WHAT IS THE RIGHT DAY OF WORSHIP-SATURDAY, SUNDAY OR …?

WHAT IS THE RIGHT DAY OF WORSHIP-SATURDAY, SUNDAY OR …?

By Elijah Asuo Wiredu

It is a major doctrine among Christians as to which day of the week does God expect men to worship Him or on which day has God told men to set aside to honor Him. Many of us have not taken this into thought but if there is a day that God really wants us to use to honor Him, then that day cannot be overlooked. However, if we are really free to choose any day all in the week, then one can be conscience-free to honor God whichever day we so desire.

Let me go straight and say that if there is a day that God has set aside for man to honor Him, then it is Saturday. In Exodus 20:8-11, God included in the Ten Commandments that man shall work for six (6) and keep the seventh day as a holy day of rest (Sabbath) for Him.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Ex 20:8-11

It is true that at the point of creation, there was no day with a name. The days were given names by the Babylonians and they named the days after some five planetary bodies and they added the Sun (Sunday) and the moon (Monday). The Roman Emperor Constantine adopted them and established the week as having seven days; making Sunday the first day and Saturday the last day. For the fact that God added verse 11 means that He would agree to man considering our Sunday as first and Saturday as last days of the week. There is therefore no doubt that the Seventh day of the week falls on Saturday. In fact, Jesus Christ was born and He lived in the time that God was worshipped on Saturday in Israel. When He died and was buried, the women couldn’t go to His grave on Saturday because it was a Sabbath.

What about the Sunday churches? Are they disobeying God?

That is surprisingly no. I have heard of a teaching from a couple of friends who worship on Saturday claiming that those who worship God on Sunday worship the Sun god (idol) and not Almighty God. That is absolutely not true. In fact, Saturday was named after Saturn which is a planet and was a god of Agriculture for the Romans. Therefore, if Sunday worshippers honor the Sun god, then it is only a common knowledge that Saturday worshippers worship Saturn.

In our current dispensation, we are at liberty to choose any day in the week and declare it as holy to the Lord. That is to say that we are not obliged to strictly worship God on Saturday or Sunday or any other day of the week.

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.    Rom 14:5-6

By the Bible verse above, God permits us to choose any day at all as our day of worship. If you are a Sunday worshipper, don’t worry that you are out of order. God is the one who is honored at last.

Another justification for Sunday worship is that God is not really bordered by which day we choose to worship. That is not a problem for Him at all and He wouldn’t want us to be troubled about a day of worship. Paul says in Colossians 2:16-17 we should NOT permit anyone to subject us to judgment on the grounds of weekly days of worship and holidays. This implies that all those teachings that are out there against the celebration of Christmas, Easter, which meat can be eaten etc. and going to church on Sundays are rather out of order.

Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly worship days. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts the shadow belongs to Christ.

 Col 2:16-17(GWT)

Lastly, most of the people who worship on Sundays say they really do not have any reason but after the death, resurrection, ascension of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were not seen observing Sabbath on Saturdays again. If the Apostles who were Jews and as part of their culture had to observe the Sabbath on Saturdays saw a reason(s) to do it on Sundays, there is wisdom in it for those who decide to honor God on Sunday or any other day.