Lord’s Day or Sabbath?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: God refers to the Sabbath as Saturday, so why do Christians worship on Sunday?

Answer: God certainly did give the Sabbath to the nation of Israel. We read this in Exodus 16:29, “See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” It is interesting to note, that out of the Ten Commandments given to Israel this is the only command that is not specifically repeated in the New Testament. There is a reason.

The Mosaic Law contained specific commands given to the people of the nation of Israel. Much confusion has arisen in the Church today on this point. The Church (despite what many claim) is not Israel. God still has a separate plan for Israel that He will keep according to His Word (Romans 9-11).

The people of Israel were bound to keep the Sabbath. It is important to recognize that even in the Old Testament this was not to be an attempt to earn salvation, for eternal life has always been received by faith (Romans 3:2-23). The Mosaic Laws were intended to teach people in Israel how to have fellowship with God and with one another as a nation.

The Apostle Paul spent a great amount of time teaching in Galatians and Romans that we as Christians are not under the Mosaic Law. Instead, we are bound to Christ. It is this salvation that we gather together as believers to celebrate (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 10:24-25).

In the New Testament we see the example from the early Church that they gathered on the first day of the week to rest and to worship with other believers. This is when New Testament Christians gathered to remember the day Jesus rose from the dead. This we see in Revelation 1:10, John 20:1, Acts 20:7, and 1 Corinthians 16:2. This does not make Sunday the Sabbath. Rather, it is described as, “the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10).

Does it have to be Sunday? Not necessarily. Even though this is the example we see in the New Testament, it does not have to be on Sunday. No specific day is prescribed as mandatory for Christians. Paul writes in Romans, “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. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks” (Romans 14:5-6). We have freedom in Christ to be able to determine when to worship. However, it should be remembered that Hebrews 10:25 is very specific that we are not to forsake the assembly of the brethren. Our worship should include meeting with other Christians. There is some good evidence that given the high number of slaves present in the New Testament Church, they may have met on Sunday evenings when they were free from their labor.

Today Messianic Christians often continue to keep the Sabbath, but we should know that God is pleased when we worship Him in spirit and truth on any day of the week (John 4:24).

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