Day 29 โ What changed?
“๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅโ๐ด ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ข๐ถ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต.” ๐๐ค๐ต๐ด 20:7 ๐๐๐
Many mainstream Christians gather for worship on Sundays. Yet it often surprises people to learn that some Christians still worship on Saturday, the seventh day. Scripture itself teaches the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Jesus honored the Sabbath, and so did His apostles even after His ascension. So what changed?
Turning back through history, we see that after the death of the original apostles, new ideas began to infiltrate the church. By the second century, leaders such as Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria spoke against Sabbath observance. Over time, the practice of resting on the seventh day was increasingly replaced by worship on the first day of the week.
Why did this shift occur? The causes appear to be a mixture of church authority overriding scriptural principles, the influence of pagan sun worship, and growing anti-Semitism. In A.D. 321, Roman Emperor Constantine formally established Sunday as a day of rest, appealing to passages such as Acts 20:7 as support. This decree was embraced by much of Christianity, though scattered and often persecuted groups of believers continued to hold fast to the seventh-day Sabbath and the teachings of the early New Testament church.
It is important to note, however, that Paulโs gathering with believers on the first day of the week (breaking bread and preaching) was not intended to replace the Sabbath. Rather, it reflected the offering of ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ต๐ด of the new week to God. The Lordโs Supper was not confined to the Passover but was a continual remembrance of Jesusโ sacrifice. As believers entered each new week, they celebrated the life He had given them and dedicated their work to His glory.
Lovely one, this does not mean you need to scurry to find a new church. Observe the Sabbath and bring your first fruits to God on the first day of the week with worship, thanksgiving, and honoring Him.
Prayer: Father, thank You that we can observe Your sanctified day and have the opportunity to worship You on the first day of the week. Even though history tried to eliminate Your command, we will still obey Your rest and glorify You through keeping it. Amen.
