On March 7, 321, however, Roman Emperor Constantine I issued a civil decree making Sunday a day of rest from labor, stating: All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun.
Seventh-day Adventist scholar Samuele Bacchiocchi has argued that Sunday worship, unconnected to the Sabbath, was introduced by Constantine the Great in Rome in A.D. 321, and was later enforced by him throughout the Christian church as a substitution for Sabbath worship.
Sunday, the first day of the week, has never once been the scriptural Sabbath day nor holy in any way. At creation, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day of the week, and described carefully why he did so. This was before Jews, Hebrews, Israelites, or anything else like that.
Paul spoke highly of God's commandments and his example shows high esteem of the seventh-day Sabbath. Paul did not change the Sabbath. For more on the Sabbath, read the article “Was the Sabbath Changed to Sunday?”
"Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12). We have seen that Jesus Christ did not change God's Sabbath day. On the contrary, throughout His ministry He showed the true purpose and intent of the Sabbath.
For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday.
This day of rest, Jesus says, is made for humans (Mark 2:27). Jesus claims Himself as 'Lord of the Sabbath. ' This lordship does not abolish the Sabbath – for why would Jesus abolish something over which He claims Himself as ruler? – but instead He reinforces its vitality for life.
Although Christians meeting for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday for Gentiles) dates back to Acts and is historically mentioned around 115 AD, Constantine's edict was the start of many more Christians observing only Sunday and not the Sabbath.
The Jewish Sabbath (from Hebrew shavat, “to rest”) is observed throughout the year on the seventh day of the week—Saturday. According to biblical tradition, it commemorates the original seventh day on which God rested after completing the creation.
In conclusion, Colossians 2:16-17 does not nullify the 4th Commandment for New Testament times. We can abide by Paul's admonition to “let no one pass judgment on you…with regard…to a Sabbath”, while also exhorting each other to rest from labour and to worship on the Lord's Day, which is the Christian Sabbath.
Each of these gospel stories tells us that the first day of the week is the day of the Resurrection. One reason we worship on Sunday is to celebrate week-in and week-out the resurrection of Jesus, the anointed One of God, the Son, Lord, Savior, Redeemer.
The 'first day of the week' is rich with Biblical significance that can help us to understand the significance of Christ's Resurrection in a more profound way. According to the Jewish week, 'the first day' is Sunday – the day that follows the Sabbath – the Holy day and a day of rest.
Let's examine what Jesus, the perfect example for mankind, did and said about the Sabbath. We see that He observed the Sabbath as part of the way He lived His life, both as a young boy and in His ministry. He both observed the Sabbath Himself and preached on the Sabbath.
No other day has ever been sanctified as the day of rest. The Sabbath Day begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11; Isaiah 58:13-14; 56:1-8; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4, 11; Luke 4:16; Mark 2:27-28; Matthew 12:10-12; Hebrews 4:1-11; Genesis 1:5, 13-14; Nehemiah 13:19.
On 7 March 321, Constantine I, Rome's first Christian emperor, decreed that Sunday would be observed as the Roman day of rest: On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.
that the origin of the Christian weekly Sunday observance was influenced by an ancient Jewish sacerdotal calendar, perhaps through the practice of the Qumran Jews and their predilection for the calendar found in the Book of Jubilees, a or at least one similar to it.
The early Church did not move the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Instead “The Sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday, which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ” (CCC 2190). Sunday is the day Catholics are bound to keep, not Saturday.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work" (Exodus 20:8-10). There is no biblical authority for changing the day of rest and worship from the seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday.
Reason One—God's Word
I go to church on Saturday because it is biblical and Sunday church attendance is not. While God welcomes worship every day of the week, He set aside the seventh day as a special day of rest. This day is called the Sabbath and corresponds with Saturday.
While Jesus himself did not make a final break with the Sabbath, he so weakened it in the minds of his followers that they found it natural to move from worshipping on the Sabbath—a day of restrictions —to Sunday, a day associated with the joyous freedom brought about by the resurrection of Jesus.
In Eastern Christianity, the Sabbath is considered still to be on Saturday, the seventh day, in remembrance of the Hebrew Sabbath. In Catholicism and most branches of Protestantism, the "Lord's Day" (Greek Κυριακή) is considered to be on Sunday, the first day (and "eighth day").
Other church historians document the fact that by the middle of the second century Sunday had become the predominant day of worship. Based upon these secular writings, some have mistakenly concluded that the New Testament must include accounts of worship on Sunday.
No Change Documented in the Bible
In both Old and New Testament there is not a shadow of variation in the doctrine of the Sabbath. The seventh day, Saturday, is the only day ever designated by the term Sabbath in the entire Bible.
As followers of Jesus, God does not expect us to live by Israel's laws. However, the wisdom of these laws remains, and the law of the Sabbath is rich with significance for us today. Sabbath is not a commandment we are bound to; it's a promise we're invited to enjoy.
Is It a Sin to Worship on Sunday Instead of Saturday? Some argue that worshiping on Sunday rather than observing the traditional Sabbath is wrong. However, the New Testament makes it clear that what matters is not the specific day but the heart of worship. Believers are called to honor God every day.