Sabbath: The Biblical Day to Worship God

While it is a common thought that the Christian Sabbath is Sunday, the Bible clarifies that in the Ten Commandments: God specifies to keep the Sabbath day holy on the seventh day of the week. Throughout the Gospels, the disciples also show that the day to worship God is Saturday.

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. . . . For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
Exodus 20:8-11 (NLT)

When God spoke the Ten Commandments, He said He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. That is why God commanded His people to remember this seventh day Sabbath and set it apart from the rest of the days to keep it holy.

According to the calendar and dictionary, Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday is the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. The Bible also confirms this.

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.
Mark 16:9 (NIV)

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning.
Mark 16:9 (NLT)

When comparing two versions of the same biblical text, we can see that Sunday is definitely the first day of the week—not the seventh day— and it is the day when Jesus resurrected.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
Mark 16:1-3 (NIV)

According to Mark 16, when the Sabbath was over, it was Sunday—the first day of the week. In other words, the Sabbath day that God commanded us to keep holy is Saturday—the day before Sunday. God’s people must worship Him on Saturday to receive God’s promised blessings.

The World Mission Society Church of God observes the Sabbath on Saturday in accordance with the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Visit your local Church of God to learn more about the Sabbath day and experience it for yourself!