Lord’s Day Worship (Sunday Worship): Difference between revisions

In the early 2nd century, when all the [[Apostle|apostles]] died, the Church in Rome made Sunday, which the Romans regarded as sacred, a day of worship.<ref>From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation, D. A. Carson, pgs. 281-282, November 5, 1999</ref> The Church in Rome tried to differentiate Christianity from Judaism, which kept the Sabbath, by worshiping on Sunday. Additionally, they rationalized their Sunday worship observance with the excuse that Jesus [[Resurrection|rose]] from the dead on Sunday. Thus, the Church in Rome and some other churches under its influence accepted Sunday worship, but the Eastern Churches kept the Sabbath on the seventh day, as the Bible teaches.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Exodus+20%3A8-11&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Exodus 20:8–11}}</ref><ref>Constantine and the Christian empire, Odahl, Charles M., pgs. 172–173, 2004</ref>

The weekly worship day appointed by God is the seventh-day Sabbath, that is, Saturday. The Sabbath is the commemoration day of the [[Creator]]. After [[Six-Day Creation|six-day Creation]], God rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and made it holy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Genesis+2%3A1-3&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Genesis 2:1–3 |publisher= }}</ref> Some people regard the Sabbath as a law of the Old Testament, but in reality, it is the commemoration day of the Creator, which was established from the beginning before the law was established. In the time of Moses, God commanded, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,” as the fourth of the Ten Commandments.<ref name=":6" /> The Sabbath was an absolute law that anyone who desecrated it should be put to death.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Exodus+31%3A13-14&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Exodus 31:13–14 |publisher= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Numbers+15%3A32-36&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Numbers 15:32–36}}</ref>

Jesus, too, kept the [[Sabbath]] of the [[New Covenant|new covenant]] by [[Worship|worshiping]] in spirit and in truth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+4%3A16&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Luke 4:16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=John+4%3A23&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=John 4:23 |publisher= }}</ref> He said that this was an example for you,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=John+13%3A15&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=John 13:15 |publisher= }}</ref> and commanded them to keep the Sabbath until the end of the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Matthew+24%3A20-21&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Matthew 24:20–21 |publisher= }}</ref> According to His command, the apostles and the saints of the early Church kept the Sabbath even on the day after Jesus died on the [[cross]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+23%3A54-56&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Luke 23:54–56 |publisher= }}</ref> They continued keeping it even after Jesus’ resurrection and [[Ascension of Jesus|ascension]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Acts+17%3A2&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Acts 17:2}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Acts+18%3A4&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Acts 18:4}}</ref> The Sabbath, which was established at the time of the creation of the world, is an important ordinance of [[God]], which has been kept from the time of Moses over the time of Jesus and the apostles. They insist that the Sabbath was abolished because it was an Old Testament law and that it is not necessary after the Cross. This is a false insistence to justify their violating [[Commandments of God|God’s commandments]].

The Catholic Church and Protestant churches insist that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday because Jesus’ resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit occurred on Sunday. However, there is no teaching anywhere in the Bible that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday. [[Day of Resurrection|Resurrection Day]] and the [[Pentecost]] commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Leviticus+23%3A4-16&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Leviticus 23:4–16}}</ref> It has a fundamentally different meaning from the Sabbath, the day God created the heavens and the earth and rested.

{{quote5 |내용=On the '''Lord’s Day''' I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Revelation+1%3A10&OLWordSearchRange=beg&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Revelation 1:10]}}  

:The churches that keep Sunday worship insist that the “Lord’s Day” in the above verse is Sunday. However, there is no record in the Bible that the first day is the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day in the Bible is the Sabbath, not Sunday. In the book of Revelation, the “Lord” is Jesus, and Jesus referred to Himself as the “Lord of the Sabbath.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Matthew+12%3A8&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Matthew 12:8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+6%3A5&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Luke 6:5}}</ref> It means that the Sabbath is the day of the Lord Jesus. In the Old Testament times, too, the Lord’s Day is the Sabbath.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Exodus+31%3A12-13&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Exodus 31:12–13}}</ref> The Sabbath is the seventh day, which is Saturday. This is also acknowledged by the Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13287b.htm Sabbath], New Advent</ref><ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14335a.htm Sunday], New Advent</ref>

{{quote5 |내용=On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=1+Corinthians+16%3A2&OLWordSearchRange=beg&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 1 Corinthians 16:2]}}  

: The churches that worship on Sunday insist that the early Church worshiped on Sunday by quoting only two phrases, “first day of every week” and “[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/collection#:~:text=an%20amount%20of,retirement%20present. collections],” in the above verse. They think that the collections on the first day of every week were the offerings at Sunday worship. If the collections here were the regular offerings at worship each week, they had to be made whether or not Apostle Paul visited the Corinthian Church. And he should not say, “When I come, no collections will have to be made.” Collections Apostle [[Paul]] mentioned here were the special collections for the church in [[Jerusalem]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=1+Corinthians+16%3A3&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=1 Corinthians 16:3 |publisher= }}</ref> In the New Living Translation [NLT], the subtitle of the text is “The Collection for Jerusalem.” Paul advised the saints in Corinth to prepare their collections in advance according to their income on the first day of every week, that is, on Sunday, rather than to prepare them in a hurry after he arrived in Corinth. Therefore, the saints of the early Church did not offer the collections on the first day of every week but saved them to offer later. It also shows that they did not worship every Sunday but worked on Sunday to earn income.

{{quote5 |내용=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. |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Acts+20%3A7&OLWordSearchRange=beg&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Acts 20:7]}}

:The churches that keep Sunday worship insist that the above verse is the scene where the early Church worshiped on Sunday, holding the Holy Supper. If the early Church had kept Sunday worship instead of the Sabbath worship, Apostle Paul should not have kept the Sabbath, either. However, he kept the Sabbath.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Therefore, the “first day of the week” in the above verse was observed in a different meaning than the Sabbath that was kept every week. The “first day of the week” in this verse was the first Sunday after the [[Feast of Unleavened Bread]], that is, the Resurrection Day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Acts+20%3A6-7&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Acts 20:6–7 |publisher= }}</ref><ref name=":4" /> The fact that proves this is that they “came together to break bread.” After Jesus was resurrected, He broke bread and gave it to His disciples who did not recognize Him. They ate the bread Jesus had given them, and their spiritual eyes were opened to recognize Him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Luke+24%3A13-31&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Luke 24:13–31}}</ref> Since then, the apostles gathered to break bread on Resurrection Day, following the example of Jesus.

{{quote5 |내용=He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.” He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Ezekiel+8%3A15-16&OLWordSearchRange=beg&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Ezekiel 8:15–16]}}

This scene where people worship the sun god while turning their back on God in God’s temple, is a prophecy that the church will worship the sun god while outwardly claiming to believe in God. Today, it is the same with the churches that forsake the Sabbath of God and keep Sunday, the holy day of the sun god. God was enraged at their acts and said that He would not grant salvation to those who worshiped the sun god.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Ezekiel+8%3A17-18&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 |title=Ezekiel 8:17–18 |publisher= }}</ref>