Why Worship on Sunday?
A Saturday vs Sunday Comparison
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WUAS Internet
Bible Studies
Published In: The WAKE UP Report
Author: Larry W. Wilson
Publish Date: October, 2014
Last Updated: August 23, 2016
Offline Copy: Save or Print PDF
Version
I have been an advocate for
“salvation through faith alone
in Jesus Christ” for more than
forty years. I also believe in the
perpetual and obligatory nature of
the Ten Commandments at a time when
many Christians have been led to
think that faith and obedience are
mutually opposed.
It is a joy to share the gospel of
Jesus Christ with others and to see
attitudes and lives changed through
the indwelling power of the Holy
Spirit. It surprises some people to
learn that God’s amazing grace
is only necessary because God’s
laws are eternal. King David
wrote, “All your words are
true; all your righteous laws are
eternal.” (Psalm 119:160)
The Bible says that where there is no
law, there is no sin. (Romans 4:15) It also
says that sin is the transgression of
God’s law. (1 John 3:4) If love is
the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10), we can say
that the Ten Commandments are an
expression of God’s two laws of
love.
The first four commandments describe
what love for God will produce and
the last six commandments describe
what love for our neighbors will
produce. The Ten Commandments were
declared in the Old Testament and all
of them were reiterated in the New
Testament because collectively, they
constitute the law of God.
The Ten Commandments do not say
anything about eternal life because
the purpose of the Ten Commandments
is not salvation. When it comes to
salvation, there are two kinds of
legalists. One legalist believes that
eternal life comes through perfect
obedience to God’s law (like the
rich young ruler who thought he was
without fault in God’s sight).
The other legalist is someone who has
convinced himself that he is saved
because he totally believes that he
is saved. This person regards
God’s grace as a legally
binding, “Get out of jail (Hell)
for free,” ticket and he rejects
the idea there is any connection
between behavior and salvation.
Serious Bible students know that
faith in God is the doorway to
eternal life – not grace, not
law. Grace does not save us, instead
God’s grace makes the doorway to
salvation possible. Law does not save
us instead, God’s law transforms
us into citizens of His kingdom. The
Bible says a person is saved
“through faith.” (Romans 3:22; 5:1; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 3:9)
The word “faith” has many
common meanings, but the only kind of
faith that produces salvation is what
I call “salvific faith.”*
Salvific faith occurs when a person
is prompted by the Holy Spirit to do
something and the price for obedience
is significant, yet the person is
willing to obey the voice of the
Spirit, leaving the consequences in
God’s hands.
Consider these examples given in
Hebrews 11: By faith, Abraham left
his homeland behind when he was
called to go to another land. By
faith, Noah sold all he had and built
an ark. By faith, Abel killed a lamb,
put it on the altar, and it cost him
his life. Paul declares that everyone
who lives by faith is given the
righteousness necessary for salvation
(Romans 1:17) and this
explains how sinners become heirs of
salvation.
(*Note: Salvific faith is not to be
confused with intellectual assent,
arrogance, religious persuasion, or a
“faith based denomination.”
I define this faith narrowly because
it pertains to the humble attitude
and obedient behavior that leads to
eternal life.)
The
Ten Commandments are Ten Promises
When our Creator wrote the Ten
Commandments on two stone tablets
with His own finger, He wrote out ten
promises. This may come as a
surprise, but the Ten Commandments
describe ten changes that will happen
in a person’s life when they
love God with all their heart, mind
and soul, and their neighbors as
themselves. This explains why the Ten
Commandments are called a covenant. (Exodus 34:28)
When our love for a neighbor keeps us
from stealing his possessions,
God’s eighth promise has been
fulfilled. When our love for God
keeps us from using His name in vain,
His third promise has been fulfilled.
God has promised to put His ten laws
within the hearts and minds of all
who seek Him. (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:16) Every
Christian knows that a person can
only walk with God for as long as his
heart and mind aligns with God’s
heart and mind. Moses said to God,
“If you are pleased with me,
teach me your ways so I may know you
and continue to find favor with
you.” (Exodus 33:13)
Obeying the Ten Commandments has many
practical and pleasant benefits, but
these benefits have nothing to do
with salvation until they become a
test of faith. For example, in Daniel
3, the faith of Meshach, Shadrach,
and Abednego was tested with being
burned alive in a fiery furnace.
Would they bow down and worship the
golden image or would they put their
faith in God and obey His second
commandment which forbids worshiping
images.
Of course, temptations are not always
this drastic, but make no mistake
about it. When we are tempted with
little things such as lying to avoid
the consequences, our faith in God is
being tested. Should we do what is
right and trust God to help us work
through the consequences or should we
deceive and humanly resolve the
situation?
The Ten Commandments are now located
in a box called the Ark of His
Covenant – or the Ark of His
Promise. Unlike many Christian
believers, I understand the Bible
predicts a day is coming when God
will test the whole world to see
whether we love Him and our neighbors
as His law requires. At the end of
this testing time, He will reveal the
Ark of His Covenant from Heaven
because His covenant and the blood of
Jesus are the basis for our
redemption! (Revelation 11:19)
If the Ten Commandments were
abolished at the cross as many
Christians claim, why would God show
an empty box to the world at the end
of the Great Tribulation?
My
Response to “Why Worship on
Sunday?”
I do not wish to aggravate anyone
even though the topic of Saturday vs
Sunday can quickly become
argumentative. So please consider
this: Even though I have concluded
the Ten Commandments are obligatory,
I can only speak for myself. I
believe that until/unless a person
becomes convicted by the Holy Spirit
that he should observe God’s
seventh day Sabbath, he should not.
Keeping the Sabbath holy (or for that
matter, keeping Sunday holy) should
be a matter of Holy Spirit
conviction. I have many friends that
do not see in Scripture what I see. I
understand this. The Bible teaches
that spiritual things are spiritually
understood (1 Corinthians 2:13, 14; 2 Corinthians 3:17). Because we
are at different places in our
spiritual understanding, there will
be differences, but our differences
must not lessen our love for one
another – although we recognize
that spiritual differences affect our
interactions with one another.
The fourth commandment declares the
seventh day of the week is a memorial
to God’s creation (Exodus 20:11), a day
which He made holy before sin began (Genesis 2:1-3), and a day
of rest for all humanity (Exodus 20:8-10). However,
this understanding is challenged by
an article found in the Baptist
Bulletin titled, “Why Worship on
Sunday?” ( I do not know if
Norman Olson is the author of the
document or the editor. For purposes
of my response, I have assumed that
Norman Olson wrote the article.)
You can find the document here:
http://baptistbulletin.org/the-baptist-bulletin-magazine/why-worship-on-sunday/
Mr. Olson has done an excellent job
of assembling seven essential
arguments used by Christians over the
past 2,000 years to justify the
observance of Sunday. When
collectively assembled, these
arguments appear to make a strong
case for the observance of Sunday as
a holy day if the reader is not
acquainted with the details of each
argument. However, when we consider
each argument and see what the Bible
says, I believe the conclusions in
the article are not valid.
However, each person has to look at
the evidence and determine for
himself whether the Bible supports
the claim that God has transferred
the sacredness of His Sabbath to
Sunday.
May I also say that since the Sabbath
versus Sunday question has behavioral
consequences, I am reminded of this
remarkable statement: “When a
man who is honestly mistaken hears
the truth, he will either quit being
mistaken or cease being honest.”
— Richard J. Humpal, JD
1. The Holy Spirit Came at
Pentecost on Sunday
Justifying the importance of Sunday
in the early church, Olson writes,
"The coming of the Holy Spirit
on the Day of Pentecost occurred, as
well, on the first day [of the week]
(Acts 2:1). This is
known because, according to Old
Testament law, Pentecost came on the
first day of the week (Leviticus 23:15, 16)."
Olson insinuates that the coming of
the Holy Spirit on the Day of
Pentecost made the seventh day
obsolete and the first day holy. But
does it? According to Leviticus 23,
we know that Pentecost always fell on
a Sunday. The question is how can the
observance of Pentecost neutralize
the fourth commandment AFTER the
cross when it had absolutely no
effect on the Sabbath commandment
PRIOR to the cross?
Therefore, claiming that the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at an
obsolete feast that took place some
fifty days AFTER the cross suddenly
cancels the divine authority of the
Ten Commandments is not logical.
2. Jesus was Resurrected on Sunday
Arguing that the resurrection of
Jesus suddenly made Sunday holy,
Olson writes, "Rather, it [the
observance of Sunday] began with the
resurrection of Christ, which
occurred on the first day of the week
(John 20:1). Also on
that first day of the week, Jesus
appeared to His disciples. Then Jesus
appeared to them again on the first
day of the next week (John 20:26)."
Even though Jesus arose from the dead
on Sunday morning, there is no text
in the Bible indicating that the
sacredness of God's Sabbath was
transferred to Sunday because due to
Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday.
It seems strange and out of character
for God to suddenly initiate Sunday
observance on Resurrection Sunday and
not say anything about it.
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene on
Sunday morning, He also appeared to
two disciples on the road to Emmaus,
and He appeared to the remainder of
His disciples that evening. (John 20:19) Later,
Jesus also “appeared” to
His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias
on a completely different day. (John 21:1) When it
comes to abolishing the sacredness of
God’s Sabbath, what difference
does it make if Jesus appeared to His
disciples on Sunday or any other day
of the week?
Luke 24:13 indicates
the distance between Jerusalem and
Emmaus was seven miles. According to
the record, Jesus joined two of His
disciples as they walked several
miles to Emmaus. After discovering it
was Jesus who walked with them (and
Jesus suddenly disappeared), they
walked back to Jerusalem that evening
to tell the other disciples that they
had seen a risen Jesus.
Luke’s account indicates that
the disciples did not regard Sunday
as a holy day for possibly three
reasons. First, they traveled the
seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus
on Sunday. If Sunday was to be
considered a holy day, they were
unaware of it because walking seven
miles is not in keeping with the
commandment to rest on God’s
Sabbath. Second, when they discovered
that Jesus was alive, they traveled
seven miles again and probably
arrived in Jerusalem on Monday
evening. (Remember, in Bible times,
when Sunday ended at sunset, Monday
night began.)
Would the disciples have walked 14
miles if Sunday was considered a holy
day? Acts 1:12 stated
that a Sabbath day’s walk was no
more than two miles. Finally, the two
disciples had been raised as Jews. As
such, they had observed the seventh
day Sabbath rest all of their lives.
Again, it seems strange that there
was no discussion; not a single word
mentioned about the sacredness of
Sunday as they walked with Jesus to
Emmaus.
Think back for a moment. Just five
days before walking with His
disciples to Emmaus, Jesus and His
disciples sat on the Mount of Olives.
The disciples were anxious to know
about the end of the world (Matthew 24:3) and
responding to their concern, Jesus
uttered two prophecies. The first
prophecy pertained to the upcoming
destruction of Jerusalem which was
forty years away (A.D. 70) and the
second pertains to the end of the
world.
When speaking about the forthcoming
destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus said,
“Pray that your flight will not
take place in winter or on the
Sabbath.” (Matthew 24:20) If Jesus
foreknew that the sacredness of His
Sabbath would be transferred to
Sunday just five days after uttering
this prophecy, why did He encourage
His disciples to pray that they would
not have to travel on the Sabbath
forty years later?
Given the profound impact and
resistance that would have occurred
if Jewish converts had been told to
suddenly start resting and worshiping
on Sunday and working on the Sabbath,
the New Testament would have much to
say about such an argument. There is
an enormous amount of controversy
over simple things such as
circumcision and food offered to
idols – but there is no mention
of any controversy concerning the
sudden arrival of a new holy day.
Zero.
This silence indicates there was no
controversy about the sacredness of
Sunday between Jews and Christians in
the New Testament because neither
group considered Sunday to be a holy
day during the first century A.D.
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