This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - The Lord's Day

Sunday is not the Sabbath.  But before you think I’m a heretic, let me explain.  Saturday is the Sabbath – the last day of the week. Just check your calendars.  The Jewish day of rest in Scripture is Saturday. After a week of work, the Jews, as commanded in the Old Testament, rested on Saturday, the Sabbath. So what is Sunday all about?  Why do we, as bible-believing Christians, worship & rest on Sundays if the Sabbath is on Saturday? Are we breaking one of the Commandments?

No.

For one, we must be careful in turning the Sabbath into a legalistic rule that offers salvation or threatens us with separation from God post-salvation.  The 10 Commandments primarily identify idols & aren’t just rules.  In this case, the primary idol identified here is work, greed, accomplishment, & unhealthy drives.

Secondly, we must ask why the change has taken place?  Why did the “Sabbath” go from Saturday in the Old Testament & Sunday in the New Testament?  The answer is simple: the resurrection.  Since the founding of the Church, Christians have always set Sunday aside as a day of worship.  When the first Church was made up primarily of Jews they still rested on Saturday as the Jewish law required, but made Sunday a day of worship whereby they would remember & commemorate the day of Resurrection.

This is an important point.  The resurrection was & is so central to the Christian gospel & the Christian Church that it has altered our calendars.  The substitutionary death & the triumphant resurrection of our Lord is central to Christianity & without these events there would be no Christianity, no salvation, & our faith would be in vain.  Jesus is not dead, but alive!  And that is worth worshiping.

This fundamental fact forces us to make a slight shift in our understanding of the day of rest.  I do believe we ought to rest on Sundays (especially since our schedules are so full that Sunday may be the only day to take a nap!), but in a post-resurrection world, Sunday should be a day of resurrection.  Sunday is the day we commemorate & remember the historical fact that Christ died in our place for our sins & was raised for our justification three days later.  Thus we worship, not as a ritual, but with joy.  Sunday is more than a day to sleep, it is a day to celebrate.  Easter – Resurrection Sunday – ought not to just be a holiday, but an everyday reality whereby live as raised souls.  Like Christ, we are not dead.  Christ has raised us & will raise us.

In this light, the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 says regarding 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 & should include exercises of worship & spiritual devotion, both public & private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.*

The point made in the confession is the same as made above.  Notice that the Lord’s Day is an institution not a law that points us to Christ.  It ought to be regularly observed not in the hopes of salvation, but because of our salvation. 

It’s the last sentence that could cause trouble for some: Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  In other words, each person’s conscience ought to dictate what is & isn’t work on the “Sabbath.” The point here is to avoid being Pharisees-like with endless religious rules regarding the Sabbath. What the BF&M 2000 does is guard against such legalism.  The Lord’s Day ought not to be a burden, but a joy.

So what ought we do in terms of rest on Sunday?  Again we must be careful not to turn a day into a law.  Sunday is a day of rest for sure, but it ought to primarily be a day of worship.  We are encouraged in Scripture to gather together with other brothers & sisters in Christ & celebrate our risen Lord.  Let that set the tone for the rest of the week.  We are a resurrected people who serve a resurrected Lord.  We must guard against both legalism & libertarianism & the gospel offers the right balance.

All of this is to say that Sunday ought not to be a burden on the people of God, but a day in which to look forward to by the people of God.  Certainly we ought & better rest, but more fundamentally let us worship.  In fact, the rest we enjoy on the Lord’s Day is itself an act of worship wherein we trust in the Providential care of our Father who has given us His Son.  Why worry about tomorrow?


*  BF&M 2000 offer the following references:  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.


This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Introduction
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Scripture
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God
This is Who We Are  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Father
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Son
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Spirit
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Man
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Salvation
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes -  God's Purpose of Grace
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Church
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Baptism  
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - The Lord's Supper