I have been asked to write about the fourth commandment.  For those of you who know them by heart and know them in order, you will know that this is the commandment that tells us to “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it.”

The Sabbath day to the Jewish people was the seventh day.  It was Saturday.  Many people believe that in order to completely honor this commandment, one must worship and attend church on Saturday and that setting aside Sunday to do so is a sin.

Nine of the Ten Commandments are reiterated in the New Testament.  But the one not reaffirmed was the fourth commandment about the Sabbath.  Jesus did however say that He was the Lord of the Sabbath in Matthew 12:8.

The New Testament also states that, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  God rested on the seventh day, but He certainly didn’t need to for He is all powerful and never becomes weary.  But God knew that man needed to rest.  He knew we needed a day to focus on Him.  He knew we needed a day to not only renew our bodies but to renew our souls as well.

Romans 14:5-6 says this about setting a day apart, “One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.  Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.”

Colossians 2:16-17 speaks further on the matter, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day– things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” The important thing is not what day your worship but that you worship Christ, for Christ is the real Sabbath.

I think it matters little what day a person chooses to set aside for God, what is important is that one is set aside.  What is important is that we have a day of rest, a day for renewal and regeneration.

So why did so many people begin worshipping on Sunday?  It appears that many of the early Christians chose to worship on Sunday because that was the day of Jesus’ resurrection.  We know that they worshipped on Sunday for we read it in Acts 20:7 when it says. “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.”  Breaking bread meant that they were celebrating the Lord’s Supper or Communion, which they did when they gathered to worship.

I Corinthians 16:1-2 Paul instructed the church to collect money on the first day of the week, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.”  The early church gathered on the first day of the week.

Ezekiel 20:12 says that the Sabbath was a sign between God and man so that man would know that it was God who sanctified them.  But we are now under a new covenant.  The real Sabbath is Jesus.  Our rest must come in Jesus.

Some people believe that worshiping on Saturday is a matter of salvation.  I do not agree with that assertion.  If we believe that the day we worship the Lord can determine our salvation or lack thereof then we are putting salvation into our own hands and not in the hands of the giver of grace, our God.

So if someone believes that they should worship on Saturday, then I believe that is fine.  But for someone to say that worshipping on Sunday is contrary to the fourth commandment, then I think they do not fully understand the new covenant of grace.  The early disciples gathered for worship on Sunday as a celebration of the resurrected Christ.  So I too believe that worshipping on Sunday is perfectly fine.  What is important in this debate is that we worship, that we set aside a day of rest.  That we renew our minds, bodies, and spirits by pondering on our holy God and His redemptive power.