The Lord’s Day

Q

Please explain to me why the Sabbath was changed to the Lord’s Day. Why did the Christian Church change the day when even our own Lord and Savior, as well as the Disciples, including Paul, honored the Sabbath?

A

When the Church began to be more Gentile than Jewish, they could no longer meet in Synagogues on the Sabbath as they had in the beginning. They also wanted to distinguish themselves from Judaism. Since the Lord was resurrected on Sunday Morning, they chose “the Lord’s Day” as their meeting day to commemorate His resurrection.

Paul recognized this change. In his letter to the Colossians he said, “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.” (Colossians 2:16-17)

And in Romans 14:5 he said, 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.

These passages make it clear that the particular day of the week is not important. What is important is the attitude of our mind. That’s because the lesson of the Sabbath is not about a day of the week, it’s about our salvation.