|
|
||||
|
|
||||
| Q Hi, I know this sounds weird, but you are Jewish believers and I’m a Gentile, so ...am I wrong to worship Jesus on Sunday? Am I constantly breaking the Ten Commandments? Am I going to hell for that? Just curious about why Christians went from Saturday to Sunday as the Sabbath. Thank you! Janie* A You raised a lot of interesting issues. Thanks! Am I wrong to worship Jesus on Sunday? No. In fact, it is morally right to worship Him any and every day of the week, if he is the Messiah, Son of God (which he is)! Consider Paul’s approach to the issue: “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5). We have liberty, or freedom, with regards to this issue. You do not sin by worshiping on Sunday anymore than I sin by worshiping on Saturday. Am I constantly breaking the Ten Commandments? The easy answer is “probably,” in that, we are all sinners who sin. But you’re referring to the Sabbath. The key to this is understanding that we are under the authority of the New Covenant, (New Testament, as prophesied in Jer. 31:31-34). Our relationship to the Law is different. We are not under the authority of the Old Covenant! Again Paul explains...“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Messiah, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Gal. 3:23-26). Does that mean that we can now lie, cheat and steal? Well, nine of the Ten Commandments are reiterated, usually stronger, in the New Covenant. Plus, the commandment to rest on the Sabbath is also fulfilled in the New Covenant, except now our rest is in Messiah Jesus!“ Come unto me, all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). So ‘rest’ isn’t just keeping a day anymore, it’s found in a Person. For more on what Sabbath rest means to a believer in Jesus, read Hebrews 4. So, why did Christians go from Saturday to Sunday as the Sabbath? The early believers (who were Jewish) kept Shabbat on Saturday and probably worshiped on that day also. However, as anti-Semitism began to become an issue in the churches in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and as persecution arose against Christians and Jews, certain Gentile churches began to disassociate from the Jews in their areas. This meant, among other things, worshiping on Sunday, which became a point of tension between the churches. By the time Constantine converted to ‘Christianity’, and declared all Roman citizens ‘Christians’, Sunday worship was normal for the church in Rome, and became the norm for Christendom. Though tradition says that the change to Sunday was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, since he rose on that day, many scholars doubt that this is the historical reason. Anyway, the Bible never says “change the day, please.” The Sabbath is still the Sabbath, and Sunday is still the first day of the week. But again, you’re not going to Hell for not keeping the Sabbath. Actually, if you’ve trusted in Jesus for your salvation, you aren’t going to Hell for anything. If you haven’t trusted in Him, now’s the time to do that. Y *Names changed to protect the privacy of individuals. |
||||
|
|
||||
