DAY OF WORSHIP?

SABBATH – DAY OF WORSHIP?

Monday, July 29, 2013
 
Chaplain Tom Beatty put together an excellent handout summary on the question.  EBB4

WHAT IS THE SABBATH DAY?

  Seems like a simple enough question.

  Why so much controversy?

  From Exodus, chapter 20 (the 10 Commandments), we read: 8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath

to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

  The Sabbath is the seventh day. The Lord made the Sabbath day “holy.” (To be “holy” literally means to be “set aside.”) [Dr. Mundel taught that actively it means “Joyfully doing the will of God.” EBB4] God set aside the seventh day as a day of rest. He set the example by resting on the seventh day after six days of creating.

  Controversy has come as some Christian groups take the view that the Sabbath is to be the day of worship, the day on which Christians should attend church and worship services. These groups also teach the Sabbath is to be a day of rest, but they emphasize it’s the “day of worship.” However, there’s no command in the Bible anywhere that commands the Sabbath be the day of worship.

  As seen in the 10 Commandments, God tells His people to not work on the Sabbath. (See also Exodus 16:23-29; 31:14-16; 35:2-3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Nehemiah 13:15-22; Jeremiah 17:21-27.) In contrast, nowhere in the Old Testament is one day set aside for worship. Sacrifices were made every day at the tabernacle, later at the temple. “Worship” was to be continual.

  The idea that the Sabbath was ordained by God as the day of worship is just not taught in the Bible.

Now, people in the Bible did get together for worship on the Sabbath, but I suspect it was because there was no work being done on that day. In fact, Sabbath travel restrictions would have made mandatory Sabbath worship nearly impossible. (Ex.16:29)

  In the New Testament we read of Jews meeting in the synagogues on the Sabbath (Mark 6:2; Luke 4:31; Luke13:10-16; Acts 13:14,27,42-44; 15:21; 17:2; 18:4), and when the Christians went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, it appears it was for purposes of evangelism, not worship. It was not

ever commanded to set aside a particular day for worship.

  Some Christians are described as meeting and/or studying together every day. (Acts 2:46, 17:11)

Other Christians are described as meeting on the first day of the week. (Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2)

  Over the centuries since Jesus Christ rose from the grave, Christians have traditionally met together for worship on the first day of the week – in celebration of Christ’s resurrection - which is accepted as occurring on a the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). However, even this is not commanded, Christians are given the freedom to celebrate “special days,” or to consider

every day as “special.” (See Romans 14:4-6 and Colossians 2:16.)

  So, Sunday is not commanded to be the day of worship either. Neither Saturday nor Sunday is the “official” church day. It’s God’s desire is that we worship and serve Him EVERYDAY. [Rom.12:1-3]

  Perhaps the best commentary on how to handle this “controversy” is from the Apostle Paul in Romans, chapter 14: 1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord.