Is worship on Sunday necessary?

Jesus was a child of Israel. He kept the Sabbath. He never broke a single one of the commandments.

Therefore, since He kept the Sabbath, so too should we. If it were not so, Jesus would have said so. He did not.

 

I don't see what the big deal is, whether or not you observe the sabbath does not affect salvation. Jesus died and rose again for all sinners regardless if they go to church on Sunday. Don't get me wrong I am a strong supporter of going to church, but this whole debate is pointless. It doesn't matter what day you go, just go, learn and grow.

 

It is important as it does affect the salvation of some. For example, the SDA's teach that those who worship on Sunday and not on the Sabbath, have the mark of the beast. Sabbath-keeping is part of their "works-salvation" If one is not careful in their theology, and becomes too legalistic, it is possible that they may be depending on works rather than the grace of God for their salvation. Christ did away with the Law in that He fulfilled it. He was the fulfillment of the Law. He is our Sabbath. We enter into His Rest when we are saved. The Sabbath Day was simply a shadow of that which was to come, Christ. Any religion that demands we worship on the Sabbath is treading on dangerous ground.

Worshiping on Sunday is a tradition (not a command), but a tradition started by the Apostles in the book of Acts (Acts 20:7). No doubt they started meeting on Sunday, the first day of the week, in honor of the resurrection of Christ. However, we are not commanded to. In fact we are commanded to:

Ro 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Be fully persuaded that what ever day you worship, (any one of the seven) is right for you. In many Muslim countries Christians worship on Friday. That is the Muslim holy day. They don't worship on Friday because it is the Muslim holy day, but because it is the most practical thing for them to do. Every other day is a working day including Sunday. Friday is the only day off in some of these countries. If you are going to get people out to church you will have to do it when they are not working, thus the churches meet on Fridays.
In some foreign fields the Pastor/missionary must attend to several churches. He may preach in two or three on Sunday (morning, afternoon, and evening), then in another on Monday evening, another Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening, etc. Is any day holier than another? Of course not? If all those congregations had to worship either on Saturday or Sunday, they would starve spiritually for lack of the teaching of the Word of God.

Thank God for the freedoms that you do have in America, and for the abundance of churches that do preach the Word of God. It is not like that everywhere.
DHK

 

Chemnitz --

I do believe it is a big deal. 8o) I believe that
anything our God says is a big deal. Shall I
say that it was a commandment, not a sug-
gestion? 8oD Your salvation will not depend
upon Sabbath observance, but I know that it
has turned out, for me, to be a wonderful
blessing. In fact, I am trying to figure out why
every believing woman does not demand that
the family observe Sabbath!! If she wanted to
do it selfishly, rather than for our God, there
certainly are plenty of reasons, I have learned!
8oD

DHK --

And the SDAs are wrong. Sunday-observers
are neither the antichrist nor automatically lost.
How ridiculous. But not all SDAs believe and
teach that--most do, though.

[ September 26, 2002, 02:31 AM: Message edited by: Abiyah ]

 

The bible plainly says that they came together the first day of the week. So yes, Sunday is important to worship together. It is not always nesscessary to worship on Sunday we have liberty in Christ to worship anytime we want.

 

Abiyah,

This is simply not true. In your logic there would be absolutely no difference whatsoever in the law written on stone, or supernaturally written on our hearts. Paul clearly argues that He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

I believe that DHK did a very good job in answering this. Romans 2 is a chapter dealing with this very question. Furthermore, the Church is a body of believers from the day of Pentecost to the rapture. It is made up of both Jew and Gentile. Ephesians is a wonderful commentary on this. The Church is not a spiritual Israel, and only the Israelites were given the Law of Moses. The Gentile nations were ever subjected to its laws. Israel was a theocratic nation and a light to the Gentile world. Romans 9-12 is further proof of this fact.

 

8o)

 

JohnV said:

Ex 16:29
29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."
NIV

Ex 20:9-11
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
NIV

Ex 31:14-15
Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death
NIV

Ex 35:3
3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day
NIV

Lev 23:15-16
15 "'From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.
NIV

Num 15:32-36
32 While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.
NIV

Num 28:9-10
9 "'On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil. 10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
NIV

Do you really follow the Law of Sabbath?

 

Of the 10 commandments, the Sabbath is the only one not restated by Jesus. Instead Jesus says that man is not created for the Sabbath, rather the Sabbath is created for man. The Sabbath was establish to prevent people from overworking people (including themselves). Jesus was busy doing good on the Sabbath because He is Lord over it.

17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." - John 5:17 NASB

6 who also made us adequate as (1) servants of a (2) new covenant, not of (3) the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but (4) the Spirit gives life. - 2 Corinthians 3:6 NASB

 

whether or not you observe the sabbath does not affect salvation

Neither does committing adultery or refusing to honor you father/mother.

Do you really follow the Law of Sabbath? The verses you list are outside the ten commandments and what we today call the Old Covanent. In other words, we're not required to observe the Sabbath as they did, but we're still required to observe the Sabbath.

the Sabbath is the only [commandment] not restated by Jesus
Jesus discussed the Sabbath in the example of him healing people on the Sabbath. There, Jesus does not say to abandon the Sabbath. Jesus says we're still to do the Father's work on the Sabbath. You know, feed the poor, take care of the sick, etc etc etc... In addition, like I already said, Jesus observed the Sabbath every week. The NT does not say anywhere that Jesus abandoned the Sabbath. When we try and say that, we put words in Jesus' mouth. When Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, what's he saying? That we don't need to follow it? No. Let me get this straight. God gives us a gift called one day in seven to rest, and we don't use it? Are we biblically allowed to refuse gifts from God without concequences?

We don't know for a fact that Jesus never restated the Sabbath outright. The GOspels are incomplete when it comes to a biography of Jesus. They even end saying that Jesus did so many things, all of them contained could not be written down. Besides, whether or not Jesus restated something that was in the OT is irrelevant. He didn't restate Jeremiah 29:11, so I guess that means that God no longer has plans for us for a future with hope.

 

It doesn't matter a hill of frostbitten beans what day 'corporate worship' occurs.

 

Worship is necessary.

Worship as a corporate body is necessary.

Sunday is our habit.

Sunday is traditional.

 

The Sabbath is a day of rest. One day a week.

Worshipping God. Actually--we should be doing that every day.