Why do we Christians worship on Sunday if Saturday is the seventh day?

Question

Doesn't the NT tell us to worship on the seventh day? It doesn't say anything about Sunday. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I AM aware that we need to keep the Lord's Day. But what determines the day the Lord's Day should be on? I thought the seventh day was supposed to be the day that we rest/worship/dedicate to the Lord?

Answer 1

Early followers of the Way ("Christians") were Jewish and attended worship services at the synagogue on Saturday. Then, they gathered in homes on Sunday to celebrate Jesus' resurrection. When tensions between Christian Jews and other Jews escalated, the Christians were no longer welcome in the synagogues. They continued to gather on Sundays and this eventually led to worship on Sundays.

Answer 2

Historically Christians have worshipped on the Lord's day, that is, the first day. It is referenced in the Bible and in Catholic Church Tradition, from, like 54 AD. But, Christians worship all week long, it is on Suday that services are held. Here's 2 quotes...

Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight.
NAB

"The Letter of Barnabas
"We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (Letter of Barnabas 15:6–8 [A.D. 74]). "
http://www.catholic.com/library/Sabbath_or_Sunday.asp

If you're a seventh day adventist, hey, I got more, email me.

Answer 3

Christianity changed this for convenience. It is not biblical, that why you see so many other books being cited in other answers. The Sabbath observed in the 7th day is not just for the Jews. It was meant for all humanity as it was instituted from the Creation (See Genesis chapters 1 and 2). Not only this, but God reiterated this command many times across the Bible including Exodus 20. It is one of the Ten Commandments.

Sabbath: Why do some Christians observe the Sabbath on Sunday?
The Christians during the apostolic era (basically the first century, from about 35 to 100 A.D.) kept Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, more or less what we now call Saturday. (More or less" because the Bible Sabbath begins and ends at sundown whereas Saturday begins and ends at midnight). For the first 300 years of Christian history, the Christian religion was an illegal religion, but Judaism was a legal religion. During the apostolic era, Christians found it convenient to let the Roman authorities think of them as Jews. Sabbath observance is quite visible. Thus, during those early years of Christianity observance of Sabbath helped the Christians to be identified with Judaism, which gained them legitimacy with the Roman government. However, the Jews rebelled against Rome, and the Romans put down their rebellion by destroying Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and again in 135 A.D. Obviously, the Roman government's suppression of the Jews made it increasingly uncomfortable for Christians to be thought of as Jews. So instead of trying to be thought of as Jews, some Christians in the early second century tried to distance themselves from Judaism, and observing a different day was one easy way to do that. And that was a very convenient way to do it. Many pagans observed the first day of the week in honor of their sun god. By switching to observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week the Christians accomplished two things: They distanced themselves from Judaism, and they made it easier for pagans to become Christians. Of course, their observance of the Sabbath on Sunday was without biblical support. They just did it. This is not to say that all Christians suddenly started keeping the first day of the week. The movement toward keeping Sunday began quite small.

The earliest positive evidence for a Christian worship service on Sunday is sometime between about 115 and 135 A.D., probably in Rome. We also know that the church in Rome was particularly active in promoting Sunday observance. For several centuries, some Christians kept Sabbath on Saturday and some kept it on Sunday. By the 500s, Sunday observance was pretty universal. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, the book "From Sabbath to Sunday" by Samuele Bacchiocchi has a very detailed history.

Sabbath: Is there any biblical support for Sunday observance?
There are no New Testament texts that say God, Jesus, or the apostles changed the Sabbath to Sunday. This is very significant, and we will explain why. You are perhaps aware that circumcision was a huge issue during the apostolic era of the first century. Conservative Jewish Christians insisted that Gentiles who wanted to become Christians should be circumcised first (well, the men at least!) and observe the other Jewish ceremonial laws. In other words, in order to be a Christian, a Gentile would first have to become a Jew. Then he could be a Christian. Paul said No. He insisted that Gentiles can come to Christ and be Christians directly, without having to go through Judaism (see for example Romans 3:25-29; 1 Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 2:12; 5:6-15; Ephesians 2:11; Titus 1:10). Therefore, Gentiles did not have to be circumcised in order to become Christians. Keep in mind that Sabbath was just as important to Jews as circumcision, and probably even more so. Thus, had Paul or any other apostle taught that the Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week, they would have raised a storm of protest from these conservative Jewish Christians, and this would have been just as evident in the New Testament as the controversy over circumcision. The total absence of any such controversy over a change in the day of worship is one of the best evidences that the apostles and other New Testament Christians did not change the day. In fact, we have a record of many Sabbaths that Paul and his traveling companions kept. You can read about them in Acts 13:14, 27, 42-44; 15:21; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4. Acts 13:42-44 is especially significant. Paul and Barnabas had been invited to speak at a Jewish synagogue, and the Bible says that when the service was over, "the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath." This would have been a great opportunity, had Paul believed that the Sabbath had been changed to Sunday, for him to tell the people to meet with him the next day rather than waiting a whole week. But the Bible says that "on the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord."

Answer 4

You will be living in the seventh day, The Lords Great Sabbath, for around the next 1000 years, if man don't blow up the planet or something, global warming maybe.

Answer 5

Sunday was chosen by the first century Christians to commemorate the resurrection of Christ weekly.
Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week (our Sunday, Matt. 28: 1). The church was established on Sunday, the gospel was first preached in its fullness, and remission of sin as a result of Jesus' blood were all begun on Sunday (Acts 2). It was on the first day of the week when Christians came together to observe the Lord's Supper (Acts 20: 7). It was also on Sunday that Christians gave of their means into the treasury of the
local church (I Cor. 16: 1,2).
The law, containing the sabbath day ordinance, has been "nailed to the cross" (Col. 2: 14). Thus, we are to let no man judge us "in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days" (Col. 2: 16). The sabbath day was part of God's covenant with the Jews; the first day of the week is the day associated with Jesus' new covenant or testament (Heb. 8; 9).

Answer 6

Early Christians met on Sunday, the first day of the week.

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.

1 Cor 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

No one changed the Sabbath day to Sunday, but the first Christians chose that day to gather.

Answer 7

Early christians (NOT catholics, there was no such thing as the catholic church then) chose Sunday to gather to differentiate themselves from the Jewish worship on Saturday. They called it "the lord's day."
Which always makes me laugh when christians quote from the ten commandments, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." -- Saturday is the sabbath, not Sunday. Sabbath has a whole long list of rules and regulations that are required to be done to "keep it holy." Not one of you christians observe the sabbath.

Answer 8

Because we have incorporated a new calendar. Since our week starts on Monday... then the seventh day is Sunday. Besides... isn't there other more important topics you should be talking about besides Sunday vs. Saturday.... come on dude!!!!

Answer 9

Because Constantine, the emperor of Rome who embraced Christianity, did not want to entirely alienate his pagan supporters by disrupting worship on the "day of the sun."

Answer 10

What difference does it make if you worship every seventh day, what day it is, if that's what you think you should do? Do you think God had days of the week called Monday (named after the pagan god of the moon), Tuesday (Tua), Wednesday (Woden), Thursday (Thor), Friday (Freya) and Saturday (Saturn)? Are you saying that God was a Pagan? If so, should Christians be worshipping Woden?