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day" and this has been thought to infer Sunday. In John 2:28, Jesus affirmed that He was and is Lord of the Sabbath and therefore Christians are free to worship Him on any day of the week and a Sunday worship is appropriate.
Sunday is viewed by some as the Christian version of the Jewish Sabbath. Others esteem Sunday as a distinctly Christian Holy Day. If that is believed to the case, Romans 14:5-6 makes it clear that there may be liberty in this matter. Observing worship on Sunday is not a binding commandment by any means, but it is the example of the early church.
The decision of whether to worship on Saturday or Sunday is based on one's view of the Old Testament. Seventh Day Adventists, for example, see the Old Testament as binding and since one of the Ten Commandments was to "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Christians must also maintain that day for worship today. They teach that the shift from Saturday to Sunday worship was part of a great apostasy that allowed false doctrine to infiltrate the church.
The decision to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday was born out of a desire to celebrate the event that made our salvation possible: The resurrection of Christ!
Published by Amy Kreger
Amy is a stay at home mom who resides in northern Minnesota. She has been married for 9 years and has 4 young children. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a Commentim a Seventh-Day Adventist and first there is no john 2:28 in the bible and second yea it does say about liberty in Romans 14:5 but not verse 6 it says if you listen to thr right day you do it for God and who ever doesnt listen doesnt do it for God i believe on what the bible says and false testimony is in the bible of the last days...God is coming soon!! and that will be the day of judment.God bless you all.
E.White, 1898 When you obey the decree that commands you to go on Sunday and worship God you receive the mark of the beast. When you obey the decree that commands you to cease from labor on Sunday you receive the mark of the beast.
E. White, 1902 Give Sunday to the Lord to hold meetings in different places, to do medical missionary work. SDA were to show their wisdom by refraining from their ordinary work on that day."
Since all her words were supposed visions from God, did God change His mind about Sabbath to Sunday worship? Or was she just reeling from the effects of the serious head wound she suffered as a child?
So if the endtimes come and law says worship only on Sunday, what if that law said Mon or Wed? I would be more concerned of outlawing belief/worship of God. Doesn't Revelations say the anti-christ would make laws to worship only him? As of such, we in the USA have belief in God easy. Try being a Christian in China or a muslim country. I bet those Christians don't quibble about which day they go to church.
The day of worship was changed to Sunday by Constantine, the Roman Emperor in 321 A.D. if memory serves. This was done to unify Pagans and Christians for political purposes.
I have no problem with Sunday observance. But the idea that man can change what God has appointed is interesting to me. Even if your reason is to celebrate Christ's resurrection, you have to balance that with the idea that its a man-made change to a holy appointment.
Also, any biblical historian (catholic or protestant) with tell you that the first Christians worshiped on the traditional Sabbath (mostly since they were Jews). These concepts of justifying the change have been around, as a sort of cognitive balance for following the proscriptive and prescriptive tenets of the Bible.
For example, I believe Homosexuality is against what is taught in the Bible. However, if I worshiped on Sunday, I would have to explain the disparity between a precise interpretation of scripture and my practice. I wo
The sabbath is part of the commanment right?take a look at this romans 3;19-31,romans 4;14-16,romans 10;4-8,romans 13;8-11,romans 14;5,9,10,romans 15;18,1 cor 15;56,57,2cor3;3-18,gal 1;6-9,gal 2;14-21,gal 3, gal 4,phil 3;9,10,col 2;16-18 hebrews85-10,13 1tom 1;3-13,1tim 4;1-4,2tim 2;15,titus1;10-16, acts 3;22,acts 14;32-39,acts 15;5-11,acts 15;24, romans 2, john 1;17,st john 13;34-35,st john 14;20-24,st john 15;10-14,1 john 3;23,24,1 john4;21 i am a former adventist also,i love everyone, brothers and sisters the times is sooo near now is not the time to worry about which day is which but let us study the bible morning noon and night and he will reveal the true God he is,he did it for me he can do it for you, if you only ask him for wisdom and understanding.To all the adventist out there study all the text i just gave you and you will see more when you starte studing.Go on the computer and find out about the church and Ellen G White and find out stuff plz.God bless you all.
Technically though, the day of worship has never changed. If Saturday was once the Sabbath, it still is. Whether or not we are bond to observe it as the day of worship is up for debate and can be argued on both sides of the fence. However, a search of history will show that the Catholic Church was the first ones to actually change the day of worship during early christianity. They were trying to set themselves apart. So although I am a former Adventist who now goes to church on Sunday, I do not observe Sunday as the Sabbath. Saturday is still the Sabbath. While we are not tied to the commandments since Christ's death, I still hold that we will observe one day as being the holiest in heaven, and since our Saviour was and forever will be Jewish, that day is Saturday. There is not one verse in the Bible to state that the day of worship was changed. Paul does argue that one day is as another, but he never goes as far as to say the new day of worship is Sunday.
But is this observing of Sunday biblicle? Daniel 7:25 says: "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws."