The practice of setting aside one day in seven for the worship of God, the rest of the body, the extension of mercy and the refrain from “worldly” activities enjoyed nearly universal acceptance in American Christian practice from 1776 until 1960. Obviously, no longer is this the case. What happened? A lot. Theological liberalism and dispensationalism happened. Television, sports and malls happened. As a result Sunday has become less of a holy day and more of a holiday.Sunday has become less set aside for mercy, worship and rest and more for errands, entertainment and recreation. That’s not to say Christians have stopped worshipping. They haven’t done that. But worship has become an “add-on.” For some worship is done on Saturday so as to leave all of Sunday “open” for other activities. For others worship is, in fact ,reserved for Sunday but it is done first thing in the morning so the remainder of the day is open for play. In other words, it is something to get out of the way.

The Biblical picture of the Lord ’s Day is of just that, an entire day. Contrary to popular assumptions, the Sabbath did not emerge during the time of Moses. Actually, it has been around since the inception of the world. This is why we refer to the Sabbath, along with work and marriage, as a creation ordinance. This is important because if the Sabbath is merely a ceremonial law attached to the nation of Israel, then when Israel passes away (70 AD), it too is done away with. If, however, it is a creation ordinance then it is binding and “is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath” (WCF 21:7). The distinctive of the Christian Sabbath, or Lord’s Day, rests on and relates to the resurrection of Christ from the dead on the first day of the week. Because of this, not only is the day changed, but all the new creation is ushered in. And since the new creation is already here (2 Cor. 5:17) and not yet here simultaneously, the Lord’s Day offers to us a foretaste of the eternal state and a parable of the gospel of Christ.

Remember, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. This is God’s good gift to us.

In light of this, what activities should we engaged in and what should we avoid? Let’s take the latter question first. We should avoid doing anything that would take us away from worship and anything that we can do on the other six days. It’s that simple.

What should we do? First, worship. Come to worship in the morning and in the evening. It will be good for your soul and your family. Structure your day around worship and make everything revolve around it. Make it the sun and not the earth. Second, enjoy the people of God. Open your home to others and enter the homes of others. Third, rest. Rest spiritually and rest physically. Finally, be engaged in acts of mercy. Sundays are great days for ministering to the outcasts, visiting the sick and infirmed and helping those in need.

Remember, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. This is God’s good gift to us.

Enjoy.