COMMUNION BELONGS ON SUNDAY
By Dr. Hoyt W. Allen, Jr.
The following
article came to me
recently and I
contended that I
should pass it on.
It has been slightly
edited and a
conclusion added.
Too often we are
willing to sacrifice
apostolic precedent
for convenience.
While there is no
specific (stated)
command to keep the
first day of the
week, certainly the
precedent of the
apostles, biblical
example (Acts 20:7;
1 Cor. 16:2; and
Rev. 1:10 "Lord's
day;" i.e. the day
which belongs to the
Lord), and the
testimony of church
history should make
it abundantly clear
that the "first day
of the week" was
regarded as
"special" to the
saints.
Gov. Gaius Pliny,
writing to Emperor
Trajan regarding the
crimes (or lack
thereof) of
Christians, wrote in
AD 112; "...It was
their custom to meet
on a fixed day
before daylight."
Note the day was
"fixed" and the time
was "before
daylight," not
"after sundown."
Justin Martyr,
writing a defense of
the faith, dated
between AD 110-138,
recorded, "On the
day named after the
sun, we hold a
meeting in one place
for all who live in
the cities or in the
country near by....
We all choose Sunday
for our communal
gathering because it
is the first
day...and because
Jesus Christ, our
Healing Savior, rose
from the dead on the
same day," (1st
Apology, pp 224-5).
Ignatius wrote,
"Those...who have
come to the
possession of a new
hope, no longer
observe the Sabbath,
but living in the
observance of the
Lord's Day.... Let
every friend of
Christ keep the
Lord's Day as a
festival, the
resurrection day,
queen and chief of
all the days...."
Regarding the
"Lord's Day,"
Hendrickson says,
"The Lord's Day
which we observe in
commemoration of the
Lord's resurrection
just as the Lord's
Supper, I Cor.
11:20, is the supper
we observe in
remembrance of the
Lord's death on the
cross." Sweet says,
"'The Lord's Day'
the day consecrated
to the
Lord...according to
the analogy of
writings some of
which are but a few
decades later than
the Apocalypse
(Revelation), is the
first day of the
week, the day of the
Lord's
resurrection."
Regarding the
Saturday evening
worship, Dr. Donald
Nash, Retired
Professor at
Kentucky Christian
University wrote,
"The New English
Bible
(Continued)
(Continued)
and a few others
translate this (Acts
20:7) 'on Saturday
evening.' The actual
phrase in the Greek
is 'the first day of
the week.' Their
translation is based
upon the assumption
that the writer was
counting by Jewish
time, and this even
occurred after the
start of the Jewish
first day on
Saturday evening.
Since Luke, the
author of Acts, was
a Greek, and Troas
was a Greek city,
this is hardly
likely, and the
translation is
misleading, since it
was the first day of
the week and not the
seventh on which
they were
worshipping."
Eerdman's Handbook
to the History Of
Christianity states
regarding Lord's Day
worship: "Sunday was
not observed as a
public holiday until
the time of
Constantine...;
until then,
Christian meetings
for worship were
either early or late
in the day. The main
service was probably
held early in the
morning, although
meetings for worship
were also held in
the evening." The
key to understanding
what was going on
here is the fact
that this was NOT a
holiday!
Christianity
appealed greatly to
the slaves who would
not be able to
attend if services
were held during the
day. But those
services were
clearly held on
SUNDAY.
I, personally, am
not opposed to
Saturday worship any
more than
worshipping on any
weekday, so long as
it is not done at
the expense of
Sunday (which is
often the case
today). For a
Christian to worship
on Saturday evening
and partake of
communion so that
he/she can purposely
miss Sunday’s
scheduled worship
service in order to
attend a Sunday Golf
match, auto race, or
a fishing derby
seems to me to be
“missing the mark”.
In other words,
“Lord, I’ll do what
you want me to do
and I’ll say what
you want me to say
------- but, on my
time schedule.
Our Lord grants us
168 hours every
week. For the
Christian to say I
have the right to
juggle the worship
time around to suit
me just does not
seem correct to this
conservative. If we
are to restore the
New Testament church
then we must cease
attempting to please
ourselves and follow
the Scriptures more
closely.
Plainly, don’t get
short changed. Let’s
be ready to meet our
Maker. The Bible (in
Acts) teaches that
to avoid hell and
gain heaven - one
must:
1) Believe In Jesus
As Savior (16:31) 2)
Repent Of Sins
(17:30)
3) Confess Christ
Audibly (8:37) 4) Be
Baptized In Water
(2:38)
5) Live A Christian
Life (14:22) 6) Be
Active In the Church
(2:47)
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