Introduction:
A. The story is told of two men who were fishing one Sunday morning and when the fish weren’t biting they began to feel guilty about skipping church.
1. One man said, “I guess I should have gone to church rather than gone fishing.”
2. The other man replied, “Well, I couldn’t have gone to church anyway, because my wife is home sick in bed.”
B. We might laugh at the inconsistency in that man’s thinking, and yet it is not that unusual.
1. We sometimes go through many rationalizations to either not do what we don’t want to do, or to do what we want to do.
2. And sometimes those rationalizations lead us to put other things ahead of our need to worship the Lord and fellowship with our brothers and sisters on the Lord’s Day.
3. So, as we begin the New Year in a few days, I want to challenge us to make a renewed commitment to the priority of the Lord’s Day.
C. But as we proceed with this emphasis, I want to be sure no one misunderstands me.
1. As important as the Lord’s Day is, I know that we are to serve the Lord every day of the week.
2. God doesn’t want just Sunday Christians; he wants daily Christians.
3. Nevertheless, if we are going to give our lives completely to Christ, 24/7, then we must also give Sunday, the Lord’s Day, a special place on our weekly calendar.
D. As you likely know, there are sad and harmful trends taking place in our world today.
1. The Lord’s Day is under attack from secular culture, and that should come as no surprise to us, as our culture becomes less and less Christian.
2. But what is really shocking is that the attacks are working.
3. There is a growing indifference among Christians about the priority of the Lord’s Day.
4. Fewer Christians are being consistent in worship attendance.
5. Fewer Christians are committed to participating in Sunday School.
6. But then, even for those who might participate in Worship or Sunday School, the chances of getting them to participate in any other Christian activity on Sunday beyond worship is low.
7. For many people, once the worship service has ended so has their participation and motivation in other spiritual things.
E. So, Let’s spend a few minutes this morning considering the priority of the Lord’s Day, and how we might be more faithful in serving our Lord in the year 2019.
I. The Priority of the Lord’s Day
A. In Revelation 1:10, the Apostle John says, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit.”
1. The identification of “the Lord’s Day” should not be confused with the phrase “the day of the Lord” which is also found in Scripture.
2. “The day of the Lord” is a technical expression pointing to a day of the Lord’s coming in judgment.
3. The “Lord’s Day” is the scriptural name for the day which is commonly called Sunday, or the first day of the week.
B. The respected church historian Philip Schaff, in volume one of his eight-volume series, History of the Christian Church, affirmed that the Lord’s Day is connected to “facts which lie at the foundation” of the church.
1. He wrote, “It was on that day that Christ rose from the dead; that he appeared to Mary, the disciples of Emmaus and the assembled apostles; that he poured out his Spirit and founded the church; and that he revealed to his beloved disciples the mysteries of the future” (pg. 478).
2. Schaff further declared, “the universal and uncontradicted Sunday observance in the second century can only be explained by the fact that it had its roots in apostolic practice.”
C. The Bible tells us that “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul preached to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)
1. We know that the Lord’s people were told to give on the first day of every week. (1 Cor. 16:2)
2. The writings of the early church fathers attests to the priority of the Lord’s day.
3. The Didache (also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, is a brief anonymous early Christian treatise, dated by most modern scholars to the first century) says, “But every Lord’s day…gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.”
4. In A.D. 110, Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “If therefore those who lived according to the old practices (i.e. Jews) have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death...Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner…let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s day as a festival, the resurrection day, the queen and chief of all days of the week.” (Epistle of Ignatius to Magnesians)
5. Justin Martyr wrote in his First Apology in A.D. 140, “And on the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in the same place of all who live in a city or rural district…But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.”
D. Turning our attention back to the article by church historian Philip Schaff, he explained that a proper observance of the Lord’s Day, “is a wholesome school of discipline, a means of grace for the people, a safeguard of public morality and religion, a bulwark against infidelity, and a source of immeasurable blessing to the church, the state and the family. Next to the Church, and the Bible, the Lord’s Day is the chief pillar of Christian society.” (pg. 479)
1. In other words, keeping the Lord’s Day has many benefits for the individual, the family, the church and for society as a whole.
2. Now let’s move from the priority of the Lord’s Day to what we might call “The Assault on the Lord’s Day.”
II. The Assault on the Lord’s Day
A. I am not old enough, but some of you are, to remember an era when the Lord’s Day was honored as a day of worship and rest, much more so than today.
1. In that day, businesses were closed and farmers did not work the fields.
2. Today things are very different in regard to the Lord’s Day.
3. Sunday has become for many people “Fun Day.”
4. Unfortunately for many people, their plans for Sunday seem to leave no room for God.
5. The assault on the Lord’s Day comes from at least three sources.
B. First, the Lord’s Day for many is just a time for SHOPPING.
1. In other words, the Lord’s Day is business as usual.
2. Sunday shopping appeals to the materialism that seems to be the basic philosophy of our culture.
3. It is ironic that many businesses now stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but people still seem to need to be shopping on Sunday rather than reserving that day for honoring the Lord.
4. I came across an interesting article by Richard Morin from the Pew Research Center, titled, “The Devil’s New Playground: The Shopping Mall.”
a. He writes, “Who knew Satan worked at the local mall? While bars, cheap hotels and similar places of low repute may remain America’s favorite spots to sin, two economists say that giving people an extra day to shop at the mall also contributes significantly to wicked behavior – especially among people who are the most religious.”
b. “Jonathan Gruber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Daniel M. Hungerman of Notre Dame discovered the malevolent “Mall Effect” by studying what happened when states and counties repeal so-called blue laws. Those statutes prohibited the sale on Sunday of certain non-essential items such as clothing, appliances, furniture and jewelry typically sold in shopping malls, as well as liquor and cigarettes.”
c. “Gruber and Hungerman found that when states eliminated blue laws, church attendance declined while drinking and drug use increased significantly among young adults. Even more striking, the biggest change in bad behaviors was concentrated among those who frequently attended religious services, they report in a working paper titled "The Church vs. the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?" published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.”
d. “They found church attendance declined after blue laws were repealed, with the biggest drop occurring among those who went to church at least once a week.”
e. “Instead of going to church, many of the faithful were apparently going astray. Marijuana use increased. Cocaine use increased by nearly 4 percentage-points and heavy drinking also rose by about 5.5 percentage points among church-goers.”
f. “Hmmm. Interesting, but why would the elimination of blue laws suddenly provoke such an outburst of sinning among the religious? After all, six other days of the week were already available to shop (or drink) until you drop. And buying cocaine or marijuana is illegal on any day of the week.”
g. “’That's the million-dollar question,’ Hungerman said. He suspects that keeping business open on Sunday means that some religious young people have to work or choose to go shopping, which apparently increases their exposure to sinners or otherwise weakens their resistance to the dark side.”
5. Isn’t all of that very interesting? The power of materialism can weaken us in many different ways.
6. So, the first attack on the Lord’s day is from shopping.
C. Second, the Lord’s Day is under assault from SPORTS.
1. For many years, professional sports games have been played on Sundays, especially football and baseball, but they were played at times that didn’t interrupt church going, for the most part.
2. But drastic changes have occurred in the past decades, now children are being drawn into playing sports on Sundays, and not just after church services, but during church services.
3. Precious young people who should be in Sunday school and worship are on ball fields.
4. A letter to the editor of the Tennessean on June 17, 2006, addressed the arguments made to justify Sunday sports for children. “The children meet new people, see new towns and experience things few children ever get to experience…But at what cost?…The financial expense can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to nearly $5,000…The spiritual costs cannot be calculated…”
5. You may know parents who, by their actions, placed more emphasis on sports than on worshiping God and whose children, now grown, have no interest or involvement with the Lord or His church. And it’s something they certainly regret.
6. And that is very sad, wouldn’t you agree?
D. Third, The Lord’s Day is under assault from SELFISHNESS.
1. The selfish attitude says, “I want to do, what I want to do, when I want to do it.”
2. So what do we want to do rather than honor the Lord on His day?
a. Some might answer: “I want to sleep in…I want to watch TV…I want to go fishing or play golf or go shopping…or I want to spend time with my family!”
3. The emphasis is on the SELF and what it wants, rather than on the LORD and what He commands.
E. Just how effective are these attacks on the Lord’s Day?
1. One way to observe how effective the attacks are is to notice how the denominational world is reacting to the problem of a lack of interest in Sunday as a day of worship.
2. John McArthur Jr, writer, radio teacher, and preacher for Grace Community Church in CA wrote, “Judging from attendance figures, lots of church members feel spending the Lord’s Day in church is tantamount to blowing the whole day…Some churches now offer their largest services on Friday and Saturday night instead of Sunday morning…these services are usually heavy on music and entertainment.” (Ashamed of the Gospel, pg. 45-46)
3. I’m told that research has shown that American’s lest committed hour of the week is Saturday at 5 pm, and so many churches are moving their worship services to that time, and therefore freeing all of Sunday for people to use as they wish.
4. Do you think that is a good idea? I don’t think so!
III. Our Commitment to the Lord’s Day
A. For faithful Christians and churches, the attack on the Lord’s Day is a time for conviction and commitment rather than compromise.
1. The key to honoring God on the Lord’s Day is not in so-called “Blue Laws.”
a. Keeping people in church on Sundays is not the government’s responsibility!
b. The key is not outlawing shopping, sports or selfishness on the Lord’s Day, but in standing firm and faithful in the midst of the post-Christian culture in which we live.
2. Respect for the Lord’s Day comes from respect for the Son of God and a spirit of obedience to Him.
a. It is my personal responsibility to keep Sunday the “Son” Day – God’s Son’s Day.
3. May God’s people today say and believe what the psalmist of old said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1)
B. I hope you won’t misunderstand me today, I’m not saying that Sunday is to be observed just like the Jewish Sabbath.
1. In the covenant of the OT, God gave the Jewish people very detailed instructions about what they should and should not do on the Sabbath, and as you know the Pharisees later added even more stringent interpretations of those commands.
2. The Sabbath, therefore, became a burden, rather than the blessing that God intended.
3. Look again at the Isaiah 58 passage I chose for the Scripture reading: “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 58:13-14)
4. In that passage, we notice that God’s people of old were not keeping the Sabbath as God had commanded, but were doing as they pleased on God’s holy day.
a. What I found encouraging about the passage was God’s promise.
b. If they would simply honor God and honor His day, then they would find joy in the Lord.
c. God would cause them to “ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” (Is. 58:14)
5. The same must be true for us who serve God under the new covenant of Jesus.
6. If we will seek to honor the Lord and the Lord’s Day, then surely we will be blessed.
C. Therefore, a commitment to the Lord’s Day should include the following:
1. First, A Participation in Sunday School and Sunday Worship.
a. The point isn’t just being present for attendance purposes, but to give ourselves fully in participation.
1. We should come reverently – meaning humbly, seriously.
2. We should come enthusiastically – meaning joyfully, excitedly.
3. We should come expectantly – expecting to meet God and be changed.
b. The result of participation in worship, study and fellowship should be:
1. The lifting of our spirits.
2. The encouraging of our hearts.
3. The challenging of our minds.
4. The transforming and strengthening of our lives.
2. Second, A commitment to the Lord’s Day should include: A Dedication to the Lord and Fellowship with His Body, the Church.
a. Again, let me emphasize that I am not trying to lay down any laws which God has not authorized, and yet we are commanded to meet together and to encourage each other.
b. “Let us consider how we might spur one another…Let us not give up meeting together…” (Hebrews 11:24-25).
c. For most of us, Sunday is a day when we aren’t required to go to work or school.
d. Why not devote as much of that time as possible to spiritual things?
e. Why not use that time to visit with and minister to each other?
f. Why not use that time for devotional study and family activity?
g. And if there is some gathering or activity of the church, then, by all means, let’s try to be involved in it…Right?
h. Surely, that’s what it means to honor the Lord’s Day.
D. Allow me to leave you with this illustration told by a Chinese preacher:
1. It came to pass that a man went to market with a string of seven coins.
2. Seeing a beggar who asked for alms, he gave the poor man six of the coins and kept one for himself.
3. The beggar, instead of being thankful, followed the good man and stole the seventh coin also.
4. We might conclude: “What a selfish, evil man!”
5. Yes, and are you not likewise, to whom God has given six days, yet steals the seventh also?
E. Well, the new year is before us. It is another chance to get it right! Thank God for our many chances!
1. Why not begin the new year with a renewed commitment to honor the Lord’s Day in 2019?
2. May God bless us as we love Him, seek Him, and obey Him! Amen!
Resource Material:
“The Lord’s Day is Under Attack,” by Tom Holland, Gospel Advocate, Oct. ’06.
“The Devil’s New Playground: The Shopping Mall,” Richard Morin, Pew Research Center, Sept. 14, 2006.
