Why We Do What We Do Part 1: Meet On Sundays?

| Spiry Tee

"But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain."
(Galatians 4:9‭-‬11 NKJV)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has made us free. We should never again allow anything to imprison us, from religion to human philosophy. We have received the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Many Christians have asked why do we meet on Sunday for public worship service. Is there anything special about Sunday? But some Christians want to meet on Saturday, who is right? What does the gospel say about which day should be the day of worship?

Let's begin with what Jesus said about worship. "Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21‭, ‬23‭-‬24 NKJV).

The Father is looking for true worshippers, and true worshippers are neither Sunday or Saturday worshippers but those who worship in Spirit and in truth for God is a Spirit. It is not the day nor the place you are at that matters to God but the attitude of the heart.

When we engage in worship, God does not place a premium on the outward expressions of worship. When it comes to the time, day or place we choose to worship as Christians, we should allow ourselves freedom to choose. That is why Apostle Paul said we should not argue about such matters for they are of lesser importance in the grand scheme of the gospel. "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it." (Romans 14:5‭ NKJV)

We need unity in the church now more than ever before. We can achieve unity by embracing this principle: In essentials, unity; in peripherals, liberty; and in all things love. You can choose a day you want to worship the Lord in your church and be happy about it but don't despise or judge others who meet on a different day.

Jesus is the Lord of the sabbath.  No one should judge you concerning keeping the sabbath day because the seventh day was the shadow, but the reality or substance is Christ. Apostle Paul is clear on that matter: "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." (Colossians 2:16‭-‬17 NKJV).

When we subject ourselves under the law of the sabbath, we forfeit Christ for if we seek to be justified by the law Christ shall profit us nothing. Some would say "but the sabbath started with God in Genesis". Well, so did animal sacrifice. God was the first to shed blood to cover man's sin, shame, and nakedness. Circumcision did not start with Moses too. It was started by God in Abraham.  So must we get circumcised to be true Christians because circumcision came before the law? That is wrong.

The sabbath rest was symbolic of the rest that we now find in Christ Jesus forever. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28‭-‬30 NKJV). When we come under the law we subject ourselves to the curse and the death that the law carries.

We meet on Sunday not because Sunday is special in and of itself but because we also see the early church meeting on Sunday to worship, teach and break bread, "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 NKJV). They were celebrating the day Jesus rose from the dead. The first day of the week was nicknamed the Lord's Day for He rose on Sunday. But we can meet anyday for it is not the day that matters but worship in Spirit and in truth.

SPEAK LIFE.
I worship God in spirit and in truth. It is not the day that matters to me but Christ who is Lord over time. I don't worship time I worship Jesus. I refuse to subject myself to the curses and death in the law. I choose freedom and I choose life, all found in Jesus.