A.Men have established many holidays to honor Christ the Lord.
1.The most widely celebrated day is Christmas, which is observed by many as the birthday of Jesus, but has no foundation in the Bible as a special day to be observed religiously.
2.Likewise, Easter is celebrated to commemorate the resurrection of Christ.However, the Lord did not require an annual holiday to remember His death and resurrection, but rather He commanded His disciples to observe the Lord’s Supper, saying, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1Cor. 11:24-26).
3.With less celebration, other days such as Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Good Friday are also observed for Christ, especially by Catholics.None of these have Biblical precedent, but rather they are traditions that were established by men.
B.However, the Lord has given Sunday, the first day of the week, as a special day to honor Him.
1.Unlike the holidays conceived by men, the first day of the week does have Biblical precedent.
2.Therefore, if anyone would truly seek to honor the Lord, he should observe the Lord’s Day, for the Lord has established it rather than men.
C.Yet not everyone accepts that Sunday is the correct day of worship.
1.Seventh Day Adventists and others have challenged the tradition of the first day of the week, and instead they advocate that Saturday, the Sabbath, is the correct day for worship.
2.Others are somewhat indifferent to the first day of the week and contend that the church may choose to worship on another day instead of Sunday.
D.To determine the truth, it is important for the church to consult the commands, examples, and patterns given in the Bible for all things.We shall do this now regarding the Lord’s Day.
II.NO DIRECT COMMANDMENT
A.There is no direct commandment in the Bible directing the church to assemble on the first day of the week.
1.The clearest form of authority for the church is a direct commandment from the Bible.
2.In the case of the day of worship, there is no direct commandment requiring the church to assemble on the first day of the week or any other specific day.
B.However, it is clear from the examples and patterns for the church revealed in the New Testament that the church is required to assemble.
1.From the very beginning, the church of Christ was assembled together often for worship and edification (consider Acts 2:42-47).
2.Many instructions are given throughout the epistles regarding the assembly of the church, including the direction not to forsake the assembly in Hebrews 10:25.
C.In truth, the assembling of the church is not limited to one day per week.
1.Perhaps this is the reason that there is no commandment saying, “Thou shalt assemble on the first day of the week.”God has not sought to limit the assembling of His church to one day.
2.Indeed, it seems that the Lord would be pleased if His people could be together every day.
D.Therefore, it is not that the first day of the week is peculiar for the assembly of the church, but it is peculiar for specific acts of worship that are to be performed in the assembly on that day.
III.THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK
A.It is not surprising that the church would worship on the first day of the week, for many important events in the story of Christ and His church happened on the first day of the week.
1.Jesus was raised from the grave on the first day of the week (Mark 16:1-9).
2.Jesus appeared to His apostles on the first day of the week (John 20:19).
3.The Holy Spirit was given on the first day of the week, and thus the church began (Acts 2 – Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week, Lev. 23:15-16).
B.However, these events alone do not establish a pattern of worship for the church.For that, we must consider the examples of the church’s practices that are recorded in the New Testament.
1.The first day of the week is the only day specified in any example of a church observing the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7).
a.In this verse, “break bread” is a term used to describe the Lord’s Supper.It is also used in Acts 2:42, where the text says that the disciples devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.
b.The purpose of the gathering of Christians on the first day of the week in Troas was to take the Lord’s Supper.There was a specific purpose on a specific day.
c.There is no Scriptural record of the church assembling for the Lord’s Supper on any other day than the first day of the week.
2.The first day of the week is the only day specified in any example of a church taking up a collection (1Cor. 16:1-2).
a.This direction was given to the churches at Corinth and Galatia for the collection of money for needy saints in Jerusalem.It establishes a pattern for us to follow in taking collections for the work of the church today.
b.Other passages give directions regarding the purposes and attitudes for giving, but this is the only passage that mentions a particular day for saving a collection of funds.
3.Therefore, a Biblical pattern is established for the practices of observing the Lord’s Supper and collecting funds for the church.These are peculiar to the first day of the week.
C.Thus, because we are commanded to observe the Lord’s Supper and give of our means, and because the Biblical examples show that these were done by the early church on the first day of the week, we assemble on the first day of the week to do the same.
IV.WHY NOT OBSERVE THE SABBATH?
A.The church may assemble on the Sabbath or on any other day.However, there are no peculiar activities commanded or exemplified to the church on the Sabbath.
B.The church is not bound to keep the Sabbath as the nation of Israel did, for the Sabbath was part of the antiquated Law of Moses.
1.Those who advocate the Sabbath as the church’s day of worship seek Biblical justification from the Law of Moses.
2.However, the observance of the Sabbath according to the Old Testament was commanded only to Israel (Ex. 31:16-17).Now the Old Law, including the Sabbath, has been replaced with the New Covenant, which pertains to all people (Heb. 8:6, 13; 9:15; Gal. 3:23-29; 2:13-16).
C.The New Testament addresses the error of binding the Law of Moses on Christians, saying, “Therefore let no one 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” (Col. 2:16-17, emp. SED).
D.Therefore, the Sabbath is part of an outdated and inferior covenant that is not binding upon Christians.We have a much better covenant with Christ, and by this covenant we worship on the first day of the week.
V.CONCLUSION
A.Other secular evidence is available that shows that the church assembled on the first day of the week (dated as early as 70 A.D.).However, the Scriptural evidence that we have examined is sufficient for us to know what God expects of us.
B.Therefore, let us commit ourselves to the worship of our Lord on the first day of the week.If the traditional holidays that men have devised to honor Christ receive such attention and effort, how much more effort should we give to honor the Lord on the day that He has devised?
