Which day should Christians worship on?

Are Seventh Day Adventists correct- is the Seventh Day Sabbath a creation ordinance?

Warning: This post is intended for a targeted audience. It may completely bore the rest of you however I wanted to include it in my library of writings here. If you’ve seen the sign above on your local interstate and are intrigued by its message, then please read on. Rest assured another post on a completely different topic will come along shortly so please bear with me.

I have several dear friends who are Seventh Day Adventists. They have a unique zeal for Scripture and are very disciplined in its study. What follows is not at all meant to take issue with them but to take theological issue with those responsible for the sign pictured above. I have seen this message prominently displayed throughout our local neighborhoods and I suspect this “campaign” is most likely mobilized all over the country. Students of the Bible need to be prepared to respond to claims like these with gentleness and respect. After all nobody wants the mark of the beast, do they? We best not sweep this under the rug.

Full disclosure: I am not a Bible scholar, nonetheless due to my friendship with several Adventists, I was compelled to unpack and research this claim for myself many years ago. I forced myself to read lots of books on various opinions and early church history to understand a basis for these conclusions. It was not until I delved deeply into the Word, comparing Scripture with Scripture that I discovered some fascinating insights. I believe the Holy Spirit is able to illuminate even the simplest of minds with His Truth, namely mine. What follows may not be your cup of tea but if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, it may in fact prove quite interesting. There’s lots of solid evidence to examine so let’s get to it:

Scripture draws a clear distinction between the eternal Sabbath rest of our Lord, which was lost for mankind in the garden (Genesis 3), and the Sabbath day which is enjoined to the Mosaic covenant found in Exodus chapter 20. There are some denominations, including Seventh Day Adventists, who argue that there is a permanent obligation to uphold a Sabbath “day” observance instituted at creation by God Himself as one of the creation ordinances supposedly prescribed for the people. This appeal is based upon Genesis 2:2-3. Yet these verses neither prescribe nor command adherence to a Sabbath “day” of rest for man. Therefore the principle of a weekly Sabbath day of rest cannot be based on the so-called creation ordinance. I’ll do my best to explain my reasoning in a moment. I should note that Adventists are more than welcome to worship on any day of the week they prefer but when they claim that those who worship on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, will incur the mark of the beast, well this is divisive and frankly quite unsettling.

CREATION & THE SABBATH: The Scriptures are very clear that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was not given before Moses:

Historically, the institution of the Sabbath day comes with the travel to the promised land (Ex. 16:23) and the Sinai legislation (Ex. 20:11). This covenant was given by God to Moses on tablets of stone. There is a highly significant passage which buttresses Duet. 5 and Exodus 20 and confirms when the Sabbath command (not the promised Sabbath rest) was instituted:

You came down also at Mt. Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statues and commandments. You make known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses, your servant. Nehemiah 9:13,14 (See also Ezekiel 20:12).

This text confirms that the Sabbath day of rest command was instituted with the giving of the law by Moses. In fact the context immediately preceding and following these verses gives a brief synopsis of the Israelite forefathers beginning with the creation of the world, then the Abrahamic covenant of grace, then also the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, followed by the disobedience which led to bondage in Egypt and so on. Moses makes it quite clear as to who the Sabbath was given to, what it represented and once again a reference to Genesis 2:2-3 is made:

Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. Exodus 31:16

(Please note Genesis 17:13 states that circumcision is stated as an “everlasting/ perpetual covenant“. Certainly proponents of an eternal sabbath day since creation should also argue that we are yet still bound to the covenant of circumcision, as well as the Sabbath command, because it’s also designated as perpetual throughout their generations. We will see later that this covenant had a beginning and end.)

At this juncture it’s vitally important to observe that mention of any command to observe the Sabbath day is conspicuously absent from any of Moses account throughout Genesis and even then not until Exodus chapter 16. After Exodus 20 the floodgates of Sabbath observance commands flow forth from the same author who penned the entire Pentateuch. Certainly a command so integral and holy to the Israelite forefathers would have been mentioned with the same frequency both before and after the Mosaic covenant took effect. Nehemiah 9:13,14 quoted above provides us with a clear explanation as to why Moses never mentions it.

So what of the Sabbath rest mentioned in Genesis 2:2-3. It was a permanent rest God entered into after He finished His creation. It is the only day of the seven which has no evening. It was also the rest that Adam and Eve enjoyed for an unknown period of time in the garden until they sinned. Following the fall, the effects of sin produced “hard” work and banishment from the garden where they had previously walked with the pre-incarnate Christ. A seventh day of rest for Adam and Eve prior to the fall can neither be implied nor logically deduced since they were presently already enjoying God’s ongoing rest.

Most assuredly there were laws and regulations that reflect God’s holy nature that were passed down from generation to generation, some of which are not recorded in Scripture since they were most likely orally communicated. Moses also records various offerings given unto the Lord. Almost certainly there was a weekly time of worship, as present believers now enjoy that was manifest in some manner.

I believe the New Testament illuminates and typifies the pre-Mosaic view of Sabbath rest. We need only to look at the very heart of the law, Christ Jesus. For presently even believers in our Lord Jesus Christ remain under the Law of Christ instead of previously being under the supervision of the law (Gal. 3:19-25) which included the Sabbath day. The law of Christ reflects His very nature and is indeed eternal. Yet we are justified by grace as was our forefather Abraham, who also was not under the covenant of law, but enjoyed and was justified by a covenant of grace. "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Romans 4:3.

Through careful study I discovered Scripture teaches that through the Law no one will be justified (Gal. 2:6). In fact, Paul goes on to say that all who rely on the law are under a curse (Gal. 3:10). This includes the Ten Commandments, which includes the Seventh Day Sabbath. If you are in doubt about this then I would invite you to delve into 2 Cor. 3:7-18 which talks about the ministry that brought death engraved on letters of stone. This law was added until Christ would fulfill (not abolish) its requirements (Gal. 3:15-25). Meaning the law, speaking of the Ten Commandments and numerous ceremonial laws, had a beginning point and ending point. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus. Christ forgave all our sins, having cancelled the written code and nailed it to the cross (Col. 2:14). Therefore we are not to judge anyone in regards to any Sabbath day, which was a shadow of things to come. The substance/ reality is found in Christ. Scripture also says that the righteous will live by faith and that the Law is not based on faith (Gal. 3:11,12). This includes any commandment including the fourth one as Paul makes clear in Romans 7:7,8 where he quotes and argues straight from the Decalogue.

In summary, if a distinction between the eternal Sabbath rest of God and the Sabbath day of the Mosaic covenant is not made then Christians who worship on the first day of the week are guilty of abandoning an ordinance declared from the beginning of creation. Seventh Day Adventists would argue that the Sabbath day (Saturday) is morally binding not only until Christ returns but for all eternity. Yet in fact the New Testament clearly demonstrates that the first day if the week is the day of worship for the early church (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2) This can be demonstrated easily by a quick perusal of the early church history which is very well documented. Note that it is never called the Sabbath by the Apostle Paul, Peter, James, John, Timothy or anyone else. It is instead referred to as the Lord’s Day. The Law, the whole Law, was the schoolmaster that brought us to Christ. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the Law (Gal. 3:23). There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God’s rest, also rests from his own work, just as God did (Genesis chapter 2). Let us then make every effort to enter that rest and be not like our forefathers who were unable to enter His rest due to unbelief (Heb 3,4). They kept the Sabbath day yet never entered into His Sabbath rest (which is found in Christ).

How then is the Christian walk accomplished without the Law and the “faded” ten commandments one may ask?

Scripture tells us: Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. If you are led by the Spirit you are not under Law. (Gal. 5:16, 18). For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son to be a sin offering (Rom. 8: 3,4). Christ in the end of the (entire) law so that there might be righteousness for everyone who believes (Rom. 10:4)

The law has been nailed to the cross. Let’s keep it there.

The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Acts 11:26

So why do Christian’s worship on the first day of the week?

Worship on any day(s) you like. “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.” Romans 14:5. In fact, worship can be a moment by moment activity, thanking the Lord for all He’s done and praying unceasingly. As far as corporate worship is concerned, here is why the “church” worships on the first day of the week:

The 7 post-resurrection appearances of Christ show that Jesus purposefully chose the first day of the week to meet with His disciples to encourage and exhort them. The evidence shows that five of these appearances occurred on a Sunday, the first day of the week. We do no have a record of what the actual day on which the other appearances (John 21 and Acts 1:6-10) occurred to His disciples. What we can say with accuracy is this, after Jesus’ resurrection whenever He met with His disciples and the day is identified, it is NOT the Sabbath, it is the first day of the week!

1). To Mary, On the morning of the resurrection – Matthew 28:8-10; Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18

2). To two disciples going to Emmaus – Luke 24:13-33; Mark 16:12-13

3). To Simon (Peter) – Luke 24:31-35.

4). To the eleven disciples on the evening of Resurrection Sunday – Mark 16:14-18;Luke 24:36-44; John 20:19-23

5). To the Eleven disciples “Eight days later” – John 20:26-29

Pentecost happened on the first day of the week! The Church was born on the first day of the week! That doesn’t make Sunday the Sabbath, it just tells you that after the resurrection of Jesus, the Sabbath is not emphasized. When a day is mentioned in connection with the appearances of the risen Lord Jesus, it is always the first day of the week. Look at the extremely important events that occurred in the life of the first followers of Christ on the first day of the week.1). Jesus startled them by appearing to them on the first day (John 20:19).2). Jesus received worship from Thomas (John 20:27-28).3). Sunday evening Jesus took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to His disciples evidently like He had in instituting the communion meal (Luke 22:19) and their “eyes were opened and they recognized Him” (Luke 24:31).4). Sunday evening Jesus blessed His disciples twice saying “Peace be with you” (John 20:20; 26).5). That same Sunday evening Jesus “…breathed on them and said, ‘receive the Holy Spirit'” John 20:22.6). On Sunday evening Jesus gave His disciples the ecclesiastical authority to proclaim forgiveness to those who believe in Him through the Gospel (John 20:23).

Finally, here is a bit of evidence that the early church fathers worshiped on Sunday: (For those who are interested in the matter)

THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS about A.D. 100 – “Wherefore, also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead.”

THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS – A.D. 107 – “Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish Law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace….If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and By His death.”

THE WRITINGS OF JUSTIN MARTYR: A.D. 145-150 – “And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read….But Sunday is the day on which we all hold a common assembly, because it is the first day of the week on which God…made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.”

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: Church life in the 2nd Century: – “On the day of the resurrection of the Lord–that is, the Lord’s Day–assemble yourself together without fail, giving thanks to God and praising Him for those mercies God has bestowed upon you through Christ.”

IRENEAEUS: A.D. 155-202 – “The Mystery of the Lord’s Resurrection may not be celebrated on any other day than the Lord’s Day, and on this alone should we observe the breaking off of the Paschal Feast.”

Phew, let’s hope we never have to go through this again.

Jim