In our previous study, we saw that the Sabbath was not only kept by Jews in the New Testament but it was also kept by Gentiles. However, if we look at the current landscape of the Christian church, it’s evident that the Sabbath is no longer considered a holy day for the majority Christians.

The question is—What caused this transition from Sabbath to Sunday? In this lesson, we will review the events that led to the exodus from the Sabbath.

It should be no secret that Christ rose on the first day of the week. The resurrection of Christ is vital to our salvation. And because this event held significance to the faith of the early church, they began celebrating the resurrection on Sundays as a memorial. In essence, the Christians observed the Sabbath on the seventh day while also celebrating the resurrection on Sunday. And while there’s no sin in celebrating Christ’s resurrection, it should be understood that eventually Sunday would overtake and replace the Sabbath for the majority of the Christian church.

The First Sunday Law

In 321 AD Constantine the Great decreed, “On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed” (Codex Justinianus lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 380, note 1).

Constantine, apparently trying to unite his kingdom, decided to legislate a Sunday law. No longer was the Sabbath supposed to be just a celebration of Christ’s resurrection but now it was becoming a day of holy rest. This is how Sunday slowly began taking the place of the Sabbath.

The Church forbade Sabbath observance

Throughout the centuries, the Sabbath was suppressed more and more.

In 364, there was a Church council of important officials. They decreed Canon 29, which forbade Christians from observing the “Jewish” Sabbath.

It’s important to see that even as early as 364 AD, the Sabbath was already seen as a Jewish institution. However, it should also be brought out that there was still a remnant of God’s people who held to the Bible principles and saw the commandments as still binding on those who were saved by Grace. In essence, because Christians were still keeping the seventh-day Sabbath it necessitated the Church to enact a decree to abolish this practice.

As the Church opened itself to accept more errors, it was eventually overtaken by the Bishop of Rome. He became the head of the Church through a decree of Emperor Justinian beginning in 533 AD and finalized in 538 AD. As the Papacy ascended through the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, the councils forbidding Sabbath observance and replacing it with Sunday sanctification continued to take place after the Papacy was established. In 538, The Third Council of Orleans declared Sunday as the Lord’s Day and forbade working during its hours.

The Papacy attempts to change God’s law

While the Papacy wasn’t the first to declare Sunday as the Lord’s Day, they clearly continued the tradition and enforced it for the Church. On page 50 of The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, we see the following statement:

Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.

In the Catholic Encyclopedia, they write, “…The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day.

From these historical facts, we see the fulfillment of a prophecy revealed to Daniel:

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Daniel 7:25

It was the early Church that began commanding the change of the Sabbath to Sunday, but it didn’t modify the ten commandments to support that transition. The Papacy was the organization that went further and made changes to the words written on the tablets of stone to support Sunday sanctification and to appear more accepting of bowing to images in their worship services.

From the historical and Biblical record, we can see that not only has the Sabbath been reduced to a Jewish-only institution but it has been replaced by Sunday. When Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church in the middle ages, they kept their Sunday tradition, which continues to this day.

But we must always remember, nothing is wrong with tradition as long as it doesn’t usurp Bible principles. This is why the Sabbath is still binding on all of humanity.