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The Lord's Day
Sadly, observance of the Lord’s Day is in
grave deterioration. It seems to be like an old ruin of a house ready to
collapse. I don’t think we have ever had such contempt for the Lord’s Day in
our nation as we have in present times.
W.R. Mohon wrote a book on the Lord’s Day,
published by Banner of Truth, and in it he said, “When a nation remembers
Sunday as the Lord’s Day and keeps it holy unto Him this is both pleasing to
God and beneficial to the country”. … But when a nation abandons the Lord’s
day, when churches close and bars open, and the mind of the people are not
set upon the worship of God … what really is the difference between today
and the times of Sodom?!
How we need voices in Parliament such as
William Wilberforce (1759-1833), “Oh what a blessing is Sunday … There is
nothing in which I would advise you to be more strictly conscientious than
in keeping the Sabbath day holy”.
Our Confession teaches, (ch.22.7),
“As it is a law of nature, applicable to all, that a proportion of time,
determined by God, should be allocated for the worship of God, so, by His
Word, He has particularly appointed one day in seven to be kept as a holy
Sabbath to Himself. The commandment to this effect is positive, moral, and
of perpetual application.”
In the days of Nehemiah the children of
Jerusalem had become content with compromising companionships
(13:4-9) with others who did not share their passion for God. When they
didn’t put God first they fell into a financial fiasco because they
forgot the priority of putting God and His house first (vv.10-14). And then
the Bible tells us about their domestic disobedience as they married
spouses from a Gentile (i.e. non-Jewish) background (vv.23-28). Such was the
decline in their society that they began also to fail in another very
important aspect …. In the wilderness of Sinai God had commanded their
forefathers, Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
This same command had been repeated in
Neh. 10:31 And if the people of the land
bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy
it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day,
but as Nehemiah walked round the city …
15:15 In those days saw I in Judah (!) some treading wine presses on
the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine,
grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into
Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day
wherein they sold victuals.
Let’s consider this subject of the Lord’s
Day ...
It is the Lord’s Day
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It was the day when God rested from His
work, and it is the one day in seven that He has set aside for us to rest,
… now, what does ‘rest’ mean? |
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Does it mean the one day when you can lie
in bed until dinner time, and get up and lie around the house the rest of
the day? No, that is not what it means. |
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Here are these people of God in Jerusalem,
and as Nehemiah walked through the city … |
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He saw them treading the wine presses
on the Sabbath, |
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He saw them coming in out of the fields
with the sheaves of corn they had reaped on the Sabbath, |
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He saw them carrying all their wine and
grapes and figs and he saw them selling them on the Sabbath. |
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And he saw the gates of the city open for
business and the children of Israel standing alongside the men of Tyre, -
the Gentiles, - on the Sabbath. |
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Now, there was nothing wrong with bringing
the sheaves of corn into Jerusalem, and there was nothing wrong with
carrying into the city their wine and grapes and figs, and there was
nothing wrong with standing at the gates and doing business, but what was
wrong was this – they had neglected what God had commanded!
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. |
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What does ‘holy’ mean? ‘Holy’ means it is
to be kept separate and different from all the other days. |
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And for these Israelites in Judah it ought
to have been a ‘holy’ day set apart unto the worship of the Almighty God
Who had settled them again in their own land. |
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God took Sabbath observance seriously; He
said, Ex. 35:2 Six days shall work be
done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath
of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. |
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Throughout Scripture He commanded His
people to observe His Day. |
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On one occasion, in Num. 15:32-36 the
Israelites found a man who had been gathering sticks on the Lord’s Day and
they brought him to Moses and Aaron; that man was stoned until he was
dead, - such was the seriousness of upholding the Sabbath. |
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The Psalmist gives us the purpose for the
Sabbath, Ps. 92:1 A
Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto
the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High. |
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Isaiah spoke of the blessings God would
bring upon His people for observing the Sabbath,
56:2 Blessed is the man … that keepeth the
sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. |
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Isaiah said again,
58:13 If thou turn away thy
foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call
the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour
him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
speaking thine own words. 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed
thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath
spoken it. |
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Jeremiah also preached the importance of
Sabbath observance,
17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on
the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither
carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye
any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. |
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And through Jeremiah God gave the
Israelites a warning,
17:27 if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to
bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath
day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour
the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. |
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Yes, the Sabbath was undoubtedly the
Lord’s Day, and yet Nehemiah saw how his people were failing to observe it
the way they were commanded. |
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… But how important is it today to
continue with an old Biblical principle such as Sabbath observance? |
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Is it still necessary and relevant to keep
one day different to all the rest? |
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Common sense tells us we can’t keep going
without a break, - we need a rest; |
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The Christian Church is not out on its own
when it wants to retain one-day-in-seven. Both Judaism and Islam set one
day aside, - the Jews continue to recognise their Sabbath (from 6 pm
Friday to 6 pm Saturday), and the Muslims have theirs on a Friday. … But,
there is more to it than that … |
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Some, - even professing Christians, -
would pride themselves in having an ‘open, liberated’ view regarding
Sunday observance. They would tell you that your old-fashioned ideas of
the Lord’s Day are outmoded and no longer necessary; they would put you
and I alongside the Pharisees with their legalism and strict rules. |
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… Is it important to have one day
in the week totally given over to God, and for consideration of the things
of God? Well …The Bible teaches us, - as far as God is
concerned, - it is! … |
It is the Lord’s day for the Lord’s People
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The Bible says we are no longer under law
but under grace, - but it doesn’t take away from the fact that if God
considered this matter so important in the Old Testament, then it must
also have an application in the New Testament, |
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In other words, the Old Testament
principle is carried into the New … for two very important reasons, - and
the second reason is more important than the first, - but the first reason
is this … It is the Lord’s day for the Lord’s People. |
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In the New Testament we find the disciples
of Jesus walking through the fields and picking the ears of corn on the
Sabbath, |
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The Pharisees jumped at the opportunity to
accuse Jesus of breaking the law of the Sabbath by ‘working’. |
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Now, Jesus did not share the Pharisees’
point of view, Mk. 2:27 And he said unto
them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: |
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On the other hand, you will find Jesus and
His disciples, - and later on His apostles, - observed the Sabbath when
they went in to the synagogues on the Sabbath, the Saturday (often as an
opportunity for the sake of the Gospel!) |
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After Christ’s resurrection and ascension
the Sabbath for the Christians took on a slightly different meaning. |
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In line with Apostolic teaching (and
inspired by the Holy Spirit), the Sunday, - the day after the Sabbath, -
began to be celebrated by the Christians as “the Lord’s day”, for example
… |
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In Troas,
Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the
morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. |
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In Corinth,
I Cor. 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the
saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him. |
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On the island of Patmos John remembered,
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and
heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, |
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It came to be the Lord’s Day for the
Lord’s People. |
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Formerly, as Jews, they treated as holy
the Saturday (the Sabbath), but when they became Christians they
substituted the Saturday for the Sunday, … and so has the majority of the
Church ever since (except for such groups as e.g. Seventh-Day Adventists). |
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And so the Lord’s people, - the new
believers in Christ, - carried on the commitment God inaugurated on Mount
Sinai when He commanded,
Remember the sabbath day, to
keep it holy. |
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… And what does it mean to keep something
‘holy’? It means to keep it separate and set apart; the one-day-in-seven
is different from the other six. |
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That’s the way God commanded it in His
Word, and the people to whom He commanded were His own people He had
chosen out of the nations. |
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You see, Nehemiah saw the children of
Israel doing things on the Sabbath they ought not to have been doing …
just like their Gentile, idol-worshipping, God-rejecting neighbours. |
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But Nehemiah did not contend with the
outsiders because as far as God and His Word are concerned the keeping of
the Lord’s Day is the responsibility of the Lord’s people. |
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Voltaire was a violent opposer of
Christianity. He spoke about the Sabbath, “If you want to kill
Christianity you must abolish Sunday”. Voltaire got it right!
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When God’s people are slack regarding
God’s command relating to His own special day the Bible teaches
the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness (II Pet. 3:9)
and history proves He is not slack when it comes to defiling His day. |
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We say we are His, … then we ought to
obey His Word, Remember the sabbath day,
to keep it holy. |
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When I was a wee boy I was never
allowed to watch television on a Sunday, I wasn’t allowed to cut my nails
or polish my shoes, I wasn’t allowed to kick football or climb trees.
… How is the child of God to carry out his/her responsibilities on the
Lord’s Day? |
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I read of a footballer who belongs to one
of the top clubs in Scotland, - a born-again believer. He plays his
football on the Sunday afternoon and rushes back to ‘preach’ in his church
that evening; is he justified by simply saying he has to earn a living? …
Or should he go and get another living? |
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The Lord’s Day is for the Lord’s people,
- what are they allowed to do … without profaning it? I believe if you ask
that question you are starting at the wrong place. Instead, the Lord’s Day
has a definite, particular and specific purpose that is spelled out for
God’s people in the Bible … |
It is to the Lord’s Glory
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It is the one day in seven the Bible says
the Christian ought to give over totally to God, - that was the principle
behind the commandment that God gave to Moses at Sinai. It is His day and
we ought to live it for Him. |
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Richard Baxter said, “Use your Sabbaths as
steps to Glory”. Yes, all the days
are to be lived to His glory, but it was His express desire that
one-day-in-seven be given to Him completely, … when we come
together as a church fellowship and step aside from all the things we have
been busy with during the week and just concentrate upon Him. |
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It is the teaching of the Bible that this
day is specifically God’s day, and you are not being a special type of
Christian or doing God any special favours by observing it, - for He
expects it from each of His children. |
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When we come into His presence it is as a
consequence of the desire He has laid upon our hearts because we are
children of God … and the children want to meet with their Father. … On
the Lord’s Day we meet to honour His Name. |
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How do I conduct myself on the Lord’s Day?
Dare I cut my nails or polish my shoes? |
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Surely, much more importantly, is the
emphasis I lay upon this day as being in the right attitude of worship
before God. |
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… You see, the Lord’s Day is for the
Lord’s people, … and when the Lord’s people honour the Lord’s Day they
enjoy the favour of God and, in turn, society is blessed through the
Lord’s people. It is to the Lord’s Glory. |
Conclusion.
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I hope you understand it is
an important subject, - the Lord’s Day; one that has been relegated in
modern society, but God’s Word has always put great store on how His
people, - in particular, - must observe it. |
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It’s His day. It belongs to Him. … What if
I have to genuinely go into a place of work? … Many people do have to go
into their work on the Lord’s Day out of necessity. |
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We dare not be like the Pharisees with all
their legalism; … Frances Turretin (1623-87) was the Italian Reformer who
followed Calvin and Beza in Geneva, he wrote, “He
who does works of necessary charity and mercy on the Sabbath does not
profane it. He would be guilty of the basest superstition and hypocrisy
who, under this pretext, would desert a neighbour in trouble. He ought to
help whom he can and to serve God according to his ordination. For the
Sabbath is said to have been "made for man" that he may in a special
manner consult his own salvation by performing the duties of piety to God
and of love to his neighbour; "not man for the Sabbath," as if he ought to
neglect necessary charity or mercy towards himself or neighbour through a
superstitious regard for the Sabbath.” |
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Yes, we keep the Lord’s Day, not out of
superstition but because it is the Lord’s Day. I believe it is a
mark of the true Christian to enjoy the Lord’s Day, … for when you
enjoy meeting with God and with God’s people it is a ‘practice run’ for
Glory … for Heaven is going to be one long Lord’s Day! |
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The Bible describes it …
There remaineth therefore a Sabbath-rest
to the people of God (Heb. 4:9). |
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On the Sabbath day Nehemiah made sure to
shut the gate, he made every effort to guard the entrances, and he was
zealous for the Lord’s Day; he recorded,
From that time forth came they no more on the
sabbath. |
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I know it is old-fashioned; … it doesn’t
matter though, it’s God’s Word, - it has much to say about the Lord’s Day.
… I’ll let Nehemiah finish the matter in his own words, |
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Neh. 13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse
themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the
sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me
according to the greatness of thy mercy. |
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