Going to church on Saturday is no different than going to church on Sunday as far as the day goes. If my local church suddenly switched days, Iwouldn't stop attending.
Romans 14:5 and 6
5
¶ One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. Col. 2.16
But what about the Sabbath day? Isn't that THE day we should be having our services if we were really following the Scripture?
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Ex. 16.23-30 ; 31.12-14
13
Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:
14
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, Ex. 23.12 ; 31.15 ; 34.21 ; 35.2 · Lev. 23.3 thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
I don't see any kind of gathering or service or any kind of organized worship mentioned anywhere in the commandment. It looks like it is a day of rest to remind Israel who it was that gave them the opportunity to enjoy a day off, the LORD, and to thank Him for delivering them from bondage in Egypt where they had no rest.
Colossians 2:16 and 17
16
¶ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Rom. 14.1-6
17
which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
I love these verses because they are about the freedom Christ brings to us, freedom from legalism. Instead they offer beautiful grace.
So, if your Bible-believing church meets on Saturday it doesn't matter what people think, or what "traditions" we have imposed on ourselves, go and worship.
Talk to you later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Interesting thoughts. I think I agree with you, though I would be opposed to switching the day. As I would attending somewhere that met Saturday if I was new in town.
The NT church met Sunday.
Acts 20:7 -- "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together"
1Cor. 16:2 -- "Upon the first day of the week"
So, aside from the NT example and church history, there isn't any reason. And that isn't a solid rule, but yeah. Good points.
Nice Dave. Good points.
Intersting stuff.
I would have no real objections to
a switch in days, though if you're a fundy it seems the only day we can pray as a church is on Wednesday Night around 7pm.
A look at the early church also found them daily meeting in each others houses. Our big problem today, and it stems from society, is that we seem to have lost our 'community'...
Interesting. What spurred this post? I would say we need to follow the NT Church example. I think of Sunday as kind of the first fruits of the week days but I am sure that churches that are under persucution(spelled wrong) meet very randomly.
- so I know this cute seventh-day adventist...
It is interesting that as we watch the New Testament church infold in community what it means to follow Jesus together they often are found gathered on the first day of the week, on Sunday nights.
Now, I know people who use this as a reason to have church on Sunday nights.
I know people who use these verses to prove that they worshiped on Sunday, the Lord's Day and we should follow their pattern (the majority of pagan religions did this as well, but anyway).
I also know that people say that Jesus changed the Sabbath to Sunday when he fulfilled all the Law, etc.
The beat goes on.
Here's how I see things.
Jesus said nothing about hooking up on the first day of the week, day or night. He appeared to them, as is recorded for us, on this day, often, but he is also mentioned as meeting with them on all the other days as well. I don't think you could build a solid conclusion on this.
The Jewish believers were also found to be worshipping in Acts on Sunday (usually in the evening). of course nothing is said about whether or not they went to the Synagogue on Sabbath or not (I would make a strong assumption that they did, because a) they were still Jews, and b) their Rabbi-Jesus did this consistantly throughout his career). So, as a Jew, what was the best time together together? You couldn't do it on Saturday. Sunday night works well.
I think we just see them doing what was best, and maybe most convient for them. I don't see it as divine, unless you see them, in community, binding and loosing, as was their authority from Jesus to do.
So, I take from Paul's writings on "to each his own" (over simplfying, I know)and the way they lived it out that:
Christians should be together, often, and it seems to be important for them to be about certain things when they are together. The day, the time, the events, etc, all are up to them, and that should be honored, and figured out in community.
What should we gain from their example? A "day" to do something religious on? I think so much more...
Toby, except that in 1Cor it seems to be a command from Paul. We do have examples of them meeting in the Synagogue in Acts, and Jesus was often found in them. In the same place in Acts though, it also says they had all things in common, and also worshipped together every day in eachothers houses....so maybe we should do that too.
I do however agree with you on the binding and loosing argument, and letting everyone 'esteem' their own day.
Post a Comment