Why do Christan observe a day of rest on Sunday?

Question

I know that Genesis says God created all in 6 days and the 7th day was to rest. Any calander I have seen has the first day of week Sunday and the 7th day is Saturday. Should the day to rest be Saturday?

Answer 1

It is often claimed that "God instituted the Sabbath in Eden" because of the connection between the Sabbath and creation in Exodus 20:11. Although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future Sabbath law, there is no biblical record of the Sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that Sabbath-keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.

The Word of God makes it quite clear that Sabbath observance was a special sign between God and Israel: "And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine'" (Exodus 19:3–5).

“Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:16–17).

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses restates the ten commandments to the next generation of Israelites. Here, after commanding Sabbath observance in verses 12–14, Moses gives the reason the Sabbath was given to the nation Israel: "And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day" (Deuteronomy 5:15).

Notice the word therefore. God's intent for giving the Sabbath to Israel was not that they would remember creation, but that they would remember their Egyptian slavery and the Lord's deliverance. Note the requirements for Sabbath-keeping: A person placed under that Sabbath law could not leave his home on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29), he could not build a fire (Exodus 35:3), and he could not cause anyone else to work (Deuteronomy 5:14). A person breaking the Sabbath law was to be put to death (Exodus 31:15; Numbers 15:32–35).

An examination of New Testament passages shows us four important points: 1) Whenever Christ appears in His resurrected form and the day is mentioned, it is always the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, 9, 10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1, 13, 15; John 20:19, 26). 2) The only time the Sabbath is mentioned from Acts through Revelation it is for evangelistic purposes to the Jews and the setting is usually in a synagogue (Acts chapters 13–18). Paul wrote, "to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews" (1 Corinthians 9:20). Paul did not go to the synagogue to fellowship with and edify the saints, but to convict and save the lost. 3) Once Paul states "from now on I will go to the Gentiles" (Acts 18:6), the Sabbath is never again mentioned. And 4) instead of suggesting adherence to the Sabbath day, the remainder of the New Testament implies the opposite (including the one exception to point 3 above, found in Colossians 2:16).

Looking more closely at point 4 above will reveal that there is no obligation for the New Testament believer to keep the Sabbath, and will also show that the idea of a Sunday "Christian Sabbath" is also unscriptural. As discussed above, there is one time the Sabbath is mentioned after Paul began to focus on the Gentiles, "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). The Jewish Sabbath was abolished at the cross where Christ "wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us" (Colossians 2:14).

This idea is repeated more than once in the New Testament: "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 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" (Romans 14:5–6a). "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years" (Galatians 4:9–10).

But some claim that a mandate by Constantine in A.D. 321 "changed" the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. On what day did the early church meet for worship? Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that "on the first day of the week the disciples came together to break bread." In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul urges the Corinthian believers "on the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper." Since Paul designates this offering as "service" in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection must have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century.

The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. But the Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law, and Christians are free from the bondage of the Law (Galatians 4:1-26; Romans 6:14). Sabbath keeping is not required of the Christian—be it Saturday or Sunday. The first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) celebrates the New Creation, with Christ as our resurrected Head. We are not obligated to follow the Mosaic Sabbath—resting, but are now free to follow the risen Christ—serving. The Apostle Paul said that each individual Christian should decide whether to observe a Sabbath rest, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). We are to worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday.

Answer 2

I know, which is why I am a 7th-Day Adventist. You can read the Bible from cover to cover and you will never find a single line of text sanctifying Sunday, nor will you find any nullification of the 4th Commandment, which states that God created the earth in 6 days, and rested on the seventh. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it. This was a permanent institution, like marriage, which He also established at Creation. He intended the Sabbath to be a day on which all of mankind could rest and reflect on God's creation. If the Sabbath had been kept by all Christians since the time of Christ, today there would be no such thing as the theory of evolution. Everyone would have been able to study Creation once a week and know that there was an Intelligent Designer.
Sunday worship (the Day of the Sun, a pagan custom from ancient Rome) wasn't enforced universally until about 345 A.D. It was the Catholic Church who made the change, but it was based upon her perception of her own authority, not by any command in the Bible. When Protestantism was born, the habit was so ingrained that no one bothered to change it back. This is why today most Protestant churches have church on Sunday, and they don't even know why. Most people probably assume that the Bible says something about it, but it doesn't.

Answer 3

The command to rest on the 7th day, also known as the sabbath is part of the Old Testament, the one commandment that is NOT repeated in the New Testament.

The New Testament teaches that we today are under no part of the Old Testament (Romans 7:1-7; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18; Galatians 3:24,25; Ephesians 2:13-16; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 7:12; 8:7).

The Bible also clearly teaches that the “Law of God” and the “Law of Moses” refer to the same law (Nehemiah 8:1, 18; Ezra 7:6, 12; Luke 2:22,23). When Jesus did away with the Law of Moses, He did away with the Old Testament Law of God for the two are the same. The Bible also clearly teaches that Christians are to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1,2; Revelation 1:10).

Answer 4

Thats an easy one, haha. Well in the begining God created the heavens and earth and sun, moon, and stars, all plants, all animals, all water, light and dark, man...., and after all of these things on the 7th day God rested and later told man that the 7th day is Gods day and we shall not work or slave away in labor tasks and we should set aside this day of each week SUNDAY to honor Him in all his creations and worship Him. Also if you want reference of this in the Bible then I will give you two examples. In Genesis in the begining. Also the time of Moses when they wonder in the desert for 40 yrs and God provided Manna and meat for them extra on the 6th day that they may not work on Sunday and still have food to get through the day. These are the reasons God sets all of His religions aside to worship Him on Sunday and grow in knowledge of Him and fellowship with others whom worship. Some believe it was on Saturday-mostly Muslims so they worship many times on Saturday and worship normally every other day. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Some christians actually worship on saturday instead of sunday because like you pointed out, the 7th day is a saturday.
Seventh Day Adventists for example.

Answer 6

Who said that Sunday is the day of rest? That a work day! getting ready for and going to church isn't bad enough it's the going in early to make sure. the Bathrooms are clean and the carpets vacuumed the sanctuary set up properly.. It's a lot of work.. I rest on the Sabbath.. Starting at sundown Friday night till sundown Saturday night.. IHS Jim

Answer 7

The 10 Commandments were created in the Old Testament, and in those days, the God Follower's were Jewish. Still to this day the Jewish faith believe that Saturday IS the Sabbath.

I have personally done a brief study on this topic, and I understand it as this... as long as you take 1 day out of your work week and rest the whole day... and allow yourself to focus on God and his work in your life... you can call THAT your Sabbath Day!

Answer 8

The Church changed it to Sunday in honor of Jesus's Resurrection.

Of course we still have some sects, like the 7th Day Adventists, who do honor the "7th day" as the sabbath.

But long before they showed up, the Church (Roman Catholic Church) established that tradition. The Church has 2 sources of instruction that it holds equal for revelation: scripture and tradition. The Church tradition is now that Sunday is observed as the sabbath in honor of Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead.

But if you like doing Sat. instead of Sun., I'm sure God is okay with that too. :)

Answer 9

We're advised through God within the Bible to detect the Sabbath day "and hold it holy." The Sabbath is only a day of relaxation, simply because the Lord rested at the final day after He created the arena. Some individuals argue that the Sabbath is honestly on a Saturday and Christians must move to church then, nevertheless it particularly does not topic. It's only a day of relaxation and worship.

Answer 10

Well, if you ask a Seventh Day Adventist, they would agree with you. Traditionally, since Christ rose on Sunday, early Christians got together to worship on Sunday. The Romans made it official. And in researching your question, I found out that it is something completely controversial. I had no idea.

Answer 11

The date was changed in the early church to honor the day that christ rose from the dead - sunday -. Since one of the seven days is observed for rest, it is seen as holy.