100 BIBLE LESSONS By Alban Douglas (BOOK-2)

Lesson 77 - The Lord's Day

LESSONS ABOUT MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS

LESSON SEVENTY-SEVEN

The Lord's Day

INTRODUCTION

How nice to see a Christian Sunday after the desecrated Sunday of China!

In America, Sunday has become a "fun-day"; a "holi-day" instead of a holy day.

Our experience is that those who honor the Lord's day are honored by God.

In West China we found that the church that kept Sunday with closed stores prospered

spiritually.

The student who honours God with no secular study on Sunday will be God-blessed.

But the problem that faces us today is, Can we force Christians to keep the Lord's day as the

Sabbath was kept with law enforcement?

The Republic of the Philippines has blue laws that demand that certain types of business must

close on Sunday, but unfortunately keeps the public markets, cock-pits and entertainment

houses open.

I. THE ORIGIN OF THE LORD'S DAY

The Lord's Day (Sunday) is a New Testament fact, but it has its roots in the Sabbath of the

Old Testament.

In Gen. 2:2,3, "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He

rested on the seventh day . . . and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that

in it He had rested from all His work."

But the Sabbath was not given to man till 2500 years later in Ex. 20 :8-10.

However, from Ex. 16:23, it would seem that some form of Sabbath was kept then.

At the giving of the law in Ex. 20, Sabbath keeping became part of the Decalogue.

The Old Testament Sabbath was a day of rest, not of sacrifice or worship.

It was a day when beasts of burden, slaves and humans all rested.

It was not associated with temple attendance or any religious observance.

The Sabbath was given to Israel as a sign of the covenant. Ex. 31 :13, "Speak thou also unto

the children of Israel, saying, Verily My sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me

and you throughout your generations."

Ex. 31 :17, "It (the Sabbath) is a sign between Me (the Lord God) and the children of Israel

for ever."

The Pharisees kept a perverted Sabbath in Jesus 'day, for they had turned the Sabbath into a

stern, hard, ritualistic day, hedged with strict limitations.

In the Book of Acts we find the church keeping the first day of the week instead of the

seventh day as a day of worship and good deeds.

II. THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH UNDER LAW

1. Even the servants and cattle were forced to rest, Ex. 20 :10.

2. No manner of work was to be done on the Sabbath Day, Ex. 20 :10. Food was cooked on

Friday.

3. No purchase was to be made on the Sabbath Day, Neh. 10:31; 13:15-17.