As a priest, I feel it’s my duty to clarify some misconceptions and answer the commonly asked question: is working on Sunday considered a sin? Many devote Christians are caught up in this debate. It is important to note that working on Sunday is certainly not considered a sin. There is no biblical prohibition against working on a Sunday.
The assumption that Christians should refrain from work on Sunday likely stems from a misunderstanding of Old Testament Sabbath-keeping for the Israelites and its relevance to Sunday worship for Christians. The book of Exodus (20:8–11) explains that the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, was the day for the Israelites to rest. God, after creating the universe in six days, rested on the seventh day. The injunction to “keep the Sabbath holy” encompassed not working on the Sabbath.
When God provided manna in the desert during the Exodus wanderings, he commanded the Israelites to gather it for six days only, saving enough on the sixth day to feed them during the Sabbath rest (Exodus 16:26). Gathering the manna was work, akin to planting and harvesting. Working on the Sabbath was strictly punishable, with Exodus 31:14–16 and 35:2 even prescribing death as a penalty. Similarly, buying and selling on the Sabbath was deemed as desecration of the day (Nehemiah 13:15–17). Notably, to honor the Sabbath day required cessation of all work.
However, one may wonder why Christians do not have to adhere to the same rule. This is because the elements of the Sabbath symbolized the coming of the Messiah, who would provide more than a one-day rest—he offered a permanent rest for his people. Under the Old Testament Law, the Jews constantly strived to make themselves acceptable to God, through obeying commandments of the ceremonial law, temple law, and sacrificial law. God, recognizing their struggle, provided various sin offerings and sacrifices as a provision for forgiveness and restored fellowship.
This analogy of labor applied to the practices of the Christians as well. As quoted in Hebrews 10:1, “the law can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” The sacrifices, in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, signified the constant labor. But Jesus, after offering the ultimate sacrifice for sins, “sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). There was no further labor of atonement. As such, we no longer strive to be justified in the sight of God, including the observance of the Sabbath.
Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). This reinforced the idea that the Sabbath was created to relieve man’s labors. With Jesus’ coming, we ceased the labor of attempting to achieve salvation by our works, allowing us to rest forever in His grace.
To emphasize, Paul declared in Colossians 2:16–17, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” We are no longer required to abstain from work on the Sabbath; neither is Sunday the “Christian Sabbath.” While it’s common for Christians to reserve Sunday for rest and worship, working on this day is not sinful. Many Christians, like doctors and nurses, often have duty calls on Sundays, and we as a society should be grateful to them.
In conclusion, the essence is not about abstaining from work on a specific day, but in understanding that worship is not confined to any single day of the week. Worship should be an ongoing part of a Christian’s life, irrespective of the day or the engagement in work.
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