Live Biblically on the Lord's Day

In Simplify Your Spiritual Life Don Whitney asks the question

[Other than attending church] how do you decide what else you should or should not do on Sunday?

Whitney then summarizes what he sees as the three prominent views among Christians regarding how Sunday is to be approached.

Christian Sabbath view – according to this view the Fourth Commandment (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” [Exodus 20:8]) is a “perpetual, moral law of God and remains intact under the New Covenant…Except for the ceremonial aspects of the Jewish Sabbath, all the other Sabbath laws should be embraced by Christians today, just as much as any of the other Ten Commandments” (Donald S. Whitney, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, 165).

Lord’s Day view – this view argues that “the Sabbath pointed to Christ. Jesus is the true Sabbath…when we rest from (that is, stop relying upon) our good works as the way to be right with God and rest by faith in the finished work of Christ on our behalf, we ‘keep the Sabbath’” (Whitney, 165).

Oblivious view – this view is not really a view, but rather the absence of a position regarding the Sabbath due primarily to a lack of consideration about what the Bible says on the matter.

Sadly, it seems many Christians fall into the third category. Most of us simply don’t give much thought to what we do or don’t do on Sundays. Yet whatever we do or don’t do on Sundays we’re to do it to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). In light of this Whitney concludes with an important exhortation for us to consider.

I want to encourage you to base your decisions about your Lord’s Day activities — whatever they may be — more intentionally upon the Bible. That’s what a Christian really wants to do in everything, isn’t it?…Study the issue, be persuaded in your own mind, and then act accordingly. Believe that it’s always more blessed by God and glorifying to God to choose to live biblically (Whitney, 166).

One thought on “Live Biblically on the Lord's Day

  1. I appreciate the bottom line, let’s live biblically and thoughtfully, this would be helpful in a lot of ways, not just Sabbath/Lord’s Day.

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