Protestant sabbatarianism
A new rigorism was brought into the observance of the Christian Lord's Day with the Protestant reformation, especially among the Puritans of England and Scotland, in reaction to the laxity with which Sunday observance was customarily kept. Sabbath ordinances were appealed to, with the idea that only the word of God can bind men's consciences in whether or how they will take a break from work, or to impose an obligation to meet at a particular time. Their influential reasoning spread to other denominations also, and it is primarily through their influence that "Sabbath" has become the colloquial equivalent of "Lord's Day" or "Sunday". The most mature expression of this influence survives in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 21, "Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day". Section 7-8 reads:
- 7. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.
- 8. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe a holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.
Seventh-day sabbatarianism
The Socinian churches of Eastern Europe and Holland more rigorously equated the Christian sabbath with the Jewish Shabbat. Sunday observance was abandoned in favor of a more literal and rigorous observance of the Sabbath, leading to a revival of seventh-day sabbatarianism. The influence of the Socinians was felt among the Anabaptists in Holland. A small number of them adopted Saturday as the day of worship. Already persecuted by both Protestants and Catholics, this small Seventh-day sect added even the Anabaptists to their list of enemies, and finally abandoned Christianity for orthodox Judaism. Seventh-day sabbatarianism did not become prevalent to any degree among Trinitarian Protestants, until it was revived in England by several groups of English Baptists, and through them the doctrine spread to a few churches in other denominations. These leaders and churches were persecuted as heretics by the Trinitarian and Sunday-observing establishment, in England.
The Seventh Day Baptists arrived at the height of their direct influence on other sects, in the middle of the 19th century, in the United States, when their doctrines were instrumental in founding the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Seventh-day Church of God. Also, the direct influence of the Socinians continues to be felt, as will be found anywhere that Unitarianism and Saturday observance appear together in a non-Jewish sect.
[Note: there is technical distinction between the doctrine of Unitarians and Unitarianism. Unitarians typically deny the miraculous birth of Christ, but this is not true of all adherents to Unitarianism, and it was not true at all of the Socinians; confusing in this context, perhaps, but important.]
Other Sabbatarian disputes
Sabbatarianism is usually considered by Christians to be a hazardous doctrine, which provides easy access to bizarre legalistic imbalance, even though the intention of all sabbatarians is simply to worship God when and how He has commanded.
How much can be lifted, before lifting is work? How far is a day's journey, in the jet age? Is it a work of necessity to make public transportation available on the Sabbath? On and on, the questions go, to the exasperation even of sabbatarians themselves, because to get worked up over these details misses the point of the Sabbath, they say. This point is made in countless sabbatarian tracts and sermons, sometimes immediately preceding long lists of "do" and "don't". The formulaic response to extremes is the old one, "let no man judge you", and "let each be convinced in his own mind", and on the other hand, "whatever is not of faith, is sin." Regardless, the tension between ordinance and conscience is recognized as being inevitable, unless one believes that God has not commanded that He should be worshipped anytime or anywhere.