Days ….

2. Is a Christian bound to keep Sunday?

No, he isn’t. In other words, he is not commanded to abstain from working on that day, as instead the Jews were commanded to do on the Sabbath day according to the law of Moses.

With regard to this, it is good to point out that since among the things forbidden on the Sabbath day there is also the lighting of the fire in one’s house both to cook and to warm oneself, if we were bound to keep Sunday in place of the Jewish sabbath, we also should abstain from lighting the fire and as a result many problems would rise. However, the problem is not to abstain from all works on Sunday, because this is lawful to those who esteem Sunday above all the other days and thus they keep Sunday to the Lord (and I don’t judge those who are fully convinced in their mind that Sunday is superior to all the other days); but the problem is the fact that if we command Christians to keep Sunday, just as the Jews keep the Sabbath day, then we are no longer walking in love because we want to impose a personal opinion about a certain day on someone. With regard to opinions about days, Paul said: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). Therefore, if a Christian esteems Sunday above the other days – and he shows this esteem by abstaining even from cooking and lighting the fire on Sunday – he must not command the other brothers to do the same.

Furthermore, the Sunday commandment is not supported by the writings of the New Testament: on the contrary the Sabbath commandment is supported by the Bible because in the law there are many references to it (however, as I said in the previous answer, under grace we are not bound to keep the Sabbath day).

In conclusion, if a believer wants to honour the Lord by abstaining from all works or some works on Sunday, he is free to act according to his personal conviction, but he must not judge or despise those who don’t behave like him on Sunday because they have a job that forces them to work even on Sunday sometimes or because they cook, they light the fire, they wash the dishes, etc.

Back