From the book, “What People Ask About The Church,” by Dale A. Robbins — 72 — Up until the beginning of the church, God's people were used to
going to synagogue on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) which was called the Sabbath.
This was a holy day to the Lord, the fourth of Ten Commandments God gave Moses.
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). This was, and will
always remain, the official Sabbath. However, after Jesus rose from the dead on the first
day of the week, Sunday, the New Testament shows that the early Christians began meeting
together on this new day as a weekly commemoration of their new life in Christ. "Now
on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready
to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight" (Acts
20:7). (See also 1 Cor. 16:2) Historians indicate that the earliest Christians not only met
together on Sunday, but also came together regularly with their Jewish community in the
synagogues on the Sabbath. This was their traditional heritage and where most of their
neighbors, friends and family would congregate — a great place to witness. However it
seems about A.D. 135, there was great upheaval in the synagogues. The influential Rabbi,
Akiba, proclaimed the leader of the Jewish rebellion in Palestine, Bar Cochba, as the
Messiah,¹ and the Jewish Christians were quick to refute this. Such hostility arose
against the believers that a curse against "sectarians" (which referred to the
Christians) was introduced into the synagogue services. Thus, anyone who would not
pronounce the curse with other worshipers would be ejected. This effectively ostracized
the Christians from participation in the synagogues on Saturday, but they continued with
their meetings on Sunday. Although they were no longer bound to a rigid code of laws or
Sabbath keeping (Gal. 3:10-11, Col. 2:16), it is believed that the early church probably
came to view Sunday as a combined observance of the Sabbath and the resurrection day of
Jesus (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2). This day of Christian worship came to be called the Lord's
Day (Rev. 1:10), a day to fellowship in celebration of the resurrection, to worship, pray
and study the Word together. There are several early, historical references which confirm the
continued Sunday tradition by the early Christians. One of these is "The
Didache," (IXV), a compilation of teachings of the first century church, thought by
some to be a copy of teachings by the first disciples (possibly A.D. 100-130), and clearly
describes the church meeting on the Lord's day. "On the Lord's day of the Lord, come
together, break bread and hold Eucharist, after confessing your transgressions that your
offering may be pure; but let none who has a quarrel with another join in your meeting
until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice be not defiled..." Another such reference is found in the writings of Justin Martyr
(Approx. A.D. 140). Not only did he affirm the churches' meeting day, but also gave one of
the best explanations of the meaning behind it, as viewed by the early believers. "We
assemble in common on Sunday [the Lord's day], because this is the first day, on which God
created the world and the light, and because Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose
from the dead and appeared to his disciples."² Sunday worship took on new dimensions in the fourth century as the
Christian Emperor of Rome, Constantine, proclaimed the believers' day of worship (the
first weekday) to be a holiday (A.D. 321). However, instead of using the term that
Christians used, the Lord's Day, he continued with a term, "Dies Solis" (The Day
of the Sun) which the Romans had already used for a couple centuries in homage to their
worship of the sun god. Prior to his Christian profession in 312, Constantine was a pagan
worshiper, his favorite deity being the Unconquered Sun, and throughout the remainder of
his life, his understanding of the Christian faith was less than perfect and never did
fully extract himself from pagan philosophy.³ He was apparently unable to clearly
distinguish between the Father of Jesus Christ and the sun deity, and while he sanctioned
the Christian's day of worship, his title for it left a lasting legacy to the pagan sun
god, what is known on our calendar as Sunday. ¹ The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church This article is copyrighted © by Dale A. Robbins, 1995, and is a publication of Victorious Publications, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Unless otherwise stated, all scripture references were taken from The New King James Bible, © Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.You may download for personal use as long as you retain credit to the author. Obtain permission before reproducing copies for any reason, by filling out our simple permission form. For media reproduction rights, or to obtain published quantities of this title, email us. |
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