IS IT SCRIPTURAL TO TAKE COMMUNION ON ANY DAY?

By: Douglas Hoff

Occasionally we hear of people eating the Lord’s Supper on a day other than the Lord’s Day (i.e., Sunday). The question naturally comes up, “Is this OK?” To determine if God approves of this practice we need to search the Scriptures. (John 5:39; Acts 17:11) Everything a Christian does is done in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Col. 3:17) Is there any authority for taking communion on a day other than Sunday? If the Bible does not address the matter in any way (i.e., command, example or necessary inference), then there is no authority for the practice and must be rejected.

First, is there a command to partake of the Lord’s table on any specific day at all? No. When Jesus instituted His memorial He did not specify the day or days to observe it. However, Christians are commanded to “do this in remembrance of me.” (Lk. 22:19) The only way to discover which day to take communion is by considering when the first Christians did so. Since eating the Lord’s Supper is clearly an act of worship, when would we expect the church to engage in this action? The obvious answer is Sunday. Why Sunday? Well, there are several reasons. First, it is the day when Jesus rose from the grave. (John 20:1ff) Second, it is the day on which the church was established. (Acts 2:1) Third, it is the day Paul specified the church was to give of their means. (I Cor. 16:1,2) Acts records that the brethren at Troas met upon the first day of the week to “break bread” and on that occasion, Paul preached to them. (Acts 20:7) This is an example of Christians purposely waiting until the first day of the week to take communion. (Acts 20:6) Why wait until Sunday to take the Lord’s Supper with the disciples if it is permissible on any other day? After all, Paul was in Troas a whole week. He stayed there long enough to be able to eat the Lord’s Supper with them.

Would it be Scriptural to take the Lord’s Supper on any day other than Sunday? No. There is no command to do so, no approved example of the apostles or early church doing so and no reasonable conclusion to justify the practice. Thus, it cannot be done in the name of the Lord since God’s word does not authorize it. To take the Lord’s Supper on any day other than the first day of the week is vain worship and sinful. (Mt. 15:8,9; John 4:23,24; Col. 2:8:23)

Some might argue the point that there is an example of the early church taking communion on a day other than Sunday. They might point to Acts 2:46 which says, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” Does this verse mean Christians were taking communion daily in their houses? No, in this verse Luke used the Greek word trophe (“meat”) which means nourishment. The Lord’s Supper is not taken to nourish our bodies, but ordinary meals are. This is a setting for a common meal, not the Lord’s Supper.

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