Has the day of Worship changed at all?

[Johnboy60]

Hi, People tell me that today the worship day has changed because of the new testament. When people say not to work on Saturday they talking about the Jewish old law and not the Christian new Laws. I have talked to many Christians and they all said they work on Sunday and Saturday and think nothing is wrong about it. Myself I don't work on Sunday.

What do you have to say about this?

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

I would try to keep Saturday a free day in general, so those that might be weaker will not struggle with it. However, Jesus rose on Sunday, and that is traditionally the day of worship for Christians.

 

[Oblio]

The principal day has changed to the eighth day to celebrate the feast of the Resurrection.

I worship on Saturday evening in preparation for Sunday. I then spend most of Sunday in worship and service to the Church.

 

[seangoh]

What do you have to say about this?

Hi Robert43. Since we are Christians, we know that on any attempt to find out the truth we have to go by the bible alone. Sometimes the opinions of people from outside may be overwhelming and it's a challenge to keep those opinions aside while we search the truth of the matter. Suppose you were in a secluded environment with little human contact and thus little opportunities to interact with other Christians. With no outside influences AND no job because now u're enjoying life,then going by the bible alone is the only way to find the truth and expediency would not be a major factor with regards to which day you work because now u're happily retired!

Ok, preliminaries aside.I just read an article about the Sabbath. I find it concise so i'll post it. In it, it describes the origin of the Sabbath. Then it moves on to how the Israelites kept it during the Exodus. Also in addition to the weekly Sabbath is a brief description of the 7 annual, ceremonial Sabbaths of which we are no longer required to keep(we may discuss that later if the need arises) but still it's good to be aware of. Then, it talks of Jesus being on earth at the height of the Sabbath's rigid observance by the rabbis and where Jesus came to demonstrate the true meaning of the Sabbath. Finally, it talks about the alleged change of the day of worship(where another day was blessed like the Sabbath and made a day of worship by divine authority) and why it couldn't have happened.
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Sabbath. [Heb. shabbath, “Sabbath,” “rest (day),” “a cessation,” and shabbathoÆn, a variant form of shabbath, both from shabath, “to cease,” “to rest,” “to keep Sabbath”; Gr. sabbaton, “sabbath.”] The weekly day of rest, divinely instituted at the close of Creation week, and observed by the worshipers of God, Jew and Christian alike, throughout Bible times. After God had “finished” creating the earth He “rested on the seventh day from all his work” (Gen 2:1, 2). This *“rest” was not because of weariness or fatigue (Is 40:28), but because the task was complete, and the world perfect (see Gen 1:31). He found that it measured up in every way to His ideal for it, and He ceased His labors because His handiwork could not be improved upon. He then “blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,” as a memorial to the finished work of Creation (ch 2:3). Inasmuch as “the sabbath was made for man” (Mk 2:27)—that is, for man’s good—it is logical to conclude that the divine blessing with which the Creator endowed the 7th day of the week was designed to constitute the day a channel of blessing to Adam and Eve. Inasmuch as God also “sanctified” the day (Gen 2:3), or set it apart for holy use, we may be sure that our first parents devoted its sacred hours to such use. That the Creator intended the Sabbath blessing for all men of all time is evident from the declaration that it was “made for man” (Mk 2:27), with the intention that man should use it for holy purposes. Accordingly, the 7th day is a day of rest for all who reckon their descent from Adam and Eve, not for the Jews alone. In fact, there were no Jews until some thousands of years after Creation, and God never intended that they should seek to monopolize the Sabbath.
That our first parents and their descendants must have understood the significance of the 7th day is evident, because: (1) God did not perform the acts of Creation week for His own benefit, but for that of man. Since God’s rest on the 7th day was not from weariness, and since that day was an integral part of Creation week, as its title indicates, the conclusion may be drawn that God’s blessing and sanctification of the 7th day was also for man’s good—particularly his moral and spiritual good. (2) From the dawn of history the 7-day week was known and recognized as a unit of time measurement (see Gen 7:4, 10; 8:10, 12; 29:27). Since the length of the week does not depend upon the movements of any of the heavenly bodies, and since there is no way of accounting for its origin apart from the Creation record of Gen 1 and 2, man’s recognition of the 7-day week in those early times must be traced to God’s appointment of the 7th day of the week as a day of rest, blessing, and holiness.

The first occurrence of the word Sabbath is in Ex 16:21–30 in connection with the giving of the manna prior to Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai. God stressed the importance of the 7th day of the week as a Sabbath of rest by providing a double supply of manna on the 6th day and none on the 7th. This weekly miracle continued from the 2d month after Israel’s departure from Egypt (vs 1, 14, 15) to the 1st month, 40 years later (Jos 5:10–12; cf. Ex 12:2–11; 16:35)—or for more than 2,000 successive weekly Sabbath days.

At Mount Sinai God enjoined the observance of the 7th-day Sabbath in the 4th precept of the Decalogue (Ex 20:8–11). This law He inscribed with His own finger upon tables of stone (Ex 31:18; Deut 9:10) and instructed Moses that it be placed in the ark of the covenant (Deut 10:1–5). The word “remember,” with which the Sabbath commandment begins, does not imply that the observance of the 4th commandment is more important than the other 9, for all are of equal importance (see Jas 2:8–11). God’s people were to “remember” the Sabbath because “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day”—that is, as a memorial of the Creator and Creation. That is why “the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” in the beginning. God knew man’s natural tendency would be to become so engrossed with the things He had made during the 6 days of Creation week as to forget the One who made them, a tendency universally evident since ancient times (see Rom 1:20–25). The OT Scriptures repeatedly distinguish the true God from all false gods on the basis of His creative power, as, for example, Ps 96:5, “the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.” God ordained that man should understand “the invisible things of him … even his eternal power and Godhead” through “the things that are made” (Rom 1:20). Accordingly, an all-wise Creator ordained the Sabbath to be a safeguard against forgetting Him and wandering off into idolatry. It was meant to be a blessing to man, not a burden. God specifically declared it to be “a sign” between Him and His people for all time, by which they were ever to remember the true God as their God (Ex 31:13). In addition to its universal import for all men, the Sabbath was of additional significance for Israel as a memorial of God’s deliverance, and of rest from the servitude of Egypt (Deut 5:12–15).

In addition to the weekly Sabbath (Lev 23:3) there were 7 annual, ceremonial sabbaths scattered throughout the ritual calendar: the 1st and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (vs 7, 8), Pentecost (v 21), the 1st day of the 7th month (v 24), the Day of Atonement (v 27), and the 1st and last days of the Feast of Tabernacles (vs 32–36). These ceremonial sabbaths might fall upon any day of the week, and sometimes coincided with the weekly Sabbath. Besides the weekly Sabbath and the annual sabbaths, every 7th year was to be a sabbatic year, during which the land was to lie fallow (ch 25:3–7). See Sabbatical Year. Every 50th year was to be proclaimed a year of jubilee, during which all property reverted to its original owner. See Jubilee.

By enjoining cessation from labor, the command to observe the weekly Sabbath provided time for physical rest and spiritual refreshment. The day was not to be spent in idleness, however, for God instructed the people to assemble together for “a holy convocation” (Lev 23:3; cf. Eze 46:3). The pre-eminence of the Sabbath day over the other days of the week was further stressed in the ancient tabernacle and Temple ritual by the offering of an additional lamb (Num 28:9, 19), and by renewing the bread of the Presence (Lev 24:5–8; 1 Chr 9:32). Under the Levitical law the penalty for violation of the Sabbath day was death (Ex 31:14–16), and at least one occasion on which a willful Sabbathbreaker was put to death is on record (Num 15:32–36).
The desecration of the Sabbath day was one of the sins that led to the Babylonian captivity (Jer 17:19–27). Like Jeremiah, the prophet Ezekiel lamented the fact that in his day the Sabbath was, to a large extent, ignored (Eze 20:12–24; 22:8, 26; 23:38). Looking to the future, Isaiah foretold the conversion of the Gentiles and promised a blessing to those of them who would keep the Sabbath (Is 56:2–6; cf. 58:13). After the Captivity the Jews again lapsed into carelessness with regard to the Sabbath, and Nehemiah instituted a reform in its observance (Neh 10:31; 13:15–22).

During the intertestamental period the Pharisees bound the Sabbath about with a multitude of trivial regulations that made the day a burden instead of a blessing. These burdensome regulations, later codified in the Mishnah, constituted a part of the tradition that Jesus so vigorously opposed throughout His ministry (Mt 23:4; Mk 7:1–13). The Mishnah (Shabbath 7. 2) lists 39 kinds of labor not to be performed upon the Sabbath day, and there were countless other minute Sabbath regulations. In fact, 2 entire tractates of the Mishnah, Shabbath and ÔErubin, are devoted to various regulations concerning the Sabbath. Forbidden were such acts as trying or loosening a knot, writing as much as 2 letters of the alphabet or erasing in order to make space for 2 letters, lighting a fire or putting one out. The best-known Sabbath regulation concerned the so-called “sabbath day’s journey” of about 2/3 of a mile (c. 1 km.). See Sabbath Day’s Journey. It was also counted as Sabbath-breaking to look into a mirror fixed on the wall. An egg laid on the Sabbath might be sold to a Gentile, but not eaten, and a Gentile could be hired to light a candle or a fire on the Sabbath. It was counted unlawful to expectorate upon the ground lest thereby a blade of grass be irrigated. It was not permitted to carry a handkerchief on the Sabbath unless one end of it be sewed to one’s garment—in which case it was no longer technically a handkerchief but a part of the garment. The rabbis thus emphasized the negative aspect of Sabbath observance—of refraining from certain things—and in so doing magnified the importance of the forms of religion while minimizing its substance. They made the Sabbath an end in itself and bound man in slavery to it. These negative, hairsplitting regulations served effectively to obscure the true purpose of the Sabbath. This rabbinical emphasis on rigid Sabbath observance was at high tide during our Lord’s earthly ministry, and at no point did Jesus come into sharper conflict with the leaders of Judaism than on the matter of Sabbath observance. He taught that the Sabbath was made for man’s benefit (Mk 2:27, 28), and emphasized the positive aspect of Sabbath observance—the type of activity to which the day should be devoted. Nothing He said or did can be construed as opposed to the Sabbath as set forth in the Ten Commandments or in the Levitical law. His protest was directed exclusively against the abuse the Sabbath day had suffered at the hands of the rabbis, and it was His purpose to set the day free from the burdensome regulations with which they had hedged it about (see Mt 23:13). It was His own custom to devote the day to attendance at religious services and to religious instruction (Mk 1:21; 3:1; Lk 4:16–27; 13:10), to appropriate social activities (Mk 1:29–31; 2:23; Lk 14:1–3), and to deeds of mercy. Seven of His miracles of healing were performed upon the Sabbath day (Mk 1:21–31; 3:1–5; Lk 13:10–17; 14:1–4; Jn 5:1–15; 9:1–7).

Throughout NT times Christians observed the 7th day of the week as the Sabbath. In view of the great importance the Jews attached to the Sabbath and in the light of the storm of opposition aroused by the Gentile neglect of ritual observances (see Acts 15; Gal 2; 3), any deviation from Sabbath observance as enjoined by the Decalogue, by Paul, or any leaders of apostolic times, would inevitably have aroused a storm of protest similar to that which arose over such regulations as circumcision, eating with Gentiles, and various other ceremonial regulations (see Acts 11:1–3; 15:1, 2; 21:20, 21; Gal 3:1; 4:10; 5:1). It is incredible that contention over the observance of the 7th-day Sabbath, had there been such, would not likewise find mention in the NT. But of such contention the NT writers maintain a profound silence. To the contrary, there is frequent mention that the apostle Paul, as he went about the Gentile world proclaiming the gospel, “went into the synagogue on the sabbath day” (Acts 13:14, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4). It may be argued that he did so because he was sure to find a large gathering there on Sabbath day. But at the same time the NT is silent concerning any Christian religious gatherings on the first day of the week that provide the least hint that Christians attached any particular significance to that day. Among the NT passages sometimes cited in an endeavor to prove observance of the 1st day by the apostolic Christians are Mt 28:1; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10, but upon examination these passages are found to afford no evidence indicating a transfer of sanctity from the 7th to the 1st day of the week, or that the early Christians ever thought of the 1st day as a holy day. See First Day of the Week; Lord’s Day. The simple fact remains that, from first to last, the Scriptures know of no other day than the 7th day of the week as a weekly holy day of perpetual obligation.

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As to how the christian church adopted Sunday as the day of worship, i believe you have some resources already.(eg..Constantine and the sunday laws). In fact, i have a brief description of how the gradual change came about. It gives you a good idea on what happened. I think you'll be interested in it.

Also there's a website which shows a timeline of the sabbath (http://www.tagnet.org/llt/sabbath_history.shtml)

A collection of historical quotations from every century
where the Sabbath was observed by Christians around the world.
(http://www.tagnet.org/llt/sabbath_observance.shtml)

This is with regards to the reformation. Here you find the Roman Catholics (the originators of christian sunday worship) accusing the protestants (people who protest against the Catholic faith) of keeping sunday as their day of worship because if they really wanted a clean break, then they should break away from sunday worship and keep the sabbath. That was the point that resulted in the protestants having nothing to say and thereby losing the debate.
(http://www.tagnet.org/llt/sabbath_rome.shtml)

I guess you need some time going through that. So have fun studying about the Sabbath! It is very exciting.

 

[Johnboy60]

Hi, So the Catholics did change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday after all. What gives them the right to do this?
And by the way your post is excellent. Lots of information.

Robert.

 

[seangoh]

What gives them the right to do this?
And by the way your post is excellent. Lots of information.

Robert.

Hi. i think u can find out more about this change in some websites. Basically the roman catholic church was extremely dominant in a certain period and even kings had to succumb to their rule. The catholics were quite bold in proclaiming that they were the ones who changed the day of worship and are equally proud that christians are following this day as a result. You can read about this gradual change here (http://www.shalom-crmi.org/html/bacchioc.html)
It's just a brief outline of his book "From Sabbath to Sunday"
The author of this book studied in the prestigious catholic university that time. He was the first and last protestant to enter and leave the university actually. In there, he found historical information on that change. He wrote that book in his dissertation and got a gold medal from the pope himself. So iow, the pope agrees with the stuff written in this book.

And by the way your post is excellent. Lots of information.

Thanks. I hope you have time to go through most of them..you'll get a very good picture.

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

Thanks a lot for that <><

 

[Symes]

Hi, People tell me that today the worship day has changed because of the new testament. When people say not to work on Saturday they talking about the Jewish old law and not the Christian new Laws. I have talked to many Christians and they all said they work on Sunday and Saturday and think nothing is wrong about it. Myself I don't work on Sunday.

What do you have to say about this?

Robert

Look at some of the links that have been givn and you will see where the change came in.

Here is another link that will help you to understand where the change came from.

http://www.lightministries.com/id252.htm

 

[Oblio]

Hi, So the Catholics did change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday after all. What gives them the right to do this?
And by the way your post is excellent. Lots of information.

Robert.

I wasn't aware of that. Worship has been on the eighth day since the days of Acts and the Apostolic Fathers. The Sabbath has always remained on Saturday.

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

I wasn't aware of that. Worship has been on the eighth day since the days of Acts and the Apostolic Fathers. The Sabbath has always remained on Saturday.

I'm pretty sure worship was done on the Sabbath in Acts. All of the synagogue teaching was done that day.

 

[Oblio]

The witnessing to the Jews was done on Saturday, that was when they could be found in the synagogues. Read the ECFs on the worship practices of the first Christians.

 

[Oblio]

Notice when they worship when the Apostles are together

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
(Acts 20:7)

 

[Oblio]

St. Justin Marytr, an Apostolic Father taught by the Apostles themselves, recounts in his Apology to the pagan Emporer in 140 AD:

CHAP. LXVI.--OF THE EUCHARIST.

And this food is called among us E<greek>ukaristia</greek>(5) [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.(6) For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me,(7) this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.

CHAP. LXVII.--WEEKLY WORSHIP OF THE CHRISTIANS.

And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday,(1) all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability,(2) and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given,(3) and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

 

[hraedisc]

All 8 NT "first day of the week" scriptural citations used by Oblio or others are examined here: http://www.sabbathtruth.com/sabbath_books_read.asp?ID=652
and here: http://www.biblerevelations.org/sundaylaw/appendix10.htm

 

[matty c]

a little of the other subjects but i read an old article in newsweek that got me thinking a few days ago. it was about how sunday has lost a lot of its meaning partly in cause to sports. it went on saying how pretty much every sport plays a game on that day and how religions are having to compete with them for interest. got me really thinking cause i love watching nascar but it conflicts with masses and whatnot. races on the west coast start at 10 roughly and thats when my mass is. same with the NFL, MLB, etc. so yea IMO the day of worship is having some issues battling with sports and is changin cause of that....kinda sad

 

[Symes]

This is where the Bible says they went to worship and on what day they went to worship on.

Acts 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.

Acts 13:27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read ° every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Acts 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Acts 13:44 And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.

Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and ° three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue ° every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

They broke bread every day, the breaking of bread was just a meal. It did not say that because bread was broken daily that we are to keep holy every day.

God has only ever said we are to keep one day holy, that is the 7th day.

 

[The Thadman]

Notice when they worship when the Apostles are together

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
(Acts 20:7)

Gathering together to break bread is having a meal. Remember that the Sabbath ends on Saturday at sundown, so gathering on the first day of the week would be a Saturday night Post-Sabbath dinner.

Peace!
-Steve-o

 

[The Thadman]

Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done.

Provided my memory's working properly, the Cult of Mithra came before Christianity (what was it, 200-100 BC?), along with those rituals that were "imitated."

Peace!
-Steve-o

 

[The Thadman]

lighting a fire or putting one out

Lighting a fire is in violation of the Biblical Sabbath, not an oral tradition. Putting one out, there is no mention of.

Exodus 35
35 1 Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said to them, “These are the words which YHWH has commanded, that you should do them. 2 ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to YHWH: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’”

Peace!
-Steve-o