Why sabbath on saturday

Although the moral principles expressed in the commandments are reaffirmed in the New Testament, the command to set Saturday apart as a day of rest and worship is the only commandment not repeated. There are very good reasons for this.

By Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week Matthew , His continued appearances on succeeding Sundays John , and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Sunday Acts , the early church was given the pattern of Sunday worship. The early church met on Sunday regularly Acts ; 1 Corinthians Sunday worship was further hallowed by our Lord who appeared to John in that last great vision on "the Lord's day" Revelation It is for these reasons that most Christians worship on Sunday, rather than on the Jewish Sabbath.

After Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, he initiated pro-Christian policies, giving privileges to the clergy and supporting the Church financially. However, it did not mean that he was fully converted to Christianity. Ultimately, he chose Christianity for political purposes to unify the whole empire.

To take forward these ideas, Constantine later issued a law requiring complete, public rest from work on Sunday. Since Constantine forced all people under the control of the Roman Empire to rest on Sunday by his authority, even the Eastern churches which had continued to observe the Sabbath had no choice but to follow the Church of Rome.

Of course, those who desired to preserve the truth adhered to the Sabbath, hiding in deserts and mountains, but it was impossible to prevent Sunday worship from spreading into all churches. This is the origin of Sunday observance, and it has continued to this very day. The evolution of worship happened over time as not all Christians immediately began embracing the first day of the week as a holy day.

The earliest evidence of a Christian worship service occurring on Sunday is dated between about ad and ad , probably in the city of Rome. For several centuries, some Christians kept Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Saturday, while others kept Sunday holy. By the s, Sunday observance was the norm and almost universal in the rapidly growing Christian church. When has the majority ever been right?

As the poet says: "Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne. So, dear friend, the issue is not, are you right? It is not so much what you or what I think about this question, but "What is truth? The Word of God is our only source of truth. God's Holy Book is to be our yardstick for measuring truth.

Let us never use the argument that the majority must be right, for it is deceptive. Christian History Archives Eras Home. When did the Christian church switch the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? Elesha Coffman. Current Issue November Subscribe. Read This Issue. Subscribe to Christianity Today and get instant access to past issues of Christian History! Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox!

Tags: Church Sabbath. Posted: August 8 ,