Should we as Christians, keep the Sabbath holy? There are verses in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, in Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus that command us to do just that. As Christians, we have all heard that phrase, but what exactly does it mean? It really is quite simple; rest on the seventh day (Sunday), and take time to thank and praise God for all that he does for you every day. The question is, how do Christians do this today and how do they feel about it? Is the legitimacy of the Sabbath still alive or is it just old tradition.
“I think God wants us to go to Church on Sunday, but I think that the whole idea that God doesn’t want us to do anything work-related on the Sabbath is just old covenant thinking,” Ethan Oehler, student, said.
There are many different traditions and beliefs associated with different abominations of Christianity, however, Church attendance on Sunday is encouraged in most of them. Some may be a little “stricter” when it comes to the desire to have the church family present on Sunday, but the question is not about attendance so much as about what you do after service on the holy day. If you look at it face value, most Christians do not do what God commanded on Sunday aside from going to church which is greatly supported by the Bible. But is working on Sunday going against God’s word and not keeping the Sabbath Holy?
“I don’t think God is going to condemn us for working on the Sabbath,” student Joseph DeGuzman said. “Sometimes you have to work on Sunday, so I think that going to church will help you grow in your faith but this has no bearing on working.”
Maybe going to church or reflecting on God’s word is enough to keep it legitimate. After all, Jesus made it so we as Christians would not have to abide by the old covenant set in the Old Testament. Jesus however, does speak in Matthew to the Pharisees about keeping the Sabbath holy, but many biblical scholars translate that as Jesus saying who should keep the Sabbath and not specifically how. The who is the Jews at the time who Jesus was speaking too, and they were still under the old covenant. So does that mean that going to church and still being able to work is acceptable under God’s eyes?
“I believe that as a Christian, church and family should be the main priority on Sunday,” Jesse Tory, student, said. “I do think that if you do work on Sunday or do other activities, that God does not look down on that either.”
The Bible does not make going to church a necessity to be saved. Although going to church is a great way to connect with God and other believers of like faith, it is not commanded. Is it possible to be a Christian and not go to church? Yes it is definitely a possibility, but it will be more difficult to grow in your faith without finding a church family who encourages you. Also, is it a necessity to have church on Sunday, opposed to any other day of the week?
The general census around campus when asked these questions was that church is important on Sunday, but that the law about not working on that day is Old Covenant. In a way this challenges the legitimacy of the Sabbath, but maybe it is the new way of observing the Lord’s day.