I will begin this blog with Colossians 2:16-17. It says, "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." Romans 14:5 is similar in spirit. The verse says, "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers everyday alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his mind." Theses Scriptures make it clear that, for the Christian, Sabbath-keeping is a matter of spiritual freedom, not a command from God. Sabbath-keeping is a an issue on which God's Word instructs us not to judge each other. Sabbath-keeping is a matter about which each Christian needs to be fully convinced in their mind.
In the early chapters of the book of Acts, the first Christians were mostly Jews. When the Gentiles began to receive Jesus as deliverance, the Jewish Christians had a dilemma. What aspects of the Mosaic Law and Jewish tradition should Gentile Christians be instructed to obey? The apostles met and discussed the issue in the Jerusalem council (Acts 15). Acts 15:19-20 says, "It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to Go. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood." Sabbath-keeping was not one of the commands the apostles felt was needed to force on Gentile believers. It is inconceivable that the apostles would neglect to include Sabbath-keeping if it was God's command for Christians to observe the Sabbath day.
A common error in the Sabbath-keeping debate is the concept that the Sabbath was the day of worship. The Seventh Day Adventists believe that God requires the church service to be on Saturday, the Sabbath day. That is not what the Sabbath command was. The Sabbath command was to do no work on the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:8-11). Yes, Jews in Old Testament, New Testament and modern times use Saturday as the day of worship, but that is not the essence of the Sabbath command. In the book of Acts, whenever a meeting is said to be on the Sabbath , it was a meeting of Jews and/or Gentiles converts to Judaism, not Christians.
You may have a question. When did the early believers meet? Acts 2:46-47 says, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who being saved." If there was a day that Christians met regularly, it was the first day of the week (our Sunday), not the Sabbath day (our Saturday) (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). In honor of Christ's resurrection on Sunday, the early church observed Sunday not as the "Christian Sabbath" but as a day to especially worship Jesus Christ.
Is there anything wrong with worshiping on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath? No! We should worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday! Many churches will have service on both days. There is freedom in Christ (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 6:1). Should a believer practice Sabbath-keeping, that is, not working on Saturdays? If a believer feels led to do so, yes (Romans 14:5). However, those who choose to practice Sabbath-keeping should not judge those who do not keep the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16), Further, those who do not keep the Sabbath should avoid being a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 8:9) to those who do keep the Sabbath, Galatians 5:13-15 says, "You, my brothers were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
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