July 28, 2013

Revelation 1:10 — I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet

This is the third of my “Sabbath-related” devotions. It came to me that it might be worth focusing some attention on a distinction, for the New Testament “Lord’s Day” is not the same as the Old Testament Sabbath.

Myra and I attend a Southern Baptist Church, and it is in that church home that we have first, over the past thirteen years, been introduced to some formal definition of what we believe. It has been a blessing that we find what we are taught to resonate with inward beliefs — even about things we had not previously considered.

So what’s the party line on Sundays? Well, it’s laid out in the “Baptist Faith and Message” which may be found at http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp on the web. On the matter of the Lord’s Day it says:

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.

The Hebrew Sabbath is an ordinance provided by God to the Israelites as a weekly remembrance of His covenant with them. We might regard the Lord’s day as a sign of that better covenant, based on better promises, of which Jesus is the mediator.

It is the last paragraph, perhaps, that is most interesting. The law of the Sabbath says quite frankly, “don’t work”. A Christian position says “It does not need legislation. Consult your conscience and do what seems right.” It is the logical consequence of the shift from Old Testament law to New Testament grace – so Paul says “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” and “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:” I am quite convinced that this is the right principle but I also see the risk. The risk is the beautiful risk God takes when He gives us free will. We are free to be as idle and frivolous as we wish on Sunday — but challenged to do better, to have our activities under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The party line used to be more stringent, forbidding “worldly amusements” and “secular employment” not driven by considerations of necessity or mercy. Even this firmness allowed for the activities of, for instance, doctors and nurses — but left many others in the awkward position of choosing between faith and practicality. Nobody now need make that choice — knowing that Jesus will bless those choices trusted to His Lordship.

The calling out of the other activities is interesting too — they “should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private”. But isn’t that true of every day? How then is this day special? The key, perhaps, is in Hebrews 4:9-11:

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Jesus is, and offers, a special rest. The Lord’s Day is a special time when we might pursue that special rest.

There are things Myra and I don’t do on a Sunday. We’ve thought about it, and prayed about it, and follow our conscience. How about you? What do you do, or not do, because it’s the Lord’s Day?