The Bible says we should keep and honor the Sabbath on the seventh day. Then why do we go to church on the first day of the week?
The following answer is taken from “Observing the Sabbath,” a document endorsed by the Assemblies of God’s Commission on Doctrinal Purity and the Executive Presbytery.
Over the years, attitudes in the Assemblies of God toward observing the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day have modified noticeably. In earlier days of the Movement, people refrained from athletic activities, entertainment pursuits, reading secular magazines and newspapers, and accepting jobs requiring Sunday work. Those standards, in some cases, may have been too legalistic, but we are in danger today of missing the real significance of “Sabbath rest.”
In Hebrew, the word Sabbath means “rest” and comes from the verb meaning “to cease.” One of the Ten Commandments reads, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12). The reason for this commandment is that God wants His people to rest or cease from their normal work schedules. Jesus tells us that God instituted Sabbath observance for man’s benefit (Mark 2:27). God set the example by “resting” on the seventh day of the creation week (Genesis 2:2-3).
In the New Testament, the Sabbath commandment is the only one of the Ten Commandments that is not mentioned as binding upon Christians. The spiritual significance of the Old Testament Sabbath was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who gives spiritual rest to those who acknowledge Him (Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4:1-11).
The New Testament indicates the early Christians gathered for worship on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Jesus’ disciple John called it “the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10). For those Christians who lived in New Testament days, Sunday worship was a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus which took place on the first day of the week (Luke 24:1). While we are not commanded to observe Sunday as the specific day of rest and worship, the principle of the Sabbath is that one day in seven should be set aside for physical and spiritual renewal.
Read the document in its entirety here.
For those with a tendency to criticize Sunday as a day of rest and worship, consider these verses:
Romans 14:4-6 (NIV)
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV)
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.
Ken Horn
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