4 Reasons Why Most Christians Worship on Sunday

Why do most Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday?

The Bible says that God made the seventh day holy by resting on that day after He had finished His work of creation (Genesis 2:2-3). Later, resting on the seventh-day Sabbath was included in the Ten Commandments. But today most Christians worship on Sunday, not Saturday. Why?

Here are four reasons why most Christians worship on Sunday:

1. Most Christians Believe Jesus Rose on Sunday

Most churches teach that Jesus died on a Friday afternoon and was resurrected the next Sunday morning. This is the reason why most Christians hold church services on Sunday—to honor the day of Jesus was resurrected.

But Jesus predicted that He would be dead and buried for “three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40). There is only one day and two nights between Friday evening and Sunday morning. If you read all of the scriptures about the death and resurrection of Jesus carefully, you will find that Jesus was actually resurrected on Saturday evening.

2. Most Christians Think the Bible Says They Can Choose Any Day

There are a few scriptures in the Bible that people think say that it doesn’t matter which day we worship God.

For example, Romans 14:5 says,

“One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.”

Does this mean that we can choose any day we want to worship God?

If you look at what Paul wrote before and after this scripture, you will understand that he was talking about whether people eat meat or fast on specific days:

Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats. … One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Master; and he who does not observe the day, to the Master he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Master, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat , to the Master he doesn’t eat , and gives God thanks.”

So Paul was talking about eating or not eating on specific days, not about a day of rest or worship.

Galatians 4:10 is another scripture that people use to prove that Christians should not keep the Sabbath. It says, ”You observe days, months, seasons, and years.”

Some say that Paul was criticizing the Galatians for keeping the Sabbath. But if you read what Paul wrote right before that, you will see that Paul was actually criticizing the Galatians for turning back to superstitions they had before they knew God:

However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again? You observe days, months, seasons, and years. (Galatians 4:8-10)

So that scripture isn’t about the Sabbath either.

What about Colossians 2:16-17? Here is how it is usually translated:

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (New International Version)

Most people think that Paul was trying to say that the biblical feasts and Sabbaths are not important, but Jesus Christ is what is important. The problem is that this verse is usually translated incorrectly. All of the words in bold were added by translators, and these extra words change the meaning of the passage.

Here is a correct translation of Colossians 2:16-17:

“Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day—which are a shadow of the things to come—but the body of Christ.”

What Paul was actually saying is that we should not let anyone judge us about how we keep the Sabbath and feast days except for “the body of Christ.” The body of Christ is the Church (Colossians 1:18, 24). So only “the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15) should guide us on how to keep the Sabbath—not unbelievers.

Some people in the city of Colossae were telling the Christians, “do not touch, do not taste, do not handle” (Colossians 2:21). Paul told the Christians to ignore these man-made rules and enjoy eating and drinking in the proper way on the Sabbath and feast days.

3. Most Christians Believe that Jesus Got Rid of the Old Law

Most people have been taught that when Jesus came, He got rid of God’s laws and gave His followers new instructions on how to live. So they say we only need to follow a law from the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) if it is mentioned again in the New Testament (the Greek Scriptures).

Many pastors teach that only nine of the Ten Commandments are mentioned in the New Testament—but the Sabbath is never mentioned. But Hebrews 4:9 says, “there remains therefore a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God.” That is a clear statement that the Sabbath command remains, but in most translations, the word “Sabbath-keeping” is incorrectly translated as “rest,” so many people don’t know about this verse.

There are many scriptures that people use to say that God’s law is no longer required for Christians. To learn what these scriptures really mean, read, How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law?

4. Most Christians Don’t Want to Be Different

Now we get to the most important reason people keep Sunday: because everyone else does.

After studying what the Bible says about the Sabbath and Sunday, you may realize that the seventh-day Sabbath is the only day of the week that God made holy, and that Jesus never changed the Sabbath to Sunday.

But your husband, wife, parents, and friends—what will they say? What will they think?

Here is a better question: What will God think if someone or something else is more important to you than obeying Him?

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