The Sabbath, Part 1

The keeping of the Saturday Sabbath is one of the World Mission Society Church of God's main doctrines. They believe that long ago the Christian church changed to keeping the Sabbath on Sundays to satisfy sun-worshippers, that worship on Sunday is basically a scheme of Satan, and that Jesus and the apostles kept Saturday Sabbath so we must also. They say that Saturday Sabbath is one of the marks of Jesus' true church, and therefore a church that worships on Sunday cannot be a true church of God.

I’ve been studying about the Sabbath, and oh my goodness! I knew there were differences of opinion, but I didn’t know it was such a BIG controversy! And with many so adamant about either Saturday or Sunday, and each view point using scriptures, history, and logic to support it… How is someone like me going to sort through it all? There’s only one way—going straight to the Bible to see what it says and read it for myself… and pray that God would give me clarity.

Are Christians required to keep the Sabbath, and should it be Saturday or Sunday, or could it be any day of the week? What can we understand about this directly from the Bible?

The first thing to note is Romans chapter 14. I can’t copy the whole chapter here, but if you have the opportunity right now, go read it. It’s all about judging others about what they do or don’t do according to their faith. At that time in the early church, one of their big controversies was about what to eat—the dietary laws. In talking about whether or not we should judge others about their diets, Paul mentions days of worship as being similar.

Romans 14:1-6
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

Now, I’ll let you decide which has “weak” faith – the man who “considers one day more sacred than another” or the man who “considers every day alike.” Either way, if he is “fully convinced in his own mind” and “does so to the Lord,” then we are not to be the judge. It is God who will judge His own servants because it is God who knows their hearts.

Romans 14:20 says, "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense."

Since Paul equates the day of worship with this food issue, I think Paul would also say…
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of the day to worship. All days are worthy of being used to worship God, but it is wrong to cause someone else to stumble because of your insistence on the “right” day.

In other words, the difference in which day to go to church should not cause such division among Christians as to destroy the work of God and cause others to stumble.

Colossians 2:16-17 has a similar tone…
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.

I think that’s enough to get started, but this is a big topic. I’m sure it will take several posts to get a thorough look….

Click here to go on to Part 2.