Personal from Joseph Tkach

Worship Days

Several pastors have recently asked, Has our policy on worship days changed? Are we now favoring one day over another?

Yes, and no.

Let’s discuss our policy about weekly and annual worship days, and why some people think that we are favoring one day over another.

As a church, do we prefer that our members meet for worship on Saturday or Sunday? As a denomination, we do not have a preference. As individuals, we may. I have a preference, but church doctrine and policy is not set by my preference. In the same way, various regional directors, district superintendents and pastors have their preferences, but none of those personal opinions can set church policy.

Church doctrine and policy are set by biblical guidelines, and the Bible does not specify any particular day for worship. Indeed, it urges people with different preferences to give each other some slack on such matters (Rom. 14:5).

What is our policy? In 1998 we wrote: "We must learn not to condemn one another over the seasons and days on which we decide to worship. For example, if a congregation in the United States decides to worship on Sunday, then congregations in Europe and South America do not need either to 1) feel they must immediately do the same, or 2) get angry and upset that the U.S. congregation has made this decision." This is still our policy.

Perhaps I should add that members have no business agitating in other congregations to get them to adopt one practice or another. Each congregation should decide for itself, without outside interference. As we said in 1998, "If our brothers and sisters in other congregations are gathering to worship the Lord, then surely we should not get upset about the particular choice of days on which they do so."

Our freedom in Christ means that we have to give up our desire that everyone do everything the same way. When we are given the freedom to be different, we must give others a similar freedom to be different from us. We need to pursue a unity that is based in Christ, not in external matters.

As I wrote in 1999: "We must allow both sets of days, simply because a more important principle is at stake. The choice is not between this day or that—it is between heavy-handedness and gentleness, between an externally imposed unity and a faith-generated unity, between legalism and grace.

"If we try to enforce one set of days over the other and still try to preach grace and freedom in Christ, then we are trying to mix oil and water."

This is still our policy. The gospel does not permit us to enforce one day over another, or to say that one day is spiritually superior to another. Sure, some people may be passionate about one day or another, but their passion (including my own) cannot override the fact that Scripture does not specify any particular day of worship.

We do not want members to agitate in their own congregation, either. The church is no place for politicking, lobbying for support, or creating a faction. Not only does Scripture tell us to be tolerant of opinions on this subject (Rom. 14:5), it also warns us to avoid dissension and division. Peace is more important than winning a "victory."

Each congregation must make its own decision, and local factors must be taken into consideration. These might include the availability of suitable facilities. If a good facility is available on Saturday but not on Sunday, then members should take that into consideration. If members work on Saturday but not on Sunday, then this should also be considered. One day might be better for evangelism; one day might be better for children.

In other words, several nonspiritual matters must be considered, but we need to beware making too much of our own opinions.

Many people are more emotional than logical on this question. I can’t decide your local situation. All I can say is that there is no biblical reason to require one day over the other.

There may be psychological, sociological, cultural or historical reasons to prefer one day over another, but they are not spiritual requirements. Many people feel that Sunday is the best memorial of Jesus’ resurrection, but again, this is not a biblical requirement. Churches that meet on Saturday evening, for example, are not spiritually inferior.

People who prefer Saturday may feel that we are favoring Sunday. People who prefer Sunday may feel that we are favoring Saturday. Both sets of people are wrong. We leave this question up to the local congregations.

However, I would like to say a word to people who feel that they should keep the Sabbath in the way it was originally commanded. The old covenant focus is on rest, not on worship. The only worship service commanded for the Sabbath was a ritual in the temple, which only a small fraction of the Israelites could attend.

For most Israelites, the Sabbath was a day to rest at home, not a day to attend a worship service. If they wanted to attend a worship service, then they would have to travel, and they could do that on one of the other six days. The Israelites had the option of worshiping at the temple on any day of the week, but the Sabbath was a day of rest, not a day for wearisome travel. Likewise today, people who keep the Sabbath can also worship on Sunday, and people who prefer Sunday can also worship on Saturday.

In many congregations, most of the members will prefer one day, and a minority will prefer another. The pastor must lead for the benefit of the congregation as a whole, and in most cases the minority will need to accept the situation, such as by observing the day at home.

Do we favor certain annual festivals over others? Yes, but that is not a recent change. In 1998 I explained that we are not "neutral" about Easter: We encourage people to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. We encourage members to celebrate festivals that remind us of the salvation we have in Christ.

We allow members to meet on or near the seven annual festivals, too. We teach that these days are not required, nor do they provide a "deeper" understanding of God’s plan for humanity.

God commanded the annual festivals only within the old covenant, only for Israelites. He did not expect Aborigines and Eskimos to celebrate a grain harvest without grain, by a calendar designed for another climate. The only commands for these days are found in a covenant that is now obsolete, superseded by the death and resurrection of Christ. Although the New Testament mentions these days, it never commands them.

Moreover, if people want to keep these days the way they were commanded, they would have to go to Israel. The Bible never authorizes any other location for them. The Bible never tells us to "keep" only the dates and ignore the other rituals. The festivals were given as a package, rituals and all, and the whole package is obsolete.

In summary, we prefer the annual observances that people typically associate with Jesus: Christmas, Easter and others. But we allow members to meet on other days too, as long as Christ is the center of the worship. (See the box below, which is a repeat of our policy from 1998.) But there is not a mandatory day for weekly worship services. Choices of worship days must be decided locally, based on local considerations, without outside agitation.

Whatever the day, let’s celebrate Christ!

A Few Points to Consider About Worship Days

Can we remain together when we observe different sets of annual days? This may go against our human nature, but with Christ it is possible—even imperative—to love people who have different opinions and practices. Here are some basic principles:

l When it comes to worship, one day is not holier than another (Rom. 14:5). That applies to Easter, Unleavened Bread, Tabernacles and Christmas. None of these days is so important that it should cause animosity between members (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

l Whenever we meet, our worship must focus on Christ, not on the day. We do not teach that people who meet on one day are better or more obedient than those who do not.

l We commemorate salvation in Christ. Traditional Christian festivals do this more directly than old covenant festivals do. In Western nations, most people know that Easter commemorates Christ’s resurrection, whereas few associate Unleavened Bread with Christianity.

l The principle of worship days is that God’s people commemorate salvation. The Israelites looked back to a physical salvation and hoped for a future one, but we look to Jesus Christ, especially his birth, crucifixion and resurrection.

l The Israelite festivals can be used to worship Christ, just as other days can be. Early Christians worshiped in the temple on the festivals—with no complaint from Paul.

l We allow members to choose their days of worship, but circumstances and numbers may require some worship meetings to be conducted in homes.

l It would be inconsistent to preach grace and freedom while forbidding worship on days that have origins we don’t like.

As we draw closer to Christ, as we become more like him, days on a calendar will decrease in significance. Days are useful for worship, but they are not our primary goal. Our goal is to lead people to Christ, and to let him live within us, to let his attitudes dominate us—attitudes of love, of respect for others, of humility, of being God-focused. Our sense of unity must be based on these internal truths, not the external matter of considering one day better than another.

 

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001