GOOD DAY TO you! I just want to inquire regarding your religion. It is written in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 that God sanctified the day of Sabbath. Thus, it is only righteous that worship to God should be performed in the day of Sabbath. Why is it that in your religion you do not observe Sabbath and you even have worship service done on Thursday?
Cha Benjamin – February 2013 – God’s Message.
Editor’s reply:
We express our appreciation for your interest regarding the Church Of Christ and we hope that you will continue your search for the truth. Regarding your question, it’s true that the Israelites were commanded to observe the day of the Sabbath (Deut. 5:12-15). Our Lord God gave this commandment to His servant Moses: “There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD” (Lev. 23:3, New International Version).
Those who did not observe this at that time were punished (Num. 15:32- 35, Ibid. ). Thus, during the time of Moses, this commandment of God was carefully observed. But time came when the observance of the Sabbath became meaningless to our Lord God. The Prophet Isaiah clarifies this in his writings, “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations–I cannot bear your evil assemblies” (lsa. 1:1 3, Ibid.).
It is made clear to us that the Israelites’ observance of the Sabbath became meaningless before God and thus, should be stopped (Hos. 2:1 1). Even our Lord Jesus Christ did not observe the day of rest as what is written in Luke 13:14-16: “Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people; ‘there are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath: The Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (NIV)?
In this light, let us understand that in the Christian Era, the observance of the Sabbath as decreed in the law of Moses is no longer commanded to be practiced. Furthermore, it is clarified by the Bible that people will not be justified by the Law of Moses (Acts 13:39). But man’s obligation to serve and worship God never ceases because this is his primary duty to his Creator (Ps. 100:2-3). Even during the time of the apostles, the Christians continued to gather together to fulfill this sacred commandment: “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, New King James Version ). It must be noted that in this verse, the day the first-century Church Of Christ performed their congregational worship service was on “The first day of the week” or Sunday. For this same reason, the Iglesias — Ni Cristo, holds worship services during Sundays.
How about other days? Is it forbidden by God to hold worship services on other days? Again, the Acts of the Apostles 2:46 states that: “They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful” (Message). We must realize that there was even a time when the early Christians held their congregational services daily. This is why the Iglesias Ni Cristo holds worship services during Thursdays or Wednesdays and Sundays or Saturdays. Whatever the day or time, whenever the worship service comes, whatever the hindrance may be, Church Of Christ members give utmost importance to worshiping God because it is a commandment that His true servants always fulfill.
RESPONSE
After reading the answers above, I wonder why the flaw in the argument is not clearly seen! The Editor clearly stated that “it’s true that the Israelites were commanded to observe the day of the Sabbath (Deut. 5:12-15). Our Lord God gave this commandment to His servant Moses” but he said humans could not do what God commanded, and so he said, “But time came when the observance of the Sabbath became meaningless to our Lord God.” This is incorrect, because the observance of the Sabbath day is not to give meaning to God, but to humans, so it could not be meaningless to God.
When the Prophet Isaiah said, “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations–I cannot bear your evil assemblies“, it shows that the observance of the day for humans became without meaning. These actions are sinful. So since humans sinned against God by not observing His Sabbath, should God annul his commandments?
The Editor agrees that God should annul his commandment. He said, “It is made clear to us that the Israelites’ observance of the Sabbath became meaningless before God and thus, should be stopped.” If that was the case, then any commandment that humans ignored, the Editors think that God should annul it. Likewise if the commandment to “Do not kill” is ignored by humans, God should annul it.
The Editor also stated that “Even our Lord Jesus Christ did not observe the day of rest as what is written in Luke 13:14-16.” This implies that the author of the Sabbath day commandment himself did not observe His own commandment. This does not make sense knowing that we have a just God. Humans look at the activities of Jesus on the Sabbath and think that He is breaking the Sabbath, not realizing that the Lord of the Sabbath knows what is right or wrong to do on the Sabbath and that He is here to teach us what are the right things to do on the Sabbath.
The Editor, at the end of the argument, contradicts himself or herself. The Editor stated, “But man‘s obligation to serve and worship God never ceases because this is his primary duty to his Creator (Ps. 100:2-3)”. Therefore, if humans ignored this commandment, the Editor doesn’t think that God should annul this commandment. But if humans ignored the Sabbath day commandment, it can be annulled, but not the commandment to worship God. For humans to suggest which commandments God should annul and which should stay is a dangerous thought, because the Bible stated, “All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy (Psalm 111:7)”. The contradictions continued when the Editor favors worship on the 1st days of the week (practice by some humans) over the commandment to worship on the 7th day of the week given by God.
In summary, God’s law to observe the Sabbath day worship on the 7th day of the week still stands. Jesus himself said so in Matthew 5:18-19 “I tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Hebrews 4:1-13 (NLT)
God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger, I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” But in the other passage, God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.” So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.