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T h e F a t h e r s K n o w B e s t
SABBATH OR SUNDAY?
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This Rock
Volume 5, Number 9
 September 1994 
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SEVENTH-DAY Adventists, Seventh-Day Baptists,
and certain others claim that Christians must not worship on Sunday
but on Saturday--the Jewish sabbath--instead. Passages of
Scripture such as Colossians 2:16, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2,
and Revelation 1:10 indicate that the sabbath is no longer in force
and that Christians are to worship on the Lord's day (Sunday) instead.
The quotations below show that the early Church Fathers understood
and practiced this principle from the very beginning.
Didache
"But every Lord's day . . . gather yourselves
together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed
your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one
that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until
they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned"
(Didache 14 [A.D. 70]).
Pseudo-Barnabas
"We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness,
the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (Epistle
of Barnabas 15:6-8 [A.D. 80]).
Ignatius
"[T]hose who were brought up in the ancient order
of things [i.e. Jews] have come to the possession of a new hope, no
longer observing the sabbath, but living in the observance of the
Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him and
by his death" (Letter to the Magnesians 8 [A.D. 107]).
Justin Martyr
"Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common
assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought
a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ
our Savior on the same day rose from the dead. For he was crucified
on the day before that of Saturn [Saturday]; and on the day after
that of Saturn . . . having appeared to his apostles and disciples,
he taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also"
(First Apology 67 [A.D. 152]).
"[W]e too would observe the fleshly circumcision,
and the sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know
for what reason they were enjoined [on] you--namely, on account
of your transgressions and the hardness of your heart. . . . [H]ow
is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not
harm us--I speak of fleshly circumcision and sabbaths and feasts?
. . . God enjoined you to keep the sabbath, and impose on you other
precepts for a sign, as I have already said, on account of your unrighteousness
and that of your fathers" (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew
18, 21 [A.D. 155]).
"I will proclaim to you and to those who wish
to become proselytes the divine message which I heard . . . Do you
see that the elements are not idle, and keep no sabbaths? Remain as
you were born. For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham,
or of the observance of sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before
Moses, no more need is there of them now, after that, according to
the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God was born without sin,
of a virgin sprung from the stock of Abraham" (ibid. 23).
"[T]he gentiles who have believed on him [Christ]
and have repented of the sins which they have committed, they shall
receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets
and the just men who are descendants from Jacob, even though they
neither keep the sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts.
Assuredly they will receive the holy inheritance of God" (ibid.
26).
Irenaeus
"God gave circumcision, not as the completer
of righteousness, but as a sign, that the race of Abraham might continue
recognizable . . . This same [God] does Ezekiel the prophet say in
regard to the sabbaths: 'Also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign
between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that
sanctifies them' (Ez. 20:12). And in Exodus, God says to Moses: 'And
you shall observe my sabbaths; for it shall be a sign between me and
you for your generations' (Ex. 21:13). These things, then, were given
for a sign; but the signs were not unsymbolical . . . And that man
was not justified by these things, but that they were given as a sign
to the people, this fact shows--that Abraham himself, without
circumcision and without observance of sabbaths, `believed God and
it was reckoned unto him for righteousness, and he was called the
friend of God' [Jas. 2:23]" (Against Heresies 4:16:2
[A.D. 195]).
Tertullian
"[L]et him who contends that the sabbath is still
to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eighth
day . . . teach us that, for the time past, righteous men kept the
sabbath or practiced circumcision, and were thus rendered 'friends
of God.' For if circumcision purges a man, since God made Adam uncircumcised,
why did he not circumcise him, even after his sinning, if circumcision
purges? . . . Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised and
inobservant of the sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel,
offering him sacrifices, uncircumcised and inobservant of the sabbath,
was by him [God] commended [Gen. 4:1-7, Heb. 9:4]. . . . Noah also,
uncircumcised--yes, and inobservant of the sabbath--God freed
from the deluge. For Enoch too, most righteous man, uncircumcised
and inobservant of the sabbath, he translated from this world, who
did not first taste death in order that, being a candidate for eternal
life, he might show us that we also may, without the burden of the
law of Moses, please God" (An Answer to the Jews 2 [A.D.
198]).
"It follows, accordingly, that in so far as the
abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated
as having been consummated at its specific times, so also the observance
of the sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary" (ibid.
4).
Teaching of the Apostles
"The apostles further appointed: On the first
day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the Holy
Scriptures, and the oblation, because on the first day of the week
our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of
the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week
he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will
appear at last with the angels of heaven" (Teaching of the
Apostles 2 [A.D. 225]).
Origen
"Hence it is not possible that the [day of] rest
after the sabbath should have come into existence from the seventh
[day] of our God. On the contrary, it is our Savior who, after the
pattern of his own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of his
death, and hence also of his resurrection" (Commentary on
John 2:28 [A.D. 229]).
Victorinus
"The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve,
that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day
also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make
either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from
all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day
we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord's day we may
go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. And let the parasceve
become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any sabbath
with the Jews . . . which sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished"
(On the Creation of the World [A.D. 300]).
Eusebius
"They [the early saints of the Old Testament]
did not care about circumcision of the body, neither do we [Christians].
They did not care about observing sabbaths, nor do we. They did not
avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other distinctions
which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as symbols;
nor do Christians of the present day do such things" (Ecclesiastical
History 1:4:8 [A.D. 300]).
"[T]he day of his [Christ's] light . . . was
the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say, as being
the one and only truly holy day and the Lord's day, is better than
any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than
the days set apart by the Mosaic Law for feasts, new moons, and sabbaths,
which the Apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days
in reality. And this Lord's day of our Savior is alone said to show
its light not in every place but only in the courts of the Lord. And
these must mean the churches of Christ throughout the world, which
are courts of the one house of God" (Proof of the Gospel
4:16:186 [A.D. 316]).
Athanasius
"The sabbath was the end of the first creation,
the Lord's day was the beginning of the second, in which he renewed
and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that they should
formerly observe the sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first
things, so we honor the Lord's day as being the memorial of the new
creation" (On Sabbath and Circumcision 3 [A.D. 345]).
Cyril of Jerusalem
"Fall not away either into the sect of the Samaritans
or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has henceforth ransomed you. Stand
aloof from all observance of sabbaths and from calling any indifferent
meats common or unclean" (Catechetical Lectures 4:37
[A.D. 350]).
Council of Laodicea
"Christians should not Judaize and should not
be idle on the sabbath, but should work on that day; they should,
however, particularly reverence the Lord's day and, if possible, not
work on it, because they were Christians" (canon 29 [A.D. 355]).
Ephraim the Syrian
"The first day [is] the source and the beginning;
[it] waters the roots, to make things grow. Our Savior's day is praised
far above it, a tree planted in the world. For his death is as the
root in the earth; his resurrection as the head in heaven; on all
sides his words reach as boughs, likewise his body as fruit for the
eaters" (Hymns on the Nativity 19:4 [A.D. 360]).
Synod of Laodicea
"Christians must not Judaize by resting on the
sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord's day;
and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be
found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ" (canon
29 [A.D. 363]).
John Chrysostom
"[W]hen he [God] said, 'You shall not kill' .
. . he did not add, 'because murder is a wicked thing.' The reason
was that conscience had taught this before hand, and he speaks thus,
as to those who know and understand the point. Wherefore when he speaks to us of another commandment, not known to us by the dictate of conscience,
he not only prohibits, but adds the reason. When, for instance, he
gave commandment concerning the sabbath--'On the seventh day you
shall do no work'--he subjoined also the reason for this cessation.
What was this? 'Because on the seventh day God rested from all his
works which he had begun to make' [Ex. 20:10]. And again: 'Because
you were a servant in the land of Egypt' [Deut. 21:18]. For what purpose
then, I ask, did he add a reason respecting the sabbath, but did no
such thing in regard to murder? Because this commandment was not one
of the leading ones. It was not one of those which were accurately
defined of our conscience, but a kind of partial and temporary one,
and for this reason it was abolished afterward. But those which are
necessary and uphold our life are the following: 'You shall not kill
. . . You shall not commit adultery . . . You shall not steal.' On this account he adds no reason in this case, nor enters into any instruction
on the matter, but is content with the bare prohibition" (Homilies
on the Statues 12:9 [A.D. 387]).
"You have put on Christ, you have become a member
of the Lord and been enrolled in the heavenly city, and you still
grovel in the Law [of Moses]? How is it possible for you to obtain
the kingdom? Listen to Paul's words, that the observance of the Law
overthrows the gospel, and learn, if you will, how this comes to pass,
and tremble, and shun this pitfall. Why do you keep the sabbath and
fast with the Jews? Is it that you fear the Law and the abandonment
of its letter? But you would not entertain this fear did you not disparage
faith as weak and by itself powerless to save. A fear to omit the
sabbath plainly shows that you fear the Law as still in force; and
if the Law is needful, it is so as a whole, not in part, nor in one
commandment only; and if as a whole, the righteousness which is by
faith is little by little shut out. If you keep the sabbath, why not
also be circumcised? And if circumcised, why not also offer sacrifices?
If the Law is to be observed, it must be observed as a whole or not
at all. If omitting one part makes you fear condemnation, this fear
attaches equally to all the parts" (Homilies on Galatians
2:17 [A.D. 395]).
"The rite of circumcision was venerable in the
Jews' account, forasmuch as the Law itself gave way thereto, and the
sabbath was less esteemed than circumcision. For that circumcision
might be performed, the sabbath was broken; but that the sabbath might
be kept, circumcision was never broken; and mark, I pray, the dispensation
of God. This is found to be even more solemn that the sabbath, as
not being omitted at certain times. When then it is done away, much
more is the sabbath" (Homilies on Philippians 10 [A.D.
406]).
Apostolic Constitutions
"And on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which
is the Lord's day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that
made the universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and condescended to
let him suffer, and raised him from the dead. Otherwise what apology
will he make to God who does not assemble on that day . . . in which
is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel,
the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food" (Apostolic
Constitutions 2:7:60 [A.D. 400]).
For Passover/Easter Day: "[B]reak your fast when
it is daybreak of the first day of the week, which is the Lord's day.
From then till cock-crowing keep awake, and assemble together in the
church, watch and pray, and entreat God, reading, when you sit up
all night, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, until cock-crowing,
and baptizing your catechumens, and reading the Gospel with fear and
trembling, and speaking to the people of such things as tend to their
salvation" (ibid. 5:3:19).
"[E]very Lord's day, hold your solemn assemblies
and rejoice: For he will be guilty of sin who fasts on the Lord's
day, being the day of the resurrection" (ibid. 5:3:20).
"On the day of the resurrection of the Lord,
that is, the Lord's day, assemble yourselves together, without fail,
giving thanks to God and praising him for those mercies God has bestowed
upon you through Christ, and has delivered you from ignorance, error,
and bondage, that your sacrifice may be unspotted, and acceptable
to God" (ibid. 7:2:30).
Augustine
"Well, now, I should like to be told what there
is in these Ten Commandments, except the observance of the sabbath,
which ought not to be kept by a Christian . . . [w]hich of these commandments
would anyone say that the Christian ought not to keep? It is possible
to contend that it is not the Law which was written on those two tables
that the apostle [Paul] describes as 'the letter that killeth' [2
Cor. 3:6], but the law of circumcision and the other sacred rites
which are now abolished" (On the Spirit and the Letter 24 [A.D. 412]).
"[God's] grace hid itself under a veil in the
Old Testament, but it has been revealed in the New Testament . . .
And perhaps it is a part of this hiding of grace that, in the decalogue,
which was given on Mount Sinai, only the portion which relates to
the sabbath was hidden under a prefiguring precept. . . . And this
precept alone among the others, was placed in the Law, which was written
on the two tables of stone, as a prefiguring shadow, under which the
Jews observe the sabbath, that by this very circumstance it might
be signified that it was then the time for concealing the grace, which
had to be revealed in the New Testament by the death of Christ" (ibid. 27).
Gregory the Great
"It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse
spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed
to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the sabbath
day. What else can I call these preachers of Antichrist, who when
he comes will cause the sabbath day as well as the Lord's day to be
kept free from all work. For because he pretends to die and rise again,
he wishes the Lord's day to be had in reverence; and because he compels
the people to judaize that he may bring back the outward rite of the Law, and subject the perfidy of the Jews to himself, he wishes the
sabbath to be observed. For this which is said by the prophet, 'You
shall bring in no burden through your gates on the sabbath day' (Jer.
17:24) could be held to as long as it was lawful for the Law to be
observed according to the letter. But after that the grace of almighty
God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has appeared, the commandments of the
Law which were spoken figuratively cannot be kept according to the
letter. For if anyone says that this about the sabbath is to be kept,
he must needs say that carnal sacrifices are to be offered. He must
say too that the commandment about the circumcision of the body is
still to be retained. But let him hear the apostle Paul saying in
opposition to him: 'If you be circumcised, Christ will profit you
nothing' (Gal. 5:2). . . . On the Lord's day, however, there should
be a cessation of earthly labor, and attention given in every way
to prayers, so that if anything is done negligently during the six
days, it may be expiated by supplications on the day of the Lord's
resurrection" (Epistles 13:1 [A.D. 603]).
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