– 6 Min Read

How are Christians to
think of the Lord’s Day?
Is Sunday just another day of the week with no significant meaning to it that just so happens to be the day the church assembles? Or is it a day that is sacred and special to God and to His people? I am asking these questions because I think the church should be asking these questions. It seems that the general attitude of Christians concerning the Lord’s Day is that of an attitude of neglect. Christians seem to disregard Sunday or at least have a disinterest in it. Why is it that the very people whom Christ redeemed and called to be set apart from the world, can’t seem to disconnect from the world? They are too connected to the Saturday nightlife, so they are too tired to get up for Sunday worship. They are more connected to their beds and televisions than they are to the saints. They appear to be connected to all the same indulgences that unbelievers partake of on their days off. Sundays, it seems, are just not satisfying enough for them.
Think for a moment about the joys of the heart. Christians are making conscious decisions to miss church for something else. What are we as Christians communicating to the world when we ourselves won’t even assemble with God’s church? I would assert that most of these Christians are not evangelizing either; but even if they are, what message are they sending that is worth anything? What kind of appreciation to the Lord are we revealing when we do not have a desire to participate in the corporate worship of Him? Not a great one, that is for sure.
How has the church fallen so far down in its respect to the Lord’s Day over the past 100 years? This is the question I wish to answer in these articles. It is important to address the matter of Sunday itself before we can address the attitude towards it. After all, if it is just another day then there is not much ground to stand on when rebuking a believer for his lack of devotion. If Sunday is not a day set apart from the rest, then it should not be treated any differently from all the other days. But if Christ has made the first day of the week the Christian Sabbath, then there has been a principle applied to it that must be taken into account. If Christ is “Lord of the Sabbath” and has established the first day of the week (Sunday) as the day of Sabbath rest in the New Covenant, then we are to remember that day and keep it holy.
I want to acknowledge the controversy of this topic and plead with those who do read it, to be patient with me. My hope and prayer is that constructive and genuine discussions arise from this and Christ will be honored and glorified in all that we do in our efforts to better understand His word.

“Praise God for
the Local church!”
Is this something that you have said lately? Is this something that you believe God should be thanked for? God has been so kind to us by giving us the local church. The local church is a blessing, a gift from God to His people. The local church is an institution God has given to His people and made Christ head of. It is to be a glorious thing to Christ, after all, Christ died for the church to make her clean and pure before Him. However, in our eyes, the church is sometimes not all that glorious. We gather together with a bunch of sinners and some days we see that reality more than others.
But yes, the church is a glorious thing. It is not glorious because of who we are or what we have done, it is glorious because of who Christ is and what He has done. Christ is Lord over us and we get to assemble together on Resurrection Day and worship Him. That is a glorious thing. That we can gather to worship the Lord on a sacred day with sacred people. The word sacred in the biblical sense just means, “set apart,” “holy,” and “distinct from all others,” and that is what we are and that is what Sunday is. We are people set apart, called by God, who gather together on a set apart, holy day to worship God. This pleases Christ, to see His bride do this very thing.
But does it please us? Should we take pleasure in the assembly on the Lord’s day? I certainly think so. However, it seems that many professing Christians have a soft and half-hearted attitude towards Sunday. Why is it that we see so many believers not gathering at the local church on Sunday to worship Christ, our Lord? Is it because we think that it is optional? Or that it is not a biblical requirement or moral obligation to be done in the life of a Christian? Do we think that it is simply not a big deal to skip out on the assembly?
It appears that in the more modern and recent generations of American Protestantism, the church has weakened its convictions about the Lord’s day. There are no longer Sunday evening services and no Sunday school studies. There is hardly anyone to come for the main Sunday morning worship services much less stay and fellowship afterwards. What has happened to the local church? Has the economic push of capitalism stopped the closing of businesses on Sundays? Are American evangelicals drunk on liberty? How is it that we have broken a 2,000 year old tradition of the entire Lord’s Day being treated with reverence? Now, sermons can’t last longer than 30 minutes unless they are “entertaining”. Preachers use more illustrations than they do Bible. They are using props and videos to engage the congregation with their short-attention spans because we live in a “10 seconds or less” age. Where did the shift take place in our history and why? It appears that the church itself, without any outside help, is the one who is disassembling the assembly of God.
In these next few articles, I wish to unpack and explain the Christian Sabbath. This is not going to be an in-depth treatment of the doctrine, but a summary. See below where we are headed and I look forward to learning with you.
- What Does ‘Assembly’ Even Mean?
- Two Testaments, One Assembly
- The History of The Sunday Assembly
- Answering Objections
- Sabbath is Grounded in Creation
- John MacArthur and the Sabbath
- Apostolic Practice
- The Sin of Forsaking
- Jonathan Edwards on Neglecting the Assembly
- Christ is Our Present and Future Rest, So Rest In Him
- How to Rest on the Lord’s Day
- Conclusion