One of the most controversial issues, is the DAY OF WORSHIP

[Willie T]

Is the reason that the church meets once a week simply to meet once a week? That is, simply to continue in fellowship? Is there any biblical command for this?

They kind of follow the example in Genesis where God did His creation in 6 days, and "rested" on the 7th. I guess they think He got tired.

 

[klutedavid]

I've been told the sabbath is optional, and just a day of rest from work. I took his word by faith. Then I hear different perspectives I can't figure out which one is true. The Bible doesn't seem to support Sabbath-keeping in the new covenant from when I read.

Where can I find an undeniable fact that it's either optional or that we are meant to still keep it? I am still confused on this controversy, and on top of that even if the 7th day is the day of worship there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day. And if its not even a big deal, I have no problem worshipping on Sunday.

Church history in the first four centuries tells us, that Christians gathered on the first day (Sunday).

We also find in the New Testament that Gentile churches, gathered on the first day.

The trick is to understand that the Gentiles were never under the law. Where people that read the New Testament, make the mistake when reading the law. Is they do not see the clear distinction in the scripture, between Jews and Gentiles.

I can prove that Gentiles are not under the law.

If Gentiles were under the law, then they would be circumcised. Since Gentiles are forbidden from circumcision, then it is obvious that Gentiles are not under the law.

 

[klutedavid]

Is the reason that the church meets once a week simply to meet once a week? That is, simply to continue in fellowship? Is there any biblical command for this?

Church tradition in the first four centuries has the church gathering, on the first day of the week. There are also two or more verses in the New Testament that tell us that the Gentile church. Gathered on the first day of the week, to celebrate the resurrection of the Christ.

 

[Tom34]

I keep the Sabbath for the following reasons:

• Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

During this time, the Pharisee gave wrong idea of the Sabbath. When Jesus heals, they accused Him of breaking the sabbath. Then he rebukes them and say it is okay to do good on Sabbath.

• Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

In the verse before, Jesus does not say "there is no more sabbath". He just corrects the view of sabbath. However, in this verse, he added that the Son of man is Lord of Sabbath. So, Jesus is the lord of Sabbath.

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

Look's like Paul keep the sabbath.

• 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.

Isn't a synagogue place of worship? They kept the sabbath.

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

"he" in this verse is Paul(refer to verse 1). Well, Paul kept the sabbath. Together with the Jews and Greeks. That is a clear evidence that non-Jews kept the sabbath as well.

• Isaiah 66:22-23 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

When we are in heaven, we will be celebrating Sabbath as well. Can you imagine the choir of angels? That's amazing!

• James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

We really need to think that if God change the Sabbath, the 10 commandments would not be valid anymore based on the text. Or else James is delusional, thinking that the Christian back then still obeying the 10 commandments.

• Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

When we keep the Sabbath, that is the sign between God and men and god has sanctify them. Wait. Hang on. Seems like the word sanctify was used to describe the sabbath before? Guess where?

• Gen 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Yep God sanctify the Day for us. Just as he work 6 days and rest the 7th, we should either.

• Exo 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

When God give the 4th commandments, He start by saying remember. That means the sabbath was kept throughout generation. And we can see that this verse actually the reason why God sanctify the 7th day. He is basically saying, just as I created the world in 6 days, we should work for 6 days and stop on the 7th days.

We know from the verse below that Christ created the earth:

• Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Jesus is the same person in the Mark 2:28. Jesus himself is consistent in what he spoke. We should be consistent following Christ either.

I understand that Maybe you don't have a Sabbath keeping church around your area. Worry not. That shouldn't stop anyone from keeping the Sabbath. Pray for guidance. Let's see how God works. Meanwhile, you can do these:

• Exodus 20:8 = We should stop working on Sabbath. Just spend time at home with family and friends.
• Exodus 20:8 = Spend time with God. If you spend 2 hour everyday. On the sabbath day, you have the whole day. You can watch lectures on Youtube of any bible topics.
• Matthew 12:12,13 = Jesus spend time healing. Maybe we can spend time helping people as well. Again, if we spend time helping people for 2 hours during weekdays, we have the whole day to helps others.

If our world, is clouded with fog, for 100 year, no phone to look at the time, no calendar to track time. Nothing we can do to track time. (i don't know how are we going to live in situation like that), I'm very sure those who does not keep the Sabbath because of this bizarre climate will not be judged of the Sabbath.

• Rom 2:12-14 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Basically saying, those who sinned without the law(in this case, we can't the observe the day).shall perish without the law. I will say the Amazon tribe that are still holding unto their Pagan belief will not be judged based on the law. You know during the dark ages, some of them run to the wood because of the persecution. If anyone of them does not keep the Sabbath because they lost track of time, I'm still sure they are still the martyrs that spark the reformation of Christian church today and they will be resurrected when Jesus comes.
Only those who have the word, but refuse to keep it will reject the blessing from God. Thanks.

 

[gordonhooker]

I've been told the sabbath is optional, and just a day of rest from work. I took his word by faith. Then I hear different perspectives I can't figure out which one is true. The Bible doesn't seem to support Sabbath-keeping in the new covenant from when I read.

Where can I find an undeniable fact that it's either optional or that we are meant to still keep it? I am still confused on this controversy, and on top of that even if the 7th day is the day of worship there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day. And if its not even a big deal, I have no problem worshipping on Sunday.

Some denominations seem to focus on Saturday as was done in the old Covenant and some don't. I believe a person is missing the point if they are scope locked on what day of week to rest and treat as a special day for worship. As an Anglican I treat Sunday as a celebration of our Lord's resurrection and that is my day of rest, if someone celebrates the Saturday as their day of rest and worship so be it I am quite sure it is not going bother God and I fairly positive the sun will still rise in east and set in the west.

 

[mmksparbud]

Isn't it evident, the Seventh Day Adventists are the only ones celebrating the Lord's day on Saturday.

The Jews also observe the 7th day but they always have.

You say yourself, "there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day."

When people get tied up with these types of questions, they become BOUND by Legalism, which becomes a Religion unto itself.

Here is Legalism, according to Jesus.

John 7:22,23
22) Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers, and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
23) If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

They were going about breaking the Law, in order to keep the law.

There are 7th day Baptists, the Church of God, several others. When the Pitcairn Islanders were discovered (yes, the mutiny on the Bounty survivors) they only had the bible to go by---they were clothed, not eating pork, and keeping the 7th day Sabbath. Long before any white man showed up in Alaska, there was Maniilaq, telling his people about the 7th day Maniilaq, the Eskimo Prophet --there were some in South America and Africa.
The question can be put to rest very easily---all anyone has to do is name the verse that states---the Sabbath is now the 1 day of the week. Isn't there.
Every single verse that people use to defend the 1st day of the week has been shown to have nothing to do with keeping Sunday as a day of worship, even the Catholic church admits that, they changed it by their own supposed power, not by the bible.
“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?
“Answer: Had she not such power, she could not a done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; -she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day of the week, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism On the Obedience Due to the Church, 3rd edition, Chapter 2, p. 174 (Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York).

It was written by Jesus Christ Himself, on stone (twice, Moses broke the 1st one) and kept in the Ark, the Levitical laws, written by the hand f Moses was written on scrolls, and kept outside the Ark.
It was not given to Jews but to man, it was made for man --at creation as a sign of the creative power of God, to deny the Sabbath is to deny Him as the creator of all.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

What God has instituted, no man has the power to change. Jesus instituted it, He alone can change it and never did.
Catholic Church Changed Sabbath To Sunday Statements

 

[ToServe]

The Old Testament Sabbath is not the New Testament Sabbath rest day of God. Hebrews, pointing to the Old Testament prophets stated that the Old Testament peoples will not enter my rest.

The New Testament Sabbath is not the Old Testament Sabbath.

So what is the New Testament Sabbath?

It is God's rest day, when God rested from his Holy Works on the Cross at Calvary, when he said it is finished, by fixing the breach in the Garden and allowing man through Christ to once more have access to the Tree of Life, who is Jesus Christ.

So God's Rest Day was applicable to Adam before the Fall, but after the Fall the Sabbath that the Israelites kept was not God's rest Day but was a rest day made for man's benefit as Jesus would reveal to us.

 

[ToServe]

We enter God's rest day by faith through Christ Jesus, who is the Tree of Life, restoring us to God the Father.

 

[mmksparbud]

They kind of follow the example in Genesis where God did His creation in 6 days, and "rested" on the 7th. I guess they think He got tired.

The original language does not say rest-- it says "cease."

2 and~he~will~much~FINISH(Verb) (וַיְכַל / wai'khal) Elohiym (אֱלֹהִים / e'lo'him) in~the~DAY (בַּיּוֹם / ba'yom) the~SEVENTH (הַשְּׁבִיעִי / hash'vi'i) BUSINESS~him (מְלַאכְתּוֹ / mê'lakh'to) WHICH (אֲשֶׁר / a'sher) he~did~DO(Verb) (עָשָׂה / a'sah) and~he~will~CEASE(Verb) (וַיִּשְׁבֹּת / wai'yish'bot) in~the~DAY (בַּיּוֹם / ba'yom) the~SEVENTH (הַשְּׁבִיעִי / hash'vi'i) from~ALL (מִכָּל / mi'kol) BUSINESS~him (מְלַאכְתּוֹ / mê'lakh'to) WHICH (אֲשֶׁר / a'sher) he~did~DO(Verb) (עָשָׂה / a'sah)

and Elohiym finished in the seventh day his business which he did, and he ceased in the seventh day from all his business which he did,

He ceased to work--That is the example He set for us, we are to cease to work. He created that 7th day for our benefit. It is a day to spend with God. And don't give me that boloney about every day is Sabbath--it isn't. We are not to work on the Sabbath---but we are to work the other 6 days--you can't keep everyday as a Sabbath---you'd starve to death and be unable to pay the rent!--You would be lazy and still breaking the commandment by not working the other 6 days.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Only God can make anything Holy, Sacred.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

One should put the Sabbath to the test. Spend time doing what you usually do for a few Sabbaths, then rest for a few Sabbaths, and see which one improves you the most spiritually.

I'm betting that most will come down on the side of rest and repose: the literal meaning of "Sabbath".

 

[JIMINZ]

There are 7th day Baptists, the Church of God, several others. When the Pitcairn Islanders were discovered (yes, the mutiny on the Bounty survivors) they only had the bible to go by---they were clothed, not eating pork, and keeping the 7th day Sabbath. Long before any white man showed up in Alaska, there was Maniilaq, telling his people about the 7th day Maniilaq, the Eskimo Prophet --there were some in South America and Africa.
The question can be put to rest very easily---all anyone has to do is name the verse that states---the Sabbath is now the 1 day of the week. Isn't there.
Every single verse that people use to defend the 1st day of the week has been shown to have nothing to do with keeping Sunday as a day of worship, even the Catholic church admits that, they changed it by their own supposed power, not by the bible.
“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?
“Answer: Had she not such power, she could not a done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; -she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day of the week, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism On the Obedience Due to the Church, 3rd edition, Chapter 2, p. 174 (Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York).

It was written by Jesus Christ Himself, on stone (twice, Moses broke the 1st one) and kept in the Ark, the Levitical laws, written by the hand f Moses was written on scrolls, and kept outside the Ark.
It was not given to Jews but to man, it was made for man --at creation as a sign of the creative power of God, to deny the Sabbath is to deny Him as the creator of all.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

What God has instituted, no man has the power to change. Jesus instituted it, He alone can change it and never did.
Catholic Church Changed Sabbath To Sunday Statements

Saturday is observed as a day of rest throughout all Denomination except yours, people work for 5 days and cease from work on the 6th day, then on the 7th day they go to Church to Worship God.

While your observance of the 6th day is not only a day of rest, but a combination of Worship as well, this ought not be to so, we are only told to rest, not Worship on that day.

 

[Devin P]

I've been told the sabbath is optional, and just a day of rest from work. I took his word by faith. Then I hear different perspectives I can't figure out which one is true. The Bible doesn't seem to support Sabbath-keeping in the new covenant from when I read.

Where can I find an undeniable fact that it's either optional or that we are meant to still keep it? I am still confused on this controversy, and on top of that even if the 7th day is the day of worship there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day. And if its not even a big deal, I have no problem worshipping on Sunday.

Acts 13:42 (NKJV) So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.


Acts 18:1 (NKJV) After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. Acts 18:2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. Acts 18:3 So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.


Acts 18:5 (NKJV) When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews [that] Yahushua [is] the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook [his] garments and said to them, "Your blood [be] upon your [own] heads; I [am] clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." 7 And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain [man] named Justus, [one] who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Master with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. 9 Now the Master spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city." 11 And he continued [there] a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Just in those verses alone, we see Paul, Jews and Gentiles, all keeping the sabbath over 70 times.

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
Acts 16:13

These are just a few verses mentioning it, it's almost 12:30 here and I've got work tomorrow, or else I'd link more, but I do believe we're still do observe the sabbath day as the 7th day. Traditions of man are the only reason I've found for us keeping sabbath on sunday as opposed to saturday. Especially since God said that His commands for keeping sabbath were eternal, forever, to all generations, and were to never end. It's supposed to represent His return, and the rest we'll have with Him when He's back, which will never end, so I don't really see how sabbath could be done away with. Plus, it's not something harmful we'd need freedom from. It's amazingly restful, and it's honestly the day I look forward to most in the week. I get to see all of my friends and family, no work, great food, I've learned so much since keeping sabbath, and it's been one of the biggest blessings in my life honestly.

 

[mmksparbud]

Saturday is observed as a day of rest throughout all Denomination except yours, people work for 5 days and cease from work on the 6th day, then on the 7th day they go to Church to Worship God.

While you observance of the 6th day is not only a day of rest, but a combination of Worship as well, this ought not be to so, we are only told to rest, not Worship on that day.

There are no denominations that rest--cease to work --on the 6th day except for those stated above.

Isa_58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

The Sabbath is a Holy day--set aside--different from the rest of the days. God specified what to do on it. It is a day set aside solely for God, to honor Him, not do our own work, or even speaking our usual talk.

 

[JIMINZ]

There are no denominations that rest--cease to work --on the 6th day except for those stated above.

Isa_58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

The Sabbath is a Holy day--set aside--different from the rest of the days. God specified what to do on it. It is a day set aside solely for God, to honor Him, not do our own work, or even speaking our usual talk.

Have you built the old waste places, and raised up the foundations of many generations, are you a repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in?

Do you personally ride on the high places of the earth, are you fed with the heritage of Jacob?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Jesus, the disciples, and the early church, kept the OC Sabbath until the Temple and the Levitical priesthood was destroyed. That was final end of the physical nation of Israel, for whom these laws were intended.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Intrinsic to the Sabbath was the command to work six days, yet most Christians only work five days per week.

 

[mmksparbud]

Have you built the old waste places, and raised up the foundations of many generations, are you a repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in?

Do you personally ride on the high places of the earth, are you fed with the heritage of Jacob?

Would you mind translating this into plain English?

 

[Loyce KG]

I've been told the sabbath is optional, and just a day of rest from work. I took his word by faith. Then I hear different perspectives I can't figure out which one is true. The Bible doesn't seem to support Sabbath-keeping in the new covenant from when I read.

Where can I find an undeniable fact that it's either optional or that we are meant to still keep it? I am still confused on this controversy, and on top of that even if the 7th day is the day of worship there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day. And if its not even a big deal, I have no problem worshipping on Sunday.

I've been told the sabbath is optional, and just a day of rest from work. I took his word by faith. Then I hear different perspectives I can't figure out which one is true. The Bible doesn't seem to support Sabbath-keeping in the new covenant from when I read.

Where can I find an undeniable fact that it's either optional or that we are meant to still keep it? I am still confused on this controversy, and on top of that even if the 7th day is the day of worship there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day. And if its not even a big deal, I have no problem worshipping on Sunday.

Jesus declared Himself "lord of the Sabbath" Matthew 12:8. He also declared, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Sabbath comes from 'sabat' in Hebrew which means 'rest'. In the Jewish law, it was a day set apart to observe the customs of men towards God. Christ Jesus fulfilled the law. Hebrews 10:9 says Christ abolishes the old to bring in the new.
Jesus is the sabbath (Hebrews 4:9-11). In Him, we find rest for eternity through faith not by works of the law. Therefore, every day is a day of rest and worship. Communing with other believers is upon your discretion as the Spirit leads.

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 

[Alithis]

I've been told the sabbath is optional, and just a day of rest from work. I took his word by faith. Then I hear different perspectives I can't figure out which one is true. The Bible doesn't seem to support Sabbath-keeping in the new covenant from when I read.

Where can I find an undeniable fact that it's either optional or that we are meant to still keep it? I am still confused on this controversy, and on top of that even if the 7th day is the day of worship there are literally no churches around me that even worship on the 7th day. And if its not even a big deal, I have no problem worshipping on Sunday.

your op Title reads ....one of the most controversial issues....
But really .i.its Not.
Its only 1 Christian sect mostly that pushes it and a few fringe falsies .

There is no condemnation in Christ jesus to those who walk in the spirit.
So if not attending on a saturday OR not attending on a sunday causes you guilt... Its not From God

 

[mmksparbud]

your op Title reads ....one of the most controversial issues....
But really .i.its Not.
Its only 1 Christian sect mostly that pushes it and a few fringe falsies .

There is no condemnation in Christ jesus to those who walk in the spirit.
So if not attending on a saturday OR not attending on a sunday causes you guilt... Its not From God

There are several 7th day Sabbath churches. Post #26 above.