The Baptist Faith And Message Article VIII: The Lord’s Day
When some of you were a bit younger “Blue Laws” were still in existence. But a good number of people here will not even know what those are. The other name for these laws was “Sunday Laws” and they prohibited non-essential activities on Sunday. And the reason for this limitation is that Sunday is “The Lord’s Day”.
Now, it is a little difficult to imagine something like that happening in our day. So, I understand a sense of being baffled at the thought of such a series of laws. But they existed, nonetheless. And they existed out of a desire to honor the Lord on “The Lord’s Day”.
Today we must think through the Lord’s Day and what that means for us. Here is what our church believes concerning the Lord’s Day. This is Section VIII of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
VIII. The Lord’s Day
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10.
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day.
I have been frustrated of late by calendars. It’s like everything in this world wishes to rebel against the created order. But, Sunday is the first day of the week.
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:1-3 ESV)
God blessed the seventh day, which was Saturday. This means that the first day of the week is Sunday.
And the logical question then is, “Why do we worship on Sunday? Why is it called the Lord’s Day?”
On the first day of the week Jesus rose from the grave. God the Son took on human flesh, died for the sins of His people, and rose from the grave on the first day of the week. Therefore, we call it the Lord’s Day. And ever since that happened, Christians have worshipped the Lord on the Lord’s Day. This day is now His day and it is to be dedicated to the Lord.
The first day of the week is the day that Jesus rose from the grave.
“And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back–it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:2-8 ESV)
Jesus Himself is the firstfruits of the new creation that is dawning due to His resurrection that happened on that first day of the week.
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1Corinthians 15:20-26 ESV)
And so, ever since that day, God’s people have been meeting on this first day of the week.
“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.” (Acts 20:7 ESV)
The phrase “to break bread” is a phrase that was used to signify the church service throughout the New Testament. The Lord’s Supper was such a central part of every church service in the Early Church that they came together “to break bread”. And they met to do this “on the first day of the week”.
Special instructions were given for collections as they gathered together to worship the Lord.
“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” (1Corinthians 16:2 ESV)
And most people agree that by the time John wrote the Book of Revelation, the first day of the week had begun being called “the Lord’s Day” and that John received that revelation on the first day of the week.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet” (Revelation 1:10 ESV)
In the Didache, which was written by early Christians. Many people believe it to have been written around the time of the completion of the New Testament. It gives a picture of what was happening in these early days of Christianity, even if the text itself is not inspired.
“On the Lord’s Day of the Lord come together, break bread and hold Eucharist, after confessing your transgressions that your offering may be pure; but let none who has a quarrel with his fellow join in your meeting until they be reconciled that your sacrifice be not defiled.”[1]
That is the argument for why we worship on the first day of the week and why it is called the Lord’s Day. By worshipping the Lord on the first day of the week we do a few things. First, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the day of the week that He arose. Second, we worship Christ on His day, the Lord’s Day.
It is a Christian institution for regular observance.
It is easy enough to see why we would call this “a Christian institution”. The Lord’s Day was not instituted until the Christian era, after Christ rose from the dead. And when we say “regular observance”. We mean that the Scripture’s commands us to meet together.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)
If possible, believers should set aside the Lord’s Day for regular observance. Christians have long understood that emergencies happen and there are some jobs that cannot be dropped on Sunday, such as medical and emergency professions. But Christians should, if possible, regularly observe the Lord’s Day.
It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
We have already stated above that the Lord’s Day “commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead”. That is the reason we call it the Lord’s Day. As Hershel Hobbs put it,
“As the seventh-day sabbath commemorated God’s completion of creation, so the Lord’s Day commemorates His completion of His redemptive work. Jesus was raised from the dead on the first day of the week. It was natural, therefore, that his disciples gathered on that day to hear and share reports about the risen Lord.”[2]
There are two views on the Lord’s Day and how it is to be celebrated. The two positions are Sabbatarian and non-Sabbatarian. This statement is broad enough to encompass both positions.
Sabbatarians believe that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath and there is to be no recreation or anything other than public and private devotion to the Lord on that day. You may scoff at this when you first read it because that would mean that you cannot go to Walmart to get food or a drive thru to grab a burger. But there was a time in America when this was the position of most believers. That is the reason for the existence of the “Blue Laws” that were mentioned earlier. And this is the position most early Southern Baptist held. It is the belief that the Sabbath command is still in full force today but it has been relocated to Sunday.
I am not a Sabbatarian, though our family did practice this for a short time. There is just not a clear command in Scripture to move the Sabbath demands from Saturday to Sunday. Dr. Hershael York from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, put it this way,
“Some Christians have erroneously called Sunday the Sabbath, but the Sabbath is, by definition, the seventh day of the week. Furthermore, some Christians suggest that the Bible teaches that Sunday has replaced Saturday and serves as a “Christian Sabbath”. But admittedly, this is nowhere clearly taught in the Bible.”[3]
The non-Sabbatarian position is essentially that one can do other activities on the Lord’s Day, but it is still the Lord’s Day. And the Lord is to be worshipped on the Lord’s Day and that all activities should be compatible with the Lord’s Day. In other words, you shouldn’t be doing dishonorable things on the Lord’s Day. No one believes that anything is permissible on the Lord’s Day. It is the Lord’s Day after all. That is why we say, “Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”
So, both the Sabbatarian and non-Sabbatarian agree that worship of the Lord is to be included on the Lord’s Day. As Southern Baptists, we believe that the Lord’s Day should include “exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private”.
It may not seem like it is so, but we have instructions and directions given to us in the Scriptures concerning what is supposed to happen on a Sunday Morning. Scripture is to be read and preached.
“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” (1 Timothy 4:13-14 ESV)
Paul’s instructions to Timothy were to read, teach and preach the Scriptures.
Paul’s instructions to the Church at Ephesus were to not be drunk but rather be filled with the Holy Spirit and then he told them how they should address each other.
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-21 ESV)
Similarly, we read in Colossians 3,
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16 ESV)
When the church at Corinth came together as a church they participated in the Lord’s Supper. We now have instructions on the Lord’s Supper because they treated each other so poorly. But we understand that they did participate in the Lord’s Supper.
“But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another– if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home–so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.” (1Corinthians 11:17-34 ESV)
And we are to encourage one another, and stir each other up to do good works.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)
Conclusion
If you are a Christian, then the Lord’s Day should be important to you. It is the day that we come together and commemorate the Resurrection of our Lord and celebrate the salvation that He has accomplished for us. We come together to encourage one another, to sing with one another, to hear God’s Word preached, and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.
R. Dwain Minor
[1] The Apostolic Fathers: With an English Translation by Kirsopp Lake, Volume 1, 1959, p. 331.
[2] Herschel H. Hobbs, “The Baptist faith And Message”, Convention Press, 1987, p. 94.
[3] An Exposition from the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Pp. 28-29.