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Edward Fudge
SABBATH AND LORD'S DAY
Someone asks: "When did the early church actually make a shift from the Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday? We see disciples meeting on Sunday in Acts 20, and a reference by John to the Lord's Day in Rev 1. Was this change commanded by God, or was it to celebrate the Resurrection and to honor Him because of that?"
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The historical data is found in various books on the topic. Scripture gives no hint that God commanded Sunday observance. It seems strictly to have been a commemorative decision by early Christians celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, and perhaps also the descent of the Spirit on Pentecost, which fell on the first day of the week.
One should note that our Seventh-day brothers and sisters do not concede either that Acts 20 involved a Sunday "breaking of bread" (claiming it occurred on what we would call Saturday night), or that the "Lord's Day" in Rev. 1 refers to the first day of the week (citing Jesus' statement in the Gospels that "the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath" as evidence that the Sabbath is the "Lord's Day"). They are surely correct that no person acting under God's authority ever "changed the Sabbath" from Saturday to Sunday, even if we deem them mistaken in contending that Christian Gentiles must also observe the Sabbath along with Old Testament Jews.
Paul seems to have no problem with the particular day on which one worshiped or honored God (Rom. 14:5ff), although he did become anxious if the MOTIVE for doing so denigrated the gospel of grace (Gal. 4:8-11). For the apostle, such technicalities were subsumed under greater concerns for the effectiveness of his preaching mission and bringing people into the Kingdom of God (see Acts 21:18-26; 1 Cor. 9:19-23). We may rejoicing in God's presence seven days a week, and worship him any time the Spirit moves us to do so!
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Edward Fudge
SABBATH AND SUNDAY
A gracEmail subscriber asks when the early church quit observing the Sabbath (Saturday) and began observing Sunday? This reader mentions Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1ff and Revelation 1:10 as relevant passages on this topic.
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God commanded Israel at Mount Sinai to observe the Sabbath (Saturday) as a rest day, in remembrance of their liberation from slavery, to commemorate God's own seventh-day rest during Creation week, as a symbol of trust in God's provision, and as an act of kindness for humans and their work animals alike (Ex. 16:22ff; 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15). The Jewish Sabbath was a day of rest -- not a day of public worship. When first-century Jews accepted Jesus as Messiah, they continued to observe the Sabbath as they had always done. The Sabbath was never given to non-Jews ("Gentiles"), and the New Testament does not designate any "holy day" for Gentile followers of Christ. Some Christians through the centuries have called Sunday "the Christian Sabbath," but the Bible never uses that kind of language.
The narrative passage Acts 20:7 mentions some believers gathering on their first day of the week "to break bread." We cannot know for certain whether that meant a common meal or the Lord's Supper, or perhaps both. Nor can we know from 1 Corinthians 16:1ff whether the Corinthians met every Sunday for corporate worship or set aside a special offering at home. Christians generally consider Sunday to be "the Lord's day" mentioned in Revelation 1:10, although Seventh-day Adventists and several smaller groups consider Saturday (the Sabbath) to be "the Lord's day." We do know that by the second century, non-Jewish followers of Jesus were gathering on Sundays for public worship and mutual encouragement in commemoration of Jesus' resurrection on the first day of the week, and perhaps also because the first Christian Pentecost had fallen on that day. Gentile believers have found a blessing in regular Sunday worship for nearly 1,900 years since.
Under gospel principles, the particular day on which one honors God is not of primary importance (Rom. 14:5ff). It does matter, however, if one observes any day with a thought of earning God's favor -- a motive contrary to the gospel of grace (Gal. 4:8-11). We should rejoice in God's presence seven days a week, and we may worship him any time the Spirit moves us to do so. And, although God never bound the Sabbath on Gentiles, there is nothing that says that only Jews can enjoy a rest day when Saturday rolls around!
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Edward Fudge
SABBATH & EARLY CHRISTIANS
A gracEmail subscriber wrote: "I challenge Seventh-day Adventists to come up with one quote which shows that any Christians kept the Jewish Sabbath prior to Constantine."
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According to Acts 21:20, many thousands of Jews believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and continued to zealously observe Torah. These Jewish believers naturally continued to observe the Sabbath, though now with new meaning in view of Christ's finished work of atonement (Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:1-11). Further, the Apostle Paul expended considerable energy to demonstrate that he did not stand in their way (Acts 21:20-26). Torah observance (law-keeping) aroused Paul's concern only when it became Law-depending and thus interfered with the gospel message of justification by grace through faith (Gal. 5:4).
In Christ, every day is dedicated to God (Acts 2:46; 1 Thes. 5:17). The gospel leaves decisions about preferential regard for days to the consciences of individual believers. So long as they trust in Jesus alone for salvation, there is no place for Christians to judge one another on the matter. The motive prompting observance of a particular day was the issue with Paul, not the observance of the day itself (contrast Galatians 4:10-11, opposing a legalistic observance, with Romans 14:5-6, approving an observance based only on pleasing Christ).
Seventh-day Adventists would rephrase your comment at the head of this piece to say, "We challenge Sunday-observing Christians to come up with any New Testament evidence that God changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday." To that extent, they are correct, for the Bible never speaks of Sunday as the Sabbath. The pertinent question is not whether Saturday is the Sabbath, but whether Scripture ever requires non-Jews who trust in Jesus to observe the Sabbath. To that question, the answer is clearly "No." We thus have liberty to gather in honor of Christ on the first day of the week, as Gentile Christians have done since the first century, in commemoration of his resurrection on that day from among the dead.
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Edward Fudge
THE LORD'S SUPPER -- FREQUENCY
A Church of Christ brother inquires, "I was taught to partake of the Lord's Supper only on Sundays, and only in the morning service, unless I was absent that morning. Are there biblical reasons not to partake of Communion on any day other than Sunday, or limiting it to Sunday morning?"
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Although Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper on Thursday night before Easter, some today insist that Sunday is the only day on which it may be appropriately observed by Christians. Jesus did not specify either a certain day or a frequency for us to eat the bread and drink the wine, but simply said that "as often as" we do it, we should do it in remembrance of him (1 Cor. 11:25). The Apostle adds that "as often as" we partake of the Lord's Supper we also proclaim the Lord's death (1 Cor. 11:26).
The earliest believers "broke bread" daily, according to Acts 2:42, 46, and it is impossible to say whether that refers to the Communion or to a common meal. There is evidence by the second century of a weekly Eucharist on Sunday, the Lord's Day. Some also infer that from Acts 20:7, though we cannot know with certainty whether the "breaking bread" in that verse refers to the Lord's Supper or to a common meal.
Weekly Communion certainly has the stamp of ancient practice, although not the mandate of Scripture, and I heartily recommend it as "the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day" (to borrow words from the Book of Common Prayer). I can personally testify, after many decades of such practice, that it has lost none of its meaning through frequent observance. One may anticipate weekly Communion today with Churches of Christ, Christian Churches and Disciples of Christ, in Plymouth Brethren assemblies, many independent charismatic churches, some Reformed Baptists, and most Episcopalians. Roman Catholic Mass is also offered every Sunday, although Catholic understanding of its meaning differs considerably from that of Protestants regarding Communion or Eucharist.
The notion of limiting Communion to Sundays only, results from a non-biblical assumption held by some (but consistently followed by none) that any detail not specifically authorized in the New Testament is automatically forbidden. We need not focus on the differences among Christians on this subject, however, but on what believers share in common. That is the core of the matter and what, after all, surely matters most in the end.
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Edward Fudge
THE SUNDAY OFFERING -- IN CONTEXT
Several gracEmail readers have asked about the Sunday church offering. Does First Corinthians 16:1-2 require it? Every Sunday? Only on Sundays? Does this text prohibit other fundraising projects by the church?
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Although Paul was apostle to the nations ("Gentiles"), from the beginning of his ministry he emphasized the unity of Jew and non-Jew in Christ. As a demonstration of that unity and as a capstone to his life's work, he carefully organized a financial contribution from many of his Gentile churches to the Jewish mother-church in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:7-10; Acts 20:16, 22-24; 2 Tim. 4:7). In a similar manner, Jews scattered around the Roman world in Paul's day demonstrated their solidarity with Palestinian Jewry by contributing an annual Temple tax to the Jerusalem establishment.
Paul frequently wrote and spoke concerning this Gentile offering (1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9; Acts 19:21). He expressed some concern whether the Jerusalem church leaders would finally accept it, and great satisfaction when they finally did (Rom. 15:25-33; Acts 21:17; 24:17; 2 Tim. 4:7). Paul had mentioned this collection to the Corinthians either in person or in a previous unpreserved letter, and they had asked for more information. He provided that in First Corinthians 16:1-4. Although the Corinthians had been quick to volunteer for this project, they dragged their heels about fulfilling their commitment and Paul wrote them a year later urging them to turn carry through on their good intentions (2 Cor. 8-9).
First Corinthians 16:1-4 involved a special one-time offering, from selected donors, for a particular purpose, collected personally by Paul and a small group of representatives from the donating churches. It is possible that this did not even involve a Sunday "church" collection, since the better translation of Paul's words is simply to "set aside and save." This passage certainly contains no general, universal command to churches everywhere -- and no prohibition of anything. Like every other New Testament passage involving Christian financial giving, it concerns a special offering to meet a special need. The simple truth is that everything we have belongs to God, and he asks nothing less of us than that we give him ourselves (Psalm 24:1; Matt. 22:21; Rom. 12:1).
For more on Sabbath and Sunday, click here.